A Day in the Life

Last night into this morning was just miserable in this house.  The teeth are on the move again in Kailey's mouth, so she was in pain going to bed and then in pain when she woke up at 5:20 am.  She cried most of this morning until she got to school.  Colin, on the other hand, was up at 4 am-ish soaking wet from peeing through his diaper wandering through the hall of the house until I popped up when I heard him.  He was also crying most of this morning as well, so I felt so bad leaving when I had to head out!

Despite being pretty cranky this morning, they were both really happy to be pulling into the driveway today after school which was great (until all hell broke loose just prior to dinner).  

Colin's been really funny when I get to school to pick him up because both days this week he has been really enjoying the activity he has been doing and wants nothing to do with me taking him home.  He doesn't even want to give me a hug.  This is Mr. Cranky pants after putting him in the car...

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A Weekend in Review

This was a really great weekend but I can't believe it's over already! Time goes by so fast and it's so hard to be able to keep up anymore!  My mind constantly races with all of the things that I should be doing, but never get to because I would rather be doing things with the kids (or I'm just too tired BECAUSE of doing things with the kids).  

In the past few weeks, we have certainly gone through such a gamut of emotions from everyone.  Kailey is finally adjusting to school and the teething process has seemed to ease up a tad bit so she just seems so much happier and less whiney.  We have seen such great progression from Colin since he has been in school between improvements in communication and his nighttime routine.  Potty training hasn't been too bad either. we have a long ways to go, but we have made a few steps in this department.  

"Mom! Guck!! (Mom, I'm stuck!)

This past weekend was Eunice Kennedy Shriver's Unified day and we celebrated at the Special Olympics and their Young Athlete Program.  Colin absolutely loves going and Kailey was even able to participate with him!  We love our participation in the Special Olympics so much!

Sitting next to Colin is Mr. Greg, the physical therapist that is part of the Young Athlete Program.  Colin loves him!

He's always on the move that I can't get a good picture of him!

Today Chris had to work, but since it was such a beautiful day, the kids and I hung out at the soccer game with him.  The kids had such a good time running around and climbing up and down the hills together.  

Kailey had her 18 month well visit the other day and she weighed in at 27 lbs, just 2 pounds shy of Colin.  She was 33" long and is a big girl! 

This girl has a LOT of sass and personality!  She cracks me up, especially now that she is starting to say more and more words!

The rest of the weekend was spent having fun together and being silly! Love these guys so much (even though they completely and utterly tire me out!).

Moooommmm, seriously?! Another picture?!

Let's goooooo moooommmm!

Go to Sleep!

Ok, I love this guy.  I really, really, really love him in a way I could never fully describe.  However, right now? I really, really, really hate the bedtime routine we have going on.  

I know I have spoken about past sleeptime issues before and how we overcame them with the "method" of putting him back in bed as many times as it takes for him to stay there for the night.  With time, it got better each night to the point where it wasn't an issue anymore.  However, these issues have been resurrected and some nights it doesn't matter how many times we put him back in, he still fights through it.  

He's tired, so I just don't understand...

We do the same routine every night so he knows what's coming next.  Tonight he actually didn't want to get off the potty because he knew what was next to the point where he held his stream and released a tiny bit every few minutes.  Yay for peeing on the potty but less (but still) yay! for being a smart little boy who knows exactly what he is doing.

We've even added some fun in there too to hopefully tire them out...

Sigh....don't they get we're tired???

Little Diva

The other morning I asked Chris to send me a picture of Kailey in this dress because it was new and I hadn't seen her wear it before.  I got an email that was titled "Little Diva" and oh how fitting that is.  

I can't get over how whiney one little girl can be in the sense that she cries over everything.  But, she can also be really sweet and funny and has such a great little personality.  

She really is a little diva, but we love her...

Down Syndrome Awareness at the Zoo!

Thanks to our friend Tasha (Piper's Mommy), we just recently joined the T21 club of the Delaware Valley.  Through there, we found out about their annual Down Syndrome awareness day at the Philadelphia Zoo!  I was looking forward to bringing the kids, because each time we go to a venue like this, I feel as though the interest level grows and they are more into the the things that we are doing.  It was perfect weather for a day at the zoo!

The past week we have gotten some great tidbits of information from both Colin's preschool and the new daycare that he has been attending.  Now that he has had time to warm up, I feel as though his teachers are commenting more on his personality or writing notes about how funny and sweet he is.  There are certainly things we need to work on as well, but it's always encouraging to hear such great things!

Since Uncle Pat lives nearby, and Nana and Granddad were already in the area, we met up with them too!

This girl is AFRAID of animals right now which is odd to me because she didn't have any specific experiences to warrant that.  She cannot handle any size dog coming near her or she goes into a panic.  So, I was a little surprised that she walked around the petting area of the zoo without running away, but you better believe she didn't go near the animals that were walking around.

When we first got there, the kids were really anxious to walk (which I am happy that we are in a place where it can happen this way) BUT, they also like to go and do what they want at the moment.  However, they were really into checking out some of the exhibits or pointing things out.  

When it came to some of the bigger animals though that were behind glass, they were really anxious and whiney because it appeared as though they were getting close to them.

I love seeing curious kids! Uncle Pat did a LOT of help in the "chasing after the kids" department.  Considering there was so much to see and do though, they were pretty good... 

All in all we had a really fun day!

Fresh Beat Band Groupie

Colin has now been to TWO Fresh Beat Band concerts in ONE week! I think he is officially a groupie! It has been really fun to experience it with Colin.  We are so thankful to our buddy Bennett for introducing us to the show!

This week, Daddy and Colin had a "man date" to see the show.  Their first stop was dinner on the way after Colin was picked up from school.  

One thing we have been trying to really do more and more is explain to Colin things that we are going to do so that he is exposed to it ahead of time.  Because he doesn't always communicate back, I think it was just something that we never really thought to do.  However, we REALLY explained that he was going to see Kiki, Marina (A-ina), Twist (Tweet), and Shout and he was excited.  

Boy was he excited when he realized who he was going to see... 

Do you think he was excited??

And since I was unable to get any when I went, here are some video clips.  I love his reactions.  In the first one, there are a few moments where he is trying to see, but I love when he sees the group come out for the first time.  

I like this second one because it really shows how much shows like Fresh Beat Band have really helped with Colin's communication.  I know that there probably isn't many people who will say this, but Colin's love of music and dance has really helped facilitate his use of different words.  You can see him sing the whole song in this video...




This last video is a little long, but really gets "good" about 45 seconds in when you can see how Colin likes to sing into his microphone (his thumb).  Chris eventually turns on the light so you can see him better but Colin thinks he's taking a picture so he keeps giving a cheesy smile.  So funny...




I am so happy we got to do this with and for Colin! He has absolutely LOVED his experiences!