Thursday, August 30, 2012

Out to the park...

Today Daddy got home from his first day back to work before dark. So what did we do with the day light?

Headed to the park to burn off some energy....

My little dare devil loved the swing. The faster/higher  the better.

Blake wasn't so sure


Crawling thru the tunnels






"Hurry Sis, Down the Slide!"

Chasing down those big kids

Daddy locked her up



Help Mommy!!!


Swings Round 2

My favorite


Can you tell she had a blast?

Weeeeeeee!





I think he's had enough
Checking out the big kids

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Our GREAT Staycation - Summer 2012 Edition

Summer is coming to a close. We had originally planned to spend 4 days at the beach, then something came up and we decided to take it a day at a time and do little things. We are lucky to live in close proximity to the beach though so at the last minute we decided we would drive down and do one overnight and then come home.

Saturday we took a lazy day and then went out for a few drinks with our friend (J). More like the boys drank and momma sipped on soda, but what counts is we had a good time and it was nice to get out for a few hours. We came home to sleeping babies and all was well.

Sunday we all went to a baby shower celebration for my niece (B). Most of my older siblings were there, it was nice to see everyone and I even got a pic of all of us with the twins.



And Monday was our beach day.... I had an appointment midmorning but we left shortly after that to drive down. First thing we did after we checked in was hit up the boardwalk. And took some pictures on the beach.

I think these two are probably my absolute favorite!




After hanging on the beach we grabbed dinner at our fav pizza place, DoughRoller. Blake takes food seriously, he was scouring the menu for his dinner.

Addison entertained us with a game of peek-a-boo.


And then we had ice cream... Addison actually stuck her tongue out and licked it.
She also ate funnel cake (as in chewed and swallowed!)


Packing up at the hotel....

I tried to grab a picture similar to last year, but no luck.

And this one because how cute is she?



We have one more day (a day of rest and laundry) with Daddy then it's back to the grind. I think it's safe to say we are all going to miss him while he is working. I am glad we got this time together though and had a nice break. Now if only I could sleep in tomorrow morning ;)

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Addison's EI Annual Review...



First a short explanation of EI (Early Intervention) - EI is an array of services for children from birth to age two or three (depending on your local program). In our case this is a community program designed to maximize the developmental potential of children while providing support to the family.

Addison and Blake both automatically qualify based on their history of Chronic Lung Disease (preemie lungs), Low Birth Weight and IVH (Intraventricular Hemorrhage) and will stay enrolled in the program until age three based on these things (in the state of Maryland). They were enrolled in the program upon their discharge from the NICU and an evaluation was done to determine their developmental level and what services they would receive, they are then re-evaluated at marked intervals to see if how they are improving and if any changes should be made to the services they are receiving.

Addison currently gets PT (Physcial Therapy) - twice a month, OT (Occupational Therapy/Feeding) 1-2 times a week and Special Instruction (think pre-school skills)- once a month, and recently had her annual review. It did not go as well as I anticipated.

She is currently 18 months old (actual age) with an adjusted age of 15 months. She is measuring mostly measuring in the 11-12 month range developmentally. In one area she did have some scattered scores in the 18 month range (Cognitive Skills), language she has emerging skills in the 14-16 month range and her Social Emotional Skills measure on target for her adjusted age of 15 months.

For some reason (denial) as her mom I felt like she was doing better then this. I mean the truth is, she is doing GREAT. She has made HUGE progress and CONTINUES to move forward. The hard part is that she isn't really closing the gap between her "actual" and "adjusted" age, and is lagging even further behind. It was also painful to hear that she most likely will face a learning disability and likely will not be able to keep up with her peers as well. All that being said, with appropriate resources and hard work, she will eventually "get" it... she is just going to have to work at it more. (What else is new, right? It's been this way since day one.)

I guess the thing is though, I just don't want to hear that my child is going to struggle. Nor do I want to SEE my child struggle. She is so bound and determined to do things and she doesn't give up when she doesn't get it. She just keeps going and gives it another shot. But to think of the things she may come up against in the future and know the pain she is likely to feel when she struggles to keep up, hurts. Every parent only wants what is best and wants to see their child succeed. I know she will succeed and I know she will work hard at it.

Fact of the matter though is that Addison has already defied the odds. She is my baby that wasn't supposed to live. The baby that should be showing signs of Cerebral Palsy and isn't. She is the baby who we weren't sure would learn to eat, she's eating. The baby who who we thought would never learn to suck from a bottle or straw, and she now proudly carries her own straw sippy cup. The baby who struggled to make sounds and words, and she has now has an emerging vocabulary. The baby who we wondered if she would ever walk, she is > - < this close! She is doing it "on her own time" not our time, and ya know what... I am ok with that.

Does that mean that I don't/haven't/or won't grieve for the delays or the heartache of hearing what "could be"? Nope. In fact I needed time to grieve for this as silly as that may sound. It's hard to describe. It's almost like this loss of innocence maybe? Like knowing she will struggle with certain things. And I have to admit, sometimes I feel like I have failed her, like part of this is my fault. I know in my heart that I have done it all, and done more then some EVER would. And I have done it will pride, and will continue to do it with pride. I am proud of every single, teeny tiny/huge, accomplishment she makes. Every.single.day. that I get with her makes me even more proud of her fight.

Addison, please know that your father and I will give our all to give you every thing you need to succeed. We will work together as a team to help you reach your goals and Blake will be there to help too. We've all got your back. Continue to be fearless and know that you will get there. Where ever there may be. And when you are ready to do it on your own and spread your wings, we'll be there too and will let you fly. But know we will always be a phone call, email, text, or Skype message away to do whatever we can. I have no doubt that you will one day be a highly successful lady. No doubt in my mind. I pray I am half as awesome as you baby girl. <3

I leave you with this... It says it all. Her - the first time she finished a whole container of baby food.
And Proverbs could not be more true. 

Wordless Wednesday

We went on our first carriage ride... In Gettysburg PA the four of us and Grammy & Pop
None of the other pictures turned out... my camera/computer says "images do not exhist"

My little climber, we are still working on climbing the right side and sliding down.

Addison is drinking from a straw, consistantly!

And one more because they are so darn cute.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Life Lessons... Toddler Version

Everything I ever needed to know I learned from my toddlers...


 Begin each day with a smile.
(Seriously how much better would the world be if we all woke up happy)


Eat with your hands...


Play Peek a Boo under the blanket.



Help Mommy clean the floors,
because one day you may need to eat that last cookie of the floor.



Help Mommy with laundry, because everyone needs clean socks.


Have some snacks

Pay attention, this one is important...
When Mommy says "Take one", take 'some', it's ok she doesnt mind.

Find the perfect reusable bag for toys.
Play in the dog's water bowl

Throw a fit when mommy walks out of the room.


Take advantage when Mommy comes up with a great idea
for afternoon play time.

Turn kitchen in to water park by splashing when Mommy's not looking.

Relax on the beach (at the make believe water park) 

Say "Hi" to the neighbors

Wear your favorite hat 

And just before bedtime, have just a little more fun.