Jack and the beanstalk

So we had 18 mo. check up appointments this week. It was probably the easiest round so far but WOW was Chase ever a little stinker!! He cried from the time he got weighed 'til the time he got his prize (a very colorful stuffed worm that he loves). When we finished they were going to wait 10 minutes before bringing any other patients back because they were afraid what they might be thinking in the waiting room about what was being done to the poor child! Apparently, he's having some serious seperation anxiety issues right now. (I think I've been saying that for about 10 months now. LOL.)

Here's their height/weight. I'll let you figure out who is Jack and who is The Beanstalk!

Summer = 24.2 lbs 33 1/4 inches
Chase = 18.8 lbs 31 1/2 inches

Chase has gained half a pound in a little over 3 weeks though. YAY!!! The Dr. thinks I'm nutty for worrying about his weight. Since he's been below the 5th percentile for weight since birth, he says it's just going to be his body type. But I'm still going to keep up the pediasure whether he likes it or not!

They have both been within 1/2 inch of each other since birth. Summer has definately had a growth spurt!!!

He also graduated from his helmet this week. YAY!! He's not perfectly symmetrical but it's made a big difference and looks good. It's fantastic to be able to snuggle close to him, kiss his head and face as much as you want and get him dressed w/o the on/off procedure.

Lastly, since his surgery, his eyes have healed better than the Dr. expected and normally sees. They were really amazed! He says the alignment is perfect now.

YAY for Chase.
Yay for Summer.
Yay for Daddy for going to ALL the appointments with us!!!

It's been a good week!

Who's Your Daddy!

Frankie has had a transformational few weeks! A year ago he had been home from rehab just 3 months, just had surgery on a broken hip, was unable to get in/out of bed by himself, had trouble remembering and naming all the kids, was not always sure where we lived, was unable to remember probably 50% of his life prior to the accident, had short term memory of approx. 5 minutes, was unable to do daily living things on his own (showering, preparing meals, etc.) and was doing PT and OT 8 times a week. Other than therapy, which I forced him to do, he wanted to sleep or stay in bed the rest of the day. He was still in a hospital bed and required 24x7 hour care.

Just a month ago he was talking much more, initiating more, remembered the kids, usually remembered where we lived unless he was tired, was able to help around the house, set the table, fold clothes, shower on this own, etc. It was still all I could do to get him to wake up though. He also didn't like going outside or on trips very much.

Fast forward to this week, he seems to be remembering things alot longer, even some things from day to day, he has more energy, he's more engaged, he's laughing more, interacting with the babies more, wanting to help me out and wanting to go out. All good things! Very good things!!!

Here's a few pics of Daddy playing with Summer. He just grabbed her, pulled her up to his lap and started playing with her. That was a first! For further information on the lack of hair on Frankie's head, please refer to previous post from May 12, 2008 :-)

Hey! Wait a minute, he's my Daddy too!

Thanks Grandma E for the new outfit! Do you like how I look in the cranky rhino shirt!! Aren't I cute? My Mommy sure thinks so!!

He moves in mysterious ways!

When Chase was initially developmentally tested, the Drs. said he was 5 months behind in gross motor skills. We've seen that difference between he and Summer for about the past 8 months. But... we also were told it was possible he may not walk or there were larger issues than just a developmental delay. After more testing and even though most of the doctors now say they don't think that's true, it still lingers in the back of your mind.
So now every time Chase does something new; crawls on his knees, pulls to a stand, free stands, I feel the excitement I felt when Summer did the same things for the first time, the excitement of seeing your baby develop, grow and move forward, plus the joy in knowing that Chase is going to be ok and in seeing the glory of God's work right in front of me.

Hey Mommy! Let me out of here!


Summer's clapping YAY for Chase, he didn't used to like this!

I love having true Double Trouble!

Chase is pulling up on everything now. He's always standing at the gate, or at the couch or the ottoman. It's so fantastic to see him moving all over the place and getting into trouble!!! Yesterday I took them both to Walmart and as I loaded a case of diapers into the bottom of the cart and pushed away, I noticed he had no socks and shoes on! He ripped them off and threw them down in about 30 seconds! This was the first time he'd done anything "naughty" like that. Summer ... well she's perfected naughty! LOL.

When we got home, Chase followed me from the living room to the kitchen, I was putting Summer in the high chair first and he pit stopped in the dining room and pulled all the books off the bottom of the book case before I even noticed anything was going on. He was just giggling up a storm waving books in the air! LOL.

Lastly, tonight Summer was giving Buster some of her turkey rolls. I told her firmly "No" and locked my eyes with hers (I've noticed if I keep my eyes on hers and make her turn away she is more apt to listen to my "Nos"). All of a sudden I hear a "thump" and a "Thtop!". Chase had banged his hand on his tray and told me to "stop" telling his sister "No!". Just in case he wasn't clear the first time... he did it again! How can you not laugh at that!

Chase is going next week to be measured to see if he can graduate from his helmet. His head definitely looks better! The orthotist, Jim, says we'll probably be done because even though he may get a little bit more correction, it won't be worth keeping it on and dealing with it. So we'll see.

We also have 15 month appts. next week meaning they'll both have shots. Ugh!! I dread these appointments. I get so stressed out about it and doing it just takes it out of me. I even take them on different days now to try to minimize the stress but it doesn't seem to help enough. It also has been taking 3-4 days for them to recover. It takes a lot to stress me out so I think it's funny that I get so wound up about it, but I do!

They've also perfected the fake cough and are using it constantly. They've figured out that EVERYONE stops EVERYTHING when they cough to make sure they are not choking. Well now they know it's a surefire way to get some attention! I need to start reading them 'The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf'! LOL.

Just Chillin'

Not only do I love it when we get a package from Omaha Steaks from Mom and Dad but Summer and Chase love it too! The coolers the food comes in keep them busy for hours. It's too bad the styrofoam starts to crumble, maybe I could try to shilac them next time?! I don't know... that's a little too 'crafty' for me... Martha Stewart I'm not!

Summer really likes Buster and Kitty. She's learned how to be real gentle with them, finally! I just LOVE the back of Summer's hair!! It reminds me of Lexi's when she was a baby. Except she was blond.


Summer decided if this spot was good enough for Kitty to crash and take a nap, well it was good enough for her too! --- Notice Kitty's paw sticking out from under Summer's head. She literally was on top of his paw. He didn't seem to mind though. Kitty is a super sweet kitty!
And speaking of super sweet .... Look at Chasey .... isn't he cute!! :-)

Everyone take their seats!

I have been looking for little trays for Summer and Chase for a few months now. I finally found some at Dollar General the other day and man am I ever glad I got them!! They sit in their boppies each with a tray and have their snacks or watch Baby Einstein or The Wiggles. We do snacks twice a day in the living room and this had made it so much easier and cleaner. When it's not snack or tv time, Summer has taken to turning hers upside down and sitting in it like a recliner but hey, at least she's creative!



Today Chase screamed his way through an entire PT session again. Poor Kristin. He normally loves her so I'm not sure what's going on! He just wanted me right there with him and there was no getting away today. I did hold his hands and help him take steps and walk from the dining room through the kitchen out the patio door onto the concrete slab and into the grass about 6 feet so that was a good trip for him!! It was an impromtue trip to try to get him to do something that resembled PT so we didn't plan ahead with shoes and he wasn't loving the feel of grass on his bare feet. I'm going to have to get him into some other things, like sand, and try to get him used to it. I don't think Summer's ever been in grass or sand barefoot either but I don't think she'll have a problem with it.

The joy of Little People (and I don't mean Summer and Chase!)

I found a lady nearby who was selling lots of Fisher Price Little People sets. Her kids outgrew them and I got 3 sets plus 5 accessory sets for the price of 1 new set! That was my Mother's Day present to myself, I picked them up on Sunday and Wow.... Summer and Chase are just in love with them!

They both sit and play with them together and separately, they love the little people, well, the actual little people, and the animals and the sounds and music. Right now they are playing with the Pirate Ship and The Shop 'N Learn Market. They both seem to gravitate more towards the market. Chase loves opening and closing the refrigerator door. They like the different food pieces, bananas, milk, cheese. I also got them the Animal Sounds Zoo but am waiting until one day when they are super board to pull that one out.

We also finally installed child proof latches on all of the kitchen cabinets today. Well, Erik did. I'm no good with power tools. I'm not so good with manual tools either, for that matter! So it's nice to let Summer roam around the kitchen without having to tell her 'no-no' every two seconds! I'm thinking in another week I'm going to take down the gate between the living room and the kitchen and just let them have the whole space. I just want to be sure Summer can't get the latches open first. She's figured out almost every single one of the gates we've used so I wouldn't put it past her!!

Today while I was putting Chase in his high chair, I knew the bathroom door was open right next to the kitchen, and said, oh it's just 2 seconds before I pick her up, how much damage can she do? Well, yes, I shouldn't have asked! She got ahold of the toilet paper and how in the world she even knew what to do, but she took it and ran like lightning to the other side of the kitchen! Yep, the whole roll. In 2 seconds the kitchen was covered in toilet paper!! She thought that was a riot. Mommy... not so much.

Therapy Tuesday

So Chase had two therapy sessions today. His morning early intervention therapist hasn't been here in 2 weeks and she was really, really surprised by his progress!! She hadn't seen him get to a stand yet and he was refusing to even sit this morning. He's also crawling (though not up on his knees) super duper fast, she couldn't believe it. She said he's already met all his goals for the 6 months but isn't due for reevaluation until July. Yay Chase!!

Then he had physical therapy this afternoon. I was so excited after his last PT appt. because Kristin (his PT) had said, because he's made such good progress, he'd probably be going down to 1 hour in a few weeks. Well, the excitment was sort of buzz killed today. She said she wants to talk to his orthatist about him maybe being fitted for braces for his feet/ankles. We talked about it for about a half hour because I really wasn't sure about what it was to help with and how it would make long lasting corrections as opposed to having to be a permanent thing. It's supposed to help him with stability and right now he's putting all his weight on the backs of his feet and it's making his knees lock. In the long run this is going to also make his foot ligaments too loose. We'll see what the Dr. and orthatist say, she said they may say hold off a while or something, but alot of kids with low tone need them.

So after we talk, she could tell I was still a bit hesitant so she asked if I was uncomfortable with the idea of him having to wear braces? I said, uh, Kristin, he's wearing a helmet right now... that doesn't bother me! lol. She was like, oh, duh!

So he may be out of a helmet in a few weeks and right into some leg braces. UGH! I feel like when is my poor Chasey going to get a break!!!

Mother's Day

This is my first attempt at a blog. You can count the blogs I've read on two hands. I'm not very tech savvy and I'm surely not hip. But I do love my family and think, of course, my kids are the greatest. So I think that chronicling my families daily journeys, will not only be therapeutic for me, but also give me a good way to keep track of the small, daily, things that we sometimes miss so much of, as life races past us.

I tend to take a lot of pictures. Probably too many pictures. So that's pretty much how I have been remembering events and things that have happened, by looking back at the pictures. So the last set of pictures I have is of our trip to Chuck E Cheese this week. All of us went and all of us are in at least one picture, Me, Frankie, Erik (my brother), Lexi, Skye, Summer and Chase.

I feel like I have to explain Frankie's pictures in the Chuck E Cheese slideshow just a little bit. If he looks a little 'different' it's because under the hat that I made him wear, there is no hair! We had a minor beard trimming mishap that turned into a haircut dibacle that through all the giggling and dileriousness turned into a completly bald head!! My bad. (It'll grow back in a week or so right?!)