First Day of School 2011

Week 3 of school and all is well. We actually have the same aides as last year!!! That has never happened before. I love it. It saves so much time/stress when they already know about my child and his/her capabilities. They can help the new teachers get to know my child quickly too.

Short post today. Just wanted to get the pics up to show how adorable and awesome my kids are. *smile* I will post more about our fun summer another time.

Our California Adventure

Tia's cheer team attended the Nationals in Anaheim. It was amazing to see them perform at such a huge venue. There were 5 special needs teams and hundreds of other teams. Tia was in heaven as she cheered for other teams. Every time she walked by a group of girls she complimented their hair, outfits, makeup, something! In her element for sure. She "won" a trophy, medal and national champion jacket. It was great to see the typical cheer teams interacting with our team and really loving their performance. Thank you to Elite Gym in Scottsdale for giving us this terrific experience!

The day after Nationals, we went to California Adventure which was a blast! Tyler loved Soarin' California, Tia loved the shows, and Max loved driving the bumper car the best. A really great trip.

March already?

Ty's 7th Birthday



New Year's Eve



My husband's full costume Risk game. I think if you click on it, it will be bigger.



The kiddo's Christmas pic.




Adorable pic of Max one fall morning waiting for the bus.



Tia's 9th birthday!


OK so it's been a LONG while and my family and friends are not happy with me. I know that few of you actually want to read my blog, you just want the pics of the kids and I don't blame you. However, I will take a second to catch you up.

Tia's birthday- My big 9 year old girl had a mommy made Dora cheerleader cake this year. Tia is having so much fun in Cheer this year and it has been an awesome experience. I'm sure it will continue for many years to come.

Christmas- was fabulous. Kevin gave me tickets to the opera (Turandot) and I gave him tickets to Pro Bull Riding. We have discovered over 13 years of marriage that we are ying and yang. Sometimes easy, sometimes hard but we compliment each other very well. The kids are amazing at Christmas and I can't imagine it being more fun. They love everything they get and are so thankful. (It was also Max's 4th birthday but we celebrate in May to give him his own day. He is still small and gets asked if he is 2 quite often. Oh well, we can't all be basketball player size.)

Christmas Night-The big Risk game. Kev's family has been doing this since before we met. It used to be hats required, now as you can see from above, it is FULL costume. It is only the guys in the family. (Thank goodness because I do not have any desire to play Risk.) Us girls watch a chic flic and hang out.

New Year's Eve- This year AZ legalized fireworks for a few days a year so we took advantage. The kids had so much fun doing sparklers and watching the fireworks we bought. It was really nice for us because our kids never stay up late enough to see 4th of July fireworks and we were NOT keeping them up til midnight for New Years. My sister's family came down and the kids always love hanging out with cousins!

Tyler's 7th Birthday in Feb.- Added to his collection of Toy Story characters. He had a mommy made Diego and Dora cake and pizza (which for him equals heaven). Lots of friends and relatives over for a great day! I can't believe he's 7.

Lately, we have just been busy with school/work, friends etc. We have had a pretty good winter as far as health. AZ got hit really hard in our area with lots of winter junk so we are lucky not to have anything serious. Right now it is Spring Break so I have been trying to keep the kids busy. Zoo, playground, petting farm, etc. Only one more IEP before summer--hooray. My school is the best and we have been so blessed. Hope everyone is doing well. I will try, try, try to update more often.

HELP A CHILD FIND A FAMILY

How Gorgeous is Jayson?! We want him to find a family!! So....

www.NorthPoleSecretary.com
My friend has a business at Christmas time working for Santa. She sends Christ-centered letters from Santa to children and families. My kids LOVE these letters! This year she approached me about giving part of the proceeds to a child on the Angel Tree at Reece's Rainbow. (See more children on the angel tree at www.reecesrainbow.org I am so thrilled she would do this!!! Let's raise lots of money and get Jayson a family!
Here are the details:
After Nov. 14th North Pole Secretary will be raising funds for Reece's Rainbow, a non-profit agency that helps fund adoption expenses for children with Down syndrome.
35% OF ALL SALES WITH THE PROMO CODE: RR WILL GO STRAIGHT TO OUR SPONSOR CHILD.
Individual letters for your child are $8
A letter to your family is $18

The letters are very detailed and are personalized for your kiddo/family and come postmarked from the real North Pole, Alaska. All letters also recognize your child for an accomplishment this year and talk about the Savior,serving and the true meaning of Christmas.

This is such a fun memory for your kiddos. This is also a fun way to keep kids on their toes through December... parents tell me that their kids were extra good because they got an early letter and knew Santa was watching them! I have clients who order this as a tradition every year!

Last day to order is Dec. 10th.

Letters will begin to be sent out right after Thanksgiving for a Pre-Christmas delivery!

Please visit the website www.NorthPoleSecretary.com to order and pay with debit/credit through PayPal. ON THE ORDERING PAGE THERE IS A PLACE FOR A PROMO CODE. PLEASE ENTER RR SO WE CAN RAISE LOTS FOR THE ANGEL TREE FUND!!!

October Pics

Recent antics

So people often say to me that I must have some good stories. Mostly this is parents who have children with Down syndrome because they have good stories of their own. Well let me tell you about a few in the last 2 weeks:
Fall Break, we head to the zoo. I purposefully do not put hats on the children because 2 of our hats are at the bottom of the zoo duck pond already. So, off we go. Max in the stroller, the other 2 walking. I brought my respite provider with us as Kevin had to work. Well, we almost made it out without an incident. Almost. My favorite animal is the otter. So on the way out I stop at the otters. I take Max out of the stroller and put him on my hip so he can see over the wall and that's when it happens. Mr. Octopus (aka Max) whips the hat off of a little girl next to us and before I even know it's happened, he has thrown the hat INTO the otter exhibit! The little girl is devastated and immediately begins crying hysterically! I had to run over to the snack shack and get them to radio for someone who could get it out. Which she did, thankfully. The girl was still crying when they left.

OK, here's another one. We had a primary program today in church which is where the children are up on the stand and sing for all the adults. Now I knew Tyler was going to have a hard time sitting for the hour in the same chair with nothing to do. (When he sits with us we bring quiet games/books etc.) So, the program goes as planned and both kids get up to the mic to say their parts. Tia added "The End. Thank you." and a few jumbled words to the end of her part but that was fine. Now comes the embarrassing part. The program is done and it is time for the congregation to sing a closing song. Only they can't. Because Tyler is now lying under the organ and won't come out! So I have to go up on the stand and get Tyler out from under the organ which is no easy feat as he weighs 75 pounds and there are chairs with children in them all around the organ. The congregation couldn't see him until I pulled him out looking half asleep and having no clue he was causing a delay. Yes, once he emerged I heard a few chuckles.

After church we set off on a hunt to find Tia who was not where she should have been. As I searched through the rooms and halls with one boy in each hand I enlisted help from friends. I began to get really nervous thinking she could have tried to walk home (we live across the street) so I looked out side all around the church. No Tia. I went back in to find her chatting it up with the Bishop and several other men in his office. Oh, that girl and her social habits! It may be the death of me. I'm going to have a tracking devise implanted in her!!! Just kidding. A mom's wishful thinking.

So, we set off home where within 10 minutes Max has emptied the entire jar of fish food all over the carpet. (He knocked it down by throwing a rubber duck over the fish tank.) Where was I, you ask? Just changing. Later in the day he climbed up on the piano bench and got my church bag. Normally this would be an OK thing to get down. Not today. Today's lesson was on music and we made shakers with rice and beans. So, he poured those all over the floor. Where was I? Making dinner. Have you guessed that Kevin has not been home today?

Max also has discovered he can turn on the bath all by himself. So, fully clothed he will get into the bathtub and turn it on. Luckily this only happened once and we got to him before he was too wet. That is so dangerous! So, we are back to locking the bathroom door. Ho hum. When will we live without gates and locked doors?

Now let me tell you that I know I should be happy. After all, Max twisted off the cap to the fish food and opened 2 ziplock bags to empty the beans and rice. This is good fine motor skills. He also does a lot of problem solving. Pushing the chair over to get what he wants up high. I recognize it but it doesn't seem to make it any less irritating.
Hope everyone is doing well. I will post pics of Halloween next week.

First Day of School 2010

Once again we have been blessed with great teachers this year! We really love our school. The kids are all doing great in typical classrooms. Tia is in 3rd, Tyler is in 1st, and Max is in Preschool. Our special ed teacher is wonderful and T & T spend an hour a day with her for math and reading. Oh math! Why is it just so hard for our kids? I am at the point I need to do some reading and find out how to make it easier for them. I've been lazy about that. I have to admit my focus has always been on daily skills and now that academics are getting more important I am a bit unprepared. On the other hand, my big kids can spell! Wow! I have been amazed at the memorization skills. Tia has 20 words a week and Ty has 10 but he gets the advanced list because the others are too easy for him. Go figure! Max is perfecting colors and shapes. It's funny because he knows Pink but not Green. (Tia is a bit dominant in our house.) Haha!