Bark Park

Sera with Bitzi- a tiny Yorkie Poo with a wild overbite!
Andy with Bitzi's sister, Lucy
BaoBao checking every single dog out that entered the park! He is so friendly and social! I guess he must have got it from the kids, because they had to pet every dog that came in the park too!


Races! Kids and dogs! Everyone wins! BTW....Check out how much Sera's running has improved!

We are home now and everyone is TIRED!! BaoBao is happily napping on my lap and the kids are snoozing away too!

I figure that besides my having fun watching them, it was well worth the effort to enjoy some peace and quiet too!

Who is afraid of the big scary dinosaur?

NOT Sera!!

It was a nice day and we wanted to be out having fun, but my leg was so swollen that standing and sitting without my leg up was not an option, so the movies became a great choice! I had a coupon I had been keeping for a special time to use it and decided that this was the time!

All of us loved the Journey to the Center of the Earth. Amazingly, so did Sera! The 3D effects were really a lot of fun and the movie moved at such a pace that it kept even my Andy tuned in. There is a piece where the huge T Rex chases the characters and it appears as if the dinosaur is actually going to eat the audience as well. The roar in surround sound paired with the visuals really was quite grabbing, and Andy and Aubri huddled together. Sera got up to come to me and I really expected to be cuddling her and covering her eyes. NOPE!!!

My little one stood in front of me a raised her arms and growled right back at the dinosaur!!!!! She was very insistent that the dino BACK OFF! I had to laugh and hug her, so you can imagine the roars that have been heard since, in the car coming home and around the house from all my baby dinos!

'Truly a good family time event!

Today, we are heading out to the bark park, with cold drinks and balls to chase. I am bringing my own lounger and it will even be free fun! They have really improved the park, I hear and The kids are psyched to have some fun with their four legged friends. I will post photos later.

We are so blessed to be able to laugh and enjoy our life, no matter what obstacles ( like a floppy leg, or short traveling/entertainment funds) get in the way!

We hope you are all also able to find some enjoyable things to do and laugh and enjoy this three day weekend!

When oh when???

People have been often asking me when Sera's lip will finally be repaired..... I wonder myself! She had the new CAT scan requested by Shriner's done and the CD fed Exed back to them last week and we are just waiting to hear a date. The OR is closed for November and December and they did promise me that they will try to get it done in September or October, so that her speech can progress. They were actually more concerned about the soft palate than the lip, and have not yet sent me the team report telling me which they are repairing first.

I am honestly hoping that the nurse practitioner was right in guessing the first part of October, since I am really not too steady on my feet yet. Learning to walk with a foot with no feeling in it on a new knee with no knee cap has tested my abilities to compensate. I am finally figuring out when to push it and when to ice it, so there is progress, but I want to be steady enough to be able to help my baby and carry her when she is hurting! Thankfully her big sister is ready and willing to share her arms, but I am really working hard to make sure that mine are not always used to stabilize me !

I promise that I will post something as soon as I know!

In the mean time, we are hanging out and trying to enjoy every moment we can. The kids love school. Andy loves gymnastics too! This past week they had a school skating party and they all love to skate for 2 hours and go home to fall into bed. They come with me to PT often after school, and seem to even enjoy all the hoopla there, especially watching mom wince and grimace :-) The park and pool call to them daily, to boot, so they definitely are not bored at all :-)

See Ya Mom!

Sera started preschool! We had thought that she would attend a special preschool across town, but miraculously, a special ed preschool was added to the school I teach in, where Aubri and Andy both also attend. Sera came to my school everyday after school last year, so she was very familiar with it and many of the staff there. My baby happily marched into her classroom without even a nervous glance back at me and happily told me good bye..... I know it is good for her to feel so safe leaving me and that she knows I would see her when school was over, but for some reason I wanted her to miss me just a little bit :-) She said that she missed me when the day was over and was thrilled to tell me all about her day. She was also thrilled to go back to school the next day :-)

Milestone accomplished!

BTW, Aubri and Andy also love school there and it is so nice to have the kids eager to go there to learn! Andy sees Sera at lunch time and plays with her at the noon recess. He is apparently quite the proud big brother and will even stand and push her on the swings. Aubri seems to enjoy being the big sister and collecting them both at the end of the day. I cannot wait until I can return to work to see it all for myself!

Gummy Bear English Long

This video and song is the hit of our home at the moment! I hear it all the time! Amazingly, it has grown on me some and can make me smile as I watch my kids all bounce around, being gummi bears :-)

School has started for Andy and Aubri and the days have been quiet with them in class. They both have great teachers and have come home happy and excited about school this year! I love hearing this and could not be happier!! Sera will start preschool on the 20th and is so excited to get to be a big girl.

I have to share our backpack story, though. While Sera appears to have adjusted and blended in so seamlessly lately, that I often cannot remember what life was like before she came home, we recently saw that she can clearly still remember what life was like in China. A good friend had given Sera a beautiful backpack and I had purchased Aubri and Andy new backpacks for school. I was honestly thrilled to buy Aubri a Tinkerbell backpack, and let her enjoy being a little girl a while longer. Sera absolutely loved the backpack she was given, but did not wear it often, because it was so big that she fell over while trying to wear it. I didn't think much of this since I figured that the adults would be carrying it for her anyway. She drug it around the house with her filling it with whatever she thought was treasure worthy. Well... when Aubri and Andy's backpacks arrived ( I have to shop online right now) Sera was very taken by them and would take the backpacks to them and tell them to tell me thank you for the pretty backpacks! A few weeks later, I found a Minnie Mouse backpack for her on an even better sale and decided to get it for her, in case it was a bit smaller and she could actually be able to wear it without toppling over. When it arrived, she truly was so ecstatic that she bounced all over the house ALL DAY, while constantly telling me "thank you" for her "Ninni Now" :-) Never had she asked me for a backpack, or complained about falling over wearing hers, but the pure joy of seeing her prance around wearing the smaller backpack truly overwhelmed BOTH of us :-)

Sera doesn't really understand why my leg isn't working, but she has been such a helper! She will find my cane for me and hand it to me without my even asking for it and gives me the best hugs when she knows I am hurting. Aubri and Andy too! It amazes me how much they can really do for themselves and for others.

Andy has had a tough few weeks, however, being able to be an only child while at Grandpa's and is struggling right now with sharing with his sisters again. It seems to have to caused him to backslide a bit, with our trip to Chicago and my being incapacitated. He is so sweet and willing to help me, but WOW, can he ever get upset with his sisters if they even look at a toy he might want to play with later next week..... I so hope that this regression will recoup it self quickly with school starting. I am not loving being the lion tamer right now!

I have been going to my physical terrorism ( therapy) appts. faithfully and have kept the days full. It is amazing how long it takes me to do the simplest of things right now.
I am progressing, one step at a time, however and someday I know I will be glad that I chose to do this. In the mean time, I am just thankful that it is giving me some time to enjoy my kids and to learn to allow them to help me for a change.

My growing girls!

It has always been a struggle to keep Aubri in clothing that fits. She has typically outgrown clothing each season and thinking of re wearing something from fall to fall is unthinkable! For example, last fall I was buying size 10-12 for her and they were a bit loose to allow for growth. As I have tried to buy her school clothes for this fall over the internet, rather than in person as I would prefer, I have discovered that she has basically skipped size 14....Returns are not my favorite thing to do , but I am becoming a pro! She is wearing size 6 in womens shoes and is a 16-18 in gilrs clothes and 1-3 in juniors... My little girl is no longer little... She is on her way to quickly being as tall as me, and probably taller. It is so hard for me to imagine this. Her little feet should still be little, soft and chubby and able to fit in the palm of my hand! After all, she is still my baby :-) I never realized how difficult this is for mothers to accept until it started happening to me too!

I knew when Sera was measured at Shriner's that she had really grown! She has gained 5 lbs and grown 4.5 inches since first coming home to our house! Of course, she has worn little sun dresses and shorts and thinking of putting her in more fitting clothes was not necessary. As I try to figure out her fall wardrobe, I am truly shocked! She basically skipped wearing size 3T! She can wear the 3Tpants, but the shirts are a bit too snug. They fit, but will not fit for long, especially since she seems to be taking after her sister! As tiny as she was ( height wise) when she first came home, I truly thought I was going to have a petite little girl. Nope. While she was significantly delayed in height, as well as other areas, when she came home, she has truly caught up! It really amazes me that she has made so many HUGE gains physically, emotionally, communicatively, and cognitively.

Now if I could only figure out a way to encourage Andy to sit still long enough to eat and put on some weight!! He is growing taller, but honestly, I worry when he dresses up as the skeleton pirate he wants to be for Halloween, it will be way too close to the truth! :-)