NOLA

Justin had a work convention in New Orleans last week.  I tagged on for the last 3 days for a mini 5 year wedding anniversary vacation.  We had a great time.  We ate alot of food.  We missed the kids terribly, but it was good for us.  Much thanks to the Grandparents for watching the kids.

3 years old

Gabe turned 3 years old this past Sunday.  He's acting so old lately. 
At 3 years old, Gabe can:
Walk!  (if motivated)
speak in 4 word sentences
eat everything (even some fruit lately)
have books memorized
sing songs
dance
drink from a tip cup (we're getting there)
sit on his little potty
scribble with a crayon
blow bubbles
and soooo much more!

Now that Gabe is 3, he has graduated from the First Steps Program.  This means that all his therapy (Occupational, Speech, Physical, and Developmental) will no longer be at our home.  He will now receive all this therapy through the Kenton County school system, Redwood's afterschool program, or maybe Children's Hospital later down the line.  I will greatly miss the 4 therapists and caseworker who have worked with us during these early years.  Gabe and I made them flower pots as a thank you.
3 years old video

Happy Anniversary

Justin and I got married 5 years ago today. 
 I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life
I'd do it all over again in a heart beat.

30 years young

I turned 30 last weekend. Justin and I ate at a fancy restaurant and stayed at a hotel downtown. It was such a nice time. Special thanks to my parents for taking the kids overnight. Date nights are necessary sometimes. My 20's were great and taught me a lot about love, loss, and who I am. I think my 30's are going to be pretty great too though. We met with kenton county for gabe's ARK meeting this past week. We wrote his IEP. We are happy with the amount of therapy he will be receiving and we didn't have too many disagreements which was nice. We are enjoying our summer. Alyssa sat up by herself for the first time today. Gabe is starting to play with her more. I had them both with me at the grocery this morning. I got one of the huge carts with the car on the front and the side by side seats in the back. Gabe didn't want to sit in the car. He wanted to sit in the side by side seat next to Alyssa. At one point he even had his arm around her and said "shopping, grocery store, Kroger, Alyssa" as if he was telling her where we were. So cute. They refused to smile in this pic. Gabe's eating coffee cake and Alyssa looks kinda stunned, but you get the jist.

Sam and Susie's Wedding

My brother Sam got married this past weekend. Gabe and I were both in the wedding. Gabe did so good. He held my hand and walked down the isle. The kids had a great time this weekend and it was so nice seeing all the family. We've been busy working on preschool stuff for Gabe. We will be writing his IEP with Kenton County next week. Gabe will also be finishing up First Steps when he turns 3 next month and we will have to come up with a new therapy plan. He will continue to get OT at Redwood. We are thinking of adding in a PT program this summer and then starting up weekly PT at Redwood in the fall. All this will be on top of school based therapy in the classroom. It's alot to think about. Alyssa is cute, but boy is she dramatic. She doesn't like to nap and has been throwing fits going to bed. She also thinks she's hungry all the time and then she over eats. She's so cute, but she's a handful in her own way as well. I'm excited for the summer with both kids. K

34 months...Gabe walks

Gabe has been taking uncoordinated lunging steps for the past week or so. For the past 3 months, he has walked around just holding my hand. Well, on Wed, he apparently decided it was worth staying up right and started walking. I think we're in a little bit of shock. He just took off. He maneuvers around corners and walks to people and objects. It was such a big change that just happened overnight. Way to go Gabe! Best Mother's Day present ever! See video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojX4y4FUmmY

Feeding Update

Oh feeding...One of Gabe's big issues. Yes we still have the feeding tube. The good news is, we went to GI last week and Gabe weighed in at 25lbs 8oz. That is 50th% on the DS growth chart. His height was 80th% on the DS growth chart. They were very pleased with his weight gain and the variety of foods seen in his 3 day diet record. We dropped his last 3oz of tube feed. He is now eating all of his calories. This is a major accomplishment. I am so proud of Gabe (and our entire family) for making this progress. Now we just need to focus on the drinking for hydration. We tried to teach Gabe how to suck out of a straw, but he never got the technique down. We were using the "honey bear" training cup for a year to help him learn to suck out of it. As much as we tried, we had to help him and could never get more than 15oz/day in him. So, we are taking a different focus now and really concentrating on giving Gabe control and developing his technique and then focusing on volume. We are back to a tip cup. I recently started him on a new Avent cup that I really like. He's getting a little better with the coordination of cup tipping. Hopefully he'll catch on. At least it is now just one thing to focus on...drinking. As far as when the tube can come out...we don't know. As soon as Gabe decides to drink 25oz a day, then it will come out. Trust me...we will let you know. We will have a tube removal party don't you worry!Took the kids to see the butterfly exhibit at Krohn this weekend. Both of them are so busy and life is a little crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.