Holiday and Birthday, Same Time--Different States

I bet most of you didn't know that I spent Thanksgiving and Brother's 13th Birthday here at home while Marc and Brother were in visiting family 800 miles away!

Yes, the magic of blogging, you never truly know what really goes on behind the scenes... until I reveal them to you (sneaky smile inserted here).

It was all very last minute. I thought Marc needed to get away to see his brother and sister. He also really needed to see the beach—I think it rebuilds him each time he sees it and gets to breath in the sea air and walk on the shore. His parents were heading out for a couple of weeks and I thought it would be great for Marc to tag along.

Marc thought about it; missing Thanksgiving with me and the kids, missing Brother's 13th birthday.

But then, he thought, "hey, I could bring Brother with me..."

I was so excited for them to have a trip together. They have never done this before, so it was going to be a groundbreaking experience for both of them.

So, the Monday before Thanksgiving Marc arranged with his parents to only be gone for one week instead of two so that Brother didn't miss too much school, nor Marc too much work and then they were packing.

Brother was NOT excited about going away.

But, by now, you have all learned how that goes... he doesn't want to go, we strongly encourage him, he ends up having the time of his life.

So, I will spare you the details and just let you know that he got into the car on Tuesday morning at 5:30 am with only a small wimper and his horse blanket wrapped tightly around his body and over his head. (Thank goodness the L-family gave him his birthday gift early...)

I didn't quite know what to think of only me and the two girls at home...

Should I be sad?

Tee hee!

Nope I had fun! It's weird how, when you have 1 less child (2 if you count the hubby) how much easier it seems...

Notice I said "easier," not "easy."

Thanksgiving came and I was having a blast making apple turkeys and disguising turkeys with my family and the girls. I am glad I had that time to just have fun and not miss my boys. It was all a very good distraction.

This is a video of our Thanksgiving Fast Feast, one and a half hours of eating mashed into just under 2 minutes. I just thought it would be something fun, but, I must say I think my dad ends up being the main star of the show:

Music is from Mindy Gledhill. I love her music! And you can download a free song of Mindy's here.

We got pretty competitive with our Turkey creations. Check them out:

Above and Below are all the Disguised Turkeys we created, there were some VERY creative ones. You really need to get close to see them all. We were having so much fun that some of us did 3 or 4 of them.

These were a couple of my favorites: Aaron's astronaut and Sister's Fox... I love that sister even did spots for her Fox Turkey, so if that Turkey was dancing would you call it a Turkey Trot or a Fox Trot? ...

Here we are at Jessie's table with all our materials (andy and apples) to make our apple turkeys

I have to zoom in on my two favorite... mine (on the left) and Aaron's pig (on the right) -- he always has to be the different, more creative one...

Here are most of them.

And here are the turkeys that fell asleep while we had fun... can you tell they are related? (my dad and his brother) I kind of got a kick out of seeing the baby doll all cuddled up next to Uncle Jeff... yes, that is a doll.

While me and the girls had Thanksgiving fun, so did Marc and Brother:

Marc's brother, Aaron, and his wife, Julie whipping up something great for the feast.

Brother keeping busy

I was jealous, though, because Marc got to meet our new nephew, Nate, and our new niece, E. Poor little E broke her arm that week while rollerskating. And doesn't my new nephew look like Superman?

Here's Brother eating with his cousins at the "kid's" table. So cute. I totally remember those days as a kid.

Me and the girls slept at my mom's that night. My mom and I went to see what all the hubbub was about at the Black Friday Sales while my dad stayed with the sleeping girls.

We went.

Were overwhelmed.

We left.

When we got home I made my mom stay up with me and watch an episode of The Twilight Zone.

The next day we played outside while we watched others work. Then we ate my mom's yummy pizza.

Baby love's the baby mule

Joel and Uncle Jeff were the ones working the hardest.

Sister wasn't done partying so that night (Friday) we slept at Jessie's.

The next day on Brother's big 13th birthday I tried taking the girls to the movie with Lindsey's help. Baby lasted about 30 minutes and then I had to take her out in the hall and let her run. Baby escaped from me at one point and ran into and open movie theater door and ran all the way to the front of the theater before I could catch her. The crowd was laughing about her almost getting in because it was a rated R movie and they new this little preschooler wasn't supposed to be in that theater. A few people called out as I herded her back to the doorway, "She almost made it!" It was embarrassing and funny at the same time.

I finally took her out to the arcade where she had more fun on the pretend motorcycles and cars.

Sister soon joined us and I told Lindsey to go ahead and finish out the rest of the movie while the girls played. They didn't want to leave anyway.

Then we got home and I wrestled (literally) the girls the rest of the night until we were all in bed.

This is how Marc and Brother spent his 13th birthday:

This is the tree that we always get a picture on when we come to this beach, so Marc decided to keep the tradition.

Brother LOVES his cousins and was so happy to be at the beach with them for the day.

Marc wishes this would have been him. He did talk to the surfer afterwards though.
Someday we both want to try surfing!

Bree found a starfish and Brother couldn't have been happier

He really didn't want to let it go. He wanted to keep it for a pet.

They got to see the monarch's during their migration, those are all butterflies! Amazing!

Brother does not want to be 13 so he keeps telling everyone he is 12... or 21...

When they got back from the beach Marc's sister, Amber had pizza and a cake all ready for Brother's Birthday Party. Aw. So sweet. I was glad she had a party for him since I couldn't be there to do it. Thanks, Amber.

They even sang to him and did candles...

you can see that his little cousin, ended up helping him out with that:

Little Teddy was a big help while Brother hid under the pillow...

Happy Birthday my big 13!

Today I am Thankful for...

Sister's ability to draw this sweet little turkey in her art class at school.

Sister's extreme love for cheese to the point of gnawing at the
whole block and then hiding it under her pillow. I am also thankful I found it.

And books. Lots and lots of books... everywhere in my house. I am thankful that I have become so proficient at putting them all back after Sister stacks, lines and piles them in various areas. I am also thankful that I think to take pictures of these things so that I can laugh about something later that wasn't so funny at the time. (This is actually after we had spent some time picking up.)

For neighborhood friends who play with our children.

For cooking lessons.

Brother's tracking sheet that comes home with the note saying he tried out for a solo in choir!

Friends who want to come spend time with our kids because they enjoy learning about Fragile X
and because they enjoy our children's company.

Free haircuts that Brother will only complain about for half of the time.
(And dads who think to take the picture)

The tradition my Grandma V started of making apple turkeys that my sister, Jessie continued on in our own family Thanksgiving Dinners.

photo by Pointe Digital Photography

And of course my family. My beautiful and endearing family.
Without them, I would have none of this to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sister's ideas of fun

Sister spent 8 months being completely and totally excited about Zac's arrival, and now that he is here, her excitement level is even higher!

She just can't get enough of him. She would have me live over there so that she could be with him 24/7. In fact, I have caught her several times calling him her little brother. She has also been talking a lot about when Brother was just a baby and calling him her little brother too. I have to keep reminding her that she has a big brother and that Zac is her cousin. (smile)

Sister also LOVES Power Rangers and, more often than not, is rehearsing lines from the show, rehearsing actions from their "power moves" and making up imaginary foes to fight.

When my mom found this costume at a yard sale for a couple of bucks she just knew she had to get it.

My mom came all the way up just to give it to her and see her reaction and she was not disappointed. She danced down the hall and in the front room for at least 5 minutes singing, "Oh ya! Oh ya! Oh ya!"

She has worn it every day since Saturday and the neighborhood may just think that Power Rangers are real after seeing one do Karate moves all over the front yard and sidewalk.

We have had a LOT of snow lately.

We have a metal roof and the snow slides right off. I had to take a picture of it before it fell so you could see what it looks like.

Before the Power Ranger suit was the snow suit for Sister. She loved playing in the snow. She went out every day after school for 5 days straight.

It all started after I went out with the neighborhood kids to build a snow sculpture (more on that in another post later).

I was so happy to see that Sister had made a little snowman of her own with a branch for an arm and everything.

Baby's Growing Up...

She can get in the tub all by herself...

I am hoping, though, that eventually she will remember to remove her clothing before getting in.

She is able to take her own Facebook Profile Photo...

 She's got this one down: close-up of her full lips, little whisp of hair in front and the doe-eyed look. All she has to learn now is to photoshop it to look "official."

Tee hee!

I just saw a post on Facebook today, though that summed her up, it was something like, "Silence is golden... unless you have a toddler, then it means they're up to something."

I can deal with hopping in the tub with Sister fully clothed and stealing my phone, I just hope she doesn't decide to steal my phone when she decides to hop in the tub...

Roley Poley Poo

You know, as a mother, you always try to make sure your kids are eating right, eating healthy.

                                      photo by Pointe Digital Photography

You want them to gain weight, grow taller, look healthy.

You know, that "mom" stuff we worry about.

At our house the way our kids eat is a constant concern/thought/obsession.

Why?

Side effects partially.

Sometimes with certain meds children lose their appetites as a side affect.

But, more often than that, our kids just don't want to stop running, jumping, swinging, rolling, flipping, or flopping to sit and eat.

In fact, Sister's normal routine at dinner time is to sit in her chair, take one bite, run over to the couch arm, flop over it backwards 2 or 3 times until Marc and/or I strongly encourage her back to take another bite and then it starts over again. So because of not getting in enough nutrition between all the flips and flops she lives on PediaSure or a generic equivilant.

Brother won't eat unless it is meat with LOTS of Montreal Steak Seasoning on it (it's a spice full of garlic, pepper, onion and other strong flavors) or apples. And the consequence of that is the reakiness of garlic coming from his pores and his breath... mmmmm....

Baby, well, she just doesn't sit still really. The only way to get her to eat is by using the same seasoning Brother loves on pretty much anything---macaroni and cheese, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, lasagna. The way to help out with her nutrition is to supplement with Carnation Instant Breakfast.

Now, in case you haven't caught on yet, all these dietary issues are due to sensory needs.

Sister needs stimulation even when she is sitting to eat.

Brother has low sensory in his mouth so he needs lots of flavor to even enjoy his food.

And Baby, is like both Brother and Sister.

But, the problem with her is that with all the sugar she is getting in her diet from the Instant Breakfast drink it seems to affect her bowel movements.

I know, too much information.

But, it really is very funny.

Seriously.

Very funny.

Sometimes she poops pellets.

Ya, pellets.

Looks like little deer droppings.

I feel sorry for her a little, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all.

It really just bothers me, or any other person who is changing her diaper.

They roll.

What rolls?

Her poop.

Where?

Out of the diaper onto whatever surface is nearby.

You have to be ready to "catch" them in the diaper before you open it all the way.

There have been times when I stand her up after the diaper change that one pellet will come falling our of her shirt!

Once when I was changing her diaper at my parent's house, my dad passed by and calmly comments, "Ah... you lost a few..."

The other night after I came home from grocery shopping I met Marc on the way in while he was taking a stinky diaper out.

I came in and was getting Sister's bed ready for her to go to bed. As I was straightening her blankets I found, yet, another one of those pesky purple gummy mummy candies from Halloween dried and stuck to her bed. I picked it up but it felt a little different and it wasn't as sticky as the others I had to pry from her bed covers in the last week...

...

"Marc, did you change Baby's diaper on Sister's bed?!"

"Ya, why?"

Introducing Zac and Realizing Our Life

Isn't he adorable? This is Zac (on my blog).

This is a photo I took when he was about 9 hours old... look at that fuzzy hair... aw.

Before I show you a bunch of adorable pictures I have to tell you the experience I was able to have when Zac was being brought into the world and being cared for at the hospital by his parents.

Kirsten had asked me months ago if I would care for Melly while she and Jeremy spent time together at the hospital with the new baby.

We kept hoping he would come a little early, but it looked like Kirsten was going to go as scheduled to be induced Friday morning. She called me Thursday night and we arranged for everything the next day...

at 2:30 am Friday morning my phone rang and Jeremy informed me that Kirsten's water broke. Thank goodness they live really close by, it was the middle of the night and no cops were out because when they asked if I could come to their house after her water broke I was speeding down the 40 mph roads at at least 75... shhhh, don't tell anyone.

I got there, they left, and I went inside to be with Melly while she slept till the morning when I would wake her to go back to my house and get my kids ready for school.

I was about to make my bed when I heard a "thump." I checked on the bed and Melly had rolled off her little toddler bed but was still asleep. I was so wide awake from the adrenaline of driving and the excitement of my little sister having another baby that I thought I would see if anything needed to be cleaned up. Then I heard another "thump."

I walked in and Melly was back on her bed. I walked over to check on her and saw that her eyes were wide open. She reached up with both arms and a smile and gave me a big hug. She wasn't even scared or confused that I was there in the middle of the night in her room. She happily came with me to the front room to watch a movie while I gathered a few things along with the car seat. 

When I went out the door she got off the couch to follow and I said, "Stay there. I'll be right back." I didn't expect any response, as with my 3 year old she doesn't even seem to understand that kind of thing. But, Melly, looked at me and hopped back up on the couch and went on to watch the movie.

...

She understood me.

Of course she understood me.

She doesn't have Fragile X like Baby does.

I am talking to a typically developing child here.

It was a "wow" moment for me.

"Wow," I forget that my child isn't "normal" sometimes.

"Wow," I can't believe how far behind Baby really is.

"Wow," this is what it would be like if Baby didn't have FXS.

I got over my shock and we got home at 3am and I put her back to bed in Sister's room.

And, again, I was amazed when she understood, "K, we are going to go back to sleep now. You are in Sister's room and I am down the hall." Melly looked at me with little concern, fussed a moment when I left and that was that.

Then I got a text saying that Zac had been born breech naturally because he came so fast. They didn't know he was breech. Which made me think about what a miracle that all went well while Kirsten and Jeremy waited for me in their car after he water broke. She had him less than an hour after I got to their house. Zac was almost 8 pounds and 20 inches long. He was a good sized baby to be coming breech. What a little miracle baby he is.

I stayed awake the rest of the night from the excitement and also because my mind wouldn't stop spinning wondering what my life would be like if my children understood what I was saying when they were 20 months old.

So many possibilities.

So many doors opened.

It was finally 6am and Sister was awake now.

I was jerked from my daydreams of "normal" life as I went on through the morning administering several meds to 3 different children, while Melly wandered about in complete excitement being surrounded by her cousins that she LOVES.

Melly and Sister are really good friends.

Melly was so sad when Sister went to school.

But she decided that Baby was OK.

And she was especially excited when I showed her the picture of her new baby brother.

Again, she seemed to understand. She was so excited and anxious to see him.

I wanted to give Kirsten time to rest a bit before we got there and thought that Melly should take a nap so that she would be extra happy when she got there.

So I put her in Sister's room for a nap.

...

About 30 minutes later I heard her mulling around in there so I thought, "Hmmm, that was a short nap," and I went in to get her.

I guess she found a marker.

A water color, bright pink marker.

Her hands were glowing.

I tried to get a picture but this does it no justice.

Too funny!

That was the moment that I realized "normal" or FX you still love markers and the exploration of that they do to your skin and the sheets. Tee hee!

So, since she seemed to have gotten a "nap" in, I figured now was a good time to take her to see her baby brother and take some photos. I called Lindsey to come watch Baby because I didn't want to tackle two little girls at the hospital while trying to take photos. (I'm not a crazy person, you know... I just play one on this blog.)

I gave Melly my "Visitor" badge because it was just too cute to have her wear it.

She didn't know what to think of the whole thing quite yet. So she sat with mom while I took some pics.

Look at that wrinkly little head. I love it. It reminds me of Brother when he was born.
Ah, how I miss having babies around.

Happy Daddy.

How could you not love those little pink toes?

Finally Melly gets to hold her brother. She can hardly stand it she is so excited!

She was so upset when she didn't get to hold him anymore... I had to take a photo for memory's sake.

mom and son

When we got back Melly took a real nap until the kids got home from school. She was so happy to see Sister again and they played and played until it was our date time. We had respite that night for our 3 kids so we just took Melly with us. That was another major moment that I realized how different it was to have a kid without Fragile X with us at a restaurant. Oh, ya, she fussed a little with the crowd and new people but, she sat in her chair, she ate (a lot) and she even kept her food on the table or in her mouth. It was awesome! I was laughing inside that my kids would have been crying, screaming, slapping the table, climbing underneath the table, hopping up and down, and not even eating what we ordered for them.

I missed them.

I wasn't used to it being so easy.

When it's easy I don't have another kid with me to remind me how hard my kids are and for some weird reason I missed them.

So after dinner we brought Melly home and put her to bed and then I went and picked up the kids and took them to see their new cousin, Zac.

Sister had been begging (falling apart, stimming, freaking out, obsessing) to see "her" Zac.

So as much as I was dreading taking all 3 of my children to the hospital to see a baby, I was also very happy to have them in tow.

Then we got out of the car.

Baby went one way, Sister went another, and Brother was hollering at me what to do but not wiling to help me. Then, out of the blue 2 little dogs come wandering over to us... not good. Brother does not do well with strange, small dogs.

Panic!!

Run!!!

Scream!!!

And that was all Brother...

The dogs thought he was playing. Poor guy. I was trying to gather up the girls and couldn't get to him in time before he tripped over one of the dogs and fell on his hands and knees.

He was now crying and I was still trying to get to him while dragging the crying/whining girls along with me.

They all started to calm down as they saw the elevator through the glass doors.

They love elevators.

We walk in.

Calm.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!" Brother hollers into and echoey entryway. One of the dogs had snuck in behind us. We ran to the elevator trying to close the door as fast as possible. You would have thought we were in a slasher movie and we were the dumb ones trying to get away from the zombie...

Anyway, we made it.

And Sister only asked, "Are we going to see Zac?" 100 times before we got to the room.

She could hardly contain herself.

We had Melly into the next day, Saturday, and she and Sister played all day. Sister was so sad when Melly had to take a nap...

It was a lot of fun to have Melly with us for 2 nights and 2 days. Sister was so sad to see her go.

In fact, Sister wanted to make sure to go with her when we brought her back to her mom and dad and to see if she liked her brother.

Oh, I love, that Sister loves him so much. She couldn't stop kissing his fuzzy little head.

We love you Zac and we are so glad you are finally here!!!

I have a feeling many will ask, so here is the answer: Yes, Kirsten is a carrier of Fragile X Syndrome and they had Zac get his blood drawn for the test the day he was born. It will be a while before they get the results. Melly does not have FXS, nor is she a carrier.