It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks here. Hard to believe that it is only a couple of days until Christmas.

George is busy with work - the holiday season keeps everyone busy. We had the company Christmas party last Wednesday. The kids came along - surprisingly everyone was pretty well behaved. Jasmine played with everyone, Shane tolerated being passed around, and even Athena made a friend - can we say future baby sitter?

Jasmine is all done with school now until next year. They had a sing-a-long on the last day, with plenty of cookies. I'm going to attempt to download the video of jingle bells. Bear with me, I'm still learning how to use the video function on my camera and get things online!

Athena is now officially walking. Which thrills her therapists to no end - we will be discharged from physical therapy at her next appointment. On the other hand it now takes three times a long for us to get anywhere - so hard for those short little legs to keep up!

Shane did not enjoy the weaning process - it took him nearly 24 hours to decide that he liked the bottle - but he seems to be doing much better now. His current favorite pastime is trying to get into the Christmas tree.

Not sure how much the kids are or aren't anticipating Christmas this year. "Auntie" Christine brought them German advent calendars, so they are really enjoying the chocolate at least!

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Let it snow!

Well, it looks like we are in the midst of our first "real" winter snowfall today. Not all lake effect either. I guess we'll have to see how it goes.

Thanksgiving went well for us. We did a turkey breast and all the sides. Shane loved mashed potatoes and gravy!

Jasmine is enjoying school. They are now in the middle of Christmas projects and learning carols for the sing a long right before Christmas.

Athena is doing better, and she is walking more now. Our OT appointment got rescheduled for this week, so we'll see what they say then. She remains a very picky eater and is always fighting with her sister!

Shane is doing ok. He's not gaining as much weight as they would like him to, so he will be starting formula this week. Unfortunately that means we have to wean him, since he won't take a bottle otherwise.

Some new pictures for you...

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Yup, it has happened. We got our first sticking snowfall of the season. Yuck. Though I suppose we were due for it being that it is the middle of November and all. Jasmine of course is THRILLED to see it. Right now it is not much more than a dusting, you can still see the tops of the grass and all, but it is a sign of things to come.

And now for the catch up on everyone...

Shane is feeling much better now and off the inhaler. He's put weight back on too, which is a good thing. A not so good thing (for mommy at least!) is that he is figuring out how to do the army crawl. He's not able to go too far yet, but just far enough to start getting into trouble. Won't be too much longer and he'll be off chasing his sisters!

Athena was officially diagnosed as being "sensory defensive" last week. That is a form of SPD where she is more sensitive to outside stimulus, in her case mostly touch. For those of you that didn't read my earlier post, the therapist explained it is like that feeling you get when you are sitting in a dark room watching a scary movie and someone comes up behind you and taps you on the shoulder and you jump out of your skin. Except for her it is like that all the time, making her very anxious about places, people, and activities that she doesn't know. To be fair, George doesn't agree with this diagnosis. He personally thinks that she just likes her personal space and is a little stubborn and strong-willed. So I guess we'll see how things go. For the next two weeks we are using Wilbarger protocol of brushing and joint compressions. This means brushing her with a surgical brush several times a day. The idea is that this stimulates the nerves to cause the body to produce more endorphins to help relax her and cause her to feel less threatened by her situation.

Outside of her diagnosis she is definitely becoming a little girl. She is starting to talk more, loves dress up, and thinks that the slide at Jasmine's playground is the greatest thing since mac and cheese.

Jasmine is still enjoying school, though they will be off next week for Thanksgiving. She has learned to write her name now and has been bringing home some cute projects.

George and I have been busy with the usual work and parenting things, not too much exciting going on around that end. Christmas is coming up, so we are considering how to decorate the apartment for the holidays, as well as what should go on the shopping lists. George really wants a train to put around the Christmas tree, so if anyone knows a good place to find one of those, let me know. The only hobby shop around here locally closed down last year, and we haven't had a chance to check out good old Wally World for one yet.

And as always, here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

No Fun Being Sick!

So, everyone this week managed to come down with a cold. Not much fun for anyone involved. But here is an update on everything else that has been going on.

Shane got the cold the worst of us, and had a little bit of chest congestion. So he earned himself a trip to the doctor office and an inhaler to take home. Thankfully the medication worked and he is on the mend now.

Athena got the cold too, but it just wiped her out for a couple of days and made her very whiny! Thankfully we have one bit of good news - she passed her speech evaluation! She is testing as having her skills emerging at an 18-21 month level, which is good enough to not need additional therapy. She'll have a re-evaluation after the first of the year. Swim therapy keeps getting pushed back, but hopefully we will get to start that in a next couple of weeks.

Jasmine had to miss a day of school this week because of her cold, but other than that she is doing well. They had great fun making spider hats for Halloween, and she has been wearing it around the house telling everyone she is "spider Jasmine."

Work has been keeping me busy, and add in the extra appointments and there goes the free time! For my "fun" work, don't forget to check out the congo! You can find it here: http://hyenacart.com/TheWholeSHEBang/ and we will be having a special stocking this month for the congo's birthday!

With everyone being ill, I haven't gotten any good new pictures. But here is Jasmine in her hat and mittens - yes, it has gotten cold enough to have to wear those now!

Fall Fun

Can you believe that the month of October is almost over? Hard to believe that we are just two short months away from Christmas already! We were out shopping yesterday and the stores are starting to put out their Christmas decorations...

Not a whole lot new has been going on around here. School and work keep us busy and in the interim there are always plenty of things to do. However we did get a chance to go out and enjoy the fall weather this past weekend. A little on the cool side, but sunny. Many of the trees still have their fall color, and we let Jasmine pick out a pumpkin. Shane and Athena weren't too enthused about it!

So some pics for you to enjoy of our day at Patterson Fruit Farm:

It's October!

Well, how did that happen? It is October, and the month is already behaving in typical Cleveland fashion and got COLD!! Ugh! I'm so not looking forward to this winter. We are planning on going out this weekend to get some plastic for the windows because the landlord will likely be skimpy with the heat again this year. Also going to have to invest in another space heater as ours is on its last legs. One good thing about a small place - at least it doesn't take much to heat it!

So here's what's been going on the last couple of weeks.

Jasmine - Jasmine is loving preschool. It is hard to get her to tell me what she actually does there, but it must be fun! I am going to be room mom again next week, so maybe I'll get to see more of what they do. Last time I was in there it was only the second week of school so they hadn't really gotten into the routine just yet. I know next week she is going to start Dalcroze, some sort of music and movement class. Also, if anyone would like a handmade painting by Jasmine let me know - she's bringing one home almost every day and I don't have fridge space for them all!

Athena - Athena is the same old usual self - some days good and some days bad. As you can see by the pictures below she is starting to stand up without holding on to anything, but has only taken a couple of steps. Slowly but surely. Some days she'll talk for us, other days not. We are still waiting to hear back from all the specialists about the referral appointments, and they tell me it could be another couple of weeks before we hear something. See the post below if you have questions about SID/SPD.

Shane - Shane had his 6 month check up yesterday and apparently his milk cow is drying up. He got another inch taller in a month, but is the same weight as last month. So we are working on getting him weaned onto formula, which he is not liking. He took rice cereal on the very first try and then hasn't wanted anything to do with it since. Such a stubborn boy! He is trying to "talk" all the time - guess he wants to keep up with his sisters. Rolls everywhere - we went and got the playpen out to keep him contained when we can't be watching him. Besides the lack of weight gain everything looks good.

George - George just had the joy of getting his wisdom teeth out. One of them broke off at the roots so he got the added pleasure of seeing the oral surgeon. Was in a lot of pain earlier this week, but is on the mend now. Work is picking up some so we are seeing him later and later in the afternoons.

Me - Well, the same old, same old here. My teeth are better, thank goodness, took about a week for them to stop hurting. Other than that just the usual. Been busy with the writing and then the Congo had a stocking this week. Fingers crossed that something sells!

Of course, here are some pics for all of you to enjoy!

Just What Is SID/SPD?

For those of you that have been following Athena's diagnosis and treatment, it might be confusing to figure out what is going on. The following is an article I got from a parent's support forum I joined that simplifies it:

What is sensory integration? In words that we can understand?

Let's make this simple, because it is, really. The information sent to our brains from each of our senses; movement, touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell, is processed. Our brain tells us how that feels, what it looks like, what it sounds like, or how that tastes, and smells. This is simple sensory integration. Our brains perceive sensory information, process it, and reports back to us what is happening.

Think about how sensory information works for you. Touch a hot pan on the stove. The nerves send the signal to your brain, brain thinks about it, and let you know the pan is hot. Ouch!

That is sensory integration working at its finest.

Try more. Taste an apple that is crunchy and sweet. Step over a glass bottle that you see on the sidewalk. Hear the normal sounds of your house, the refrigerator running, the furnace kicking on, and ignore it. Sit in a restaurant and talk to your family, paying no attention to the other voices around you. This is all sensory integration. The normal processing of sensory information.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction (also known as Sensory Processing Disorder) occurs when this process is not working right. Think again about the above examples. You touch a hot pan, and it does not feel hot, so you don't know you are being burned. Your apple tastes bitter and is rough like gravel. You try to step over the bottle on the sidewalk, and lose your balance and fall down. You hear the sounds of your house. The refrigerator sounds like a freight train, and the furnace is blowing as loud as a tornado. You can't stand restaurants with the clamor of people talking, the clatter of silverware, and feet shuffling. You are unable to concentrate on anything. You hate crowds with all the bumping, and shouting and all those smells make you feel sick.

This is dysfunction. The brain is not processing the information from the senses in an efficient manner. Imagine brushing your hair with a brush made out of glass shards, scraping across your scalp. Someone touches your arm, and it feels scorched. Imagine the fabric of your shirt prickling so much, you want to scream and rip it off. This is it.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction has many symptoms, all originating with the senses. Too much or not enough is the general rule. When it is extreme, this disorder interferes with the normal living and learning in daily life.

Now that we understand the very simple thought that the brain might not accurately receive, process, and send the correct responses through our bodies, let's take this one step further. There are more senses influenced by this disorder than the six we have already considered.

The sensory systems of the internal organs. The heart rate, hunger, digestion, state of alertness, mood, bowel/bladder control, breathing. If we are seeing dysfunction in the first six senses, there probably will be some level of dysfunction in the internal organs, as well.

What if you couldn't feel hunger? Or know when you need to use the restroom? Suppose your heart rate and breathing does not speed up when you try to jog, or will not slow down when you try to sleep. Imagine not sleeping, for a long, long time.

Sensory information is also sent to our brains about our body position, received from muscles, joints, and ligaments. This greatly affects our ability to move correctly, and if the sensory processing is not working effectively, we may be unable to sit, climb, pedal a bike, and more. We may run into walls, or fall down. A lot.

This disorder affects people in different ways, and to various degrees. It is important to have a trained Occupational Therapist evaluate the person suspected of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. They can detect which senses are involved, to what degree, and how to proceed with therapy to help them.

You can't grow out of it. It doesn't go away on it's own. It will seriously inhibit a person's ability to learn, have relationships, and value themselves. Proper evaluation, diagnosis, and therapy designed specifically for each person is the path of recovery. The path to more normal responses of senses.

In "Sensory Integration Dysfunction - The misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and unseen disability", by Sandra Nelson, she states, "I cannot imagine a case of untreated SI that does not interfere with a child's education. If the child is distracted and annoyed by sounds, sights, movement (or lack of ), touch, smells and tastes (among other sensations), how could these irritants not interfere with his or her education? Is this possible?”

Try this: Turn on the radio, then turn it up as loud as it will go. Until it hurts. Put 150 watt bulbs in every lamp in one room, then turn them all on. Put on a pair of pants backwards, and somebody else’s shoes that are too small. Shove a stiff hairbrush down the back of your shirt, so it is poking at you, and driving you crazy. Now clean the kitty litter, change the dirty baby diaper, or scoop up the dog mess in the yard, and sit it square in the middle of the table, so it wafts. Sit at your table with a food you absolutely gag on, in a chair with one leg missing. Now, snack on that food you hate. How many seconds can you stand the music that loud? The lights so bright? The shoes too tight? And what is that smell!? Imagine if you cannot stop this. Cannot have a moment, ever, without feeling like you do right now.

Now imagine you are just a little kid, who does not know that it isn’t like this for everybody.

Michelle Morris 11/2003

September is a crazy month!

OK, so here I am again getting behind on my updating! But with so much going on lately, it is hard to get work done, let alone the fun things! So here is another updating post with a little bit about everyone, and pictures at the end as usual.

Shane - Not too much unusual going on with him. He's outgrowing clothes faster than we can buy them, but that is about it. He'll be 6 months old in about 2 weeks, and that's when the real fun begins - solid foods. He has really got into rolling now, and can get across the room if he wants too.

Athena - Pretty much the same old, same old with her. All of the doctor's appointments have been pretty inconclusive - one minute they are saying that she has SID/SPD, the next they are saying things like she is intense/shy/likes her personal space. She did gain about a pound in a month, so they are happy with that. Still refusing to walk, though according to the neurologist is because she doesn't WANT to, not because she CAN'T. Anyone got a magic pill for stubbornness?

Jasmine - She started preschool last week, and she LOVES it. There are 8 other kids in her class - 3 other girls and 5 boys. I got to be room mom earlier this week, so I now know what a basic day looks like. The spend the first half hour or so out on the playground. They then go in and have circle time, where they discuss the weather, the month/day it is, their topic of the week (this week was friendship) and have a story. After that it is snack time, and then they have free play/project time. Jasmine loves painting, and we've been sent home more paintings than I have free space! So if anyone would like an original work, let me know! LOL

George - He's doing well, back to school makes the restaurant busy again. He survived his first day home with the younger two, and we found out Shane does not like bottles, LOL. Due to some unforeseen expenses and everything going on with Athena he is putting off going to Africa until the spring.

Me - Well, right now I'm in some pain - had to have two wisdom teeth pulled tonight! OUCH! It's been a rough week or so - my computer died late last week. So if you sent me an email and I didn't write back, please send it again! Thankfully George was able to save the harddrive, so I didn't lose the pictures and things.

And that brings me to everyone's favorite part, the pics!

All ready to go on her first day.

Her cubby at school

The playground! Get this - it is on the ROOF!

Someone is not a morning person!


See how strong he is!

Update post

Uh oh, it's been nearly two weeks since I last posted, so better get you up to date. So I guess I'll run down the family and take it from there...

Shane had his 5 month check up today. He is now 17 lbs 2 oz and 27.75". That is 75th and 95th percentiles respectively. He can roll from front to back and back to front, and never stays on the blanket anymore. He loves "attacking" his stuffed animals and can get quite vocal when he wants something! He'll go back on the first of October for his 6 month checkup and shots.

Athena we are still waiting for evaluations on. She has gotten a little more verbal - like just now she came in and said Hi! and then MILK! and then when we asked her what you say when you want something she followed it up with please...We should have more information for her in two weeks.

Jasmine is now daytime dry for the potty training for the most part. Still wearing the Pullups for the evening. Another week and a half and she'll start preschool, though we have a new member orientation and meet the teacher events next week that she'll get to go to (and then the parent workday a week from tomorrow and a mandatory parent meeting in there as well).

George is doing well. Just sent off for his visa for the Benin trip this past week, so hopefully we will be getting that back here shortly. After that we will be buying his plane ticket. October is coming up fast!

I'm doing well as well. Have to go and get two wisdom teeth pulled next week - not much fun there. Also joined a "congo" for my jewelry sales. Essentially a congo is a group of sellers that advertise and stock together with the idea of bringing in more business as a group. Got to get some jewelry making done this weekend! If you would like to check out the congo, you can see that here.

And now what you really came here for:

A new one of Shane

Jasmine playing dress up

Athena and her hat

Watching Sesame Street

Win a baby carrier!

Win a Beco Butterfly Baby Carrier and Beco Toy Carrier from Along for the Ride.

Of course I hope it's me that wins, but you are welcome to try too! ;)

Athena's 18 month appointment

Unfortunately, this is not a happy post. Sigh.

Yesterday was Athena's 18 month appointment, she actually turned 18 months on Tuesday. Not very good news.

First, we've got growing issues again. Her height is remaining pretty consistent - she grew 3/4 of an inch in 3 months putting her at 31.75". Her weight not so good - she only gained an ounce in the same amount of time (putting her at 21 lbs 15 oz) which drops her back down to the 10th percentile for weight (she was about the 25th percentile at 15 months).

Our pediatrician also has us fill out a developmental questionnaire, and she is not meeting her milestones either. She is behind not only in the physical developments, which we were already sort of aware of with all the physical therapy, but also in the speech department.

So we have lots of new plans for her:

• Keep her on one Pediasure shake a day to make sure she is getting nutrition. However, she is not allowed to substitute a bottle/sippy for more than one meal - the rest of the time she either eats solids or goes hungry.
• A weight/height check in one month to see how she is doing. This will be an appointment with the doctor, not the nurse, so we can also discuss how the therapies worked out.
• A continuation with the physical therapy we have been doing.
• A trip to the neurologist to make sure that there is no underlying program. I'm currently waiting for the scheduler to get back to me on that one.
• A referral to Help Me Grow. For those of you that are not from Ohio, Help Me Grow is a state-funded early intervention program. They will do an evaluation of her and recommend other programs/therapies that we should do.

I will keep you updated. Unfortunately she's been a bit of a grump lately (she was up every hour on the hour last night) so this is the best pic I have.

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Jason Armstrong!

My friends Kim and Jason were married this past Saturday! Congratulations and a long and wonderful lifetime together to you!

I got to be a bridesmaid - pics to follow when they get in!

Shane's 4 month appointment

Yup, it's been a whole month already! Shane is now officially 4 months old, and yesterday was his doctor's appointment. Still a big boy, he is:

16 lbs 6 oz (75th-90th percentile)
26.5" (90-95th percentile)
17.75" head circumference (off the top of the charts!)

He did amazingly well for his shots - squeeked a little when the doctor poked him but didn't cry at all. He is a little sleepy today but nothing too bad. The doctor said we could start cereal with him, but there was no rush. So we will probably hold off a little bit longer - Mommy is still spoon feeding Athena half the time! Also being over 26" he has officially outgrown the baby carrier-style car seat. Mommy was hoping his big sis Athena would be walking before that happened, but no such luck. Guess she'll be getting some strong arm muscles!

Of course, the pics that you all enjoy so much:

Getting too big for the swing too!



Hanging out with Athena again:



You can also see his 3 month professional pics here. If you need to sign in, it is Shane Month 3 and the password is 6223

Jasmine's 3 year appointments

Yes she is three, and that means three year appointments! Yay! (not!) LOL.

So Saturday we had our first ever dentist appointment. I went first, and she got to watch. I did have 2 small cavities, but they aren't going to fill those until a separate appointment - so just the cleaning. However, even after showing her how "easy" it is she still threw a fit about getting into the chair! Oh well, once she was there she didn't give the dentist any problems.

Yesterday was her 3 year appointment at the doctor. No shots, just a well child checkup. She is now 32.5 lbs and 39 1/8" tall - 75th percentile for both. Which if you plug that into the online calculators means she "should" be between 5'8" and 5'11" as an adult - I guess we'll see!

Anyways, here's some pics for you:

Like Daddy, like daughter:


Say Cheese! Our new shades and clean teeth:


Oh, and we don't have any pics of it, but one HOORAY! Yesterday we also went out and bought Jasmine her "fancy panties"! She is now daytime dry! HOORAY! She is really excited about going to Mr. Marty's Sunday school class and going to "school" in the fall now!

The big THREE!

Yes, today is the day that Jasmine turned THREE. Hard to believe that my baby is now a "preschooler." It was also really the first birthday that I think she actually understood what was going on - she kept saying that it was her birthday today, on her birthday she was three, and similar comments. Winifred stopped by for a visit and Grandma and Grandaddy called - she was pretty excited about getting sung to on the phone!

We kept the celebration small - just family this year. Though I suppose it won't be long and she'll be wanting to invite friends over to help her celebrate as well. Of course I know y'all only stop by for the pics, so here you go!

At breakfast this morning. Athena is not a morning person and did not feel like acknowledging my presence.

Showing off her new shirt. It is much cuter IRL. (Want one of your own? Stop by here and let her know I sent you!)

The big present (and Shane's feet!)

Our new "computer" (Winnie the pooh and does numbers, colors, shapes, spelling)

Our Dora music book (she loves singing along with the MP3 player)

The horsies from "Great Grandma"


Doing the dry erase writing pad with Daddy

Athena helping to clean up

Cake, glorious cake!


I'm this many!

And one of Shane, who was less than impressed with all of the proceedings today.