An Addy Update

Just a quick note and update on Addy's medical happenings.  Actually it isn't much of an update; I like that it isn't much of one.  Yesterday we saw the pediatric developmental doctor with early intervention.  It's a pediatrician who really focuses on the whole child and any developmental concerns.  If  you have a child with special needs, this is basically your go-to person to help coordinate the care from the multiple specialists if you had several.  We've been waiting for this appointment for awhile.  Really at the moment though, there's not a ton we need from this doc.  Addy's medical stuff is pretty much stable.  So developmentally - Addy's on track.  Her only recommendation was for a kidney ultrasound, just to be sure there isn't anything odd going on (there's a connection between hearing loss and kidney issues often times).
Well this morning, she had an ophthalmology appointment.  Her geneticist wanted her to see an ophthalmologist again (if you remember Addy saw one before she was even 6 months, just to check on her eyes and the nerves and such and rule out signs of Usher syndrome).  The brain atrophy could have affected the optic nerves; we hadn't noticed anything odd in her vision but of course knew it wouldn't hurt to have things checked out.  The appointment was long, the wait was long, but I felt comfortable that the ophthalmologist was very knowledgeable and experienced.  I really liked her, that made it easier to endure the wait time; it also was a huge blessing that the boys were playing at a friend's house for the morning.  Addy's optic nerves looked great (now that I type this, I wonder can they really see the optic nerves or is there something else they see that gives clues?  I'm not sure, I know her eyes were very dilated so maybe they can see them).  Anyway, everything looks great as far as that goes.  That is awesome news!   Apparently though Addy is farsighted and has astigmatism.  It is borderline on needing glasses.  The doctor said if she was in kindergarten she'd still be hesitant to give Addy glasses, if she was in 1st grade it would be recommended because she'd be reading smaller print and more would be required of her eyes.  She will have a follow-up in 6 months and we'll go from there as far as what she needs.  I guess we won't be surprised if by elementary school she needs glasses - not such a bad thing at all.

A Little Glimpse of Today

Today was the start of week 3 for school.  So far we are doing well and everyone is really enjoying it.  I still am struggling to find that "great balance" of keeping house work caught up, keeping in touch with friends, getting to appointments, errands run etc. and trying to work on projects for sewing and crafts as well as trying to stick my feet ever so slightly deeper into the world of photographer.  But - we are learning and growing and I'm thrilled with the progress I'm seeing already.  Noah's coloring and hand writing are showing improvements already, listening skills are growing in all 3 kids. 
Mostly, I love that we are learning together.  I love knowing and talking about all the things that Noah is learning.  It's an incredible gift getting to learn things with him, to watch the "ah-ha" moments happening, to see him grow in so many areas.  I wouldn't trade it for the world right now (though I understand that homeschooling or schooling in a public or private school is a decision that must be made for each child, each year so their needs are met).  Today we read on the trampoline in the afternoon sun, Josh jumping and bouncing around as he was listening, Noah rolling around some as he listened and then acted out part of the story.  Noah also started with his Spanish lessons today.  Who would have thought?  Thankfully I can sit with him and do the lessons since I don't know any!  In history we are learning about the continents - Noah can name all 7, but we're still working on identifying them.  History lessons are moving on to Australia and learning more about it this week, but the beauty of it is that I know Noah needs a bit more practice with naming and locating the continents so we're going to keep working on reviewing those even as we are exploring Australia.  I love that one-on-one.  This afternoon we played a few games we'd made last year and never fully used.  We're going to create a lapbook on the continents that will include the game and a few other things.   Hopefully it will be a fun way for Noah to continue reviewing since he's creating the book.  We also painted our suitcases so we're ready for our world trip and all we're going to learn as we travel.  Everyone enjoyed painting (I think this is the first time we've included Addy in painting and she LOVED it!).  Tomorrow we're going to take our passport photos and make sure they're ready to go when we leave for Australia.
Noah really enjoys his online class sessions - he has a sense of belonging to his teacher's classroom and his schoolmates.  I'm looking forward to going on field trips with his class.  It's going to be a fun filled year I think.  Science was definitely a highlight of the day today for the boys I think - we explored our taste buds with lots of tasting of sweet and sour foods and candy.

First Night of AWANA 2011-2012 Year

The boys had a fabulous evening tonight at church.  I did too, though AWANA is for the kids - seriously I think I get just as much out of it. 
Noah is a Spark this year (which is K-2nd graders) and Josh had his very first night in AWANA as a Cubby.  Josh has been super excited to get to go to Cubbies - just like Noah.  Earlier today he told me as we were talking about going tonight and what he may have to do during the time, Josh told me he was going to get to play with the big boys.  He's just so excited to get to do things that Noah has gotten to. 
Mike & I are helping in Sparks this year, together.  It's awesome because I got to see Noah and Josh both during opening ceremonies and just see the excitement on their faces as the songs got sung.  Josh looked so intense during the pledges and while the colors were presented.  Then during game time we played outside since it was the first night on the big playground.  Again, I got to catch some glimpses of Noah playing and interacting with new friends and I'm sure some old friends from last year.  The church has this "big" slide, it really is big and fast.  It starts on the second floor and goes down to the playground just past the first floor (there's kind of dip for the playground if that makes sense).  Well you ride on towels down the slide and it's really fast.  I heard Noah going down and then saw him come back by the stairs to go try again.  He was so excited about it!  I'm looking forward to another great year with AWANA and the boys both wanted to take their Bibles to bed tonight and read and wanted to know if we could work on their verses in the morning during breakfast.  I love that they are both so excited about learning God's word and know that I need to learn it too, my memorization skills are lacking and I am really looking forward to learning all the verses with them this year.




Addy didn't want to be left out of pictures

Proud Mommy (& Daddy too)

Noah had his first game for the soccer season tonight.  Mike couldn't make it, which of course is always a little sad but thankfully he doesn't want for pictures post game ;-) since someone in this house likes to shoot!
Well the boys wanted to ride their bikes to the game.  Sounds great - except I don't have a bike, so I lowered the seat on Mike's so I could at least touch the ground. I'm sure I was comical riding it, it's just too tall.  I haven't ridden a bike since I was probably 12 either.  I asked for a bike for my birthday though, we have a seat for Addy - she's asked every day since Mike took her out the first time.  We go to get in the van, and she goes to the bike and pats it saying "bike" (well it doesn't quite sound that clear but we know what she means.  It was a bit difficult riding with her right behind me and the backpack on.  We stopped at a friend's to drop something off and Addy stayed to play with her little girl.  It was a win-win it seemed, Addy helped occupy her little one while they played and she got a few things done - I got to focus on pictures and the game.
Well I was half expecting riding bikes to be a nightmare.  Especially on the way home.  I was proven wrong.  I envisioned after playing hard during a game in a heat-filled evening to hear lots of whining on the way home.  I heard none.  The boys did great.  I'm proud of them both for that, because it's hard not to whine when you're 3 & 5 human. 
Noah also played hard throughout the game.  He didn't give up, he had a smile on his face and just kept getting up each time he fell or got knocked down.  I heard him say a couple times, "I never give up."  Another thing I noticed during the game, he seemed to be bantering with a kid on the other team.  At one point, the other kid seemed to kind of nudge Noah on the shoulder as he was saying something.  I couldn't hear what was being said.  I reminded Noah once to speak kindly and use nice words.  I imagined he was "talking smack."  He's a competitive kid, I don't mind that one bit.  But Mike & I want to make sure that he understand it's very important to be a good sport, loving God and being a good example doesn't take a break just because you're on the field/court.  Not that I think it will get serious at age 5 - but still good sportsmanship is important to start early.  So after the game, Noah was enjoying his snack and getting his shoes back on.  I asked him if was talking smack to the kid, he just said no.  He didn't elaborate, didn't say much more.  Okay - hmm, still not sure if he was or not.  Quickly though, his coach said no it was the other team and that Noah was saying you need to speak nice word and act nice our parents are watching.  It was a proud mommy moment for sure - to see him having fun and not whining or even getting upset about it but still standing up for his beliefs/values.  I feel like it is the first time that I've gotten to witness his character shining through in such an out-spoken, obvious way that wasn't with family, or at church.  Good job Noah, Mommy & Daddy are very proud of you - and I'm confident that God was smiling as you gently reminded an opponent to speak kind words.