Random iPhone photos

I really like the iPhone. Not great quality, but great memories. :)

Suzy is learning to "wink" Five is really cool.

We made little cone trees. Doubles nicely as a telescope. (Without the Tele)


Suzy is still very much in love with the Mrs. Goodbee dollhouses.
She plays with them daily.
Does it seem like Andy is always wearing the same clothes to you? It's really just an illusion. ;) When I discovered that the cheap Wal-Mart jammies were all he ever wanted to wear. I bought 15 pairs of them. Problem solved. He's clean, I promise. I just didn't have a morning battle over clothing with him. ;)
My Gluten Free cookies vs. Tanya's yummy cookies. Guess who won?
Suzy is drinking more vitamin shakes. I still struggle to get good nutrition in her. She likes it when I put a little whipped cream in it and a fancy umbrella. Cheap price again for less conflict.

This is especially true when you have good friends who are therapists. ;) I bought this for Aunt Jan. My PT plus pyschologist friend from IN.

Some old photos from Port A.
Suzy liked the boogie board as long as it was tethered to Rob. And in less than 2" of water.
Poor Andy. Sometimes "Blank" just needs a bath. We have six blankets and rotate them. Sometimes he catches me putting one in the washer... Oh, the agony.
A terrible photo, but a wonderful memory. I was hugging Rob and Suzy wanted in on the action. This happens A LOT at our house. We call it "Family Lovin'".
Andy enjoyed his little music class. His favorite part was the piano.
250 lbs of rice for Suzy's birthday party from Costco. Andy sampling an apple. I love Costco. Poor Andy gets a little crowded when we go.
The tree in the lobby of Suzy's preschool. Such a little ham.
Suzy's birthday photo with her sweet teacher.
Me and my girl at the Nutcracker. We baked cookies for five hours that day. What did she want at the concession stand? More cookies! Seriously??!!!
Merry Christmas! I'm sure there will be more photos to come soon. Right now, we are needing to make another Costco run for Kleenex. (Makes for really bad photos....)

Outside lights

It was weird hanging lights in 78 degree weather...

Dance with Mommy

I hear two things very often. 1. Suzy dances to the beat of her own drum. 2. She is just like me. After going through a ton of old documents and photos from my childhood, these two really hit me. Reading my old report cards and looking at my old crafts, Suzy really is a lot like me when I was her age. I'm concerned for her, and want what's best for her. Doesn't every mother? We are talking more frequently about Kindergarten now and what placements, times, etc. would be best for her. I am more confused the more I think about it and research. Maybe it's just the research.... it's not my strong point. Ha!

Can you guess which ones are me? Which ones could easily be Suzy?
How about the grump in the front. The non-conformer in the green....

How about here?
The girl who cut her own hair and wears overalls when every other little girl is wearing frills. Plus, the one who has climbed the highest.

It's no secret that I am not especially fond of some of my choices in childhood. Nor is it a secret that my mother and I hardly speak. Most days I put all the blame on myself. I'm sure I was difficult to raise, just like Suzy. There are times I feel like I could never talk to Suzy again. By God's mercy, I feel like I understand her and why she does some of the things she does. I believe I understand her better than my mother understands me. It's the timeless conflict of wanting better for your children. I've made several decisions in my adult life that I believe will help Suzy have less baggage than I had. However, I can't completely protect her or dwell in my own past. I know I have struggled with feeling loved and accepted. She's so like me. A bit of a loner with not so great social skills. How do I prepare her for life? How do I help her understand she is loved by many here on earth as well as in Heaven, where it really counts. So that her scars will heal faster than mine did? Do we coddle her and protect her in a little private Christian school? Or toss her into public school where she will have great academics and more available resources....

Oy, vey... Please feel free to comment away. I want to protect her, but not blind her. I want her to grow to be the beautiful woman God desires her to be. He trusted me and Rob to help guide her. I pray for her constantly, but I feel such responsibility that Rob and I have to make the earthly decisions...

She does beat to her own drum. But, so did I. I just desire with all my heart that her tune is happier and that I can dance along with her for the rest of her life....

Just for fun... My mom enrolled me in modeling school. For our "hobby" outfit I chose Michael Jackson. All the other girls did cheerleader, dance, roller skating, etc. "One of these things is not like the other...." Ha! I bet Suzy could dance to that. ;)

Sweet Blessings and a smile on my face

I mentioned I've hung out my shingle, right? I really am loving it. I'm only taking three clients at a time so that I can fully devote myself to them. I'm trying out a new therapy model where I train the parents as if they were OT students and their subject is their own child. I'm trying to teach them "to fish" instead of spending weeks just providing fish for their child in a back therapy gym. It's been fun and it seems to be really working! I pray for these kids, see them longer than the "allotted" time if I need to, move their times to accommodate everyone's schedule, loan out equipment since I don't have other kids who would miss it while it's gone, etc. I love doing it this way. And I'm seeing such progress!!! If I ever get organized, maybe I'll even contact the university and get a student to study this treatment approach.

Until then, I have a big, satisfied grin on my face today. My first family's mom is a very talented photographer here in Austin. You can read more of her story here. In my inbox this morning, was this sweet slideshow that she did for our family as a thank you. It is so "us". Even the music is perfect.

Then, I read my other little guys family blog, and saw this. I love getting to know these little guys so well and really being able to focus on them and provide therapy like I learned was possible in school. LOVE IT!

Hope you are smiling today as well!

Happy FIFTH Birthday, My Sweet and Spicy Suzy

Suzy has had a wonderful Birthday this year. She has really grown up a lot this year and is a real delight to be around. The fits are getting fewer and farther between and they are getting shorter and less intense when they do occur. Praise God for that! :) She has really started becoming more social and aware of others feelings and opinions. She still says the funniest things and is so super concrete it cracks me up. She still really likes her routine and isn't a big fan of new things. But, since she's five now, she's decided she's old enough to try a few things here and there. So sweet. So fun. I'll try and write more stats later. For now, here are some photos from my very special little girl turning FIVE!!!!

I love this age for her. She is so excited about everything. She's been reading (looking at books) a ton and her vocabulary is booming. As she opened her presents, she was saying things like, "I'm so grateful! This is so wonderful!" etc. Precious.
Still a big fan of tiny objects. This toy was a big hit for that very reason.
Really, all the toys this year were big hits. She's pretty easy to shop for and depending on the day, each of her toys will be her "favorite" and "Best Ever!" Tonight, the little Baby Alive was a favorite. (As well as Mrs. Goodbee and friends, Cooties, Legos, Hello Kitty, her new George book, etc.) She was so excited to keep checking the babies diaper for the ever anticipated "Real POOP!" Thanks, Tara. I owe you one. No, really.... ;)
She loves this baby doll. And what did she name it? Well, "ABC Bracelet", of course. So funny. Goes along with her favorite other imagination friends, "Whellbarrow, Suzy puppy, etc." And yes, the baby has a bracelet with letters on it.
She wanted a Hello Kitty Cake. I was very ill prepared and made the cake last night. This is as close as I got.
I knew it didn't really matter. She bought these umbrellas and sprinkles and I knew she planned to adapt the cake anyhow to her own taste.
I am, afterall, a believer that a kids birthday should be just that. All about the kids. When I asked Suzy what she wanted to do for her birthday. First she said she wanted to take all of her friends to Great Wolf Lodge. Ummmm... No. Next, she decided she wanted to "swim in a rice bucket." I wasn't surprised. I was actually pleased. I could make that happen for her.

So, what does 250lbs of rice look like, you may ask? TaDa!
We burried the little party favors in the rice and the kids had a blast digging them out.
Some children, including our favorite birthday girl, went swimming.
At first, Suzy wanted the rice in a "box as big as Daddy". But, logistically, it wasn't working out so well. So, instead, the daddies hoisted up the remaining 100 lbs of rice and burried our birthday girl and her friends.



I love how the Mrs. Goodbee Doll house makes it easy for lots of kids to play at once.
Another highlight? Uncle Cody gave Suzy a show for her gift. Thank you, Uncle Cody, from the bottom of my heart. I know it's been YEARS since you've done a kids show and you are way above this. So, thank you. It means so much to me and you really made my little girl's day so special with your talents.
I love how Cody and Suzy have such similar expressions.

This hand on the hip cracks me up. She's growing up... sigh....
OK, the reason I've never begged Cody to do a show for me is two fold. One, he's way beyond that professionally (and I could never afford him). Two, I still remember my first five year old birthday party as "Marti the Magician". I made an egg dissapear and the kid said it was not a big deal because I just used an invisible egg. Suzy did not dissapoint. This trick is all about giving the child the next biggest wand, etc. until the trick "works". Suzy simply explained to Uncle Cody that the wand wasn't working because it wasn't a real wand. It was made out of fabric and she could feel it. Oh, Suzy..... You are "that" kid..... Everyone, including Cody, was totally cracking up.
Have I mentioned how much she adores him? She even eats crepes for him. And jelly.

I love this series. Maybe not the best photos. (I did have an Andy in my lap and the lighting was off.) But, these are his two oldest boys. I love how he's interacting with them.


And this photo? Well.... it just makes me laugh each time I see it. Rob says the caption is, "My precious!"
I hope you felt like you were a part of our special day. We were sad that many of our loved ones live so far away. It really was a "magical" fifth birthday....