Elmo....Live

My good friend Emily invited me and Alex to go see Elmo live with her and her son, Landon. To be honest, I was really not sure how Alex would do sitting still for an hour and a half to watch a live show. But we decided to try and see how it went.

He LOVED it!! Alex really likes music, singing, dancing, etc. And there was lots of it during the show!! He did get a little fidgety in between the songs but overall he did great and I was really proud of him. Landon did great too!! I was so glad that we decided to go and I was able to spend that time with Alex and also with Emily and Landon. It was such a fun day!!!

Thank you Emily!!!

Here are some pictures from the show…..

Emily, Landon, Me & Alex

Upward

I am a little late getting this one done considering that today was our last Upward game!!
For the last eight weeks Hayden and Hayley have both participated in Upward basketball and cheerleading. It was a lot of fun and I am both sad and glad that it is over. Eight weeks is a long time to have practices (Tuesday for Hayley and Friday for Hayden) and games on Saturday mornings (at 8:00 or 9:15).


Aunt Julie and I coached Hayden’s 2nd grade team. I don’t think of myself as a great coach…..not sure why. I don’t think I am able to accomplish everything I want to get across to the kids……an hour practice is not a long time to teach everything you need to know about basketball……to a group of talkative and silly kids!! I just hope that learned something they didn’t know before we started and that they had fun!!!

Our Team

Hayden calling a play.

Rebound!!

Hayden really enjoys playing…..but he can get a little…..well….mad! He tends to get frustrated easily and then can’t focus on the game (not sure where is got that…..must be Pepaw…HA!!). Sometimes I have to take my "coach hat" off and put my "mom hat" on. But when he can stay calm and have fun…..it is so fun to watch him play!!

Having a "talk" (attitude adjustment :))

I think this is a cool picture!!

Hayley surprised me at how much she liked cheerleading. Before she started I was worried that she wasn’t going to embrace it at all. But she loved it!! She did the cheers and was somewhat serious about it……and if you know Hayley then you know she is not serious about much!

Hayley's cheerleading team!

Ready....OK!!

Above all, the most important part of the Upward program is sharing the love of Jesus with the players and their families. We pray before each game and during practices we share a devotion. This year we discussed a lot about the Light that Jesus is for us. As a coach, it was a great chance to love on the kids……they are all great kids!! I pray that each player on my team and their families know HIM.

Praying before the game.

Thankful Thursday

A few days ago I almost did a “Thankful Thursday” post….of course it wasn’t Thursday but I didn’t care I was going to do it anyway (because I am thankful everyday….not just Thursdays!!). Anyway, for whatever reason I forgot or got sidetracked or something and didn’t get in here to actually type it up!! Life is like that a lot for me……so I will start with that!

I am thankful for all the things that distract me from blogging (those “things” being my family, friends and responsibilities).

I am thankful for Puffs plus lotion……I have wiped Alex’s nose about 100 times in the last two days.

I am thankful for Alex’s ECI therapists. They all really love Alex and he loves them too!!

I am thankful for Alex’s new school and his new therapists that we will be getting to know soon.

I am thankful that Hayden likes to read.

I am thankful for naptime.

I am thankful for the girls at the gym…..I haven’t been able to go this week and I am missing it (I can’t believe I just said that I am missing going to the gym….I thought that would never happen....HA!!).

I am thankful for my husband……I was going to explain why….but there are too many reasons.

I am thankful that my dad got to spend the week in Mexico building a house for a family….and I am thankful that he is on his way home right now!

I am thankful for the snow we had this week and for all the fun that came with it……snow ice cream, snowball fights, building a snowman, snow angels, etc. (all the extra laundry and mess that goes with that was worth it!!)

I am thankful that Alex is “talking” a LOT more recently and that he put a puzzle together all by himself today (Oh…..and that I think he knows most of his shapes now)!

I am thankful for Hayley….even when she is challenging me to be more patient!

I am thankful for my friends…..and for long talks!

I am thankful for the peace that can only come from HIM.

So….what are you thankful for??

Valentine's Party's

All three kids had their Valentine's Party's last week. This was the first time that I had to plan for 3 parties. It was fun but making sure I had everything was some what challenging (especially since I have just issues with remembering things these day).

First was Hayley's party......

They passed out Valentine's.

Hayley looking through all her goodies!

And they ate pizza.....I love this picture!!

Later that same day was Alex's party....

He enjoyed the cupcakes and even got to do his own sprinkles.

He made a HUGE mess and decided he didn't like it on this hand.

Kyson saw how messy Alex was and thought he needed to help clean him up......

He really did have fun....even though it doesn't really look like it in this picture.

Last was Hayden's party......

They passed out their Valentine's before I got there......He had a bag FULL of stuff! They ate pizza and had Big Red Floats......and played Bingo. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it.

Didn't get many pictures of Hayden because I was busy serving Big Red and ice cream. But here are a couple of some of the boys in his class.

It was a busy, busy couple of days......but all three kiddos had a lot of fun and I am so glad that I got to enjoy it with them!!

Happy (day after) Valentine's Day!!

Alex's New Tricks

Alex was being very cute and talkative last night so I decided to try and video him. Well, naturally when I get the camera out he didn’t want to perform but with a little coaxing we were able to get the video below.

While watching it, as Alex’s mom, I noticed all the GREAT things he is doing and wanted to share them with y’all!!

He has been climbing on the couch by himself for few weeks now (he really likes being able to do this). This was one thing I wanted to get on the video and he didn’t want to when he saw the camera. So Cory put the remote control to the TV on the top of the couch and told him to go get it……so he did. I am not sure but he might have said “did it” when he got up there.

He says “me me” …..that is his word for remote. Then Cory asks him to turn Blue’s Clues on with the remote (there is only about 6 buttons on the remote but he knows which one turns it on) and he does. He tries to put the remote back where is got it from and it falls down. He says “uh oh” and tries again. He says “me me” a few more times. When he hears the music at the beginning of Blue’s Clues he makes his “sound” for “Blue’s Clues.” Then we try to get him to say what Blue says…..I really don’t even know how to begin spelling the sound that Blue makes…..but you can hear it. Another new “trick” is asking him what the Roadrunner says…… “meep meep” or “beep beep” is Alex’s answer. He changes it up from time to time.

I asked him what was on his shirt. We had been to Puggles (Awanas) earlier and I think he tried to say “Puggle” or “quack quack” (Cory taught him that the Puggle says quack quack). But when he looks at his shirt he says “monkey” and then we thought he tried to say “guitar” but you can’t really hear that too good.

After that I was just trying to ask questions to see what all he would do for the camera. I got him to touch his hair and that was about it. He was interested in looking at the camera after that.

Here it is…….

I can't talk

Well, technically I can talk but it is not much more than a whisper so no one can hear me. I am not sure what type of sickness has brought this on but I am tired of it. It started last night with a very scratchy voice and when I woke up this morning it was gone….. Really I sound horrible!!

I told Cory, in a whisper of course, that I had so much to say. He recommended (in a completely sarcastic kind of way) that I blog…….so here I am.

Cory heard somewhere that women need to say at least 20,000 words per day with men only saying somewhere around 2,000. He might have made those numbers up but there is no official documentation of this so I guess it doesn’t matter. And even if most men say more than 2,000 Cory tends to talk less than most (although he is more talkative now than ever).

Anyway, Cory likes to give me a hard time about getting in my words per day. I say that most words you say to kids don’t count……like…please don’t touch things that don’t belong to you, don’t hit your sister, don’t hit your brother, please finish eating now, etc. So, by the time Cory gets home everyday he can usually tell if I have talked to a friend or not.

Today has been almost miserable. Not only because I don’t feel well but because I CAN’T TALK!! It is one of those times where I could talk but I have to put so much effort into it that it isn’t worth it.

So, here I am…on my blog where I could “say” as many words as I want to say…..and I can’t think of anything.

That Was Amazing.....on a Thankful Thursday

This is what I am thankful for today......

I updated Alex’s Caring Bridge site last night but I wanted to include a video.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/alexward

You can read Caring Bridge for the explanation of what’s going on. About a minute into the video listen for Hayley in the background…..I love her reaction to Alex!!