Swimming at the Farm

Today we took the kids out to the farm for a swim at Bobby and Gail's. The kids had such a good time as you can see! Gail took the pictures for us while Larry and I were in the pool with B. She said there were more of Brady but didn't really turn out - (truth be told she really likes Angelina better since Brady always says "Bobby"! ;) Anyways, they both love the water so much. Brady was wearing his life-vest type shirt and just swimming all over the place. Angelina sat in Jolie's float and kicked her feet like a true swimmer! She is so relaxed in the water and it's so cool to move her around without her objecting!

Angelina's First Haircut - a la Mom!

Today I cut Angelina's bangs! I was so tired of all the little wispys and had been telling Larry we really need to get her hair cut when I took matters into my own hands. She was wriggly as can be but all in all I think it turned out okay. Her bangs are a little short, but after seeing how a cut can look uneven in some spots from wriggly toddlers I don't think a hair dresser could have done any better! Besides it looks so cute with her hair in pigtails or half up!

Happy 35th Birthday to ME!

Okay so this year I haven't been exactly looking forward to my birthday being that I am at the half way point between 30 and 40. Some might even say that i am on the down slope to 40 now. I don't subscribe to that school of thought though. Larry and I planned to go downtown, sit outside at 8.0's and just enjoy the scenery and people watch. Larry's dad had been in the hospital and was being discharged that same day. His parents were to come watch the kids, but since his dad had been in the hospital I kept telling them not to worry about it that we could always go out another time - no big deal. Well, they were troopers. They were hell bent on babysitting so we could go out for a while. I just thought they really thought we needed a night out and the missed the kids anyway so why not. WELL, little did I know my husband had a devised a plan to surprise me with. We were going to get a bite to eat before getting to 8.0's but I guess we were running later than he wanted us to be so we went right there. We were parking by the radio station and he was getting all worked up because it looked full. I kept telling him to calm down there's always a parking spot there. I was right and there was one close to the entrance! Off we go to 8.0's. We walked in and made our way to the doors going outside when I noticed Caitlyn. I am so inside my own head because it didn't even dawn on me that she was there to meet us. I kind of said to myself "hmmm she must be meeting people down here -how weird." I know how stupid that sounds. To make myself sound more so I didn't even register that Keith, Jen, Robin and Gregg were standing right there as well! I had no idea that they were all coming to meet us to have some drinks and hang out. I was truly surprised! I have to admit even though we planned on just the two of us, it was so nice to hang out with my friends and talk out on the patio like old times!

Cirstyn is 3 months!

This girl is just getting so big! I can't even believe that three months have passed by and we are still alive. She has been such a good baby. God must like me a little because adding a fussy or colicky baby to our already chaotic lives would have just been a cruel joke - funny but cruel! She has been sleeping about 8 hours or so overnight now so we are getting way more sleep! It's so cute to watch her bat at the toys on her mat or hanging on her car seat and she is making some really good contact. She grabs them and just tries so hard to shake away! I think she is weighing in at about 12.5 lbs and I measured her at 25 1/4" now. Pretty soon she will be turning over! I have been putting her to sleep for nap time in her "big" bed and she is doing okay with that. Angelina doesn't mind sharing a room with her either. Next will be to transition her to sleeping overnight there as well. She is just the sweetest thing and loves to gaze into my eyes and coo or giggle at me! I can't believe how beautiful she is and how blessed we are to be parents to such wonderful and loving babies!

Craniosacral Manipulation therapy

Angelina had her second Craniosacral Osteopathic Manipulation Therapy. She was so much more relaxed this time! Dr. Teitelbaum and I discussed if I had seen any changes and I thought she was a bit more fluid in her movements but wasn't sure if it was from the therapy or BOTOX. I also asked him if this could help with her GI problems. He said that there are cases where it does for colic and reflux in babies (could have used that info 2 years ago!) and that we would try it as well. Angelina wasn't objectionable at all this time. She smiled at him and tugged on his shirt cuff. She was even trying to do her "dancing" as well. We go back the next 2 Mondays then we will re-evaluate her progress.

BOTOX for the 2 year old!

I took Angelina in to see Dr. Acosta for her first round of BOTOX injections.When we got there she was kind of sleepy so by the time we got into a room and Dr. A and his nurse Sheila came in to get things going, Angelina was completely out. She wasn't too happy with us waking her but she quickly got over that. I held her hands so she couldn't wave them about and I felt like I was sabotaging her. One second she was happy and laughing the next was filled with alligator tears, screaming bloody murder and "mama..mamamama..nononono...mamama". She had 12 injections total and she was super pissed about it! Prior to all this Sheila and Dr. A both asked if I was okay with everything. Apparently I looked sort of stressed out about it all. Of course I was tired, but I wasn't looking forward to Angelina having all those injections. I just kept praying that we were making the right decision. With all the things that have happened to Angelina done with the best intentions I always question whether it's the right thing to do for her and pray we are making the right decision. It seems that things always turn out for the best, but this just made me nervous.

ANYWAY, Angelina got over the shots pretty quickly and Dr. A talked with me about what to watch for in the next 24 hours as signs of overmedication. He assured me that he didn't think we had anything to worry about, but nonetheless we needed to know just in case. This was a little unnerving but I decided to focus on the positive. While we were waiting to check out Sheila and I were talking about one of her medicines that she started taking again for tone. It can cause seizures and we had noticed a few things that just didn't seem right. Luckily, Angelina displayed a little seizure like facial expression so we decided to completely stop that medicine and roll with just the Artane - which I think is working just fine.

Dr. A said that we should see some changes in about a week from the BOTOX and that it will probably peak in between 1-2 months. He wanted us to be aware of when we thought it was wearing off so that we know how long it lasts for her. We go back in three months for the next round!

EDIT: I forgot to say what the BOTOX does for this little girl. It weakens them muscle and allows it to be stretched out for better range of motion and movement. Sorry, I know that I think you all can read my mind and be able to fill in the blanks! Actually Gail and Ang emailed me and asked the same exact question so I figured everyone else would be curious as well!

Our First Family Getaway!

Here we are.....just the 5 of us!

Dad watching Cars with B and A

Splashing with Mommy!

Look I found a blue fish!

Let's play!

Cirstyn just chillin!

Okay, after over two years of not being able to get the heck out of town we took all our kiddos to Turner Falls for a couple of days! The kids had a great time in the water, well except for Cirstyn as she stayed on the riverbank. Larry's mom and dad went with us to be extra sets of hands with the kids. We all had a such a good time together! We spent a lot of time in the car the first day because it took forever to get our room key. While we were waiting we took a drive up the mountain to check out all the campsites and scenery. It really was so pretty! It was nice to see things like that with my own eyes rather than on the travel channel! For a break we thought we'd visit the gift shop - me, Larry and three kids - not pretty! I had the baby Larry had Angelina and we took turns with Brady who was not in a great mood from all the time in the car. He was a bit of a toot, but I couldn't blame him. He had been so good up to that point not complaining about being in his seat for so long and just singing his songs and talking to us. So the first day we just chilled out in our cabin and walked around a bit showing Brady the river, turtles, bugs and stuff. The second day everybody went down to the water fall. Larry took Brady in and I had Angelina. Boy that water was pretty cool! They both got used to it (sort of) but still splashed around and enjoyed themselves. Larry's dad stayed with Cirstyn and Karen took pictures for us. Angelina and I got out because we were tired of the cold water and Cirstyn was getting hungry. The boys stayed in for a bit longer then they went with Karen down a ways to more of the shallow rivery part. Boy did Brady like that. He could move around better then sit and splash! He found a blue toy fish floating in the water, the poor thing didn't even have eyes! The third day Larry and I took Brady down to the river just down from our cabin. It had some really shallow spots to sit in there was also an area that was about 4' deep. The three of us had so much fun swimming and playing. Brady loved the little "waterfalls" everywhere! The last day before we had to leave we took both Brady and Angelina back down to this same spot. Brady had his life vest thing on and Angelina was in a float. She had so much fun! She was kicking her feet, splashing her arms and giggling about all the water. She just loves water! Brady really likes his life vest thing because he has so much more independence. He could swim around without one of us having to completely hold on to him all the time. He thought he was just so big! Larry and I also got to have a little "away from the kids" time each night. Karen would stay up to feed Cirstyn for the last feeding and we would just sit out under the stars with our beers enjoying the quiet! I think it is funny how one doesn't appreciate quiet until one has children! I don't have pictures right now because I never got to take any being busy with the kiddos so we gave Karen the picture taking job! I will post them when I can get over there to get copies.

Angelina 1st Craniosacral Osteopathic Manipulation visit

The original post of this was done via my cell phone while we were out of town and it didn't turn out so here it is...

On July 28th I took Angelina to see Dr. Teitelbaum, an osteopathic doctor, to talk to him about a therapy called Craniosacral Osteopathic Manipulation. Her therapists said that it couldn't hurt and if her body responded to it then great, but if not then no harm done. Her docs agreed as well so we went. Dr. T said that in his experience kids with CP saw an improvement in their spasticity and wanted me to understand that it wasn't going to be a miracle cure. I assured him that we live in the reality of her condition and that we are always looking for ways to improve her quality of life and that we were not naive about any kind of therapy she receives as a miracle cure. she did relatively well only whining some when he was messing with her head and neck. He is going to see her on a trial basis for 6 sessions to see how well she responds to the therapy. If she has some response then we will go forward with more, if not then we will look for other alternatives at that time. He was soft spoken but very friendly and Angelina responded well to him. This is his website if you want to read anything about this practice as well - http://www.doctor-t.com/.

This technique applies gentle pressure to specific points on one's spine, neck and base of the head to manipulate nerve endings. Well see if she responds. I am hopeful that she does because she could sure use something in her life that works for her that isn't medicine!

Cirstyn is 2 months old!

Well on July 12th she was 2 months old and today she had her 2 month checkup! This girl is growing so big and doing neat little things now. Today she weights 11 lbs 4 oz (75th percentile) and is 23 3/4 inches tall (90th percentile)! She has gained 4.5 lbs and grown 3 inches since birth. She has been smiling up a storm, cooing and talking to us, and gives a laugh every now and then. She has been batting at toys and lifting her head somewhat from the floor. She has good head control when I am holding her upright. She has been sleeping about 6 hours overnight so I am so glad to be getting a little bit more sleep at this point. I am looking forward to the 4 month mark so maybe she will be sleeping completely overnight...in her own bed....in her own room!

A co-worker of my mom had a little girl about a month before Cirstyn was born and she has been sending all her little girl clothes home with mom for Cirstyn Delaney! This girl has more clothes than she knows what to do with. I am saving them this time for the next little girl born in our family...(Jen, get to work!). Anyway, that is all for now!

Happy Smiles :)

Cirstyn has been smiling so much lately and even laughed, well sort of, yesterday! She is so pretty and I think she is beginning to realize she's the bomb! I had to get the camera out to take her pretty picture of her smiling face. I love the way her eyes light up when I am talking to her. It's like she is so focused on what I am saying to her, well at least someone is this house is! I just love this little girl!