Flying Away

Abigail rode her 2-wheeler by herself for the first time this morning!!!!!

It's just a glimpse of our summer...I see lots of bike rides!!!

We also took the girls out to fly their kites from Easter for the first time this morning.  Basically, it was mommy and daddy running around like crazy people.....but we did manage to get the kite in the air once (and by we, I mean Beth...even though Rob "claims" to be an expert kite flyer from his youth...he blames the kite...but I didn't seem to have any problem....)

This sums up our kite flying day...Caitlin tangled up in the string!!!!

Fun start to our Saturday...and it's only going up from here because the kids are packing up and heading to Grandma and Grandpas...and we are headed down to Wrigley with my Julie and Joe, Kate, and her friend Josh, to see Brad Paisley!!!!!  Have a great Saturday, y'all!!!!

We're joining the club!!!!

These families all have 1 thing in common....

and we're joining the club!!!!

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Save The Date

Raising 2 kids has been such a treat,

We're adding 1 more to make our family COMPLETE!

We don't know yet if it's a girl or a boy...

But save a date in December to meet our BUNDLE OF JOY!!!!!

Baby "Tres" due to arrive 12-12-12!!!!!

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And the most important introduction....

Here is our little peanut!!!!  We are so in love already!!!!!

The Sweetest Story with the HAPPIEST ending!!!!!

13 weeks old today!

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And as all good things have "disclaimers"....here's mine...please don't say anything on Facebook yet!  We decided to put it out on the blog because people we know and love who are close to us read it, but we won't put anything on facebook for a while now!!!!!

Also, if you are SHOCKED...we thought it would be fun to surprise you on the blog since you have followed our family on it and we are sure you weren't expecting this... so if you didn't get a call or email ahead of time, don't be offended, it was our plan!!!!!!  ;)

And I have to say, we did a pretty great job of keeping it a secret till today!!!  As you might imagine, after our last loss, sharing the news is very nerve-wracking to me.  But we are 13 weeks and have passed the NT Scan at 12 weeks with a squirmy baby with 155 heartbeat...and are so excited!!!!

Abigail and Caitlin just found out this weekend and they have taken their "big sister" roles very serious...and are already negotiating bunk beds!  :)

SURPRISE!  :)  We feel beyond blessed and lucky!!!!!!

Our Dancing Queen

Summer has officially begun...although it really officially begins next week when the pool opens!!!

We had a busy end of the year.  Caitlin finished another class of Mommy and Me Ballet.  It's her 3rd time doing this class and she's starting to get a little old for the class...but she loves dancing and it's her only option.

I know every parent thinks their kid is the cutest, sweetest, most well behaved...and talented.  But I really think Caitlin is a natural dancer.  And apparently her teacher does too.  She can't join the "recital" class next year because you have to be 3, but her teacher said when she turns 3 in November, I can add her late to the class and she can be in the recital, which surprised me.  But apparently her teacher sees potential in her too.  I know, it's only 2 year old ballet, but I'm very proud of my tiny dancer!!!

Here are some pics of her last class:

She's always on her toes

Looks like fun, huh?????  I have loved spending SIX, that's right, 6, times in Mommy and Me Ballet, but this mama is ready for a change.  The girls are signed up for gymnastics this summer at a real gymnastics studio (as opposed to the local park district, which is great but they always cancel classes).  We are going where Abigial had her bday and they are both very excited...and I'm excited for something new!  Abigail's also signed up for swim lessons (Caitlin will swim with mommy while she's in class) and Vacation Bible School, so it will be a fun and busy, but super relaxing summer!!!

And just a few pics of what we've been up too...which al involves enjoying the weather!!!

We've been playing in the sand:

And going for hikes to catch butterflies and minnows:

And playing with our water table:

And celebrating this cutie's 2nd birthday:

And Rob's been having talks with his Godson Luke about the fun of turning 2...all while not dropping a shot to celebrate the big day:

And enjoying our time together!!!!

Up next, Memorial Day!!!!

Run Like the Wind

This weekend was a local run in our town to kick off the Town's Festival.  I was excited to run because the winner of each age division won a new pair of Nike shoes and I thought I had a chance to win my age division...since I'm getting old and everything!!!

However, instead of running to win, I decided to run with my 2 favorite running buddies!!!!

Since I was pushing the running stroller, I had to start in the very back.  And since it's a course on a small path, there was really no way of passing, so I was running at a walkers pace (I swear, my first mile was like 12 minutes)...but I knew that so I just enjoyed being out there.  We did a little running, a lot of walking...and the girls ran the last few hundred yards with me which was so much fun!!

My dad decided to come and run with us that morning.  He's not used to running short distances (only 3 miles) so he didn't know how'd it go....even though we knew he'd do great!!!

Go Grandpa!!!

Getting ready to start the race!!!!

And just as we thought...my dad did GREAT...and WON his age division!!!!

The winner

He was a little surprised because there was someone his age in front of him...but the guy was actually in a younger age division!!!

And along with the pride of winning, my dad got a new pair of Nikes...and here they are:

My dad decided to give me the Nikes...which was so nice of him.  I was really surprised...and very very grateful because I really needed a new pair of running shoes!!!!  I went and got fitted for Nikes (because I've never run in Nikes before) and they gave me the BEST pair of shoes they have.  I couldn't believe what an awesome pair of shoes I got.  I CAN NOT WAIT to cross a finish line in these babies!!!

Thank you so much dad...and way to go.  It was really just fun having him run with us.

After the race, the local festival began, so we spent a few hours with the girls at the festival.  They had so much fun playing...and eating!  :)  We were sad that Rob and my mom weren't there (golf and wedding shower) but it was a great morning!!!!

Pinkalicious

Abigail had her first ballet recital this weekend.  She never really got into ballet...until it came to recital time.  She LOVED being in a recital.  She loved practicing her dance.  She loved wearing her costume (which was so adorable).  She loved the hair and the makeup and the glitz. 

Abigail did GREAT on stage!!!  She had a lot of fun...and did the whole performance.  She had a really great group of girls to dance with too!!!

Introducing....Miss Pinkalicious!!!!!

love

pose

At dress rehearsal, Abigail forgot to "strike her last pose"...at least she's easy to find!

Daddy's Girl

Grandma and Grandpa at the show

The proud family

We love this girl!!!

Melts.  My.  Heart.

Flowers from Caitlin (and mommy and daddy) and Grandma and Grandpa. 

So....needless to say...her excitement to end ballet and begin gymnastics and soccer has changed to dance again next year!  So we'll do some gymnastics this summer and then probably another year of dance...and finally soccer the year she starts kindergarten!!!!

Way to Go, Pinkalicious!!!!!  You did great and we were so proud of you!!!!

Abigail's School Happenings

Abigail's 3-year-old preschool has come to an end.  And she had the BEST year.  Abigail had such a great teacher this year, Mrs. K.  Mrs. K. is one of those teachers who loves her students as much as her own kids.  We feel so lucky that Abigail got to spend the year in her class.  Saying goodbye to Mrs. K. was a hard day for all...and tears by all 3 of us....but the good news is that Caitlin will be in her class next year! 

For the end of the year, Mrs. K. made Abigail a book full of pictures and memories of her year.  It was so fun to look at all the fun things she did this year, especially since I'm not there everyday to experience these moments.  It's something I know Abigail will love to look back at!

A few weeks ago Abigail and I went to Mom's Night at school.  We made a picture frame and a flower pot, and had LOTS of ice cream!!!

Heading out to Mom's Night

Our traditional milkshake date after Mom's night.

Today was Abigail's last day of school.  It was backwards day at school which the kids loved (her clothes are on backwards...didn't make for a great last-day-of-school picture but did make for a fun day at school)!!! 

May 2012

And a flash back to the first day of school: 

September 2012

I couldn't find a picture of Mrs. K (but I know I have some) and I wanted to remember such a special, great teacher.  We are so lucky to have had her!!!

Apps for Apraxia

A few months ago, we decided to get an IPAD 2.  We had heard there were great apps for kids with Apraxia and we decided to invest in Caitlin's future.  Rob and I suffer now and have to use the IPAD, which happens to be the greatest thing we've bought in a long time!  :)

I've been meaning to post about some of the apps that Caitlin uses for speech.  She doesn't use the IPAD during therapy.  However, we've been using it as a supplement. We used to sit at the table and do flashcard and games..and we still do this...but it's great to have another option for her.  The more she practices, the better.

We spoke with her speech therapist and she said that they do not recommend kids using an IPAD under the age of 3 because of child's brain development.  However, she said if it's used in the right way, it's a great additional tool.  To be used correctly, Caitlin has to be verbally interacting with it.  She can't just sit and push buttons.  How do we do this?  Simple...when we teach her a new game, we teach her that the only way it moves to the next page is by her talking.  Is it true?  Not in most cases.  But she doesn't know that! 

It's adorable to watch her practice and yell so loud at the IPAD!  :)  I should add I am always supervising her and we are working together when she's on my IPAD.  It's not a babysitter...it's therapy supplement!  :)

Now, when we got the IPAD and I started researching apps, I was SHOCKED.  The prices of apps that are helping kids is RIDICULOUS!  Kids can play Angry Bird for free...but to buy the speech app I had heard about was $299.99.  That's right, some of the speech apps are $300 bucks!  Such a shame!  And a majority are between $19.99-$199.99. CRAZY, I know!

But with A LOT of research and little luck, we have a found a few apps in our price range that are helping Caitlin!  Also, a lot of the apps can be used on both the IPAD and my IPHONE, but you only have to pay for it once and it downloads on both devices!!!!

So, here are a few of the apps we are using that we like:


Tiga Talk:  In Tiga Talk, they give a letter sound and Caitlin has to practice.  Then, they have fun games to practice her sounds...like everytime she makes the "d" sound, a ballon pops and eventually she gets to see a picture behind the balloons.  It's been really great to practice her individual sounds.  I can also adapt the app to only work on the sounds she needs.  There is a microphone so the child has to make a sound to get "credit" for the sound.  The only downfall is that it doesn't have to be the correct sounds, just any sound...but it's great practice and she doesn't get frustrated if it's wrong! :)  We love this app and have it on both devices!!!!

Speech for Apraxia:  This is a new one I just found and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  It comes from the NACD (National Academy for Child Development).  For this app, I pick the sounds we are working on (and they are in order the same way she follows her sounds in speech, starting with BPM first, then DNT, etc).  Then, I can pick up to 8 levels.  You start at level one with one sound (bay).   Then you  move to new levels like level 2 (bay,bay, bay), level 3 (bay, bay, bay, bay, bay), level 4 (bay, bay, bay, bay, be), level 5 (bay, bee, bay, bee, bay), level 6 (bay, bay, bee, bee, bye), level 7 (bay, bee, bay, pa, pa), and level 8 (bay, pa, tuh, nuh, nye).  For any children in speech therapy, it really mimics what Caitlin does in speech.  The pictures are easy for kids as young as 2 to understand and you can touch each picture and it makes the sounds. 

I LOVE this app so much...and the best reason is that it was only $4.99!  When I bought it, it said $4.99 this week only as an introductory special..so the price may go up, but for 5 bucks, it's the best app we've used yet!!!!

Articulation Station:  This is a good app for word practice.  The downside of it is you have to pay $1.99 for each sound.  We've only invested in the p and the b so far.  You can pick words that have the sound at the beginning, middle, or end.  You can also pick the letter combos you want.  It's been good for extra practice, but would cost almost $45.00 to buy all the letters.  :(  So I recommend it if you have a few letters you want to really work on!

Starfall ABC:  We actually bought this one for our 4 year old daughter because it's great for letter practice.  (If you go to their website, they have phonics practice and Abigail was learning a lot of reading skills there, but it's not available for IPAD yet).  I want to make sure we are still working on all the other skills Caitlin needs for preschool next year. For Abigail who developed typically in terms of speech, by 2 1/2, we were really practicing letters and their sounds. With Caitlin, we have put those things on the backburner, but I want to keep up all her other skills because the words will come..and the skills have to be there too.  So this great to practice letters.  Not to mention sounds.  For example, for the letter b, it makes the "b" sound everytime you change the page, so she's constantly practicing that sound.  We love this app..and have it on my phone too!

Monkey Lunchbox: My sister introduced us to this on her Iphone a few years ago..and it's still a favorite.  I know lots of kids love this one.  Again, we don't use this for "speech" as much, but more to continue to build all her other skills like colors, matching, counting, etc.  It's a fun but educational app...my favorite!

Those are a few of our favorite apps!!!  We are very grateful that we were able to get an IPAD and give Caitlin one more outlet for practice.  With apraxia, it's practice, practice, practice!!!!!

In other "All Things Apraxia" news..in 2 weeks I'm attending a free parent webinar on successfully transitioning kids from an IFSP (what Caitlin has now in the early intervention system) to an IEP (what Caitlin will get when she turns 3 and transitions into speech in school, etc).  I have heard I'm in for quite a battle (and I've sat in may IEP meetings as teacher so I know how frustrating they can be for parents) so I figured I'd better start preparing, even though I have a few more months.  It's being sponsored by CASANA (Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America) and I'm looking forward to getting more information.  If anyone wants more info, let me know!!!!

Keep Calm...and Talk on!  ;)