Hamlet & Eggs

I have to share 2 cute things going on in our house the last few days:

First: James is in love with our paperback version of Hamlet. I ordered a box of cheap used books on ebay and that was the one he liked. It helps that it has a castle and a skull on it. He has carried it around with him for the last 3 days. Every time he thinks about it he opens it, runs his finger across the lines and then moves his bookmark. He is constantly telling me what page he is on. Assuring me that he is reading (probably all the words like: to and the it etc.) He just beams because he is so proud of himself.

This week our 3 youngest have really been sick with croup. Josh and I have been exhausted getting up with more than one child at a time and dealing with breathing issues, vomiting and fevers. This morning we were just too tired to get up. We both heard Abigail but we were pretending not to. Finally we woke up around 8:30 hearing Nate yell that breakfast was ready. Gabby, James & Nate had taken Abigail downstairs & kept her quiet, made 2 batches of scrambled eggs, and set the table complete with juice by the time we got down there. We were so proud of their thoughtfulness. They were just beaming at what a great work they had done. OH--they had also emptied the dishwasher. I love my cute kids!

Father Son Campout

Roasting 'mellows with Uncle John.

Yummy S'mores.

Excited about sleeping in a tent.

Josh tells me that camping with boys HAS TO include sticks.

Andrew calls this 'the forest'. They were able to climb and hit with sticks all evening.

James & Andrew walking with our friend Westin.

What boy can resist FIRE?

Nate was really excited when he found this thing. We don't know what it is but it fell from some tropical tree.

When James drinks Powerade he gets really excited and sucks so hard he gives himself a blood blister moustache.

Andrew calls this his coconut and he brought it home with him to show me.

My 4 very dirty, smelly boys.

The hour drive home was VERY quiet & peaceful.

Why my house is NEVER clean...

Our sweet neighbors just gave us all their Thomas set (it is at least 100 little parts).

Abigail was missing the other day and this is where we found her after a paniced 10 min of looking. Our porch floods in a really bad rainstorm.

Silly me! I heard silverware clinking and I thought Andrew was emptying his part of the dishwasher. This is what I eventually found. Abigail is obsessed with tupperware, and Natasha loves the sound of silverware.

While Mandi is patiently trying to teach Gabby piano, the twins had little toys in their hands that they were banging on the piano bench.

We don't know why but Tasha bear loves the taste of wipes.

Little promptings, big miracles

Last fall as we were going to a facility to have the girls' speech & occupational therapy I started not feeling right. It just didn't seem like a good fit and I wasn't really impressed with all we were getting. I finally was able to get a recommendation for the same OT from 2 seperate sources and was able to contract her directly through our medical plan and not throught the Early Intervention program.

Today our twins had their 6 month evaluation and it shocked all of us. Their grasping skills were that of a child that is 20 months (they are 21 mos.) and their motor coordination skills are that of an 18 month old. These are compared to children without DS! Our OT quietly told us that Abigail & Natasha would no longer be eligible for OT through early intervention if we had been going through them. Yet, they need the constant therapy to continue their progression. We are so delighted with our amazing OT and thrilled that our little angels continue to enjoy great health and progress so quickly. As if to re-iterate this, Abigail stood on her tip toes at the front door today and pulled the handle to go outside. Good thing the door was locked or she would have tumbled outside!

Space Coast

On a whim we decided Thurs. morning to visit the "Space Coast". We got there about a half an hour before the satellite launch and still got a great spot.

A few seconds after blast off. It was really cool. We could even see the boosters start to fall.

Our unobstructed view (thanks to a tip from a local).

We stayed right on Cape Canaveral by the port. Andrew loved looking out the hotel window at the docking cruise ships.

Here are my girls ready for breakfast. These are my favorite shirts for them to wear!

Natasha had a thing for the dresser and would not stay out.

Arriving at the Kennedy Space Center (affectionatly known to my kids through Nate as the Ka-nady space center).

Here are the kids ready to launch vertically in the Apollo II.

Rocket Garden.

Nate and I went on this virtual launch ride. It was a simulator like Star Tours only a bit scarier. It was quite the illusion.

Viewing the launch pads.

Space shuttle lifesized model that we could explore.

With an "astronaut."

Josh and I have been really grateful to have had some once in a lifetime opportunities with our kids lately. I hope that the 3 oldest will never forget how amazing this trip was.

Life's little joys...

So last night Nate got in a lot of trouble. When Josh and I confronted him with his punishment he got really angry. His eyes welled up with angry tears and his teeth clenched. He decided to yell the worst thing he could think of to his father so he screamed, "FILTHY MUDBLOOD!" I could not help myself and I burst out laughing. It is comforting to know that he is still innocent enough that he could think of no worse than a Harry Potter insult. It sure lightened the mood for all of us.

Sunday the kids were getting their scriptures and getting into the car. Andrew came running up to me in a panic and said, "Mommy, where's my scripture Mormon?" He wanted to make sure he got his scripture Skittles.

In a world where most people with DS struggle with near-sightedness, we found out today that our twins are far-sighted. Haleluja! No glasses anytime soon for our little girlies.

Special visit

We had friends for desset this last weekend. Their daughters were in town so they came as well. Kelly and Sherie were a blessing to meet. They have their own condo (with staff supervision) and they both work full time. They love getting their hair & nails done and going out for girls' night. They talked about their favorite foods & shows and their brand new (and only) nephew. They were really excited to put jammies on the girls for me but they hadn't realized that they would be squirmy and needed a bit of help. Kelly (left) absolutely loved being with the girls and didn't want to leave them. We really enjoyed our time with them and our kids had a lot of positive things to say about them.

Thought we would clarify that Kelly & Sherie are actually sisters that are 13 months apart. (Although it hardly matters now in their 40's) It is nothing short of a fluke that both girls had DS.