MAGIC

Owen enjoyed being a part of the MAGIC basketball team this Winter!  Jarrod was the head coach and they were lots of fun to watch!  

Owen's biggest fans :)

Spring Break 2018

Over Spring Break we headed to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine!  There was so much for the kids to do and they have already decided to return next year :)

Hudson's first tryke

On his birthday, Hudson was presented with a beautiful red therapeutic tricycle!  For months we had been working closely with the CenTex Ambucs chapter, working out the details!   

Ambucs provides AmTryke bikes for people of all ages and abilities.  Their organization focuses on creating mobility and independence!  Hudson's tryke has hand pedals and his legs are secured so that they follow the hand motion.  He figured it out almost immediately!  He is going to have so much fun keeping up with Emma and Owen outside this Spring that he won't even realize that it's great exercise and therapy for him :) 

The UMHB Doctor of Physical Therapy department was so sweet to host a pizza lunch including a cake for the birthday boy :)  They also graciously raised funds for parts needed to prepare his new tryke!  We are so appreciative!

Hudson is THREE!

It's hard to believe that our little guy is already three!  He now weighs 29 pounds and measures 31" long.  He wears size 3T outfits, size 4 shoes and size 6 diapers.

We hosted a DINOmite celebration the weekend before at Big Daddy and Lita's house.  Lots of family and friends attended and we had a great time :) 

This was a BIG year for him!  He got his first wheelchair, stander and therapeutic tricycle,  which have all given him so much independence and freedom!  He met his only living great grandparent, rode a horse, went adaptive snow skiing, bowling and enjoyed his first carousel ride!

Hudson really loves music!  His favorite songs include 'Jesus Loves Me', 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and 'If You're Happy and You Know It'!  A guitarist visits his Sunday School class each week and he absolutely loves it.  He has started picking up on the lyrics!  He also enjoys rolling up to the piano and banging the keys.

His single word vocabulary has exploded!!  He does speech twice a week and recently started combining a couple of like words such as "Knock door", "Byebye Car", "Ready go" and "Eat bite".   His newest phrases include Happy Birthday, I Love You, shirt on, Sic 'em Bears and Hi Daddy.

Just after the New Year his therapy clinic opened their amazing new facility with all sorts of fun things!  He attends weekly PT, OT and speech and also started hippotherapy last month!  He looks forward to visiting his therapy horse Cleo each Thursday morning ;)

He has started recognizing logos such as Chick fil A {"chicken"}, Baskin Robbins {"I-ceam"} and HEB.  In the HEB parking lot he starts saying "Cookie!" because he knows they give out cookies in the bakery!

There are some things that I never want to forget about him at this age:

He correctly identifies Baylor and A&M but mostly chants "Sic 'em Bears" anytime he sees the BU logo!

He sleeps best on his tummy with his hands tucked underneath.  He still uses the Wubbanub, but mainly at sleep time.  He likes to pray and sing 'Twinkle Twinkle' together at bedtime.  

He recognizes heart, circle and star shapes - and points them out everywhere!

He enjoys reviewing flash cards and knows many words!  He always confuses kite and cup.

He just started counting to 5 on his own terms but does it anytime he spies numbers!

The way he sings 'Skidamarink' is quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever heard!

I have to strategically plan out our shopping trips to the mall.  He knows exactly where Great American Cookie Company is located and begs for a cookie!

He enjoys riding on elevators and says "door open" each time he sees one.

He can identify a horse, cow, bear ("beah"), fish ("bish"), dog, cat, zebra ("zewra"), dinosaur, frog octopus and turtle

His favorite TV shows include Sesame Street (Elmo!), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Splash & Bubbles (PBS) and anything with cars!

He enjoys mealtime but is still working toward using a fork!  His favorite foods include pizza, cookies, ice cream, pasta and avocados.  He has a Mickey Mouse face shaped waffle for breakfast each morning.

He only likes one type of sippy cup and will pitch a royal fit when given a different kind!

He really is pretty easy going 99% of the time!  Lots of people compliment on how happy he is.

Emma's first cotillion

Emma participated in her first cotillion this month.  The group met four times and then showed their new skills to parents on the final evening.  She learned dance styles {waltz, swing, fox trot, country/western and more}!  She learned basic etiquette, proper introductions and how to carry herself in a variety of social situations.

Participants were encouraged to invite a parent to dance.  Emma is a lucky girl to have such a fun dad!  He busted some moves on the dance floor :)

It's incredibly bittersweet to watch our girl grow up but we are so proud of the young woman she is quickly becoming!

New Years in New Mexico

We trekked 11+ hours to Ruidoso, NM to ring in the New Year!  We returned to the cabin we stayed at in early 2013!  Along the way we enjoyed meeting a friend for dinner in Abilene and a quick visit with Memaw in Crosbyton.

We were disappointed that there wasn't any snow in NM {and even more sad that Waco received snow while we were gone!}  Luckily there was some man-made snow on a couple of the slopes so that we could ski!  The first full day we were there we drove up the mountain and enjoyed a gondola ride to the top.  What a view!

On NYE we suited up in our ski gear!  We definitely over packed with warm clothes but ended up not having to use much of it!  Owen was excited about his first time to ski.  

While Emma and Owen started the day with a beginner's class Jarrod and I hit the slopes to refresh our skills!  There were only a couple of lifts open.  The kids did a great job and Owen was a speed demon! 

Before we left the mountain on NYE I briefly stopped by the Ski Apache Adaptive Sports office to inquire about what they offered.  I did not expect for Hudson to benefit from their services this year since I did not call ahead and because he is so young.  But GUESS WHAT?!?  The folks in the SAAS office were so kind and just so happened to have a time slot available the following morning!   

Upon our arrival on New Years Day they had three guys ready for us!  They had a tiny helmet and bi ski that fit Hudson perfectly!  We strapped him in and headed outdoors.  The guys were FABULOUS with him and were willing to stay out as long as he could handle.  Luckily the slopes were not at all crowded and we were able to take Hudson up several times in a row.  It was incredible how they conveniently got him on/off the lift and then glided him down the slope.  He yelled "wheeeee"! and each time our group reached the bottom he said "more"!  He loved it!!  What an unexpected but unforgettable experience it was to have Hudson join our family on the slopes :)

In the SAAS office they had this sweet therapy dog, Leah, who was so gentle and patient with Hudson.  He met a best friend!

Hudson also enjoyed tubing down the kiddy slides at the tube park!

We really enjoyed our time in NM!  We ate lots of dirt pudding, played many rounds of Skip Bo, assembled a puzzle, fed deer in the yard and celebrated the New Year in style!

HAPPY 2018!!

Emma's GOLDEN birthday!

This year was Emma Grace's {GOLDEN} birthday!!  That means that she turned 11 on the 11th :)  She is sweet, creative, sensitive, helpful and kind!  She stands 4'10" and Dr. D estimates that she will soon be taller than me!  We can already share size 8.5 shoes and I'm so excited that my collection has grown!

She enjoys volleyball, softball, creating short videos, writing stories and roller skating!  She still takes piano, is involved with the church children's choir and is looking forward to auditioning for the annual Spring musical soon!  She performed in an ensemble in her recent school program and did a great job!  She won first place in her class spelling bee and looks forward to competing in the school-wide bee in mid February!  

Emma cares deeply for the small circle of friends who bring out her very best!  She enjoys family game night and is hard to beat at SkipBo!  

Intermediate school has been great but has been an interesting mix of girl drama, learning responsibility, more challenging academia and questioning why "so and so" can watch/do but she cannot....!!

It isn't often that the two of us get away alone but when we do we have lots of fun!  Emma especially loves shopping at Target, eating at Olive Garden and getting a pedicure (my kind of day)!

Emma has a heart of gold.  She loves fiercely, thinks of others before herself and is a joy to parent. 

If I haven't mentioned lately that she is a WONDERFUL big sister, she IS!!  Her brothers adore her and I love to watch them grow up together.  In a few years we will have our very own babysitter :)

We celebrated at the local skating rink with lots of her favorite friends!!

Current favorites:

Color: turquoise

Day of the week: Saturday

Hobby: creating movies

Friend: Hallie

TV Show: Andy Mack
Movie: Wonder

Book: Wonder

Outfit: Jeans, boots & cute top

Food: pretzels

What do you want to be when you grow up? movie director or actor