just born

My sweet Mason turns 5 today.  We have a wonderful day planned for him.  Before it can start, though, the 5 of us will head downtown to visit Emma’s ortho doc for her pre-op appointment.  I’m anxious to learn more about what the surgery and the recovery will entail.  Of course I’ll post an update, along with exactly what they’re going to be doing to make her hips more stable.

But…after that the fun begins!  I think we’ll hit up 5 and Diner for lunch complete with shakes.  Then we’ll go to take the kids to Cars 2.  Are we the only family that hasn’t seen it?  I refused to go opening weekend.  Too crazy.

Tonight, per his request, we’ll have a pizza picnic.  That’s when we move the ottoman out of the way, throw down a blanket, and eat pizza on the floor while watching a movie or kids show.  Right now my kids LOVE Wipeout.  Pure silly family fun.

Do you have any special traditions you do for birthdays in your home?

So what do you do in that situation?  Well, if you’re me, you have a pretty rotten day where you bite your lip for most of it.  You go through “why Emma?” and “why me?” spells sporadically.  You cherish the time at work so your mind stays preoccupied.  You trudge through your workout, pouring out all your energy into it.  And you pause on the food consumption for the day.  You also email the resource teacher for clarification and questions.

And Friday?  You put on your big girl panties, damnit, and get to work. Fortunately, I’ve learned to feel sorry for myself for very short periods of time.  And then I just figure out what I need to do and get to it.  Unfortunately, at this point, there’s not much I can do.  The good news?  The resource teacher and I want the same things for Emma.  Basically, more time with her aide, and more time in the resource room.  It’s become apparent that Emma gets too frustrated in the general ed setting.  Therefore she acts out, becomes disruptive, and can be a bully.  So, let’s take her out of that situation.  Right now we’re on hold, waiting for the psychologist to get back with her schedule so we can set up an IEP meeting to revise it.  As it seems, no one will have to be bowing down because we’re all on the same page.

I’ll keep you posted on when the IEP meeting occurs.  At this point I’m just ready to get the ball rolling.  When it comes to Emma and what she needs, I can become impatient.  I’m not going to sit around for too long.

Onward and Upward!

Go enter to win!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MASON!!!

Enjoy!!

The first gift…the Mercedes hat!

And then the Mercedes shirt!

Last but not least, the coveted Mercedes key fob!

One happy boy!

Cake time!

Anyway, this is not a post to joke about his age, although it is easy to do since I’m 7 years his junior.  No matter.  I have a wonderful husband.  The things I love about him are many.  He’s a wonderful dad.  He’s a caring and giving husband.  He puts up with my crap far more than most people would.  I’m still not sure why he does it.  He’s a devoted family man…he doesn’t like to go out during the week so he can spend time with the family (on the other hand, I’m the one who won’t miss a GNO!!).  He’s committed to his job, which is also a family business.  And that leads me to my next point, he loves ALL of his family.  We’re a very tight knit family.  At which point I’ll take the opportunity to thank his mom for raising such a wonderful man!  And all I want to do is wish him a wonderful birthday!!  I love you, Brett!

First we all met at Build-A-Bear.  I gave the girls giftcards so they could build their own Teddy Bear.  Of course I let them pick out whatever outfits they wanted, but I told them that the Teddy Bears would be attending our Tea Party.

Yessalyn, Emma, and Cheryl waiting for Build A Bear to open!

We've picked our animals...now to stuff!

After Build-A-Bear, we went to my mother-in-law’s house for Tea.  She is one lucky lady who has an actual Tea Room separate from the house.  And it is so cutely decorated.  This is where we had tea with our Teddy Bears, complete with finger sandwiches, fruit, tea and juice, and cupcakes for dessert.  It was so adorable….check it out!

Emma sipping her "tea" (warmed apple juice)

Yessalyn loved the heart-shaped PB&J's

Cheryl borrowed her mom's hat that she wore at the Kentucky Derby...and I didn't get a picture!!

As you can see, the tea was quite lovely.  We had such a delightful time.  And right now I’m kicking myself because I didn’t get a picture of Emma and Grandma Janice, nor one with me and Emma.  I really need to get better about pictures.  This was probably the nicest party we had…quiet, small, perfect for little ladies!

What’s the best birthday party you’ve thrown (for adult or kid alike!)??

I almost forgot to show you the adorable cake we got for the Family party later that day.  The same gal who made the cupcakes made this adorable cake.

You can find Sugarlips Cakery here and visit their blog here. Yum!

Happy Birthday Emma!

To say that raising her has been easy would be stretching the truth.  Many days have been anything but easy, truth be told.  But would I take any of it back?  Absolutely not.  She has taught me so much about life and its lessons, and it would be a shame if I hadn’t learned anything from her.  God has a funny way of improving on our habits.  I’m not a patient person, by nature.  But raising a child with special needs has forced down my throat a huge dose of patience!  I’ve learned that I’m much stronger than I ever could have imagined.  And that my marriage to Brett is pretty strong.  It has to be.  I often say that being put in situations like these will make you or break you.

My little girl…not so little anymore!!  Thanks to growth hormone, she is in the 50th percentile for height and about the 30th for weight.  She is long and lean! (and man, do I wish I had her body!)

She LOVES to read.  It’s her passion.  I wish I could say she really knew how to read, but she doesn’t.  However, it only takes one or two readings of a book before she can “read” it back to you.  Such a smart little girl.  She adores ballet right now.  She thinks she’s the coolest little girl to be able to go to ballet class.  She can’t get enough of school.  In fact, during the Christmas break, a few tears were shed because she missed it so much.  What will I do when summer comes??  She and Mason get along really well, for the most part.  Sure, they have their sibling squabbles, but who doesn’t?  They’re a good team.  She gets sad when other people get sad.  She wants to please others, too.  But she always stays true to herself…even when that means she doesn’t want to finish her dinner.  And there are nights she doesn’t.  The girl knows what she wants!  She loves music.  She gets that from me!  She loves to sing and dance, and watching musicals is her favorite.  In fact, her Daddy took her to see Mary Poppins (the Broadway musical) last week and she sat through every minute…and it was 2 hours and 45 minutes long!  She will watch, sing, and dance through the entire Sound Of Music movie.  The girl can’t get enough of music!

My piano player!

On this day, I will remember the gift that God gave us.  And be very thankful that He chose us to raise this little girl.  She’s truly a delight and I am so blessed!