going {home}

We're packing it up

and

 heading home.

Well, not truly HOME-home, because neither my husband nor I grew up there,

BUT, Texas is where:

I moved to in 8th grade ... and stayed

 (my dad was military, so I was used to moving EVERY.three.YEARS).

Where I fell in love back in 1993 with my amazing husband,

had our first born,

and then our second,

and then eight years after our second decided, "Hey! let's have a third".

Where we owned our first and second home,

made many friends that became "our family",

started my first (and second, and third) careers.

Where my brother recently moved back to (even though he'll be FIVE hours away)

 and my other brother is moving to this Spring.

(Now we just need to pack up mom and get her there too.)

so yes, 

we are going HOME.

Back to the same city.

Back to the same schools.

Back to friends and "family" we've known for

all the years we've been married,
 celebrated many holidays with,
and who watched our kids grow up.

Back to an area we know and love.

Back to the CI team who diagnosed Aiden and his first

AH.MAZING auditory verbal therapist.

(you know, the one who doubled as my own personal counselor for the first 8 months of A's life)

Back to Kat and Thomas and Sid.

(all I can say is wine+a great friendship between us AND our kids+sunshine and patios and pools=pure bliss)

All my kids are excited.

especially aiden who truly has no clue,

yet tells me nearly everyday,

"Mom stop {insert whatever it is I'm doing}. We have to pack for Texas!"

oh and Ryan.

Beyond excited to go back to the friends he's known since he was SIX.

and Kailyn.

well, she's a little more apprehensive. She left in 2nd grade, now she's in 6th

(enough said).

she's been reconnecting with all her friends there through texts though; she's excited too.

We're all excited.

As another chapter comes to an end,

another book begins to open.

Life is a journey.

Enjoy the ride.

Quick Catch Up

LONG.overdue.UPDATE. 

{in pictures}.
we've been busy.
very.very. busy.

someone got glasses for being farsighted.
more equipment, but have to say,
pure {CUTE.ness}

he also got the new Cochlear N5s!

Check 'em out! You can't even see them from the front anymore!

pure {EXCITEMENT}
(more to come in a separate post)

someone else got a nice fresh hair cut.

because her school had a bout of lice, and unfortunately, so did she.

{EW}

what a trooper she was.

what a wreck her momma was.

my first born turned SIXTEEN.

wow. it can't be possible that I'm the mother of a 16 year old.

{SIGH}

He also got his first job. at Wendy's.

and no, he doesn't have his driver's license and this momma

is in no hurry for him to get it.

in due time, right along with good grades and that one word - responsibility.

{smile}

then there was also the first dentist appointment.

Do you know how AMAZING it felt to sit back and let Aiden

answer all the questions the hygienist asked?

{MIRACLE} 

of cochlear implants.

Ryan and Kailyn have really stepped it up with their little bro.

they read to him.
play with him.
have conversations with him.
argue with him.

teach him.
more so than ever before.

pure{LOVE}

...just because

my boy's gross motor skills and motor planning skills

have skyrocketed.

he's not stumbling near as much anymore, but instead

jumping and running and leaping and everything else in between.

pure{BOY}

he loves to {LEARN}

asking questions ALL.the.time.

enough said.

We lost our kitty Bonz.

 we had him eight years,

he was a part of our family.

it's been difficult for all of us,

(especially his brother Baby)

and he is dearly missed.

{RIP} sweet Bonezee.

Dear Blog,

I promise I have not abandoned you. You have been on my mind so much this summer, but when the kids are out of school, I can't provide you the full attention you need. This summer has been extra hectic between (sometimes) up to five therapy appointments a week between two kids. But it hasn't been all work and no play, in fact, we've been having a TON of fun between all the appointments. 

It's been a summer of "firsts" (and some seconds & thirds), such as, 

Kailyn attending a sleepover camp for six days.

 Aiden feeding his first calf, and

 camping/swimming in the beautiful state of Wisconsin with grandma, (ok, definitely not a first, but it is the first time Aiden will remember it).

So much fun to catch up on, so many updates on all levels. 

So don't give up on me quite yet, there's much more to come.

In TEN days I will have a tenth grader, a sixth grader,

and a {talking quite a bit more, and so much crisper} preschooler.

Until then, I'm off to enjoy what's left of summer with my darlings!

ABC and a little G

Since the last time I posted,

we have celebrated:

ANOTHER YEAR OF HEARING!

THREE YEARS

to be exact. 

REMEMBER THIS SWEET FACE?

soon after his second CI activation

We celebrated three years hearing with a trip to the park,

and some requested, "chocolate ice cream with sprinkles please".

love this face!

Then a week later was Aiden's,

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

the FOURTH one!

 we celebrated with a HUGE birthday/St. Patty's Day party combo.

It was an open house, and in the end, I believe

we counted 24 kids (from ages 1 to 16),

who were there to join in on the festivities.

Aiden saw his first St. Patrick's Day parade,

took some good whacks at his second ever pinata,

and ran around with many cousins and new friends.

FOUR YEARS OLD!

love these sweet babies!

AaaaaannnnnDDD ...
I got to meet this

CI MOMMY

and her adorable children!

(I have a lot better pics besides this one from my phone, but cannot get my camera to download them! ugh)

She and I have "known" each other since soon after our boys were implanted.

We talk on the phone together,

and support each other through this amazing journey,

but this is the first time we met in person,
and it was pure awesomeness.

Peas and Cam are even more adorable in person! 

They gave me a hug as soon as we walked in

and were so excited to play with Aiden!

 It was great watching all three boys running around and

talking amongst each other about what to play next.
It was like they'd known each other for years ...
just like me and their mom.

I LOVED hearing Noah's amazing language and how it just flowed,

no different than any typical five year old.

The highlight of the day,
listening to two deaf children play hide-n-seek,
with a hearing peer,
each of them yelling out as they counted aloud,
from one to ten,
 then running up to let us moms know they couldn't find another,
and then all settle down to watch some Toy Story 3.
(well, the highlight besides sitting and talking nonstop to 
a pretty amazing mom whom I absolutely adore).


and last but certainly not least,

GRANDMA!

I packed up Aiden and Kailyn last week for their spring break and headed to Wisconsin.
Aiden has always been shy around my mom,
but this trip,
he discovered the MAGIC of GRANDMA!
It was pure bliss
as I watched them laugh,
and dance,
and TALK.
Aiden wouldn't leave her side.

LOVE.

ten on tuesday

1. I can't believe I'm up past 10 pm. On the nights I lay with Aiden to get him to go to sleep (don't judge, bad habit, third child) I'm out right with him. On the nights I have off, once I say goodnight to K, I'm crawling in bed myself.

2. cRaZy past couple of weeks ...

3. We had my SIL's wedding a couple weekends ago. She was stunning, absolutely beautiful. Selfishly, one of my favorite parts was watching Aiden dance the night away. I've never seen him dance so much. Actually, outside of Laurie Berkner or mimicking his sister here and there, I don't think I've ever seen him truly GET DOWN . I was in Heaven.

4. Ryan had been complaining about his belly the past few weeks. I blew it off to "teenage boy eating habits". He came home from his Lacrosse game last Tuesday, scarfed down two bowls of chili, and went into complete pain mode. After giving him antacid type of meds, the pain kept getting worse and worse to the point I took him to the ER (last thing I wanted to do because I swore it was his teenage gut and at this point it was past 10 pm and WAY past my bedtime). Glad I listened to  him. He had his appendix removed early the next morning and spent two days in the hospital.

5. The day Ryan got home from the hospital, Aiden got the flu. In three years, the boy has never really puked. All.night.long - he puked. Of course he did.

6. With #3 & #4, I had to cancel Aiden's IEP, which was just fine since I wasn't completely prepared. I know what goals he needs and I (hope) they won't fight me, but we (mom & dad) just have other thoughts in mind that we're still trying to work through. For now though, we forge forward with what we have, and know it's always nice to have options. It's now this Friday. Guess I know what I'll be working on tomorrow.

7. I need a vacation. then again, who doesn't?

8. Next weekend (yep, Thanksgiving weekend), I'm heading to Chi town with one of my favorite chics, my niece, and my all time favorite daughter for a girl's weekend. I think my mom may even join us. I am BEYOND excited (see #'s 3 & 4 above).

9. I'm pretty sure we're heading to my mom's for Christmas. I cannot wait to see my grandma & grandpa. I missed them this summer and I'm way overdue for morning coffee/gossip time with the best grandma in the whole.wide.world AND for 4pm Miller time with the most amazing man ever. and of course, i'm so excited to see my mommy too (and maybe actually get date night with another amazing man I know)!

10. It's almost 11 pm. Way past my bedtime, yet this peace and quiet time is beautiful.

10a - I have so much to catch up on with Aiden ... OT, speech, his bossy language, incidental learning ... so much to say. Guess I need to stay up past 8pm more often!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. My sister-in-law is AMAZING. She's married to my husband's "Irish twin" (they're 14 months apart). We share the same birthday. She's a teacher-of-the-deaf. She has been such a blessing in this journey and I cherish the relationship we've built and all her advice to me. I'm lucky to have her insight, her knowledge/expertise, and her love for Aiden all in one.

2. I spoke with this CI momma today. I love all the friendships I've built over the years. I've never had such close relationships with people without actually ever meeting them. There's something about talking to someone about that certain something and they just get it. One day, we will meet and our boys will play. We have that "cheese-head" link, there's no way we can't!

3. Today I sat and observed Aiden's class again - for a good two hours (he didn't know I was there). I'm preparing for his upcoming IEP and I want to fully understand what his classroom experience is and see him in action. Then I was invited to sit in a speech session with him. He didn't know I was coming, and when he walked in, his face lit up and he ran right to me with a big ol' "MOMMY!" Needless to say, we spent the rest of the afternoon together after that session.

4. Fall is here. I'm bummed though, because all the leaves started changing colors, which I absolutely LOVE, and the next weekend they were pretty much gone after the big wind storm we had. I was hoping for a lot more time of their beauty. I am looking forward to my upcoming field trip with Aiden's class though to the pumpkin farm! Fun times! Living in Texas for so long, I forgot how much I LOVE fall!

4. Parent-teacher conferences for Ryan = complete success. All of the teachers raved how respectful and what a nice young man he was. A few said their class was too easy for him and he needed to be bumped to honors. One said he was their favorite. One asked if he was on "a program"?!?  Last year I would've understood this more, but when further questioned if he was talking about an IEP, the teacher answered, "Well ya, have you seen his handwriting?" So proud of my messy handwriting son who is kicking butt and taking names!

5. Kailyn's volleyball season is over. What an amazing program they put on. And by the end of it, she had a handful of serves that made it OVER the net - scoring a point, many bumps over the net - and scoring a point, and even a couple sets. AND she's become quite the defensive player this season in soccer. Best thing about all of it, she loved every minute of it.

6. Any day now I'm going to start a photograph of the day blog (or just add a tab to this blog). I LOVE photography and I've been playing around with my camera a lot. My dream is to have a successful photography business, but want/need to get some more practice under my belt. SO, I thought what better motivation than to take, edit, and post one picture a day. This way I figure I'll practice a certain technique every couple weeks, without feeling so overwhelmed with it all.

7. I'm having a hard time with this full day of school five days a week thing. I miss my baby. The other night he told me, "Mommy, Aiden's sick." (he has a cough), "stay wit mommy. No school." Okay.  (heart melting and such a sucker).

8. OT has been AMAZING! I have so much NEW knowledge I never understood and so many NEW ideas to work with him on and so much NEW faith in the whole OT program. Miss Amie ROCKS. Aiden loves her. I love her. I have so much to share about it all.

9. Aiden is going through a monkey phase. Last night he insisted on "monkey top and monkey pants" for pjs. This morning he fought me to put on his shirt because he wanted a monkey shirt. So during our afternoon together, we ate pizza then went shopping for monkey shirts. Thanks to Old Navy's character shirts and Curious George, we didn't have to look far.

10. We live in the country. The few people who drive by, fly. Even with kids outside playing. We live on the corner. Today they pounded in the pole to put up our "Deaf Child in Area" sign. Our little po-dunk town had AMAZING turn around with no argument about putting up the sign what-so-ever. One of the five has a girlfriend who is Deaf. Aiden and I will be delivering some homemade goodies this week. So thankful.

Back to School

Wow. This summer flew by. Busy is an understatement, but we had a blast, and great memories were made.

All kids got up pretty easily, most of them excited to start their first day. I'll let you guess which one wasn't (hint: he's taller than I am).

SMILES:

my handsome high schooler to ...

my excited 5th grader to ...

my preschooler!

• Through the summer, Aiden slept until 9 or 10. No joke. First day of school, he got up with no problem! The best part, the lack of our typical wrestling match trying to get him dressed.
  
  
• Aiden says, "No more J! Mary!" ("J" is what he called his teacher, Mrs. J, from last year, Mary is his new teacher). Love it.
  
  
• No tears on the bus! AND, his friend Eric is riding with him this year too! It's amazing for as little of a city we live in that there's another little boy Aiden's age with bilateral Nucleus Freedoms. They are the only two with CIs in our local school district, hence our reason for sending them out of district. ; )
  
  
• At drop off, he looked back, waved to his bus driver and yelled, "Bye Jahtee (jackie)!"

• He was a bundle of laughter and smiles the rest of the night, talking nonstop.
  
  
• Kailyn's one of the "big kids" in the school now (K-5th) and boy is she loving it!
  
  
• As her bus pulled away today, she was in the back seat and mouthed to me, "Look! I get the back seat!" Guess it's still cool to ride in the back of the bus.
  
  
• My best oldest child ever, Ryan, wasn't too excited about his first day, but then again, what teenager is. We decided to enroll him in a Catholic high school for the remainder of his high school career. Our local district h.s. wasn't a good fit and there were a lot of things we didn't agree with or like about the school. The good thing is he's completely on board and is very positive about his new start. He's hating the whole uniform thing - I on the other hand, love it.

and DEEP BREATHS

• I struggle with the thought of Aiden being in school five full days a week. He's just three. The good thing is they nap the last 60-90 minutes of school - this is good as he won't nap at home, but he will with others. It's a long day, but a structured day full of language enrichment. I'm going to give it a month or so, if it seems too much for him, I'll change back to 1/2 days like we did last year. I honestly think he'll be just fine.
  
  
• On top of the long school day, he has quite the bus ride, which makes his day even longer. He's on the bus a good 45 minutes each way to and from school. I may start to pick him up though, since I'll pick up Ryan everyday and their schools are only a couple miles from each other. I gotta say, he loves riding the bus though, and I like the thought of some one on one with Ryan before my wild ones get home. We'll see.
  
  
• On top of school, Aiden will still have his auditory verbal therapy every other week and OT once a week, each during the school day. Then there's the possibility we may have to add a speech pathologist in the mix, but I'm going to fight to get him more speech time at school through his IEP. I'm thinking of taking him out of school one day a week and deem it "therapy day".
  
  
• I have worries for each of my kids this year, one no more than the other. I worry about Ryan and Kailyn just as much as I worry about Aiden. Being a teenager is not easy and honestly, you couldn't pay me enough money to go back to those years. I hope he finds himself and realizes how much he has to offer this world. He truly is brilliant and has such a big heart. Kailyn struggles in some areas and I pray the school jumps on board and starts working as a team with me. I have to say, my girl always has a smile on her face that lights up a room, but is her own biggest critic. I'm working hard with her to get that "I can do anything I set my heart and soul to" attitude. Aiden has new obstacles to overcome on top of everything else we continue to strive for. We're still on the unknown path, with no official diagnosis, but we've also already entered the path to success as we work through mapping issues and get a jump start in OT. All I can do is hope. Hope and pray, and continue to support each of them in their own journeys. It's not easy, but I know they will all overcome.

I have a feeling it's going to be a good year for all of us; very busy, but good. We all have some hard work ahead of us, but I think we're at the point where we're ready for anything ... either that, or about to all fall on our faces, but what fun would that be?

for the LOVE of brothers

one of my favorites of my boys

Last night as I was cleaning up the dinner dishes,

Ryan and his girlfriend, Anna,

were playing with Aiden in the living room.

Aiden ADORES Anna (or "nana" as he calls her).

He adores his brother too, BUT,

when Anna's around, he's all about the girls.

SO cute.

Out of the blue, I hear Aiden yell at Ryan,

"Ryan stop! No mommy's phone!"

count them - FIVE words - TOGETHER.

each one of them, CLEAR.AS.DAY.

an AMAZING possessive.

and exclamation points galore.

WAY TO GO BUDDY!

He knew Ryan wasn't supposed to have my phone without asking,

let everyone know it,

and marched it right back over to me.

Actually, he's been onto Ryan a lot lately,

(ryan loves to mess with him),

so Aiden's phrase of the month has been,

"Ryan, please stop!"

Ryan's been feeling the wrath of Aiden lately.

Later that night, after Kailyn was through reading

Aiden his bedtime books,

the four of us sat in Aiden's room chit-chatting.

Aiden ran over to his brother,

jumped on his belly, threw his arms around Ryan's neck,

planted a HUGE kiss on his cheek, and said,

"I wuv you Ryan!"

Needless to say, we all went to bed

smiling ear to ear.

especially Ryan.

**LOVE**

For the Love of Talking.

yes honey. we all hear you.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ryan's Confirmation was this week. We try to bring Aiden to church, to teach him what it's all about, but I have to say, for my own peace of mind, Aiden's daddy often keeps him at home.

So, let me set the scene. Catholic masses are typically just under an hour. Special masses, such as a Confirmation, can last up to a good hour and a half. We first sat in the "baby friendly" section (you know the part that is out of earshot of everyone else - you can hear the priest but no one inside can hear the babies), but then were told about an open pew, right behind the Confirmation class, so we went ahead and took the chance. We were smack dab in the middle of the church. As soon as we sat down, I handed Aiden his bag of books and when that didn't suffice, my iPhone (minus the volume, and which btw, he is totally addicted to).

and still, Aiden talked. and talked. and talked. When I would "shhh" him, his grandma would look and smile, but not say a word. He wasn't screaming, he wasn't being unruly, he was just - talking. Most of the time loudly, sometimes he'd actually listen to me and use his "whisper" voice. When they played music he would loudly hum along like he was singing; actually he would do this when the whole church was completely silent too. When his daddy would stand up, he'd yell, "Daddy, sit down!" and his daddy would have to sit down to get him to be quiet. When we'd take him to the "unruly kid" part of the church, he'd scream, "NO, INSIDE!" until we headed back to the pew.

Ryan and his aunt (who was his sponsor and therefore sat by him towards the front of the church) heard all.of.it and even turned around a few times laughing. People around us - some smirked, some didn't; some smiled, some just stared. I didn't care. It was my oldest son's special day and I was going to be as close as I could to see it all and anyways what three year old doesn't talk in church? Well, that day it seemed to be only my three year old.

On the way out, as we laughed about it, my mother-in-law said it best:

"How can you shush a deaf child in church when you're so blessed that all your prayers have been answered that one day he would hear and speak?"

Amen to that mom!

and I just have to know, do other CI/hearing aid moms and dads out there have a hard time "shushing" their child as much as I do? I have to admit, I SMILE very big every time I have to do it. Maybe that's why he never takes me too seriously.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We're on VaCaTiOn! It is Ryan's and Kailyn's Spring Break so we headed to Myrtle Beach. Weather is absolutely nasty, icky, blah, BOO. As bummed as I am, it's still nice to walk outside and hear/see the ocean (even at 40 degrees outside) and even nicer to have family time with no schedules, appointments, or practices.

2. Today is supposed to be a high of 61 and completely sunny. Can you say BEACHBOUND?!? I need my sunshine fix.

3. and even with the cold rainy weather, Kailyn and her daddy are such T-R-O-O-P-E-R-S. They are not letting this weather ruin their vacation. My daughter is a fish and weather is not a factor. On a 40 degree night she "dared" her daddy to jump in the outside pool, which of course he couldn't back down on, and she was right in after him. Insane.

4. I'm upset with myself that I didn't plan better and get Aiden the aLOKSAK for the beach. I've read on many people's blogs, like here, and here, and here, who have used this so their child can still wear their CIs to hear while they swim. It scares me. In the same breath, I want Aiden to HEAR and learn the sounds of the beach as he plays in the sand and runs through the waves. Next time for sure.

5. Simply Amazing Moment #1114 - Aiden's daddy turned the radio on and as he turned it up, Aiden, smiling that lovely shit eating grin he has, covered his ears and yelled, "IT'S TOO LOUD!" LaUgH aNd LoVe!

6. I luuuuvvv my coffee in the morning. I love it even more when everyone is still sleeping and it's only me, my coffee, and my computer. Complete peace.of.mind. Now if I can just figure out how to bottle up the sounds and view of the ocean and take it home with me.

7. My mother-in-law is with us on our trip. She is AMAZING and what I consider the ultimate mother-in-law. I'm lucky to have her. Selfishly, it's fun having her to ourselves (remember, my husband has 11 siblings which = 20 grandkids).

8. As I watched the news last night I was saddened by the fact that the LAST thing they showed was one of our U.S. soldiers, returning home from the Middle East, surprising his five year old daughter whom had no clue her daddy was about to walk through the doors. These moments are priceless. Why wait to the end? Don't they know that by the end people have already changed the channel sick of hearing all the "bad"? I think we need a channel dedicated to nothing but "happy" news. Who's with me?

9. I really enjoyed THIS book. I see they're coming out with the movie yet have no intentions of seeing it. The book was so good and I'm scared the film will ruin it for me.

10. I love everything about vacations - spending good quality time together, exploring new areas, playing games, laughing, building our relationships and FoReVeR memories - TOGETHER, as a family - with NO distractions. Pure bliss.

Cousins

Aiden's typical hide-and-seek crew.

My husband comes from a big family (12 kids in all), most of whom live in the same vicinity. Many siblings, means a lot of cousins, 19 (plus one on the way) grandkids in all, ages 1 through 16. A huge family also means big family gatherings, even on simple nights of just a few of us getting together at mom's for pizza and letting the kids play.

I love this family. I love the family gatherings, the way all the cousins get along, the way there is someone for everyone and no one is ever left out. I love the noise all the kids make laughing and running around like crazy, from the older ones running in and out to the younger ones running around to see where the best place to hide is in their ritual game of hide and seek. I love their bonds.

When we found out Aiden was deaf, one of my biggest worries was how he would communicate with extended family and how much he was going to miss out on. There was no doubt his cousins would accept him for who he was and treat him just like the rest, but I had MANY, MANY sleepless nights wondering how he would keep up. I was scared he wouldn't have the same experiences my older two had, that he'd be left behind, not able to communicate with his cousins, or able to participate in all the games they play ... how would he know where they were running off to and what they were all laughing at or talking about? Many tears were shed over this alone.

BUT, just the opposite is true.

He fits right in. He doesn't miss a beat and is never left out. He keeps right up with his cousins without a problem. It melts my heart as I watch and hear Aiden as he laughs with them, runs around screaming with them. He understands what they say and he talks back to them.

He hears when they're in the basement vs. upstairs and finds them in hide and seek. He calls them by their names and runs up and tells them, "Ahmon, les go". He terrorizes them, then laughs out loud knowing exactly what he's doing. He keeps up. He is very much a part of the "crew".

and in the same sense, I love how each one of his cousins have come up to me many times with, "Oh my gosh Aunt Tammy, Aiden just said (fill in the blank)!" or "Guess what word I just taught Aiden to say!" or "Aunt Tammy, Aiden's CI fell off and I put it back on!" or, in pure excitement, "Aunt Tammy, Aiden heard me from all the way downstairs and he listened to what I said!"

His "magic ears" have no bearing on any of them in defining who he is. He isn't treated any differently. I hear them yell at him to "Stop", then a second later will hear something like, "Aiden, it's a snowglobe. Watch how the snow falls, falls, falls when you shake it up." Some have gone to his AV therapy or audiology appointments, out of pure curiosity. Some follow his story through this blog.

They have all asked questions about his "ears", wanting to better understand how they work; they've all shared in the excitement of how well he's hearing and recently how well they understand what Aiden is saying.

If I would've had the slightest inclination of the power of cochlear implants and all the opportunities they've opened up for Aiden, especially communicating with ALL of his family, there would've been so many saved tears and sleepless nights.

So to ALL of his cousins, I send a huge THANK YOU. Thank you for being Aiden's advocates, his teachers, his supporters, but best of all, for being such great cousins.

SiMpLy CrAzY NoNsToP BuSy

is what I have been since Thanksgiving.

Aiden's blog is LONG overdue for MANY, many updates, but my search to find time to update has been unsuccessful

because

of THIS ...

(a multitude of roadtrips traveling to and from Cleveland for fun holiday family get togethers or audiology/AVT appts or a night out of Christmas shopping and cocktails with my sister-in-laws)

and THIS ...

(my mom and brother drove in to spend Christmas with us and help make it the best Christmas ever. It was our first Christmas together in over three years and I enjoyed every moment with them. We also had my husband's brother's family from New York the weekend before and my husband's sister's family came in the day after my mom and brother left to help us ring in the New Year. So fun!)

and of course my favorite THIS (which was worth every crazy moment)...

BUT, the main reason I am absolutely insane, completely crazy,

is because of THIS Christmas Eve surprise,

because, you know, I have nothing better to do.

I gotta admit, this Christmas, as on-the-go that it was, was quite calm compared to the last three. Three years ago I was pregnant and in and out of hospitals and nursing homes spending as much time possible with my daddy; two years ago we had just moved to Maryland and were temporarily living in a two bedroom apartment, out of boxes until our house was ready; one year ago we were surrounded by moving boxes all over again, packing up the UHaul the very.next.day for our journey out of Maryland to Ohio.

Hence my determination to make this holiday as magical as possible.

and it was just that.

I am ever so thankful knowing we are finally settled; thankful to spend the first Christmas season EVER between BOTH our families; thankful for the festive, jolly, Mrs. Claus like, everyone's.going.to.have.a. WONDERFUL.Christmas mood I have been in.

and what a beautiful Holiday Season we had

ALL.MONTH.LONG

I wouldn't have changed one thing about it.

Hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday too.

Oh. and in between potty training a toddler AND a puppy,

getting my house back to normal everyday living mode,

and preparing for Aiden's upcoming transition from an IFSP to an IEP,

I will try my BEST to update Aiden's Journey.

I just need to find some alone time with my computer and

a glass, I mean a bottle, of wine.

Believe me, I'm looking forward to it.

'Tis the Season

This is my favorite time of year.

I LOVE feeling like a kid again and the excitement of

seeing the magic in my children's eyes as the house

gets all dressed up for the season and the Merry moves in.

This year is even more amazing as we watch and HEAR

Aiden learn and speak and truly begin to understand the season.

We're hearing, "TISMIS TEE" and "SANNA AUS" and "REINDEER"

and "TANY TANE" and "EL" (elf), and "SOMAN".

He gets it. I think it's inbred in every kid's heart and mind,

because he's NEVER picked up on SO many words

in so little time.

I LOVE how all my kids get excited about decorating the house and

the Christmas tree while jamming out to Christmas tunes,

even if the experience is short lived and they're just fine with leaving

mom to finish the job by herself.

I LOVE how Aiden walks around with all

the musical ornaments, LISTENING to the

Christmas music, HUMMING along with it.

I LOVE how my husband is all Clark Griswaldish

and has to have the biggest Christmas tree our ceilings will allow AND

the best lighted house on the block.

Not super crazy like, but he's smiling ear to ear knowing

we're the only house with lights outlining our roof.

(side note: according to him, the neighbor across the street

who has someone decorate for him does not count.)

I LOVE how Aiden sits and admires his own

"Tismis Tee" we put up in his playroom,

and decorated together. He's so proud of it and

I kid you not, he'll sit in his chair for long periods of time,

staring and smiling.

I LOVE baking cookies with my kids,

Christmas music blaring in the background, flour

everywhere, and half the dough eaten before

it ever makes it to the pan.

I LOVE how everyone is just that much more generous

and thoughtful to each other.

Such as this surprise I woke up to

the other morning from my sweet teenage son.

I LOVE how Aiden is addicted to "tany tanes".

He can't get enough.

Seriously, who can eat a WHOLE candy cane

like that in less then 10 minutes?

I LOVE how we get to spend Christmas this year with BOTH of our families.

It is our first year ever we've lived this close,

and I LOVE my kids get to celebrate the season with their

cousins, their aunts and uncles, and BOTH of their grandmas!

What do you LOVE about this time of year?

HaPpY HoLiDaYs

So Much To Say yet So Little Time

I've started several posts lately, as whenever I think about something

I want to write, I run over to my beloved MacBook and start writing.

Problem is, they all sit there unfinished as I haven't really had the time

to sit and put good thought into fixing

my mumbled messes, such as:

Aiden's six month IFSP review was last month, well actually towards

the end of July,along with a few different language evaluations.

It's our time to start looking at preschools since his transition meeting

from the county to the school district will be this November or December -

seriously, did I just write PRESCHOOL? Where does the time go!?!

Our new fall crazy, busy, nonstop schedule

How he's doing with his new "traditional" therapy

(I'll just say we will continue to go)

and then of course my handful of emotional day in and day out

posts of just stuff I think about

With the fall approaching, so does getting used to a busy life in our household.

Ryan and Kailyn started school,

Kailyn kissing Aiden goodbye on her way to the bus.

which comes along with getting into a homework routine,

and with Ryan starting high school

(oh my gosh, did I just write HIGH SCHOOL? DEEP BREATH!)

his homework is NONSTOP; add in the new fall activities/sports/practices

that I'm constantly running to; getting used to EVERYONE'S new

schedule (including Aiden's), and oh, did I mention I now have a high schooler?

Well, any of you who were once in HS or have a HS'er,

know that mom's newest job title to add to the already long list,

is TAXI CAB DRIVER. It's nonstop.

Not to mention none of us are in school mode. We still think it's summer.

aiden performing d.j. duties

a little baseball playing

and knowing the cold weather is on its way, we're spending

every moment we canenjoying the outdoors.

In fact, Aiden's physical therapist asked if we

could meet at the park instead of at my house until it gets cold out,

Ummm, YA!

and she'll be super excited to hear our days outdoors have lead to Aiden

pedaling his tricycle all by himself! HUGE p.t. milestone!

We've had family visiting to help us enjoy

the new firepit my husband built,

and to help us hold on to the final days of summer,

yet bring in the cooler weather and beauty of fall.

We've been traveling a lot and getting in

last minute four day weekends while we can.

and hence, my lack of time and lack of posts.

They're all there ... just waiting for me to fill in the blanks,

and soon enough, I hope to have them cleaned up and cleared out.

HAPPY FALL MY FRIENDS!