One busy month

So I realize it has been a month since I blog. . . . I have no excuse exceptthat we have been very busy getting back to school, getting new tires and brakes on Erin's car, being rear-ended in the van, taking the van for its first estimate, having Erin's car break down in the parking lot of the body shop(new fuel pump), calling my friend to pick up me and the kids while Erin waited for a tow, being told the van was drivable and the body shop couldn't begin repairs until the middle of February, taking the van to another body shop, having body shop two declare the van undrivable, finally getting a rental and Erin's car fixed, all the while visiting the chiropractor 3 times a week, Erin's swim meets, and I could go on and on. . . But so could many of you I am sure so I'll leave you with a few pics of the smashed up van and of the kids in the snow this past week on the second of our two snow days. . .

Greetings from FL

This week we have been in FL visiting Erin's mom. While we have been soaking in the sun, we have also been busy playing wii, swimming, going to the movies, and spending a day at Disney. We plan on having a quiet New Years' celebration tonight and will start home on the 2nd. Here's hoping everyone has a happy, safe, New Year's Eve!

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. . .

Isaac loves playing with Gramme. Here they are in her room playing Batman and watching Scooby Doo meets Batman on her TV.

Gramme's First Mario Kart Derby!

Christmas Card

Many of you will get your cards late this year, as I just took the picture and had them printed yesterday. Here's how it turned out. . .

I hope everyone has a great holiday season and a wonderful new year!

All they want for Christmas is . . .

My kids wrote their letters to Santa yesterday (or Erin typed their letters as they dictated them) Here's what they said . . . .

Sis said this. . .

Dear Santa,

I have been very good. I would like this music box with my name on the front for putting my jewelry inside please. Thank you.


Love,
Kalista (We then cut/pasted a pic of an Ariel music box we found)


Here's what the little man had to say. . .

Dear Santa,

I have been a nice, big boy. Can I have a pirate ship and a cheeseburger please. Thank you.


Isaac


Pirate ship -- check! CHEESEBURGER?!?!?!?! What a crack-up!

Thanks Gramme!

One of the ways we are helping Kalista with her food issues is by getting her to help more in the kitchen. We have told her that she is now the Head Chef for all meals. Now that doesn't mean she gets to pick what we are making, nor does she have to eat what she is preparing, but it is a way of making food more fun for her. So far things are going well. Over the past week she had made about 8 grilled cheese sandwiches for her brother, and then yesterday at school she ate one! Horray!

And now thanks to Gramme (Erin's mom) both her and Sous Chef Isaac can look the part. . .

Kid speak and other happenings

I'll start off with what Kalista said right before dinner tonight. . .

Isaac and Kalista were playing around waiting for dinner to be ready when the little man starting talking about what he was going to have for snack. He told Erin, then he told me, and finally he went up to Kalista and said "Hey, Sissy I am going to have ice cream for snack!" And Kalista's big sister response . . . "Isaac! I know, I know I know!!!! It's not like I don't have ears!" Such love!!!

My other news revolves around Kalista as well. The last several weeks have been very stressful, especially around meal time. If you have read any of my post pertaining to Kalista's eating problems you would understand. It all came to a head early last week when we made a visit to the dr. and got a referral to an occupational therapist. Tuesday afternoon Erin and I took off a 1/2 to go with Kalista to her new "eating" dr. for an evaluation of her sensory and eating issues. Kalista was asked lots of questions and observed eating food she liked and foods she had trouble with. We are still waiting the official results of her eval, but the OT was fairly certain she needs some help of her auditory, visual, and tactile senses. Kalista is also what is called a "resistant" eater. This is different than a picky eater in several ways. Three big things being that one) she won't eventually eat when she gets hungry enough (some resistant eaters have starved themselves into hospitalization) and two) she doesn't have a normal sensation of hunger, so she may not know when she needs to eat, and 3) when she seems to get distracted at meal times, it is more than likely she is just overstimulated, and not just trying to stall the eating process. Her brain just has trouble processing all the smells, sights, sounds, and textures that go along with a big meal.

So that is a big paragraph of what is going on!! Our next step is to see the OT once a month for therapy and keep up the new food campaign at home. This week we are working on carrots, and so far she had swallowed several bites. . . Please keep Kalista and us in your prayers and we work through this.

Happy Halloween from Neverland!