Baby Pictures

One of my projects this summer is going to be scanning all of Kass and Kam's baby pictures so I can get them online and burned onto CD. I have this irrational fear of my house burning down. And the only "thing" I care about are my pictures. Everything else is replaceable. SO I have all our digital pictures burned to CD and I have a copy here and my mom has a copy in her fire proof safe. (Except for the pictures I lost in that darn computer crash of course! GRRR)

SO as I start scanning, I will of course share some with you. I have some online already... like this:
Kassidy - New Years Eve 1999 - 1 1/2 months old

And this:
Kameron - March 2002 - 4 months old

Ahhh how will you be able to handle all the cuteness?!

Name that animal

You see that animal on Keeghan's shirt? If you ask him what it is, he will tell you.

It's a "HA!"

But you already knew that. Right?

The Paci Report - Day 2

So I have to admit, yesterday wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! When I left off yesterday we distracted him from making a mad dash to his crib for his paci. We changed his diaper, gave him juice, and then resorted to his more favorite thing: bath time! After that he went into full meltdown mode and could not be comforted and he asked to go to bed! (I guess he figured that was the only way he was going to get his paci!) SO he went back to his crib around 10:00 and slept for an hour or so. With his paci. *sigh*

When he woke up, Frank went in and got him. Keeghan asked to get up and Frank told him to leave his paci in his crib... and he DID!!! We got ready for Kennedy's graduation and when we buckled him in the car he asked once for his paci (which is probably his second favorite place to have it) and we said, "no only in bed" and he said, "ohhhh" (kind of like, "I get it!" LOL).

Kennedy's graduation was LONG, so I was worried but he did GREAT! He asked for it once but we distracted him with his HA (which you will have to wait until later to find out what that is! LOL) He fell asleep in the car on the way home and took a LONG nap in his crib with his paci. He woke up... and left his paci in his crib willingly! YES! We went to the movies, he didn't ask for it ONCE! Last night he was not ready to go to bed at all thanks to a very late nap so I said "But Keeghan, if you get in bed, you get your PACI!" and all fussing stopped. AND THEN...

He slept through the night. It was lovely.

Maybe breaking him from the night time paci will be just as easy??? We'll see. Later. I'm not ready. LOL

My little graduate

Kennedy's graduation was today. Doesn't she look scholarly? More pictures later. For now, we're off to see "UP" :).

Girl stuff

So maybe it's just me, but I get attached to products. Once I find a certain thing I like, I am fiercely loyal... for example, I use Noxema to wash my face. I've used it since I was 13. I will probably never use anything else. I'm sure there are 100 other better face washes out there for 30 year old women but... I'm just stubborn that way! LOL

The other day I went to the store to buy more hairspray when *gasp* I discovered they don't sell my brand anymore! Not even an empty shelf where it should be! My beloved Salon Grafix... gone gone gone. Woe is me.

Oh drama, Renee, GET OVER IT!
*sniff*

So... I browsed the shelf and looked at all the millions of choices (which, by the way, do you know they still make Aquanet?! I thought for sure they proved that stuff caused the hole in the ozone layer 2 decades ago!) and I finally settled on this...

Aussie Instant Freeze Hairspray
It promised good things... and the can is my favorite color... and the price was right.

The results?

Sometimes change is GOOD! I LOVE IT! Even more than my Salon Grafix!!! It smells good, it holds GREAT, and well... it's in stock (which is a definite plus! haha)

This was my choice number two but uh... it kind of scares me... has anyone tried it?


Anyway, if you're looking for a good holding hairspray, try the Aussie stuff, it rocks! And if you use Salon Grafix... Walmart doesn't sell it anymore... at least not in Clarksville!

The first day of the rest of his life

At Keeghan's well child check the following conversation took place:

Nurse: How is he eating?

Me: Great!

Nurse: Is he sleeping through the night?

Me: No.

Nurse: No?

Me: No. *sigh* He still wakes up a few times a night. Screaming. For his pacifier. Once someone gives it to him he will go back to sleep.

Nurse makes note of this.

The doctor comes in and we make small talk (because we're there so much we're old friends by now) and then she checks out all the info the nurse entered into the computer.

Doctor: OH Renee! He's still waking up several times a night?!

Me: *sigh* Yes.

Doctor: You know what you have to do, right?

Me: *sigh* Yes.

Doctor: The paci has to go.

Insert dramatic music here

Me: But but but THEN what will I do when he wakes up SCREAMING in the middle of the night?!

Doctor: You're going to have a hellish week or so.

Me: Can't he just take it to college?

Doctor: No!

Me: *sigh*

******************************************************

Fast forward to today. The plan? Phase 1: The paci stays in the crib. Keeghan wakes up.

Keeghan: Mommy? Where ARE you???

Me: I'm coming Keeghan... (walk into his room) good morning! Are you awake?

Keeghan: YES! I got paci!

Me: Yes you do... why don't we leave your paci right here... and here, take your Jojo (the clown) and let's go eat breakfast.

Keeghan: PACI!!!

Me: Do you want cereal?

Keeghan: PACI!!!

Me: How about some grapes?

Keeghan: NO! PACI!!!



I got him to sit down and eat cereal and grapes, but can you see the tear in his eye? *sniff*

As soon as he finished he ran to the stairs...

Me: Where are you going?

Keeghan: Paci!!!

Me: How about some juice?

Keeghan: Paci?

Frank: Come on Keeghan, let's change your diaper and then we'll get you some juice.

Keeghan: (getting a little teary) Paci????

Frank: Diaper first.

Then he changed his diaper, got him some juice and THEN he got distracted! So maybe?!?! *sniff* Poor Keeghan. It's hard to grow up.

My sweet girl

She's looking so grown up!

Lazy head

The other new rule in our house? When you say something mean about someone, you have to say 5 nice things to offset it. I got to implement this for the first time about 5 seconds ago.

Kass: MOM! Kameron called me a lazy head!

Me: OK Kam, say 5 nice things about Kassidy.

Kam: OK. Kass, you're cute, adorable, not sassy, NOT a lazy head, and um... pretty.

That was SO not what I was expecting! LOL

For you twitter fans ;)

Stolen from Ron

Q&A #81

I just have to point this out lol. If you are in blogger compose there is an ABC with a strike through next to the italic and bold. No need for html tricks. :) Just thot I'd help :P
Well there you go, strike through made easy! I never said I did things the easy way! LOL

Renee I also have an OT question for you. My boyfriend has recently joined the navy, he is hoping to get into OCS(officer flight school) when he graduates in May '10. With this new decision I'm worried about him and his safety and what the future that was before so simple now holds. Do you have any tips about how to get through all of this? Or at least start to grasp the whole thing? Thank you! <3
Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray. Connect with other Navy wives. In the Army we have the Family Readiness Group (FRG) which is made up of the spouses. We get together for fun events, we support our Soldiers, and each other. Mostly, just keep open communication with your boyfriend! Let him know you support him and you're proud of him!! The Military life is not always easy, but it's a good life. Embrace it and enjoy the adventure!

Poor girl that looks like it really hurts! Did she just get that in a fall or what? Glad to hear she is feeling better.
Yes, she fell on the jungle gym and apparently caught her arm between the bars. I told her she was lucky she didn't break it!

Cool cake! Did you make that?
Uhhh no! LOL Walmart made it :).

Is Kaylond Charlie's little sister? And they have a new baby (I'm guessing from the cute matching outfits)? Yay!
YES! Those are both Charlie's little sisters - Kaylond and Eden :).

Too stinkin' cute. Maybe you can post the picture of the pyramid and block out the faces of the other children. Was she scared to be on the top of the pyramid? I guess not if she did it ;).
Yeah, I'll have to work on that. She LOVED the Pyramid!!! She missed last week because of my migraine so tonight will be fun for her :).

Awww! She's so cute! Is she the only kid with DS/Cancer? Or is there other kids like her?
She is the only kid on the squad with Ds... but all the kids have a special need of some sort. I did see a little girl with Ds playing basketball in the time slot before ours. As far as I know there are none with cancer.

Hope you are feeling better Renee??? :o)
YES! Thank you!

I took Fioricet for migraines...and didn't really get fantastic results. It just kind of numbed the pain. Have you tried Zomig or Imitrex? Those two are the only ones that have worked for me.
I've tried Imitrex... it was AWFUL. Made my heart race and sent shooting pains down my left arm. Thought I was having a heart attack! I tried Zomig too but it didn't help much either... neither did the the Fioricet...

i have had these headaches also...and will keep you in my prayers
i'm wondering...have you had your thyroid checked? you might want to do that.
I believe they did check my thyroid when they did my adoption work up. It was normal.

Ahhh, but do your kids start as early as Tennessee schools do?! Most public & private schools start as early as the second week of August. Don't forget that schools close here for 5 snowflakes. Back in the Dark Ages, we didn't start until the day after Labor Day.
Very true!!! Tennessee schools start VERY early! I think we started like August 4th or something crazy like that last year!

did you ever figure out what was causing issues with your blog.
It was a blog wide issue, I don't know what it was, but they fixed it :).

That party was absolutely the bomb! After all the special "Sincess" has gone thru in her short lifetime, she certainly deserved the royal treatment! Was that in your home??? Looks like nothing was forgotten, altho I didnt see any Prince Charmings. :-) LOVED her hair and dress.
That was actually my mom's house :). We actually DID forget napkins! I was SO embarrassed! LOL And the Prince Charmings were forgotten on purpose! haha

Please tell me you didn't do Kennedy's hair! If YOU did it, YOU are more amazing than I ever imagined. The party looks so wonderful, and those are the most beautiful princesses I've ever seen.
I DID do Kennedy's hair!!! I did the top part the night before and then the bun I did that morning. :) The top held up for several days too thanks to gel and hair spray!

Her princess hair is so adorable! She must not have the sensory issues that Morgan has with having her hair touched. There is NO Way I could ever get Morgan to let me do that to her hair. So cute! Happy Birthday!
No thank goodness! No sensory issues for Kennedy. Now Kameron is a different story... thank goodness he's not a girl! haha

Oh my! What an awesome party. Did you do all that by yourself? It looks like a lot of work, but like I said, it looks great!
I had some help from Frank, my mom, and a few good friends! ;)

I am SO jealous! Kennedy has so many friends! Where did she make so many friends?
That was a mixture of friends from school, church, our Down syndrome association and the internet, and some other random places! :) She's so loved!

That's just too cute! Did you get her one of those phone calls from a princess? I'm sure she would absolutely die over that one!!
Ohhhh I don't know anything about that!!! Can you give me more info?!

Can I copy this, please?
Of course!

I am a special education teacher (and a Christian) now lecturing/tutoring at Uni and in the last week of every month I want to address any questions that my readers might have about inclusion. Do you have anything you want to ask? Please visit my blog if you do.
Go check her out everyone!!!

She is sooo cute and little! Do you remember how much she weighed here?
Let's see, she was about 6 months old so she was about 6 1/2 pounds. Itty bitty!

Is it common for children with DS to have extra phalanges?
No... that's just something that Kennedy decided to do all on her own.

What is the deal with her low blood sugar? Did you ever get an actual Dx?
Ketonic Hypoglycemia and hopefully they'll get more info with the tests they did yesterday.

You'd think that pacifier would be heavy with that dog hanging from it...is it???
Surprisingly it's not. That's a wubbanub. Keeghan loves those things.

He's TWO! - Part 2

These WERE some of my new scrapbooking supplies. Now? They are Keeghan's toys. Later today? They will be trash. *sigh*

Well child checks... sort of...

Kennedy and Keeghan had their 5 year and 2 year well child checks set for this morning. We got up and got ready and all was well. We got to the waiting room and Kennedy climbed into my lap and got a little teary. I couldn't figure out what happened. They called us back not long after. The nurse did their weight and height and then did a hearing and vision test on Kennedy. She passed both. :) Once we got back to the room Kennedy started crying again and asked to lie down. We put her up on the table and she ended up falling asleep. She was really pale...

The doctor came in and got Keeghan checked out. He's doing GREAT! He's doing everything he's supposed to be doing and more! He weighs 26 lbs and is 33 inches tall. His ears are nice and clear and his tubes are still in which is GREAT! He got one shot today and I think he's in the clear now until Kindergarten for those.

Miss Kennedy weighs 29 lbs (an all time high for her!) and is 36 inches tall. She was supposed to get her Kindergarten vaccines today but with her sudden lethargic state she got a CBC and blood sugar check instead. Her blood sugar was down to 44 and her CBC showed that she is fighting off a virus of some sort. SO under orders of her endocrinologist, we were off to the lab for a bunch of tests he wanted.

She perked up again by the time we left the lab. I'm not really sure what the deal was this morning. She seems 100% fine now and her blood sugar is back to normal. Hopefully the tests will lead to some answers to the mystery that is Kennedy! In the meantime she managed to get out of her Kindergarten vaccines for now... we'll have to go back for those later. Anyway, that's about it!

Pray for Charity

I have asked several times for prayer for sweet Charity. Today she is having surgery to reconstruct her trachea. It's going to be a long, involved surgery. please keep her and her surgeons and her family in your prayers today! Click on the button above to visit her blog and let them know you're praying!

Sibling... Love?

Summer is starting out with a bang here... full of bickering!
"He touched me!"

"She took my toy!"

"He changed the channel!"

"She sat on my head!" (Seriously?!)

SO last week we implemented a new rule and today I had the joy painstaking job of enforcing it for the first time.

The crime: Bickering over a toy which resulted in someone's foot on someone else's back.

The punishment: They had to hug. For five minutes.



They weren't smiling by the time it was over. Any guesses on how long it will be before they have to do it again?

Blast from the past!

I was looking for pictures for Kennedy's school and ran across this one! This was December 2004, Kennedy was 6 months old here and this was right after her extra thumb was removed. Don't you love how her pink cast and red outfit clash?! UGH! haha

Prima Princessa Giveaway!

Do you have a little girl who loves all things princess? How about a little girl who loves all things ballerina? If so, you will want to RUN to my comment section and enter this giveaway for the Prima Princessa DVD!

This 40-minute DVD features a performance of Swan Lake by the Paris Opera Ballet and instruction from students from the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center, Offical Academy of New York City Ballet along with narration by an animated fairy ballerina named Prima Princessa. In between acts of Swan Lake, the children return home to learn simple ballet steps. Your little princess will be up dancing to the music and will be thoroughly entranced by the story!

This DVD comes to you brand new and is perfect for the little princess in your life! To enter, simply leave me a comment and tell me who you would like to win this DVD for! I will choose a winner on Wednesday, June 3, 2009.

**Disclaimer** We cannot accept responsibility for little boys dancing around the living room like princesses as well. No letters from disgruntled fathers, please.

My Memorial Day Post

So this was my post for yesterday, but obviously since I didn't have internet access, it didn't get posted! I wasn't going to post it at all because I wasn't sure it would still be effective, but here it is anyway! May we never forget the REAL reason for Memorial Day!

Where we've been...

Well, thank goodness I have my Monday Moments set to post in advance! The Garcia Family went out of town! I KNEW we were going out of town, but we got busy packing and I figured I would blog about it once we settled in... that didn't happen! haha

My friend Nina who runs the Down syndrome association in Indiana (S.M.I.L.E. on Down Syndrome) invited us up to share in one of their events. They were going to Holiday World and asked if we'd like to join them. Since Frank had the day off yesterday we decided it would be a great way to kick off Summer!

After church on Sunday we drove up to Nina's house and hung out with them, I was still recovering from my migraine so I wasn't feeling 100%, but thankfully they didn't mind me just laying around observing! Then we drove up to Christmas Village near Holiday World where a family generously let us stay in their vacation home! It was beautiful! Right on the lake! We were definitely spoiled! There was no internet access up there though which is why there were no posts from me! I did twitter a little though.

Yesterday morning we got up and got ready and went to Holiday World in the pouring rain! Thankfully it poured about the first 10 minutes we were there and then stopped raining long enough for us all to have a blast!!! Then as we were walking out to our car it poured again! haha

We went on a bunch of rides in the morning and then after lunch we hit the water park side where Kenn and Keeghan hung out in the wading pools. They finally got brave and went on a couple little water slides. Keeghan, my thrill seeker, loved it. Kennedy was cautious and would only go down if she was holding my hand. Frank talked Kass and Kam into going down HUGE water slides for the first time! They loved it!! We still couldn't talk them into the big roller coaster though! haha We got to meet a TON of new families. It is always fun seeing people with Down syndrome everywhere! :) The best things about the park? Free sunblock stations AND free soda stations all over the park! Seriously! (If only I would have put sunblock on myself and not just the kids! HA!)

We left the park about 2:30, went back to the house and rested for a bit and then headed home. We did manage to stop at Culver's on the way up AND the way home for frozen custard! YUM! We got home about 10:30 last night, exhausted but happy!!! I love spending time with my family!!! :) Pictures coming soon!

We hope you all had a great Memorial Day and found a way to thank a Soldier! :)

Monday Moment for Down Syndrome - God Doesn't Make Mistakes

Kennedy's Birthday Dinner

After Kennedy's party we took her to the Macaroni Grill for her birthday dinner... she had... macaroni and cheese of course!!! It was so good, she licked the plate clean. Seriously. See?


Us with the birthday girl... I know, I was actually in FRONT of the camera! LOL


Kennedy getting a birthday phone call from her great grandparents (Nonnie and Bompie)

Kennedy's Princess Tea Party - Part 2

Don't forget to see part one right here.

Here are more pictures of the royal princesses.


Princess Ella eating her royal peanut butter and jelly


Princess Hannah


Princess Autumn


Princess Sarah


Princess Kaylond


And her sister, the littlest Princess: Eden


Princess Mikayla


And her sister, Princess Mia


Princess Maddie


Princess Tess enjoying her cupcake


And her sister, Princess Hope


Princess Mary Grace


Princess Alexa


Would you like some tea, too?

In addition to these pictures, the princesses engaged in a royal game of musical chairs and they decorated their own princess crowns. Unfortunately I got no pictures of those events. Hopefully someone else did! I hope you enjoyed sharing in Princess Kennedy's special day!

Kennedy's Princess Tea Party - Part 1

The Royal Feast


A tower of princess cupcakes
(I see some fingerprint marks I think)


The royal teapot


The royal heart and flower shaped tea sandwiches


The royal tearoom



The Sincess having a slight anxiety attack before her party


A royal portrait... a couple princesses escaped at the bottom...


Princesses Olivia, Hannah and Sarah waiting for the feast to begin


Princesses Hannah, Tess and Mikayla having a chat


Princesses Autumn, Kennedy, Hope, Alexa and Ella patiently waiting for tea


Princesses Autumn and Alexa sharing some princess gossip


Time for the royal feast


Princesses Hannah, Tess and Mikayla enjoying some food and drink


Princesses Hope, Mary Grace & Maddie


Princess Kennedy's royal hairdo


Princess Kennedy drinking some tea
(Notice the pinky sticking out!)


Mmmm YUMMY!




Blowing out the candle


Is there something on my face?


Present time!


What's in here?


The Royal Presents... fit for a Sincess

Come back soon to check for more Sincess pictures!!!