Q&A #224

Did I miss pictures of Kelsey and her kitchen?? 

Yep! :) There are a few right here. And since then her room has been covered in food. Thankfully, it's all plastic! HA! 

So glad to hear Kellsey is opening up more. How strange that a move would do that. Maybe it's just everyone experiencing all the new together. Like an adventure for everyone. Somehow made her feel more a part of the family or something. 

My theory (and I could be wrong!) is that it's really really really REALLY helped her to have her own space to play and retreat to when she wants to be alone. Kennedy and Keeghan will play in her room with her but she makes it VERY known when she doesn't want them in there. We have to be careful not to always let her be in her room (because she'd stay in there all day if we let her), but I think it's been good for her to know she has HER room and HER stuff and a place where she can go when she just needs to BE. And really, Kameron is like that too. He has been since he was very little. He will spend lots of time in his room making lego creations or drawing or whatever, especially if we're doing something loud (like watching a loud movie or playing a loud game) that overwhelms his senses. They (Kameron and Kellsey) are both very sensory. We have learned on Kellsey's hard days to, when we're able, let her be. That's not always possible if we're on the go, but she's learning that sometimes she doesn't get her way and we're learning to read her better and give her space whenever possible. 

I'm really impressed that she will play with that kitchen. We have the same exact toy problem with Oksana. Tons of toys that never get touched. She'd much rather play with a ball or balloon and to tell you the truth, even more than those she loves to just walk around the house talking to her imaginary friends. I'm stumped for Christmas. How many balls and balloons can I hold in my house?! I've got a couple of other ideas but I honestly don't know if they will ever get played with.
Yep, Kellsey and her magna doodles! We seriously have like 8 in our house! haha We have an idea for her for Christmas, but I'm REALLY doubtful on whether it's going to be a hit or not. Then again, I'm having the same problem with Kassidy this year... she's 12... not really playing with toys this year, not into clothes, not sure WHAT to get her! Guess we better get cracking, huh?! :o)


 I was wondering does she talk at all and/or understand English? What is her level of comprehension since she also has DS in addition to her language barrier?? It must be hard to learn a new language as well as deal with DS. Is she on a level of a 1 yr old or 2 yr old now? 
Good question! She does speak a VERY few words... "hi, bye, play, stop, up, baby, ball, book, ma" and a few others. Some of those are approximations (ex: book is actually "boo" and stop is actually "top"). However, she understands A LOT and follows directions well (when she so chooses). The one thing that she doesn't do is answer yes and no questions correctly... you can ask her if she wants to eat, wants a puppy, wants to jump off a cliff, wants to drive the car, ask her if she's hot then turn around and ask if she's cold or whatever, and she'll nod her head yes to everything (those are just examples). However, if you ask her if she wants to go on time out she will absolutely tell you NO! haha When her speech therapist evaluated her, she said that her expressive language was on a 6-9 month old level and her receptive (comprehension) was on an 18-24 month level. I feel that's pretty accurate. I don't know if we can contribute her delays to language barrier anymore though since she's been here so long. I'm pretty sure if someone spoke Russian or Ukrainian to her, she wouldn't remember. We can contribute it to the fact that she was not worked with and had no therapy or intervention until she was 3 though... that definitely makes a difference!! We're still hoping that one day something will unlock in her brain and the words will start pouring out... and then we can tell her to be quiet like we do to Keeghan! LOL 


Love that girl!! She's starting to look more and more like a school-ager instead of a little, little girl!
I agree!!! I was just thinking the same thing the other day. I think maybe it's the glasses? I wasn't thrilled with her glasses at first, but the more she wears them, I think they really suit her :).


So...just what CAN Kameron do with that card?
Well, not much really! LOL Since we don't live on post he won't have a whole lot of opportunities to use it. When we DO go to post, he'll have to show it to get on and then if we go shopping he'll get to show it if he pays for anything. I know whenever we went shopping at Ft. Campbell and Kass was with us, we'd let her pay just so she could show her card! haha Still, the military requires all military dependents over the age of 10 to have an ID card... and some younger kids have them too for various reasons. It's just kind a cool thing to have and makes the kids feel grown. :)


In case you care (I'm weird, so I did..lol), you can ask them to give you Kassidy's photo from her very first ID card when you turn it in. I wanted Jakob's because he'd changed SO much it seemed. Plus, I thought it'd be a nice keepsake. So, the lady cut the photo out of the card and gave it to me :) 
Ohhh that's a great idea! I will have to do that! They still haven't made it back there to renew hers yet. 


The boy who eats nothing ate a jalapeño dog?! Lol! 
I know, right?! I think the Mexican side of him is coming out... thanks to Frank, Kameron loves his spicy foods!! Now, try to get him to eat a green vegetable, and you'd think we were strangling him! HA! 


Lived in SoCal for 23 years and never heard of Pinks...how did that happen?!
I have no idea! It's been there since 1939! LOL Supposedly all the famous people go there for hot dogs, but we didn't see anyone... except a couple cross dressers. *ahem*


You were at Disneyland for 14 HOURS!!!??? WOW!!! Did you get to see everything?
NO! :o( So glad we're going back this Summer for more!! 


Awesome pictures! You always do such a great job of matching everyone! Where do you find everyone's clothes? I have such a hard time! 
Thanks! :) We got the kids outfits at Crazy 8. I love that store! They always have matching/coordinating stuff for kids of all sizes. They have fantastic sales too if you watch for them. Frank and I got our sweaters at JCPenney once the kids were squared away. :) The problem we're having now is finding color combos that we haven't already done! Thankfully we only do family pics every 2 years so I don't have to think about it again for awhile! haha


And... is that a HUGE step that Kellsey WANTED to go stand by Elmo, or am I imagining that? :)
YES! Huge!!! That is officially her first character picture outside of the safety of her stroller. While she was in the hospital for her surgery they had different people coming to visit the kids and one day a fox from a local radio station came in. She had seen this same fox in August right before our Buddy Walk and freaked out, but this time he eased up to her in the safety of her hospital bed and she was ok with him. So, when she put her arms up to get out of the stroller when she saw Elmo we were like, "Absolutely!" And she ran right over! I think she was just waiting for Disneyland which we did the next day... it made the day so much more fun for her!! 


 Is Kelsey's face swollen or is she on steroids by any chance? My son's face gets that way when he is on steroids, so I noticed it. So sorry if I'm wrong! 
Nope, no steroids... she's just gaining weight and filling out from being on the g-tube and getting an adequate number of calories every day. She's gained 5 pounds since her tube went in a month ago. 


Judy Garland AND Jeanne Cooper? Yep, if we ever live in the same town/state, we'll have at least a couple things in common. :)
Good, I'll be waiting for you! :o)