Happy Birthday my darling baby girl

Goodness! My life is so hectic at times! Thank you mom for reminding me that I hadn't gotten around to posting about baby girl's 1st birthday! How horrible of me!

Well, Miss Kinsey turned one and had a successful party with a Hello Kitty birthday theme. I started decorating the house a few days before so the kids would get used to it and not be so "deer in the headlights" about it. I started singing Happy Birthday to Kinsey and trying to get Tanner to sing along about two weeks prior to the big day as well. That helped and he is still singing it three weeks later! I wasn't sure what theme to go with since she doesn't have any favorite cartoon characters, but she does love animals. The dog line of decorations seemed boyish, so I decided upon cats. Sam's Club had a cupcake cake with the baby's 5 inch cake in the middle for only $9.95. I asked them to package them separately so the cupcakes wouldn't mess up the icing on her little cake. On top of that, Aunt Melody made Kinsey a special Hello Kitty cake using a mold of the head!!! That was awesome because she able to make it gluten-free so that Koen was able to enjoy cake along with everyone else! It turned out very cute!! Kinsey wore her special birthday dress, but absolutely hated the adorable little birthday hat I bought her. She has never liked anything on her head, so I should have known better.

The process of opening presents for the baby always make me uncomfortable. I would much rather all eyes be on the kids. Kinsey received many wonderful presents, mostly clothes for her new size! As we change seasons, she is growing like crazy and we have ran out of hand-me-down clothes. I had bought some cute gingham dresses and everyday clothes at a garage sale, but those are getting tighter and tighter, too. So, most of her gifts were wearable! Thank you to everyone that came to her party and/or brought Kinsey a present. It was a fun party and good to see everyone in the same place.

Unfortunately, our house is still on the market with no offers. We have dropped the price 23K and had eight open houses. Now that it is fall, and especially since I am back in school, it is too chaotic to make sure the house is presentable prior to leaving at 6:30 a.m. Plus, this is Tobin's favorite time of year and he is geared toward hunting in his free time. We don't want to move when it is cold and I don't want to get used to a new house in the winter. I sure don't want to stay there without Tobin if he is gone on a hunting trip overnight. I don't think I'd get much sleep. We have several situations that seemed promising, but they have vanished like the wind. We are considering putting it on appointment only until the contract runs out. The market isn't supposed to recover for several years and no matter how badly we need the space, we just cannot give our house away. We refuse to just keep dropping the price until it sells. Luckily, we are not upside down on it and don't have to move. It would just be awfully nice if we could!

Tanner and Kinsey are doing well back in their routine of going to Amy's while Daddy and I are at work. She made a few changes in the direction of making her in-home babysitting more like a daycare. Some of the changes are quite wonderful (incorporating curriculum), and some things are a financial challenge (increase in price and paying half price when the kids aren't there). My kids are happy and comfortable there, plus it's awfully convenient, so that is worth a lot.

It looks like this will be a good school year for me. I have a very interesting group of kids that have been fun and entertaining so far. There are a few that I may nail for behavior, but overall, I like this group! I have close to 40 signed up for Science Club so that is a good turn out. I am not getting enough sleep, but I haven't mastered getting everything done in the evenings plus enjoy my kids within the four hours I get to see them before bedtime. Hopefully that gets easier!

Tippy-Toe-Tanner evaluation

Well, today (Kinsey's birthday) was Tanner's physical therapy evaluation as set up by his pediatrician. At his 2 year visit, she and I both were concerned about the tippy-toe walking now that he is still doing it past two years old. The texture, nor temperature of the surface have ever mattered, so this was a concern. He walks this way 90% of the time, and anything over 50% it a problem in their eyes.

Overall, it could have been worse. He does not have any cerebral palsy indicators, as we all knew, nor autistic signs. Both are associated in some way with premature birth and tippy-toe walking. She does not foresee and serial stretching, overnight braces, or surgeries at this point. He was asked to do several tasks, such as squat, jump, run, walk slowly, and then generally play with different toys of the therapist's choice. He had a difficult time with squatting...infact had to manually be forced to do it with heels on the floor. As I think about it, Tanner usually just sits down or sits in a W-position rather than squatting. This was a negative. Then, he was asked to jump, which he didn't really display well during the visit, but I have seen him do off the couch at home! Since he was unable to jump and keep his balance after jumping, this was also a negative. He then had to lie on the floor, on his belly, and she measured his calf muscles and their attachment to the Achilles tendon. She literally wrote on his legs with a ball point pen and then then did some calculations. She also did some reflex testing and pressing on his feet. He was really good for all of the manipulations, only requesting the BIG ball that was out of his reach about 20 times. haha

Ultimately, with insurance covering 90% since we haven't met our deductible, we came out of the appointment with some strategies, and the directive to purchase high top shoes that will be altered with taller heels. The alteration is at a $47 value! Since he has not learned to put his body weight on his heels for over a year now, his calf muscles have developed incorrectly. His left calf muscle is even shorter than the right. She said his calves were "mildly tight" and that she shouldn't feel the 1st resist of his foot until 10 degrees with his toe up and ankle bent. Well, she felt it at 0 degrees with the left and at 5 degrees with the right foot. His muscles will continue to develop incorrectly if nothing is done about it. So, we have three strategies for home therapy.

1. calf stretches as per the handout received 2x per day for up to 30 seconds each time, with knee bent and knee straight.
2. hold him in a squatting position in order to stretch the tendon and muscle with a 3-4inch object under him once per day
3. rub the bottom of his feet with a washcloth after bath 10x each foot once per day with pretty strong pressure to desensitize his feet (he doesn't care for having his feet touched)

We went to Sears after his appointment and purchased some Chuck Taylor's, or Converse high tops. He wore them around at Mimi's some today. Those are the shoes that we will pay to have altered. Afterwards, it is my understanding that it will look like a wedge-type shoe or high heel. He is to wear these shoes for a minimum of six hours per day, preferably a couple hours in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Every week, he will have to go back in and be re-evaluated and hopefully get a section of the heel chopped off. This will bring his heel closer to the floor each week and force him to put his own body weight on his heel for balance. It should also stretch his plantarflexor, or heel cord, which will allow his calf muscles to extend properly.

He didn't realize anything was wrong and seemed to enjoy his appointment, and especially liked his therapist, Jean. On the way there, we told him he was going to the doctor's office, but he would get to play a lot. He looked very serious, and then in quite the sad voice he said, "I don't want doctor...I don't want shots." hahaha cute....boy, he's a thinker! What a memory!

I sure hope all of this works and allows him to develop appropriately with no discomfort! It may be hard on us somewhat, and Amy (his babysitter), but it's the best thing for Tanner and that's what matters!

Summer coming to an end soon-

Bummer. I have enjoyed being home with the kids. I know I will definitely be sad to not see them as much. It makes me thankful for having a job that allows me the pleasure of staying home with them in the summer, as many moms do not get that opportunity. There have been stressful times, and some very trying times, but that is my job and we all made it through! haha The main stressor has been the fact that our house went on the market right when summer was beginning. We were very hopeful, and even optimistic, that our house would sell quickly. We had replaced all windows, the roof, the a/c and furnace, guttering and downspouts, kitchen cabinets, tile floors in kitchen and both bathrooms, the water heater, and a new shower surround...all within the last four years! We did much of that for ourselves, but then thought it would help the house sell. Unfortunately, we found out that the main thing that people look for is square footage and a minimum of two full bathrooms. Soooo, our house is still up for sell with not one single offer. It has been very hectic keeping the house clean, and getting the kids ready to get out for showings at least every other day. I get up everyday and have to clean immediately in case I get a call that someone wants to see the house in an hour. Two little ones go from room to room distributing fake food, Lego's, books, stuffed animals, and magnetic letters and numbers constantly! In some regards, I feel like the relaxation of summer was robbed from me, all in the hopes of getting a bigger house for my kids.

On a brighter note, Tanner is talking so much more now. If he doesn't have the words, he shows you what he wants or what he is asking about. He is full of character and has such a silly personality. He makes us laugh quite often and surprises us all the time. He is still racking up the frequent flyer miles in time-out, but for the most part, he is a very good boy. He is showing a little interest in the alphabet and numbers 1-10, but would rather have books read to him or play on the couch most of the time. Tanner and Kinsey are almost always in the same room when playing, but I have to watch Tanner and make sure he isn't too rowdy. He loves his sister dearly, but can be a little rough at times. It's funny, after he spends the night at Mimi's, when I pick him up, his first words are usually "Sissy, Ma?" I'm assuming he is happy to see me, but he is concerned about Kinsey and wants to see her. Cute!

My sister and nephews have moved back from Alabama. We are all enjoying being back around one another for more than one week at a time. The cousins are getting to know one another better and having some good interactions. We have spent a lot of time at Grandma and Papa's and had a few outings as well. They have spent time in the local city fountains (see pic of Kinsey below) and even went to the butterfly festival here in town recently!

The summer has been good health-wise, except for this last week. Tanner came down with some bright red rash on his face that we attributed to an overload of fresh tomatoes (too much acid) or a reaction to some Nivea face cream that he smeared on his face one night. He ended up in Family Medical Walk-In when the rash moved to his privates, read end, and lower back and was accompanied by a low-grade temperature. However, the migrated rash was different in appearance...it was more of a red pin-prick sized dot rash. They were basically no help in identifying the cause and ultimately just told us what it wasn't. Within 24 hours, Kinsey developed the same pin-prick red dots all over her body from head to toe. We have been told by several that this is a virus and should run it's course in 5-7 days. Kinsey's temperature was elevated beyond Tanner's as well. Her temp got up to 101.7, but she sure felt hotter than that. Even her feet were burning hot in the middle of the night. She slept in diaper only as she was so warm I was scared for her. She has shown no signs of itching, so that is good. She also doesn't get the luxury of just taking Zyrtec and making it go away, like her brother, so we are all hoping it is gone by the weekend.

That is because, my sweet baby girl turns ONE this coming Monday!!!!!!!!!!! We are celebrating her first year of life this Sunday with a Hello Kitty themed birthday party. I can't wait!! She doesn't have any little friends that she is close to yet, so I am expecting just family in attendance. I sure hope she feels better and is ready for some cake and presents!