Fun times.

I found a leapfrog dvd about letters and Torie loves it! She walks around the house now saying all her sounds. It has been a great learning tool for her. We also have talking words factory which has been a hit as well.
We spent about an hr at River Front Park this past Wed. Torie loved playing in the sand. I told her to smile so I could take her picture..this is what I got. Miss Sassy!

Don't be fooled by the swing...she was really splashing the puddle beneath it! Any yes, I let her! It was nice to see her run around and play.

It was fun times. I am glad the weather is cooling so we can spend more time outside. I love the fall, the pumpkins and pretty colors on the trees..I can't wait to take pictures!

progress all around

Torie is loving preschool. She tells me about her day when we cuddle at night. She also gets a homework folder every Monday with the previous week's work. She proudly carries her folder through the house to show who ever may be there. She loves it even more when we post it on the fridge! She is really growing right now, making progress with her speech and following directions. She and I have even made a couple of groc shopping trips with out meltdowns. For most kids, that easy. For a child who gets over stimulated easily, those trips have been far between. Her tonsillectomy and anoidectomy are set for Sept 27. She will stay over night because of her heart condition. We have to make sure she is drinking enough fluids before coming home. We take no chances of her becoming dehydrated. Her next surgery has not been set yet, but I will post that when I know. I hope she is well enough to make her class trip to the pumpkin patch this fall. I would love to get some great fall pics, if I can get the day off work. Otherwise, we may just go on a weekend.

you gotta watch this!

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10798761

worst boyfriend ever! well, maybe not ever, but pretty close. He totally dodged it! hmm, wonder what he did to make up for that?!? lol. i am guessing her parents are not letting him forget about this anytime soon-i sure wouldn't!

things NOT to say

ok, I didn't make this myself. I found it on another blog, which now I cannot get back to so I can't link it. Anyway, I thought these sound so familiar that I would post them. The lady that created this had a great idea!

10 things to avoid saying to a pregnant woman:

1. Your life is never going to be the same! - They have probably figured that one out already. Don't make it sound like you are glad they are joining the fraternity of misery or that you really have always envied their freedom. Please encourage them. Tell them the fun things you do with your kids. Tell them how much you love your kids and how thankful you are for them.
2. Was this baby planned? - PERSONAL! Assume that it was, especially if you are talking to an adult woman. Just say congratulations! How do you feel? You're happy for them!
3. Are you glad it's a ________? - Again, PERSONAL! Most often individuals asking this are projecting their own feelings into the answer. If the pregnant couple wants to share their thoughts on this issue they will, otherwise believe they are happy about the baby whether it is a boy or a girl.
4. You don't look pregnant or you are huge! - Do not comment on their size! If they "don't look pregnant" they hear you saying that they just look fat. If they are "huge" that comes as no surprise to them. :-) Simply tell them they look wonderful! They are beautiful! Both are always welcome comments.
5. Are you going to ________ - Personal questions that come with strong opinions and judgments should be avoided. Are you going to breastfeed? Go back to work? Have natural childbirth? Send him/her to college? You would be amazed at the things people will ask only to continue with a litany of the way they think it should be done. There is plenty of time to think about most of those decisions.
6. Should you be eating/drinking/doing that? - Remember how anxious you were when you were expecting your first child. The first emotion for parents is guilt! LOL You are already certain you aren't doing things right long before the baby is born. Try to be encouraging and kind rather than critical.
7. Wait until I tell you __________ - DO NOT share your horror story. No bad delivery or colicky baby reports. Wait until after the baby is born so the new mom can share her story too. Otherwise you are simply adding to her anxiety!
8. Are you going to have more babies? - Whoa! Let this one get born first! It seems that there are lots of thoughts on the preferred size for families. At this moment, the idea of having one sweet cooing baby is perfect, having a dozen screaming children is not.
9. I can't believe your _______ weeks, your pregnancy is going so fast! - Who are you kidding! No matter how fast you think it is going, for a woman who is not only growing but is growing more and more uncomfortable it cannot be fast enough.
10. This is unspoken, but do not touch the bump! - Unless you have been invited to do so, please do not touch the baby bump.

I do remember a lady trying to touch my stomach when I was carring Torie. I was looking down at the desk and suddenly a hand was moving toward me! I backed away as I looked up and a lady I wasn't even friends with was standing there smiling. Really?!? Hmm. um NO.

4 years already!

We celebrated Torie's 4th birthday this past Sunday. I worked all morning on her Tinkerbell cake. At one point of decorating the cake, Torie was watching and she hugged me and said "Thank you for my birthday momma!" It totaly melted my heart and made standing for 3 hrs working on the cake worth it.
Torie was too excited to do anything but run around all day talking about her birthday party! And when her cousins arrrived, she literally ran down the hall screaming with excitment. It was all too funny. All the kids played on the blow up water slide and a couple played on the slip n slide. Thank you to everyone that came and made this year a great birthday for Torie. She is still talking about splashing people with water and how much fun she had.
Torie's 4 yr old well child check up went great on Monday...I was not aware that she would be getting 3 shots though! She cried during those, but that was the only time!! She did not even cry when they did a finger stick for blood work! Such a big girl.
We heard from Vandy about her next appt. It will be Aug 11 starting at 8:30, with 4 appts that day! She starts with a speech evalutation, then a nasal scope at 10:30 where they will look at her flap and ask her to say several words and phrases. Then onto a audiology at 1 and finally back to the ENT at 1:40..What a day!! We will all be worn out by the time we leave, but I hope we can make a trip downstairs to see the trains-she loves those trains.

long day

This day started so well...Torie was even excited about going to the dr! We left in plenty of time, only to run into "construction" on the interstate. Except when I got to the "construction" they were only loading things into a truck! Torie spent the hour and a half waiting in the lobby coloring and playing with her markers. She did extremely well! I am so proud of her. The ENT, Dr Guady, was awesome. He confirmed my thoughts about Torie's pharyngeal flap. She will need surgery to correct it. We have to do a few things first, see the Vandy speech group, a scope to see her flap, and probably an MRI of her neck/throat to make sure her carotid(sp?) artery is not in the way. Then we can proceed to surgery. It will be a major surgery, with a full 6 weeks of recovery. So, if you have any liquid diets throw them at me-cause we will need them. Imagine having your tonsils removed to the extreme, with a mouth full of stitches. But without it, her speech can never improve because her flap cannot close. This is a step we must take to help Torie. We made a trip to the 1st floor to play with the choo choo trains after our visit. I always reward her good behavior with a play trip. The trains are too fun for me as much as her! We finally made it home a bit after 7 pm--8 hrs after we left. It sure was a long day. But one that we had to make. Torie has handled the day very well. We are both worn out and so ready for bed!

moving right along

wow, this summer is moving right along, isn't it? Torie's birthday is getting here quicker and quicker! Her party will be the 25th, invites will go out next weekend. Torie has even told me a few friends that she wants to invite, and of course that she wants a tinker bell cake. I have everything I need to make the cake and matching cup cakes! I love baking her cakes every year. As a matter of fact, I love everything about doing her birthday party. It is a celebration of life and survival in my eyes. While we do not go all out for her party, we do try to make it special her her. This year will be water fun and a cook out at our house. See you soon!