Grandma's 60th

Here is a quick video of the Happy Birthday song. Notice Madeline is singing along with everybody. Not a big deal for some but a huge deal with Madeline. She normally sings it by herself after we are all done. :)

April 19

I'm not going to mention how long it's been since I posted...whoops, I guess I just did.

I think I need to update this thing, mostly for myself. It's a little like a journal. I enjoy going back and reading my craziness.

Today Abby had dance lessons. Yes, in a full-leg cast. She really wants to go so how could I say no? She just sat on the floor and did all the hand motions. She's getting ready for her big recital which happens to be 5 days after her cast comes off. Only 3 weeks left. I can't believe what a trooper she has been about the whole process. She's walking on it now with the boot they gave her and she doesn't complain about it at all. She just wants to make sure no one tries to take it off, that's the doctors job. :)

Madeline is doing ok. We are just starting the talks about kindergarten now. She'll be switching schools to North Bend Elementary in the Fall which could be an interesting transition. We've had such a great experience where she is now, I don't want kindergarten to fall short.

The house is coming together. I think at my last post we hadn't even moved in yet. Jon is working on the yard right now. Thatching and seeding and what not. Hopefully the next few days of rain will give us a beautiful new front yard.

Pony Party

That last post was from Abby. She was typing while I was on the phone and actually managed to post it. So, I'll leave it since she's so cute.

Yesterday we went to a Pony Party in fall city. It is a farm that rents to birthday parties and functions. One of the mom's in our mom's group set up a day for all of us to go with our kiddos. Madeline rode a pony twice and Abby rode and even smaller pony one time. They both really liked it, even though Abby was all business. She wasn't even going to smile. Here are some pics from our day.

azxccccc ynj ko9opoi87yi9ikul';.;,[]p-p[o';o-p0ll;,l;'//lop-,.'l.
/];'
///////[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[\\

0klkllkl;k,,kn,l,,k,,ko

Raining

The girls are outside on the deck watching it rain. They are completely mesmerized by it, like it's something they have never seen before. Give it another couple weeks and it will be all they see.

I took a really long time to update this and a lot has changed. We just bought a new house and are in the process of doing upgrades. The house needed new carpet, paint, cabinets, lighting fixtures, etc. Since Jon and I are not very handy we flew in my dad for 10 days to help. He's been over there last last 4 days helping. It's really kind of amazing how far they have gotten already. As we speak (as I type) they are over there right now painted the foyer. Jon is on a lift that they rented about 15 above the floor. Yikes! :)

Madeline starts school next Tuesday. Mornings this year. Should be interested. I've never had to get myself and two kids ready and out the door at a specific time each morning. We'll see how it goes. I really like her teacher this year, Madeline already knows her so they won't be starting from scratch which is good. I don't have to give her the 15 minute run down. She's well aware of the situation and gets really excited when Madeline meets her goals.

Madeline turned 5 a couple weeks ago. WOW, that is crazy. I can't believe she's 5. It's weird because I was positive when we first got a diagnosis that she would be perfectly fine by 5. I read stories of women who "recovered" their kids in less than a year. Obviously every kiddo is different and we have to take each day as it comes. I'm really hopeful for this year. I really think we are starting to get the right combo of therapy and school down for her.

Kids are asking for a bath now so I'll post some pics of Madeline's 5th birthday at the Fun Forest at Seattle center. Madeline loved it!