Gremlins--They Keep Growing and Growing and Growing . . .

Busy.  Things have been . . . busy.  The kids are growing like weeds, which is what we want because that means they're healthy.  Time is going by too fast, though. They are getting too big too fast and I find myself trying to enjoy every second of them while they're still little.  Alex isn't so little anymore. It won't be much longer and his feet will be as big as mine.  He is growing like crazy and is just all arms and legs--one skinny little guy.  He stands even with my shoulder now.  I can't believe it. He is a big help with Kaitlyn and is willing to jump in and help with just about any chore. He seems very mature some days and is so smart.  He is growing into a person that I am happy to say I'm very proud of!  He is very sweet and very independent.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about all the great things his future holds for him.

Alex playing a game on Jacob's Kindle Fire.  Doesn't he look big??


Kaitlyn is now playing peek-a-boo quite a bit.  It is so much fun.  She has two new teeth and has really developed quite the personality.  She is ornery and happy and when she doesn't get her way she lets you know that you have made her mad.  If you do make her mad she waits for you to reach for her and then she yells at you, turns her back on you (oh so dramatically) and walks away.  I am pretty sure she cusses at me now in her native baby language as well. She has reached an age where she plays really well on her own when she has to and she plays really well with others.  I have a lot of fun playing with her during the day and when Jacob comes home he gets on the floor with her and plays.  Albeit, she spends a good deal of time beating on him, but it's in a playful manner nonetheless.

Kaitlyn playing in the tent her Aunt Susannah gave her.  She sits in there with toys and will play for the longest time.


Logan keeps slimming up and looks more like a big boy each day.  He will be 7 in April and I can't believe it.  Time is going by too fast and my two little guys are quickly becoming big boys.  I knew it would happen one day and I've learned to accept it, but that doesn't mean I have to be a fan of it. Logan has two loose teeth on the bottom.  He hasn't lost any teeth yet and has spent a lot of time sitting and wiggling these two teeth in hopes of yanking them out and getting a visit from the tooth fairy.  He has really discovered a love for art and drawing and spends a lot of his time drawing these days. He is reading like a pro and reads every sign we drive by while in the van and asks what the sign/billboard is about.

Logan at school.  They were playing Bingo and Logan was chosen to read/call out the numbers.  His teacher, Mrs. Barbie Kitchens, took this photo and sent it to me via text message.

I felt that the few family members who read this needed an update because it's been a while.  So, here's to healthy kids who grow up way too fast! :/  Until next time . . .

A Super Hero Turns 8!!

I am a little behind on this post, but better late than never, right??  Every year on my children's birthdays I write an entry that is all about them.  Each year seems to speed by faster than the year before.  I can't believe Kaitlyn is already 1.  I can't believe my baby boy is already 6!  And, most of all, I can't believe my Alexander is already 8.  Where did the time go?

Alex was only a few weeks old in this picture.  He had problems from the beginning.  They had to do a C-Section because Alex's head was shoved back and stuck under my pelvis.  The doctor said that if they didn't do a C-Section and I tried to push it would more than likely break his neck.  Then he said, "Is it okay if I proceed with a C-Section?"  When it's your child you don't hesitate.  I hadn't met mister Alex yet but I answered the doctor as if he were insane (which, honestly, at the time I thought his question was a stupid one) and said, "YES!"  Alex had breathing issues and even stopped breathing at one point.  Jacob looked in the little bassinet and said, "He's blue!"  Then rushed out into the hallway to get a nurse.  Not one but four nurses hurried in and without saying anything they wheeled our precious boy out of the room and down the hall.  We waited for what seemed like hours.  Jacob paced.  Finally the door opened and a nurse pushed Alex's bassinet back into our room.  He was wide awake and giving us those concerned expressions.  He would look up at us with an expression that suggested he was a little concerned that WE were his parents.  He was so observant and quiet (We didn't realize at the time that he just didn't have the lung capacity at the time to really scream).

Now, 8 years later we have this beautiful boy.  Alex has overcome so much and Jacob and I couldn't be prouder of him. He has so many therapists and tutors to help him with all of his needs. He has to work twice as hard as most kids his age and he gets frustrated but he just keeps trucking along.  He cares about what clothes he wears and how his hair looks.  He is great at puzzles, mazes, and matching games.  He is a fast learner when it comes to anything electronic and I have found him doing things on more than one occasion that I didn't even know how to do and he, in turn, showed me how.  We always tell him, "In the beginning there was Alex," because, for OUR beginning, he IS the one who started it all.  He is an awesome kid and I thank God each and every day for putting him in our lives!

I am now the mother of an 8-year-old boy.  Wow.  How did that happen?  I look forward to the years to come, watching him grow and I look forward to the man he will one day become. But for now, I want to hold him while he still barely (and some what ridiculously) fits on my lap, still likes hugs from mom, and is still a boy.  After all--we don't want to rush it!

Happy Birthday To You . . .

Last March Jacob and I went to New Orleans--just the two of us.  It was fun to try the great food and see the sights.  On the way home I just did not feel well at all.  We had eaten a lot of sea food in NOLA and we just assumed that something I had eaten wasn't agreeing with me.  When we got home I still didn't feel well and a couple of days later I was still feeling ill.  It was Saturday morning and I had to buy groceries.  I left the boys with Jacob and ran to the grocery store.  The thought was HEAVY on my mind that I felt like I did when I was pregnant with both the boys. So, without saying anything to Jacob I grabbed a home pregnancy test while at the grocery store.  When I got home Jacob came out to unload the groceries and I hurried to the bathroom to take the test. It was positive.  I remember looking at it for the longest time and comparing it to the picture on the box repeatedly to be certain it was, in fact, positive.  I was nervous about how Jacob would react to this news.  We were done.  We had talked about having children before having Alex and we both decided two was enough.  We had two boys--Alex was 6 and Logan was almost 5.  We were happy with our little family and now in our early-mid 30s. I really didn't think Jacob would be happy about this news.  I took a deep breath and walked outside to the car where he was unloading groceries. I watched him for a minute and then I said, "So, are you SURE you only want two kids?"  He, of course, stopped what he was doing and said, "Why?  What's wrong?"  I said, "I'm pregnant."  He kind of shrugged his shoulders and said, "I kind of figured."

We sat down to dinner one night with the boys and Jacob said, "Guys, mama is going to have a baby."  Logan started crying and asked if there could be two babies of the family (because, he was my baby).  He wasn't too excited about it (until she arrived).

We were nervous about telling our families.  It was crazy.  I remember calling my mom and telling her and she said, "Is this is a joke?"  HA HA.  A few months later we went for an ultrasound and were told the baby was a girl.  Jacob was sitting in a chair beside me, kind of leaned over.  When they told us it was a girl he sat up and said, "Really?"  We just assumed, with two boys, we'd have a third boy.  I would be lying if I said we weren't a little excited about having a girl.

On Nov. 14th, 2011 we went to the hospital to have a C-Section.  The doctor came in and started talking about Rick Astley, because our last name is Astley.  Everyone in the room started singing, "Never gonna give you up . . . " It was funny and light heart-ed and I was just a little nervous. After a little while we heard her cry.  Every mother knows what that is like--when you hear your child cry for the first time.  I remember having to tell myself to NOT get emotional.  They let me see her and touch her and then handed her to Jacob.  He held her while she screamed at him.  She seemed big to us because she was significantly bigger than our boys were when they were born.  After that initial screaming she was really happy and quiet and didn't cry much. She had these big, beautiful eyes and she would just stare at you and look around the room.  She was very observant.  We, of course, fell in love with her immediately.

A year later we all adore her.  Alex is nearly 7 years older than her and lets her do ANYTHING she wants. He is always there to protect her and help her.  Logan is 5 and a 1/2 years older than her and is always gushing over how cute she is and how much he loves her. She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger and she has stolen all of our hearts.  Logan will say, "How did we ever live without her!"

I agree.  So, today, on her 1st birthday we are so thankful for our precious little surprise.   Our family is now truly complete and I couldn't be happier with my three little gremlins! ;)

Happy birthday, baby girl!  We love you!!

A Little Family Halloween Party

Well, it's that time of year again.  Fall is here and Halloween is right around the corner.  As a child I loved Halloween.  My mom would decorate the house and make fun Halloween treats with us.  We would listen to fun Halloween music.  We had fun Halloween parties at school and went to parties at friends' houses.  On Halloween night my parents would take my brother and me trick-or-treating and then we'd watch Disney's Halloween Treats, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and other fun kid-friendly Halloween shows while my parents would go through our candy.  My dad would tell us about how he had to make sure the candy was safe for us to eat, but all I noticed was that he would eat the good candy and we'd get upset.  HA HA.  I am happy to continue some of these fun traditions with my kids.  We always decorate the yard and we usually decorate the boys' room but this year they asked to decorate the living room instead.  This afternoon they helped Jacob do just that. We put Pandora radio on the Family Halloween station and the boys and Kaitlyn danced around to the music while helping Jacob with decorations. Jacob set a cauldron out as a decoration and the boys were playing cauldron basketball with it and a Scooby-Doo ball.  Kaitlyn walked around with a trick-or-treat bucket.  It was just a lot of fun!  

You know I took pictures so here are some pictures of our afternoon of decorating for Halloween.  We have more Halloween fun to come, too. ;)  Our kids won't be little for long so we are enjoying EVERY minute of this! 

 Logan and Jacob decorating the living room for Halloween.  The boys loved it!

The boys have a book called "Here They Come."  It is about the monsters having a party on Halloween night and hiding from "the scariest sight of all" which turns out to be kids trick-or-treating.  It is such a cute book.  There is one monster named Honaby who is just a hat with legs and feet.  For some reason Kaitlyn reminded me of that while she was walking around in this big hat.  

Kaitlyn loves this blue trick-or-treat bucket. Jacob said she is practicing.  LOL 

Jacob hung his werewolf mask and Logan said, "Cool! It looks like you killed a werewolf and mounted his head on the wall like you would a deer."  Oh, life with boys.  HA HA  I said it was creepy but the boys say they like it. 

The Big Picture

We have discovered an Apraxia Kids website as well as blogs and online groups for parents with children who have Apraxia.  One thing I have noticed is that a lot of parents on the website post that they are depressed and they sat together and cried when they were told their child had Apraxia.  The therapists all say the same thing--a child with Apraxia (with the proper therapies, treatments, etc.) could grow up to speak clearly and do things that are so hard for them to do right now as children OR they could grow up and still have issues.  It can go either way and they want parents to be aware of this.  I read the comments of parents who are just devastated that their child has been diagnosed with Apraxia and I understand. Your child has to work harder than other children and as a parent it is SO hard to watch your child struggle and get down themselves. 

Alex not only has Verbal and Limb Apraxia but he also has a rare bone disease called Osteochondromatosis.  He has had two surgeries and he sees a bone specialist on a regular basis.  He has a lot to deal with, and while he does have moments of frustration, he is very determined and one of the hardest workers I have ever known.  

I think about the parents on the websites who seem devastated that their child has this disability and I understand where they are coming from and how they feel.  While I do understand their concerns, I have learned that as parents our job is to love our children, encourage them and prepare them for adulthood.  They will not be children for long and will be adults for a much longer period of time. Our children do not have a terminal illness, they don't have a disability that will keep them from experiencing a full life, or going out on their own one day and making it in this big, cruel world we live in.  I look at Alex, I watch him struggle and it's hard, but I know in the big picture he is going to be just fine.  Yes, they have to work twice as hard as other children, but in the long run (the big picture) they will be better people because of this.  They will be more equipped to deal with life's slaps in the face and disappointment and nothing will keep them from doing anything they set their minds to.  One day Alex is going to do amazing things.  He has big dreams and I know he will work so hard to make those dreams reality and I will be there smiling proudly and encouraging him along.

Sweet Morsels of Life

By now everyone knows the story. We took Kaitlyn to the ER at Children's on Wednesday where she was given a breathing treatment and some steroids and we were sent home.  She was fine until the next morning so we took her back to the ER where she was admitted.  We were there for a very long 4 days.

BUT . . . while we were there in the wee early hours of Sunday morning, during the stress of it all and the pure exhaustion, I had a good laugh.  Kaitlyn's oxygen levels were low.  They kept giving her breathing treatments but they didn't seem to work so the nurse came in to get the oxygen all set up in case the doctor told them to give her oxygen. I was sitting in the chair holding Kaitlyn, who was sleeping.  The nurse turned on the oxygen and instead of just a steady little stream of oxygen she was met with a very hard force of air.  Her hair blew up really high and her cheeks were shaking form the force.  One of the loudest sounds I have ever heard suddenly boomed from the wall. You know the sound of the drill at the dentist office?  Well, this sounded just like that but about 1,000 times louder.  This, of course, caused Kaitlyn to jump and then scream in fear. Another nurse came running in and tried to help--so then there were two nurses with their hair flying up and their cheeks shaking from the force.  One nurse began to scream and the other started laughing.  It was the funniest thing. They couldn't get it turned off so they flagged down a male nurse who gave it a try.  They eventually came to the conclusion that it was broken and were happy when they discovered Kaitlyn wouldn't need the oxygen.

We were happy to get to come home Sunday afternoon and Kaitlyn seems to be feeling much better.  Every time I think of that morning around 3 a.m. with the two nurses fighting the oxygen I still laugh.  It was like watching a sitcom.  Even the most stressful times in our life have funny moments.  Sometimes you have to look for them and other times they just present themselves, but they are always there.  Here's to enjoying the sweet morsels of life!

Apraxia Is Just Another Way of Saying, "Super!"

"Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older." --J.M. Barrie

This quote is true for all children.  I love this quote.  I see it happening in my own house.  Alex no longer lets me hug him goodbye at school.  He is very independent. He's in 2nd grade now--It just isn't cool to be in 2nd grade and have your mom hug you goodbye before school.  And I'm okay with that because he still lets me hug and kiss him when we're at home.  He even crawls onto my lap from time to time. 

Alex was a very quiet baby.  He didn't babble until he was a toddler and he didn't talk until he was nearly 3.  We used some sign language to communicate with him.  After a few doctor's appointments he started going to the school for speech therapy and we had a therapist come to the house to work with him. Once school started we began to notice other things--little things at first, shaky hand when he was writing, forgetting things and repeating things to the point of driving us crazy, not being able to read or recall the sounds each letter makes.  We noticed the way his mouth moved when he spoke and smiled (like Sylvester Stallone). He started occupational therapy to help with all the things he was struggling with. We knew something was going on, but we just didn't know what. Last year when Alex started 1st grade there was a lot of frustration and tears as he struggled with reading, writing, spelling, and math. Once 2nd grade started a couple of weeks ago he seemed even more frustrated and overwhelmed, which wasn't encouraging because the school year had only just started! We had no idea what to do to help him or how he was thinking or what was going on.  

Then, last week, I met with one of his therapists who informed me that they had tested Alex and he has Verbal and Limb Apraxia. She told me about how the disability affects Alex's brain and body--how there is (like) a disconnection from his brain to his body.  He knows what he is trying to say or trying to do, he just can't seem to do it. How frustrating that would be for me as an adult--I can't imagine having to deal with that as a 7-year-old boy.  Yet, he does--every day.  A friend said, "Giving it a name doesn't change anything.  It's like saying you knew your child had trouble breathing even before they were diagnosed with Asthma."  And she is right. There was no choir music echoing from the sky as the name of Alex's disability was given to us.  Alex wasn't miraculously "cured" just because we had a name to go with the disability.  BUT--on the other hand, having learned about the disability, we now feel like we understand Alex a little better.  We know a little more how his brain is working and we are getting new information on how to work with him and the treatments to help him. It has all been very eye opening and just amplifies what we have said about Alex all along . . . 

He IS a true super hero.  I drop him and Logan off at school and as I watch them walk into the building I am sure I see a tiny glimpse of his invisible cape. J.M. Barrie was right--every morning Alex wakes up older, but I believe he also wakes up stronger.