Happy Easter!

The Easter weekend started with a nice spring surprise from the hubby. Tulips. My fave!

We spent today with Jason's family in Logansport. We had beautiful weather and the kids had a ball!

It was a great day!

I've entered a new chapter in my life. I am...

...soccer mom.

Both Nicholas and Blake are on soccer teams which means we have 2 practices during the week and as many as 4 games over the course of a weekend. Nicholas is off to a great start. He's enjoying the practices and he knows one boy from school which always helps. He may never bend it like Beckham, but he's particpating and having fun. They had their first 2 games over the weekend. The first game was bitter cold, but he started off as goalie and even blocked one shot. He was quite proud of himself, and it's always just a bit more fun when you win.

Blake played that afternoon, and by the time his game started, the temps had dropped about 10 degrees...from bitter cold to almost unbearable cold. Jason took the other 2 kids to the car. Most of the team and the coaches were bundled up like they were preparing for an Alaskan adventure. Blake didn't want to cover up his uniform. He did amazingly well the first half despite the cold, and despite that the other team was scoring about 10 goals to every one of ours, and despite the fact that the other team had more players and could rotate kids in while our kids never got a break.

This isn't to say that he played much. You know how when a game of 6 year olds takes place, there always seems to be one kid out picking dandelions? That's my Blake. Instead of running, he'd skip. Kids would kick the ball right next to him, but he'd be picking at his fingernails or adjusting his socks. But as cold as it was, I was impressed that he never complained...until the second half.

All of a sudden, Blake's shoulders were slumped, and his head was hanging low. There was no skipping or admiring weeds. He came for a drink of water and reported, "this is soooo not fun."

Getting a pep talk from his coach

But he kept at it. It was one of those times as a mom when you want to pull your kid so badly. The weather was so nasty, the other team was killing us, and everyone was cold and exhausted. But he toughed it out, and now I don't know if I'll ever get him back out there. I was really glad that Tuesday's practice was rained out. I'll save that battle for later.

Nick had another soccer game on Sunday afternoon with warmer temps and another win. I wish Blake could have played on Nick's team.

Monday night, Alexis and I had to report to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital for a sleep study.

Superbaby...crawling at the speed of light!

The staff was great, the room was great, but the experience was awful. Alexis is usually a great sleeper but being attached to all those wires made it so hard to sleep that she was up crying non stop for almost 3 hours in the night. Luckily, they eventually got the data they needed and woke us up at 5 a.m. to send us on our way.

After all the wires were removed

We have a follow up appointment with the ENT to go over the results and decide on our plan of action.


After getting 2 hours of sleep on Monday night, I'd hoped to make up some of that lost sleep on Tuesday night, but minutes after Jason left for work, the tornado sirens sounded and I had to haul 3 sleeping kids down into a cold, hard, unfinished basement. I plopped Blake down next to the paint cans, Nicholas slept among the Geo Trax, Alexis was near the Christmas boxes, while I leaned up against the foosball table. Note to self: clean basement.

Lexi's birthday present from Grandma C. and Pops

Wednesday was Alexis's 6 month appointment at the Down syndrome clinic. She was seen by the physiatrist, geneticist, endochrinologist, audiologist, had a blood draw and 2 x-rays. The physiatrist noticed that she has one leg longer than the other which was the reason for the hip x-rays. We are waiting to hear the blood test results to make sure the synthroid is working like it should. The audiologist was pleased with her ears and the geneticist was thrilled with her progress in the past 6 months. 4 long hours later, we were on our way home.

2 years, 25 pictures

Day 1

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

13 months

14 months

15 months

16 months

17 months

18 months

19 months

20 months

21 months 22 months 23 months 2 years!

You've come a long way, baby!

2!

Happy 2nd birthday Alexis!!

Feeling a bit nostalgic on Lexi's 2nd birthday today, I scrolled back through the blog thinking of how overwhelming it felt last year at this time as I recalled her first year of life. Last year at this time I was remembering all the challenges of the first year: 2 major surgeries, many days in the hospital, and countless numbers of doctors, surgeons, specialists, nurses, and therapists. As much as I recall Alexis's first year as a year of blessings, I can't help but recall a lot of stress and anxiety as well.

Oh, what a difference a year makes!

She absolutely shines! Yes, we have the occasional concern: hypothyroidism (now controlled), extreme farsightedness (now corrected), some eating issues and a new ENT, but much more than that, I look back at year 2 as one of exciting milestones.

Openning birthday gifts from her cousins.

The most significant milestone was graduating from the cardiologist with a perfect little ticker. Alexis also got her first pair of shoes, and her first pedicure--an important first for every girl. She learned to blow kisses. At around 15 months she started sitting up by herself and soon after, started crawling. At 17 months she got her first pair of orthotics and immediately started standing with help. October was our very first Buddy Walk. Alexis started signing and communication began to develop. She started pulling herself up to standing, started climbing stairs on her knees, and got glasses. A month later Alexis finally started leaving her glasses on. Most recently we were given the opportunity to talk to a few hundred third graders about Down syndrome. What an incredible year!

We took the kids to the Bremen Bounce today. The main purpose was to get the kids to burn off some energy, but we'll let them all think it was just for Alexis's birthday. The kids had a great time, including Alexis. Unfortunately, being spring break, the place was packed, and smelled like feet. There isn't enough sanitizer in the world...

So when I say "they all had a great time", there were a few exceptions with Blake. Luckily they were short lived. Do you see his expression in the above picture? It's really hard not to crack up when Blake starts pouting. I think he just wants an excuse to practice his pirate expressions.

Later that evening we went to Hacienda for dinner. Alexis has discovered the joy that is Cheese Soup. We also got her a scoop of ice cream, but after a bite or two, she made it quite clear that she was having more soup for dessert.

And in Alexis's honor, the rest of us had a mudslide. In the future, we will be ordering more than 1 mudslide for the rest of us to share. Mudslides are not made to be shared by more then 2 people. And it is totally acceptable to eat one alone.

Shine on Alexis!