Working as a Team

We are working together to make sure that Meli is successful with her home therapy. Most of the time, we all do it together and try to make it fun.

When she has to do the duck feet and pigeon feet (in & out placement), we put on music and do some dancing as well.

Another thing she works on is trying to pop a bubble straight on with one of those old pick up sticks. We took a break (she has to wear an eye patch clasped over her glasses) by the kids and Charlie trying to eat the bubbles.

The Eye Therapist has done a great job at making the items fun. She gets to catch marbles, trace lines, pick up Cheerios with the same stick, etc.

There is only one she is not a huge fan of...well two. The duck feet/pigeon feet and the body movement on one on the floor. She lays flat down with her eyes focused on a spot on the ceiling. Then she moves both arms (touching the floor) up above her head. She also does this with her arms and leg. Then one arm and one leg. It is kind of like mimicking Leonardo's Vitruvian man sketch.








                                                           

Vision Processing Disorder

We may have some insight into why Meli seems to be extremely moody. She has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing happening. I thought it was possibly due to being an introvert, which probably has something to do with it...but we recently found out that she has several eye disorders that are causing her headaches and extreme eye tiredness.

She got her eye glasses a few months back, which seemed to help some. She is far-sighted, so being able to see up close at school was an amazing thing for her. Her eye doctor wanted to check back in a month to make sure some anomalies were fixed with the glasses. At that time, she recommended taking a test with their Eye Therapist to see if she has some disorders.

They tested her:

Eye Movement control
Focusing Ability
Eye Teaming Ability (working together)
Depth Perception
Laterality/Directionality
Fine Motor Eye-Hand coordination and more...This involves (visual closure, memory, sequential memory, Spatial relations)
Visual and auditory screening (she had less than 10 % for visual)
Neuro Development Reflexes (Moro, Asymmetrical neck, symmetrical, and Head righting reflex)

Her Diagnosis:
Convergence Insufficiency
Ocular Motor Dysfunction
Binocular Dysfunction
Accommodative Spasm
Exotropia

The Eye Therapist mentioned that a lot of times kids do not get the correct diagnosis. Kids (and adults) come in with diagnoses of ADHD or being on the Austim spectrum...but some times it is there eyes are not functioning correct, which has a lot of impact on some brain functions and physical. A family member had thought Meli was possibly slightly on the spectrum. These disorders could explain why they thought that.  It is amazing what is affected by having these disorders.

She has difficulty tracking words horizontally (which can have a big impact on reading). This totally made sense to me. She loves to read the Piggie and Gerald books, but she will become very irritated when she tries to read other books to me. The ones are in very large print, which makes it easier for her to find the next word. The other ones were in smaller print and would cause her to get frustrated.

She also scores extremely low with visual instructions. This is used a lot at school. She was less than 10% accurate with the visual instructions. I am going to be meeting with her teacher to see what help she can provide.

She goes to eye therapy once a week (for about 7 months) and then we do home therapy everyday. It is scary to be told that your child has something that causes them to be developmentally behind and that can cause physical and mental tasks suited for her age to be difficult. We are very fortunate that this can be fixed and as most things that come at you...it could be worse. (Most of the time).

I am hopeful that this will work out and that she can learn to use her eyes correctly.






                                                                 ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                         The B Family

Mud Pies & Beyond

This little girl loves dirt! Whenever we are outside she goes straight for it and ends up with it all over her. I was very similar. I loved playing in the sand type dirt and making mud pies in the backyard.

It is a good look for her!

In a time when outdoor play seems a thing of the past and using just your imagination is almost unheard of, I am thankful for two kids with the ability to use theirs. I know that they would love to spend a lot of time on their tech devices, but they understand that we choose to limit that. There are days when they get way more than we would like (life happens), but for the most part they have a set amount. Sometimes they whine (especially Colin) but once they are on to the next task, they are really enjoying themselves. 

I love that they can both use their imaginations and like to see what they can explore outdoors. They love to hike and play in water. Meli is our little water baby and dirt connoisseur (for play not taste - well I am sure she has done that!).  Colin is our explorer and scientist. 

There are times when I just need to scream...but I am glad that these are the two that get me to that point. Will too! We all drive each other a little crazy at times, but we have fun together.

                                                         ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                   The B Family

The Joy of a Cardboard Box

Will and I ordered a new mattress the other day - One of those adaptive foam ones that come in a box and needs 24 hours to get back to its normal form. Tuft & Needle is one of the companies that sell them. I love their return policy! If you are not satisfied they send a replacement or refund your money, and then they work with you to have it sent to a homeless shelter or charity program. Awesome work ethic! I love companies like this. Ones that are aware that they can make a difference in communities.

Anyways...it came in a big (BIG) box that entertained my two kids and puppy (even my husband for part of the time) for several hours! Cheap, simple fun! Gotta love it!

Both kids were in the box for most of the time. Charlie loved running around it and trying to get in. I am fairly certain that he would not have actually gone in. Our little scaredy cat.

     

                                                  ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                   The B Family

Char char: A Life of Shenanigans

This little cutie...his face and the way he cocks his head with one ear slightly bent totally gives me that feeling when you want to just squeeze a baby's cheeks. I adore our little guy! He has fit into the family somewhat seamlessly. Almost.  He can be a total pain. Total. Pain. He definitely acts out when he is upset over something. Still we just love him. If we are gone for more than a few hours, then he becomes a little terror. Doing things he knows he is not supposed to. Stinker. He is so obvious about it that it is hard not to laugh. He just stares at you ready for you to catch him. 

He is getting so long. This above picture was a few months ago. He is even longer now. I am not sure how much more he will grow though. I think he is roughly 7 months. I am thinking he is basically done. 

Of course his favorite place to lay. My poor cushions. At least he is so light. I think close to 14 lbs now. If that.

I was working on my weekend project (refurbishing an old bench) and Charlie (of course) got in the paint and left a trail of paw prints. Thankfully, we plan to redo the deck soon. He loves the weekends when we are all home. He is totally my shadow when I am at the house. The rest of the time he follows whomever suits his mood. Meli when he wants to play, Colin when he wants to run, and Will the rest of the time. Especially cuddles. He loves laying on Will's lap. I think he was in heaven this weekend, when Will and I took a nap on the sofa. He laid right between us. Our cuddle bug. Then he woke me up by biting my ear!

All the Pretty Animals

Some of the animals we saw...💖

This little guy was loving the water! It was such a hot day.

He gave everyone a little show with going number two in the water. The kids were amazed that he just did that. Also, with the size...of course. 

She seemed to be loving the sunshine and heat. The other hippo was hanging out in the water. 

I love giraffes!! I think they are so beautiful! 

Not scary whatsoever...

So cute! The baby turtles were so tiny.

Will apparently was excited for the penguins! I had no idea! I thought they would be too stinky for him. He did say how he forgotten that part! I think afterwards he was leaning more towards panda bears. 

She was just adorable! Another one of my favorite animals. 

This is Velda. She was in animal time-out (in a sense) not that she was misbehaving but was not enjoying human touch as much lately. Totally understandable. 

                                                         ~ Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~
                                                                    The B Family

The Zoo & Old Friends

Friends

We took the kids to the Oregon Zoo yesterday. I have said this before, but I am torn about how I feel about zoos. I want to like them, but at the same time I feel for the animals. I am imagine they just want to run free.  But, what if they were in the wild and did not live long. I know some of the animals at the Oregon Zoo are rescued from their natural habitat. There is an elephant that had her eye shot from a farmer that took over her rain forest. The made me like it more. Colin was so distraught over that story.

Silly

My shadow

Anyways, we went to the zoo to meet up with some of Will's old friends. His fire academy buddy, Joel and his wife, Bobbie. For the past 12 years or so, I have heard stories about some of Will's favorite people. It took us this long to finally meet up. We had tried in DC, but it did not work out. I am so glad it did! What a sweet and lovely couple! Their kids are adorable too! It was nice seeing Will in his element and get a glimpse to him in his Air Force days.  We talked about a few other meet ups this summer... I hope it works. Fingers-crossed for Leavenworth and Seattle.

My babies

She loves this thing

Alligator

Puppet show

Owl

                                                          ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                 The B Family

Sorry Baby Girl...Mom's Hair is Curly

Opposites

Meli and I are a great example of opposites when it comes to physical features. She has blonde hair and I have super dark brown (almost black, but totally not black). She has super straight hair and I have super curly hair. She also has porcelain skin. I am not as tan as I used to be, having what I call my "Oregon tan" (basically meaning I am pale). I guess that is really the only three things, but it is enough for people to not pick her as my daughter.  There have been a few times, when I took one of her friends to the store with us or other public places and people always think the darker hair ones are mine. Not Meli.

I straighten my hair every once in a while. Usually when I get my hair cut. This last time, Meli asked me if I could put it back to straight after I had washed it. Not necessarily because she does not like it, but she wants us to look the same. She wants to have dark hair and for me to have straight hair. At least she did not pick for me to be a blonde. I do not think that look would work. At all.

It got me to thinking about how as a kid, I always wanted straight hair. I would have given anything to have straight hair like the other girls. Especially in Jr. High. I wanted to fit in by looking like everyone else. It is funny how we think when we are younger. I thought my hair was too different. Not that anyone ever said anything to make me think that. Usually it was compliments. As shy as I was though, I did not really enjoy the attention it would bring. Another contributor was probably all of the magazines that had girls with straight hair or the hair books in the salons that had mostly straight hair styles. When I was going for a haircut, I would always point to the super short, super straight hairdos. My mom would always have to break the news that my hair would not do that. I thought I always had to have the same hair style to work with my hair. Took my 30 years, but now I know that you can do different styles! I love my A-line. Although, that will probably go away soon, since I made a deal with Will and am growing it back out. He liked my hair cut, but he is definitely a long hair type of guy. I am sure I will chop it off again in a few years.

I think I was about 21 to 23 when I realized that I loved my hair! It was nice having something that made me different. Lots of people have wavy hair but probably quite a bit fewer with curly, curly hair. Or as Meli calls it "crazy hair".  Rather than when I was a teenager, I can now appreciate what makes us different.

Around 21.

I also realized that my hair works best for my personality. I need something that is not high maintenance, because I just do not do that. I need minimal time to get ready. I am not someone who will spend hours getting ready. I am irritated  if it takes me more than 30 minutes. My hair gives me the freedom not to wash it very often. I hate having wet hair and I do not blow dry...so once a week - hell yeah! (Caveat - I do shower daily). If my workout makes me sweat too much then this will not work as well.  Too much sweat = Frizz galore.

I do miss long hair

I was telling a friend that you can tell what day from my last wash I am by my hair style! Unless it has been raining a lot. Rain and curls - oh my! I will have to try and take pictures of the different stages.

There are some things I would change. I hate frizz, but that is just a necessary evil that is fixable. I know when it rains, I will not be having a great hair day...but I love rain - so I am OK with that. Sloppy bun day or a cute braid will do. It also takes me longer to get to the length I want. My hair grows super fast, but it also gets curlier the longer it is. It amazes me to straighten my hair and see how long it really is. 

Poor Meli. I am sure when she is older, she will learn to appreciate our differences. She also could eventually turn curly. When her hair is wet, she definitely has some texture to it. Unlike Colin's, whose is just straight when wet.

Maybe curls in her future

                                                         ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                        The B Family

BBQ, Fireworks, & Friends

Sparklers!

We had a very low-key celebration of our country's independence day this year. Our friends had us over for a BBQ. It was nice to relax, eat, drink, and be merry! Colin and Mae had a great time showing one year old Odin the fireworks. We did some of our own and then watched ones (from a distance) at a park not too far away. Beautiful!

Such a sloppy kiss

Her 2nd s'more, but doesn't remember her first

My buddy

I got him to wear the hat!

Good time with friends!

                                                           ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                        The B Family

Colin's Summer Reading Challenge

I am so happy that Colin loves to read! Both of my brothers were not book lovers, so I was hoping that my son would be. I have tried to show by example. Books make me giddy and Colin has been exposed to that dorky part of my personality from a very early age. He also is very aware of my book problem. I am a hoarder of books and have trouble not stopping at used book stores.

Even though he does not really need encouragement to read, I thought it would be fun to have a summer reading challenge. He reads a lot, but he tends to read the same books over and over. I do not have a problem with that, but would love to see him enjoy other books. He has read the all of the Diary of the Whimpy kids books 2 or 3 times already.

His challenge this summer is to try different books. All sorts of kinds. I will give him a set amount for each book he finishes (depends on the size, reading level, and wether it is a comic book). He only gets 10, 25 50, 75 cents for most books. He finished one that I gave him $1 for, but because it was a  pretty challenging book.

So far, he has found some other series that he really likes!

I have been having probably way too much fun picking out books for him to try. I even got the library ladies to help me. They thought it was a fun idea and had a great time trying to think of books that were similar to Diary of a Whimpy Kid.

The ladies also recommended some fun books for me to read aloud to both kids! This mama is totally geeking out with some magic series to read!