Happy Fall!

What do you do on the last day of September when it's warm and sunny? You go to the orchard and look for pumpkins!

Papa Dave called Friday and wanted to know if the duo was up for a trip out to the orchard/pumpkin patch with him and Miss Carolyn. So today we packed up and headed out. The whole trip didn't go quite as planned - after a long Saturday without naps, rough nights sleep and allergies flaring it was a little rough to start. But once we got out there they loved it!

Papa Dave checking the duo on the big kid swings.

You're in the middle of corn country so you don't have a sand box...you have a corn box!

Parker wandering through the pumpkin vines trying to find just the right ones. 

Payton was convinces she wanted a little tiny one. 

After we picked out their pumpkins, the rode in the pink John Deere wagon (Payton was in love) back across the field. 

We stopped to have apple cider donuts (yum!!!) and some root beer they keep on tap and sat on the deck in the sunshine. 

Of all the pumpkins and all the vines, they both decided on small, green, not ripe pumpkins. 

What are you gonna do?

Hopefully by the time we go back to the pumpkin patch in a few weeks with respite care I'll be able to convince them that orange pumpkins are the way to go!

Super Stars

Respite Care has a great tool for parents where they and the teachers can login, track progress, attach pictures and documentation, access tools, etc. for the kiddos there.

Love. It.

Thanks to our wonderful teachers, they've been keeping me in the loop of the cool new stuff. These skills are normal skills, but pretty amazing for us. All our docs are thrilled about them being able to do these this early.

Payton trying to make shapes and not just scribbles.

 Parker working on his balancing. And doing a great job while wear his pump and backpack.

 Payton's balancing act.

 Parker loves to play basketball. He can shoot with both hands and nail shots from several feet out. Not bad for someone still teetering on wearing 12 month pants.

 Can kick a ball like a pro!

 

 Payton hosting a tea party for her friends, Mya and James.

 Both of them playing Ring Around the Rosey with teacher Malorie and two of our BFFs Elena and Emmet.

 The nest week has a few appointments for us and figuring out any services going forward for Parker and trying to figure out some stuff with him. The pressure, the unknown, and the potential answers are all making me a little batty. I'd gladly take any calming vibes anyone might have available. We'll keep you updated!

Fun...with a Splash of Fantastic

With nothing much planned this past weekend, we decided to check out the art fair at ARTsarben. It was a great venue for an art fair. And lets be honest, even if the kiddos weren't so impressed, I loved so much of the stuff that was there.

After the fair we moved on to check out the Wheels for Kids car show. Loved it. So did the kiddos. There was alot of "don't touch" being said though. The cars are cool colors, bright and shiny and just sitting there, it's hard not to touch!

Then on Sunday evening, we got to do something awesome with our friends from respite care. We got to take over the field house gym at University of Nebraska campus and play like crazy with all the school athletes. There was a bouce house (which never goes over well with Parker), bowling, basketball, t-ball, soccer, ring toss, giant balls being passed batted around. We got swag bags and new water bottles. Fantastic. Amazing. I can't stop saying enough good things. The athletes were amazing too. As we walked in and were checking things out, a few of the basketball players came over and asked if we wanted to play ball. They lifted them both up to the rim to dunk the ball. Parker got into passing the ball to the guys and letting them dunk it. Payton got her shot to dunk the ball too. They even tried to sneak one of the balls home. A couple of the guys signed Parker's name tag, which he was thoroughly impressed with - "wook it. They sign me". And to top it off, all the players were completely impressed that a couple of almost 3 year olds could pull off such an awesome fist bump.

 We spend some time watching the giant balls being thrown around.

We played ring toss (and Parker got his flirt on) with the cross country and track girls (my boy has good taste to pick out some running girls). 

And we did a little bowling with some other boys. They didn't totally get that bowling is supposed to be done standing up. It was still fun though. And the boys made sure all the pins got knocked down.

Parker now thinks that the place is his "big school". This was a huge thing for him, and overall he did much better than I had hoped he would. And Payton did pretty good holding her own playing with the boys too.
Thank you UNO and CRCC for giving us another shot to try something new and letting us have so much fun!

Season Change

The weekend was beautiful and we had a relaxing weekend hanging out at home. It's starting to feel a little bit like fall once in a while. And we're loving it. After a long, crazy hot summer these nice afternoons aren't being lost on us!

We have some super fun stuff coming up this weekend! Mom and the camera will be on duty so don't worry :) Updates will be coming next week!

Parker Procedure Update

Friday was another early morning for Parker and I at Boys Town. We've been on a routine of meds for his EE for several months (it's a little exhausting). The things with EE is you can't cure it, and there's no way to tell what it is that makes it worse or causes that allergic reaction. So that leaves us trying to find a medication regiment that will help alleviate those symptoms and make it easier for Parker to eat.

It's a drive but I absolutely love the West Boys Town hospital. It's a beautiful facility and the staff are absolutely wonderful. Parker and I got lucky and bumped up in the schedule by half an hour (Yay!) and things moved very quickly after we were admitted. Dr. Kunnath came in and we chatted, he played with Parker and sat on the bed to watch Mickey Mouse with him. I'm so grateful to have found a GI doctor this fantastic.

Once Parker was ready to roll, the Child Life Specialist came in and showed him the anesthesia mask, let him pick what color tape he wanted for his IV, and read a book with him. The in an effort to help Parker's giant tantrum I knew was coming when they took him back, she brought him a bubble gun. She told him to shoot bubbles at the doctors when they came in. He figured it out really quickly and started yelling "wook it!" to everyone that came in. They let him take it back to surgery with him, and he got to keep it until the moment we left. It made things a lot easier for him to go back to surgery.

Of course the anesthesiologist always comes in to talk before procedures. He came in and asked where he had had his previous major surgery (the fundo and g-button) at. When I responded it was at the Med Center, he immediately confirmed it had been with Dr. Abdessalam. When I said yes, he told me he had been in on that case and remembered us. He started saying details from the day (which I remember vividly), Parker's medical history, and us. I was floored. He gave me a very nice smile and said it was nice to see us again, it was a treat he doesn't usually have a chance at.

He carried Parker back to surgery in a blanket (holding the bubble gun) while singing him a song. 

He came back after the procedure to tell me everything had gone perfectly. He said "it's been a pleasure" when I got a big hug. When he walked out of the room he gave me a sweet smile, and I stood there stunned and started to cry a little. How lucky are we that the same sweet, gracious person can appear twice in life to help Parker - once to live, the other to thrive? (I still have tears thinking about it now). 

Parker's scope appeared normal. Now we wait for biopsy results - they took 6 samples - and a follow-up appointment with Dr. Hopp. Thanks for all for the prayers!