Alaina Holiday Pictures

Alaina got some pretty holiday outfits to celebrate the season:

 

Everyone needs First Christmas PJs!

 

 

Our neighbor gave us some beautiful Christmas dresses. 

 

Our friends lent us this beautiful dress.  Alaina looked like a wedding cake!

 



 

And these were Christmas gifts from Mommy Sharon and Daddy Jack.  I love that they make sure we can root for our favorite teams (even from far away)!  They came with instructions:

"For the Rose Bowl"

 

 

and "For the Super Bowl"

 

Too cute! 

 

I enjoy dressing up my little doll!

Soccer Camp

After New Year's Travis went to a three-day soccer camp.  It was put on by the same group from the summer program so he knew some of the coaches.  I only came in for the last few minutes the last day so I didn't get very many pictures.  It was really great to see how much he is improving though.  I am glad he enjoys the game.  He'll be starting another league the end of January.  It's one of the perks of living where it's blazing hot during the summer: you can play outdoors in the winter without a coat!

 

Real Christmas

On Christmas morning we opened presents with just our family.  It was the first time we didn't get dressed or at least eat some breakfast (okay, I did feed Alaina...) before we opened gifts.  I think we might have to plan that one a little bit better next year, but it was so fun to see the boys enthusiasm.

 

Travis got some of the big Lego sets he has been wanting.  He really enjoys the police and fire-themed sets so that's what he got!

 

Alaina got some very useful things like pacifiers, a sippie cup, and of course, socks!  She was speechless.

 



I realized a few short days before Christmas that the boys had been with me to get all of Alaina's gifts so I didn't have anything that Santa could give to her.  So, I had to make a trip out to get a couple of other things.  She got a picnic basket that teaches shapes and colors and sings all that cool stuff kids toys do these days.  Justin has played with it a lot and Alaina sucks on the plastic food.

And these are the moments parents live for:  Justin is fascinated with Veggie Tales and especially Larry Boy (I might have mentioned it a time or two.  :)  It's been going on for quite a while now.)   A friend at therapy got a hat like this when they went to a Veggie Tales show and Justin just shook with excitement when he saw it so we knew that we had to get him one of his own.  I wish you could have been there when he opened it!  His "word" for Veggie Tales is pulling on his ear outward, indicating the plungers on Larry Boy's hat.  (Here's an example of Larry's plungers in action.)  So the first thing Justin did was grab one of the plunger ears and pretend it was shooting off and he ran sideways into the french doors!  It was hysterical!  So he liked it... 

 

And to go along with the hat, you need a costume and cape...

It was a really fun Christmas morning and everyone had lots of fun.  We went to Randy's parents (Pop and Me-Me's) for a tasty lunch of brisket and baked potatoes.  Our friends, the TD family, joined us.  I got to take a nap.  All good!  It was a relaxing family day.

Travis Logic

So we were watching football playoff games and Travis had a thought:

 

"So why do they keep score when they play?  Why don't they just play for fun and then eat icy pops when they're done?"

 

Good thought, Travis.  We'll pass that one on...

Seven Months!

So Alaina turned seven months already!  Time is really flying.  She is so full of personality.  Here is what's new:

•  Alaina can sit up and sit herself up from laying down.  So helpful!  As she was struggling to learn to sit up I would leave her on her stomach playing and when I walked back by I would find her sitting up and I got all excited!  Then Travis said, "Oh Mommy, I sat her up!"  When she finally did learn, Travis was shocked that he didn't have a job anymore!
•  She is eating baby food.  She is enjoying all kinds of fruits and vegetables along with tasty rice and oatmeal cereals.  She seems to like mangoes a lot, which I am so excited about since no one else in the house likes.  I hope it sticks!
• She is in a very "Mommy" phase.  Even having someone else hold her close to mommy is not good enough.  Surprising though is how she tolerates Travis carrying her around like a sack of potatoes.  Travis doesn't like her fussing so if Randy is holding her and she is crying he will go to him and say, "Let me take her to mommy" and he will carry her over to me.
• She does not like shoes!  She rubs her feet together to make them come off.  Socks only last a little longer.  I can't wait for spring!
• She is so close to crawling but she cannot quite get her arms and legs coordinated.  She can do one of two crawls but then she gives up.
• Randy and I are pressing her pretty hard to get a "mama" or "dada".  We both get in her face and try to get her to imitate us.  So far she just smiles and grabs our mouths.   I know "dada" is easier, but come on, is it too much to ask for just one of three?
• She is fascinated by singing.  She really loves when we sing to her and Travis and Justin are more than happy to oblige!
• She loves bathtime (finally!) and the boys love when she splashes and plays.  Justin is such a good helper getting her towel ready and whatever diaper supplies I need.
• I cannot say enough about Travis and Justin.  Is such a different experience having an older child when a baby is born.  It's even different from when Justin was born.  The boys are so sweet with Alaina and love to help and play and read to her.  She is fascinated with them and gets more interested in their faces and hair.  I think Justin taught Alaina to curl her lower lip under her teeth.

That's about all for our little girl these days!

 

Happy Seven Months!

 

 

 

 

Christmas

So I have to apologize again. Apparently Blogger has had some problems with picture uploading.  I kept waiting for it to get fixed but it hasn't yet so I had to upload the roundabout way.  It has taken me forever to try to get these pictures up here!  I will try to get the rest of my incredibly late blogs up soon!

 

So the DeCarlo family had Christmas a little early while Uncle Craig, Aunt Kristi and Lauren were in town.  It was so much fun getting to see them and play all day long!

 

 

 

The kids all got great toys.  Alaina happened to be napping so she missed the flurry of paper and tissue paper but it was probably better that way.

 

 

 

 

Travis is completely into rocks so he got lots of rock books and rock boxes and rock kits. 

 

 

Justin loves Aunt Kristi! 

 

 

 After opening presents and lunch and taking a nap the gang went to the park.  You notice Justin is wearing different clothes?  That is because he had a little accident while he was napping and I spent the afternoon at the laundromat while everyone else went to the park.

Before Craig, Kristi, and Lauren headed back home we got another family picture.  We didn't really plan the colors but it worked out okay, except for Alaina.  I think I'll have to take the blame for that.  She spit up on her pretty dress and I didn't plan a pretty alternative.  It's a learning process!

 

 

Justin Update

I have been meaning to post some of Justin's amazing accomplishments.  He is learning a lot of great new skills and I am so proud the progress he is making.

• A few months ago Miss Sarah gave Justin some pictures with picture/word cue cards.  It was to help Justin put together two word phrases like "brush hair"  and "kick ball".  It didn't take Justin long to figure them all out and even go beyond the phrases she invented.

He has been using two word phrases for a while and now Sarah gave us homework to begin trying to get three words at a time out of him.  Even if it's just adding "please" after "want help" or something like that.  It has gone really well! I think I can even say that Justin now has the expectation of being understood.  That is a completely different approach which puts the onus on us to try to understand.  It's is still work, but fun because we get the chance to experience what's going on in his little head.  It turns out to be quite a lot!

• Sarah has also made Justin a couple of these books for him to read.  She puts the pictures at the bottom and he reads the simplified version.  He really seem to enjoy them.  He can be like Travis.

• Miss Caroline left to start her own office in Austin so Justin has a new OT therapist, Miss Jenna.  They have been working on writing and tracing lines, shapes, and letters.  He gets the gist of the pattern, but he can't get the corners yet. 
• Justin has been doing some projects at therapy.  This was the ornament Justin made for the tree.  He's working with regular scissors and he's struggling with the opening and closing motions.  The loop scissors he has just need to be squeezed to cut, so this is the opposite motion.  He cut this candy cane all by himself!  And then he put the beads on himself too.

 

This was the Thanksgiving project.  It's a "feather" that describes what Justin's thankful for.  We ask him this question a lot and this is his usual answer so I wasn't surprised!

 

 

•  Miss Penny helped Justin meet a huge milestone:  He can jump!  He can jump forward, straight up, and even off a 12-inch step.  He still doesn't land with his knees bent every time, but he's made great progress.  And he can pedal a recumbent tricycle.  He started with a tricycle that used both hands and feet, and now he is transitioning to just feet.  He can't keep the motion going for very long, but he's doing better.
• We are learning that Justin has a very good memory for the things that are important to him.  He learned quickly that birthdays mean presents and that even Jesus birthday meant presents for him.  He knows that Pop tells him stories and gives him apple juice, and that's what he asks for as soon as we get to his house.  And we had better be careful about what we promise because Justin will hold us to out word!
• And a potty update:  Whew, it doesn't seem like it's been 5 months since we started this process.  I really hoped we would be done by now, but instead we seem to be regressing.  I wash at least one set of his sheets every day, plus one or two pair of underwear.  I finally gave up and bought pull-ups for nights.  I am not sure what is so hard about nights when he was doing so well, so until we figure it out I am taking a break from daily laundry.  It seems like any little thing gets him out of whack and the first thing we notice is accidents.  And he even has had some accidents during naps.  I had to wash ALL of my in-laws bedding when we had our Christmas celebration.  Comforter down to mattress pad.  I am just glad that's as far as it went.
• CPAP update:  He has figured out how to take it off and he does.  Frustrating.  He will even get out of bed and turn it off sometimes and other times he just takes it off and lets it blow.  So he gets to play on the ipad if he leaves his mask on all night.  A lot of times we have no idea, but fortunately (or unfortunately) he has no idea either.  I think that's part of our problem.  We need to make it harder to come off and we really can't.  It's kind of a catch-22 with the potty problem.  (He can't make it to the potty if the mask won't come off.)  He has been sick so he hasn't worn it all the time and I have noticed a difference in his level of alertness.  I think that's a good confirmation for us.
• Justin really wants to do everything Travis does.  That's usually a good motivator for learning so we really like that.  Justin likes doing school with Travis and is trying to learn letters.  He runs and climbs to keep up with Travis.  But then there are the times when we have to say no.  Travis is great at soothing Alaina and he gets on his hands and knees over her and talks with her and when Justin tries to imitate him he ends on laying smack on top of her!  Still struggling to figure this one out.
• Justin is still very much a little boy.  When he gets hurt or sick or he is sad or tired, he needs mommy and even though he is older than Alaina, he doesn't understand when I can't hold him.  He has started biting his nails and I worry it's because he is not getting the attention he needs.  Maybe I just worry too much!  :)
• We saw some family over the holidays who we don't see very much and they commented on how much progress Justin has made over the past year.  (The last time they saw him.)  Oh my goodness!  What an encouraging word.  I so needed to hear that from someone who really truly noticed!  It's hard to step back and look that far to see, but God planned those words for my ears on that night.  He is amazing, let me tell you!