Mother's Day

Jake surprised me with a day trip to Sedona and picnic in our favorite secret spot. I would share where it is, but I don't want to destroy its perfection, lest they put up a gate or something like that. Let's just say it's a perfect grassy knoll right on the banks of Oak Creek, partially shaded by hundred-year-old Oak and Cottonwood trees. Are you jealous? It was idyllic. There is also a swing set, a swimming pool, and a hot tub that we took full advantage of as well. It was like a short but super sweet vacation getaway. On the way home, Gabe told us "The trip was really fun!". I couldn't agree more.

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mommies out there! I hope you had a super day!

{sword fighting}


{picnic}

{our spot}

{Yes, Gabe is wearing his underpants. Just his underpants. In the jacuzzi. It's not my fault. He "fell" in.}

Good Weekend

This weekend was one for the memory books. Of course, my awesome Mother's Day had a lot to do with that, but my whole weekend was filled with fun and family time. Unlike other weekends, it didn't seem to fly by either. We really got to enjoy the time that passed.

I had been planning for the past week on having a yard sale on Saturday. Not everyone thinks yard sales are a great idea or a great way to spend family time, but it really worked out this way for us. On Friday, Jake, me, my sister, and our friends (Edwards fam) came over and all hung out and worked on organizing our not-so-necessities in preparation for Saturday morning. Jake and I had been spending part of our evenings throwing things into the pile here and there for the better part of the week, but there was still stuff to do, so every bit of help was appreciated. Saturday turned out to be a great success (thanks Marci!). We got some pocket change, yes, but what turned out to be more important was that we had a great excuse to be outside all morning (starting at 7 am!) in the beautiful weather, that our kids got to play like kids and get really filthy. And it was OK. I mean, at the time, I think I would have rather that Bella and Gabe didn't turn a charcoal grey/black from head to toe or eat crushed up goldfish crackers off the garage floor or that the kids have a completely unstructured/somewhat unsupervised morning... but in hindsight, I think the way it ended up was good for us all and was a really welcome break from the norm. I remember feeling refreshed and rejuvenated; and not just for getting to get rid of a bunch of old stuff either.

{I don't have any pictures of the garage sale or of my kids that day. I was way too busy. And now, I'm regretting not stopping to snap the pictures. These are pics from the evening before.}

{I'm spraying him with a hose, in case you were wondering}

Later that night, Jake took me and the kids out to dinner at BJ's Restaurant and Brewery. It is a great place for families, with a lovely patio, and delicious kids menu options like grilled chicken & broccoli Alfredo bowtie pasta... yum. I can appreciate a hiatus from restaurant chicken tenders every once in a while.

{can't help but love him}

The next day was, of course, Mother's Day. More on that to follow.

Chewy's New Home

We are officially in our last couple weeks with our doggie, Chewy. A few months ago, Jake and I decided that we needed to find a better home for Chewy. Chewy is the best dog that anyone could ever ask for, and almost everyone that meets him agrees that he is just swell. But, we have quite a lot on our plates at this juncture in our lives, and Chewy frequently gets lost in the shuffle. We want a life for Chewy where he feels like the main event; where he gets to live out the doggie dream.

Our prayers were answered when we found the perfect home & owners for Chewy. Chewy is moving to Alaska, where he will live with a wonderful, active, retired couple and their female Wheaten terrier, Bonnie Dai. The couple's daughter is a vet tech, so relief for his allergies and ear infections will never be far away. He will get tons of love and attention, and will never be left behind!

His new owner wrote to me today:

He will be on the best adventure he's ever had. Just envision Chewy running and playing and chasing squirrels everyday. He'll have one indoor girlfriend (Bonnie DAi) and one big outdoor girlfriend (KayO - the Husky/Malamute). He's going to get to play in the snow (Bonnie and Kayo's favorite thing together) and he's going to get to go hiking on trails and go on daily walks. Even get to eat salmon and moose meat. Plus, he's going to learn how to be around farm animals (right now it's only chickens but pretty soon it's going to be a milk goat or cow). What a life for a Wheaten Terrier! You know this breed is originally a farm dog? He's going back to his roots.

Jake and I both feel very happy with our decision and with this wonderful opportunity that has opened up in Chewy's life. I can also get pretty blue at times, but I just tell myself that it is like Chewy is growing up and moving off to college, spreading his wings, and getting to be a "real dog". Thinking of him happy makes me feel in my heart like we are truly doing the right thing by him.

Top 20 Reasons Why Moms of Kids with Special Needs Rock

I'm going to have to ditto this too! It really feels good to read that.

April Milestones

Milestones: here we go again. Thankfully, it's only been two weeks since the last milestones post, so I don't have much new to write. This month, Ari and Gabe turned 3 years and 2 months, and Isabella turned 19 months.

Gabriel has been really getting into pretend play this month. He likes to pretend his the daddy, the doctor, the Disney movie villians (yes, still). He acts out dialogue between his construction worker figurines, and will even partake in tea parties. I love to watch his imagination in action.

Ariana has been just starting to get into pretend play as well. More noticeably, she just seems girlier these days. She loves to play dress up, and she will fight bitterly with Bella over the princess necklaces and crowns (thankfully, she couldn't care less about the shoes, because Bella guards them). She has been showing such a funny, sassy side to her lately. When I hold her in front of a mirror, she could stand to grin at and admire herself all day. Sometimes, I'll tell her, "Ari, look at that bod! Wooohoo! You are soooo cute!" and she'll giggle and pat herself on the butt. Of course, mommy thinks it's adorable.

We attempted to get Ari approved for a power wheelchair this month, but no dice. Ari was expected to drive the thing with all the reverence and know-how of a teenager at a driver's test. But she's three. And this was her first taste of controlling her own mobility. Even her first time sitting in the power wheelchair, for that matter. She could make it go, oh yeah. But whenever she was about to bump into something (a chair, a barrier), she would attempt to push the obstacle out of her way with her hand instead of turning or stopping the chair. It's a bit of a catch 22, you see, because they have to look out for Ari's safety, and they can't authorize a powerchair if she is a danger to herself or others. But, how would she ever learn if she has no chair with which to practice? So, a few weeks of advocacy later, and we've now been given one hour of power wheelchair training per week for three months. This is awesome!!! As far as it's been explained to me, Ari is kind of pioneering this right now. I can't believe that DDD approved it, because they're not known for their liberality with handing out additional hours of therapy. But I am grateful for sure. We still have a bit more red tape to get through yet (like securing a wheelchair), so don't hold your breath, but we're on our way!

On the other hand, we have been having our share of frustrations with potty training this month. Ari seems to have made a digression, and I'd like to think it's me more than it is her. She used to go potty every time we put her on, even if it was just a tiny bit. Now, it seems like she's avoiding the issue altogether. She doesn't dislike the potty. But it seems like the novelty of peeing in it is wearing off. That and the fact that she never really sees any consequences for peeing in the pull-up, besides our verbal disappointment. I remember when training Gabe, if he peed in his pull-up or underpants much past the point of knowing how to pee in the potty, he would get in trouble. I just don't know how to execute that with Ariana. I think she was at a really good point, but it's just SO hard to train someone when they can't tell you when they need to go potty. It's so easy to let the minutes and even hours slip by before realizing it's time for her to go, and by that time, it might be too late. It's hard for babysitters, teachers, and husbands to remember and make it an urgent priority when she isn't screaming "go POTTY!!!!" or doing a potty dance or threatening to wet through her clothes. Any suggestions are welcome!

Isabella is getting so big. She really looks like a toddler to me lately. And she's beginning to behave like one too. Don't get me wrong, she's still just as loveable as ever. Just now, she's more of her own little person. She tries to do things on her own terms. Consequently, she's had her first time-outs this month. When she throws a tantrum, she has to sit in the corner for a minute, and it's so funny (in a sad kind of way) to watch her just sit there all butt hurt over having to take a turn on the scooter or for getting in trouble for hair pulling. I'm starting to giggle just thinking about it. On the other hand, Bella's manners are the best of the brood. Sometimes, I begin to think that she's looking for an excuse to use her manners! She is the only one who consistently says "bless you" when someone sneezes, and "you're welcome" when she's thanked. She never forgets a "please" or a "thank you". She says "excuse me" ever so coyly when she burps. When she bumps into someone on accident (or someone bumps into her) or she drops something or misplaces something, she always says, "oh, sorry!". That's the one that sounds the sweetest. When she says sorry for something, it's usually something that didn't warrant an apology, and it stops people in their tracks. They start stuttering and feeling like they need to apologize back to this mannerly little baby. I don't know where she gets it, but I'm afraid I can't take the credit here. Well, there is one instance in which her manners leave much to be desired. When Isabella toots (that's what we call it), she will proudly announce "Peeeyou! Peeeyoouuu! Stinkyyyy!" That's the one that I'm afraid I must take credit for.

Bella has been working really hard on the alphabet. No one has been working with her (excepet for Gabe), but she can identify well over half of capital letters, and she can sing the alphabet song pretty well. She has been overheard counting as high as thirteen (she skips "six"), but she consistently counts to ten on her own (but ten sounds like "fun"). She can identify and often name all her body parts. She knows all the color names, but she has yet to match them correctly to their true hues. She gets it right about fifty percent of the time. Shapes are coming along well too. She knows "oval", "heart", "star", "raygle" (rectangle), "square", and "agon" (pentagon, octagon, hexagon). She is still calling circles "oval" or "ball", and triangles still confound her, but I think that's pretty good. Compared to what Gabe was doing at this age, she

Hmmm... Bella continues to love to dress up. She'll demand to wear jackets, hats, shoes, crowns, headbands, necklaces, costumes, and pretty much anything adorning her bod that will make her look like even more of a pixie. She still loves to make a mess, and can't be trusted unsupervised with her food for even a minute. She thinks Chewy is hilarious (so do Ari and Gabe), which is a real shame because we have just found the perfect home for Chewy and his flight to his new home (in Alaska) is scheduled for June 2... but that's an entirely separate post altogether. Bella is getting pickier about what she eats, and I think a lot of it has to do with her teeth coming in. It's frustrating, because she spits out whatever food she decides in unfit for swallowing after its already been mashed to a pulp in her mouth.

Jake Hiked the Canyon

Jake has been planning a Grand Canyon hike for the past year. Originally, it was going to be a greuling "south rim-to-north rim-to-south rim" undertaking. But, thankfully, Jake and his friend made the wise decision to hike from "south rim-to-river-to-south rim" instead. There's always next year babe. Jake made excellent time on the hike, and he completed the entire 17 miles in only eight hours! He hadn't even trained at all for it. I tell you what, those Taylor boys are made of steel! Way to go!

{how poor Russ got out of the canyon. LOL}