Meet Rody

In one of my efforts to get Max to bend his knees more, as well as gain general balance skills, etc, I got a used Rody horse on ebay. It arrived in the mail this week, and of course, Piper thinks it's hers (but she has agreed to allow Max to use it for therapy once in a while! - my, so nice of her).

He thought it was fun for a minute.Mostly, he prefers to just kick it around.And just some general cuteness after baths tonight.Piper copying her brother... (ever since Max got his top front teeth in last month, he started sticking out his tongue to feel them).

Spandex miniskirt

So we went to PT today... Beth didn't quite cringe, but gave Max that "what are we going to do with you kiddo?" look, when she saw his stiff leg approach to crawling. I wish I would have taken my camera. She wrapped up his thighs with that self sticking ace bandage stuff. It made him look like he was wearing a spandex miniskirt! And... it didn't really help a ton. She gave me the rest of the roll to try again at home if I want.

One side of his body is stiffer than the other and he generally gets up to that stiff side. So our efforts now are to get him sitting up more on the other side with a bent knee. Hmm. Good luck is what I'm thinking. She said this is common and eventually they get it and correct the problem. My mom's coming over tomorrow to try and see if we can't come up with a better solution. Is it too late for Hip Helpers?

At least he's moving forward :)

Summer Dance

Piper started a new summer dance class today with two of her friends.

You'd think they hadn't seen each other for weeks, but it's really only been since Sunday.

Of course, Piper loved it. Hopefully we can 'secure' a spot to continue this fall.

Our PT will cringe

The dreaded 'stiff leg'. How do you break the habit? I have been trying to encourage a bent knee, but to no avail.

Max learned to go from tummy to sitting with a straight leg, and has carried it over into the butt/knee scoot, sorta attempt to crawl...

He locks that knee and there is no stopping him. We have PT on Thursday. I know his PT is going to cringe.

I don't usually advocate having balloons around babies {serious choking hazard}, but miss Piper needed to have a 'surprise party' for her daddy Father's Day morning, that included balloons, triangle cut watermelon, and hiding behind the couch to yell surprise when he came in the living room! And the balloons were a big motivator in getting Max to actually move forward.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day

and all the other dads out there!

{click to enlarge the photo collage}

We gave our Daddy his annual Father's Day tie...

and hand-print treat box...

We also did bobbleheads this year - one for Grandpa, too!

Piper painted them herself and was very proud of her work, especially the gray hair.

Horsin' around

Piper went to a "Horsin' Around" daycamp at Thanksgiving Point this week with her friend, Mim. They learned about horses, got to brush one, rode a pony, and painted a wooden 'lucky' horseshoe.

Piper was too scared to ride the pony by herself during the class, so I walked next to her for a ride afterwards.

We walked around and looked at the other animals while they did their thing.

A white peacock - and her mate. I hadn't seen a white one before.

He's a goofball, too!

Yeah - he's asleep, sitting up, about to fall over.

Ever since he mastered the tummy to sitting skill, this is usually how he falls asleep. I go in and lay him down, and then I hear low crying/moaning, and go check on him and he's sitting up. So I lay him back down, and he sits back up... over and over until he's asleep and stays down. When he's fully awake, he goes from sitting to tummy all day long. But there's something about his crib... he just won't do it. Goofball.

Goofball

My mom called tonight to see if everything was ok - because I hadn't posted since Friday!

Nothin' abnormal going on around here....

Don't your kids brush their teeth with two toothbrushes while sitting in a tiny bucket of water in the bathtub?!

Bubbles & Roses

Just playin' in the yard... and stopping to smell the roses along the driveway.

 

Giggles

They crack me up... as well as each other.

I hope they stay good friends.

Summer buzz

Piper has been wanting to go camping for some time now {Steve & I prefer camping in hotels with cushy beds}. So I finally set up the tent for her in the living room. She slept there until 3am and then climbed into bed with me. The next day we moved the tent outside for some shade to play in.The next day... I gave Max a summer buzz (in honor of Ella who is battling leukemia and just started losing her hair). It's a little shorter than I anticipated. Steve asked why I didn't use one of the attachments. Uh... I thought I did. Oops. At least his hair grows fast. Bye bye fauxhawk. We'll see you again soon, I hope.

Did you know?

This cute face will get us into Yellowstone (and any other national park) for free?!

{We could have used it at Shoshone Falls last weekend, if we'd had it. They aren't a federal park, but said they still honor the pass.}

If someone in your family has a permanent disability, you too, can get an Access Pass - click HERE for details.

An Access Pass can be obtained in person from a participating Federal recreation site or office.
Bureau of Land Management http://www.blm.gov/
Bureau of Reclamation http://www.usbr.gov/
Fish & Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov/
USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/
National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/

one more video...

he mastered this new skill while we were away....

which is great... until you try to lay him down for a nap :)

Twin Falls

First, a quick video of Piper feeding the sheep and chickens at my uncle's...

My dad came home from the hospital last Friday, so we were able to visit him at home which was nice. Piper loves her grandpa.Max was glad to be out of the car.My brother and his family had come up to visit for the day, too.Max pulling his cousin's hair.While my dad's speech therapist came, we took a quick drive to the falls - Shoshone Falls (there are Twin Falls, but they aren't as cool). We were hiking around a little, and came across this porcupine. I whistled at it, trying to get it to come out into better view, but it started lifting its quills, so we backed off. It's hard to see, but he's looking towards the left, his eye is just below the branch.

As for my dad, he's doing ok, but still really tired and unmotivated to work on his therapy. This stroke aged him a lot. Hopefully he finds more energy and motivation and makes his way back to recovery. He knows who we are, but can't say our names. He seems to understand everything that's said (unless it involves instructions), but can't verbalize back. Sometimes he says a complete sentence that makes sense, but sometimes just a bunch of jumbled words come out. He knows it's not what he wants to say so he gets rather frustrated and then depressed. He just wants to sit in his favorite recliner and rest. Even TV right now is too much stimulation for his brain. The stroke he had 10 years ago took a year and a half of therapy to get him speaking, reading, and even driving again. He's back at square one, learning his colors and numbers again, etc. So sad to see him like this.

:::

Overall, it was a fun little roadtrip. The kiddos did great. I have 3 weeks to get unpacked and laundry caught up (I HATE doing laundry!) before it's time to repack for Yellowstone!

Cowboy Country

1043 miles logged, we're back from Idaho, and Piper is pretty sure she is a farm girl now. Her Crocs are no longer Crocs, but cowgirl shoes, complete with manure-caked soles. Max, however, got croup from the hotel air vents blowing on him all night (Piper & I just got scratchy throats), but started on steroids yesterday and already sounds better.

:::

On the 8 hour drive to Salmon (6 driving, 2 stopping to eat & stretch the kiddies legs), we stopped to eat in some itsy bitsy town. When we walked into the only eating establishment in town, we were greeted by this stuffed bear. Piper was so freaked out, she wouldn't go in. I finally had to carry her and face her away from the bear. The whole time, she kept asking to leave and wouldn't eat because she thought this bear was really going to get her. {The bear was killed by the owner's 12 yr old daughter years ago.}

We made it - The "Welcome to Salmon" monument. Piper was not scared of this bear.We visited my 91 yr old grandfather who I hadn't seen in a few years. He lives in the same double-wide mobile home on the same 6 acres that I remember visiting as a child. He doesn't have as many animals anymore, though, except all the dead ones on his walls.This is the .22 rifle he got when he was 10 - yep, 81 years ago!Piper immediately needed to go see his horses.My grandmother gave Piper a kitty and doggy toy which she loved. But then she wouldn't let her take them with us until the end of the trip. Piper was so confused, and rightly so. We think she wanted to make sure we were coming back the next day, and then the next.We went to the cemetery where many of my mom's relatives are buried.Max got his first driving lesson at the cemetery, too.Next, we drove to Challis (population just over 1000) to see my Uncle Bill and Aunt Joyce. We passed the house my grandfather was born in. It's now a barn. My Uncle Bill's was the hit of the weekend. This is where Piper became a farmer.

Feeding the sheep...Feeding the chickens...She was crying over squishy sheep/chicken/horse poop in her shoes and missed out on feeding the horses...They have 11 horses in all, including these 2 and 6 week old babies.Baby geese.Washing off the poop in the freezing cold Salmon River.Once all the animals were fed (to which Piper exclaimed, "Being a farmer is hard work!"), it was playtime - throwing rocks in the river!And a little fishing (my Uncle Bill taught me how to fish when I was a kid!)Then inside for a little cowboy music and dinner - freshly slaughtered beef (yep - he does it himself - the cowhide was still tied in the river soaking the hair off), potatoes, homemade bread... mmm.And a group photo...

My nephew Quade (he came along at the last minute), Grandma Mary, Grandpa Glen, Aunt Joyce, Uncle Bill, my sister Kimber, Piper, Me, my mom Sharron, & Max.

Twin Falls post next...