Fall Pictures

My 7 yo grabbed Goldie and the camera and took these pictures. She is so thoughtful and know how I love to take fall pictures of them. I think they turned out much better than the ones I tried to take of the 3 of them.

Self portrait of the photographer and her subject.

One got glasses and one had a birthday!

Swatcho got glasses last week.








This baby turned 10!



She wanted to celebrate by going to see the horse exhibit at the museum and having stuffed grape leaves for dinner.





We rolled out 70 of those sought after, sour creations. Well, the Birthday girl didn't start rolling until the end was in sight and there's no pic of the finished meal because we ate them. Quickly. Goldie has eaten them before, but wasn't in the mood this time.

Goldie has a Birthday and an eye Dr. appt this week. This is with a new doc and I'm hoping he can answer some questions we've had about Goldie's vision and nystagmus.


This is her after the museum. Yes, she is still rear facing. Her sisters are way more entertaining than the back of my head. Plus, I'm clinging to every last morsel of her babyhood.

Special Needs Family

Technically speaking Goldie is the first and only member of my immediate family diagnosed with a syndrome that puts her in the special needs category. Since she was born, I've thought to myself MANY times that we all have special needs. Spending time with a variety of therapists who let me pick their brains has confirmed this.

Lets start with Hank and Swatcho. I'm convinced they both have ADHD. I'm sure its genetic because his mom and grandfather exhibit the same traits.(If you know anyone doing a study give us a call) Hank is physically unable to sit still. I have no idea how he made it through school. He says he paid people to do his homework so he could work after school. Then,there are the times he goes completely overboard. For example, he went to buy seeds for our garden last year. We only needed some pumpkin and green pepper seeds. He spent $80! WTH? I was only able to talk him into returning $40 worth. I only send him to the store as a last resort now.

Swatcho has been on the move as long as I can remember. Or not, because I don't actually remember her first steps. They were early and it was just the beginning of many trips to the ER. Broken leg 18 months, split chin 2yrs, stitches in big toe at 2 1/2yrs, and broken arm when she was 5. The arm was fun. She had to go to PT twice a week and we had therapists coming to the house for Goldie.I freak out now anytime she does anything remotely dangerous looking. Swatcho is also my sensory seeking child. She loves jumping, spinning, swinging, bike riding, etc...

So for a while I thought Mini Me was the "typical" one. But, alas, no such luck. I'll spare you all the details today, but let's just say she can't follow directions. I've tried everything. I realized it was a problem when I saw it impacting her school work. She knows the material, but can't remember the steps to complete a problem or answer a test question. One of her teachers has developed a low perception of her because of this. (thats a whole nuther post)

Hank came home today and said he thinks I should look into Executive Function Disorder. Yup, that's my girl. And she probably got it from me. But, when we were kids expectations were lower. I didn't have the amount of stuff to keep track of that she does, and I mean both toys and school work. I can also see why I have always kept our schedule so open. Too many things on the calendar and I get overwhelmed. There are weeks I think the whole therapist thing is going to put me over the edge. I'm thankful for them, but at the same time just want to be done with it already.

So there it is. Now, how do I organize our home lives so everyone's needs are met? Do I pursue a formal diasnosis for any of this or just implement strategies to help them be successful? I've started by boxing up some of Mini Me's toys and 2 bags of clothes. She had the idea that she could trade items so she doesn't have too much stuff out at once. I also do this with Goldie's toys to cut down on the mess.

Something Naughty, Something Nice

Ok, I'll tell you the naughty story first. Swatcho will be 7 next month and is reading pretty well. She is half way through the Calvert first grade phonics program. Today we were driving past an Arby's and I hear her say "New Year's Eve W**res" Whoa! What? Then big sister says "no, New Year's Eve hours." Oh, ok. I resumed breathing at that point.

Now for the nice. We were returning some things at Target yesterday. The girls waited nicely on the bench while Goldie sat in the cart. The couple in front of us had a baby sleeping in his carseat. Goldie looks at me, signs baby, points at the baby, and signs baby again. The sweetness of it all just carries me away. She is 21 months and I have been signing to her since she was 7 months. She has signed baby before, but I am seeing her first attempts at using signs to COMMUNICATE not just immitate. Another one that melts my heart is the sign for milk. She is using that when she wants to nurse. Or when she just wants an excuse to get out of the cart. Too smart.

Here is a picture of her watching Signing Time. It is the only thing she will watch.