Ava's First Snow Day!!

Today was Ava's first snow day! We got well over a foot of snow. . . it looks like a Winter Wonderland outside. She was excited to get her coat and snow pants on this morning to play in the snow. She had her first snowman built by 7:45 this morning. She just went out for her second trip outside to make another snowman!




Max watching Ava play outside. He would love it outside for a little bit, but decided to keep him inside since he woke up snotty and sneezing.

We've Been Elfed!

Ava loves these things!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hydrocele Surgery #2

On Tuesday, Max has a hydrocele repair on his left side. Last year, his right side was repaired.

A hydrocele is a collection of watery fluid around the testicle. It was explained to us as a step before a hernia. The dr wanted to fix it because he doesn't want it to develop in to a hernia and the fluid that is flowing from the abdomen to the testicle is warmer than what the testicle should be in which would cause poor growth of the testicle.

Max before surgery.



The surgery and recovery went really well. We were at the hospital for a total of two and a half hours. Three nurses that day knew Max from a previous stay or surgery. I found that quite interesting. The nurse in the recover room cared for Max while he was in the NICU at a different hospital. And to top that off, the anesthesiologist had put Max under before for his g-tube and nissen wrap surgery. I found all of that very comforting.

Since the surgery, Max has been himself. We are keeping him home all week to recover. He probably could have gone back to day-care and school today and Friday, but we didn't want to push it.

At Max's three year check up he was 22 pounds and 33 inches.

Max at home after surgery doing his favorite things. Watching Signing Times and rocking in the rocking chair.

Happy 3RD Birthday Max!!

We celebrated Max's birthday with lots of family on Sunday! We had a "Max's little fishy" themed party since he loves, loves, loves the song. Max's Papa Dave made the cake for him and, as always, impressed everyone! Max dived in to the cake this year and really seemed to enjoy it. Thank you to everyone that celebrated with Max!
A pic from Max's three year old photo shoot. . .

Max with his AWESOME cake. . .

That was good. . .

Max with one of his gifts. . .

Going in for a birthday kiss. . .

Everyone who celebrated with Max. . .

Bitter Sweet

This was Max's last week with his Birth to Three therapists since he is turning THREE on Sunday. Birth to Three has been a part of our lives since Max was four months old and it just seems strange that they won't be a part of our weekly routine anymore. It is a bitter sweet transition. It will be hard not seeing the therapists that have worked with Max week after week, but I am excited to see him in a school setting. Above is a picture of Max and his Speech Therapist that came to our house on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 every week. Max was always excited to see her. I would tell him that Elsa was here and he would run to the door to greet her.

Wordless Wednesday

School Pics

Happy Halloween

Max's First Day of School

Max had his first day of school on Wednesday! He will be going for 1 hour and 15 minutes on Wednesdays before he turns three on November 15th. Once he is three, he will be going 2 hours and 15 minutes four times a week. We wanted to start him a little early to get him acquainted with the school. The pick up and drop off went well at his day-care. He will be riding in a van to and from school. And it sounds like he enjoyed himself at school. He met with OT and PT and got to spend a little time with the rest of the class. The early childhood teacher said she is going to have to break the other students of calling him a baby. She told them that he is three just like them and not a baby. It sounded like he was a new toy. The kids wanted to hug him and pick him up. Hopefully the excitement of a new kid will wear off by the time he starts four days a week. Ava even ran in to him in the hall and was really excited to see him at school and show him off to her class!

When Max starts on November 16th, he will be getting the following therapy at school:

20 minutes of Speech Therapy four times a week
30 minutes of Occupational Therapy three times a week
30 minutes of Physical Therapy two times a week

The rest of his time at school will be in the classroom. He will also have music class and go to the school library during week.

This will be quite a change in the amount of therapy he will be getting each week. He currently gets four hours of ST and one hour of PT a month. I don't think it is going to bother Max since he loves one-on-one attention of adults.

Pumpkins

On Sunday, we took the kids the the pumpkin patch we make an annual trip to. It was a beautiful day, which has been rare here. The sun was shining and it wasn't too cold. The kids had fun looking at all the animals, going through a corn maze, and on the wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. We even got the pumpkins carved that same day! Having a seat on the giant pumpkins. . . Max watching the pigs run by. . . Ava's pic of mom and dad. . . Pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins. . . Ava posing for a fall pic. . . Skulls. . . Pre-carving. . . Cleaning out the pumpkins. . . Max playing with the insides. . . Carving. . . I think they all turned out well. . . This video is too funny. Ava was cleaning out the pumpkins and Max was helping!

Signing Times

Recently Max has been interested in watching his Signing Time videos. However, he only wants to watch the introduction song. When it is over, he will bring the remote to one of us to start it over again. I shouldn't be surprised by him doing this. He is a very repetitive little boy. He likes to do things over and over for awhile before he moves on to something else. Oh, and he learned how to sign "grandpa". He can sign "dad" and "grandpa", but no "mom". What!

From the Mouth of Ava

John and I were talking about Max's IEP goals and Ava said one of Max's goals is that she hope he falls in love with a girl. Where did that come from?!?

Happy 6th Birthday Ava!!

Ava turned SIX on September 23rd. Her 6th birthday didn't pass unnoticed. She had fun celebrating with friends and family. I can't believe I have a six year old. Since she started Kindergarten, she seems like she has really grown up to be an independent little girl.
One day old. . .

One year old. . .

Two years old. . .

Three years old. . .

Four years old. . .

Five years old. . .

Six years old with Ipod we gave her for her birthday. . .

Aunt Becky took her to get her ears pierced. She was brave and didn't shed a tear.




She invited a couple girls in her class to party at Chuck E Cheese with her.

Max had fun too!

Ava with her Hannah Montana cake Papa Foley made for her. . .

Family. . .

Gifts. . .

Group shot of family that celebrated with Ava. . .