More Updates on Learning!

We're not so good on keeping our blog up to date...lol.

      We started having about an hour a day that Jude does workbook type things. He refuses some days and gladly, excitedly does it others.We, as parents, still have those days when we question if we should insist on the workbooks or if they are just getting in his way of learning what he needs. His penmanship is still quite poor, but his typing skills are very good! His math skills are acceptable but he loathes math still. He understands how to do "carrying over" and "borrowing" but refuses to do it without fighting. We feel as long as he has the basics, then we will not push any more until he finds he needs the skills to accomplish something he desires :)
    Jude computer skills are wonderful! He biggest accomplishment so far has been to create his own "skins" for his character in Minecraft! He had been only using ones he found online, but he researched how to make his own, learned how and did it! All on his own! He never asked for help or got angry that he didn't know how. We are very proud of him! It's really the first time he's thought of something, researched, and learned without asking how we thought he could find it. We explained that was exactly what we wanted him to be able to do, regardless the interest. He has even helped us when we weren't sure how to get something online to work :) Yay for  unschooling/relaxed homeschooling.
   Jude also has been interested in a WW2 video game, which has lead to interest in WW2 weaponry and vehicles. We surprised him and took him to the Air Force Museum recently. We weren't able to view all of it at one time due to Lainey being overwhelmed but he was very happy to see the WW2 section. He also found a model of his favorite aircraft from that era... the B-24 Liberator!

   Lainey has been learning soooo much! She almost always uses her twin talk communication device to tell us she wants a drink now! She has always been terrified of balls and we, every so often, would show her one and take it away if she got upset. That slow, steady, safe exposure has lead to her wanting a playground type ball!! We were surprised and tickled that she accepted and smiled at the ball in the store. We cried from joy and Jude clapped and cheered her like she had won a huge race or something! It is so nice that our family can celebrate each and every step of progress!! Since buying the ball she has rolled it back and forth with each of us. She doesn't always do it in the right direction but she makes the effort and get the connection that it is a "game"!

   Lainey has also been selecting different toys and carrying them to her special bed at night time and placing them in the open door/gate of her bed to have to play with at night! She also on occasion has been "helping" at diaper changes. She will roll to her side to allow us place/remove diapers! She just seems more aware of her surroundings. At times she will stand in front of the tv and "yell" at it until we find Spongebob on for her! She is getting more vocal as well. She has no sounds that she uses exclusively for anything specific but her sounds are more varied!

Both of the kids are growing and changing in their own beautiful ways! Everyday we are reminded of  the Lord's abundant glory!

Jude and Lainey at the Zoo! She uses her wheelchair most of the time, but in quite unbusy areas she likes to walk about!

Sibling love!

Exploring blocks/cubes

Jude and Daddy at Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum.

Helaina and her BALL!!!!!!!

Jude has been grilling hot dogs for us! He's still a little afraid of the fire but he's been doing great! We are so appreciative!

Wow! Haven't posted in FOREVER!

I hadn't realized it had been so long since last blogging! Where to start?! Well Jude is now 11 years old and completely immersed in the computer. He loves Minecraft and Blockland. Most of his conversations revolve around those games! His computer skills are growing each and every day. We are trying desperately to get him to practice his penmanship. He agrees some days and flat refuses others. We feel penmanship is so important but he is making huge progress in his typing skills. :) He definitely has the tween attitude of backtalk, selfishness, and tunnel vision. But I too had those issues as a tween so I know through love and compassion, he'll get through it and become the person God has planned! :)


Lainey has been wanting to walk in public more and more! She laughs and smiles the entire time! She loves holding hands now with Mommy and Daddy! Her Grandma and Grandpa Brandt got her a twin talk communication device just recently and we are working on using it for when she wants a drink! She has pushed it twice without our prompting!! Such huge progress! She also had an adjustment surgery on her growing rod. She will have one a year until they fuse her spine. She did wonderful during the surgery but did NOT want to stay at the hospital. She would walk the halls with us but as soon as we turned into her room, she would scream and pull back. It was so heartbreaking. She was just in sensory overload and wanted the comforts of home and she doesn't have the capabilities to understand why she had to stay.

Trip to the Zoo just Mommy and Jude. It downpoured so we waited in the gift shop :). As we were leaving there were puddles everywhere and I told Jude to jump and splash all he wanted as long as he didn't splash others. So FUN!

 Jude wanted to touch a starfish! :)

Frog dissection. Daddy and Mommy helped :)

Cricket on a giant mound of mushrooms in neighbors yard.

 

Watching YouTube learning to draw!

 Finally back in her room after surgery. Tired but happy to be in Daddy's arms!

Checking out his new science kit!

Some plans Jude made for creatures in a computer game he is thinking of designing.

This is the first time Lainey had something other than her pediasure in her special cup. She LOVED tea!

Overall both children have made tons of progress in his/her own way! Each growing into a more defined personality! Tons more things have happened as they do in everyone's life, just way to much to mention all at once! God has been so very good to us!

April and May 2011

     Wow it's been a very busy couple of months for us! We just moved from our small country town to Columbus, Oh. Chad will graduate in June so we are living half and half right now. We are really loving our new apartment/home here. We have a nice yard, flower bed and we were able to get a dog! God has blessed us so very much!

     Jude has been very helpful in caring for Roxi (our new dog). He enjoys taking her outside to do her business. He also has been very eager to pick out and plant flowers in our flower bed. We also planted some herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers.

    Lainey adjusted amazingly well to our new home. Once we got her bed up and all the boxes out of her room she was very happy. She has been transitioning from the carpet to tile floors very well. She is also getting used to Roxi. She likes to watch Roxi chase her ball! Roxi has been licking Lainey a bit too much for her liking :) so we are trying to curb that behavior. In Roxi's defense, Lainey does smell like pediasure all the time ;-)

   Just prior to us moving Jude had been trying out a website called Time4Learning.com. He liked it at first but quickly got tired of the repetitiveness of it. We may try it again after we get situated here.



   

 

We surprised the kids with a trip to the zoo and a hotel stay. Lainey loved the room!

It was our first time since the Polar exhibit opened...so very cool!

Loved going in spring. Eggs everywhere! Such a wondrous site.

Lainey was overwhelmed at the zoo. We went on a weekend and there were lots of kids there which meant lots of screaming and that was too much for her! But we did get her to walk a tiny bit!!!

This was the shot the staff took when we first got there. Not too bad!

On a trip to Children's Hospital for a checkup for Lainey, we stopped at Bob Evan's and Lainey ate a few bites of applesauce!

Jude's awesome lego ambulance!

Weaving on a hoop with old t-shirts.

Easter Morning, after hunting their gifts!

Jude looking for eggs high and low.

We saw this albino squirrel around our new place.

And introducing our newest family member, this is Roxi. She was waiting for us at the animal shelter and is a perfect fit for our family.

March 2011

       This month was Pappy's (my Dad) birthday.  Jude made him a wonderful card, the best penmanship yet! Jude also has done more money budgeting and price comparisons. He still isn't interested in doing any workbooks though. He has taken a shine to the building games and Blockland in particular. We did feel it necessary to set a limit on time of play each day. After about an hour he tends to get aggressive/angry with the other players in the game. He seems happy with the hour limit. He has Legos as well as other building toys but he wanted an Erector set. We got him one as an early Easter gift. He loves it. What a great opportunity to strengthen his fine motor skills!  Our Bible study every Sunday has been going very well! I chose the first book- Ephesians and we just finished it this past Sunday. Jude chose our next book- Acts, and we will begin it next Sunday. It's so heartwarming to listen to him read aloud from God's Word. 

 This is the card Jude made for Pappy. He's never made letters like this and did a great job!

Our area, like many on the Midwest/eastern part of our country, was hit by flooding this month. Though the kids and I did not venture out, Chad did. He took many pictures to share with us, we chose just a few to share here.

This is a lamp post.

Four hours later- same lamp post, base fully submerged.

Canoe route now!

After a trip to the ER with heart arrhythmia and near fainting, we believe I had a reaction to MSG. We are now trying to eliminate as much chemicals from our diets as we can. This means a lot more homemade everything. I've always loved cooking from scratch but after moving to this apartment, it has faded. It's mostly due to the tiny kitchen but also because of bouts with Fibromyalgia. We are getting back into the swing of it though! Jude is LOVING reading all the ingredient labels and finding out how much "not food" was in our food! It will be a challenge for us but we will be encouraging each other.

Our first attempt at homemade soft pretzels. We made another batch today and I still forgot to get a pic of Jude making them :-/ lol.

Jude received a "gross and messy" book for his birthday that contains all kinds of things to make.  This is him making what they call slime or goop.

It has more a texture of really soft silly putty than what we consider slime! He's played with it a lot. So much fun. He wants to see how long it lasts before he makes another color.

      Lainey had a check-up at the Orthopedic Surgeon for her spine this month. Since her growth rod surgery in Oct 2010 her curvature has increased 6% (it was 36%post op and now is 42%). We knew it would increase but were surprised it had so much so quickly. At 10% increase is when they will adjust the growing rods to pull the spine straighter. We will go back in June for another checkup. Dr said ideally an annually surgery is best because it decreases the possibility for hardware malfunctions from being adjusted so much.

     Lainey has officially gotten to big for most shopping carts :( So we will be using her wheelchair everywhere we go. She's happy in it but we miss the face to face interaction during our shopping. But someday she'll be walking in town and we will be chasing her everywhere! She had a blast the other day at Wal-Mart. I parked her in the aisle as I looked and Jude took the buggy and zoomed past her over and over! She would yell out and clap and jerk her body. I'm sure to others it might have seemed she was upset but we knew she was tickled beyond belief. Another reason we love homeschooling, Wal-mart in the late morning isn't super busy :) and the kids can enjoy themselves ( and us too!)