Just for fun

Some old pictures:

2007




2008






2009

Whoa

This lake is our street.




And this waterfall is a dirt hill next to our house.




Praying our garage doesn't flood!

Update 1/21/10 - Our garage was fine and the street is driveable again. Yay!

ABA

I can't remember what I've mentioned on the blog about Levi's therapy, but his physical therapy was completed in December. He then qualified for 6 hours/week of applied behavioral analysis (ABA), the same play-based therapy Nate did. The ABA started today, and I like his new therapist, Caroline. The therapy is at our house Mondays and Wednesdays 8:00-10:00 a.m. (I realize that only adds up to 4 hours/week, and I'm not sure what the discrepancy is about but will find out about that this week.) The in-home aspect is nice in that we don't have to leave the house or be 100% "ready for the day" by the time the therapist arrives at 8:00; however, it also means that Lucy wants to be involved. Today it just felt like she was in the way a whole lot. I guess that will get better in the next couple of weeks as my involvement in the therapy lessens and Levi can do more one-on-one time with Caroline.

I'm very excited to have him starting in ABA so young. Even though we don't know for sure what delays he does or doesn't have, it really can't hurt to have him in therapy.

Annoyed

I just spent 2 fruitless hours trying to get a duplicate charge taken off our checking account. One of those hours involved running three children from car to store in the rain (one umbrella, but it didn't help much), then trying to wrangle those unruly children (whose kids WERE those, anyway?) while the store associates spent 30 minutes having no idea what they were doing. Another 30 minutes was spent on the telephone on hold. All for a measly $17.66, which still has yet to be returned. Grr.

Today's creations

I cut out all the pieces for these dresses at this month's UFO night (that's UnFinished Objects--the first Monday of each month a group of girls gets together to work on random projects and gab), and I sewed them up today. I have one long-sleeved dress's pieces cut, too, so maybe I'll finish that one tonight.

School decisions

Since Nate will be 5 in May, he will be going into kindergarten in the fall. Jon and I anticipate he will "graduate" from special education at his next IEP, or at least that they will recommend a "full inclusion" setup with minimal to no special help. Because he is doing well, we feel more freedom in choosing where we might want to send him to school.

The first and only place I've visited is Living Word Christan Academy. Cost is definitely a factor, and the tuition at this school is about one-third that of other Christian schools in the area. One third. I met briefly with the principal and also for a while with the kindergarten teacher. She is nice, young, and strict--all great attributes. And get this--this year, there are 5 kindergarten students. They expect close to the same number for next year. I can really see Nate thriving in a small environment like that and with a teacher whose discipline ideas and strategies mirror our own (i.e., parents and teachers should try to address the attitudinal/"heart" issues and not just behaviors; the reason we need to obey is because it pleases God). Both the size and Biblical discipline facets of the class would be impossible in a public school setting. In addition, it sounds like they always tailor the academics to each child (e.g., separating the kindergarteners during language arts/reading time according to ability, or even sending a kindergartener to the 1st-4th-grade teacher for reading or math, etc.). The school is very small, with one class for kindergarten, one for 1st-4th, and one for 5th-8th. If we can make it work, we are planning on sending Nate there in September! (Actually, they have a 3-day-per-week summer program we might send him to first.)
:)

Bath & blocks

When Levi did this by himself in the bath the other day and I laughed, he kept doing it over and over. Perhaps we have a developing comedian.



And all three kids love these Wedgits my parents gave them for Christmas. Here's one Nate built today from one of the pictures included with the blocks.

Fussy Fusserton

Levi has been so fussy that I took him to the doctor yesterday wondering if he had an ear infection. He doesn't, which is good, but then that doesn't explain the extreme fussiness and lack of sleeping. The doctor saw some teeth coming in, so that would help explain it, AND Jon and I believe he could be having "withdrawals" from going on the GFCFSF diet. (If his body had become accustomed and addicted to gluten, casein, and soy, then removing those substances from his diet would make his body go through withdrawals.) I just hope it all passes quickly! This kid is fussy.

This week's pictures

First, Levi taking a couple of steps the other day (just last night he took 7 or 8 steps across the kitchen!):

Lucy's song today

"We wish you a merry Christmas. We wish you a merry Christmas. We wish you a merry Christmas, and a Happy New Ear!"

"Mama, let's play TEA party now."

That's a phrase I hear a lot these days!



And of course, we MUST drink with our pinkies up:




Mama is good at tea parties.

Food stuff

After returning from Virginia last week, I used my new Vitamix blender Nannie gave me (I love it!!!) to start making hemp milk. It's really easy (though I have to figure out the best routine) and has made perfect results. Levi is drinking the milk regularly, and I'm also adding it to some other things, like Nate's pancakes he eats every morning.

We started Levi on the GFCFSF (gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free) diet a few days ago, and so far it's going well. He surely can't tell the difference--a nice benefit of starting the diet so young. :) I don't think we'll see any positive effects from him being on the diet (if there will be any) for at least a week or two.

Tonight, I made a GFCFSF dinner for everyone: these roasted carrots (so good!) and some surprisingly good chicken nuggets (coat cut-up chicken breasts in egg-hemp milk mixture, then dredge in gluten-free all-purpose baking mix, salt, and pepper, and fry in olive oil). Having not one but two children on this special diet is spurring me (finally--it has been over 2 years) to try more full meals that are diet-friendly. It also helps that Levi is still mostly a not-picky eater, whereas that isn't the case with Nate. I'm also planning on making taco soup this week. I haven't made it in a long time, but it is so good, so easy, and coincidentally GFCFSF.

Some more VA pics

Hope this slideshow works. :)

Rimland Center

We took Nate this morning to his DAN! doctor (Dr. Mumper at the Rimland Center), and it was great. We talked about some lingering issues (possible seasonal allergies we will try treating with Claritin), some supplements to add (including zinc, which may also help with diet self-limiting), and even perhaps a meeting or two with their feeding therapist, who could teach Nate to swallow pills and try new foods. Dr. Mumper said she was going to stop classifying Nate as on the autism spectrum and instead put "former ASD" on the top of his chart. So cool! We also talked with the doctor about Levi, because he has some slight delays and some similar issues to Nate at this age (poor sleeping/naps, digestive issues). She recommended a few things and also suggested we try the GFCFSF diet. I'm open to trying, though it definitely means more work!

All in all, it was a great appointment.

VA pics

We're having lots of fun! We miss Jon and can't wait for him to arrive tomorrow night.

The kids have done some baking with Mimi, piano playing with Grandpa, treasure hunts each day, and lots of snow outings!

24 hours

The kids and I are heading to Virginia tomorrow.... early tomorrow. Our flight is at 6:00 a.m. from LAX; we think we should leave the house around 3:30 a.m. I've been packing and pile-making and list-writing. I'll let you know if we all survive! :)

Overheard tonight

Lucy:

"Nate was crying because he doesn't like Santa Clocks. But I do. I like Santa Clocks."

Milk update

n my friend Suzanne's recommendation, I bought some hemp milk to give to Levi. After a couple of weeks, he is used to the taste and likes it! I ordered my own shelled hemp seeds today so I can start making the milk myself (way more cost effective), although we may have to invest in a new blender for that. (My blender was passed down to me... I think it was a wedding gift to my parents!)

On another Levi note, I took him to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor this week to have a spot on his neck looked at. (He was born with the spot--it's a raised white bump and not very noticeable, but it has gotten bigger.) The doctor said it's a benign cyst and should be removed for cosmetic reasons. I'm fine with getting it removed, but that does involve general anesthesia for 15 minutes or so. Anyone have experience or knowledge you want to share about anesthesia for one year olds?

Levi at one year

I let Levi's first birthday come and go without much of a post! So here is a post in honor of our littlest Varela.

There is a lot to say about Levi Paul. He is the cutest little thing. He loves crawling around at the park (including going up the steps to the slides)--and thankfully not eating sand and leaves like Nate used to do. ;) He also always makes a bee-line for the steps if we're downstairs in the house. He likes pat-a-cake and singing songs, and he even bounces and claps along when we have our "dance parties" in the kitchen. (He also sings the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" with me.) Another favorite activity of his is bath time. Just this past week, when he is getting cleaned up from dinner in his high chair, he starts saying, "Ba! Ba!" because he wants a bath. (He also says the same sound getting cleaned up in the morning after breakfast, but that's because he wants to go see Nate get on the bus.) He signs "More" and uses that one a lot, since he loves to eat. That little guy is an eating machine! I was just about to write out his favorite foods, but he pretty much eats everything I put in front of him (besides peas). He does love bananas best.

In addition to his extreme cuteness, Levi is a little stinker! He knows what "No" means but chooses to ignore it relentlessly. He loves the buttons on the printer, the computer keyboard, and the no-no kitchen cabinets. Getting his hand flicked doesn't phase him one bit, so we've already had to break out the paddle.

He really likes playing with Nate, especially because Nate is always gentle and a fun big brother. He loves his Daddy and siblings, but he loves Mama best. I think this is a nice break for Jon!--the other two children are ALL about Daddy, especially Lucy.

Oh, and the sleep. Levi now sleeps!!! He turned a corner around 10-11 months where crying it out actually worked (the other times I'd tried it, he would just cry and cry and cry and never stop). So now he sleeps from about 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. I'll take it!

I love you, my little LP!