Yum yum!

We tried solids at OT and they were a hit so I scored a new reclining high chair so Indie could eat with us at home.  Indie will eat a couple of bites of puree's (only at room temperature, she will not eat cold food), but she really likes puffs!  She also likes all the attention from sisters oohing and ahhing over her cuteness and teaching her to sign "more" after every bite.  

 Indie has been my first baby to nurse and take a bottle!  It is wonderful!  When she is nursing, she likes to pet my skin or hold my hand.  When she's drinking the bottle, she likes to be in charge.  

Indie {25 Weeks}

Today I ran into an acquaintance with an 8 year old with Down Syndrome named Lily.  We spent an hour at the park with their family and I loved watching her play with my girls.  Her mom was a wealth of information and someone I would like to get to know better.  Meeting Lily and her family was the single most positive experience I have had with Down Syndrome.  I am inspired to keep doing everything I can to help Indie and excited to see who she in when she's 8.  For now, I will enjoy all these cute faces.

 Indie went down for a nap about 15 seconds after this picture.

First Week of Summer

Summer is off to a great start!  We are slowly giving the girls later bed times and conditioning them to sleep in, so far so good.  The other morning Dave heard Eden whispering to Cora, "Get back in bed, we have to sleep in."  Last week that would have probably led to an argument, but Eden and Cora have been getting along SO well!  I love it!  I compliment them several times a day on their nice behavior towards each other and hope it will continue.

The last 4 days have not been all unicorns and rainbows.  Just yesterday my car broke and the toilet was clogged with wipes.  When Cora came clean about flushing wipes, I asked her how many.  She held up all her fingers and looked at me.  I asked her why. She said she was sneaking them so she had to flush them.  What a little stinker!  Luckily, Dave and I had a good laugh, fixed the toilet and ordered the part for my car.  Summer is not perfect, but I love the laid back days and we have filled them with laying on the trampoline, bike rides, park days, volunteering at a Color Run, and spending the day at the Children's Museum.

School's Out for Summa!

I'm pretty sure the girls stopped learning a week and half ago so they can fill their days with fun end-of-the-year activities.  First up, Eden's kindergarten graduation.  Their class sang all their monthly songs then Eden received her "official diploma."  

Me and the little ladies got to visit park days for Milan and Eden.  I also took (a not-so-patient) Indie to the talent show where we got to see Eden and Winnie bravely tell jokes and get lots of chuckles from the audience.  Milan, Maddie, and Maame danced to Confidence and did pretty well for not practicing.  

Milan was assigned a robot project as part of their math unit.  She started making a pink dog, but it was closely resembling a pig, so we added a snout and voila!  It was a fun way to practice perimeter, area, and volume measurements.  

 Downtime was rare this week, but luckily Cora and I were able to work in some reading :)

 Field Day was a blast for the ladies!  We visited Eden's class in the morning then returned for Milan's class in the afternoon.  Cora had a great time participating with Eden's class, but 3rd graders are more competitive so we mostly just watched until it was Popsicle Time! 

It's been a busy week and now I'm ready for slow mornings and lots of sunscreen!

Thank You Notes

Cora received some very generous birthday presents so we spent the morning making Thank You notes.  She is getting particular about her coloring and if she "messes up," she will throw away her project and start over.  I remember doing the exact same thing in my junior high math class.  Whenever I messed up a problem, I would put the entire assignment under my desk and start a neat new one.  Later in the year I discovered that the person sitting in my desk the next period was really benefiting from my perfectionism. haha. It's always neat to see Dave and I's little quirks manifest themselves in our girls. 

Indie {24 Weeks}

After a lot of personal deliberation about starting private therapy, I decided to just do it.  I prefer it over Early Intervention because they are more hands on, push Indie to work harder, and have lofty goals consistent with mine.  I do think that it is making it difference, but it's impossible to know for sure. I figure it can't hurt, especially since Indie doesn't seem to mind.

I spent the week researching and discussing sitting exercises.  I don't know why I stressed out about it, Indie is clearly a little sitting rockstar!  She has mastered prop sitting for a couple for a couple of minutes at a time and is quickly progressing with all the other sitting activities I throw at her.  

Indie also learned to wave this past week!!  Whenever someone says hi or hello to her, she  waves her whole arm back and forth.  She has stopped signing milk, but she does clearly understand when I sign it to her.

Indie is such a fun baby, her face explodes into a smile when we smile at her and she giggles when I bounce her in the air.  Her laid back personality is perfect for our busy family!  She usually plays contently on the floor, tolerates her sisters flopping her around, catches a nap when she can, and snuggles with me all evening.

Indie is a busy little roller.  I left Indie in the activity center, but she had other ideas!  

Indie {23 Weeks}

I loved having Indie sleep on her mattress in our room, but we had to move her once she started rolling around.  It was funny to hear her fussing in the middle of the night, then see her looking up at me 3 feet away from her bed.  I was worried about moving Indie into Milan's room since she still wakes up to eat between 4 and 5 am, but Milan is surprisingly chipper in the early morning hours.  If Milan hears Indie fussing before I do, she wakes me up with her happy little voice then goes right back to sleep.  The best part is the Indie has a cozy little place for naps and she wakes up with the best smiles!     

Indie {22 Weeks}

Indie is rolling across the living room and we are working on sitting.  Our Early Intervention PT came this week and said that a realistic goal for sitting would be 9 months.  I took that as a challenge so we're shooting for 6-7 months.  

The best part is that Indie is so smiley and her whole face lights up when she smiles!  

Indie's Blessing

Indie's blessing was very special.  I could hear the emotion in Dave's voice when he said that he considered raising Indie to be one of the greatest honors of his life.  He went on to bless her with health, strength and to be an ambassador to people with Down Syndrome.

White Coat Ceremony

Giving it all up so Dave can return to school has NOT been easy.  Dave often feels overwhelmed with the demanding work, stress of working on patients, and parenting responsibilities.  I don't usually get as stressed, but it is no walk in the park to parent 4 kids, one with additional medical needs, mostly by myself.  The other challenge is the slow rate of progression.  A lot of our friends and family are actively working toward their career and financial goals, while we are still in school.  We were feeling especially frustrated with our cheapo camper, used vehicles, and house projects over break.  Dave didn't even want to go to his White Coat Ceremony because he felt like he needed to tackle more projects around here.

The White Coat Ceremony marks the half way point of dental school and the opportunity to begin working on patients in the clinic.  The ceremony was also just what we needed.  The president of the dental school spoke about the first 2 years of dental school being THE MOST challenging course of study.  I know that I felt very proud of Dave at that moment, and I could tell by the big smile on his face that he was proud of that accomplishment too.  When they called Dave on stage for his white coat, we all cheered loudly then the clapping quieted and Cora yelled "Go Daddy!"  Everyone chuckled and Dave's face lit up on stage!  It was the perfect time to recognize Dave's achievements in academics as well as fatherhood.      

May Break

Dave had a week and half break from school so we planned on getting a lot of projects done around the house.  We have a plethora of ongoing projects including the deck,  yard work, and the camper torn apart in the driveway.  We worked diligently, accomplished a fraction of our projects, and got frustrated with owning a bunch of used things requiring work and renovation.  We are all about working hard, but sometimes enough is enough!  Mid week we decided to take a break from projects and enjoy our family time together. Here are some of the fun things we did.....

Dave had to run to the clinic for some stitches on his chin, but made it back just in time for date night to the DSA murder mystery dinner.   It was fun to get dressed up and I had a great time.  Dave got stuck sitting next to a guy relentlessly trying to get him signed up for his pyramid selling scheme.  Dave was a good sport though and we did get a chance to chat with some fun normal people.

Spending time with the littles while the big girls were at school.  

Grandma and grandpa Scott surprised the girls with a quick visit.  Our weekend was jam packed with a DSA Mothers Day Brunch, Skate City birthday party, Dave's White Coat Ceremony, visit to the Omaha Temple, Indie's Baby Blessing, and Mother's Day Festivities.  We didn't have any plans Monday so we explored downtown, went to lunch, and walked the Iowa/Nebraska Pedestrian Bridge before dropping grandma and grandpa off at the airport.  It was a great day, but would have been better if Dave wasn't already back in school.