Back to Work

I apologize for neglecting the blog this week- I had been on a three week break from my online classes and they started again this past Sunday night. I enjoy teaching online and the 'extra' money is nice, but those three weeks without the obligation were pretty nice, too!

Anyway, the kids are great. We had a special visit from Lily and a sleepover last week. The girls, led by their aunt, had a very nice little tea party. I love that the girls spend a lot of time together and I hope they grow up to be very close. I know how important my sisters are to me, and since Mairead doesn't have a sister, a cousin is the next best thing!

On a recent trip to Target (is anyone else concerned about the number of times I mention Target in this blog? I am...). Anyway, Mairead had been to the doctor and Nana gave her some money for her pocketbook, and we went to Target where she was allowed to choose a small toy. She fell in love with a stuffed dog (it is pretty cute) and immediately hugged it and called it 'Rosie,' which is the name of Grandma and Grandpa's border collie. It was so sweet to see her eyes light up and literally watch her fall in love with this little dog as she cuddled it in the shopping cart. She even willingly placed it on the conveyer belt for the cashier to ring it up. Actually, she has been very good about this, even placing items we already own, such as my wallet or keys, on the conveyer belt.

For a few days, this dog never left her side. He also was fitted for some boots and sneakers.

The boys are so much fun right now. So much mischief, but so much fun. Their language is amazing- they say new words and phrases every day. The newest include, "I got it/you, Elmo, where's Daddy?, Nana, potty, and c'mon. It's funny- when one twin is sleeping and I have one-on-one time with the other, I hear a lot more words. Especially with Ben- if Jack is around, Jack is definitely the more verbal boy, but when Jack is sleeping and Ben is up, Ben talks a lot more.

The newest fun activity in our house is to play ring around the rosy. Mairead LOVES this game and if you were to look in our windows, you would see four adults and three little kids singing and moving in a circle several times each evening. Ben mostly likes the 'all fall down' part, throwing himself down several times in the course of the song. Jack LOVES the singing and swaying. He actually sings this song and 'twinkle twinkle little star.' A lot of the words are hard to understand, but he has the tune and inflection down pat!

He and Ben invented some sort of game that involves standing on and subsequently jumping off of throw pillows.

But there are rests in between.

Mairead is doing really well. She is also quite the singer as she knows all the words to several songs. Her favorite right now is 'Wheels on the Bus.' We listen to it on the way to school. I hope it helps her prepare to actually ride a bus, which is a big step for both of us tomorrow. The van will pick her up at the house to take her to speech (literally 5 minutes away) and then return her home after the session. I am very anxious about it- I have no idea how she will react. More honestly, I am dreading it. I hate the idea of her crying and not understanding why I am sending her away with a stranger instead of letting her stay with us at the purple house. I wish it were not a van but a real bus- I think that would help her be more excited since she likes school buses. Wish us luck, please!

I take her to preschool myself, but speech is only an hour, and the idea of dressing three kids, loading them into the car, driving to school, loading them into the stroller, then dropping her off, loading the boys and stroller back into the car, getting them back into the house, taking their coats off, and then going to pick her up 45 minutes later is just not something that is fair to the boys. I did it for the first two sessions, but the weather is just going to get colder and the bus is just a better solution. Let's hope she likes it!

Cider Hill Farm

Seriously. How cute is this?

We met up with Katie, Steve and Lily at Cider Hill Farm on Sunday so that we could enjoy New England-y Fall activities... and cider donuts. Mostly, cider donuts. The kids had a great time running around looking at the chickens, goats, and turkeys. Mairead and Jack loved the pumpkins and Ben kept pointing at the tractor saying, "Wow, wow!" Tractors are exciting when you are a litte boy!

The wagon was also pretty exciting. We think they are actually for hauling pumpkins, but we chose to use it for hauling children. One mom asked if I had triplets and looked kind of horrified at the number of little kids we were wrangling. This is not the first time this has happened when Lily and the boys are together, but I am not really sure who people think Katie is. My nanny, maybe? She is young and pretty and probably doesn't look as crazy and 'mom-ish' as I do! I told the lady, "Oh, no, this one is a cousin. I just have twins." She still looked a bit afraid at the 'just twins' part, but it was better than triplets in her eyes. People are funny in their reactions to us.

Jack loved the chickens- he spent a lot of time looking at them.

Ben was more impressed with the rocks all over the ground and spent a lot of time being told not to throw them. He also kept pointing to pumpkins and saying, "Oooh, apples."

Thanks to the Crowders for a fun morning!

Mairead is always so much more talkative on days that we have 'outings' or activities, and yesterday was no exception. Last night, she ran into the living room and announced that it was "Circle Time! Circle Time, everyone!" So, I got down on the floor with her. She then grabbed Dave's hand and had him set. That wasn't enough, though, so she ran to my dad and demanded, "Grampy, Circle Time," and then, "C'mon, Nana! Circle Time, everyone!" So, they got down on the floor with us and with Mairead's animals. We all sang, "Itsy Bitsty Spider" and clapped. She thought it was the best thing ever. And, it kind of was. I just love being a mom- these little experiences are just awesome.

Today we saw the developmental pediatrician. He was helpful in that he agreed with me about pretty much everything- what we were seeking for treatments/therapies, what the schools should be doing, that her issues are a result of the stroke, and that she does not present as a kid with Autism. If you know me, you know that I love being right, so having a professional agree with me is always good. It is also reassuring to know that we are doing all the right things by her, even if that means waiting until March for the appointment at Children's, or making our case with the schools, etc. He also gave us the contact information for a neuropsychologist who specializes in young childre and who has experience with strokes. Apparently, people who meet those criteria are few and far between, with only about 2-3 on the entire East Coast. The doctor kept reminding me how rare her situation is, and he told me that in 25 years of practice as a developmental pediatrician, he has seen about 12 kids with strokes. And, he said only one of those kids was doing as well as Mairead is at this age.

I got a little choked up at that point because I am simultaneously so proud of her for all that she has accomplished already, but so frustrated that she is obviously smart and so teachable, and I just wish we could find a way to tap into that little brain of hers and learn so much more about her and what she is thinking. I do know that many stroke survivors have lives that are so much more difficult and wrought with health problems, so we are definitely blessed and lucky to have a little girl who is so amazing.

All in all, I'm glad we went, even though this doctor is not the one who can provide assessments that demonstrate her need to be in an integrated preschool program, which is our ultimate goal. For now, she will stay where she is at the preschool we love, and go for speech once per week. We are also working on getting her into an OT program to learn skills like dressing and undressing so that we can finally potty train her. She is definitely ready- when she has no pants on, she will use the potty every single time- there are no obstacles. But, when she is dressed, she can't articulate the need to go and she cannot undress herself to go alone, so we need some help in making that happen. I know that when she is 16 she will pretty much be horrified that I am sharing info about her potty training days, but I think it is my job, as her mother, to embarass her in her teen years, right?

This week's plan includes pre-school on Tuesday and Thursday for Mairead, as well as her first school bus ride to speech on Friday... let's hope that goes well! The boys and I will try for some quality playground time while she is at school, and then we have fun plans to watch the Pats with friends on Sunday... let's hope the results are better than they were yesterday!

Painting

At 7:10 this morning, I awoke to the sounds of Ben jumping on his bed and yelling, "Outside! Outside!" Unfortunately for both of us, it's a rainy day today so we are stuck in the house. So, after lunch, we had 'Art Time,' according to Mairead, and we tried painting. Mairead is quite an accomplished painter, but this was a first for Jack and Ben. They had fun with it and only tried to eat one or two bites.

Just to be difficult- Ben is on the left and Jack is in blue.


So serious about her work.

After about 20 minutes of painting, Mairead announced, "And, snack time!" Maybe snack time is after art time at school... who knows? She had a good week at school and we can already see a difference in her. The more structure she has, the more her language improves. We are hoping that school does great things for her! When I brought her yesterday, I told her we had to bring her backpack to her cubby. She led me over to it, pointed to the correct hook, and said, "That one." She then helped me to hang the bag on the hook before running off to play. This is all new for her, so I was very happy to see that! Also, when she arrived, a very cute classmate named Amelia said, "Yay, it's Mairead!" I was so happy that she is making little friends. This is a huge concern of mine because since her language is not as strong as other kids', I worry that they will get frustrated or bored with her and not want to be her friend. So, seeing another little girl excited to see Mairead was very exciting for me!

The boys are great. They are into trouble a lot, but they are so much fun right now. Their language is unbelievable- they have new words and phrases every day. They love to give each other hugs and they comfort each other when one is crying. They also fight to the death over toys, but I guess that is to be expected.

Have you eve wondered how many cards are in a box of Trivial Pursuit Questions? The answer is a lot. An awful lot, when you have to pick each one up off the floor.

Double trouble!

Busy, busy!

We knew that September would be hectic with both Dave and Mairead going back to school, and we were right! I'm not even teaching my online courses this month (I start again in October) and things are crazy from sun up to sun down! We have a lot of fun things going on. For example, this past weekend, Lily came to visit with her mom and dad. Jack loves Lily and even shared his juice with her. She can't quite drink from a sippy cup yet at 8mos old, but she knows there is something good in there and she wants it!

I am impressed with Jack's sharing. Apparently, Jack and Ben are great at sharing, just not with each other. At the playground, there is one Cozy Coupe car and they fight over it every time. I took them today and while Ben was in it, Jack grabbed Ben's head with both hands and tried to drag him out. When Jack was in it, Ben pulled on Jack's shirt and whined. Interestingly, when other children were in it, there was no crying, no whining, and thankfully, no assault. They were fine with other kids using it, just not their brother.



Lily inherited this Brady jersey from Mairead. It is a size 12 mos, but both girls wore it from about 6-9 mos. I guess we just have tall girls in our family! We realized the other day that Lily and Mairead were the exact same weight at their 6mos pediatrician appointments.

This is what happens when twins help you do laundry.

Note the red fire truck boots in these pictures. I bought them at the MoMs sale this past weekend and the boys LOVE them. Ben brings one over to me and says, "Shoes! Shoes on!" until I put them on. They both wear them all around the house, even though I bought them for playing outside.

This is quite the ensemble on Jack. I think this is a blackmail picture when he is older!

Ben and Jack are both learning to sit and color a little more instead of just eating the markers.

Ben and Lily.

The babies are NOT morning people and it takes them a while to fully wake up. They need their blue blankets and each other.

While I was at the MoM Tag Sale, Mairead helped Grampy in the garden.

The kids are all doing well. The boys had their 18mos appt yesterday and are now 23.9lbs (Jack) and 24.5lbs (Ben). Ben is a quarter of an inch taller, and their heads have the exact same circumference. It's funny-some days I think they look so different, and other days I have to look twice to see who is who! The cutest thing is that when each one looks in the mirror, he says his brother's name. Ben started a few weeks ago with, "Jack. I see Jack!" when he saw his reflection, and now Jack says, "It's A-Bee"(what he calls Ben) when he looks into a mirror. It's very sweet!

The pediatrician was really happy with their growth and development. She was especially impressed with their language skills. It was nice to hear that! They had a lot of factors working against them in this area- they are preemies, they are boys, they are twins, and they are younger siblings of a child with poor communication skills. Still, they are advanced for any 18 mos old, and we are very proud of them! We work so hard on Mairead's communication skills that I think the boys really benefit from all of our techniques and strategies.

Mairead had her second day of preschool today and it went pretty well. The teacher is very kind and very patient. She did comment on the fact that Mairead is not so great at sitting still, and that Mairead lets her know when she does not want to do something. Is this news surprising to anyone? Definitely not. As teachers, it is hard for Dave and I to accept that our kid is not a 'model student,' but we know she is doing her best and that's all we can ask for.

I would love for Mairead to be able to tell us about her day and we are working on that. If I ask the right questions, she can sort of piece together things and tell me, "Snack time. Make a sun." That's a start!

Starting tomorrow, Mairead will have speech for 1 hour a week through the public schools. And next week, she starts an hour of Occupational Therapy on Tuesday evenings. She is one busy kid. I know that she needs all of this, but sometimes it's hard that she can't just be a regular kid and do regular kid stuff. I also need to find activities for the boys since they are getting older and need to socialize with kids their own age. I feel like a mom/teacher/activities director/limo driver!

First Day of Preschool

Today, Mairead offically became a preschooler. It was both exciting and scary-- for me, and probably for her, too! She was having fun dancing with Nana before we left, and she knew that she was going to school. We got her all dressed up in classic 'first day of school' knee socks and a plaid skirt, and she looked adorable.


When we got to school, she was happy to be back there and to see the other kids and fun activities. She even carried her little backpack all by herself.



Apparently, preschool is exhausting.


She is smart enough to know that such a special occasion merits a special treat, and immediately asked for fries when we got in the car.

Drop off went off without a hitch. She was used to being dropped off for 'school' at Early Intervention, so I think that made it easy. She was doing a puzzle when I left and gave me a kiss goodbye before starting her day. I was thankful that she seemed quite content to stay there and that she views school as such a positive. With two teachers for parents, we hope that all of our kids view school as a GOOD thing!

Her teacher said that she had a good day and she did, "ok." She explained that getting Mairead to stop what she was doing and come join the other kids was difficult. I knew that this would be a really tough area for Mairead, so I wasn't surprised by this. Of course, I want the teacher to tell me that everything went perfectly and Mairead was perfect, but I know that it is going to take some time for Mairead to adjust to the rules, and for the teacher to adjust to Mairead. This is a private preschool that typically does not work with kids who have unique needs like Mairead does, so we are just hoping it is a good fit and things work out well for everyone.

The teacher was impressed with Mairead's drawing skills and her attention to reading books, so those were positives. It's funny, even though I am well aware of the areas in which Mairead struggles, it is really hard to hear it from someone else, or to see other kids having such an easy time doing things that Mairead is not yet capable of. Two moms were talking about how their kids wanted to get married and have a wedding in a church and have 8 babies. It was a very sweet story, but it was hard to hear about all the fun and adorable conversations that other three year olds are having while conversations are still not part of our world. Also, these little ones were planning their futures, and we are so uncertain about what Mairead's future holds. We know that she is a smart and beautiful little girl who is loved by more people than she can count. And, we know that everyone in her life will do anything they can to help make sure that her future is a bright one. Thanks, everyone.

Pre-School Meet n' Greet

Disclaimer: several of the pictures are in terrible focus. Apparently, my camera was on 'manual focus' and I did not realize it. Sorry!

Anyway- yesterday was the Meet and Greet Open House at Mairead's pre-school. Parents are invited to come and stay with the child for an hour and a half as the kids explore the classroom, meet the teacher and the other kids, and become familiar with the surroundings. Great idea!

Mairead LOVED it there. The only drama came at the end when she just didn't want to leave. She kept saying, "Nope!" (her new favorite word), signing, "more" and saying, "More school!" She explored every inch of the classroom, made great eye contact, said hi to her teacher and some other kids, and really did well. Tomorrow is her first real day, so I hope that she continues to do well. I am incredibly anxious about it. I know every mom is anxious about leaving her 'baby' at preschool, but I really don't have the luxury of that kind of worry- I worry about her safety, her ability to communicate her needs, and her ability to interact with the other kids. I can't even be sure that this situation will work for us, but it's definitely a chance worth taking. I know that she needs to be in a classroom with other kids, and this is the only way for that to happen. Her level of understanding is a mystery, so when the teacher talks about letters and numbers, Mairead will be an all star. When the teacher says, "everyone go to the art center," she will be lost. I think she is in good hands and I hope and pray that she is happy there.

We are still waiting to hear from the schools about her schedule for speech, so we really can't schedule anything else (PT, OT, etc) until that happens. September is a month of big change for all of us with Mairead going to preschool and speech, and soon, hippotherapy and probably other sessions, and Dave back at work. The boys are now 18 months (can you believe that???) and are not 'babies' anymore, so their routines are changing, too. It's all happening so fast!

Anyway, Daddy thought Mairead needed a special treat for her first day and came home with a pretty awesome cookie that was decorated to look like Elmo. Mairead LOVED it!





This picture is from the other day. She was watching Sesame Street and Big Bird was in Mexico. Lots of little girls were salsa dancing in beautiful dresses, and Mairead just happens to have a beautiful multi-colored dress, too! She insisted on wearing it for the next two days. Even to bed.

Apparently, she is a salsa-dancing doctor.




Ok, back to preschool. Have you met my 6 year old??? Seriously-- she looks SO grown up!!! Thanks to Jen for the adorable dress that was perfect for school on a 90 degree day.

While Mairead and I were at school, my mom had the boys. They wore themselves out running through the sprinkler and were half asleep on the swingset when we got home.

If you can spare a good thought or prayer tonight, wish us luck with preschool tomorrow. It's a huge step for any three year old, but a three year old with such a unique set of needs faces a unique set of challenges. So do her mom and dad!

Shamelessly Bragging about my Kids

Can I brag about my kids for a minute? I mean, that is kind of the point of this blog, isn’t it? I am just so proud of what each of them is accomplishing each day. We’ll start with Mairead… she IS the oldest, after all. And, she has SO much to overcome that I really want to focus more on everything she CAN do, and not on what she still needs to achieve. She has her preschool 'meet and greet' tomorrow at which she and I play together, and then she has her real first day of school on Thursday. I am BEYOND anxious about it since I know that it will be hard on her (and her teachers) at the beginning. I also know that once she is settled, she will love it, and and will be the best thing for her.

Mairead can:
Recite the alphabet and recognize every capital letter and most lowercase
Name at least one word that begins with each letter
Name shapes- circle, triangle, rectangle, square, oval, heart, star, diamond, and pentagon
Name all of the colors
Count to 20
Count backwards from 10
Count to five in Spanish
Say ‘hello’ in Chinese. Yep, Chinese. Katie walked into the kitchen the other morning and said, “Hi, Mairead,” so Mairead responded, “Ni hao.” Thank you, commercials for Kai-Lan on Nick Jr. She doesn’t even watch that show!

I am working on teaching her that Dave and I have names, and what those names are. She is great about Daddy’s name and is able to say mine most of the time. It is absolutely adorable to hear her call us “Maghan” and “Dave.” I am hoping that she is able to do this if she ever gets lost, which is a huge concern for us right now. She has no regard for her personal safety, and if she did get lost, would not know to find a mom, find a safe place, tell someone her name, etc. So, we are working on that, as well as using ID tags that attach to her shoes.

She was awesome with her cousin, Lily, this weekend. Before Lily arrived, I told Mairead that someone was coming to visit and asked, “do you want to see the baby?” She replied, “Baby sister.” Sorry, little girl, but that is not happening! I don’t even know where she learned that phrase since no one on Sesame Street has a baby sister. She called Lily her baby sister several times over the weekend and it was very sweet. She also learned that Lily is “too little” for McDonald’s fries, but she did try to share, so I was proud of her for that.

Now, Jack. Jack is eating more food than I can believe, and though he is still about a half inch shorter than his baby brother and about a half a pound lighter, he is growing so much! In July, they were both about 23lbs, so they are probably somewhere around 25lbs now. The other day, I found some of their preemie clothes and seriously could not fathom how they ever wore them. And, those clothes were actually too big for Jack—he was swimming in them! Jack is a talker- he knows over 50 words that I can think of and comes up with more every day. He also knows how to sign, “baby, more, all done,” and “wind.” He is starting to try to count 1, 2, 3, though it sounds more like ‘un, oo, ee.’ Very cute. His favorite thing lately is to take an adult by the hand and lead him or her to whatever it is that he wants. His other favorite thing is to press buttons on the tv, which does not please his big sister. He loves coloring, markers, cars, and trucks. He is very sweet to his brother- when Ben cries, Jack pats him on the head or hugs him. Just adorable. He is still the ‘thinker,’ always observing before doing. He is a snuggler, still, especially with my mom. Oh, and he also is a little thief who will get his little hands on a tv remote or cell phone faster than you can imagine.

And Ben. He is just the goofiest, happiest little boy. I call him ‘happy feet’ because he is always dancing. If you’ve seen that movie, you know that the penguin is always dancing and moving his feet and doing his own thing. That’s Ben! He knows just over 40 words that I can think of. Interestingly, they are not all the same words that Jack uses. A lot are the same, but each boy also has his own. Ben says, “flowers” and Jack doesn’t, and when Ben sees flowers, he points to them and says, “oooh, flowers.” He has an unnatural sense of balance- the kid can (and does) climb e.v.e.r.y.thing. I will often walk into the living room and find him sitting on the coffee table and ‘dancing.’ He points out the window and asks to go “bye-bye, car, walk (we go for lots of walks!)” from the moment he gets up in the morning until he gets to go out. Then, he starts up again as soon as naps are over. He seems to initiate the ‘games’ that he and Jack play. They toss a ball and then both run after it, play ‘tag’ and just chase each other all over the place. He still loves his trash/recycling, and will find bottles that you never even knew were there. At the playground, he is the kid at the top of the slide with no idea how to get down, not a care in the world… he just stands up there looking happy and victorious, doing his ‘happy feet’ dance until I come help him slide down.

They are so much fun- they are also SO much work! I feel like I am constantly taking away something that could be used as a weapon, swallowed, or damaged. I am also often removing children from the tops of furniture, slides, or other dangerous situations. We are so lucky to have three kids who are so happy and who bring so much happiness to us and to our friends and family.