Christmas 2011

Here are my very late Christmas photos. I got a new computer for Christmas and I didn't know how to put photos on it so the blog has been a little sparse. There are some funny stories behind these pictures. The guy that so graciously dressed up as santa is my cousin's new Jewish fiancé. What a guy. Thank you, Joe! Another one of the pictures is the kids standing next this year's Christmas tree. I did no decorating this year. We had barely finished unpacking boxes when Christmas came around so I decided I was not going to "mess the place up" by unpacking my Christmas stuff. So, I found this old tree in the basement and set it up on the 23rd so we'd have somewhere to put our presents on Christmas morning. The kids seemed satisfied and that's all that really matters. Kate's big present for the year was a doll house and Grant's was a castle and I'm happy to report they are still playing with them every single day. This is the first year that has happened. The absolute best part of the season (besides celebrating Jesus) was having my brothers and sisters home and spending quality time together at mom and dad's. It was a Christmas I will never forget.

Miss Fancy Pants

Kate is a riot. She insists on wearing her black patent leather shoes to bed every night, without socks. She calls them her "house shoes." The other night she convinced Jim to let her go to bed wearing a black velvet skirt, tights and those shoes. How is she comfortable? She will not use a sheet, pillow or comforter.

During rest time every day she has been trying on ALL of her summer clothes that I hung way up high so this very thing wouldn't happen. But, my little monkey found a way. I explained to her how much work it is for me to rehang her clothes everyday and that she can only try on pajamas, bathing suits and other clothes that are in baskets and can easily be put away. (Yes, we have tons of dress up clothes but that is no fun anymore.) Just when I thought I would find her in some sort of predictable set of flannel pajamas, yesterday she surprised me by wearing Grant's socks, underwear and pants that were in the baskets. I guess there is no harm in that, I just didn't even think of telling her not to try on his clothes.

Besides dressing up all the time Kate can be found singing. Constantly. Mostly stringing lines of different songs from school and church together. I think it is really beautiful but it drives Grant crazy because it interferes with his need to constantly talk! Today he said, "Mom, she has been singing nonstop for two days and it is giving me a headache." We are trying to find a happy medium. One thing is for sure- it is never quiet around here!

OT

From ages 0-2ish Grant had occupational therapy. We worked on getting him to eat and to use his right hand. He graduated OT at 2 1/2 and has continued to favor his left hand. After a few months of preschool it was determined that he should start up occupational therapy again. This time he does it at Beaumont in the very cool room pictured here. They keep Grant's attention by having him do a fine motor activity and then as a reward he can play around in here. He loves going and we are starting to see signs of improvement!

Grant's Birthday

For Grant's 5th birthday we took him to Beauty and the Beast (the play). From the time the first actor came out until the finale his jaw was on the floor. He thought everything was funny and when the actors on the stage would ask a question Grant would yell out the answer. The coolest part was at the end the whole cast sang happy birthday to him and gave him a gift. (They do this if you come within a week of your birthday.) We thought it would be special for Grant to be alone with Jim and me but the whole time he kept saying he wished Kate was there with him!

After the play we came back to our house where Grandma and Grandpa Koss and Lindsay, Josh and Oliver met us. Grant wanted a transformer theme so we ate transformer cupcakes and played pin the helmet on the transformer. Kate pinned the helmet on papa's nose and he kept it there all night. I think it was one of the best days of Grant's life ever.

When he was asleep that night Jim and I went in and prayed for him and thanked God over and over that He saved Grant's life 5 years ago!

Advent

I had been feeling quite proud of Grant's spiritual questions...until today. :) He had been asking if God leaves dirt piles when He moves mountains and had been wondering how exactly God got in his heart? Did he swim in, jump in, or walk in? I thought he had been jiving with the whole advent thing too, until today he pointed at the advent calendar and asked "when are we going to do the chocolate chart today?"

We moved!

It has been a long couple of weeks gearing up for the move, but we did it! We are so thankful to be in our new place. The kids are loving their new pad and especially their new bunk beds. We have a long way to go before we are unpacked and settled but we feel like we belong here. Thank you, God, for your abundant provision.

Health Update

Grant had tubes put in his ears yesterday. He has been on 8 antibiotics this calendar year for ear infections so this was long overdue. He was very brave and lively soon afterwards. Here is a photo of him playing a few hours later.

He also started occupational therapy this week. He did OT until he was about two and it was really helpful. He had a stroke during his heart surgery and wasn't very good at using his right side during his first few years. Thankfully, he got caught up quickly and the last few years has been right on target. Since starting preschool his teachers noticed he could use some help with writing and fine motor skills so we are getting services at Beaumont. He loves the one on one attention and thinks of it as one big game!

Halloween

The kids had a blast trick-or-treating. This is them making their scariest face. Grant was overly concerned that we couldn't see his scary face through the mask and made it very known that there was a scary face under there.

What a week!

I don't know who had a better week, us or the kids!? Jim and I just got home from celebrating our 10 year anniversary in Delray Beach, FL and the kids returned from 4 days in Disney World with grandma Koss! They ate breakfast with Mickey Mouse, rode Peter's Pan's Flight twice, went on a safari and ate popcorn every day. When we arrived home they couldn't stop talking over each other telling me all the fun things they did. I am blown away by grandma's ability to see and do so much! When I asked Kate what her favorite part of Disney was she said it was meeting Cinderella's evil stepmother because she was so nice to her! Grant said it was being with grandma every day. :)

Life Flight part 2

Today at the fire station was a special day. They had the U of M Survival Flight Helicopter for kids to see and touch. It was a weird feeling watching it land in front of us. Grant was grinning ear to ear because of the force of the wind. I had tears streaming down my face of pure joy and thanksgiving that I got to spend this moment with my healthy Grant. Grant was able to climb inside the helicopter and see where his isolete was held when he was just a few hours old. I told the Life Flight nurse helping us that Grant was flown in it as a baby. She looked and my bubbly boy and back and me and asked, "him?" I responded with a smile. What a gift from God he is!

A Two Wheeler!

Grant learned to ride a two wheeler over the weekend! In the picture you might notice the theraband (giant rubber band that I use for physical therapy) tied around Grant's chest. Jim ran behind Grant and used the theraband to steady him. He's not ready to ride on his own yet but it won't be long. He is beaming with pride.

Picture Day

I had their pictures professionally taken today. I had fun sneaking behind the photographer to steal a couple of shots.

Cider Mill

We took our first trip to the cider mill the other day. Lindsay started the tradition with Grant while I was on bedrest with Kate. He seriously asks all year round when he can go back to the cider mill.

Grant's med update

We held our breath (pun intended) as we started Grant's steroid inhaler last week because of the start of preschool. He hasn't been on it since the spring and has no "hot tummy" complaints all summer. Within two days of starting it he started complaining about his tummy again! So, we went to the pulmonolgist yesterday and he switched him to a different inhaler. It is still a steroid inhaler (flovent) but he said switching it up might help. Please pray that he tolerates it well and stays healthy this year!

1st Day of Preschool

What I got out of them on the drive home:
-We want to stay all day so you can work cooking and cleaning.
-We learned about the letter A.
-The kids tapped me on the shoulder and ran away. This is teasing, I think. (Grant)
-The teacher made me go potty even when I didn't have to so I cried. (Kate)
-We watched a spooky movie?!
-We had crackers for snack.
-We played together at recess.
-I want to go back tomorrow, unless dad will be home from work.

Gotta love 'em.

Quoting Scripture

Lately Jim as been taking Grant to a park to run sprints with him in the evenings. Jim let Grant win a couple of times so he's been bragging that he's faster than dad. So, the other day...
Grant: Mom, did you know I'm faster than dad? I'm as fast as lighting. I beat dad by a mile.
Me: I'll believe it when I see it.
Grant: Mom, Jesus says, "blessed are those who believe without seeing."

Fun at the Park

slip n slide

Get me outta here!

My kids were amazingly compliant today. Which is a good thing because we got lost in a parking structure. My first mistake was to drive to the local sporting good store that is only 1/4 mile away when we could have easily walked. My second mistake was using a sign next to my car as a landmark, not realizing that most cars had that same sign next to it. Third mistake was paying so much attention to my kids that I didn't look around to see what level we were on. I guess it wouldn't be a mistake to be paying attention to my kids, but it didn't work to our advantage.

When we went back to look for our car we couldn't find it. For a minute I thought it might have been stolen. You know, there is a hot market for minivans right now. All three of us held hands as we marched around and around the parking garage. After about 30 minutes of looking I started to whimper. It was like a pre-cry. Grant heard me and said, "Mom, I know what to do. Look for a speed bump, because we were parked near one." I looked around and saw about 10 speed bumps just within my sight. Sigh. Kate kept talking about how this whole thing was wearing her out, but she never started crying or complaining. Grant just kept giving me suggestions on where to look.

I finally gave up and waved down an innocent looking woman and asked her if she could possibly drive us around the structure to look for our car. Thankfully she did. No, it wasn't stolen. What a way to pass the morning. Oh, did I mention there were groceries in my car? Mistake number 4.

Happy Birthday Kate!

Kate is 3! To celebrate we had a water balloon toss and the cousins all ran through the sprinklers. She requested pink cupcakes with m and m's so we had those after the pizza. She really enjoyed being the center of attention and Grant did a great job sharing the spotlight.