Busy, Busy, Busy!!

This past week we have been out of school for Spring Break. Ahh, a week to relax and do nothing. Yeah, right! We started off our week with Jeremy being at Reserves all last weekend. The girls and I left Sunday afternoon for Chattanooga. Monday we spent with Aunt Julie at Cooledge Park by the River. Mary ran around, rode her bike a little, and rode the Merry-go-round. Mary Loved it! Amelia enjoyed running around, but wasn't too impressed with the Merry-go-round. Then it was out to dinner with Grammy and Julie. Mary was a nightmare and wouldn't sit in her chair or eat. Just tired and out of routine, I think, but still stressful. Tuesday we went to The Aquarium with Grammy. Mary was a little nervous about getting too close to anything, but still had a good time. Amelia, my lover of anything living, had a blast!! She tried to climb into the sting ray pool to catch one. She picked up a butterfly in the butterfly house and much to my suprise it actually survived. She reached into the sturgeon tank to pet one, but her little arms were too short. Funny how different they are and how much they enjoy different things. (I'll add a few pics soon.)

We left Wednesday and headed straight to Scottish Rite for Pre-op for Amelia's surgery (tubes.) Luckily both girls behaved like angels, even with no lunch. They were delighted to see Daddy when they got home and spent lots of time playing. Thursday we had a playdate with Mary's good friend, Abby.

Friday morning Amelia and I left the house at 5am for the hospital. Surgery went well and now my sweet girl finally has fluid-free ears for the first time in her life. Yay!!

We are back to school on Monday, but the craziness doesn't stop. Mary's Kindergarten IEP is on Tuesday and I have a yard sale in the works, a DS meet-up at my house, tonsilectomy for Mary in a couple of weeks, and of course lots of therapies. Geesh! I can't wait for Summer!! Hopefully things will finally slow down!

Amelia... aka: The Destroyer.

Amelia is smart, adorable and has a great sense of humor. She is such a joy... most of the time. Her whole life she has been a little mischievous. The thing is that usually she is smiling while she is doing it and so proud of herself, it is hard to get upset with her. Here is a picture of her handy-work in Target. (Sorry the quality is bad, it was taken from my cell.) You can see that she is beaming with pride!

Even though she has earned the nickname The Destroyer, she really is a wonderful part of our family. She is just over 2 1/2 (hence the terrible-two behavior) and is really doing well. She is talking a lot! Some of the cute Amelia sayings are: "Did it, Hooray!" "Bye, Bye. Love you." "want botbot (bottle)." "Drink botbot." "Baby Time (Baby Signing time.)" "Come on." and lots of other single words. She loves to sing and can say all the words to Head, Shoulders, Knees, and toes. and a few other songs. I'll get video of some of this as soon as I can.

She also loves figuring things out. She can open our Cd player and get the CD out and then put it back in. (She does this over and over... drives me crazy!) She Loves baby dolls. She puts her baby to sleep in it's crib and sits low down beside the baby while patting it's back. Amelia is Mary's biggest fan! She is so loving and sweet, despite her stubborn streak. I love her so much and I love that we have been blessed to have her in our family. Well, better run... she is being awfully quiet in her room...hmmm...

A New Language

Every Thursday evening for the past couple of weeks I have been taking an ASL (American Sign Language) class. I decided to take the class to learn a little more about communicating in ASL. I have signed with both of the girls to help with their speech development. They love signing and pick it up so quickly. It has really helped them to communicate their wants and needs to me. Up until now I have learned from books, DVDs, and friends. I only know basic signs and wanted to learn more. Well, I have found out that I LOVE ASL!! I have enjoyed learning the language and learning more about deaf culture. Although I have used ASL to teach my children the English language, I now know that true ASL does not follow the same speech pattern. It truly is another language. Once my class is done, I plan on continuing learning the language. I would love to interpret one day or to teach ASL to parents and children. Yet again, my girls have introduced me to a whole other world that I had been overlooking. It's amazing when you start to realize how much is out there that we don't ever see or experience. We usually are so busy with our own lives that we fail to really get to know or understand what is really going on in the world around us. A lot of times we chose to overlook the evil or depressing things in the world, even if they happen in our own neighborhood. I know I do. But every once in awhile we are introduced to something that has been there the whole time that is amazing and wonderful. Something that helps us grow and become better people.