Let's Get Out There and Play!

A week ago we celebrated one of our good friend's Birthday. How did he want to celebrate? Miniature Golf!
Here we are the life of the party, those of us three and under.

Look pictures of Mommy and Daddy. Check out their amazing athletic skill.
Well the younger tikes decided to get a true "taste" of golf. Why must my brother have to put everything in his mouth I will never know. I never had that problem.
The adults decided that we needed some lessons. They just didn't realize that we are naturally talented, we were just trying to be kind and keep it a close game. The group just hanging out and having fun. What is more fun than getting a chance to swing some clubs and smack some balls.
It was obviously too much excitement for Ryker, though. He passed out pretty early, and missed the best part, ICE CREAM!

It just isn't a Birthday Party without some ice cream. Oh it was sooooo yummy. And just to let you know how great it was, I offer you all a bite of this tasty treat.

So I Think I Have Gone Crazy!

Yep, I am pretty sure that I have gone completely insane. Let me start at the beginning. Michelle has been receiving therapy at home from multiple disciplines (physical, occupational, and speech) since she was just a wee babe. It is all through the wonderful state program here. It was established to ensure children with disabilities and special needs not be left behind. I have loved it 99.9% of the time. (Having people come into my home and seeing my dirty dishes and stained carpet is my only qualm, sigh.) We have loved these therapists so much and appreciated all the help they have given us. I have no idea where we would be without their assistance. But the part that has been the largest benefit to Michelle is that they could come to our home. We didn't have to take her some place outside our home since most of these therapies are once a week. She is unfortunately more susceptible to germs. So we have been a little protective on trying to prevent her from being in public settings where she would be exposed to the dreaded germ. We feel pretty successful since she has only had ONE ear infection, and ONE case of pneumonia (something unheard of with a child who has a trach and is on ventilator).

Well this is where the story gets to the part where I turn crazy. Now this fabulous state program only lasts the first three years. Then you have several choices, with the vast majority having to do with taking her somewhere outside our home for all these therapies. The one that is the most common and definitely an awesome choice is the developmental preschool. I have only one issue with this, other children and germs. Don't get me wrong, I know that children just get sick, and this just happens. But when you have a child who can have a minor cold turn into pneumonia and thus hospitalization with just a snap of a finger, well . . . you become a little overprotective/crazy. So I have been mulling over all these choices, and one thing keeps coming into my greatly sleep deprived mind, (yes, "I want more sleep" keeps popping up, but that is not it) home preschool. The thing that is crazy about this is . . . I have no idea where to start. I have no idea what materials or curriculums are appropriate, or where to even begin researching. And I will be honest that the only educational experience I have is teaching youth groups in our church, and tutoring college students in reading, microbiology, and nursing. Do you see the same problem I see? I have only ever taught young adults. What am I thinking? . . . I am thinking this will be the best choice for Michelle at this point. Health is number one in our home, but I will not set aside her overall development. So I guess that means I must step up to this challenge and figure out how I am supposed to do this.

I guess that is why I am posting this, please let me know what resources you have found and places I should start looking: websites, blogs, books, educational stores, anything. Lists of great ideas are always helpful, too. Help, please!

Oh, and if you are wondering what these pictures are here for . . . It just isn't a post without pictures of my kids.

Being the Trusty Sidekick

So I have tried to be nice and just sit back while "we" are supposedly keeping you all updated. But I don't know if any of you have realized this, but the "we" is 98% Michelle and here opinion on things. Yes, I realize that I am the the Sidekick. And that the Super Hero gets all the glory and praise. That is fine, but I do think that there might be a grandparent or two out there that might be somewhat curious as to what I am doing. No offense Michelle, but I am going to post about myself this time. (Disclaimer: I will not be posting any stats that tell what percentile I am in for Height, Weight, and Head Circumference. I must be taking after Mommy's sad genetic profile-enough said.)

I have been sitting up all by myself since about the beginning of April, and rolling all over the world since about the beginning of June. Then last week I starting CRAWLING! FREEDOM!!!

The not so pleasant part of last few weeks though is teething, ouchy. The first two popped up out of nowhere. But now, there are four little teeth that are coming in with a vengeance. I am too cute and innocent to have to experience such pain, sigh. But Daddy has been promising steak for my First Birthday. Meat, yummy.

Grandpa came to visit recently to pick up Tino's dead automobile (another very long story) and he went over some of the basic "man" skills I will need someday. Mommy only got a picture of the installation of the DVD player, manly . . . but not the best part. We worked on cars. And got grease on our hands. Nothing says MAN like laying under a car with some tool in your hand. (manly grunt)

Well, that is it for now. Just remember, I am might be the super handsome Sidekick, but I have lots of stories to tell too.

Flashback Friday: Close Encounter of the Wolfey Kind

Michelle, Ryker, and I have come to an agreement. I can post about once a week. My sister has been doing Flashback Fridays on her blog for a while. Reliving wonderful memories and showcasing pictures from the P.B. (pre blog) era. I have decided to follow in her amazing footsteps.

First off, I will take absolutely no credit for for the wolf picture above, it is the result of googling wolf images. This is the best picture to describe this "incident." This story has been on my mind a lot since our camping endeavor this year and especially after our last road trip.

My mother's extended family was having a reunion in Yellowstone National Park. Tory and I were young, carefree, and childless so we just picked up and went to join them. We packed up our fabulous tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, and other camping paraphernalia and went on a little excursion. The only thing I was semi-concerned with was bears. A ranger had told us there was a rogue bear that had learned it was particularly enjoyable to belly flop on "blue" tents. Our's was blue, and I really didn't want to be body slammed by a bear in the middle of the night.

The first night was perfect, clear sky and smores galore. The second night we heard howling, but it seemed quite a distance away, and there were plenty of people saying that there were no cases of wolf attacks on human in the Park. (I now know that is because the wolves are smart and properly dispose of any such evidence making it look the mafia had done the dirty deed.) The Third night was different story. I woke up to what I assumed were the howls of wolves on the outskirts of the campground. At first I assumed I was overreacting due to my dislike of the dark and unknown, only to realize that my tall brawny husband was breathing at the same nervous pace as myself. We whispered to each other on what we should do, feeling like just laying there in our tent we were just a nice little ziploc treat for the wolves. Needless to say, we decided to try and go back to sleep and hope that they would kill us quicker and less painfully that way. But I didn't sleep. The next morning we felt much better with the howling gone, the light to aid our vision, and my father and uncle discussing the firearms they had brought with them. We all decided to take a little walk a couple hundred yards to Yellowstone Lake. What did we find? Very large wolf tracks that had obiviously been following a deer. The scary part was, when we had first heard the wolves howling, it was from the opposite side of the campground. Needless to say, the tent will now be used for backyard camping, and reinforced trailers will be used for Yellowstone.

A North Dakota Adventure

As many people were doing we went on a road trip for the Fourth of July Weekend. Daddy and Mommy had been hoping and planning on a vacation to North Dakota for months, but at the very last minute we almost didn't go. Why, you maybe asking? I had been acting tired for several days before and my parents broke down two days before we supposed to leave and called my doctor. Of course, being me, they had to do a plethora of tests and guess what they found out. I had an early stage pneumonia and that meant trouble. Trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stand for pneumonia. Anyway, we had many a long discussions. Including one with my pediatrician on whether we should go. Daddy finally said it one way that made the decision a whole lot easier. "Let's make a decision we won't regret." That said, we ran home and did laundry and packed like crazy so that we could go.

Well, as you can see in the pictures we were trying to figure out a way of maximizing packing space. Ryker and I volunteered to go in the luggage, it seem comfortable enough. But Mommy and Daddy insisted we ride in our seats. Ryker would have preferred the luggage.

The morning of the Fourth of July we went to the most fantastic parade ever. It lasted maybe a whole whopping 10 minutes and my cousins got tons of candy. What can be better than that. We got a little confused with Santa for a second, but I guess he really is watching us all the time and this proved it. Then right after we went to the park across the street and got a free lunch. It was sooooo cool.

We of course were our normal crazy selves. I found this fabulous pink fluffy hat at my Great-Grandparents house. Doesn't it just scream Fancy. And while mommy was trying to get Ryker's food ready, he stole Daddy's cookie . . . and then devoured it.

Hanging out with my Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Heller. More Grandmas and Grandpas to have wild adventures with.

The Fireworks! This year I actually liked the sparklers and fireworks. Maybe it is because they are so sparkly and as you all may know by now, this girl loves anything sparkly.

Waking up one of the mornings in a hotel! It was so amazing. A little sidenote to remind you all how I am the princess. Ryker had to sleep in a dinky pack and play and Daddy and Mommy had to share a bed. But me . . . I got a whole "queen" size bed to myself! I love being the princess of our little family.

On the road again. This was just one of the legs of the trip. We drove through a whole bunch of rain. But with Daddy at the helm, Ryker and I could just sit back and relax.

On the way back home we drove a little bit through Yellowstone National Park. It was so beautiful. We saw Elk (top picture), a Black Bear (Middle Right Picture) I know it is small but it is the that black smudge in the middle of the picture, and a Bald Eagle (Bottom Picture). That is totally awesome!

Now it wouldn't be a road trip without a bit of road construction. At least I was asleep and didn't have to deal with it, hehehe.

Just some pictures of my Grandma and Grandpa McCracken's greenhouse. I just can't wait to eat some tomatoes and make some salsa this fall. I love salsa.

Hanging out in the best backyard ever. They had it all: slide, swing, trampoline. What more can a Grandchild ask for.

This was definitely a great trip. We got to see all our grandparents and all our living great-grandparents. It was definitely a lot of time on the road. (One day we drove for 10 hours and that does not include the hour worth of stops. That was a long, long, long, long day.) Another adventure that fills our minds full of great memories.

You Know You Have Too Much Medical Equipment When . . .

your Mommy wakes up in the middle of the night to hear Baby Ryker's cry of hunger on the baby monitor and then tries to push the "Silence Alarm" button. Poor Mommy, I think she needs a vacation. I vote for Disneyland.

Camping 101

I am almost three years old and have had tons of amazing adventures. But one very important type of adventure has been eluding me. Camping! And what better place to camp for the first time than your own backyard.

Here I am helping Daddy figure out all the tent poles. This was hard work you know.

Here is Daddy doing the labor intensive pole straightening.

Ryker doing what he does best, supervising.

Hammering down the stakes so we wouldn't blow away in case there was a freak tornado during the middle of the night. You never can be too careful.Taking a mini break after the rigors of setting up the tent. Phew. (A little side note: last time Mommy and Daddy used this tent they almost got eaten by wolves, literally. But that is another story.)

Enjoying fabulous camping food, tin foil dinners, oh so yummy.

And even better was the dessert. Banana Boats, a little bit of heaven wrapped up in aluminum.

The all important campfire. Mommy said this was her very favorite part of camping as little girl. Staying up way too late watching the fire.Making the all important s'more.

Waking up the next morning. You might not believe it, but all four us slept in the tent all night together. It was fabulous. I just can't wait for our next camping trip.

(disclaimer for all those health care workers and over protective grandparents out there reading this: don't worry, Daddy and Mommy made sure they had my "equipment" outside with us. They had ran the extension cord out from the house and everything went super smooth.)

Our Daddy

Today everybody is celebrating Daddy's. And we just wanted to let everyone know that we think our Daddy ROCKS!

We love our Daddy sooooooooooo very much. One of our most favorite songs ever is "I am So Glad When Daddy Comes Home." We sing it to him everytime he comes home from clinicals or work just to let him know we love him. But there are some other fabulous Daddy's out there we thought we should tell you about, our totally amazing Grandpas.

Our Grandpa McCracken is so cool. Do you know of anybody else who can make a puppet show of a Bible story, soundtrack and all? That is what I thought, he is the coolest.

And of Course, Grandpa Thornton is stinking awesome too. It is a true Grandpa who will sit down with his Granddaughter and show her the good things in life (a.k.a. anything found in a Cabela's ad).

We know that there are alot of other amazing Daddy's out there. Yes, our uncles are the absolutely the best and Mommy and Daddy have some super duper great friends. But these are the best Daddy's to us and we love them. To our Daddy, "We love you right up to the moon--and back . . . and that is very, very far."

When We're Helping We're Happy

I honestly have no idea what my parents would do without me. I help with practically everything around the house. I am great at dishes, laundry, feeding Ryker, making dinner. I mean I do everything. The other day, Daddy was out working on the yard, I decided that I better go out and help him. I don't think he could have done the whole yard without me. Every time he started to slow down I was in perfect position to give him a little kick start.

However, the other morning Mommy opened the pantry door to get herself some cereal when she found a little fragrant surprise.

I guess I must have gotten a little sidetracked on the way to the garbage can the night before. Come on, nobody is perfect.

Growing Up and Making BIG Changes!

This has been a BIG week in the Thornton home and we have had lots of BIG changes.

First of all, since Daddy graduated he got a new job. He started working on Monday and it was so cool to be able to go out to lunch with Daddy and then pick him up from work. Yea Daddy! (The picture above is not Daddy of course, but is me pretending to be Daddy at his new job;)

Well both Ryker and I have been doing a lot of growing these last few months and one thing started becoming obvious. Well yes, our cuteness is becoming more and more amazing, but that is not what I was thinking about. Ryker had outgrown the bassinet and needed to start sleeping in his own room. I was a little unsure what was happening when Daddy started taking down the crib and moving it into Ryker's bedroom. Were they banishing me to the farthest bedroom? Then Mommy started putting boy stuff into the bed. It hit me, they were taking away my bed. Where was I supposed to sleep?!?! When they started building the toddler bed, phew.

Well, we all love our new sleeping arrangements and are super happy with having more space.

I have also been taking on more responsibilities around the house. Ryker doesn't always want to eat, but I have a way with convincing him to try things. Daddy says I will probably start getting an allowance for all the chores I have been taking on.

Last of all, this is the face that Ryker has been showing off all week. Why has this usually happy and goofy brother of mine been showing off this grumpy face? He cut his first TOOTH!!! I have been telling him that things will eventually get better and it will be awesome to have razor sharp piranha teeth to rip things to shreds. I think the shredding idea cheered him up a bit.

Well here is to BIG changes!

It's A Beautiful Day!

A little while ago we went our first family adventure for the year 2009. We went to the Oregon Coast. When I was a brand new baby, I lived in Oregon for over a month, just a drive away from so many awesome things. But circumstances were what they were, and I only saw the interior of Doernbecher Children's Hospital PICU. Well, circumstances have changed immensely!!! We travelled all over this time, and the only view I had of Doernbecher (the place where miracles have happened) was from the outside as we drove by. We hiked up to some amazing waterfalls in our matching tyed-dyed outfits. (People kept staring and asking whether we had been to the Grateful Dead concert, I wonder why.) We spent an afternoon at the beach and playing in the Pacific Ocean. The next day we went to the Oregon Zoo and the Rose Gardens. The last time Mommy and Daddy were in the gardens I didn't get to go, but this time I was there right beside them and running around just like any 2 1/2 year old should be.

Here is a little video of our Adventure. Enjoy!!!

Mommy's Little Helper

I really like helping Mommy. She is always telling me how I am her big girl and such a good helper. I mean, I am almost three years old, that is really getting up there in years. The other day we were switching my trach out (for those of you who don't know, Mommy and Daddy have to switch the tube out 2-3 times a week). Well, seeming how I am a super high maintenance girl, my trachs are specially ordered and specifically made for me. That means we have two that we have to switch between and clean. Well like I said we doing one of the switches and after we were done, I noticed that neither Mommy or Daddy had picked up my my dirty trach to take to the kitchen to clean. So I picked it up and put it "away" for them. The next morning Mommy went into the kitchen and couldn't find the trach that was supposed to be in the cleaning solution. She called Daddy to see where he might have put it, he had thought she had taken care of it. Now, the fun began. Mommy went crazy looking all over the kitchen trying to find it. Then she realized I had to "taken care of it." She of course started asking me where I put it, but I just thought this was hilarious to watch her going crazy trying to find where I had stashed it. Mommy all of a sudden went into to complete panic mode thinking I had put it in the garbage (that is because one of my big chores is to help put things in the garbage can) and Daddy had already taken out the trash that morning. Well, she went into the garage and sifted through the bag of garbage several times looking for it. She did find some other treasures like brand new containers of Crystal Light, cans of food, and other things, (don't worry she left them in the garbage) but she did not find the trach. She was about to fall apart when she decided to get down on her hands and knees and go through the kitchen looking at things at my level. And guess what, she found it.

Just look on the bottom shelf between the glass and plastic bottle of Karo Syrup.

Say It Like You Mean It!!!!

Today is Daddy's Birthday. He started off the day with a fabulous game of golf with his twin brother, came home to find a present and card waiting for him. We are getting ready to go to dinner with Toby, Tammy, and Dallas. But Mommy was just checking her e-mail and found this little treat waiting for Daddy. Thought you might all enjoy.

Click here

I am A Mother

Guest Writer: Mommy (the sappy one)

We recently celebrated a holiday that is dedicated to honoring all the mothers of the world. Tory and I have been so blessed with the mothers that we were given. If it were not for them, we would not be the people we are. They built the foundation for everything we know and do. Thank you both so much for all your work and sleepless nights on our behalf.

But I also want to honor those who have allowed me to take the title "mommy." I am by no means a supermom or will ever win the mother of the year award. That is the pure truth and I have come to accept that. But I love and adore these two little amazing people. I was so overwhelmed by the idea of motherhood when we started down this journey, but each time I see and hear that first little heart beat on the ultrasound, I fall in love all over again. The first time I saw their sweet little faces and gave them a kiss, I was smitten. The best part of all this, is they seem to really like me too! Like I said before, I am by no means a perfect or even good mom. Threats of selling certain small fry to the gypsies have exited my lips. And I sit and write this while the laundry lays in mounds around my house, dirty dishes are overflowing the sink, and the weeds claim victory over the gardens. Oh well, that is just me. More importantly I love my two little miracles, and hope my heart will always melt when I look into their eyes and get smiles only a mommy is given.

Graduation

So after four long years and too many papers, projects, clinical hours, and pretty much time away from the most important people in the world, Daddy did it, he GRADUATED!!!

He has been the most amazing full time student/full time bread winner/full time daddy (the most important title of course). Thank you Daddy!!!

And of course it can't be a good post without some pictures of us.

Now, let the wild rumpus start!