Tucker's birthday party went pretty well. He was super excited to go to Jump N Jive, and he was even more excited when he saw his friends there.
By about half an hour into the party, the Jive room was packed full of people. I meant to bring extra chairs, but we forgot. There are several benches along the wall, but he had a ton of adults, and not enough seating. Tucker jumped right into the inflatable Gladiator-type jumper, where one person is supposed to stand in the middle while other people knock you off of the pedestal with big foam mallets. Tucker loves craziness, so he had a blast with Gina, Dylan, and Tyler jumping all around. The kids all took turns going down the big inflatable slide, even Kinley! Chris has now introduced her to the pool and the inflatable slide, I think he is going to either be her very fun uncle, or the scary uncle, depending on her personality :)
For the price of the party, we got private use of the room for 1 hour and a half, then 30 minutes in the party room for cake and pizza. So after one hour, the party coaches blew up the inflatable party chair and tried to get Tucker to open his gifts. Tucker's party was firetruck themed, but I had told everyone not to get him any firetrucks.....he already has about 12! His friend Wes was mad at his mom Lauren when she got Tucker an aquadoodle instead of a firetruck, he said firetrucks are Tucker's favorite. Well, Tucker's friend Daniel really wanted to get Tucker a firetruck, so his mom let him ;) That was one of the first gifts Tucker opened, and that was it! He was ready to jump some more. I was fine with that, as we had 30 minutes left that we paid for to jump. So we let all the kids go back to jumping, and packed the gifts into the car.
When it was time to go to the party room, Tucker was pretty upset and it took us a while to convince him to sit with Chris in the big chair and lick the pizza. We had pizza and two sandwich trays, and after all of the jumping, all of the kids and adults were pretty hungry.
The party room was packed with all of our friends and family, and everyone was talking and eating. When it was time to sing Happy Birthday, the party coach turned the lights off. Tucker was in shock, I think, but when it was time to blow out his big "5" candle, he knew exactly what to do and blew it right out. I was so proud of him, as we worked all year on blowing whistles as part of OT.
My parents got Tucker a new tricycle (Chris rolled over the old one with his truck!), and it has a bar on the back that we can push and steer. Tucker rode out of the party on his bike, it was so cute.
Once we got home, Tucker was all about the presents! He got a lot of stuff, and he was so excited. He got a cowboy hat and Elmo Country song movie from Molli & Addi, and a Mickey and Yogi Bear movie and a bag of Cheetos from Sarah & Brad. He got a set of luggage from Justin & Jackie, which must sound crazy for a 5 year old, but he really needs it! We have several overnight trips planned for the summer, and he needs his own suitcases to put things in. He got a big water play table from the Christian family, which he will love once we put it together. Last night he was trying to pour water out of his cup into his bowl....not allowed inside....but perfectly acceptable at the water table. He of course still loves the firetruck, and Daniel & Julia also got him a bear shaped pillow with a sleeping bag attached. My parents actually got him another one, so he will have an extra. My mom also recorded herself reading a storybook to Tucker. It is a Hallmark book, I think, and it is of course about two bears. When Tucker opened it, I told him it was a Nana Bear and a Tucker Bear. So now he "reads" it by himself by turning the pages and pointing out Nana Bear and Tucker Bear on every page, it is so cute! My grandparents gave me money to pick out a gift for Tucker, and I chose a pair of training skates. Everyone told me that was crazy, that he was going to end up in the Emergency Room....well, he loves them! He called them trucks at first, now he asks for his skates. And yes, he falls a lot, but he falls a lot walking, too. We have found that he pays more attention to his balance when he is on the skates, so maybe they will help him with that.
I had to work on Saturday :( As I will have to several times this summer and fall, as this is the busy time for my job. On Sunday, we all went to eat Hibachi for Mrs. Mia's and Mr. Ricky's birthdays, which are right behind Tucker's. Since Tucker has been born, the other May and June birthdays have kind of fell on the back burner, so it was nice to celebrate. Anyways, it was a very nice lunch, Tucker behaved very well and licked all of his Fritos. I gave him the menu and asked him to look at the pictures to choose something, he looked at it and said "hamburger." Haha, not quite. He licked the Edamame, but was not impressed.
Tucker started a two-week session of swimming lessons this week. It is at the therapy pool, with a one-on-one special needs swimming instructor. He is doing very well, they mainly work on putting his whole face underwater. Chris is taking him today, so we'll see how that goes. Chris has been encouraging Tucker to put his face underwater in the bathtub, and he was SOOO proud when Tucker did it. Tucker also got a baseball tee and bat from my co-worker and her family at the party, so Chris is having fun trying to get Tucker to concentrate enough to hit the ball, not the tee!
So far the summer is way too hot. We have been in record highs this week, at 100 degrees before considering the heat index. So Tucker has been skating and playing baseball inside the house lately.
As far as therapy goes, Tucker had about a week off in between school and therapy, and he has been pretty bored. He starts three half-days preschool next week, and he will also starte OT feeding therapy twice a week. The ABA therapists we thought we had hired for the summer have fallen through, so we are now scraping by with the two or so hours of ABA at night that Chris and I try to implement after working all day :/ It is going much better that we thought, which gives us hope that once we find some therapists Tucker will make huge progress. The BCBA consultant who designs and runs Tucker's program will come over next Friday (while I will be getting ready for Jessica's wedding), and hopefully give us an update soon on finding therapists. The goal is to have 15-20 hours of ABA per week; right now we are at about zero!
Please pray that we get Tucker's ABA program up and running soon. We are working on waiting. Tucker went from waiting 3 seconds to now being able to wait for 30 seconds....we need to be up to 20 minutes before we can start potty training, so wish us luck.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Five Years Old
Our Litle Fighting Tiger turned five years old yesterday.
I will post a picture blog soon with his birthdays, from day one to this year's, but I need to get all of the pics together first.
Tucker's actual birthday is such a blur to me, I was pretty much unconscious for most of it, due to the pre-eclampsia and the meds to fight the pre-eclampsia.
Two days later, I felt well enough to actually ask to see Tucker, and to roll over in my wheelchair to the NICU to see him. It was scary and very surreal. It felt like an out of body experience, like there was no emotion attached because it didn't seem possible to really be there.
That night I promised Tucker and God that if Tucker fought hard to stay with us, I would be the best mommy any little boy could ever want or need. I had no idea what was ahead for him or us....I just knew that any baby who had such a crappy first few days of life deserved the best he could get from now on.
And I think through everything, Chris and I have kept our end of that deal :)
So for the last few weeks, I have been pretty emotional. We have had a lot going on, with Chris's brother getting married, and my best friend Jessica getting married in a few weeks. The idea that Tucker is able to be there for all of this makes me so happy.
He finished his first year of preschool, and he was not even the kid that missed the most days!
We have started his ABA program, and just in the first few weeks have seen a huge difference. Everyone in Chris's and my immediate families has been on board, and the ABA therapist is very impressed that everyone is so supportive. It will all get harder to stick to our guns as we expect more and more out of Tucker, but as time goes on, we hope to be able to do more and more with him, so it will all be worth the work and the hard transitions Tucker has to go through.
We are (as usual!) celebrating Tucker's birthday in a BIG way. We rented out the local inflatable place for a party; Tucker has been there twice and loves it :) About 15 kids and 45 adults are coming to Jump for 1 hour and a half, and then to enjoy pizza, sandwiches, and an ice cream cake. We will have chips for Tucker, of course.
It is a firetruck theme, so we sent out firetruck invites, he has a firetruck shirt, and we have firetruck shaped sugar cookies for party favors (and no, I didn't make them, I am not quite that talented). He is also supposed to have a firetruck cake, but we aren't sure how that will work out! (the firetruck I sent to Baskin Robbins is too heavy to sit on the cake....) It is still hard to tell if he likes presents or not, his face lights up at the word "presents" but I don't know that he will want to quit jumping to sit still and open stuff. So we'll see.
For his actual birthday, Chris and I both had to work. So I had the idea (which Gina says I stole from her!) to take Tucker to Build a Bear at the mall. Chris and Tucker rode in the truck and met me at the mall after work, and Tucker was so excited. He kept saying "bear store", because Chris told him that is where he was going to pick out his present. I had never been to the BAB store, but it is amazing. There are tons of animals to pick from, and you stuff it yourself, and then buy whatever accessories it needs, from clothes and hats, to cars and strollers!
Tucker went straight to the Camouflage bear, and never looked back! I wanted him to make sure he picked the right one, so I took my time showing him every single one, but he clung to the empty Camo bear for dear life:) I think Chris had a tear in his eye, lol, he was so proud!
So then, since we knew Tucker wouldn't be asking for his bear to have any clothes or accessories, we didn't mind spending a little extra so that his bear could have a customized sound. There is a machine with about 20 sounds, you press the buttons to preview the sounds, then you pick which one you want. So Tucker hit the Star Wars button, you know that theme song? It's loud, and you would all recognize it if you heard it. Tucker really has no interest in Star Wars, but Chris loves all of the movies. Tucker happened to be wearing his Yoda shirt that says "Judge me by my Size, Do you?" which of course Chris picked out for him.
So when I told the BAB consultant that Tucker didn't even like Star Wars, I don't think she believed me as he had on a Yoda shirt! I showed Tucker all of the buttons, some roared, some played "Happy Birthday" and some said "I Love you," but again, Tucker stuck with his first choice. He pressed that button about 3 more times, then we were sold.
Tucker picked out a heart for his bear, so that it would have a heartbeat when you hug the bear. The next part was to stuff it and sew it up. Tucker was NOT happy when the lady took his bear and shoved it on the metal filler part. It really did look like the poor bear was being violated, as the metal rod was shoved in his back to fill him up with fluff. Tucker helped push the pedal down so that the bear would quickly be full, then he watched as she sewed it up. He was SO happy when she gave it back and he got to hold it :)
Tucker is now the proud owner of a Camouflage bear that plays the Star Wars theme song and has a heartbeat. He even has the birth certificate to prove it, which is a little odd if you ask me ;)
A trip to that mall is not complete without two rides on the carousel. We knew that the carousel closes early on weeknights, so Chris ran over to see if it was still on. He came back saying it was off, so we had to go home. I told him it was way too early, since it was summer time, and I took a turn going check. Sure enough, the carousel was going, so I called Chris to bring Tucker over. His face lit up when he saw it! He hasn't been to the mall lately as his behavior was rough the last time we had to take him off of the carousel a few months ago.
Here is a picture of Tucker, with his new bear, riding the carousel. Also, his Daddy was right next to him taking the picture, so this child was on cloud nine :-) And of course I was standing on the sidelines crying my eyes out.
He was very compliant when his second turn was over and it was time to go home. We think that his 5th birthday was fantastic, and we haven't even had the party yet. Thanks for checking in on us and for all the birthday wishes from everyone for Tucker.
I will post a picture blog soon with his birthdays, from day one to this year's, but I need to get all of the pics together first.
Tucker's actual birthday is such a blur to me, I was pretty much unconscious for most of it, due to the pre-eclampsia and the meds to fight the pre-eclampsia.
Two days later, I felt well enough to actually ask to see Tucker, and to roll over in my wheelchair to the NICU to see him. It was scary and very surreal. It felt like an out of body experience, like there was no emotion attached because it didn't seem possible to really be there.
That night I promised Tucker and God that if Tucker fought hard to stay with us, I would be the best mommy any little boy could ever want or need. I had no idea what was ahead for him or us....I just knew that any baby who had such a crappy first few days of life deserved the best he could get from now on.
And I think through everything, Chris and I have kept our end of that deal :)
So for the last few weeks, I have been pretty emotional. We have had a lot going on, with Chris's brother getting married, and my best friend Jessica getting married in a few weeks. The idea that Tucker is able to be there for all of this makes me so happy.
He finished his first year of preschool, and he was not even the kid that missed the most days!
We have started his ABA program, and just in the first few weeks have seen a huge difference. Everyone in Chris's and my immediate families has been on board, and the ABA therapist is very impressed that everyone is so supportive. It will all get harder to stick to our guns as we expect more and more out of Tucker, but as time goes on, we hope to be able to do more and more with him, so it will all be worth the work and the hard transitions Tucker has to go through.
We are (as usual!) celebrating Tucker's birthday in a BIG way. We rented out the local inflatable place for a party; Tucker has been there twice and loves it :) About 15 kids and 45 adults are coming to Jump for 1 hour and a half, and then to enjoy pizza, sandwiches, and an ice cream cake. We will have chips for Tucker, of course.
It is a firetruck theme, so we sent out firetruck invites, he has a firetruck shirt, and we have firetruck shaped sugar cookies for party favors (and no, I didn't make them, I am not quite that talented). He is also supposed to have a firetruck cake, but we aren't sure how that will work out! (the firetruck I sent to Baskin Robbins is too heavy to sit on the cake....) It is still hard to tell if he likes presents or not, his face lights up at the word "presents" but I don't know that he will want to quit jumping to sit still and open stuff. So we'll see.
For his actual birthday, Chris and I both had to work. So I had the idea (which Gina says I stole from her!) to take Tucker to Build a Bear at the mall. Chris and Tucker rode in the truck and met me at the mall after work, and Tucker was so excited. He kept saying "bear store", because Chris told him that is where he was going to pick out his present. I had never been to the BAB store, but it is amazing. There are tons of animals to pick from, and you stuff it yourself, and then buy whatever accessories it needs, from clothes and hats, to cars and strollers!
Tucker went straight to the Camouflage bear, and never looked back! I wanted him to make sure he picked the right one, so I took my time showing him every single one, but he clung to the empty Camo bear for dear life:) I think Chris had a tear in his eye, lol, he was so proud!
So then, since we knew Tucker wouldn't be asking for his bear to have any clothes or accessories, we didn't mind spending a little extra so that his bear could have a customized sound. There is a machine with about 20 sounds, you press the buttons to preview the sounds, then you pick which one you want. So Tucker hit the Star Wars button, you know that theme song? It's loud, and you would all recognize it if you heard it. Tucker really has no interest in Star Wars, but Chris loves all of the movies. Tucker happened to be wearing his Yoda shirt that says "Judge me by my Size, Do you?" which of course Chris picked out for him.
So when I told the BAB consultant that Tucker didn't even like Star Wars, I don't think she believed me as he had on a Yoda shirt! I showed Tucker all of the buttons, some roared, some played "Happy Birthday" and some said "I Love you," but again, Tucker stuck with his first choice. He pressed that button about 3 more times, then we were sold.
Tucker picked out a heart for his bear, so that it would have a heartbeat when you hug the bear. The next part was to stuff it and sew it up. Tucker was NOT happy when the lady took his bear and shoved it on the metal filler part. It really did look like the poor bear was being violated, as the metal rod was shoved in his back to fill him up with fluff. Tucker helped push the pedal down so that the bear would quickly be full, then he watched as she sewed it up. He was SO happy when she gave it back and he got to hold it :)
Tucker is now the proud owner of a Camouflage bear that plays the Star Wars theme song and has a heartbeat. He even has the birth certificate to prove it, which is a little odd if you ask me ;)
A trip to that mall is not complete without two rides on the carousel. We knew that the carousel closes early on weeknights, so Chris ran over to see if it was still on. He came back saying it was off, so we had to go home. I told him it was way too early, since it was summer time, and I took a turn going check. Sure enough, the carousel was going, so I called Chris to bring Tucker over. His face lit up when he saw it! He hasn't been to the mall lately as his behavior was rough the last time we had to take him off of the carousel a few months ago.
Here is a picture of Tucker, with his new bear, riding the carousel. Also, his Daddy was right next to him taking the picture, so this child was on cloud nine :-) And of course I was standing on the sidelines crying my eyes out.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wedding Weekend
Well after my last post, I wasn't sure if we'd make it to the beach. After 3 hours of sleep on Thursday night, we woke up at 430am. We packed into Brad's truck pretty quickly, then we were off to Florida. Luckily, we all slept a good bit on the ride and felt much better. Tucker slept most of the ride as well.
After a while, Tucker was shivering, so I made him get out. He was not happy, but a bag of Cheetos made him perk right back up. He ended up with sand all over him, and he cried "clean it up" poor baby. So he and I headed to the pool instead.
Baby Kinley joined us with her parents and Sissy and Pops.
We stayed out for a while, then Tucker requested the hotel. Tucker took a nap, and we got ready for the rehearsal dinner. Jackie's cousin cooked a big pot of spaghetti for all of us, and it was delicious. At the dinner, we saw family members that we hadn't seen in years, and it was so nice to talk to them. I love when Mr. Ricky's brothers get together and all talk about growing up, they have some funny stories!
That night Chris, Sarah, Brad, and I went to Aunt Terri and Uncle Steve's room to catch up while Tucker and Dylan hung out in our condo.
The next morning, we were so tired! But of course Tucker woke up at 6am, so Chris and I tried to sneak him out of the condo before he could wake anyone else up. That didn't work, as Tucker was way too excited that his aunt and uncle were right there when he woke up. We ended up going to the grocery store and coming back with breakfast and lunch food, and Tucker helped Sarah and Brad cook a yummy breakfast....by help, I mean that he cracked the eggs and then stole the carton.
We had a very relaxing morning, as Tucker then fell asleep for several hours. Chris's parents, Alexis, and Kinley came over to visit, and we all watched Kinley smile and play. Once Tucker woke up, I had about an hour to play before I had to leave to get my hair done. So we attempted the pool, but it was even colder than the day before. So after about 5 minutes, we were back up at the hotel, where Tucker was content to spend the rest of the day.
At noon we all left to get our hair done for the wedding, it was fun just being with Jackie, her bridesmaids, and the moms. Mrs. Mia dropped me off at a nail salon on the way back so that I could get a mani/pedi....and at 27 years old, my first mani/pedi ever! I didn't have any time to get my nails done before the trip, and I loved every minute of the manicure and pedicure....I will be doing that more often.
Chris and Mrs. Mia came to pick me up, then it was time for all of us to get ready for the wedding. Chris and I were both in it, so I had my dress, jewelry, and make-up to put on, and Chris tried to remember how to tie his tie. I went over with the bridesmaids to help Jackie get ready, and Dylan stayed to get Tucker ready, and he was on Tucker Duty for the ceremony and reception.
I have to say, it was a beautiful wedding...I knew a beach wedding would be pretty, but my breath was taken away. I met Chris's brother Justin when he was 14 years old, and we have all known Jackie for 5 years now. To see them get married, so in love and happy, was truly a blessing.
The reception was really a blast, everyone definitely enjoyed themselves. The DJ was from England, and wore a kilt. He made us perform all kind of antics, like the chicken dance, hokey pokey, and he somehow got the Groomsmen to dress up as the Village People and do the YMCA.
I can't ever get the pictures to go up and down, but here is one of my favorite pictures of Jackie and Justin at the wedding.
I just can't over emphasize how good Tucker was this weekend. I don't know if his little body was just so happy to be off of the Focalin, or what it was. He listened so well, and he actually rested when he was asleep instead of tossing and turning.
On Sunday afternoon, we cleaned a lot and tried to get ready for summer time and the new workers. I talked to Tucker and told him that school was almost over. I told him that he used to see Mrs. Mary everyday (3 year old teacher), and then that was over. Well now he wasn't going to see Mrs. Amy everyday, but then in August he will go back and have new friends. He thought about that, then in a panicky voice said "See Mrs. Amy!" I told him he would see Mrs. Amy tomorrow, and he said "Owen!" I told him that Owen would be in his class the next day, but then next year Tucker will make all new friends. I don't think he is one bit happy about any of this.....
One of Chris's aunts is related to one of Tucker's classmates, so all year she has been hearing the little girl talk about Tucker and the preschool class. I saw his aunt at the wedding, and she said she feels like she knows all about Tucker from his classmate, I told her she probably knows more about what goes on at school than I do! So I know that Tucker's little friends will miss him, too, and it will be a hard transition for him to get used to not being at school everyday.
We stopped for breakfast in Mississippi, and Tucker got out of the truck saying "go to da beach!" Well, we were only at McDonald's, and he couldn't even get a hamburger since it was breakfast time :) Tucker was so well-behaved for the whole ride, we got to Florida and the beach looked beautiful.
We checked in, unpacked, and all got dressed for the water. It turned out that the ocean was Freezing!! Tucker hated the sand, but I knew he'd like the waves, so after several escape attempts, I told him he was going in the water and he was going to like it! :) Once Chris and Tucker got deeper into the water, and they could jump and float with the waves, Tucker was hooked.
The big pool also had freezing water, I guess it was too early in the year to be swimming. But the kiddie pool had a warmer temperature (my friend Lacy said it is because the kiddie pool is full of pee!), so we spent our time there.
Baby Kinley joined us with her parents and Sissy and Pops.
We stayed out for a while, then Tucker requested the hotel. Tucker took a nap, and we got ready for the rehearsal dinner. Jackie's cousin cooked a big pot of spaghetti for all of us, and it was delicious. At the dinner, we saw family members that we hadn't seen in years, and it was so nice to talk to them. I love when Mr. Ricky's brothers get together and all talk about growing up, they have some funny stories!
That night Chris, Sarah, Brad, and I went to Aunt Terri and Uncle Steve's room to catch up while Tucker and Dylan hung out in our condo.
The next morning, we were so tired! But of course Tucker woke up at 6am, so Chris and I tried to sneak him out of the condo before he could wake anyone else up. That didn't work, as Tucker was way too excited that his aunt and uncle were right there when he woke up. We ended up going to the grocery store and coming back with breakfast and lunch food, and Tucker helped Sarah and Brad cook a yummy breakfast....by help, I mean that he cracked the eggs and then stole the carton.
We had a very relaxing morning, as Tucker then fell asleep for several hours. Chris's parents, Alexis, and Kinley came over to visit, and we all watched Kinley smile and play. Once Tucker woke up, I had about an hour to play before I had to leave to get my hair done. So we attempted the pool, but it was even colder than the day before. So after about 5 minutes, we were back up at the hotel, where Tucker was content to spend the rest of the day.
At noon we all left to get our hair done for the wedding, it was fun just being with Jackie, her bridesmaids, and the moms. Mrs. Mia dropped me off at a nail salon on the way back so that I could get a mani/pedi....and at 27 years old, my first mani/pedi ever! I didn't have any time to get my nails done before the trip, and I loved every minute of the manicure and pedicure....I will be doing that more often.
Chris and Mrs. Mia came to pick me up, then it was time for all of us to get ready for the wedding. Chris and I were both in it, so I had my dress, jewelry, and make-up to put on, and Chris tried to remember how to tie his tie. I went over with the bridesmaids to help Jackie get ready, and Dylan stayed to get Tucker ready, and he was on Tucker Duty for the ceremony and reception.
I have to say, it was a beautiful wedding...I knew a beach wedding would be pretty, but my breath was taken away. I met Chris's brother Justin when he was 14 years old, and we have all known Jackie for 5 years now. To see them get married, so in love and happy, was truly a blessing.
The reception was really a blast, everyone definitely enjoyed themselves. The DJ was from England, and wore a kilt. He made us perform all kind of antics, like the chicken dance, hokey pokey, and he somehow got the Groomsmen to dress up as the Village People and do the YMCA.
I can't ever get the pictures to go up and down, but here is one of my favorite pictures of Jackie and Justin at the wedding.
And here is a picture of the three of us.
I just can't over emphasize how good Tucker was this weekend. I don't know if his little body was just so happy to be off of the Focalin, or what it was. He listened so well, and he actually rested when he was asleep instead of tossing and turning.
On Sunday afternoon, we cleaned a lot and tried to get ready for summer time and the new workers. I talked to Tucker and told him that school was almost over. I told him that he used to see Mrs. Mary everyday (3 year old teacher), and then that was over. Well now he wasn't going to see Mrs. Amy everyday, but then in August he will go back and have new friends. He thought about that, then in a panicky voice said "See Mrs. Amy!" I told him he would see Mrs. Amy tomorrow, and he said "Owen!" I told him that Owen would be in his class the next day, but then next year Tucker will make all new friends. I don't think he is one bit happy about any of this.....
One of Chris's aunts is related to one of Tucker's classmates, so all year she has been hearing the little girl talk about Tucker and the preschool class. I saw his aunt at the wedding, and she said she feels like she knows all about Tucker from his classmate, I told her she probably knows more about what goes on at school than I do! So I know that Tucker's little friends will miss him, too, and it will be a hard transition for him to get used to not being at school everyday.
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