Saturday, October 13, 2012

Baking Fun

Zoya helped me make THESE gluten free treats this morning :) We had them for a mid-morning snack and loved them! I will definitely make them again. Next time I might throw a few mini chocolate chips in them to change it up a bit! 
Trying to sneak a little taste....stinker! 

"Hmmm I'll just pretend to look like I'm thinking here while I'm trying to taste the batter that's on my finger." 

Added in some math time as we counted our muffins! 

Still counting! 
Ready to go in the oven! 
She was saying "ohhh boy!" when I set it down in front of her! 
Giving it a sniff to make sure it's okay....she loved smelling the cinnamon! 
"What is this new stuff mom?"
"What are you waiting for??? Feed Me NOW!"
"Oh sorry, I forgot I had to ask....FINE, I'll sign EAT!"
Yum! 
"This is heavenly!" 
So good she had to give it the "Zoya shake" 
"So you're saying if I want more I have to pick it up myself?"
"Fine!"
"Totally worth the work!" 
"Mom, aren't I so cute, don't you want to give me another one?" (Mila ate 2 muffins herself!)

Buddy Walk!

Last weekend we had our local Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome! It was INSIDE this year which was FABULOUS!!! I only remember one year within the last 5 years that it wasn't freezing cold and raining/sleeting/snowing. This year was no different, so having it inside was great! Grandma and Grandpa B. came up for the day and had fun with the girls!

Zoya, making nice time here LOL (she only walked about one lap of the nine! She was spoiled by Daddy and Grandpa B. for the rest of the laps!)

Zoya was afraid of the clown (she must get that from me)

Dancin'

Zoya and Grandpa B.

Mila and Daddy! 

Zoya and Liv! 

So excited to see the bouncy house! 

Grandma B. and Mila

Mila loves her Grandpa and hats! 

Mila trying to take Seth's Dad's mustache off his face! 

Zoya and Daddy!

The best family pic of the 3....LOL! 

Mama and Mila 

Getting sleepy! 

Lap 7 or so....

Happy to be done walking and taking a break! 

This is how Mila ended the walk! It was tough being carried around for a mile! 

Happy girl when there's music! 

Bustin' a move! 

Saturday, October 6, 2012

My Lovies

I sometimes wonder
how I ever lived without you in my life...
without your big beautiful blue eyes,
 your belly laugh,
and your silly faces! 
I often remember throughout the day
 just how much happiness you have brought to my life.
 I can't take away the time you lived on this earth without me
BUT I can promise to hold your hand every day for the rest of my life. 
 You two were destined to be sisters from the start....
 I look at you a million times a day and stand in awe with your beauty,
 your tender soul
wise beyond your years....
I feel in my heart that you've always been a part of me, even before I knew you.
 God clearly knew we needed each other. 
 Your sunny smile brightens so many dark days
Lately I try to hold on to each moment a little bit longer
and savor the sweet love you have shown me!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Baby Ray Charles!

My new name for Mila with her cool tinted specs! She is doing fabulous with keeping her glasses on! When we first put them on her she just stared all around and up at the ceiling, it was SO CUTE! So here is baby Ray Charles!!!





And big sister....sweet sweet girl has been the most AWESOME big sister lately! 




And sadly this is Zoya's last picture with this Minnie Mouse :( I'm almost in tears thinking about it, but we left her at the playground and when Shawn went to look after work she was nowhere to be found :( :( :( That Minnie Mouse has gotten Zoya through so many tough days.....I think this will be just as hard for me :(

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Frog No!

This is a long post but if you're up for a laugh you have to read it!!!

"Is it really hard having two kids with special needs?" My answer is usually along the lines of "yep just has hard as having two kids without special needs!" So all moms everywhere, special needs or not, can appreciate the hilarious debacle of a day that we had today! (Yes it is only 2:00pm as I'm writing this). 

Shawn was out of town yesterday and today getting our dossier apostilled for CURLY GIRLIE. Zoya had an eye appointment at 8:15am, which I scheduled on purpose hoping she could get to school on time (9:10) and get her school pictures taken (had no idea I scheduled on the same day as school pictures). So I got up super early, got the girls ready, dressed, fed, and thought "wow we are way ahead of schedule, let's watch Mickey Mouse!" So there we sat watching Mickey Mouse waiting to leave for Zoya's appointment. I took cute pictures of Zoya in her "school picture day" outfit, took my time loading up the car, etc. I even emailed her teacher to say we might be a few minutes late. 

It started POURING just as it was time to load up. I got both girls in the car and sat in the driver's seat and noticed the clock said "8:40." What?! No this can't be! Her appointment was at 8:15 and surely I was overly prepared to get there on time. The clock must be wrong! So I checked my phone. 8:40! What in the world? Then I realized somehow I screwed that whole thing up royally. Still not completely understanding how my 30 year old brain was functioning as a 90 year old and how I could have messed up that badly. So I called the eye doctor to apologize and they said we could either come back at 10:30 or IN DECEMBER! So I took the 10:30 because I knew Zoya really needed this appointment today. So we drove around for a half hour until it was time for school because I was NOT unloading the girls just to load them back up in the pouring rain. I told her teacher she could only stay for an hour and hopefully they could squeeze her picture in before she had to leave. So at 10, I went to get Zoya who wasn't ready and hadn't had her picture taken yet. When I finally got to her I ran out of the school carrying her because I COULD NOT BE LATE AFTER MISSING THE MORNING APPOINTMENT! 

Okay, in the car, all is good, we've got this! Still pouring down buckets! I told Zoya we were going to the eye doctor. As soon as we pulled in she yelled "FU_K" which almost caused me to drive through the building. Then I realized she was trying to say "frog" and that's just not how it came out thanks to her speech delay! Oh yes, of course, Zoya LOVES the huge frog inside the building when you get off the elevator and that's what she was talking about. Okay, unload both girls in the pouring rain while rude man watches me try to juggle everything and doesn't even offer to open the door, so I yell "HEY COULD YA GET THE DOOR?!" Yah, all poise had gone out the window much earlier in the day! 

Thank goodness, we're inside at 10:30 ON THE DOT! Elevator opens and Zoya is hesitant to get in, who knows why! So as the door opens I step out holding Mila and say "Let's go Zoya!" 

She starts panicking yelling "FU_K. NO! FU_K. NO" 

Over and Over and Over. 

Clearly I knew she was trying to say FROG! NO! And I realized, typical of Zoya, that she was suddenly afraid of something she had always loved before. She was terrified of the giant frog (the thing is like 8 feet tall) Zoya has a tendency to all of the sudden have irrational fears of things she was never afraid of before. (This makes life very interesting!) 

As I see the elevator door start to close I grab Zoya's arm to help her out as she is dropping to the floor yelling "FU_K NO!" At that point I realize it's either pull Zoya out by her arm kicking and screaming "FU_K NO" or lose her down the elevator all alone and that was NOT an option. By this point I had a bit of an audience and mothers grabbing their children and pulling them away with mouths hanging open. I managed to squeak out "she's saying FROG.....FROG!!!, she's saying frog....she's afraid of the frog" and then my voice trailed off and I thought, there's really no explaining this one, even if I was telling the truth!

Disclaimer: No children were injured in the elevator incident. The only injury was one mama's pride. 

And the best part of this whole story......Zoya needs glasses......HERE WE GO AGAIN :) 

As I sit here and write this I think how this would have really stressed me out a year ago, but today, it just plain made me laugh (after the judgmental mothers walked away anyways!)