Holiday preview

We made it to Florida! We also had a chance to celebrate an early Christmas with Jordan and Cameron's Poppy and Grandma (aka my in-laws)! They had a ball opening gifts. We also got to drive long distances with the kids in the van -- for the first time we had them sitting in different rows with two separate DVD players.

It changed EVERYTHING. Our drive was relatively peaceful... happy and enjoyable. I think we will travel this way from now on. It was too nice. No fighting and relatively few outburst from either kid.

I did figure out an additional way to help Jordan keep up with her toys without them all falling to her left side and she can't reach it. It's a soft tray that attaches with a belt behind her so it doesn't fall down. She was able to play with smaller toys and eat food without losing stuff. I highly recommend it!!

Today we enjoyed a little time in my parents' pool (it was freezing cold) and riding bikes. Jordan was exhausted but we did pull the bike arm out for a little while. Not long enough for her to be willing to let me leave and find a camera. She was exhausted by the end of the day and even fell asleep on the floor. Hopefully she'll get a good night's sleep so we can have a really fun day tomorrow!

Strong opinions. WOW. They're strong.

We've been out to eat a little more than usual. With all of our traveling, Jordan has figured out the process it takes to eat food at a restaurant. Lately, she takes charge when the waitress asks us for an order.

My in-laws were in town to spend time with the girl and take the boy to their house for the week. So we got to go out to restaurants again. Last night, Jordan immediately asked for her drinks: "Water! Milk! Water and Milk!" I had to reminder her to say: PLEASE!! She didn't forget please after that. I tell you, the girl got her water and her milk. She also ordered her dinner. It was pretty impressive. She holds her own.

This morning, she ordered her milk and waffle at the Waffle House. She was polite and VERY excited about eating a waffle. She ate the whole thing. Seriously. All of it. She had to take some of it home, but she ate it all up. If Jordan can just improve her tone with the wait staff, she's going to get everything she ever asked. She's dominant, but learning to remember to say please (and a smile on the side). She just floors me.

Today I took her to my friend's apartment complex to swim in the pool. I was impressed with Jordan's attempts at kicking and moving her arms. She was a bit nervous at first, but warmed up and got brave in spurts. It was good. No crying. Impressive bravery for a two year old.

I'm planning to meet up with Jordan's occupational therapist this week. I'm questioning our prosthetic more and more these days. The hand's opening and closing mechanism hasn't been consistent since we got our second arm last October. I've been brainstorming with our OT on other options. I'm looking for a prosthetic company that is willing to be creative. I really think Jordan needs someone who wants to try something new. If not, it's time to start planning to work with my current company to schedule Jordan's next arm. Wish us luck!!

28 Months Old!

Another amazing month of growth, words and INDEPENDENCE.

My goodness, I grow 'em independent. So independent, it's why Jordan got moved into the 2 1/2 and 3 year old classroom. They knew she could hold her own... But unfortunately, her teachers will have a lot of "breaking" to do. Jordan has ruled the roost with her previous teachers. Now she has to listen and follow instructions more. Her class is bigger. The kids are a lot older (a number of the kids are already three years old). Many of the kids are potty trained. It's kind of overwhelming to see her around these kids who seem SO much older. So things are going to change for Miss Boo.

This past month Jordan has turned the "two year old thing" up a very large notch. I build my kids loud and strong. I can't complain about that. She also started to hold her own a little better with her brother. Those things I've never seen before -- little shoves, little taps and annoying brotherly things -- are now being verbalized (or tattled) by Jordan. "Mom! Cameron hurt me!" Her brother isn't getting away with anything anymore.

Her swimming teacher today said Jordan would probably do better in the non-parent involved swimming class where older kids are taught... Since the Mommy or Daddy vs. Jordan experience isn't going very well these days. She is just THAT independent. But we love her. And darn are we proud of her. She's talking, she is trying to do EVERYTHING on her own. She's turning into a strong-willed, confident little person and I couldn't be prouder. (Or more exhausted)

Swimming lesson update

I think I should convince some stranger to take pictures of Jordan and I at the pool just so I can share a picture.

Lately, the only picture you'd get is her screaming: "NO KICK! NO JUMP! NO WATER!" She loves the swim class for the first 15 minutes and then her mood changes. It usually changes after she gets her head fully wet. I'm pretty sure it's a control thing. She wants to be in control at all times and when she's underwater, she feels out of control. Obviously, that's not a good thing in her world. Other than personality struggles in the water, she is getting stronger at kicking and getting more natural at reaching her arms out in the water.

The best part of swim class today: It was the first night when we left the building without freezing to death. Hopefully Spring is actually here. I've been getting pretty annoyed with this long, cold winter.

Stubborn. Just plain stubborn.

I've watched Jordan move more and more into a very stubborn mode. It's standard with a two-year-old. The funny thing is it doesn't make me mad most of the time. It makes me proud.

That stubborn attitude finally has her WALKING UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS BY HERSELF! I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it has not been a skill she could do on big, traditional stairs. She doesn't have to have a railing. She's just holding onto the wall if she has to.

Makes a mommy pretty darn proud.

Then there was swim lessons tonight. Oy. Half of the time she would say: "No kicks! No pull! No swim!" She did kind of jump in the pool twice with my guidance - from the edge of the pool, deep down under the water and back up. She came up both times spitting water and feeling excited and scared and a bit clingy all at the same time. She did give high fives to her teacher so I guess that means she felt like those jumps were an accomplishment. It was great hearing her teacher talk about how it was cool to see how Jordan can do anything any other kid can do. Yup. She sure can.

What a big girl!

Two weeks ago we started Jordan on swimming lessons. Four lessons later and today Miss Boo kicked butt.

We got into the water and she instantly started kicking. BIG splashes. She did so well. This swim school puts short tables into the water so the little kids can stand in the water. The idea is to learn how to put on your "sea legs." Two weeks ago, Jordan screamed as we got her to walk up and down the table. Tonight, she not only walked up and down the table. She didn't even need to hold my hand. PLUS she learned how to jump. And when she realized the glory of jumping in water you should have heard the the squeals of happiness. She hasn't mastered jumping outside of water so this was really fun for her. PLUS, Jordan started blowing bubbles and being okay with putting her head under the water. I was SO proud. I never saw this much progress with Cam at this age. I felt so proud and she just had fun. It was totally worth the insanity it takes to get the kids fed and dressed and out the door in time for the class.

Not to mention how dang cold it was after the class.

When is winter going to end?
Ahhhh!

She is a different kid

Lately everyone at Jordan's school has commented how similar she is to her brother. She is stubborn, she thinks she knows what is right and DANG IT she will do it her own way. Apparently she is willing to throw tantrums like he did (and honestly, still does). But tonight proved she's a different kid.

She enjoyed swimming lessons.

She REALLY enjoyed it. She giggled and splashed and learned how to jump into the pool from a sitting position. She tried to kick and she really worked on reaching out and paddling towards the edge of the pool. I'm thrilled. While we were working, Cam was learning to swim with a class full of kids who were smaller than he was. Good news: he didn't seem to mind. He also didn't cry at all. (sigh of relief)

Anyway. I'm pooped. Changing our schedule to include evening classes is really hard. I rushed home to grab the kids to get to swimming on time. Randy picked them up, dressed them and fed them. He kindly heated food I ate on my way to the pool. We got there JUST as class started. I'm sure it will get easier. The trick is it's so cold, you have to get dressed before and after class. Add in the need to clean the chlorine off the kids before bed and you've just eaten up two hours of hard core work.

It's all worth it when you watch Jordan giggle and splash.

What's even more enjoyable, I didn't feel like everyone was staring at us in the baby class. Everyone said hi and giggled right along with Jordan. It was really nice. I didn't feel ostracized... and I've felt that way before at pools. So I think this change of scenery might actually get us swimming more by the summer.

I'm fried

The combination of election coverage and Randy not feeling well this week has left me running out of steam.

But a couple of neat things have happened this week:

Last night Jordan, Cam and I went to Cam's school for Music Night. First graders and Kindergarteners got to show off the cool stuff they do in music class. Since Randy was feeling sick, we danced and played music and just enjoyed being around the other families from school. Seriously, we have really great parents and kids that go to our school. I'm glad I took time off from the newsroom during Super Tuesday to enjoy music night.

Tonight I took both kids to a local swimming school. Cam has never been a great swimmer and I've had not-so-fun experiences at the local pool that does Red Cross classes. I'd heard good things about the local swim school and Jordan's therapists have recommended that we get her in swimming so she builds more strength in her left arm and shoulder. We started with a one-on-one class with the school owner to guage Jordan's needs while Cam took a group class. In the end, we're going to put Cam and Jordan in the same swimming class twice a week. The goal is to help Jordan gain balance and strength and get Cameron up to his age level in the pool. A two year old and a five year old in the same class? Well, we'll see how it goes.

The bad news:
The prosthetic is broken again. The motor is acting strange again. It clicks and opens and closes without any reason. It SUCKS. I'm really bummed that we're going to have to go without the arm again... Just when Jordan was starting to use it more.

I'm tired. I might actually go to bed early tonight. It was nice to have an excuse to take a shower after the swim class. It was nice to be in a pool even though Jordan cried almost the whole time.

Oh -- And the class kind of felt like when I took the dogs to puppy training school. The teacher was spending more time teaching me how to talk and help Jordan in the pool than actually teaching Jordan. It was funny.

Mommy misses her kids

I have been working a lot. A lot.

When I walked into the house today, Jordan squealed with excitement. She scrambled up the stairs. She babbled to her heart's delight. She missed me.

I've been swamped at the beginning of a new semester - There has been a culmination of projects that need attention at the same time. Plus, my class more than doubled in size. I have so many people to train, fires to put out... I could go on and on.

But let me tell you about my girl.

She's now 25 months old. 25 months. Can you believe it?

In this past month, her ability to communicate has SKYROCKETED! She knows what she wants and often puts together the words that helps us know what she wants. She knows colors WHEN she wants to tell us the right color. She wants to sing the ABC's but doesn't always feel like she needs to say the right letters at the right time. She loves to play the piano and she loves to be in charge. She warmed up to her daddy this month. She gets upset if she wakes up late and he already went to work. She hugs and kisses him more. She leans on him for comforting sometimes. She's growing up.

She knows how to say her brother's name and she loves him on her own terms. She's very demanding of him and she always wants what he's doing. Lately she gets upset about her breakfast. No matter what, she'd rather eat what's in his bowl. Who cares if they have the exact same breakfast. She wants HIS.

We continue to talk about potty training. She is not comfortable with actually using the potty after our initial success. She is getting pretty good at pooping on the floor. (YUCK)

Jordan is starting to use her prosthetic a bit more. She uses it at dinner sometimes. She is using it to work with coloring and other art projects at school. She's really doing great with her occupational therapist... Mainly because we're doing therapy at school twice a week. I think I get in the way of therapy.

"Read a book" is a big deal in our house. Jordan is reading up a storm. She loves it when we read, she loves to read, she's copying her brother's enjoyment of a good story. Lately she's been telling me the things she sees on the pages. She really likes Elmo stories, nursery rhymes and baby animals. Her teacher tells me that Jordan is really good at school. She transitions incredibly well. The only thing she does that's challenging is she does stairs very slow. If I felt off balance, I'd do stair really carefully too. So if that's the only challenge in her class, I think Jordan is kicking butt. (But we already knew that)

I'm so proud of my girl. This coming month we're going to try swimming lessons to help build her shoulder strength. I'm considering equestrian therapy as well. I'm just looking for ways to help her continue to gain strength so she can continue to use her prosthetic in more useful ways. If she gets stronger, she'll be able to use it more.

Beyond therapy and talking... I'm just having fun. I look forward to getting past this work hump and spending more time with the kids. They are growing in so many amazing ways.

Maybe popcorn is the answer

I watched an amazing thing happen yesterday. My daughter gorged on popcorn. She's didn't just eat a lot... She ate so much that I had to leave the movie to refill the popcorn tub. We took the family to see Ratatouille. It's a really sweet movie... But I don't really think it's the kind of movie that would have engaged Jordan that much. It has a real story line, there isn't that much super-silly stuff in it. It's just a really great story. Fantastic animation. And apparently, AWESOME popcorn.

So after Jordan ate and ate and ate... This morning, the diaper was the most normal I've seen in more than a month. A month! So apparently she needed an obsessive amount of fiber to help clear things up.

I don't really want to jinx things... But I was going to write how it looks like her intestinal issues were improving. After the popcorn incident, I think I'm comfortable to say that she might be okay. I'm still skeptical about returning to dairy products. I'll put that in the wait-and-see category for when her blood test comes back.

Anyway. Along with going to a movie, Jordan got to go to a pool party where she started getting comfortable in the pool with me. She also got to test out her new bike chariot. It will be a fun addition to our outdoor time during our vacation. I did learn that her bike helmet wasn't put on tight enough. Woops. Lesson learned.