Sledge Hockey with Katheryn

We had a new sledge hockey player today!

Katheryn had the opportunity to get out and on the ice with Nick.
Nick actually did better with Katheryn on the ice. He certainly liked showing off!

Summer weekend

Katheryn had Sparks camp this weekend!

2 days and nights of fun (all by herself)

Katheryn wasn't worried about leaving us, grabbed her stuff and was off with her friends!

She had so much fun! And at the end of camp graduated from Sparks with the rest of her troop.

She got very annoyed with my picture taking when we picked her up.
I expect I will see this face in my future... I just thought I had another 8 years or so...

Nickolas got to have his parents all to himself this weekend. So we went to a picnic at Grandview!
Queen Elsa was there

And Nick got to show us his accessible play ground

And he had a blast swinging on the swing!

And showing off his Ninja moves. He played with his friends from school that were there.

We did find out that Katheryn fills in a lot of the empty space. I don't know if I have ever heard Nickolas talk so much!
We sat and watched a couple of movies and he talked through the whole thing (until he fell asleep).
What is this, why is that happening, who are those people...

Having each child by themselves this weekend just shows Kyle and me how much they are growing up!

Some Elves on Christmas Eve

The elves found some fun props to play with for Christmas!

They thought it would help to make people laugh

They thought it was a fun way to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

It helps to dress Mommy up for the night!

To bring the Joy out in people

And a smile on your face

The elves thought there was lots of fun to have with the Christmas props, they just need more hands!

Unless you have a good head on your shoulders!

Merry Christmas from my elves to yours!

Sibling Love

These 2 love each other so much!

 

Fun Day

Just sitting around having fun!

And trying out a new toy!
The Radioflyer Cyclone

It is avaible and accessible for Nick. It moves using your hands and rolling the wheels. It spins and twirls and the kids love it!

Thanks to Great Auntie Wendy and Uncle Mike for picking it up in the States for us before it came to Canada!

"I'm not a baby"

I overhead a conversation between Katheryn and Nickolas this morning.

Nick was saying "I'm not a baby, I'm a big boy"
And Katheryn is saying "I am a big girl, you are a little boy"
And there was crying and pushing and parental intervention.

I was talking to Katheryn about it afterwards. "Katheryn, why are you saying that Nick is a little boy. Both of you are the same size?"
"Well, I walk and Nick crawls, that is why he is a little boy and I'm bigger."

So this is it. A conversation.
Not the conversation because we have talked about spina bifida and what it means a lot of different times. It should not be a new concept for either of the kids.
But we have heard it about diapers and we have heard it about crawling.
I don't want Katheryn to feel that she is getting in trouble for saying it, I don't want Nick to feel that we aren't standing up for him. I want both of my kids to feel that we are just explaining something to them. Like why you don't go to school on Saturday. Why broccoli really is yummy with cheese. Or where to put the extra pirate if you run out of hands...

We've ready books, we've sat down together and talked, we've had spontaneous talks and I've answered questions, if they have them, until either kid get distracted.

I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. I'm not sure if Katheryn feels that she gets in trouble and then has to hear a lecture about Nickolas. I hope that isn't what I'm doing.

So today we sat in the bathroom - where we have a number of our conversations - while Nick is on the potty, and talked about why Nick is not a little boy, he is big just like Katheryn.

 This is how our conversation went:

A: "Katheryn, you are Nick are both the same size, why are you calling him a little boy?"
K: "Because he doesn't walk, and crawls on the floor", I pull Katheryn into my lap so she can listen to me
A: "But Nick walks with his walker. That is walking. Do you remember we talked about when Nick was born he had a boo-boo on his back"
N: "I did?!" (he says this every time we talk about it)
A: "And because he was born with the boo boo he needs extra help walking, and has his walker"
N: "Yeah!" (from the peanut gallery)
K: "OK, but I don't need help walking"
A: "No, you didn't have a boo boo on your back when you were born. But Nick did and so he has to work harder for things."
N: "I had a boo boo on my back"
A: "Yes Nick, and your boo boo was fixed"
N: "At the hopp-ital. Did you fix it?"
A: "No,  a very special doctor fixed it when you were born"
A: "Do you remember what it is called, spina bifida"
K: "OK, can I brush my teeth now?"

And that was it.
Until the next time.

I'm not sure how the conversation went, or how much will stick. Katheryn has watched the video that I made for spina bifida awareness month and saw the diagram of the baby with the lesion and asked if that is what Nickolas had when he was born. I'm not sure if it grossed her out, or helped her to understand.

Smile-time

Any time there is something to dress up for, I am always hoping to get some pictures of the kids together.

First we had to practice the squinty-eyed smile!

Then the laughing face - everyone say "bunny poop"

And finally success! Two kids, looking at the camera, eyes open, what could pass as a smile on both faces.

 And I think that I matched them pretty well too!
For both family days!

They were actually pretty good posing for pictures this weekend, they always wanted to see how the picture turned out afterwards!

We had smiles all-around this weekend, in front and behind the camera!

When knock-knock jokes go wrong

Immediately after this the kids both said "Can we do that over?"
Sorry guys, that first take was priceless!

Star Boy and Lightening Girl!

Superheroes to the rescue!

Some imagination

OK Maybe 3 isn't as horrible as I may have made it sound.

What I have found and loved is the imagination that has bloomed and developed in Nickolas. On top of being very specific about what he loves and likes - pirates and backyardigans topping up this list, he wants to play all the time.

And both the kids are playing together. Yes they have been playing together for a long time. A lot of it was Katheryn playing and directing Nick about what to do and Nick saying yes, yes, yes.
But now Nickolas is directing Katheryn! It is his ideas that they are playing out.
Nick pretending to be a rocket ship and flying through space

 

Nickolas is a little bit obsessed with his "Back-e-gans". He watches the same 2 episodes over and over and over again, and then acts them out, alone or with Katheryn.

 

I love watching the kids playing together, and hearing Nick explore his imagination. I can't describe the joy I get from watching my children grow before my eyes! Imagine that!

Proud Mom

Just because

Love these kids!

Summer fun!

Because I am hopelessly behind in my blogging.

I am blaming that I have gone back to work full time - but really I don't want to sit inside on the computer all day. (Ok well sometimes I do).

I am just going to post some pictures of our start of summer fun!

Is it time to go outside yet?

The kids are co-conspirators who love to try to get outside as much as they can! With or without adult supervision!
Boy are they going to be trouble when they are older!

Sibling Conductive Education

This semester of conductive education we are the only ones in the group. Which means that we have lost some of the group aspects that I like.

But it also means that I was able to bring Katheryn with us on one of the days she wasn't in daycare.

So Nickolas created his own little group.

The theme this week was learning about a dentist. Look at that concentration! I wish he spent this much time brushing his own teeth!

It was obviously a tongue-out kind of day.
Lots of thinking (and working)

One of the newest things we have been doing is getting Nickolas to walk between 2 of the plinths holding a rope.

The rope (of course) is not as stable as a table or chair (or walker) and it gives Nickolas that support he feels he needs while also getting him to work on his balance.

Katheryn really just wanted to do a puppet show.
She had us sit as an audience (and of course Nick had to walk to our seats - with his 'sticks') and she did a little show.

Then to top it all off, Nick decided that he really did want to walk in his walker - all the way down the hall and around the corner - almost to the front door!

We've signed up for the summer session of conductive education.

We had originally planned on attending the parent/child session for kids under 3. But Abigail thinks that he is ready for the older group. So in July Nickolas will be attending by himself in the 3-8 years group.

They think that it will be a great fit for him with kids who are doing the same things that he is doing.

I am a little nervous about leaving him. But I know it will be good for him.

Hope it'll be good for mommy too!