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!

"I can't"

Every single night we go through the same thing.
"I can't, I can't."
And I'm telling Nick "I don't want you to say you can't! You can."

Nickolas is only 3 but I don't like that he is already saying "I can't".
I wish that I could take away that doubt. It is heart breaking to hear someone say they can't. Isn't 3 supposed to be the age that you think that you can do everything! While still, of course, needing your mommy.
A child is supposed to feel that they are limitless. They are not supposed to know they have limits.

Instead Nickolas is saying he can't.

In this case it is less of an "I can't" and more of an "I don't want to" or "I need help". So I am working on getting him to say "I need help" instead of "I can't".

I am working on getting Nick to take his clothes on and off.
Seems simple, right? But Nickolas hates it, he is not happy.

I give him his shirt and he just holds it. "I can't"
I don't want to hear can't! It's upsetting to me to hear him say this. He can. We can

And we do it together.
And he can.

Step by step. Just over and over again. Head, arm, arm, belly. When we do it together he is less likely to say that he can't. And I'm not doing very much.

He is so proud when we get his shirt on, that he wants to try for his pants too!

Katheryn has been doing some things by herself too.
Like picking out her own clothes (she went to school like this)

And doing some chores. Setting the table and clearing the table after dinner. While Nick gets the dishes stacked after dinner.

I wonder if I can make "Can't" a forbidden work in the house?

Making memories with You

I had alot of fun doing the video of Nickolas, that I just couldn't stop!

The kids loved seeing themselves in the video! So I couldn't stop at just one.

The program I used to make these videos is on animoto.com
They do have a 30 second tease that is free.

It's so easy! The hardest part was trying to cut my pictures down to 4 minutes of song.

If you wanted to do this, my suggestion is to copy all the pictures/video you like into a folder and just upload of all of those into the program. It takes a while to load, but then you have more freedom to move things around the way you want.

Watching you smile

I am going to be doing another talk at Centennial College in a couple of weeks.

I love being able to have Nickolas with me, to really put the face to spina bifida. But unfortunately he won't be able to come with me.

And next year he will be in school.

So I created a video to show at the beginning of my presentation.

I had alot of fun making this.

Now I'm starting on one for Katheryn!

Teddy Bear Clinic

The kids had some special activities planned for today.

They got to visit mommy at work (which was pretty fun to begin with), they got to bring their teddy bears, AND they got to bring their teddy bears in for a check-up! Rouge Valley Health System had a Teddy Bear Clinic!

I wasn't able to stay the whole time (because I was actually working) but they had about 10 stations for the kids to go and play and learn about what happens if their teddy bears have to go to the hospital.

They also got to collect stickers as they went along.

Nickolas started the day saying that he wanted his chair, so that was what we brought in. He soon nixed that idea, his wheelchair went in the corner of the room and he cruised around and wanted to see and touch, crawl and run (what he has been calling crawling really fast).

Nick's bear also came with his wheelchair, but left it behind really early in the morning too.

The teddy bears got arm bands, had their vital signs checked, by the "nurse" and also by the kids. Nick LOVED taking his bear's temperature (in the ear).

 They had a station of crafts, with the idea of making teddy bear feel better.

The Teddy bears - did I mention the kids renamed their teddy's Fred (Nick's bear) and Sally (Katheryn's bear). I have no idea where they came up with those names!
The teddy bears got blood work and IVs done.

It was very important to blow bubbles to distract the teddy's while blood was taken.

And of course a (latex free) bandaid at the end. (Almost as good as a sticker)

 Then it was time to look at surgery.
Nickolas is going to be the doctor and his bear was going to be the patient and go to sleep.

And Nickolas was very excited to be the doctor!

Katheryn didn't want anything to do with dressing up like a doctor... until she saw Nick was all dressed up!

 Sally didn't need to have surgery, but after some tests...

And some special tests

Can you guess what this is?

It's a MRI/CT "machine". They did have a little tiny one - you can see it in the picture above, but Sally and Fred were too big for that model.

Sally got a cast on her leg, that has to stay on for a week.
Look at those doctors orders! Maybe Katheryn will be a doctor!

The teddy's were discharged home to the care of their owners with a prescription for cuddles and sleep!

They were so excited for the whole time at the hospital!
Katheryn was literally skipping through the halls, and Nick made new friends during lunch time. I'm sure Kyle hadn't even left the parking lot when they were both passed out!

Nick's favorite part was dressing like the doctor and playing on the floor. Katheryn's favorite part was playing in the tube with her bear.
Mommy's favorite part was hearing the kids playing and Katheryn saying "I know which one is mommy's office" and being so excited about seeing their pictures up.