Leaving for Florida tomorrow

We are packing up today for an early flight tomorrow morning to Florida. Michael is very excited to see his Grandma and Grandpop, and for Santa to come....it seems like every toy he sees on tv or in a store flyer he wants!!! Our flight is super early at 7:15 am, so we are actually going to spend the night at a hotel near the airport since it is about a 45 minute drive from our place. We are supposed to get freezing rain and more snow, so the roads will be horrible. Speaking of horrible roads, yesterday the snow started coming down early in the morning, and we had a doctor's appt for Sofia at 8 am....well the traffic was so slow, cars were skidding off the road and into each other everywhere, it took us 2 hours to go what normally takes 30 minutes!! I hate snow....it is pretty when you are inside watching it, but not when you are driving in it or trying to run errands with kids in dirty, slushy parking lots. Michael loves the snow, as you can see by the pictures and video below...and yes it is dark outside already in the pictures...Michael did not want to come inside!!

In other news, I found out I passed my boards :) Yeah!! Don't have to do that again for another 6 years!!

Sofia had her appointment with the developmentalist. She could obviously see that Sofia had improved, unfortunately the testing they do to assess development includes mostly points for skill level (mostly fine motor) and language. And Sofia tends to not want to do as much as what she is able to do when she is in a new environment....it is a bit of sensory overload for her. So she did not improve much on their criteria. I am hopeful that these skills and more language will come as she gets stronger.....for example, now that she has more trunk control she explores a lot more with her hands b/c she is not using her hands and arms to balance so much....for language, low muscle tone also affects facial muscles and mouth/tongue movements (even her eyelids...when she sleeps sometimes her eyelids don't shut all the way)...she initiates her movements much more quickly now as well...she used to show a lot of interest in toys/other items held in front of her with looking at them, but was slow to actually touch them. Now if she wants it, she more easily reaches out and gets it. Her therapists who see her every week have seen good, although slow, improvements since we started 4 months ago. They are excited, so that makes you feel positive!! I am going to try to work in more therapy for her at a facility (on top of the in home that we do know) with the new year...I think she can handle it now.

Michael starts preschool 2 days a week in January....he is so in need of a structured learning environment....he soaks up everything!!! The other day he observe that the bagging area at Walmart was a triangle, that it had 3 sides, and 3 angles...angles, where did that come from!!! And last weekend he was looking out the window and asked me if the sun was a star? He must have been paying attention when we had on a show about the universe on!?!

I probably will not get a chance to post next week....so a very Merry Christmas everyone...I am sure I will have lots of pictures from Disney World and Christmas to post when I get back!!!

Dressed for Church

Enjoying the snow with a good snowball fight with Daddy!!! Michael wanted to throw snowballs at Daddy's tummy!!

Video of the snowball throwing Michael!!

Took my boards and the snow is back!!

I don't have any pictures this week to post.....Tom went to Florida over the weekend to visit friends and go to a football game (ACC championship) and he had the camera with him.

Plus, I have been so preoccupied with trying to squeeze in study time this past week for my recertification board exams I had this morning, that I just wasn't thinking about pictures. I am so glad to have that test done!!!! I won't have to do it again for another 6 years (unless I don't pass and I have to take it again.....but I am hopeful I passed).

We leave for Florida next Thursday....so I feel like I have a million things to do before we go, from mailing x-mas cards, to last minute gifts, planning for what the kids need, etc. And the kids and I have plans just about everyday from playgroups, therapy, doctor appts, etc. Poor Michael has been going a bit stir crazy because I did not take them out much this past week since I was trying to sqeeeze in last minute studying.

It is so cold now...yesterday the snow was coming down and Tom was calling me because he could barely make it down the street after work with icy streets....YUCK!

Last week Sofia ended up with 2 days of high fevers...she looked like she felt miserable. She has premolars coming in, so that doesn't help thing either. She still only has her two top and two bottom front teeth in along with the molars, but other front teeth look like they will be in soon. She is cute when she smiles because those two top front teeth are spaced so far apart!! But now she seems to be completely over her cold and no more fevers...I am glad, especially with traveling and the holidays coming up. I sure hope Michael doesn't get sick...he didn't get it this time.
Now that she is feeling better she is more willing to participate with her therapies. She continued to do well with PT this week....the therapist is putting in some more challenges for us right now because she feels that Sofia has the appropriate responses to do well with sitting transitions, but always tries to pull back to roll because of habit....so that means we have to practice these skills multiple times during the day to get her into new habits. Easier said than done on some days!!!
Next Tuesday we have a follow-up appt with the Developmentalist at the Children's hospital....we saw them back in July, so this will show us how she has progressed!!
I promise to have more photos up the next time and we'll have the reposrt from Sofia's appt.

Natalie

Video of Michael throwing snowballs

I am experimenting with different ways to post videos....this way will bring you to my shared video page:

http://www.google.com/s2/sharing/stuff?user=105612464998798511617

Natalie

Winter is here....

We had a wonderful thanksgiving last week and just enjoyed some lazy days and a Thanksgiving meal with way too much food....Michael loved the mashed potatoes at first, and as usual, decided he did not want to eat them at all when we had leftovers....I swear I don't know how he grows since we can't get him to eat 75% of the time (unless it is chocolate). I got Sofia to try some mashed potatoes and turkey, but she didn't seem to be a big fan....it was probably the chunks of turkey she wasn't liking....she is on and off with being willing to eat "chunky" foods.

Here are some pictures: Michael loved to help decorate the christmas tree....

Sofia loves the bells on the tree.....

Our happy girl...

Michael being crazy....

We had our first snow this past weekend (it has already melted) I am not looking forward to the snow and ice and the wet, muddy mess :(

Michael loved the snow and throwing snowballs at his daddy!!

Sofia did great this week with her PT....she was better this week at sitting with the therapist (Laura) and doing purposeful play, at being on her hands and knees without giving her full support, and being quicker to put her hands down to build her protection skills. When we are working with her we have to try to keep her in sitting or transitioning into lying on her tummy and staying on her tummy......and her favorite position is her back....so she gets pretty frustrated when we prevent her from rolling onto her back. She was actually getting very vocal with both her frustration and when she was having fun with her therapist this week....which is good because she is often just very quiet or cries when they are working with her. Her speech therapist came over on Saturday to see her and Sofia was great at showing off how her vocal range has increased....Sofia gets to have lots of fun with Amy (the speech therapist) because the sessions are all about play!!! She has a follow-up appt with the Developmentalist on Dec 16th. I know Sofia has improved quite a bit from 5 months ago, but it will be interesting to see how she has improved in the testing they do.

That's all for now....I need to get back to studying for my boards!! (only one week to go....yeah!!)

Natalie

Thanksgiving week

Well, I have been trying to upload a couple of videos and is not working :( So you'll have to just look at pictures :)

Tom is "on call" for Thanksgiving and the following weekend, so we are staying at home and having an abbreviated version of Thanksgiving....not quite as elaborate as a typical Lupoli Thanksgiving (no 25 pound turkey for us...a 12 pounder will do). But then Tom gets Christmas off and we are heading down to Florida for 10 days!!! We are going to try to back it to Disney since we never made it before we moved.

This past weekend we went to a local sports bar where the Kansas City Gator Club watches Gator football games...it was nice to meet some fellow Gators!!! The kids only made it to half time, but it was a fun outing....we may consider it for the game this weekend...I guess they get a pretty packed house of Gator fans for the big games. So we all dressed in our Gator outfits...Sofia looked so cute as a cheerleader!! Michael wouldn't sit or stand still long enough for a photo.

Then we went ahead and put on our Christmas tree (we figured why not enjoy it since we will be leaving on the 18th) Michael loved it!!! He was very helpful in hanging decorations. Sofia loves to roll over to the tree and pull off the lower ornaments and kick the branches with her feet. I'll post pictures of them with the tree in a later posting.

Sofia had a 15 month well check this week....she weighed 19 lbs 6 oz (she is up to the 8th percentile from the 5th) and she was 31 1/2 inches long (down from the 95th to the 80th percentile). Her pediatrician seems pleased with how she is doing for now and knows that we are being followed by the specialists. And she got shots....MMR, chickenpox, hep A, and flu. The big event of the doctor's visit was how just before we pulled into the parking lot Michael starting coughing and gagging and threw up his cheerios and juice he had been drinking in the car....what a mess!!! Poor kid had to wear wet pants into the office since I was not prepared with clean pants. And it made for a busy morning of car clean up.....ughh!!

Please feel free to add to the comments section...we love hearing from you!!!

Natalie

Weekly updates

I am really going to try to update every week, and now that I caught up with pictures from my original posting I can start with my updates!!!

Tom is busy right now trying to get all his paperwork in order so he can start working a few shifts a month at a VA hospital in the Kansas City area. It is all about the extra money $ His fellowship is going really well....and it nice having him home every night :)

I am trying to study for board exams...as a PA I need to take them every 6 years to remain certified. The problem is I haven't seen a lot of what is on them in 6 years....Botox injections and spider veins won't be on them. All I want to do is pass....so say a prayer for me on Dec 10th!!

Michael is a very busy 3 year old!! I have gotten involved with a Mom's Club and with teaching a class for 3-5 year olds at our church on Sundays to keep us busy. So we go to lots of playgroups, have our new friends over, and join our new friends for activities around Kansas City. Michael will be starting in a 2-day a week preschool in January.

Sofia is really doing well also. We have therapists come to the house 3 days a week to work with her gross motor skills, feeding, cognition, speech....and she has become so much stronger in just the past couple of months. She is more vocal (no words, but more sounds) and likes to be on the move (by rolling everywhere). She can now sit unassisted, but she still can just come crashing down if she gets off balance....so the boppy or mommy is always close by. We are working on playing more on her tummy and learning to creep so it will hopefully move into crawling. She has discovered now that she can do more with her hands, so I am hoping will move into self-feeding soon.

No news to give on why Sofia has issues with her muscle tone, and I have learned from others with similar children that it can difficult to find an answer.

And can I say that Michael just loves his sister!!! However, sometimes a little too much :)

Natalie

Halloween

Michael wanted to be Peter Pan, so naturally Sofia was Tinkerbell. We had multiply halloween parties to go to and Michael loved trick-or-treating and getting candy!!

Train Ride

In October we went on a train ride in an old passenger train out of Belton, Missouri.....Michael loves trains so he was very excited!!

Pumpkin Patch

We went and picked our own pumpkin this year....there are pumpkin patches all over the place around Kansas City. It was a beautiful day!!! Michael did not want to look at the camera today :(

Trip to Michigan

We traveled to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan at the end of September to visit my Grandfather and the rest of my family. It had been a little over two years since I had been to Michigan, so it was great to see everyone. My Grandmother had passed away earlier in the spring, and I was unable to travel to upper Michigan at that time, so it was very important to me to get to visit this year.

Children's Hospital Picnic Day - Sept 2008

Deanna Rose Farmstead - August/September 2008

Michael loved going to the "farm" to see the animals and just run and play. The farmstead was a great place just down the street from us that was FREE for the most part....just quarters to feed the animals!!

Michael loves his spider man umbrella

Michael likes to pretend it is raining inside - August 2008

I am going to do this blogging thing!!!!

I really want to make this blogging work so here I go again....let me start with more pictures first...

Pictures from Sofia's 1st B-day - Aug 23, 2008