Saturday, August 24, 2013

Trip to Maryland

Last Saturday we packed up the car with Annabelle, Clyde, Apollo, Brian and me and headed to Maryland to visit Brian's parents.  It's amazing how much luggage a 2 year old requires, pack n play, high chair, stroller, clothes, diapers, toys, etc.  Thankfully we have the car top carrier so the dogs can come with us in the back of the Tucson.

We had a wonderful visit and even got out on the boat two days.  We headed home on Thursday so Annabelle could get back to school Friday.  Such a great time & got some great pics.


On our way!  Thanks to a friend, Annabelle had a DVD player to watch movies for the 8 hour ride.

Took a walk down to the marina


Silly girl as the dogs watch on


Out on the boat 

 Loved her float that PopPop got her for our 2nd day out


 Morning smiles

Daddy crashed with the dogs for a short nap

Annabelle and her sidekick Clyde

Playing and watching Disney Jr

Cuddles with Clyde

She was laying on his paws, he doesn't mind

Rides on PopPop's golf cart




Ready to go :)

 Heading to the barn


Sat on the tractor in the barn 



So big

Relaxing on the hammock

Kitchen sink bath, might be the last year we can do this.

Caught in the act - feeding Apollo from the table

Playing with PopPop

loves the boat

Perfect day :) 



Snack on the water 


Playing with daddy

Using Clyde to practice standing 

He's the best dog!

Playing with PopPop while I took the dogs out in the morning 

Cutest bathroom ever at rest area, "mommy & me" with a built in seat to hold her and tiny potty

Picnic lunch at the rest stop on our way home


Monday, August 5, 2013

Busy Summer

This summer has just been flying by!  We have been enjoying our days with stories in the park, play dates, the zoo, music class and lots of other fun outings.

Annabelle is still attending school two days a week at CP Rochester through the summer in their Early Intervention program and loves it!  She will be starting September 3rd in the preschool program 5 days a week.  She met her new teacher last week and they seemed to hit it off right away.  Apparently all the teachers were asking which class she was moving into because they were hoping it was theirs :).  

All of her therapies are going well, we added two new ones to the mix, feeding and horse therapy.  The feeding is going well but she really loves the Hippo-therapy!  She had her first one last week and rode Prince Charming, a beautiful white pony.  This session goes till the end of the month then I think we are going to enroll her into the fall session as well.  Riding the horse will help with her balance, walking, strength, and many other aspects of development.  We are hoping this is what will give her the extra help to walk soon!  The only down side is that it's not covered under any program so we have to pay out of pocket and ponies are not cheap!

A couple weeks ago Annabelle had a Swallow Study done at Strong Hospital to make sure that she is not aspirating at all when swallowing different foods / liquids.  They mix different things with Barium in it so they can xray her esophagus and see what's happening.  The test was a success and all her foods & liquids were going straight to her stomach as they should be.  They did say we should keep with blended foods and stay away from hard things, like pretzels, that she could choke on because of her immature tongue movement and chewing.

This past Saturday we went to a very cool place called Hidden Valley Animal Adventure.  They had a trolly you ride through the park and get to feed all kinds of wild animals.  We saw yaks, bison, water buffalo, zebras, a camel named Randy, ostridge, cows, pigs, and so many others.  Annabelle had so much fun!  After the trolly ride we went to the petting zoo, she wanted to pet every animal that came up to us.  It was such a wonderful day & the weather was perfect!

Yesterday after doing some shopping at the local farm market Annabelle pointed that she wanted to play in her playroom (she's getting good at communicating what she wants).  I told her I had to clean some fruits & veggies so I was going up to the kitchen.  She nodded letting me know it was ok so I went up and started putting things away, all the while having her up on the playroom webcam on my iPad.  Typically she would sit in one spot and just look around or start scooting out of the playroom to find me.  I couldn't believe that she played independently for over 30 minutes!  She pulled toys off the shelf and moved all around playing with different things.  It probably doesn't seem like much for some, but for me this was the first time she actively explored in another room without me having to be there prompting her.  I was so proud of her and happy I got to watch it on the webcam too :).

Pics are in kind of random order, need to figure out how to post them by date but for now this works!

 Looking for a book to read

Craft time - putting tissue paper on contact paper that I drew on for her

Daddy & Annabelle at Hidden Valley

Ready to go for the trolly ride!

 Love this pic, they were looking at the water buffalo right next to the trolly 






Riding back to the lodge


The llama made me a little nervous



 Going for a run with mommy, so excited

new trampoline 



Lucas was roaring like a lion and Annabelle was cracking up <3

Watching some disney, having a snack in the learning tower

 snacks with friends at the zoo

 my little butterfly

Annabelle, Sara, and Prince Charming 

 Playing at the park with Abe

Loves the little cars at Jungle Jolt (indoor playground)



 Feeding the ducks on the bay



 Loves the boat, although the weather hasn't been great for many trips out

Pond themed bath

 Having (another) snack time

Swimming with daddy



Craft time - finger (full body) painting  


This girl loves her crafts - coloring 

 Getting ready at her vanity

water painting on the driveway 
 and of course chalk drawing too!

First horse therapy



 Wegmans makes dairy free chocolate chips so I had to make her cookies :)

playing with bubbles, this is right after biting one (like Clyde does).  Love this smile!!!