Sunday, September 30, 2012

Ability Camp - Week 4

Oh Week number four, you were my Everest!!! This was probably the hardest week here for me. The people I am here with are amazing and truly some of the sweetest people to meet. I am grateful for all their help with Jacey, my dishes, my sick whining, my throw my child at them to run and barf, my blah sick self. THANKS!!! After my teary goodbye to Gramma and my dad, we busted into week number 4. Jacey had been kind of sniffly and sneezy and I was getting concerned she was getting sick. So I loaded up on some type of organic-y cold medicine for kids which really helped her. I on the other hand was a different case. I started the day after her and was runny nosed, sneezy and a bit coughy. When I get sick, I turn into this sore, mushy baby-esque version of myself. I felt terrible, not to mention still icky pregnant. Needless to say it was a looooong week in the sick department. Everyone here was so sweet, would grab dishes for me, and help with Jacey as much as possible. Sooo very much cared for. Jacey was a trooper and still went to class and chamber which I wasn't sure she would be ok to do but rocked it as per usual. She was also a class A potty girl. TMI ALERT: She deuced every day in class on the potty and also did either 2 or 3 pee's. PAROUD MOM ALERT!!! She just rocked it, and even though she had some accidents here and there, more in the pots than out which to me screams success. Plus she totally recognized when she did do it in her pants. Sooo I am gonna go ahead and say she rocks the pot. Her walking has really improved. The conductor is having me work on being in front of her rather than behind guiding her hips. She is pretty wobbly and needs constant reminders to step and push her walker, but it is developing and it is so so cool to see her do it. I am beyond excited to think that one day this kid is just going to take off and walk. Her fine motor is also doing much better, she is grasping things more appropriately and working to manipulate them better. Loving it. She is still as nosy as ever, constantly needing to be reminded to "look where she is going instead of where she's been", "quit watching others and get to work", "focus, focus, focus!" hehe I love that about her, although sometimes it makes me want to poke her in the eye. We had fun as a group this week, cooking together and doing some play dates. We made pom pom's for all the kids to help cheer on the two adults in the stroke program when they did their walking. It was really cute, and the kids loved to cheer for them. Aek and Ruthie were excited to have a cheering squad, even though most of the cheerleaders were trying to eat their pom pom's. Saturday we went to pick up Nanny Bird. We were so excited and talked about it all day. When the time came....Jacey scream cried and clung to my shoulder. It was a bit of a sad reunion, but after a few minutes she got used to the idea that Nanny was here at camp. So they became fast friends and now I am dead to her. Yup, she is all about her nanny....although she can't quite figure out where her Poppy is as they are usually a package deal. Hehe Getting excited to be done this week and head to Newfoundland. Excited to see family and reconnect...then off to see my hubby. Oh how I miss that guy. Love him and am proud of him letting us go for another long spell. He tells me he misses his ladies often. Thank goodness for Skype. Anyways that is all that is new, glad to have nanny and company, excited to be done. Love you all, Alyson and Jacey

Monday, September 24, 2012

Ability Camp, Week 3 under the belt!

Well we are now past the half way mark for camp being done. On a different note, I am only EXACTLY one half of the way away from being at home. Jon's mom and I along with Jacey (cause she is mostly the one people want to see) are going back to Newfoundland for a week after camp. We are excited, and by we, I mean me b/c let's face it...Jacey doesn't even know!!! Anyways back to being over half done camp. HURRAY!!!!! We had a fun, eventful, visitors welcome kinda week. Jacey got into the groove right on Monday morning and worked hard. She earned all of her stickers and is now one of the top potty kids in her class. I love looking at her potty chart and seeing the rows of stickers and know she has great potty skills. (They probably come from me!) We were super, super excited to have Great Gramma Hinko and Grampa Hinko come to visit this week too. It was not a super long visit, but great to have some new blood in this joint and some help for this mama. I am still friends with the toilet in the mornings and sometimes afternoons....I curse morning sickness! (In a YEAH I am grateful for a baby out of it at the end, but will this ever end kind of way) So we picked up our guests and brought them back to camp, it was late Wednesday night but they were able to meet most of our housemates. (If I didn't look around and remind myself where I am, the housemates comment would seem almost Jersey Shore or Real World-esque....it is not) Jacey woke up super early on Thursday and the first word out of her mouth was "Papa". It was like she wondered if it was real or a dream. She called out for him and we had to make our way down the hall to find him. Sorry Gramma, I love you but you were definitely second fiddle to the Grampa this week. hehe We had some breakfast and they came to our room to watch some stretches and morning prep. We also had individuals today and they were able to come into class and observe her work. She worked so well for me and really was trying to impress Grampa with her soccerball kicking skills. (Probably not from me) We had some lunch and Grampa went into the dive for the afternoon, he was sure nervouse, but did fantastic! The other moms really helped him, he began to call it "The Hole". I was proud of him and really glad he could give the other moms a break who were helping me take Jacey in. We did some driving around in the evening and killed some time sightseeing all the little farms and cute houses in the area. Also did a drive down by the lake to see the water, some really great waves. The next day was a more veg day. Gramma and I baked like 10 dozen cookies (which were ALL eaten by like 8 o'clock that night.) People around here love homemade baking or anything "homey". Grampa did another dive and we made our way around again scouting out some other drives. We were in time to have a pizza party with the whole house. There was a sweet adult here from Jersey who threw the pizza party for the crowd because it was his second last night and he wanted to get together with everyone and visit. It was awesome! Everyone really enjoyed the food and the company was great. I think that Grampa and Great Gramma really got to see the community of special families at work and feel the sweet spirit that accompanies each. One of the adults who was leaving even teared up and said that he just could not believe that love and dedication in each family. Watching everyone work together and care for each other here. It was just a really great night. Saturday was a kinda more boring day. Two dives, and I was not sure both would happen for Grampa, but he did it and did great. We headed out for supper that night to a roadhouse grill and it was sure tasty. Sunday was a nice break day. We decided to skip dives and take our time touring down here up to Belleville so that Grampa and Great Gramma could get some sights in. We toured around Bloomfiled and Wellington and saw the big houses on the water, visited a winery for them, got some great pics of farmers fields, pumpkin fields and dairies. It was sure nice. Topped off with lunch at Montana's before they caught their train. There may or may not have been two teary phone calls to my hubby and sister/mom. (Ok there was TOTALLY teary calls) I was sick, Jacey was getting a cold and my only help left me. I was kinda a mess yesterday. BUT we got home had some supper, dessert and hit the sack early. OH WAIT, only Jacey hit the sack early. The other moms here had prepared an Emmy Party as the Emmy awards were one last night. It was sooo what I needed. We all got in pj's, cooked up some appe's and snacks and got drinks and vegged out in front of the tv to watch the awards. Such a needed veg night. I loved it and am excited to have another mommy night tonight to see Dancing with the Stars. (Which I have never followed before but some other mommies have and are really excited....and let's face it, what else will I do?!?) So that is our week wrapped up. Only like 5ish days until Nanny Bird comes and I am excited to really take it easy then...get ready Nanny!!! Then off to Newfieland and some family...and then my sweet hubby. Can't wait to see him! Thanks again for all the love and support guys. - Love Alyson and Jacey

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Jacey at Ability Camp - Week 2 Finito!!!

Well another week has passed at good ol' ability camp. Not a crazy week but a busy week none the less. Leslie headed home on Saturday night and enjoyed a night in Toronto all by herself to veg out after hanging with us two crazy girls for a week. Jacey and I were all by ourselves. Poor kid, me being sick has made for not the most patient. And adding in her CARAZY 5:30 wake ups has made me contemplate some serious eye poking...alas I haven't and won't but I have put serious thought into it. Jacey is doing really well in class. Working hard, and really having fun with her little friends. She is especially close to another girl, Kaley, who was with us in our very first session in April. Kaley adores Jacey and is constantly trying to "baby" her. I am unsure if it is because Jacey crawls lots, or her bibs or what but she is often trying to have her back up onto her lap or petting her hair and back. She also is an adamant remover of objects from Jacey's mouth. She is from a french family and is often telling Jacey, " Non Bouche!", which means, not in your mouth. hehe It is hilarious and I am hoping maybe another language will help Jacey understand that it is not ok. They do EVERYTHING together, eat, play, watch shows together and Kaley's mom is helping by doing our dives with Jacey for me. So she rocks and Kaley even in there is trying to adjust Jacey's hood and things to make sure she is comfortable hehe. So fun for Jacey to have a friend, it gives me hope that school will not be so hard and that she will attract some little friends. There are three moms who are rotating cooking so that we can have a break every couple days and it is working out lovely. I love that the smells in the kitchen aren't a constant iffy matter for me. Also the fun, different meals are great! Jacey has never been so adventurous with her meals, so proud! I have also been able to make sure I get some sleep in`s going on. Once Jacey is in class and I don`t need to be in for the day I head back to bed for another couple hours and it helps to calm my tummy. I am really enjoying these little times which allow me to "pamper" myself at ability camp. (For those who know what ability camp looks like, you would not believe the pamper comment) hehe For the love, this place is a beaut! This weekend the mommies decided that no one wanted to cook and we needed to get outta here before we all went stir crazy in the second week. Sooo there was a tiny little fair in town. When I mean tiny, I mean tiny. There are probably like 100 people in Milford and so the fair had a little petting zoo of 5-6 animals, a farmers market-esque table set up where people sold goods, some live music and a couple snack trucks. Another awesome feature was a fake cow complete with an udder and bucket. You could milk a holstein cow and it shot out into the bucket and you got a sticker that read "I milked a cow". Yup, country or what?!? So funny. It was a fun 40 minutes of time killing and then we headed into town and got some food at a diner and it was a nice day. The kids enjoyed getting out and the mom's enjoyed being away from camp. The next day a few of us moms ventured out to a place called Little Bluff, a cute little rocky shore near the water. We packed a picnic and headed out at the insistance of one mom. She had been there before and was telling us how great it was. We got there and she had neglected to tell us that there was a hike of death! No joke, a steep, rocky, no stroller, Alyson wearing terrible flip flop death trap. The other mom is shorter and tinier than I am and has a little man who outweighs Jacey by 2. Soooo we both hummed and hawed about going down this trail to the water. The other mom was like "no worries I can carry them all, no problem." It was a problem. Anyways so we both took a deep breath and headed down, and no one died. It was really pretty and the kids loved throwing rocks in the water. The hike back up was deadly and I had to warn everyone that although I was not a smoker, I would develop a smoker's breathing for like 5 minutes and to not be alarmed!! hehe Anyways, we all lived and the kids had fun. That wraps up our lovely second week. We are flying through it, I think the fact that it is not a ten weeker has really made it speed by. We love you all and appreciate all the thoughts and prayers for us. Take care and know that we miss you. - Alyson and Jacey

Monday, September 10, 2012

Ability Camp...Round 3!!

Well for those of you who know, we headed back to Jacey's Ability Camp this past week. We saw such improvement from the 10 week stint we did in April - June that we knew we were going to head back. We just didn't think it would be this soon! The camp was offering free hyperbaric sessions with September camp (we found out about 2.5 weeks before it was to start). Soooo Jon and I hummed and hawed and thought about it. Could we be prepared in less than 3 weeks? What about her GRIT and preschool and Edmonton Conductive Education? What about Jon in school and unable to come? Is there any other family who would come so soon to help me? All of these crazy questions....but here we are and things have worked out great. Although in true Bird organizational fashion we found out that I could not participate myself in the hyperbaric sessions, as WE ARE EXPECTING ANOTHER TINY BIRD!!!! This is super exciting, terrifying and nausea inducing. Jon and I had decided after the last camp that perhaps adding another littler person to our brood would be a good thing. I felt like with Jacey progressing so much and starting school and things that I would not lose my mind completely. Aaaand BOOM another baby in the making! However, that meant I could not do hyperbarics, so with the sweetness of the family who are visiting and some great friends who are at camp with thier kids, Jacey will hopefully get all of her dives! As for Miss Bird's week. My little sister Leslie came with me and helped get organized. Jacey thought is was great having Auntie Leslie around to play with and help her. I have been quite sick (super fun) and so Leslie did an awful lot for me while she was here. The flight and drive were long as usual but there were smiles when we got in the door and worked on organizing our room and seeing our old friends. I was worried that the next morning Jacey would freak out at seeing Kriztina but she pushed poor Leslie out of the way to get to her. There were happy shreiks, many blown kisses and reaching for her instructor. (Whewph for the no tears!!) So she has been a rock star walking in to class and working hard with her equipment and things. I am so proud of her and how well she has adjusted. She is eating like a champ and sleeping through the hyperbarics with her friend. However, I would love it if she would be less punk-ish and sleep in a bit more. 6 am comes stinking early, and class doesn't begin until 8:30. Ugh!!! I am feeling ok. Sick off and on throughout the day. Some are better than others, but being so communal is tricky. Many smells, the bathrooms are not your own to be sick in (THE WORST PART) and of course working with Jacey is hard work anyways when you feel good never mind all yucky! So it is a fun thing for sure. Makes me grateful for all the help coming. Leslie was here the first week and then my dad and Gramma Hinko are coming for about 5 days in a week and a half and then Jon's mom will come for a week at the end. So I am only alone for a bout 2.5 weeks which is do-able. We are then heading to Newfoundland for a week to visit family. Excited to see them but hard to be away from Jon for another week. We'll see how things all go! Anyways Bird girl will be done a dive in a few minutes so I should go and check on supper and her. Sweet Thai Chili Chicken in the slow cooker....mmmmm..or ugh....I guess we will see! Love you all and miss you! Love- Jacey and Alyson