Summer has begun!

Here we are in June and my last post was in the winter sometime. I was working at Meijer for a while doing some cake decorating and now I am doing it on my own as a business. Please let me know if anyone is interested in a cake of any kind...

Anyway, Makenzie continues to remain the same. We have 'taken a break' from feeding therapy. She had about 6 week 'cold' that wouldn't go away. She is still having vomiting issues, but a little less frequent. They were everyday 1-2 times a day from mid-April until the end of May. They are only happening every other/few days. We have changed formulas to a more protein based toddler formula. I am in constant contact with the neuro-developmental clinic in town. This is the place we visit every 6 months for a thorough exam of her cognitive, physical and nutritional overview. We usually meet with all varieties of doctors/nurses, ie nurse practioner, neuro doctor (specialist), nutritionist, physical therapist, occupational therapist and sometimes the social worker. They also have a speech path there too, but we haven't come that far yet.

Here is a picture of Makenzie on her specialized bike.
Sorry, off on a tangent, but we did see the pediatric ophthamologist (eye dr) again in May. He did say her vision is improving still, but slowly. One eye is definitely better than the other (can't remember the numbers now and haven't received his report yet). He showed us the letter E on the chart on how big she is seeing things and one was about half the size of the other. Her eyes are still working one at a time, not together like most of ours do. No need for surgery at this point, and the patching didn't seem to work for her, so we have stopped for now. He doesn't need to see her for a whole year. We think he is waiting for her to improve neurologically (aren't we all).


Sydney was in her first organized sport this spring: soccer.
Sydney will be starting Kindergarten in the fall at the 'new' elementary (same as Kaitlyn's school). They have made some changes to the school district here in Kenowa Hills and are closing Kaitlyn's current elementary, Walker Station, so they will be attending Central Elementary in the fall. Same distance from our house, just in a different direction. She is SO ready to start school, even though she will be 4 turning 5 in Oct. She is reading books now for over a year now and has discovered fluency. She is really sounding out words like you wouldn't believe. We check the 'easy reader books' out all the time and she is reading those mini books very well. We have flash cards for pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade and she has mastered the pre-K and almost all the Kindergarten words. It will be fun to see her attend Kindergarten in the fall. She will be going 2 full days and every other Friday.

Kaitlyn playing softball this year with the girls league...
Kaitlyn has completed the 1st grade and will be in 2nd grade at Central Elementary. She has done very well with her writing, reading and math this year. She had straight 1s (similar to As) last quarter and are expecting no less this last quarter. She is SO excited about learning about money and become a real reader this year. It's been fun watching her grow as a person and learning SO much this year. I was fortunate to volunteer with reading every other week this year and have noticed how the kids have changed as readers. Amazing the confidence they have.


Ken is still employed with Herman Miller in the IT dept. We have both taking up farming this year (just a garden really), but it's been fun already. We planted mid-May and we have already harvested lettuce and radishes. We have zucchini and cherry tomatoes on the vines already and are waiting for the many peppers and green beans to blossom.

Everyday is a new day for us, hoping we can get through and have a few smiles. We are enjoying the warm weather and hope to have many more this summer. Our small pool is still functioning and hope to for a few more years. The girls are getting big, so we'll see.

Looking forward to our vacation to NC to visit Daryl and family in early July (and hopefully Rene and family on the way home in KY).

Trying to keep up with this, so email me if you don't see a post in a while.

Take care.

Florida gifts for Kaitlyn's birthday

Thank you to the Zientek's and Grandma Greer for all the great gifts for Kaitlyn's birthday. In these pictures you will see the girls helping (and playing) with Makenzie as she opens her's. By the way, Saundra, Makenzie LOVES her yellow duck that quacks and Grandma's fishy that sings songs.

The dresses were a hit for Easter.... AND every Sunday we go to church. I can't get them to wear anything else.

Thank you, thank you...

So much has happened...

OK, so I'm not real good at keeping up the blog, but I am keeping up with my life as a stay at home mom. It has it's ups and downs, but we're making it work somehow...

MAKENZIE...
We did see the pediatric opthamologist (eye dr) the end of Jan and he gave us a good report. Her vision is obviously improving with her focusing farther and clearer. It has made her world a little easier to live in. She is less fussy with her eye sight improving. He said her vision is the equivalent to a one year old, but still has the nystagmous (jerkiness) and her eyes do not align. The alignment may take time or may need a surgery down the line, we will see.

Since her vision is improving there is not as much fussiness. She is aging too, which helps. She is more manageable as far as her mood, so let's hope this area keeps improving too.

She still needs work in head control, sitting, standing and walking, but we are working on all of these things. The playgroup we go to at her school really push us to help her try to do things on her own. We are even working on kneeing (which isn't easy for the spotter, let me tell you). We support her to sit by herself in front or on the side of us. She doesn't like it too much, only if Elmo or Sid the Scientist is on (PBS). She does like walking in the walker sometimes. She does this at school AND at her PT (physical therapy) appts.

She is still going to feeding therapy. Not much improvements, minor, but nothing outstanding. She only tolerates a few tastes at a time. She doesn't like much in her mouth as far as food or tastes go. She can only have real thick substances like baby food, pudding or yogurt.

Not alot of improvement only in the vision area at this point. They are telling me she is getting stronger in her trunk, so I hope she starts to have more head control and other things.

KAITLYN
Kaitlyn LOVES the first grade. Her teacher is really nice and really cares for all the kids. She is getting all 1s (highest mark)!!! She had a hard time with math in the beginning of the year, but is working right along now and her reading is getting SO much better. She is reading so fluently now! It's amazing what a year can do.

SYDNEY
Sydney LOVES her preschool class. She goes 3 mornings a week and absolutely LOVES going. She is a little ahead of her class. The teacher told us at the beginning of the year she would be ready for Kindergarten next year, so the two girls will probably go to the same school next year. We have yet to hear when Kindergarten round up is, but hopefully in April.

They are making some changes in our school district and will be closing Walker Station Elementary where Kaitlyn currently attends. They will be going to the 'Intermediate School' (which will be renamed to an elementary next year) which is the same distance from our house, just in the opposite direction.

That's all for now. Let me know if you want to hear about a specific event next time and I will try to include that in my next post.

Here's a few pictures at Christmas...





Happy Valentine's Day!