Chicago trip

The best moments are those that you cannot capture on film. We had a lot of fun in Chicago, but the time we spent together and the pure joy that this brought us will be the most treasured moment of them all.
So blessed to have such wonderful children and a hard working, fun loving daddy. The most important things in this world were standing right next to us the whole time. This was a much needed break from our routine at home and while the attractions were okay, it was all made better because we spent two entire days filled with complete and genuine time together.

We made our way to the Lincoln Park Zoo in downtown Chicago. Free admission every day, but half the animals were missing. There was no flow and seemed like more chaos than it might have really been worth. Daddy and the two older kids made their way to a MLS game that same night and enjoyed watching the Seattle Sounders against the Chicago Fire. We enjoyed some original Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza, in which I fully regret that I was not prepared for that much cheese! It made my occasional lactose intolerant body shirk in the mere typing of it. Intense!

We woke up the next morning and struggled to find any kind of parking for less than $17! We made our way into the highly recommended stop of the Shedd Aquarium only to be disappointed that the best exhibits of Whales, Dolphins and Penguins are on vacation while they are renovating. No price discount for missing these-definitely something to think about for next time. We took advantage of the 4-D fully interactive experience in the auditorium with a Sponge Bob movie- TOTALLY worth it!! the best 8 minutes of paid entertainment!! We followed up with some driving around downtown because we were lost er I mean enjoying the weather and had a deliciously overpriced meal at the Rainforest cafe.

Overall a good time.

Something we will all remember for years to come. Can't wait for our next adventure this summer as we hope to make our way to St. Louis!

Are we there yet?

standing next a photo of what might have appeared to be relatives if you witnessed the madness they created at our arrival of something other than more riding in the car.

Looking for that elusive animal or trying to get in, either way, fine with me :)

Quality time with Daddy

Is apparently comfortable with her tongue hanging out.

in our hotel room, before we left for the aquarium

my favorite part.
Just watching them.

Now, back to reality.....

Goodbye Chicago, we'll see you again soon!

Say it ain't so

We have noticed over time, that our sweet, sometimes obnoxious two year old is changing. His eyes are different when you look into them and he's becoming more and more like his big brother.

I have scheduled a screening with an autism specialist for Nooshie. She is the local early childhood intervention specialist. She evaluates young children and then helps the parents get them the resources their child might need.
I have put off this phone call for a while, because I wanted to believe that Nooshie's New little quirks, were just that. He would grow out of it soon and he would be okay.

It has only continued to get worse. Our little boy is slipping away from our reality into his own.
We decided that our trip to Chicago would be a great time to really evaluate every little thing he did. He would be out of routine and subject to a lot of changes.

It was eye opening.
It was heartbreaking.

He has ticks. Not the bugs, but the kind that can get super annoying especially when you are sitting in the same car with him for three hours straight. He coughs, like clearing your throat kind of a mini cough. He sniffs, too many times to count, but has no runny nose or allergies.
He doesn't respond to his name as often anymore. It takes longer and longer to get his attention. His verbal communication is fantastic for a child this age, and yet we had conversations with him that neither of us could understand. He is mumbling, he slurs. His eye contact has diminished. His constant need for dad, while annoying at times, is just like his brother. He still wakes in the middle of the night for what we believe is no reason. Ready for the day at 1am. The urge to just run, no matter where we are. No fear. The need to constantly move his feet, even while we are sitting, the inability to find comfort in pants, underwear or diapers and these are just a few.

I just finished completing a sensory profile for Chan's new occupational therapist and while I was shocked at how many things are sensory related for him, it was more shocking to realize that they are ALL also true for our little guy.

The need to rub his hand or an object against the wall as we walk, the demands to repeat the things he says in the exact tone he says it.

All of these are things that can easily go unnoticed and or written off as a stage a child goes through. Unless you have already been through this stage with another child and realize they don't ever grow out of it. We thought we were bad parents with Chan. Boys are different than girls, we were told. It was comforting to find out it wasn't us. It actually was him.

We don't view a diagnosis as a disability, but rather an ability. The ability to help him have a better, more productive life. We don't know what it is like to live in his world, but we hope to give him the advantage to live life in ours.

Our appointment is on Wednesday. I hope to learn a lot. This is just the beginning, but I feel better all ready.

A Piece of me

I know for a fact that I am a big city kind of girl. I just happen to be living in a small town in Iowa.

I realized as we entered the traffic, the commotion, the sign of life being lived- that a piece of my soul will forever be in a large city. I rolled my window down and took a deep breath of the foul air and it was the most revitalizing thing I have done in a long while.
I have to admit, it was difficult to return to Iowa. We talked ourselves out of staying an extra day, then an extra week and eventually talked ourselves out of moving permanently to Chicago. We would rather move to Minneapolis anyway.

We have had some great things happen in Iowa, no waiting lists for Chan, little to no traffic, only traveling 1,000 miles in 8 months time. You get the idea. Laid back, easy going life here.

I loved that our license plate said Illinois so we weren't treated like drivers from out of state. We had "Emily" (our navigation system) tell us where to go so we didn't look like we were lost. It felt good. It felt so natural.

My heart lept out of my chest as we approached the part of Lake Michigan that is attached to that side of the state. It was so blue and so big. I miss the ocean, I miss the mountains, but that was easy to forget about with all the tall buildings that bordered the skyline for miles and miles.
Oh, how I know someday it will be me living in the suburb and sitting in traffic on a Saturday for over 40 minutes. Iowa is my home for now, but Chicago has my heart.

So beautiful! What a wonderful weekend, and the weather was perfect!!

Super Duper Excited!

Lick your blue lips and shred toilet paper all over the place kind of excited!!

We are going on a little weekend getaway and we could not be more excited!!
C only gets two complete (Saturday and Sunday) weekends off from April to September, and this weekend is one of them. We are leaving our small little town behind and we will be living it up in the BIG city!! YAY!!

Cupcake Cuties

A few days back we had some friends come over after school. The main activity was cupcake makin. It was a lot of fun and everybody was on a serious sugar high. It had nothing to do with licking all the frosting knives when we were done either :). It was probably the kool-aid drinks we had sitting around by the dozen.

Chan had his BFF Pickles and Beans had her BFF Josie. Pickles brothers and sister stayed and had fun too. It was a lot of chaos, but I would totally do it again. This was the same day Nooshie decided to paint the floor with the food coloring. Good times.

I baked over 40 cupcakes and had 5 different colors of frosting and 6 different types of frosting. There are seriously way too many pictures to post them all, but you get the idea.

Uh, yeah. It may have something to do with licking the frosting knives. :)

Blowing off steam, literally

Not just a flat tire.

A need for a new one, because we must be made of money :)

A big Thanks again to the Really cool people who dropped everything to save my day :)

There need to be more days like this

Do you know whAt is more fun thAn picking A gAzillion dAndelions?

NOTHING!!!!