First Steps

Today was a busy day. Olivia had Motor group from 9:30-11:00. Afterwards we had to run some errands. Olivia had fallen asleep a couple of times in the car between all of the driving. After we got home and she had a short nap she had OT. Chris and Christina both came to go over what Olivia is able to do at this point. Next month we will be making new goals for the next 6 months. During therapy Chris wanted to try to get Olivia to take a step or two. She had Olivia hold onto the handle of a wooden spoon and then Chris held the top. Once Olivia started a step Chris let go and Olivia took 5 steps towards me all by herself. Wow, that was such a great moment! I was almost in tears. Chris and Christina were also on the verge of tears. Olivia is a smart girl and caught on to what we were doing really quick. She did not want us to let go of her. She was able to take several more steps all by herself until the end of therapy. When Matt got home I showed him what she had done and Matt was also able to see her take a few steps all by herself. Everything has been baby steps with Olivia. It's amazing how you appreciate every single one of those baby steps that she does take. I am so very grateful for everyone who works with Olivia. They have done such an amazing job. Olivia absolutely loves this team. Her eyes lighten up when she sees them.

Just so I can remember myself of everyone who has contributed with Olivia's therapy I need to write it down. OT-Chris (has done such a tremendous job on overall development. I have had some really good talks with Chris that have help me through it all.), Vision-Terry (amazing with Olivia. Always has a new song to sing to Olivia and they are the best songs I've heard. Helps with her overall development. Love Terry.), PT- Tiffany and now Mark Jones (I used to work with Mark at Now I Can), Speech- Lizzie (just started speech last month).

Olivia has started to sign more, milk, and open. She can say mama, dada, nana (banana), hi, and here. Olivia loves getting into all of the cupboards and pulling everything out. Olivia loves the water including bath time and swimming. She loves singing songs and playing with Myles.

Sweet Moments

Myles, Olivia, and I were driving to Ikea today. We were passing Matt's work at the point of the mountain when Myles and I had this conversation:

Myles: Mom, is that Jenny's work?
Me: No, that is where Matt works.
Myles: Where does Jenny work?
Me: Jenny works in Kaysville.
Myles: Where does dad work?
Me: Dad works in South Salt Lake.
Myles: Where does grandpa work?
Me: Grandpa works in Centerville.
Myles: Where does grandma work?
Me: Grandma works in South Weber.
Myles: No, grandma lives in South Weber.

On the way home from Ikea we had another funny conversation:

Myles: Is dad home, mom?
Me: No, not yet.
Myles: Yes he is. I can smell him.
Me: Smell him? What does he smell like?
Myles: He smells like Chex.
Me: Chex? Like the cereal?
Myles: Yeah!

Swimming Lessons

Over the last two weeks Myles has been taking swimming lessons at the Legacy Center. Boy, Myles sure did love it and it has done wonders for him being in the water. Myles has always enjoyed swimming as long as it is in the middle of the summer and blasting hot outside. Myles gets cold in the water so fast if there is any sort of chill in the air he is outta there. So there has definitely been some reservations with Myles and the water. After the two weeks he is so much more comfortable in the water and he loves it. I love to see him enjoying it so much too. Laurie had Zack, Derek, and Austin take lessons at the same time. Myles loved that Austin was in his class. They were attached at the hip the entire time during class.

Myles blowing bubbles in the water

Myles learning how to float on his stomach and his back.

Olivia and I just hanging out and watching Myles swim.

Myles showing off his certificate of completion. Yeah! He can move on to preschool level 2. Good job buddy!

October Weekend: Camping and Harvest Party

On Friday evening we met up with James and his kids and Greg and Mary and their girls in American Fork Canyon to camp over night. James let us borrow his Land Rover, so we could take our trailer up there. I think that was our third time using our trailer in 5 years. Too bad we don't have a car to pull the trailer because it was really nice to be able to take it. I never grew up going camping with a trailer, so I've always been pretty partial with the trailer. It was really nice though to take it and be able to all sleep nice and warm all through the night. We really need to do that again.

Myles was so excited to sleep in the trailer that he insisted on going to bed. I don't even know what time it was, but I'm sure it was before his normal bed time. I didn't bring any books to read to him and he insisted on a book. I was able to find an Aurthur coloring book that had a little message for each page and that sufficed him.

The next morning we had pancakes for breakfast and went fishing. Matt and Myles were so excited to go fishing. Myles has been talking about going fishing all summer. Even though they didn't catch anything I think they still had a good time. The temperature was nearly perfect (upper 60's). It was just a nice day to be up in the mountains on a fall afternoon.

Sitting at the camp fire Friday night. This is the only picture I took the entire time up there. I'm kind of sad about that because it was so beautiful, but sometimes I don't like being caught up taking pictures the entire time that I'm not actually enjoying the moment that I am in.

On Saturday evening we drove up to Lois and Ron's place for their annual Harvest Party. Just like every year it was so much fun. The soups, scones, hot chocolate, and desserts were not a disappointment. We had a great time on the hayride, feeding the fish, jumping on the trampoline, breaking the pinata, and visiting with family. I love getting together at this event every year. The weather was so nice the entire time. We only needed a jacket once the sun went down.

Creating a Family Document

The first year Matt and I got married we went to Costco and we bought 8 leather bound beautiful picture books to keep all of our pictures in and document our life. Five and half years have gone by and I have only filled a few of the those pages of Myles when he was first born. There are so many options out there now to keep records of pictures. I've decided that I am more likely to keep up with documenting our life by keeping it on a family blog and then printing it later into a book. There is so much going on in our life and I want to remember it. Myles is getting so big and doing and saying so much. He is such a great brother. He loves to play, wrestle, and love Olivia. Myles is starting to learn how to spell his name, mine, Matt's, and Olivia's. He can hardly wait to start school. He still has two more years and I will hold on to those two years as much as possible. I want to remember the little things he is doing that are so sweet to me. Olivia is also taking off. She is crawling (just started a little over a month ago) all over the place and getting into everything (just within the last week). I am so thankful for all the messes she is making. It means she is exploring and learning. I just need to get over the messes for now. Olivia is saying dada, mama, hi, and yum yum. Within the last couple of weeks she started to give you a five and 3 days ago when my parents stopped by on their way to Las Vegas Olivia waved by several times. The bigger Olivia gets them more Myles and Olivia do together. They are so sweet together. Myles is always looking over Olivia and making sure she is happy. Myles is however, getting bigger and doesn't want some of his things played with and can be protective of those things. That means Olivia can't touch. That's okay.

Although I have 5 1/2 years of catching up I am going to try to start at the beginning and current and go forward. Occasionally I will add past events as I am able.