A couple pics

This is a picture I took of my pretty little Caiti. She loves being outside and playing in the leaves, water, whatever. If I let her, she would be outside all day. I just thought I would post this picture of Jason to show that his eyes are changing. I'm going to have another brown-eyed boy!

Christmas was...Different.

This year, Kevin had to work on Christmas, so we decided to go ahead and pretend the 23rd was Christmas Eve and the 24th was Christmas...after all Christ really wasn't born on the 25th...right? So what does it matter what day we celebrate his birth. We had a pretty nice dinner. We ended up having ham, stuffing and green bean casserole...in a Christine sort of way...If you know me and my cooking, that should explain itself. We then watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional which was very nice and brought in the spirit of Christmas. We opened the presents from "Santa on Christmas Eve." That was pretty fun. Santa gave me some fuzzy pajamas and super comfy dearform slippers. I thought I didn't like slippers, but I thought wrong. The kids got jammies as well. After the kids went to bed, Kevin and I had a nice time just getting everything ready for Christmas morning.

Of course, Jason and I were the first ones up and we waited in anticipation for Kevin and Garrett and Caiti to get up. We opened up all the presents under the tree. The kids got some great toys, dvd's, clothes, etc. I was very happy with all of the presents they received and want to thank everyone who sent such great gifts. Kevin got me my favorite present ever, a GPS. I am so relieved to have that. I have spent the majority of my driving in San Diego being lost. Now, I can have the comfort of hearing the words, "You have arrived," or "in 200 yards, turn right." What a good friend that GPS voice is going to be. Kevin got an mp3 player to take with him on the ship. (He leaves on January 9th). I also made him a scrapbook with lots of pics of the kids.

I made my first turkey ever. I ended up borrowing the neighbor's roasting pan. I don't know why I thought it was so complicated. My mom finally just told me, "Christine, you put in the pan and put it in the oven." She's so smart.

The rest of the day was just the typical Christmas Day. I had a great time spending time with my honey and the kids. It was actually my favorite Christmas of my marriage...even though I really did miss the extended family.

The bad part of the day happened at about 8:30 p.m. We heard this "splat." Garrett had fallen out of his swing onto the hard kitchen floor...chin first. He was bleeding everywhere. My friends let me follow them to the hospital because I had no clue where it was. They stayed until we got all checked in, etc. Garrett ended up being strapped down and getting 8 stitches in his chin. They said the cut was to the bone. Poor baby. He did really good, only screaming when he was restrained. When they were done, he was back to his cute self, playing with the hand balloon and looking at a magazine while saying, "AT&T. Your world delivered."

Merry Christmas everyone!

Help Me Know How to Reach You

My little baby. Beautiful Baby Caiti.

You brought me healing and sweetness and calm.

You were for my heart a miracle balm.

I remember how you would snuggle me close, let me hold you.

With your a smile in your eyes, so beautiful and blue.

Your head on my chest and your curls framing your face.

You would always send me to a happy place.

Caiti it's been sad for me as you have grown older.

Yes, you still put your head on my shoulder.

Yes you still have that smile in your eyes

But it's different now, because you also cry.

You get so upset, I don't know what to do.

Caiti I wish I knew how to help you.

I want to be the mommy you need me to be.

I wish you had the language to communicate to me.

I wish I could get into your head,

and I could hear your thoughts as you place toys on your bed.

I could understand why they're all lined in a row

The thoughts in your head would be so great to know.

I think you know I love you, I adore my little girl.

I cherish your giggle as you run and you twirl.

Caiti, as your mommy, I want to know how

To love you the way that you need me to now.

I need to know just the way that I can reach you.

I need to know just the way that I can teach you.

Because Caiti I love you, I love you! I do!

Early Christmas Presents

So, my kids are not happy with my working when they want me to be paying attention to them. So, when Kevin and I went Christmas shopping for the kids, we got Jason an early Christmas present to keep him occupied while I work. He only sat in it for a few minutes at first, but he is getting used to it now, and will give mommy a much needed break. This is also helpful when doing dishes, etc. Yay! Hooray for baby toys.

Ever since I heard about therapy swings, I have really wanted to get one for Caiti. She is so happy and gives great eye contact when she is in motion and her first appropriate word was "Whee" for when she goes on the swing. We were so thankful to Nanna and Papaw Roach because this year for Christmas they paid for a therapy swing for our kids. We love it because it has a support bar that hangs in the door, so we don't have to drill holes in the walls/ceiling. I was amazed because Caiti was in the swing for 2 hours, happy as can be, and after Garrett got home from preschool, he was in the swing for another 2 hours. Now, our only problem is keeping them from wanting to be in the swing at the same time. I'm loving it.

Jason's Eyes Remind Me Of...

Caiti's Individualized Education Plan

Yesterday I drove to the Whittier Center for Caiti's IEP (individualized education plan). I met with the same people that evaluated her last week. Last week they had told me that she definitely qualifies for special education services (is anyone surprised). So we went over what they had concluded from her evaluation, as well as what their plans were for her education here in San Diego. I was very excited to hear that they are going to start her out right there at the Whittier Center. It is very difficult to qualify for that, so I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing :) j/k. They said that they really want to work one-on-one with her. So she is going to be with a teacher who they said is excellent in getting through to autistic children. I think the main purpose of her being with him is to get her more ready for actual preschool. She will be bused there every day and will have school from 9 to 12:20. So, I will have some time in there with just Jason at home. That will be different. (Garrett goes to preschool at Kumeeyah Elementary). She will be going to Whittier for her first 45 days of school, then we will meet again and decide what to do next. They said she will probably be in a similar situation to Garrett (a classroom of 4 with a teacher and 2 aids). I'm very happy about this. I also found out that ABA (applied behavioral analysis) therapy is a part of the curriculum for children with autism in San Diego, so that makes me very happy too. My babies are getting so big!

Three Sights That Have Made Me Happy Today

Garrett sitting on the counter reading the phonebook.
Caiti making faces at herself in the Christmas ornaments
Jason smiling happily with grown up food all over his face.