Vision Board for 2010

Since this worked so well last year, I’ve created a tangible one and it reside on our fridge…

Davis’ Vision Board consists of the following goals that we want him to achieve by the end of this year:

1. Stay healthy…We plan to encourage this goal with daily vitamins, ‘Immunity Booster’ juices (with probiotics), and lots of hand sanitizer…We all remember how often he got sick in 2009!

2. Visit the Conductive Education facility in Orlando at least once…twice, preferably

3. Become potty trained…We made yet another attempt at this last night…He’s still so far from being ready.

4. ‘Yes you can’…Stay positive and have lots of confidence…this will be one of the more important qualities we instill on him throughout his life

5. Increase the types of foods he likes…so far this year, he’s already eating grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, burritos, and eggs!

6. Gain at least 5 pounds…right now we’re at 29 lbs

7. ‘Lace up your shoes’…learn daily skills like dressing/undressing self, brushing own teeth, etc

8. Improve walking and be able to run short distances

9. Increase sentence length, expressive vocabulary, and overall speech

10. Learn how to ride his tricycle

11. Increase fine motor skills…use of scissors and writing

12. Stay safe

13. Be more patient…learn to sort through obstacles with his words instead of emotions

14. BE THE BEST DAVIS HE CAN BE!

Whenever I go to the basement, I close the door behind me. I still have this neurotic fear that Davis is going to fall down our wooden stairs and land on the concrete floor. Well, I ran down there earlier today, to start a load of laundry, and I could hear him messing with the door knob. I ran as fast as humanly possible to the stairs for fear that he was standing at the top, ready to barrel roll down. That wasn't the case. Instead, he locked me in the basement. So, for the next 10 minutes, I proceeded to beg, plead with, and bribe my 3 year old to unlock the door. He just kept trying to turn the knob and I'm like, "Turn the silver, strip thing in the middle of the knob. See that sideways little thingy? TURN IT!" He finally did.

Davis got in a fight with a metal chair last Friday night. This is his first big, non-surgical related boo-boo!

Hanging out with his cousin, Roxy. It was so good to see the family over the weekend!

Someone got a hold of my scissors...Thank God it wasn't his hair! I'm sure that'll come, though.

Sleeping with my old puppy, Ralphie. He loves this guy.

Gloves, Fire Drill, Progress Report

I've been on a knitting frenzy...(Thanks for the yarn, Stacy!)

Little River had their routine fire drill practice today. Remember those?!?! Well, imagine it with a building full of 3-4 year olds, most having sensory processing disorders. Wow. They said Davis wasn't bothered by the sound (which is shocking since he FREAKS out when our home alarms go off).

His second quarter progress report was sent home today, also. Since the first quarter, he's improved in these areas:

-imitating block design

-navigating his classroom environment (walking instead of crawling)

-walking with peers from classroom to playground, etc

-participating with peers during ball activities with minimal assistance

-remaining on task during circle time for 20 minutes or more

-he went from 60 to 70% with producing age appropriate sounds in isolation

-he went from 50 to 60% with producing age appropriate sounds at the beginning of words

-he went from 60 to 70% with increasing his vocabulary to 100 words by identifying objects

-he went from 50 to 60% with increasing his vocabulary to 100 words by expressing objects

And needs improvement in these:

-imitating horizontal and vertical lines, circles, and crosses

-grasping a pencil

-using scissors

-toilet training...SHUT-UP!!!!

-walking on uneven, rough terrain

I'm so proud of my little man!

Shout Out

happy birthday, memaw!!!

hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy it to the fullest!

we love you,

justin, andrea, and davis

I Can't Believe This Weather!

A conversation between a 3 year old and his mother...

Davis: "Where is my pants, Momma?"

Me: "Which ones?"

Davis: "My Davis pants." (In a very sarcastic, 'duh' tone)

Me: "Ummm...what color are they?"

Davis: "They are green. Green like a circle." (While raising his hands, palms up, like he's holding a tray of appetizers)

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I just found out that Cherokee County schools are cancelled for tomorrow. Cabin fever has officially set in...

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We took Davis to his first movie on Friday night. Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. He watched the entire thing, ate a ton of popcorn, and is still singing this song. Afterwards, we went over to our neighbor's house and let Davis and Eva entertained us for hours.

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This is the kind of stuff my boys doing whenever I run away for some piece and quiet...(And, yes, I literally run)

My recent masterpiece...A felted needle case! I started this about a year and a half ago, got sick of it, and stuffed it in a drawer. I picked it back up about 2 weeks ago and forced myself to finish it. I knitted THREE WHOLE FEET of the gray piece using the little blue needles. After felting it, there's only about a foot left!

I added a little pocket for my circular needles.

This is the first time I've ever made anything cabled, so that was a cussing-filled challenge.

All folded up!

I'm Back!

Where the heck have I been?!?! On a blog strike, apparently.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s! We sure did…

As per usual, Christmas lasted about a week and a half for us…

At Eva's Christmas Play...

GG and Jay’s house the Sunday before Christmas...Christmas Eve with everyone at our house…

Checking out what Santa brought on Christmas morning...Taylorsville with the Nunleys on Christmas Day…

and Pa’s house that evening.

We took Davis to Stone Mountain’s Christmas event on Wednesday (thanks for the tickets, Grandma!). He loved the train ride around the mountain. On New Year’s Eve, Pa, Debbie, Uncle Ev, Elle, Justin, and I ate our body weight in yummy food at The Old Mill Restaurant. Then, Justin and I headed to a friend’s house to ring in the New Year!
This kid cracks me up…

The last few days of our Florida trip were pretty hectic, so I was unable to update. On Thursday, Justin drove down, so that he could ride home with me. (He brought a trailer to tow my car back!) Michelle also came back to Orlando that day to hang out. We took Davis to class, brought Justin back to the house to rest, and headed to a fun little bar called Lizzy McCormack's in downtown Orlando. From this trip, I think Davis gained a lot of balance and strength in his legs. He's taking more and more steps at a time and we have a NO CRAWLING rule now.

On Friday, Justin, Davis, and I walked to the Southern Live Oak Tree in front of the Mennello Museum of American Art. It looks like a giant spider, with its branches growing down into the ground and coming back out. It was here that I received the sad news about my grandfather passing. His long, painful battle with cancer finally ended on Friday morning.

Saturday was spent in the car, driving and driving and driving. We left Orlando early in the morning, got to our house at 2:30 pm, unpacked, repacked, and headed to Kentucky, arriving around 8 pm. His viewing and military funeral took place on Sunday. We'll do whatever we can to make sure Davis grows up knowing what a wonderful Great-Grandfather he had and how much he loved his great-grandson.

Big thanks to Grandma and Aunt Teresa for coming to the viewing. That meant a lot to us!

OH! I knitted another Christmas stocking. This one's for Davis. And Justin tiled the backsplash in our kitchen while we were in Orlando! I love it!

Get Crafty

Last night, a group of elementary school teachers and their families brought fun holiday crafts to the House.

The new tv....

Davis enjoying the new tv...

TV Debut

Aaron's donated 22 32" flat screen tv's to the Ronald McDonald House this morning. So, every bedroom will have its own tv. I, for whatever reason, was asked to be interviewed about this wonderful contribution by Fox 35 News. Wow. The news anchor asked me why my son and I were here (he asked my permission first), what the House means to us, and what the new addition to the bedrooms would do to improve everyone's stay. Everything was going great until Davis started grabbing the microphone attached to my shirt. "Ok, let's start over." Nooooo....I felt so good about that take! The second go at it went well, too. I guess. And the third and fourth and 37th. Just kidding. Only twice.

It airs tonight at 5. Again at 10 pm. And once more in the morning. No one watches the news anymore, right?!?!?

And, for participating, the House manager gave us 3 Sea World tickets! Wew Hew!

Ronald Meet And Greet

Yesterday, the Ronald McDonald House held their annual fundraiser event called 'Share a Night, Light a Light'. They had lots of fun things for Davis to do (meet Ronald McDonald, bounce house, bean bag toss games, etc)...


And it was pretty entertaining for me, as well...

Meet Orlando's own Menudo boy band...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr4aiTQ6jbQ

...and then these guys...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7QBrNPIXrg

This wasn't a joke, either.

With Auntie Michelle

Therapy is going well. Davis' balance is improving every day. He's able to take up to 30 steps at a time now and it seems like his legs are a lot stronger now.

My Favorite New Place!

Rethunk Junk

Day 4

I'm just gonna go ahead and give myself the Best Mom of the Evening Award. I took Davis to the Magic vs. Knicks game last night...all by myself! And, let me tell you, it wasn't an easy task. I navigated my way through an unfamiliar city, located safe parking, walked to the arena, waited in lines for sodas, snacks, and souvenirs, went to the bathroom, etc...all with a nonwalking, 3 and 1/2 year old! I'm pretty bad ass, thanks.



He was OBSESSED with Stuff the Magic Dragon. I would've given a thousand dollars just to let Davis give him a high five.



I've been spoiling this kid like I don't have custody of him. Like I stole him from his legal guardian or something. But we're having so much fun here!


After the game, Michelle came over to the House. We put Davis to bed and sat up chatting for hours. High school style.

It was 85 degrees outside yesterday! And the Olive Garden brought lunch to the House for everyone! I love this place!

Day 3

Therapy went well today. After it, parents and students came in for a short demonstration to display what goes on during all of their programs. Davis was asked to participate, so between that and his regular school hours, he was EXHAUSTED. He was screaming to go back to the Ronald McDonald House and basically dragging me out the door.

We donated our big bag of can tabs today! Thanks to Elle's Mom for helping us collect so many!

Day 2

Someone handmade this blanket and gave it to Davis last night.

This morning, Davis and I went to the Orlando Science Center. It was the coolest place EVER! The first section was filled with fun, hands-on science centers that displayed things like electricity, tornadoes, magnetic fields, etc.

Making music Then, we walked through the Sea Maze.

We had to stop by the transportation room. Next, was the dinosaur exhibit, but Davis was terrified the entire time we were in there.

They also had a really cool swamp and forest area.

This tree was planted in 1689 and cut down in 1979!

Davis' first day of class went really well. His private therapist seems really experienced and had a lot of positive things to say about Davis. He was really energetic the whole time and, for the 30 minutes that I sat in the waiting room, all I could hear was him talking and asking questions the whole time. When we pulled into the parking lot of the facility, he asked about Micah (a therapist from the summer). So, he remembered that, also!

We met up with an old friend that moved down here from Woodstock for dinner tonight. Thanks for such a fun time, Laura!!!

Back In Orlando

We made it to Orlando! Davis and I pulled out of Hunt Road at 6:00 this morning and followed my girlfriend, Michelle, and her cousin, Natalie, down there. The drive wasn’t too bad; just a few minor traffic jams here and there.

When we walked into the Ronald McDonald House, the first person I saw was a woman I met the last time we stayed here, 5 months ago! She was the lady who had her son at 23 weeks and had no idea she was pregnant. But she said that he’s doing well and can come home just as soon as they have a home for him to come home to. I know. I didn’t ask.

The front desk volunteer checked us in and told us we’d be staying in Room #6…same room as last time! Getting the car unloaded and everything unpacked was much more difficult without Justin around. Although, Davis was a big helper by pushing the luggage cart all the way from the house to the parking deck and back.

After getting situated and going to the grocery store, I asked Davis if he wanted to go to the playroom. He said, “Yeah. I wanna play with Thomas Table.” He totally remembers being here!

Bigger Is Better!

Justin, Davis, and I drove to Talking Rock on Saturday to get our Christmas tree from Lowry's Tree Farm. The Farm doesn't officially open until after Thanksgiving, but they were nice enough to let us come up early! They only charge $5 per foot and you get to cut down your own tree!

One of the best parts about Christmas is the fun family traditions!

I don't know what we were thinking when we picked out the biggest, widest tree. It's seriously, like, 7 feet wide and takes over our entire living room. But it only cost $40!!!

National Lampoon's Style...
And to go with the biggest Christmas tree on the planet, I finished the biggest Christmas stocking on the planet. It's over 2 feet long!

Tree climbing...