Dora was Here

Yesterday (Friday) Kimani had come home from work and he was on the lap top looking for a movie for us to watch once the kids had gone to bed.

It was about an hour passed the kids bed time and they were feeling it. For no good reason and with no set time to put them to bed the kids were just hanging out with us. So to play around a bit I said to Kimberlee that I was Dora the Explorer and began to sing the opening sequence song. Then I said to her that Nehemiah was Boots; she was Isa the Iguana and Daniel was Benny the Bull.

Kimberlee then turns to me and points to Daddy and says, "What's his name?" I said, "That is Swipper the Fox"

What I did not expect was for Kimani to turn around and laugh like Swipper (ha ha ha) and he said. "you'll never find her now" and he took Kimberlee's kid sized Dora doll and he hid it in the closet all the while I was yelling Swipper No swipping, Swipper No swipping, Swipper No swipping.

OMG!! Nehemiah and I began to crack up so hard. Kimberlee and Daniel ran after Daddy (Swipper) to rescue the Dora doll and when she could not reach it she began crying hysterical. It was the funniest scene ever. I could not move I was laughing so hard. Boots (Nemi) was laughing, but hiding from Swipper behind me and Isa (Kimi) was screaming to get her doll back.

I think what made me laugh so much is that I thought Kimani was completely consumed by the movie search so when he turned around and joined us in our make believe world, it surprised me so much. He jumped right into character. It was unexpected and on point I was literally rolling on the floor laughing.

Potty Training Follow up

It has been now a few weeks since we began to officially training Kimberlee on the potty. The last post regarding her potty training progress I was going to just go for it and let her sleep with no pampers overnight.

Well, she did pee on the bed, but it was only one time. She woke up wet that night and when I went to change her she was burning up with a fever that showed up out of nowhere. I gave her medicine and slept next to her over night to make sure she was all right. The next day she was still feverish so I did put a pamper on her to avoid any accidents. However, she woke up the next day with no fever and a clean diaper.

Now we don't even buy pampers for her anymore. She has been doing great. She used to announce when she had the urge to go so that I would go with her, but the past few days we have found her on the potty all by herself. She takes care of business and then asks to be cleaned. So proud.

Smooth Sailing

Recently we went to a friend's house to hang out with them and go in the pool on a hot day. I was not sure how Daniel was going to react as it was the first time getting him in the water. We strapped him up with a life vest and laid him on the round inflatable. Small enough for his little body to fit right in and be comfortable. Well, he floated around the pool and before we knew it he was sound asleep. He spent a good 35 minutes sleeping on the raft as we played all around him. it was so cute. As a mom i was never further than arms length away from him... just in case.

It was so sweet to see him sleeping as he floated around. We almost did not want to wake him up.

Nehemiah's update

Well since I published and update on Kimberlee and Daniel, I had to continue the brag night with some 411 about my boy Nemi.

He finished first grade with flying colors. Getting several 100% on spelling tests. He did really well. At the beginning of the school year it was considered that if Nemi had a hard time with the class work then the curriculum would be adjusted to suit Nemi's learning needs. Thankfully, the curriculum was never altered. He did all the lessons along with his first grade class. He was fully transitioned to have lunch with his class in the cafeteria. Previously, he would have lunch with his special needs class in the classroom. However, he progressed so well socially that they began to shift him to the cafeteria. At first it was only of Fridays, then it was Thursdays and Fridays and so on until he was in the cafeteria all week long. that was a big step as lunch with 75 first graders can be overwhelming and noisy in comparison to eating with five others kids in a classroom.

Now he is in summer school gearing up for second grade. We are looking forward to another successful year.

So proud of you Nemi, keep up the good work.

Daniel One Year Later

The little chubster, Daniel, turned one a few weeks ago. He is so big already.

-He began to walk about two and a half weeks before his birthday.

-He has three teeth up top and three on the bottom (which is odd because teeth usually come in pairs - so in my head there should be four up top and bottom).

-He gets pretty bad diaper rashes as his teeth come in, which I feel so bad for him every time.

-His hair has it's own personality. We style it differently depending on the occasion. It varies from sleek with some baby oil, to pulled back in a pony tail, ninja/samurai style or even just left out - curly and wild. To us he looks gorgeous every which way.

-He talks a lot. Well sort of, he tries to repeat what Kimberlee says most of the time. He says, nana for juice; Daddy; No and a bunch of sounds that make sense only in that situation.

-He, like his brother Nemi, has been wearing clothing bigger than his chronological age. At the moment he wears 18 - 24 months stuff.

-Loves sleeping with Mommy and Daddy.

-He looks for his brother and sister when ever he wakes up from a nap or in the mornings.

-He loves to drink out of open cups, though he loves his bottle.

-He throws kisses with his hand.

-He gives kisses and high 5's when asked.

-He is very mushy in terms that he loves to be kissed and hugged and carried and cuddled.

for his birthday we had grandma Aida, tio Alfert, his cousin Nano, god-mother Marisol with Kiana and Eowyn as well as his siblings and of course Mommy and Daddy. We had a beautiful BBQ with delicious brownie pops for cake.

Over all it has been a great and exciting year with all three kids hanging out with us. Daniel is a wonderful addition to our family as his brother and sister love to play with him and feed him and help him (sing of things to come).

Love you Daniel. Continue to learn and soak the blessings of the Lord.

Potty Training Kimberlee style

I am so blown away by Kimberlee's progress with potty training. Since I decided to actually follow through and leave her without diapers she has not gone #1 or #2 in her pamper. She has been going to the bathroom consistently. She has not peepeed on herself even during nap time, nor in the car (even as far as NYC).

I am gonna jump on and follow her lead and just let her sleep through the night without diapers. I have actually skipped over the pull up stage all together. So proud of my stinker. I told Kimani that it seems like she was totally ready to do it I just needed to stick to it.

Here we go with only undies to sleep. I hope to be back to give you the update.

Nehemiah to be a baseball player too cute

I found a baseball team for special needs kids and Nehemiah is so excited to go and play some ball. He is mostly excited about running around free around the field.

Kimberlee squeezes back

I had something to say about this when I first typed the title and now I have no idea what it was.... great!!!!

Daniel is shaking his head no

yeepee. well, it is not all that fun and games. He does it when it is time to eat and sleep... of course.

Snow today

God, thank you so very much for the past few warm days you gave us as a break from all the snow. I really appreciate it.

now that the snow is back on the 'map' please keep all drivers and people out there in the real world safe from falls, slips and accidents.

Amen.

2/12

today was a very restful and relaxing Saturday. Had not had one of these do-nothings day in a long time.

Everything seemed to just work easily and seamlessly. the kids were great, the family went out to eat at Applebee's (mmmmmmmmm!!) and now just thinking of things to do since i am so awake.

I guess I can't go wrong with just getting more sleep. I wish our bodies had a storage area where we could document all the hours we sleep and them store them there and we could tap into it when ever we are living with fumes.

:) he he... such a funny thought!

I'm exhausted.

Snow storm

Bracing ourselves again for another round of bad weather. I saw the cutest picture recently. It was a picture of one of those billboards that churches have in the front with service times and coming events. It read:

WHO EVER IS PRAYING FOR SNOW, PLEASE STOP!

too cute.

Cabin fever here we come.

Cabin Fever

Just hanging out in the house with the kids in this crazy snow storm. I thought there was gonna be a lot more snow, but we will see what it looks like tomorrow when it ends.

Monday again

I am in so much pain. My body aches everywhere. Not even sure what I did this weekend to warrant this pain, but I'm ready to get Advil out.

Hope the snow storm tomorrow is a weak one.

Nemi's 7th birthday

I want to save this video clip of Nemi's class singing him happy birthday.

Full Swing

We are now back into the full swing of things. Nehemiah is so happy to be back at school. Kimberlee has been telling me she wants the bathroom to poop, though she does not do anything in the potty just yet. She'll just sit there and say, "see poop - see potty". Something is happening in her head. Daniel got his hair done for the first time. At first i was not sure what Kimani would say, but when he saw Daniel he loved his hair. Now Daniel's hair is so fine that it came with a quickness, but it stayed long enough to take a picture.

Monday Monday

It happened, Daddy got the bug too. Like the rest of us vomiting, diarreah, fever, body ache. Thank God he's off today because he's totally out of commission.

It's getting crazy here

I finally went to sleep Saturday night and slept for 24 hours. Seriously, even I was shocked. At some point in those 24 hours the virus took over me and I vomited everything I could possibly get out.

We will see what is next.

Friday update

thank goodness that Monique was able to come down and help me out on Thursday night and it was just in time because Kimberlee was up all night throwing up every last piece of food in her stomach. It was along night, but in the morning she felt better.

Off to the doctor again to check on Daniel's progress, and since my regular doctor was not in we had a 'substitute.' He asked me about his treatments and i said Daniel got his last one at 10pm the night before and not another one since. He said that I really need to follow the treatment schedule closely. I said, "well I was up all night with Kimberlee and her throwing up left and right." To this he said, "oh! ok, of all the kids Daniel is in the most critical condition and he needs close attention."

MY VENTING
I'm sorry dude, did the medical field finalize the cloning process? Do you see that there is only one of me and three of them? Was i supposed to leave my daughter to attend to herself while she threw up to give Daniel a 20 minute treatment. And after she threw up, was I supposed to leave all of that mess right there for about 20 minutes while I gave Daniel his treatment. Obviously you are a man, who will never understand how sick children CLING unto you for comfort and you are not a mother of three children, which in itself will make you have to make in-the-moment decisions based of the most pressing need and a 7 month old infant who is breathing effortlessly and sleeping through the entire night is actually a blessing and not a pressing need. I know you don't 'know' me and you are filling in for the regular doctor, but you making me feel like a crappy mother is not helping the situation. I am not a crappy mother dude. yes i will follow the treatment schedule, but how about you help me out with Kimberlee's puking as it has been two days now.

Whew! now I fell better. Ok so, we walked out of there with medicine for Daniel's asthma and Kimberlee's vomiting.

After all of that Kimani arrived from his business trip and hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.

Part Two

today I took Daniel and Kimberlee to their pediatrician and Kimberlee has Strep throat and RSV and Daniel has RSV (of course) and also his lungs are a big congested so he is borderline pneumonia.

I have been giving them their medicine all through the day and hopefully this will all end soon. My sister in law Monique came over from NY to help me with all the sickness in the house as Nehemiah will be staying home and going to the Doctor's office tomorrow with the same RSV symptoms Daniel and Kimberlee had. Well, some of the symptoms anyway.

Oh! What a night!

Since Sunday Daniel had been showing signs of having a cold with his runny nose and fever. We got for him the Infant Tylenol for his fever and a nebulizer treatment to help him breath better because he began to cough. With the history of asthma in the family coughing usually means the first stages of an asthma episode.

Fast forward to Tuesday night and Daniel is looking worst than ever and I end up running him to the ER - at 1 in the morning - in the middle of a blizzard - with two other kids in tow.

I called some neighbors and they were not available to come over and watch Nemi and Kimberlee, so I called our friends, Pam and Brian, who live the closest and though at first I was gonna go to their house to drop off the kids, the storm did not allow for all that driving and Daniel seemed to be getting worst. I did not want to risk getting stuck in snow with all three kids in the car and Daniel not being able to breath.

Off to the ER we went-all three kids and I. We were a sight to see. The snow was so high I was actually dragging Kimberlee through it and Nehemiah was jumping with every step he took almost having a ball in all that snow and Daniel was all wrapped up in his car seat.

Two hours later they admitted Daniel at 3am with a diagnosis of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). Brian, who had made it to the hospital soon after we arrived, took Nemi and Kimberlee over to their place to rest. No easy feat as Kimberlee was displaying feelings of obvious dissatisfaction with the whole situation.

About an hour later I had to call over to the Wheelock's home to inform them the latest news, which was that RSV is highly contagious. I told them to keep my kids away from their two girls. Thank God it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep and they did not have the chance to play together. With that piece of information a new plan was put into action - Pam went over to my house with Nemi and Kimberlee so that they would be comfy in their own environment and quarantined keeping their girls safe.

Well, several more hours later and basically the RSV is a virus that has to run its course and there is not much more they can do for him except to just send him home. Great!! Thanks!!

Daniel in his crib - the quarantine crib - my bed to sleep in

Quite a night in deed! Though we are not out of the woods we are all safely at home letting this run it course.

Just the way you are

We have been addicted to Bruno Mars' song 'Just the way you are' since we first heard it and tonight the kids asked for it as we were cleaning up so here they are jamming to it. I took this with my phone so the quality is quite poor.

I love Nemi's monkey dance and Kimberlee's step up and back move. They sure know how to have fun. And Daniel in the middle of it all. too cute.

Business trip

So Kimani went on a business trip to yesterday and will not be back until Friday. That sounded like party time at first, but with a snow storm coming I am playing it safe and staying inside.

;)

Room Makeover

Ok so Kimani and I had been wanting to give our bedroom a little make over. I was hoping to do it in the summer, but we did not get a chance. However, i did not want to wait until next spring and there is no way to get that done in the winter. So while he was away at a business trip I decided to surprise him with a room make over. Here are the results.

Before










After

Before











After

Our first family picture.

The Puertorrican Duo - Kimberlee and Dora!

So our girl Kimberlee just recently discovered Dora, thanks to our Netflix account and she cannot be happier. She would even spontaneously sing, "Backpack, Backpack" or "I'm the map. I'm the map"... yes Kimberlee you are the map... She found her new best friend and nothing could make her happier than those few little notes at the beginning of each episode.

Izzy's time out

Who is Izzy? He is the cabbage patch we had to buy when the 'original' (Tommy) got tossed out after leaving him behind at someone's house.

The Story:

A few nights ago Kimani was playing his guitar as we were preparing for family prayer. Nehemiah likes to touch the strings on the guitar and 'play' along. This one particular night, Kimani asked Nemi not to touch the guitar. Nehemiah thought it would be great to get his buddy, Izzy to touch the guitar. Kimani then says, "Izzy don't touch!" That is when Nehemiah decided to put Izzy on the time out chair for 'not listening' . We laughed so hard.

It gets better. Nehemiah then says to Izzy, "listen for the timer!" as he went to the microwave in the kitchen and pressed the 1 minute button to get it going. We laughed at that too.

The best part is that one minute was too long for Nemi to wait so he stopped the microwave 32 seconds in just to get Izzy off time out.

He is too smart - he had us rolling with laughter.

Three Years and no tattoo!

I cannot believe I have had this blog for three years now. I am so finicky about things and move on from one thing to the next at the drop of a hat that I am shocked at myself that I have been contributing to this blog for three years.

That is actually one of the reasons I have never gotten a tattoo. I always wanted one, but never could decide on one long enough to have it permanently on my body. I would change my mind about every six months. There you go.

Lemme do it.

Kimberlee has been 'requesting' to use the spoon and feed herself for some time now. I have done little things to keep her from learning (like giving her a spoon while she eats) only because I really feared that there will be oatmeal in my ceiling and frankly, it seemed like too much to clean up. And doing all of that while pregnant it is just not fun, nor cute.

Well, Little Ms. Thing put her foot down Sunday night (3/28/2010) when she refused to eat dinner unless she fed herself. Honestly, it would have been fine with me, but we were at a dinner party with several other people and it just was not the place nor the time.

Monday morning I decided to let her go for it and have not fed her a meal since. She is doing really good. She is not throwing the food on the floor or the ceiling like I thought she would do, she is actually eating. I am blown away by this little girl.

I do not even know why Nemi is crying in the back ground. Really, when I checked on him he was totally fine. I jokingly said to him, do you want to be on the video... She wants to eat by herself like her big brother, and Nemi wants to be spoon fed like his little sister. They are funny.

I think I have a new friend

A year ago (almost to the day) TLC aired the delivery of Kimberlee. Today they re-aired the episode. I found out only because my friend send me a note via Facebook.

Well, some time later I got a beautiful note from a viewer and I think I just made a new friend. Below is our interaction via Facebook Email....

Kymmi Warner March 30 at 3:40pm

Okay so I was watching baby story which I usually catch in the morning, but anyway, I watched your family welcome Kimberlee Ann Smith into the family. I was so emotional as if you were my family. I cried and cried when you were in all that pain and when the baby finally came and I saw that you named her Kimberlee, I was totally a mess cuz thats my name and there arent many people that use that beautiful name anymore, but anyway, I just wanted to tell you that your story really touched me more than any other episode that I have seen and I hope that you, your hubby, son and daughter have a blessed, exciting and wonderful life...

Datnee Smith March 30 at 4:56pm

Oh! Kymmi, this is beautiful! I am crying over here as I read this. Thank you so much for reaching out to me. One never knows how our lives may touch others. Kimberlee has truly been a gift from God himself. We had so many trial and obstacles to get our little girl, and now she is on the constant move.

And what is best is that she is having a little brother in June. Crazy right?!

sincerely,
Datnee

Kymmi Warner March 30 at 8:41pm

Giiirl I am delighted for you! Now 2 boys and Princess Kimmee! I KNOW you are going to have medication. That pain hit you like crazy with Kim, I felt so sad and happy for you because I knew it would all be over soon and you would see your little girl. I taped the show when I saw it was coming on and my husband just watched it, he said "you know I dont watch that stuff but I liked that family, they are cool and their baby has a pretty name" lolol I just fell in love with your family. Hope we can keep in touch, oh by the way, are you puerto rican/dominican? My dad is puerto rican but sadly i dont know that side. Anyway I will type on and on and on. lol

Always, Kymmi

I was so touched by this note. It is so beautiful. I hope we keep in touch.

Dress for Kimberlee

My talented friend Leah made a dress for her little girl, Lily, from a pillowcase with a matching headband (http://blog.hestermania.com/2010/03/pillowcase-dress.html). It looks so cute. I got to thinking, 'Hey I could make a dress for Kimberlee too.'

Here it is:
Ok! so maybe I didn't really make one, just don't tell anyone this is an apron.

Sorry Kimberlee. I guess we'll borrow Lily's.

Sox vs. Socks

Nehemiah is so eager to read that every time he sees letters he will say them. I have been encouraging him by asking him to spell... everything. If it is time for dinner... how do you spell eat? if it is bed time.... how do you spell pillow? and so on.

Recently he was in his room getting dressed and he was putting on his socks. Kimani was in there helping him. Nehemiah says, "socks. s. o. x." Kimani says, 'no Nemi that is baseball, s. o. c. k. s." and he repeats and I look at Kimani and we both smile... it was so cute!

What a hairy mess?

So here is a picture of Kimberlee after I have washed her hair one day last week.

(yikes!)

But a few minutes with Mommy and it is all transformed to this.

(Much better.)

Lamaze - Not!

I went to my OBGYN appointment today and told Dr Garfinkel I was considering going to Lamaze class or something. He scoffed it off and said, "you do not need Lamaze you did so well with the last delivery, but you may benefit from Calm Birth (http://www.calmbirth.com.au/)."

Hmmm! Is he trying to tell me something?

Let the children come unto me

As Christians, it is important to us to teach our children that reading the Bible and prayer are an essential part of our lives.

Though we are never fully sure how good a job we are doing, God gave me a glimpse of the impact our efforts this morning.

As I am preparing breakfast Nehemiah walked in the kitchen (and his shadow Kimberlee behind him) and here is our dialog:

-Are you hungry?
-yes
-do you want bagel or french toast?
-bagel
-ok sit down I will give it to you
-Jesus... pray... Daddy... work... help me... and food... amen

I mean one totally has to fill in the gaps, but you get the essence of his little heart. He prayed to the Lord as we always do for Daddy at work, for God to help him in school and for his food. I was so blessed by his little prayer.

The Dentist with the gentle touch

Today was the kid's dental appointment. It went pretty smooth, Dr. Mann is awesome with Nehemiah and he just has a way to make him feel at ease. I really give it to him and how he gets work done in his little mouth without a mouth guard.

I was blown away when he told me Nehemiah's permanent molars are coming in... What!? my little boy is getting permanent teeth? Oh! no! he is getting so big. Soon his baby teeth will fall and then the rest of the perm teeth will come in, too big for his little mouth, and then he will be entering puberty. Oh! my goodness. I cannot believe it.

The dentist tells me Nemi will have to get sealants on the next visit to protect his molars from cavities and what not. Boy oh! boy. My baby is so big.

Kimberlee, who got out of the gate fast with her first teeth VERY EARLY (at four months), is now behind schedule on getting the rest of her teeth. Go figure!

I was a very proud Mama to report to the dentist that Kimberlee no longer used her pacifier. He commended me on it and told me that the pacifier is basically a crutch for the parents. Most kids learn to self sooth very early on, but the parents have a hard time with the transition. I said, "Yes, I know my nephew is 5 and still has his pacifier." He said, "yeah! that happens a lot."

******
But I think that it is easy for him to say that we should just remove the pacifier when the child is between 12 and 15 months, but he does not really know the situation in each home to say that. Like my brother had a second baby and it was not easy to remove the pacifier off the first child while the second depended on it. I think each family is different. Even my friend Marisol followed doctor's orders and took the pacifier away at one year old and now that her daughter is about to turn two she told me she would have kept it a bit longer if she could do it again. See, I think as parents we just choose to pick our battles.

As for me, it was a definite mental decision because I got to know my Kimberlee. And I saw that she did not use the pacifier to self soothe. She popped it in her mouth because it was there, not because she needed it. She would have one clipped on to her clothes and she would go find a second and she would swap them in and out like a little game. They were like toys. When I noticed that she was fine all day and even during nap/bed time) she would always spit it out of her mouth) then I knew she could totally live without it.

The Lord gave me a sandwich

The other night I was so tired and hungry. You know those nights when you are too hungry to fall asleep and too sleepy to get up and make something to eat.

But in between sleep and awake and grumblings of my stomach my mind wondered to what I would prepare if I were up to it.

As my mind was busy putting together the perfect late night snack Kimani walked in the room with a cup of chocolate milk and (drum roll) a sandwich. I was so thankful. Half way through the sandwich I said, 'you know i was just thinking about this very sandwich. Toasted potato bread, light on the mayo, Swiss cheese, salami, and ham. this very same sandwich."

He, like he often does, gave me the most perfect response, "The Lord knew what you wanted."

I said, "yes, He did." and with that the baby began to do somersaults of joy in my belly and we both fell asleep content and full.

Thank you Lord for giving me what I need even when I do not ask for it. I love you!

What time is it? - Bed time

The title of this blog is a little jingle Kimani and Nemi came up with. It is really cute and pretty effective to setting the tone for the bedtime routine.

All right, here is the story: the other day (it was exactly last Friday) I said to Kimani at about 7:15 pm that it was time to get the kids ready for bed.

His response to me was, "No way! it is Friday! They could stay up late. We always stayed up late on Friday's when I was growing up"

Oh! No - not on my watch buddy. So we both got the kids in bed by 8 pm, keeping the routine in tact and then we were off to pillow talk, pray, you know - whatever. Well tell me why before 9 pm a certain Daddy Smith was out snoring. SNORING! 'Hey! Mister, it is Friday, we can all stay up late tonight!' ;)

You see Daddys may not fully understand the method to a Mommy's madness, but we parents need the rest, peace and quiet as much as the kids need it...

So once again Daddy what is that jingle, "What time is it?"

Daddy: "(snore, snore)"

Lamaze Me!

(Oh! I never published this one)
The other day Kimani asked me if I wanted to go to Lamaze class this time around. I thought about it and said, "Well, kid #1 we scheduled it in vain because we had him via C-section. Kid #2 was our first experience with having a 'natural' birth and it was fast and furious ;). with this kid, well, it is our last one.... let's just go for it without Lamaze.

He said, "Let me know if you change your mind."

so we will see.

The Grass is Always Greener

Very seldom is the Pediatrician's office vibrating with kids. Maybe because it was after school, maybe because it is Friday, or maybe because a snow storm is coming, today the waiting room was full of kids. It almost felt crowded.

Since Nemi's doctor specializes in dealing with children with developmental delays and on the autism spectrum many of the children there were going to get the hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbaric_medicine). Looking around at all these kids suffering from autism put things in perspective a bit for me.

Living day in and day out with a child with this condition has its challenges, but at the same time, today I saw that it really could be worst for us. Though no doctor would give me a definite response that Nehemiah's case is 'mild' looking at some of the other kids my heart went out to their parents. Those parents have a much harder load to carry, not that mine is a walk in the park. You see, Nehemiah walks on his own, and talks out his needs, and listens (on occasion - :D) and he looks at you and he writes his name and he does a million other things that 'traditional' parents take for granted from their children and we celebrate Nemi and his progress even if it is one inch forward.

The other day we went to visit a friend and she told us how her nephew is 10 years old with autism and he does not speak. He only communicates with sounds. That broke my heart. But their point was to say that Nehemiah is doing so well. Kimani gave them the most perfect answer that I will treasure forever. "What you see in Nehemiah is a miracle! The Lord has answered us and He is the one healing Nemi and bringing him this far!"

Living the Stories

I hate it when I do not write for a while and then all my wonderful stories get all put in the back burner.

Well, I am exhausted from nesting and doing way too much here in the house, but I am sitting here thinking about Nemi and Kimberlee and all their crazy ways. Here are some random stories I do not want to forget:

-On our recent Christmas trip to Florida we took a late flight (9pm departure - and it got delayed [the nerve]). Once we were up in the air Nemi looked out the window and saw the street lights of the city he said, "Wow! it's Christmas, it's beautiful!" right then and there my heart melted "Aww Nemi, It is Christmas!"

-Nehemiah loves for Kimberlee to chase him. Just a few days ago they were running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, but at one point Kimberlee took a detour and while Nemi was on the sofa waiting for her, she went to the room to say hi to Daddy. When Nemi noticed he said, "Wait a minute - Hold on." I cracked up as he stomped to the room to get Kimberlee to resume the game.

-We are trying hard to get Kimberlee to go to sleep by herself (instead of on my chest) and on her own (instead of me standing by her crib). So we are trying the Ferber method which tells you to allow your child to cry first for only one minute and then increase in increments as you see fit to allow the child to get used to putting themselves to sleep. Well, since Kimberlee and Nemi sleep in the same room he often gets up to give her the pacifier to help her quiet down. One night we found it funny that Nemi took on the Daddy roll and said in a 6-year-old stern voice, "No no no Kimberlee time to sleep." So funny

-Last weekend I had a 'family moment' like one of those times when you feel like you are doing exactly what a family should be doing. I was in the kitchen when Kimani announced he was taking Nemi down to the car with him to fix spark plugs or something. I stayed upstairs with Kimberlee preparing lunch. That moment took me back to the days when my Dad would fix cars with my brother in the garage and I would help my Mom fold laundry or clean the living room. As I peeked out the window to see them in the parking lot 'working so hard' it was nice to be in the past, but in the present at the same time.

- A few days after finding out we are having boy number 2 I said to Nehemiah,
"Hey Buddy! come say hi to your brother Samuel."
He responded, "Daniel?"
I said, "No Samuel."
Then he said, "Daniel!"
And of course I did what any mother who has had a name picked out prior to conception... I said, "Yes, Daniel"
We decided to change his name right then and there. We figured Nehemiah is a member of our family and he totally could contribute to the naming of his siblings. At least he did not say Bubba or Bofa or something like that. We cannot wait to meet Daniel in June.

This is all for now. Hope you enjoyed the stories as much as I loved living them.

hello

Yesterday was my second OBGYN appointment. It went well. I lost 6 pounds since my last visit, putting my at 153. The baby's heartbeat was hard to find at first, but once Dr. G found it it sounded really good.

Besides that, we are getting ready to go to Florida for Christmas. My brother got us tickets to go to Disney world and I think Nehemiah is gonna have a good time there. Last time he went he had no clue where we were since he was so young, but now he know who is Mickey and Minnie and I think he will have a blast.

I am trying to upload a bunch of pictures from my camera, but my computer is not making the connections, so hopefully soon I will be able to get those posted... most likely on the other site.

anyway, tada for now.

Pre-Natal Visit

Well, this is turning out to be the looooooongest first trimester ever. I went in to my doctor's appointment thinking I was about 10 weeks along. However, when the baby was measured it showed that the baby is actually 7 weeks 4 days along. WHAT!?! I thought I would be almost done with this trimester in another two weeks. I should not be almost two months. Thank you very much to my looonnng cycles I am two weeks behind. Not cool dude!

We actually saw the heartbeat on the sonogram and got an 'accurate' due date. Everyone was so happy to see Nemi and Kimi. They love those kids and it is nice to see them just grab Kimberlee and show her off and engage Nehemiah. The girls in that office are awesome.

Ok, so will tell you more as things progress.

First Doctor's apointment

Woohoo! Looking forward to seeing Dr. Garfinkel and to hearing the heartbeat of our new bundle.

We are so excited. Kimani and I agreed, well, he kind of told me, that it may be best for me to go to these appointments alone and have him stay home with the kids. I guess now that he knows exactly what goes on at the appointments he figures he could live without having to go to each and every one. Except the sonogram appointment. He wants to be there for that.

Oh! there goes Kimberlee out of he bumbo. OK so I guess that is too young for her now. It was good while it lasted.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing the girls again. Will update you when I get back.... no wait maybe tomorrow because truth be told I am exhausted and I may not log back in today. We will just say, will update you later.

ta ta.

A few things to catch up on.

I have a list of little stories I want to blog about on my iTouch. Every time something happens I make a note... So here goes the updates

1. At Kimberlee's last visit she weighed 18 lbs 10oz (dropped a few ounces from last time) and was 27 inches long (which seems to be where she has been for the past few visits).

2. At that same visit she surprised the doctor when I was putting on her shoes and she voluntarily said, Bye-Bye while waving her hands.

3. I am no longer nursing her. Last Saturday (10/17/09) I cut her off. I was tired of doing it and now I am pregnant, I am even more tired and Kimani has been wanting to help feed her so here it is... She did not like it, but I did it overnight. She woke up at midnight for some milk, unfortunately she encountered a bottle with formula. She finally gave in to the bottle at 4:30 am. It was a long night for all of us. Now she takes it pretty much without a fuss. Thank God.

4. Kimberlee is gonna walk soon. She has been taking steps here and there and yesterday she took three steps in a row. Very very proud of her.

Genius, well sort of...

Kimberlee is, as of this very moment (according to the MySpace tracker), 8 months, 3 weeks and 4 days old. She is doing all kinds of things, like getting ready to walk by standing and launching her little body every where. I see her practicing to wave by moving her fingers and wrist, she kneels while on the floor at times. She points with her little finger. Just recently I was feeding her an orange and she was trying to suck it, so I told her to bite and made the gesture myself... the very next moment she bit my finger. Duh! mommy.

Now these things are general, normal stages that all kids go through, even Nemi went through it. However, it would take Nehemiah so long to accomplish each and every single stage. We had to literally teach him to kneel. Literally. Also, to point and the list goes on and on.

The funny thing is that though I know Kimberlee is just learning the ways of the world the way all children do, I find myself thinking she is a genius, like every other mother in the world knows about their own child.

Can you hear me now!

Wow! I suddenly felt old when I wrote the title. Anyway, so how hard is it to get in touch with my hubby. He tells me to call him at work, so I do. Then he tells me, 'if you do not reach me there call my cell,' Uh! I did. I hate not being able to talk to him when I have to download... empty my brain... and all those things.

Do you know that the past few times I have had to take the kids to the doctor's office or ER it was the Lord himself who put it in his heart to call the house. I had been trying to reach him for several minutes and had it not been for the Lord I would have never been able to talk to him. I love my God, he is awesome.

Now, back to the phone to try and reach Kimani.

Happy Birthday to Me

So I just turned... uh! never mind!

For my birthday, Kimani got me an Apple iPod iTouch. My first response was, "What is the iTouch?" I certainly was not fully familiar with this particular gadget. Well, I am falling in love with my new birthday gift.

I am having loads of fun, and I truly cannot remember when was the last time I got something so fancy, besides my wedding ring set. I am pretty excited and feel pretty lucky.

Now off to play with my iPod.

:)

Talk talk talk

Nemi has been talking so much, but one of his latest things that crack me up is when he sees something and then says, "Oh! look it's beautiful!" It could be the moon, his own drawings from school or the DVD of Alvin and the Chipmunks starting for the 8th time.

To Gluten or Not to Gluten

Today I was thinking about Nemi's Gluten/Casein Free diet. I had started it back in June, and the entire summer I was very strict on it. Now, in September, I find myself slacking a whole lot. I am not sure if it is because:
(a) we miss 'real' food at times. Not a whole lot of things, but bread we miss a lot, and juice. The list is not long, but after living 30 years of bread and juice it takes a lot more than three months to get used to not having it. Though when we have it we feel sick to our stomachs, which confirms how bad bread is to your system, we still crave it once in a while.

(b) Nemi does not eat as well and at times it is just easier to give in to the junk I know he will eat than to fight or even let him go without one meal.

(c) we think that it does not work in terms that I am not quite certain it was just the food that made a significant difference though it certainly does not hurt.

or (d) maybe because he has improved so much that we think we could just ease back to the old way of eating (I guess this goes with c)

Not sure why I am slacking off, but in either case I feel terrible about it because I want to continue to do the best I can for him. I think I want to give it another 3 months of a 100% conversion to the diet before I decide if it is working for him or not.

Blogging - here there everwhere

I cannot quite give up my blog spot. I thought I could just give it up, but for some reason I like this site. So even though it has been a long and hot minute. I am blogging on this site - even if it is only now and again.

I guess I had loads to say and it got so overwhelming I did not know where to start. I guess the best place to start is with today.

Carrots and Bananas

OK so Kimberlee had her first feeding last week Thursday. Back then she hardly ate her food since she didn't really know how to open her mouth and swallow.

Last night I was once again blown away by her when she ate an entire jar of carrots and 3/4 of a jar of bananas. She was going for it. I was seriously amazed. I could not believe she almost ate two jars of food. She was hungry.

I stopped the rice cereal all together now because she definitely hates it. She only had it once during her very first feeding and she never liked it after that. She literally locks her jaw and I was using the pacifier to get her to open her mouth and now she does not even go for that if it is rice cereal. So smart.

TEETH: Amazing progress

WOW!!! My Kimberlee has two teeth already. She is only 4 and a half months. She was laughing today and I saw something white in her mouth. It was a weird moment because I was eating mini marshmallows (I know I shouldn't be, but moving on) and my mind went on a crazy rambling thought 'howthemarshmallowsgotinhermouthandnothatisnotpossiblebutIseesomethinginthere..' you know what happens when thoughts just speed across your mind in nanoseconds.

Lo and behold, she has two teeth on her bottom gums. I was amazed, proud, shocked, excited. I rushed and called Kimani and Moms.

First GFCF Grocery Shopping

Well, I have drafted my first gluten-free/casin-free grocery list. We are not fully turned over, but we are closer than we were last week. right now, that is a good place to be. We are currently eating Gluten free pancakes in the morning and though I still feel the healthiness (Marisol that is for you darling :D) a few hours later we are getting quite used to them and as a matter of fact they taste pretty good.

Ok here is the current list:
Chicken (dark meat/breast)
mushrooms
red potatoes (it may come off later)
fresh garlic
pure maple syrup
bacon
hash browns (cascadian farms brand)
Hebrew National hot dogs
fritos
lays potatoes chips
cascadian french fries
board head lunch meats
tostitos chips
fresh fruit (apples, grapes, bananas, kiwi, etc)
fresh veggies
gfcf butter
safflower oil
rice milk
gfcf bread
distilled/balsamic vinegar
lemon juice
gfcf sour cream
gfcf mayo
spices need to be McCormick's (they are gfcf)
Heinz Ketchup

this is only the beginning and it is already looking like it may not be all that bad after all. I think we decided that we will hit the gluten and casin first and once we are comfortable with that diet we will then tackle the yeast/candida and then see how things look.

Four-month check up

During Kimberlee's four-month doctor's appointment last week here is what transpired:
*Kimberlee is now 14 lbs 23 inches.
*She is no longer in the petite range for length, she is nice and healthy.

Regarding her milestones:
*she is goo-gooing and noise-making as she should
*she is reaching and interacting right on par
*she is not however turning over. According to the doctor it is actually our fault because we are not giving her enough belly time and if she does not strengthen her upper body she will be delayed in flipping over and even crawling. So we have been giving her more belly time after Nemi goes to bed to avoid her getting unintentionally trampled.

Well, the good news is that on Sunday night (two nights ago) as Kimani and I were up late talking, Kimberlee got up to eat and decided to chill out with us for a while instead of going right back to bed and she actually turned over right there while hanging out with us. We were so excited and of course she did not do it again. It was fun that we got to witness it together.

Besides that we could start on the solids and at the next appointment she will get her ears pierced.

STEP 1: TRANSITION TO A HEALTHY DIET

Ok so. Now I am reading book #2, Eating for Autism to help me understand why I have to delete so much out of his diet and what I need to introduce.

It is a great book. It is teaching me to take it one step at a time. It has 10 steps in total. It says that for some kids it is not necessary to go through all 10 steps. One family may only need steps 1 - 3 and that will be sufficient while others have to do all 10 steps. In either case, you cannot skip steps and you have to start with step one.

STEP 1: TRANSITION TO A HEALTHY DIET

Basically it tells you that though the FDA has approved 24 different types of additives to foods called 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS) there are 4 specific ones that dietitians, scientist and doctors are concerned with regarding how they effect children with disorders. Those four are: artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives and artificial sweeteners.

yada yada yada... at the end of the day I have to read all labels and get rid of everything that has the four "bad" additives

Artificial colors: Artificial Color FD & C, US Certified Food Color, FD&C Blue No 1 (brilliant blue), Blue No 2 (indigotine), Green No 3 (fast green), Red No 40 (allura red) Red No 3 (erythrosine), Yellow No 5 (tartrazine), Yellow No 6 (sunset yellow)

Artificial Flavors: Monosodium glutamate (MSG), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate.

Preservatives: Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)

Artificial Sweeteners: Saccharin (Sweet'N Low), sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal)

Refined Sugar: Sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

Fat: Trans fat, partially hydrogenated oils

Ok so this is a very heavy step just to start with. Just for fun go into your pantry and put some items that may have one or more of these ingredients and you will get an idea of the things we buy regularly that may have an effect on our Nemi... basically everything except the olive oil.

We have a long road ahead, but we are excited and looking forward to it. We just ran out of bread and today I will buy autism appropriate bread and I am excited... weird... who am I becoming with all this talk about health food. I am the queen of junk food... ok well, we are going down this road and not looking back.

Mommy's Healing from Autism

Last week I went to the library and rented out the book Louder than Words, by Jenny McCarthy. I had heard of the book several times in the past, but this day I felt an urgency to get it.

From the moment I got in my car with the stinking book, I began to choke and tear up. That day I read only the introduction and the preface in the car and cried my eyes out. I told Kimani, "I think this is gonna be a hard book for me to read." So I waited until after mother's day weekend to read the rest of it.

Monday after work, I began to read it and I was completely consumed from page one. By the time I got half way through the book I was sobbing uncontrollably from the depth of my soul. It was about 2 in the morning and I was trying not to wake up Kimani, but I could not hold in the tears and the waterfall was coming strong.

I cried for a long while. Kimani held me tight and prayed for me that I may fall asleep and I had to literally force myself to sleep. As long as I was awake I was crying. I felt all the years of pain rushing out of me. I had been holding back these tears for five years and through this book I felt release.

For so long, I did not allow myself to feel sorry for myself nor for Nemi. I always treated him like a 'typical' boy because I believe one day he would be.

From the moment I realized my boy was a bit delayed I tried to fight off my anger, towards the world; the doctors for their slow diagnosis; myself for giving him the damn vaccines; at him for not snapping out if it and even God for making my perfect boy Nemi go through all this. Everyone was to blame, but I held it all in.

I have always hated that I could not freely visit with friends or family because of how at times he is treated, or how unconsciously they look at him with sad, pitiful eyes. I still hate it, but never dealt with it. He is hyper and he tends to break everything he holds on to, so when I go visit people I think I may have to replace something expensive, I hope he does not break anything.

I hate the way I felt at the end of the day. Putting him to bed at times was the best part of my day and I thought I was being such a horrible Mommy. But dealing with an autistic child all day long wears on you. I was getting more and more tired and more impatient.

I never thought I would be such an 'angry beast' with my kids (or anyone at all for that matter), and be so stinking loud and such a screamer and lashing out with spankings left and right for all kinds of things. I hate that Datnee - I hated myself everytime I did it, but did not know how to stop. After pleading with the Lord to help me stop, I now understand why. I was not dealing with my emotioal health and it was all coming out the gaping whole in my heart.

This book gave me words to express the hurt I have been feeling. It gave me freedom to love Nemi where he is and not look to 'fix' him into a 'typical' child. I love Nemi with all my heart, but I felt like this autism has stolen a freedom in our relationship that now I realize I could still have.

This book allowed me to get rid of the emotional weight I had been carrying for the past 5 years and know that I need to gird up my loins and continue the fight for my boy.

It opened my eyes to know that though Nemi has been improving by leaps and bounds I had the blinders on because of his progress. I was so proud of him, I was slacking off a bit. I thought that with therapy alone he would get to where he needs to be, but I was fooling myself and the Lord had to open my eyes.

The next morning I was ready to stay in bed all day since every time I opened my eyes I would cry. It was about 12:30pm when Kimani came home for lunch and I was still in bed. When I saw him walk in the bedroom I felt like he actually picked me up and peeled me off the bed. It was so great to see him. I was planning to be in bed all day long if it meant that I would not be awake long enough to cry. He came in and gave me the strength I needed to get up and continue my day. Even better he told me he took the rest of the day off because he felt in his heart I was not well and I needed him for more than a half hour... Now that is God at work...

I wanted to just lay in his arms and cry some more, but I held it all in and we went to Barnes & Noble and got a couple of books on the Gluten/Casin free diet and we decided we are all going to switch over to this diet. Our boy needs something more than all the wonderful therapy he is getting and the Lord is waking me up to take the next steps.

For Nemi, I believe deep down that his current diet is not helping him get to the next level just yet. So we are surrendering it all to the Lord and believe He is going to give us the strength, taste buds and resources to switch over to this diet for our Nemi.

Here is the next battle to fight in order to win the war. I feel strong, I feel restored. God has been good and we are ready to keep moving forward. Keep praying for us, we wait for nothing less than a miracle.

Nehemiah James. We love you with all our hearts, and Mommy and Daddy are going to keep doing what ever it takes to help you get better, just like you pray every night. Jesus is hearing your prayers and He is going to answer them.

This past weekend

I love blogging about our weekends. It is so much fun. It seems like I cannot get to the computer until Wednesday to get it all out though..

Well, on Saturday, we went to our friend's baby shower and it was just a delight. That word sounds so weird, but it was. They are Nehemiah's godparents and are expecting a boy in mid June. We cannot wait to meet him. We are so excited they are having a boy I feel I am having another boy... That is how exciting it is.

Well, we got there kind of late, because I was working (I had called ahead to inform them), but luckily we got there just before gift opening. Everyone had eaten and we ate before heading out so it was perfect. They got SOOOOO MUUUCCCCHHH stuff we literally had an intermission from the gifts to cut the cake and then gift opening resumed. It was awesome to see how the Lord is blessing, we were happy to be there. After that we decided to head over to their house for more chit chat and coffee and ice cream and we had a great time. Nemi behaved very well given that he was three hours past his bed time. I had packed his jammies and a pull up and in the car he knocked right out.

Sunday, it was mother's day and I thought that a year ago we had just found out we were expecting Kimberlee and it was such a nice memory.

Kimani said he had to go out and I thought he was going to Dunkin Donuts to get us a nice morning snack, but instead he surprised me with and entire outfit. He got me a dress, earrings, necklace, bracelet and shoes. He hands it over to me and says this is what you are wearing today. Let me tell you, I looked good. I got so many compliments at church and everytime I made sure they know who dressed me that day. It was so beautiful to dress in what he wanted me to wear... he could not keep his eyes off me.

So we head down to Brooklyn to see his Mom for mother's day and we had a blast there too. We had not seen them in a while since we turned over the youth group and we missed each other sorely. It was almost necessary for us to be together again.

Again, we had a late night because we ended up talking to his parents about all sorts of things (including marriage bumps) and ended up leaving at 11pm again. Nemi was great though. I was so glad my boy tolerated such late nights.

We had a great weekend over all and next weekend we are looking forward to being with our friends Marisol and Javier. We have not hung out in a while and we need to fill our friendship cup, so we are looking forward to that.

Weird weekend

So it is kind of strange to report that we did nothing this past weekend. I mean nothing. well, I went to work Saturday (someone has to make some money here) and Kimani went out with his friend (and someone has to spend it - ja ja).

Sunday we just went to church and back and that was it.

It is sad to write such a trite report being that this is our fun filled summer, but it felt GOOD to do nothing and sit home - even in that we just enjoyed each other's company as the kids did their thing.

It was a good weekend after all.

Herbs today - gone tomorrow

Well, you knew this was coming. Sooner of later I had to tell you all about how my plants are doing.

Not too long ago they were in critical condition. I attempted to move the plants from the kitchen to the front window to give them more sun and half way there.... they fell.

Ahhh!!!!

Oh goodness! that was the end of them - or so I thought. I left them in the kitchen in hopes to reviving them and I think they may have a chance. Just in case the first batch does not make it out of intensive care, I purchased more seeds for round two.

Brother and Sister

My children are really the joy of my life.

Nemi brought me to tears recently when he grabbed Kimberlee's hands and told her, "up, up up" the way daddy does it to get her to lift her head. Since she was on my lap I actually lifter her up on her feet. She was loving it. The more she smiled the more he did it. It was such a sweet moment, just the two of them interacting with each other.

Days later Kimberlee brought me to tears when we were in the car and she was fussy. Nemi put the pacifier in her mouth and though she cannot fully control the movements of her arms and hands she reached over for him and grabbed his hands. (sob, sob) it was so beautiful to see that. So innocent and loving. The way only a brother and sister could be. The older trying to make the baby smile and the baby saying thank you to her brother with a simple touch.

Our Weekend

I cannot believe I have not had the chance to write about our last weekend and now we are half way through to the next weekend.

Anyway, well, on Saturday we woke up early to go to a birthday party. We had to be there at 930am. Isn't that odd? How many kiddie parties have you been to at 9 in the morning? Exactly!

Anyway, we had to be there because it was at a movie theater (which I found to be a cool but very expensive idea) and the movie (Bolt) started at 10am. We got there on time, by the grace of God, which was great because we had to leave early and it just would not look good to arrive late and leave early. We only got to see the beginning of the movie and we actually want to rent it and have "Nemi" (meaning us) finish watch it because it was actually quite good. After that, I had to head to work and that was basically it.

Sunday was beautiful Eowyn's dedication and we went to support our friends and be there for them.

Then we did laundry and (here comes the best part of our day) we went to visit our friends The Hestermans and let me tell you, you all have to go check out their home. They are doing such a great job at making that house a home. Ryan was in the middle of finish the deck out back... literally, he was putting up the railings and all the pieces to go on it (what ever all that man stuff is that is needed for construction) and we just sat on the 3/4 way done deck and enjoyed the warm afternoon. Nemi insisted on throwing toys and the bumbo down the steps and no time-out or threats of spanking worked to get him to stop, which was quite embarrassing. Lily was happy playing in her house until Nemi taught her how to jump out the window (this just sounds crazy). Jacob and Kimberlee hung out with the mommies and it was just the most beautiful time. You know when you do nothing to pass the time and it seems like it was the best use of your time ever... that was our Sunday afternoon. One of those afternoons you read about in some eloquent article or a feel good book. It really was the highlight of our crazy day.

Spring has Sprung

This weekend was wonderful. First and foremost because the weather was amazing. Finally, some sun and much needed heat. hip hip hooray!!!

About two weeks ago, Nemi and I planted our seeds (cilantro, spearmint, basil, scallions, and oregano). Some of the pots are clearly labeled and others are not (good job, Mom). This week we noticed that some of the seeds are starting to grow, yippee - only that we do not know what it is because it has no label (good job, Mom) - so we have yet to see what those are. Today we noticed that the cilantro is sprouting (labels, Yes!!). I am so excited. I called Nemi over and together we counted to sproutlings (whatever) and gave each other a high five. Last year I had no luck with my attempts to have fresh herbs in the house, but hopefully this year Nemi will be my lucky charm. Well, sort of, behind the scenes my friends Lori and Leah get most of the credit because they told me when, and where and how to plant my seeds. Believe me when I tell you that I am not very good with gardening, so I take in all the help I can get. At the end of the day we will see if I could maintain what has begun. If so, here is my plan. To make:
Homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh basil and oregano
Homemade sofrito with fresh cilantro
Kimani's secret BBQ sauce with fresh scallions
Loads of mint tea - maybe even some minted lebana (wrong spelling, but it is an Arabic dip- delish!) - Amin and Cindy I need your guidance here.

Well, we are all looking forward to it. I just hope I do not drown nor dry out the pots. Will keep you posted.

Ok on to the weekend. On Saturday we headed out for a walk to a near by walking area - Park Lake - and at first Kimani wanted to go around three times (yeah, right - we bearly made it once around). 3/4 of the way Nemi encounters the playground and yada yada yada we had a blast on the playground/beach.

Sunday was fun because I was sore from our walk at Park Lake, but I really wanted to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Newark. I have been wanting to go for years. So after church, we met up with Marisol who drove us as close to the event as she possibly could and after fighting to get a parking we finally made it to the park. Wow! I had never been there and though we found out later that last week the trees were in full bloom it was still a nice time. There was activities for the kids galore: face painting, decorate your own kite (that was cool), Turtleback Zoo petting zoo area, sand art station, and just all kinds of different things. The best part was the hot dog we bought. It was about 12 or 13 inches long. HUGE! Literally Kimani, Nemi, and I all ate from the one we bought. Huge!

Nemi's School Project

Nehemiah was given a school project back in March to read four books on sports and fill out a quick form regarding the story and they would get to go to a baseball game for free, with a picnic and a parade.

Easy, right?

The project was due today, April 15th.

Great, I have some time to do it.

Well, Mommy waited until yesterday (the 14th) to do this little project... of course.

I literally ran to the library, 25 minutes before having to be at the school to pick him up mind you; finally got my library card; told the librarian to give me any 4 books on sports and ran off to school for a meeting.

Later on that night, right before putting him to bed mind you, I am literally speed reading through the books and filling out the forms.

Sheesh!! I certainly hope Nehemiah does not pick up on my bad habits of procrastination.

Well, the good thing is that we got the project in on time and we will all get to go out on a family night to a baseball game, attend a picnic and participate in a parade. I hope it was all worth it.

Sweet Sleep

my Kimberlee slept through the night two nights ago and again last night. She will be 3 months tomorrow and is doing great. I am so excited she slept all night. Though I woke up in pain and engorged, I did not mind. I had my sleep.

I love it, Nemi was a good sleeper as well. Love my kids - and my hubby. They are amazing.

Easter Weekend 2009

We had a great Easter weekend. Again, I cannot upload any photos to share with you, but at some point or other I will.

So Saturday we went to upstate New York to visit my family. It was my second cousin's 5th birthday. We had such a great time hanging out with everyone. We were the first ones to arrive, and we loved that because we got to reconnect and catch up. I had not been up there since last year and we really missed them. Well, when the time came for the piñata all the kids got a turn. Nemi did not put the blinders on because he just does not tolerate anything on his face, but let me tell you he swung at that piñata quite hard and with determination to get the treats. Once the birthday boy broke the piñata and the candy flew out he was done, well, i should say in heaven. He filled his pockets, he filled his daddy's pockets, he had so much candy we had to scatter and hide it. It was just too much. He had a great time with his cousins and the food (of course) was exquisite.

On Sunday, we went up to church and after that we headed to the Bronx to spend Easter with Tony and his family. We were tired from Saturday, but it was important to us to go because it was our first Easter with them. It was such a blessing that we went. We enjoyed ourselves so much we almost did not want to leave. It was already 9pm and we were still trying to get out of the house. It was way too late for both the kids, but if they had had a spare room, we would've definitely stayed the night.

Being at Tony's house for Easter was exceptionally special. We love how engaging they are and welcoming. Tony hurried in the kitchen to spend time with his grand-daughter, unfortunately she screamed her head off when he would take her. I told him she does that with Kimani as well, not to take it personal... she only wants me most of the time. I did want him to hold her so I would feed her and give her to him to burp, thinking, now she is fed, she will not scream - but no she would scream. Ok, let me change her diaper and she will be fine.... nope she would scream. Oh! ok so let her fall asleep on my shoulder and then you can take her, she will be fine then... yeah! for about a minute. He begins to kiss her and she wakes up screaming - - sorry I tried. We are gonna have to wait a few months. He loves his grand-daughter. He got her the most beautiful dress for her dedication. Cannot wait for her to wear it.

Anyway, with all the family activities this weekend we did not get to do the egg hunt here at the house for Nemi. In hindsight, we did have time, but we wanted to make sure we were not late to go to the Bronx, so we skipped the egg hunt and decided to do it Monday. It was a lot of fun because we did it inside the house and Nemi was entertained for a while looking for all the eggs. He stopped hunting when he found the one with all the candy. All the other eggs had stickers, tattoos, compressed towels (the ones you put in water and they expand), bubbles, etc [most of it thanks to the M&M Bunny Trail giveaways]. Instead of a basket he had a pail with a shovel attached to it. I told Kimani that there were only pink baskets and with the pail he is now all set for the beach and the rest of the summer.

We also had a great time in prayer as we drove to Upstate NY and to the Bronx and back. The Lord is giving us an opportunity to be open and honest with all the things going on in our lives and to dedicate ourselves in prayer for each other and our marriage.

Nemi-isms

Nemi has been announcing everything that goes on regarding his body. If he bumps into something he will say, "I got an ouchie - my elbow (or where ever)".

Lately he also announces his contribution to the environment. When he passes gas he will say, "I farted."
I say, "oh Ok, say excuse me."
he says, "out my butt!"
"ok Nemi, we get it. Say excuse me"
"'cuse me!"

It cracks me up. I just hope he does not go into so much detail when we are out. I do not think other people will find it as cute as we do.

Nemi's Slang

I was helping Nehemiah clean up his room and at one point I dropped something and said, "oops! my bad!". He of course repeated what I said and I found it quite cute.

Well, that was about three weeks ago and even today he would drop something or mess up on an alphabet letter or something and say, "oops, my bad!"

My boy. He is so funny. How much I love him.

More pictures

House For Sale - Again

ok so that house that I have been keeping an eye of for the past two years is back on the market. Crazy, right?

Yeah! so I guess they should have worked with us when we asked them to let us rent it with an option to buy. Oh! well, I guess they really want to just sell it our right, which of course makes sense. One day we will own a home and I cannot wait to finally settle in to a place of our own. I want to have a little garden to grow my herbs.

Speaking of growing herbs I just remembered that I bought the things I need to grow... or should I say ATTEMPT to grow a few herbs this season. I got oregano, cilantro, spearmint (for teas), basil and something else I cannot remember. I should have Nemi help me plant the seeds that would be a fun activity.

Well, let us see if we could get that green thumb this time around. Wish me luck.

Kimberlee's First Photo Shoot

Sunday we went to our friend's house (Amin and Cindy) and Cindy is an awesome photographer. She took my pregnancy pictures when I was pregnant with Nemi and most of the ones of Nemi in his first year. I love her pictures and as a matter of fact we were noticing that two of her pictures made it to national television via A Baby Story.

So she and her hubby set up a makeshift photo studio in her basement for the first ever photo shoot. They improvised a lot, but let me tell you it all paid off. The pictures of Kimberlee were awesome. We would have taken more pictures if it was not so late in the night. It was past 9pm and Kimberlee was way past her bed time. She gave us a few smiles, but the truth is that it was quite a long day and she was pooped, she was a trooper to allow us the few pics we took.

I am so excited to going back and doing more pictures of the kids and even family shots.

Nehemiah's Independence

Wow so as moms we want to see our little ones reach and master the typical milestones and become independent, right? so why do I feel sad and happy when my Nemi finally masters something. I am so proud of him.

At times I feel guilty for doing so much for Nemi. Though for certain things I encourage him to do for himself, there are other things that I just could not fully surrender and let him have a go. Things like feeding himself and bathroom runs.

With the feeding I felt like he just would never eat if it were up to him. He would not sit and feed himself, though he could, he would always be interested in something else. Like every other child. So finally, I had to give up control and let him eat as much or as little as he wanted when he was ready to eat without ending up in me feeding him. Funny thing is that now he sits there and feeds himself most of not all of the food. Things that make you go hmm.

As for the bathroom thing - for a long time it was more because he would not communicate his need and I really did not want to deal with the mess in the bathroom. Funny enough (again) he now goes to the bathroom and actually stands there and aims and goes and .... I mean WOW! I was so amazed when I first saw him. Kimani did such a good job teaching him and I never knew because I always took him and did it all for him.

What kinds of things does Nehemiah do for himself by himself now:
Dresses himself: undies, socks, pants, and for the most part the shirt and even his coat.
Feeds himself: hot foods (he actually blows it), cold cereal, pours his own drinks
Bathroom runs: he does not always tell us when he has to go so sometimes he goes by himself all together, at times he tells us and other he just has accidents - I have accepted that as part of life and one day the accidents will stop.

I guess the next set of things is for him to is:
read his name and Mom and Dad
write his first and last name
bathe himself - I am sure he could do it now if I let him, but I am afraid he will 'forget' body parts so I always do it for him.

M&M Mars Easter Bunny Trail

So I had been looking forward to going to the M&M Mars Easter Bunny Trail this year since it is our "kick off" to a fun-filled summer.

I had given the kids a bath the night before so that it would make the morning go smoother. It paid off since we got there like 10 after 9, which was quite an impressive accomplishment. Only 10 minutes late. I aimed to arrive at 9am thinking we would actually get there at about 10am, but hey, I will take 10 minutes late over one hour.

Kimberlee wore her cousin's yellow dress with the yellow hat. She looked too cute and she was quite warm with all the layers I put on her. Nehemiah wore jeans and a red shirt. He looked super cute too. I wanted them to dress in M&M colors (corny, right?). Kimani wore a yellow shirt to match his daughter and I was the odd ball in white and light green.

When we got there the line was already quite long. We were told that since Mars was not sure if it was gonna pour down rain or not, they decided to just set up tables and distribute the candy to the children and skip the hunt. We got so much candy I felt like it was Halloween and we should have been saying, "Trick or Treat".

We were excited to just be there. We took pictures with the Red and Yellow M&M characters. We did not have the heart to take Kimberlee out of her car seat because it was windy and it seemed like it got colder as time went by. The Easter bunny came out when we were leaving, but we decided to skip it.

In total we were there for about an hour and we wished the weather had cooperated and we could have stayed longer and taken more pictures, maybe next year.

It was a beautiful drive up and back that allowed for some nice conversation and I think we both feel that it was definitely worth it because that is the reason for these outings; for us all to reconnect and spend quality time together.

This weekend coming up I am going to do an egg hunt with Nehemiah here in the house/complex (if the weather permits) and that will be our Easter. Looking forward to more memories this summer.

Paint Sample

So today I painted a small portion of the living room wall to test out the color we picked out. Elegant Yellow (SW 6666 from Sherwin Williams).

The day is a bit overcast today, but I am glad we get to see the color on the wall with natural light. So far I like it so lets see how Kimani likes it when he gets home.

Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow and we will get to see the color with the sunlight as well before we do the entire living room.

I am so looking forward to the final look.