Sunday, May 29, 2016

Kayla's Ballet Recital

Kayla was in her first ever ballet recital on May 21st!  She and her class danced to the song from Mary Poppins "Spoonful of sugar".  She did such a good job!  So proud of my Kayla!  Also the costumes were so cute!

Grandma and Grandpa Benedict came from Austin to see Kayla dance.  As well as our good friend Cindy and Kayla's good friend Vivian.









Friday, May 27, 2016

Brandon is 5 months old

Brandon turned 5 months old on May 14th.  He has definitely grown since last month.  On May 14th he weighed 15 lbs, 14 oz.  He is working on rolling over.  He's getting close, but can't seem to get over just yet.  He's also working on those teeth and already has two bottom teeth!  He drools a lot because of the teething and he likes to chew on his hands.  He's such a happy boy and smiles a lot so I see those cute little teeth every time he smiles.  Brandon loves attention and loves when someone talks to him.  He gets the biggest grin!
He is eating 5 oz every 3-4 hours.   He usually sleeps well at night though for the past couple of nights he has been waking up at 3 or 4 am hungry and wanting to eat.  This is not like him.  I think the formula is just not enough for him anymore.  He is just needing more and I may with his doctor's approval add rice cereal to his bottle.  We moved him out of our bedroom into his crib in his room on May 16th.  He did just fine with the transition.  He is such a good baby!  Love this boy so much!!









Friday, May 20, 2016

Rachel and Haley

So it has been a while since I have written an update on Rachel and Haley.  Not much is different as they stay busy with the same daily routine.  They both go to school from 7:30am to 3:15pm.  They are both in special education/life skills class and get therapy at school.  They also have therapy (PT, OT and speech) at home 4 days out of the week.  They have been healthy which is such a blessing.  They definitely don't go to the doctor much anymore.  They just have yearly appointments for vision checks and neurology.  Both Rachel and Haley also have appointments a couple times a year in regards to their hearing (cochlear implant and hearing aids).  Life with them continues to sail along.  Yes there are challenges that we face each day with these girls, but they are miracles and blessings.

Rachel:
Rachel continues to be our high energy kid.  She can be a challenge.  We were told almost 3 years ago that she has autism, but I was not convinced.  She was tested at school a year ago and the results said she didn't have Autism.  Back in March Rachel saw the developmental doctor and they are saying she does indeed have autism.  So we are not 100% sure, but Rachel does have some autistic behaviors.  She has other disabilities that make it look like autism as well.  She is deaf and her vision is not perfect.  Rachel does wear her cochlear implant and she is able to hear with it, but she still doesn't talk and lacks the ability to communicate efficiently.  Rachel does know a little sign language and she is able to communicate some of her wants.  People who don't know her may not be able to figure out what she wants, but obviously as her parents we know what she is asking or wanting.  Rachel is also developmentally delayed.  With that being said, Rachel likes being around people and always goes up to people although her interaction with people is not always appropriate (could be due to her other disabilities).  So the question of autism or not continues.  But in the big scheme of things, it really doesn't matter because Rachel is who she is - a daughter of GOD!  She's a beautiful girl!




Haley:
Haley is our go with the flow kid though she is apprehensive when she goes to new or unfamiliar places.  This is due to her low vision.  She just can't see well enough to know where she is in unfamiliar places.  Haley is making good progress with saying some words.  She can say "ball"and is working on saying "eat".  Haley also knows about 6 signs.  Haley is a loving, sweet little girl.  She insists on giving Kayla and I a hug when she gets home from school and she loves her brother.  She gets concerned and walks over to him when he cries.  Haley loves to make noise!  Since she can't see well, she uses her hearing.  She does wear her hearing aids and loves them!  She also loves music especially soft love type songs.