Had a great Christmas!! The boys got what they wanted, (of course!), Santa and all of the relatives were way too generous! :)

These are just a few pics I managed to snap off since I was way too busy helping little Sammy-lo-lammy "rip" his gifts open! :) (He had a ball!) He was so good all day, I'm sure it had nothing to do with taking a little nap with Mommy at Gramma and Grampa's house! ;)

(The pic of Luke is him with his new camping backpack that Patty and Joe got him. He can't wait to camp out for real, now! I can, though! LOL)

If you double click on these 2 pics of Sam, you should be able to see the videos.

"Aqua Man"

Sammy had his second aquatic therapy session with his OT tonight at the Girls' Club. Man, he LOVES the water! We have to make him get out because his lips start to turn blue after about an hour or so, the length of the class, and then he still cries! We are still working on figuring out the flotation situation, so he tries everything inflatable that they have, including stuff that Susan brings herself to help him hold up his head so he doesn't drink the pool water! :P

He looks funny with all of the floaties, but he loves it anyway! He really gets a good full stretch in his legs when he "swims" (kicks) in the water, so it's so good for his muscles. (Besides, what else can you do with him for a full hour that he doesn't start crying through?? ) His OT can only join us at the swim time once a month because she has twin girls who are a little over a year old and she can't leave them more than that, i guess. We ordered him a new floaty device for special needs kids, and it's on its way, so hopefully we'll have it for next Thursday when it's just Brian and I on our own with him.

Luke also got to swim tonight and had a good time. There are the lifeguard's 2 little girls there, too, about his age, so he swam in the deep end with them for the session. And so it begins... hee,hee.... ;)

I am going to see if I can post a video on here, too, if it'll let me...

couple updated pics....

Hey there....just wanted to post a pic of Sam and Luke. The pic of Sammy was before he got his haircut, Ugh! Brian freaked me out by putting him on his shoulder, but of course my little daredevil LOVED it! :) We think it's a great pic! He looks so grown-up and able-bodied there!

The pic of Luke was from Saturday when he had a friend over. They still love playing in shaving cream like when they were little. (Don't laugh--it's how I got Luke to practice writing his name for Kindergarten!) He thought it was cool that he made talons with it! :) (Doesn't take much, hah?) hee,hee....

Luke's first big Cub scouting adventure

Ok--at least all of the adventure that Mom could handle anyway! We went to this doctor's house in Williamstown for a campout, except I'm too wussy to sleep out in 20 degree weather(call me crazy!) and they want the parents to stay with the kids for these things especially. So we did the whole day with a hike up a mountain (no joke--literally up the side of a mountain! Ugh! Ruined my knee for like 3 days!), target shooting(I hit 2 out of three cans, baby!), splitting wood, and having a cook out with a campfire. (that Luke started!See pic above.) Luke and I also learned how to pitch a tent.(That's ours up above.) Good to know, I guess, if I EVER intend to camp out. ;) It was good for Luke. He REALLY wanted to stay over, but I told him no way...the whole day freezing my booty off was way more than enough for me! Sorry! :) Either way, he packed as if he was really camping out and got credit for most of his "Outdoorsman" badge that he needs to cross over to Boy Scouts eventually next year. He was actually the only kid that listened to the leaders' list of things to pack and he was very prepared! He was able to give the leaders some of the things they needed like matches, and a pot for the hot cocoa, when nobody else had brought those things. Oooo, my little Boy Scout...always be prepared! LOL

ANyway, they had a ball, and I actually had a good time, too, and got to know some of the other parents better. (Actually I started having a good time AFTER the long johns went on!) Thank God for me, we at least had an indoor bathroom in the guy's finished basement to use. Whew! :) Nice people, though....

They are having a camp-in at the church where they hold the meetings in January, and I'm sure we'll be there for that one. No excuses there! ;)

He is working hard on getting all of the requirements done for his Webelos 2 badge and his Arrow of Light. The den leader has been great about getting him all caught up and helping me not to panic! ;)

Had to add a pic of Sammy "talking".

Here are some pics from the Hall0ween party last Sat. at Patty's. Per usual, Mary did an outstanding job on scary decorations and Patty and Diane fattened us all up with some awesome goodies. The costumes were all too cool! :) Of course, I'm not in these...Mary has one of me, I'll have to have her send me one... Enjoy! :)

Fall Foliage

Thought I would post some pics I took of the gorgeous tree across the street from us! I couldn't resist! (And of course Sammy in his new Old Navy camos! Just like Luke's!)

Two of my 3 "boys" :)

Just had to post a couple of pics that I snapped off last night after Sammy's tubby when Brian was putting his jammys on him. Too cute! :)

Apple pickin'

We went to Goold's Apple Orchard in New York on Monday, Columbus Day. The "boys" (Brian and Luke) had a ball picking and even had a "contest" to see who could find the biggest apple. Luke even braved the tall wooden ladder to get the big apples up top! Mom wasn't so brave. I was happy to stay down below with Sammy. He loved the bumpy ride through the orchard in his adaptive stroller! :)

We got two giant bags of apples, if anybody needs a peck or two! :)

They were cheap, too! I highly recommend that orchard for anyone looking in future years for a day trip. Very cool!

They also had pony rides there. Sammy loved the pony, of course! And one of the girls who was doing the rides had actually taken training for equine therapy. It was cool talking to her about it! Small world!

Enjoy the pics!

Luke bday :)

We had Luke's bday party last Sunday while Annie was home. His theme was dragons, as one of his favorite book series lately is Eragon. Mary did an awesome job (of course) with the decorations. Of course, the bad mom that I am, I forgot to take pics of them, so I will have to get some from Mary to post here. Luke had a great time! :) He loved his cake. It really didn't take me very long, it wasn't too bad. Luke and I improvised with what we had at home for decorations on him. Not bad, hah??

Note the faux look of surprise on his face since he had already picked out his presents from us! :)

I'm also including a cutie pic of Sammy sleeping . I found him like that when I went in to wake him up. Too funny! He never sleeps like that! :)

more cutie sammy pics

Thought I'd share this cute pic of Sammy that Luke took. Maybe he has photography in his future?? He also took the pic of Sammy standing with his AFOs on and playing. He likes for me to hold him at the couch while he weight bears instead of the gait trainer now, for some reason. As long as he does it, who cares?? He's been good about wearing the AFOs and the glasses. Yeah! :)

Sammy's new BLUE glasses

Sammy got his correct BLUE frames the other day. I was told by the optician (I question how much THEY know!) that it would take like a month to know if the glasses are working for his wandering eye. Of course, she also said that kids don't outgrow it (which Shouldice said that CP kids usually do) so I had to correct her on that one! I assumed it was an immediate fix. :(

She told us we need to keep them on him, even if he fusses. (Easy for HER to say!) Apparently his brain needs to make a connection with the eyes. I guess that's what the glasses do, is help the brain and eye function correctly together. He's been good about wearing them all day lately. Good boy, Sammy! :) I am also putting his AFOs on him more regularly to hopefully get him used to them so he will be more likely to try and take steps in them. He bicycled with them on this morning while I was holding him like an airplane! That was big because he usually doesn't even bicycle in them! Yipee! Small steps, right?? (no pun intended!)

Luke is officially a Webelo

So after 2 years of begging on his part, we finally signed Luke up for Boy Scouts tonight. Ok, he's technically a Webelo 2, but halfway through 5th grade, he officially becomes a "Boy Scout". He is PSYCHED about it! There is a kick-off thing next Friday at the State Forest that sounds pretty cool. They have a bon fire and Smores and stuff, and you bring the whole family , so it should be fun! They seem like really nice people, but Luke's pack leader wasn't there since he's somebody that works "high up" in the city. So how can he have time for this, is my question. Oh well, Luke should have a great time, anyway. He can't wait til it starts! His friend is also in it with him, so that's good. :) They have fun trips planned, too.
Of course, Luke was the TALLEST kid there...he literally TOWERED over all of the other kids...he looked like a giant! Of course, a lot of them were from younger packs, but still...there were some older kids there, too. It was just funny! My little Shaq! :) LOL

Sammy's new specs :)

So Sammy's new glasses came in today. Wrong color, however. They are supposed to be blue--way cuter than the tan/peach color that these are. The frames have little teddy bears that you can't see from far away. They are re-ordering the right ones for us and he should have them in less than a week. He's still a cutie-patootie, anyway! :) (The picture of him with the toy ring on his head is because Luke asked Sam if he wanted a "halo" and put it on his head!) :) His eye is still crossing with the glasses on, and when I put them on me, I couldn't see ANYTHING far away. It was wicked fuzzy! SO if he has decent vision like I do, (not perfectly20/20 but close enough) what does it look like for him?? I have to call the eye doc and see what he says. It is worrying me now! That's a lot of money to screw with his vision for a SOMEtimes wandering eye! :(

(P.S. Doesn't he look like he's wearing mem's glasses?) hee, hee.... :)