Getting Tubes and speech Therapy

I wanted to update our family and friends on what has been going on with Quinn. Since he started talking I thought there was something different. He could never completely sound out words correctly. Some he could and some he couldn't. I know boys develop slower than girls so we waited. After talking to the pediatrician she suggested he see an ENT and get a Speech Evaluation done. After waiting forever to get an appointment we have some answers.

The outcome is after seeing an ENT specialist he was given medicine to try to clear out the fluid in his ears, which he didn't want to take at all. We went back for a re-check and his tympanogram (sp?) in his right here was flat line, and the left was just a hump. They are supposed to show a huge spike. Basically the way they explained it is that he hears things muffled as if he is under water but much thicker fluid, or when you are in an airplane. The ENT Dr. said that after 2mo the fluid in his ear should have gone away if it was just an ear infection, but with it being there still, and this test showing this it's not going away with any help. So he will have surgery on Nov. 11th to get tubes put in. We hope this will help as well as help his speech.

Quinn had to go twice for the speech evaluation. The first time showed that he was right where he needs to be, but the specialist in the articulation wasn't there so they wanted to bring him back to be screened again and more thorough since she couldn't understand him when trying to get him to talk in sentences. So we went back and the articulation test showed that is his below average for his age. She had to ask me, or look at me to see what he said. She was very good with him! His speech evaluation through the school board (ESE)shows that he is slurring his words and leaving off the endings. As well as the middle of the words not being correct. This could be due to his ears as well, she said that the tubes will help with therapy too! So we are waiting to hear about our meeting with the zoned school, and he will have speech therapy in addition to VPK. So another appt. to work into the week. At least we caught it early enough and with the tubes being put in we hope to see a HUGE improvement. (I'm hoping this will help the meltdowns we have too!) Other than that Quinn loves school! He goes there very shy but comes out with a smile ear to ear!!

I will keep you all posted on how the surgery goes and the speech therapy. We hope it all goes well!

2 Days 2 Rooms

Yes in 2 days we painted 2 rooms and swapped the kids over. The girls got Quinn's room and Quinn got the girls rooms. Took 1 can of primer to cover everything in each room. I really didn't think we would accomplish this in 2 days, with most of the work today on Labor Day. Thanks to the help of our good friend Derby we got it almost all done. Our house is a complete mess again, but just because I have to put all the toys back into their rooms. At least the girls will have more room, and more closet space, it looks really cute.

We aren't done with the girls room yet we want to add crown molding above the stripes that we painted, but no money for that. In time that will come next. Quinn's room still needs specialty paintings on the walls by me and both rooms need the curtains yet. My mom should be finished with those this week.

Yes I do have pics, I will post them later this week when I'm not so exhausted! The twins came by today, they were staying at my parents house so we could get things done, but they stopped by to take a 'peek' at their rooms and seemed to really like them in the 'in progress' stage. It will be nice to see their faces tomorrow when they see them done, well 90% done.

OK better go finish organizing toys, and picking up so I don't trip over things in the morning and kill myself!

Kids Update

A quick note, check out the kids school blog to follow their first time through VPK. I have scanned and posted the papers that they have brought home so far. They think it's neat to see them up on the blog. I am going to update what they do weekly, adding what they tell me that is new each day to a weekly post, but check it as often as you like. And when they bring home papers and projects I will add those too their 'Papers' pages.

Gotta think of something for Brinlee so she doesn't feel left out. Ok enough for tonight, I'm not feeling well and need to go get some rest. Enjoy their blog!

You can find it here: http://www.coneschooldays.blogspot.com

Follow the Twins at School

Ok yes going to track their progress! The kids have their own blog for School! I have posted everything they have done each day for their first week. I will update either everyday, weekly or very important stuff. It's currently in the works as far as layout so you will see change on it. However the posts are already up!

They can't wait to see your comments!!

http://www.coneschooldays.blogspot.com

School: First Day!

The morning was rough I think for all but all-in-all the twins first day of school went very well. Some small tears were shed but hey that's normal. After getting home with the twins they seemed to relax and tell me what they did at school. I know throughout the year we will have many stories to hear from them! Not too much time to do a lot for 3hrs at school. I think the day was new, exciting, and overwhelming for them.

Here is the video....

First Day of School

The twins embark on a new adventure tomorrow morning...their First Day of School. They are very excited, but I'm starting to get nervous, yes it's only 3hrs but I know those 3hrs will feel like days! Hello! We have 2 starting at the same time not just one!! I know they will do fine, not sure how I will do. I will take some pictures and post sometime tomorrow as well as what they said they did for the day. So be on the look out for more posts from me (I know I have been slacking). Anyway here is a poem for Quinn and Bella tomorrow for their First Day of School!!

First Day of School: Parent to Child
I gave you a kiss and smile
As you left my arms today,
For I know how hard it is to leave
And know that at school you must stay.
You've been with me for 4 yrs now
And I have been your only guide,
But now, alas, the time has come
To leave you at your teachers' side.
I know that as I drive away
And tears down my cheeks will flow
Your teacher will love you too
And help you to learn and grow.
How quickly the years do pass
And one day I will see
 You will be taking your child to class.
I will put my mind at ease for awhile
And cry those tears no more
As I know your teacher will love and teach you the world
When I leave you at her classroom door.

Fun family day!

This is a week old but finally getting around to posting it. We went to DAK on March 7th for a fun family day, without Daddy :( We took Nanny and Gramps and a picnic lunch and so much fun!! We met up with our twin family friends from the Tampa area, walked around with them and also saw Festival of the Lion King show. It was one of the first warm, beautiful days in FL in a long time.

Here is a video of our day, enjoy!

Valentine's Day weekend and Big Girl Bed!

Well a little late in posting this but here we go....

The day before we took the kids to the local pottery place, Plaster Cottage in town and had a lot of fun. The twins each painted 2 things they got to take home. Bella chose a seashell and a car, and Quinn chose a car and Spongebob. Brinlee just watched of course. Jay and I painted letters for their names. Uncle John and Aunt Michelle met us there too to have some fun.



Afterwards Bella and Jay had a dinner date night at Chik-fil-A. So darn cute. They were seated at tables that had linens, and their orders were taken, and even got a desert and a Free picture! (I'll have to scan that one in at a later date). They had a nice little Daddy-Daughter date while Me, Brinlee, Quinn, John and Michelle at at Steak-n'-Shake, Quinn had no problem with that for sure! Brinlee had a lot of fun with the stickers at SNS!!!



Valentine's Day was a fun day. Jay had to work so it was me and the kids. We decided to go ahead and change Brinlee's bed into a BIG GIRLS BED!! I don't think she knew what was going on but sure did have some fun, here are some pictures.







The kids were also excited because they got some cards in the mail from Aunt Marlene and Uncle Dan. They each got $1 and the first words out of the twins mouths were "Let's go to the dollar store!" And of course we did. Quinn bought a box of DOTS CANDY, Bella bought a blue baseball bat and Brinlee picked out a pink calculator. Well Quinn's dots were eaten up fast, big surprise there huh?! Brinlee decided to eat off 5 of the buttons within 5 hrs, and Bella still has her bat to play with.

They also got really cute cards from Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbie. They were so excited to get even more mail!! They each got $5 which they wanted to put in their piggy banks.

Here are some pictures:

Then I was going to make Creme Brule for Jay as a V-Day gift but after buying the ingredients I realized it had to sit overnight, ugh. So I made a nice dinner and made KeyLime Parfait. I made my own recipe: Juicy Chicken and Delicious Dill Potatoes. You can find them on my recipe blog called Yummy Tummy Eats. Link is in the sidebar on the right!! Try it you'll love it! Here are some pictures.

Having fun with Michelle and John

SO back on Oct 10th, I know a little ways back we went to Disney with John and Michelle. We had a really fun day at Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom! OMG was the day super duper HOT!!! It was like 94 out plus humidity, we were dripping. We went on the safari, Kali River Rapids, yes the twins were tall enough and loved it....Nanny you get to go on it next with them! We then went to MK did Dumbo, Race Cars, Carousel, It's a Small World and watched SpectroMagic. Bella was excited to see Minnie 2 times that day!! We had a lot of fun!! and Mommy too TONS of pictures, so many that I have to post 2 slide shows!!! Here you go enjoy!

Thanks Aunt Marlene!

Aunt Marlene sent the kids so fun gifts for Halloween, they love their backpacks, containers, Pez dispensers, robes and everything else! Also thanks for the Red Lobster GC, I can't wait to go eat a yummy meal!!! Here are some pictures...

First Day of Trick-or-Treating

So last night we took the kids Trick-or-Treat at Downtown Disney. We figured get them out of the house and something to do. They had a lot for the kids to do, ours are still a bit young and shy to do some of the things. They had of course Trick or Treat station, 22 of them, a magician, dance party, stilt walkers, and other fun activities. We walked the entire Downtown Disney Market Place, Pleasure Island and West side and back. They had a ton of fun. There were so many people commenting on their costumes too! We had 2 girls from Japan love them so much they took a picture of the kids!!

By the end of the night they were for sure tired from walking. Here are some pictures, I will have another post after we go Trick-or-Treating tonight!!

Minneola Fall Fest - - - WINNERS!

First we went to a Fall Fest at Sweetbay, the local grocery store, they had goodies for the kids, cookie decorating, specials and stuff. They had fun, but we didn't stay long.

We went to the Minneola Fall Fest, CAD was performing so the entire family went, there was food, a small carnival and enteratinment. My students did wonderful for such a tiny stage! There was a costume contest for the kids so of curse I entered in the twins and Brinlee. From the pictures you can see that Quinn was: Peter Pan, Bella was: Wendy (to her TinkerWendy) and Brinlee was: Tinkerbell.

My Mother made the kids costumes, thnks to Emma she let BRinlee borrow her Tinkerbell costume. I of course made some fancey shoes, a matching bow and we customized her wings!! Oh yes she is ready for SPECTROMAGIC! If I had more time the entire costume would have been lit!

For the age group 0-4yrs Brinlee won 1st PLACE!!! They all thoguth they won, they go a basket of goodies, a cool trophy that Quinn had to put in the curio cabinet and a gift certificate to Kandiland Kidz Gym. So cute I must say, she loved those wings, didn't want to take them off at all! WHile my students were dancing she was for sure doing the Brinlee dance on the sidelines and Bella loved watching. (Not sure how the video came out, might post at a later date). We ha a great time, kids had fun....here are the pictures!

Eating Machines

Ok so on Tuesday nights after the twins have their dance class, my Dad picks them up at the studio and takes them to his house until I am done teaching that night. Well he feeds them dinner and this is what they ate tonight:

Bella had:
Soup (Two helpings!)
Broccoli and Cheese
Corn
Two Jelly Sandwiches!
Then a sucker followed up with popcorn!!

Brinlee had:
Broccoli and Cheese- She practically the whole package!
Then she drank a full cup of milk
Popped down a number of grapes
Then she had popcorn.

Quinn had:
Soup

Ok do you see something here? How does Quinn only eat soup and still have tons of energy? And little miss Brinlee...WOW!! Where does it go? Her stomach isn't even that BIG!

Day at the park, what fun!

Today we took some time at the park to play on the slides, swings, run around and explore. It wasn't too hot today but still hot! The park is shaded really well, under BIG trees. We stayed for about 1hr, Quinn didn't want to leave when we wanted to. They had a blast! Here is a scrapbook page that I did. If you are into digital scrapbooking I used TotallyD Designs kit "All About You." You can find it right now at Inspiration Lane for a limited time at a great price because she is retiring this kit!

Fun Day!

Yesterday we took half of the day to get out of the house. Jay had to work but we met him at the park to just walk around, see the parade, Playhouse Disney and of course we ahd to find McQueen and Minnie Mouse!

While Jay worked my Dad, the kids and I walked around, we brought our lunch to save some green and just slowly walked around. Someone next to our table at lunch offered us 1/2 a pizza and taht was very nice of them. Then while waiting for the parade my Dad got us some frozen lemonade and Brinlee loved it! Drinking out of a straw even!! Bella enjoyed the parade even more this time around, Quinn just covered his ears.

Quinn did find something that he wanted in the store, Nanny- be aware you will be asked for something. It was a nice hot but relaxing and different day to just forget about things and have some fun. Not to worry that we had to see certain things, a time-frame, etc.

Here is a fun video of the pictures and videos that I took, Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Aunt Marlene - Get Well Uncle Dan!

The kids made a video for Uncle Dan to get better. Hes was in a motorcycle accident and the twins decided to mostly make a dance video to cheer him up!!

Also we wanted to wish Aunt Marlene a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!!!



Here is Brinlee sharring her LOVE!!!

A visit with Payton

So on SUnday Brinlee was 13mo and Payton James turned 1 week old and we went to meet her! Our friends Andy and Janelle had Payton on August 16th, 2009 weighing 10lbs. 2oz. We made a short visit on Sunday to meet her and welcome her.

Brinlee wasn't too sure of Payton, but then wanted to touch her. She was kinda wondering why Mommy was holding another baby...I got that LOOK! QUinn and Bella weren't too sure but were more interested in Andy and Janelle's fish.

Here are some pictures of us with Payton!!

Dive on IN!

Well here are some videos and pictures from a few weeks ago of Bella practicing her dives. She loves to dive into the pool! Quinn likes to just splash and then sit on the sidelines and watch. Bella is getting really really good and I feel like we might see swimming lessons in our future with a swim coach?!

First Dance Class cont.

Here are some pictures from their first dance class. I have added some more and got a slideshow going as well.

ENJOY!

Here are the videos, you'll enjoy my Dads and my own comentary as you watch these videos. Being a dance teacher why is it always our kids that dont' want to do anything? But maybe at recital Bella will be like me on my first recital TELLING the others what to do! (She is 'Miss Boss lady' by the way at home)

Their First Dance class....... Alone!

Well yes it's OFFICAL the twins had their first dance class WITHOUT Mommy teaching! THey are enrolled at CAD taking the Foundations class with Ms. Melissa. I am not teaching them because I want them to have someone else teaching and be able to interact with other kids.

They were very excited about going, and Bella loved her new leotard, she actually picked it out and wanted NO skirt! Quinn could care less but was totally happy. They werent too sure when their names were called to go into the class. Quinn walked right up, and Bella was about to cry but told her that Quinn was going and I would be watching in the window. As you will be able to see in the pictures she held her hands by her face, most of the time.

They did really well. It took Bella about 20min to actaully warm up and enjoy herself. Quinn...LOL he just the HAM of the class. You will be able to see when I get the videos up that he was happy with the jumping, rolling and fun stuff.

I think as the weeks go by they will definately do better and really get into it. Bella saw the pictures and video to day and said, 'Yes I want to go again.' I asked her what she wasn't supposed to do next week and she said, 'Rub my eyes.' I'm not making them go, if they want to take they will. It's so weird seeing them take class, I can still remember my first class at ADC. How time flies....

Here are a few pictures, I will upload the rest to Photobucket and post a link tomorrow, there were too many to post.