Yesterday Angela and I met with Barb from UCP. Barb stops by every week or two to go over things we encounter while parenting Christina. Barb asked if Christina would be a spokes person for UCP. Her pretty smile will be on various brochures and on the telethon.

Christina and I also went to the park yesterday. We wore each other out. Lots of walking. Then we had an ice cream sandwich for a snack when we came home.

This morning the little squirt was up at 04:30. I think she had a bad dream.

Off to work I go.

Where to start with updates...

Christina had her first day of school on 09/08/2009, it went well. She was great up until she had to sit in her kid cart towards the end. Not surprising she did not like it, she does not like it at home anymore either.

Tomorrow brings Christina's second day. She is going Mondays and Tuesdays for now. By end of year, up to four days.

Angela and Christina saw Karleen at the park today. They had a nice visit.

Angela found some small cups with handles and a straw that is just the right size for Christina. Christina is able to hold on to them by herself and bring the straw to her mouth and drink. We are very proud of her.

As I type, I can hear Christina in her room still talking and crying. She does not want to sleep tonight. Angela is already in bed and I think it is close to time for me too. It has been a long weekend.

Christina has been very talkative lately too. We sing, say the alphabet, count, say words, and make funny noises together. She enjoys being more vocal, I think she likes to hear herself talk.

There are more things to tell everyone and I can't think. It is time to call it a night.

Soon I will have the page done to be able to see all of the pictures we have of Christina.

Yesterday Christina held her own cup all by herself and drank from it. She was so cute holding her cup. She was so proud of herself and we are so proud of her. It was great to see that.

So it was Christina's first day of school. She did absolutely wonderful. She only had tears when Mary (her teacher) took her and then they were over. She of curse cried when she was put into her kid cart. She does that at home. She also sat on the potty and did not fuss. When I picked her up she was happy. We came home and had snuggle time. She was happy to tell me all about her day.

WOW Christina sure has had a lot of first's this month. Her hair cut, sleep over and now school. Christina is becoming quit the social bug. It has been so great to watch all of her accomplishments. Christina is so amazing.

On Friday Christina spent the night at Deb and Cory's. She did very well. She took her meds and did not keep everyone up all night. It was strange in the house with out her. Derek went camping this weekend as well. So the house was empty. 

Christina starts school tomorrow and I am sure that she will do great. We went to school orientation on Friday and I had to fill papers out. Mary, her teacher took her and Christina was fine in a few minutes. She enjoyed playing in the classroom.

On Sunday when Derek came home they went to the park and rode the train. Christina just wanted to cuddle with daddy because she missed him sooo much.

So this morning it was Christina's last therapy session with Katy her physical therapist. I cried when we left. I never thought that I'd feel like this for her last session. Katy has become a part of the family. She has seen Christina once a week for over three years. It is great that Christina graduated out of SPOT's house and into school next week. It is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. So once again a bitter sweet moment. Tomorrow it will be Christina's last OT session with Jenny and I am sure that I will feel the same way again. I hope that next summer when she goes back to SPOT's for therapy that we can get  Katy and Jenny back. They were great.

Christina has made huge leaps this summer. She is defiantly ready for school.

Christina got her first hair cut today. She did wonderful and not one tear. Now her curls just bounce all over. Kirsten, Crystals sister cut her hair. Kirsten even got multiple kisses before and after.  Derek and I took Cole and Evan most of the weekend and we had lots of fun. After the hair cut we went to the play place in the mall and ran around for a while. Derek was laughing at me for crawling under the tree with Christina. I told him that he was lucky we didn't get stuck. Christina also went down a slide and Evan helped to catch her at the end.

Today was filled with games of hide and seek along with counting and alphabet songs. Christina got a kick out of scaring Cole.

So school starts soon for Christina and the closer that is coming the easier it seems to be to let her go. I am sure now that Christina is ready. She just loves to be moving and doing stuff all the time.

Next week is Christina's last week of therapy through SPOTS house. Guess what??? It took three years and she now goes to Katy and Jenny with no tears at all and they can even talk to me while holding her. It was amazing. Like I said go figure one week left and now she has no problems going. She looks forward to going to therapy.

Christina had her first haircut today. She sat very well with no tears. Her curls really show now.

Evan and Cole came over today also. We had fun. Evan and I baked cookies. Christina and I played hide and seek with them. Christina had a lot of fun. She did not want to stop. Christina even was quiet when we were hiding. And, she counted with me.

It was a full house and a lot of fun.

Derek

This Sunday I was only gone for a couple of hours. Christina seemed to enjoy the extra time with Daddy.

The little squirt was up early today and did not take much of a nap. Christina went to bed nice and was in a great mood and playful and giggly went she went to bed.

Angela keeps pushing her leg to the "too much pain" point. Her leg is getting better, but it is a slow process.

Yesterday I blew up the little kiddie pool and Christina and I walked around in the water for a little while.

So be it,
Derek

Well, it has been very busy and stressful here. I'll start with the update for Angela so the update on Christina makes more sense.

After several tests and trips to the U of M, Angela finally had surgery on her leg. The docs needed to do more work than anticipated once inside. Needless to say, Angela is in pain. She is following orders and staying off her leg and keeping it up. Late Monday afternoon her ankle bulged and and became very painful. We went to the ER and called her surgeon at U of M. It is bleeding inside and swelled around the area. Lots of pain and not much to do except put more pressure on it. Angela is healing and wishing it would go faster. Being in this position is frustrating for Angela.

Christina has developed more of an attitude since about a week before Angela's surgery. She wants mommy, and only mommy. We think she is very aware of Angela's feelings and wants to console mommy.

With Angela not able to play with Christina like she used to, Angela gets more frustrated. Christina gets more cuddly with mommy. If Christina hears or sees Angela she starts whining. Christina has had a lot of time outs and stern reprimands. When Angela is not around Christina is wonderful for most of the time.

My update, well, I'm healthy. I am ready for a vacation. When everything settles down, I will go camping. It bothers me that Christina and I bump heads with her attitude. Down the road I am sure it will be beneficial, but right now it adds to the concerns at hand.

Oh yeah, Angela may need to have the same surgery again on the other veins in the same leg if they fail now that the others are gone. That would be a few months down the road though.

Cheers,
Derek