Worst way to start summer

We got to New Hampshire for a 2 week vacation last Monday. I dropped off Camden at my Mom's to play with his cousins. A hour later my Mom calls. " We have an emergency, I think Camden broke his arm!!"........... the worst words to hear when I was not near him!!! Camden had jumped off a swing. Thankfully, I was a mile a away driving towards her house. But, even that short mile felt like 10 miles. I knew he was in the best hands with my Mom  but not being able to be right there for Camden was so hard. When I got there, Nanna had him on her lap keeping him calm. My sister Becky drove me to the hospital while I held Camden.

Camden was such a trooper the entire time. He barely cried. All he said was "I hate this vacation". He was in shock too which was scary.

We went back to get the X-ray. I could tell he was so scared of all the big machines. But, in Camden fashion, he did everything they asked without a tear. The nurse nudged me to look behind me at the X-ray...... YUP a break.....and a bad one. 

He couldn't get any pain medication until after the X-ray. It was taking a long time so I went to talk to the nurse. That's when I see the doctor talking to a pediatric surgeon. Not good..... my stomach drops..... Daddy is not here with us! The surgeon comes in to tell me he has to do a "closed reduction".

The hospital staff were AMAZING with Camden. He was very scared of being put to sleep. He worried that he wouldn't be able to wake up :(  Froggy, Camden's best friend was right by his side. I was able to go back while they put him to sleep. They told him I was going to be there the entire time.

I was alone. Texting Daddy the entire time. Ailyn was happy and didn't mind being with her Aunt and Uncle. My awesome sister in law, offered to come be with me. (THANK YOU!) Just having someone there with me helped me calm down.

Camden had a hard time waking up. So we had to stay for 3 hours. Froggy also broke his arm and got a hard cast!

Seeing Camden like this was so hard!! 

He was overtired by the time we got to go home. I had them give him a dose of pain killers before we left.

The first night was tough on him. He whimpered all night long. 

By the afternoon, he got up to walk around and I got my first smile. It's been 7 days. He has been doing good. Bummed out mostly. But, being up here with cousins (and, he has a ton of them!!) is helping. Tomorrow we go for an X-ray to make sure it set right. When we get back he will get a hard cast. 

Not a very fun way to start our summer!!!

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Big changes!

In the past 2 months, we have noticed huge changes in Ailyn!  The eye surgery still proves to be the very best thing we have done for her.

Her gross motor is a lot more controlled. She LOVES to be upright now. She loves to stand, loves to walk with her walker. Her balance is still off but we do see an improvement. Ailyn seems to concentrate on things more now. A book is more interesting. Her favorite thing to do is watch Sesame Street. It's fun to watch it with her and see all the things she is looking at. She will sign things she's sees. She even counts now!!!!

Art projects are still very messy. But, more enjoyable. Her attention span is a bit longer. I can tell she can see what she is doing now.

She asks to use her walker now! Where before she would turn to jello if we made her walk with it. We even bring it to all her appointments. She walks all the way! And, the children's hospital is a far walk to her therapies!

She is so proud of herself for walking too. She looks back to see how far she has walked. We are getting more hours with her braces each day. 

We started working with a therapy dog once a week during PT. SO awesome! Ailyn loves animals. I knew she would respond very well. Last week she took 8 controlled steps to Yuba, the dog!!!! 8!!! I cried.

Yuba is so good with Ailyn. He is 2 1/2 and such a sweetheart. He loves attention from anyone, but knows when he is with Ailyn, he has to work. We look forward to our PT days now!

Ailyn LOVES her babies. She pretends to feed the baby and even talks to the baby. It's so cute to watch. 

Above is Ailyn asking the baby if she wants a sippy cup. That's her made up sign. The baby said "yes" and then Ailyn signed "All done". I know this doesn't sound like much. And, for the typical child, it's normal. But, to see Ailyn make conversation with "someone" other than me is so awesome to see. Now I am convinced she can and will learn to play with her peers. 

Ailyn has been having ear infections (with tubes) once a month. Her ENT has decided it's time to take her tonsils out. So on August 7th, Ailyn will be having surgery. 

I'm hoping for more awesome updates!!! I love happy news! Makes all the bad news just a little easier to handle. 

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School's out!!

We said goodbye to our 2 & U class. All us Mom's were so sad. We had a great year! 

I didn't tell Miss Sally this (sorry) but I was very close to not having her join this class. I had so much anxiety over Ailyn's behavior. I was so afraid she would hurt her new friends. I talked to my teacher friend and she gave me awesome advice. On the first day we started I warned all the Mom's of Ailyn's bad ways. And, wouldn't you know!!! She made a total liar out of me!!!! Sure, we had a few pinches here and there but nothing like Miss Ailyn is known for.

I was also concerned about Ailyn's developmental delays. I was worried about her feeling bad she couldn't keep up. Well, once again, she proved me wrong! She was able to keep up with the 5 BOYS the whole year! Ailyn sat through story time, painted, did her art work, ATE snack and played parallel with her friends. Other than not being able to walk or talk, she did everything the boys did. I need to learn to chill out, huh? 

 

Ailyn loves anyone's Dad! Izzy's Daddy was very good with Ailyn. Ailyn had him taking her on the slide about 30 times.

The boys in our class were great with Ailyn. Jon (above) called "Awin" his best friend. He was playing with her hair here. SO sweet! Another little boy named Hayden was SO good with Ailyn. He always made sure Ailyn had an instrument at music time, or let Ailyn get her paint set up first, he was so caring with her. I want a lot of Hayden's in Ailyn's classes in the future!

We are going to miss Miss Sally. Camden still misses Sally 4 years later. Sally is a teacher who loves her "babies", tells them she loves them everyday. She hugs and kisses the kids and truly loves each one. We are very lucky to have Sally's daughter babysit for us! So it's not goodbye forever.

I am so glad I made the choice and did this class with Ailyn. Of course it helped that I was with her! I am hoping next year I am just as happy with the choice I make.

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Behind the scenes

I'm a little late blogging this.... we had a very busy month last month. 

A friend asked us to go to Pimlico early one morning for a tour behind the scenes. Knowing my animal lovers would LOVE this, we went. I am SO glad we did, it was so fun. I have a feeling it will become a yearly tradition from now on.

The track opens super early...like 5am early! But, thank God my friend asked to meet at 7:45! The kids watched the horses run around the track before our tour started.

We got to watch the horses get their baths. Ailyn liked this part ;)

The Clydesdales were amazing. 

Camden's favorite part of the day was when we got to meet Kenny Maynes from ESPN!! He asked Camden to do an interview.

He offered him $5.00!!!

Camden who is VERY shy when an adult talks to him was..... well, very shy. He only spoke when Kenny asked him about money. 

The interview aired on ESPN.com. It was VERY funny!!!

His first paid interview!

Another awesome part of the morning was when we met I'll have another's jockey!!! He was very sweet. AND, went on to WIN the Preakness!!!!!! Very cool!

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