progress

Dahlia has been making such good progress lately!  She has started pulling herself up while holding on to something, and she can take steps while holding someone's hands.  Dahlia will get so excited and say, "I walking, I walking!"  The biggest progress she has made has been with her eating.  She is now eating table foods!  At first she wasn't interested in any type of finger food or table food at all.  Gradually her interest grew and she would lick the food or mush it up in her mouth and then spit it out or gag on it.  She can now chew and swallow without any problem at all, and has been eating really well.  This process has really made me not take something that seems so simple, like eating by mouth, for granted.  For many babies like Dahlia, with development delay, this is a huge hurdle that doesn't come easy.  I am so proud of the progress she made!

fall festival

This past weekend we went to a fall festival at a local nature center.  The weather was gorgeous and we had fun seeing all the scarecrows that were on display as we walked through the gardens.  The kids decorated pumpkins and the nature center was giving away all of the pumpkins that decorated the gardens, to make way for their Christmas decorations.  I brought home a big fairytale pumpkin.  It was lots of fun and free!

seven

Ava turned seven on Friday.  She is such a big help, especially with Dahlia.  Dahlia gets so excited when Ava comes home from school.  Ava will read her books or bring Dahlia to her room and let Dahlia play with her toys.  Sometimes, if Ava goes into an other room, Dahlia will call out, "Ava come on!".  Whenever Dahlia gets sick or has to go to the hospital, Ava always gets so concerned for her.  I am so lucky to have such a sweet daughter!

happy halloween!

five

Today Laila turns five years old.  She is growing up way to fast!  At five years old, Laila loves playing with Dahlia while the other kids are at school.  We are going to miss her during the day when she starts kindergarten next year!  Laila is always making us laugh with all her funny sayings.  I don't know where she comes up them.  She loves playing with her dolls and will line them up all in a  long row on her bed.  I hope five doesn't go by as fast as four did!

october days

On Saturday we took advantage of the nice fall weather and went to a farm close by.  There was a pumpkin patch, corn maze and hay rides.  There was also lots of activities. The kids had a blast on the a huge hillside slide.  When we went into the corn maze, Aiden ran ahead and we didn't see him for awhile, until we saw him trying to cut through the corn to tell us he found the way out.  Good thing, because we were lost!  It was the perfect way to spend an October afternoon.



Friday was homecoming day and all of the schools let out early.  Aiden got to ride on a float in the homecoming parade because he was one of the nominees for Mr. Vidor Elementary.  He was so excited, but was sure to remind everyone to catch some candy for him!  Later that evening we went to the annual Halloween carnival that Brian's parents throw for all the grandkids.  After the carnival, we watched the fireworks, that are set off during the football game, from our house.  It was such a fun day!

fall is in the air

Today we had beautiful, mild weather.  Lately it has been so hot and humid here, so it is very nice to have more fall type weather.  I made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, took Dahlia and Laila on a walk and when the kids got home from school we played outside.  I love this time of year!

two years

We are so thankful for the past year we've been given with Dahlia.  It was a joyous occasion to celebrate her second birthday on Sunday!  It hasn't been the easiest year for her.  She's had lots of hospital stays, medical tests, blood draws, biopsies, and had to get a gtube (feeding tube in the stomach).  Despite all of this, she continues to be a happy, silly and feisty little girl.  We love our little miracle and all the joy she brings to our family.

looks like we have another lefty in the family!

first day of school

The kids had their first day of school on Monday.  Ava started first grade this year.  She was excited and loved getting to wear her new clothes she picked out.  She likes her teacher and told me all about her day when she got home.  She and Aiden ride the bus home together.

Dario started middle school this year (fifth grade)! He has been asking awhile for contacts and we finally agreed to get him some before school started. He has done really well wearing them.  Dario was a little nervous to start middle school, but had a good first day.  He was excited that he gets to use a locker this year.  His uncle started teaching at the middle school, and is really nice to bring him to and from school.

Aiden started fourth grade.  He has the same teacher Dario had last year and is excited to be in the oldest grade at school.

beach trip

We took the oldest four kids to the beach for one last trip before school starts in one week.  Where has the summer gone! Aiden found a ton of hermit crabs and brought all the poor crabs home with him.  We had the perfect weather, it wasn't as hot as it normally is this time of year.  We are going to savor the last week of summer before it back to school, homework, and routine.

South Toledo Bend State Park

Last weekend we went on one last vacation before school starts.  We went to a state park in Louisiana and stayed in a cabin there.  The first night we spent killing a ton of daddy long leg spiders that had invaded the cabin.  There were so many it almost felt like we were camping outdoors.  After everyone survived the first night without being attacked by a spider we were able to have some fun.  We went on a hike, went swimming in the lake, made s'mores and all the kids had lots of fun playing together and getting to stay up late.  Dahlia loved being around everyone and really took a liking to her cousin Avery.  Avery was so sweet to play with her.  We never take for granted the miracle that Dahlia is now healthy enough to go on trips like this.