So Many Recitals! Dance and Band and Church, Oh My!

We have been busy, busy, busy!  I have a lot to catch up on blogging about, but some of it will have to wait :).  In the mean time, here are some cute videos of the kiddos in their recent recitals.  The last few videos aren't really recitals, but Madi will put on a show whenever she gets a chance ;).



First off, here is Madi, dancing her heart out in dance class.  She sure loves dancing!  She uses her HKFOs and Rifton Dynamic Stander (mobile stander) to keep her standing tall with her friends.  She loves it and we are so proud of her!

 

Next up is Conner's performance at Branches Homeschool Co-Op, the homeschool co-op we go to on Thursdays.  He had so much fun and was so proud of himself.  We are really proud of him too!  The band also played at a local assisted living home, which Conner really loved, as did those that they performed for. 

He decided that next he wants to play keyboard, and I happen to know what he is getting for Christmas, so I think his dream will come true ;)

 

This is a little performance the kiddos did at Church a few weeks back.  The kiddos had a lot of fun, especially the girls.  Madi and Ramya both talk about wanting to dance on a big stage (like my niece... we go to her dance performances at high school a few times a year)... and they got their wish!

Here are a few cute little videos of Madi jamming on her new little Barbie guitar.  My mom got it for her for her birthday, and she loves it!  She is such a ham.  The first video is of her playing while she's standing in her HKFOs and Learning Tower.  The second video is of her jamming out after she got some fun colored hair, thanks to the hair chalk my birth mom, Deana, sent the kiddos.  She said she had rock star hair, and decided to make up a rock star song to match. 

 

 

A Learning Tower for Two

The girls LOVE using our learning tower when they are in their leg braces, but we had a little problem.... they couldn't both comfortably fit any more!  I was hoping not to have to buy a second one for space reasons, but also because I couldn't put them right next to each other, due to the feet on the bottom, and it would make cooking/baking with them harder.  Our neighbor, Jerry, does wood work, and does a great job, so we asked him to help us modify the tower to fit two.  Basically, we added the length of about another half of a tower, so it's about 1 1/2 of a learning tower.  He took it all apart, and then made new, longer planks for the front and back, and made a new base as well.  He worked hard on it, and it looks amazing!  Oh, and then they spoiled us by inviting us over for a yummy turkey dinner.  We are pretty lucky!!  The learning tower is perfect.  The girls have already used it and are loving it!  Her a few photos of our new (and improved!!) learning tower.... 

 

Getting Crafty

My kiddos love to be creative and get all crafty.  With Madi, it takes a bit of extra creativity to make sure that she is able to do anything she puts her little mind to.  One thing that we use all the time and LOVE is our learning tower.  I should be a spokesperson for them because we love ours so much!  We seriously use it every day.  We got it when Madi was just itty bitty, and I knew it would get a lot of love.  We use it with Madi in her HKFOs, but had planned to use some sort of chair or stool in it if she wasn't able to stand in it.  We try to encourage Madi to be up and standing as much as possible and it helps when we can vary her activities for her.  The learning tower allows us to cook, do dishes, play in the sink, do crafts standing up, etc...  Today we used our learning tower to make peanutbutter play-dough (recipe below) and to paint.  It was a ton of fun!  Here's some pictures from today:

P.S. Both of the kids fit in it as well, which is awesome.  It is very roomy!!

Peanut Butter Play-Dough Recipe

(We made ours peanut-free!  We also used the dairy-free version :)  I will put my modifications below)

1 C. Peanut Butter (we used sunflower butter, however, hazelnut chocolate butter would have been very yummy too!

1/2 C. Honey (we used wild, raw, local honey)

2 C. Powdered Sugar

1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

(You could also add m&m's, chocolate chips, rice crispies, or something similar to change it up a bit)

In a bowl mix peanut butter, honey, and powdered sugar with your hands. Dough should feel soft and pliable, shape into the forms of your choice. You can be creative and use cookies cutters, and all kinds of things. Enjoy!

(the above picture is a link to the learning tower on amazon, using our associate link ;))



Little Miss

Little Miss is two.  I know, I know, she's been two for quite some time now.  What I mean is, Little miss is two.  She knows (most of the time) exactly what she wants, how she wants it, where she wants it, and, occasionally, why she wants it.  She is still nursing, though it is not very often any more, which makes me a bit sad (not because I think I'll miss it, but because I know how much good it does for her and I worry about constipation and the such once she stops).  She is developing such a little personality and it is really awesome to watch.  She tells jokes, then makes sure to tell you "I funny", just in case you missed it.  We are working on asking, not demanding, and she is getting pretty good at saying "please".  She is also great at "thank you" and has an "I love you" that will melt your heart.  So, without further ado, here are some updated pictures, as well as some updates, on little miss:
 

Madi, Cousin Micah, and Conner

Madi being her silly self

Messy play at it's finest

A trip to the Science Center with Hope Kids

Here dad, this peach is healthy, you eat it.  I want the donut.

Such a little helper

Working hard and playing a little too

Madi's HKFO adjustment.  I had the back cut wayyyyy down because it gets in the way.  She is doing great without that portion of her HKFOs, but at our next adjustment, I want Ron to lob off the top sides too.  She needs the support around her lower torso, but not up her back.  Ideally I'd like her to be able to sit in her car seat with her HKFOs on so that we are not always doing the in and out thing, and also to encourage her to stay in them and use them while we are out.  If we cut off the top sides, this should be totally doable.  Right now I cannot get her positioned in a way I feel is safe because the top part sticks out.  Oh, and they look loose because I haven't been using the top Velcro to get her used to not having it, but also so that she can sit in them better.

We love the learning tower!

Making gluten-free, dairy free bagels and "cream cheese"

Bean time.... dad's favorite time ;)

Poor little guy got an abscessed molar that had to come out.  He spent a few hours sleeping on my like this afterwards as the dentist didn't want him laying down flat, and Conner just needed mommy.  He's such a lovey 4 year old!  I have to keep myself strong for Madi (and hopefully Manasa ;)) so this is good practice.

We are rushing to get everything in line for our home study.  We got fingerprinted on Monday and, of course, Conner had to get "fingerprinted" too.  The lady that did our prints was such a good sport and did Conner's prints for him too.  He is very excited for our upcoming adoption (fingers crossed!!) and has promised to be helpful and a good big brother.



What a wonderful day!

We started the day with letting Madi be "up" and playing.  She LOVED standing up with her brother and had so much fun!  Next I put her in our Little Partners Learning Tower, which I got the kids last year for Christmas.  I bought it for both kids, but was really hoping that we would be able to use it with Madi so she could be at counter-height and help mommy cook.  It works PERFECT and I couldn't be more excited!  Madi and Conner helped me make oatmeal cookies today.  Here are a bunch of adorable pictures for your viewing pleasure.

(Yes, that is a breastpump part.  The kids think it's the best toy ever)

A good view of how the stander works to hold her up

Playing with a cool toy

Cute shoes

Playing by mommy

So excited about cookies!

YUM!

And for our last good news of the night.... we got the house we wanted!  We found out at 8:30pm and I was so excited I actually teared up, which I NEVER do!  It takes a lot to make my cry!  I cannot wait to have our own home again.  Put March 26th on your calendars.  I'm sure we'll be hitting you up to help us move ;).  We have been really praying that if God wanted us in this house, everything would work out and they would not come back asking for more money (which we couldn't do anyway).  We really feel like God is giving us a tremendous blessing!  God is good, all the time!