The pictures are IN!!!

I will have to keep the text of this one short since there were over 800 pictures to sort through, I had to just pick a few :)

The happy couple with their happy pooch!

 

 One big happy family! I see a christmas card in the making!!!

The siblings

The nieces and nephews.

 Had to include this one because of Owen, Look at him grabbing his coat like everyone else.

 The wedding party littles.

Priceless

His newest UNCLE!

And here they go...

Owen fell down in about 3 steps from here. There was in incline and I think the girls were walking a little faster than he could handle.

First dance.

The rocker

I love this one because you can see Matt crying ;)

Big girl!

The 3 day potty training manual was read about a month ago.

We started with Owen. We are still working on Owen.

But Olivia has been telling us she has to go potty. So we got ready last weekend. Spent all day Sunday following the manual's instructions. Let her wear underwear. Let her have accidents and rush her into the bathroom each time. Tell her to stay dry.

During the week she stayed in her diapers since we didn't get to finish the "training" at home. So we started back up again on Friday.  

By Saturday she was telling us she had to go potty. We'd bring her into the bathroom and she would go. Then it became consistent and guess what, she is potty trained! It was that easy. Hurray!

we did bribe her with candy, we did have lots of cheering. Thats my secret.

One down. One to go.

(We still have a few kinks to work out so things aren't perfect but like everything else around here, patience is the key!)

Nios micro

A new brand to get familiar with....Phonak Nios Micro.
That is the type of hearing aid we are getting for Owen. Today was the day we went for the fitting and consultation. It is a relief to know and feel like we are in good hands. I was a little concerned with this process. That there would be lots of research to do and lots of "shopping" around to find the best for Owen. But we have put our faith in the Univ of MN and they have been nothing but perfect in their service.
We have known the audiologists there forever. They work so well with Owen and I am thankful we are sticking with them; even if there is a bit of a hassle to get there. I called to set up our first appointment but they couldn't get us in until late November. It took one email to his audiologist and she "squeezed" us in within a week.

And here they are. They are tiny little things that sit on the back of his ear. We didn't opt for a boring beige color either. We went all out and got the zebra pattern. Why not make it fun, right? I hope I don't regret that decision since we can't get a new set for 3 years!

Another adventure that I was so worried about starting. But what makes it that much easier is to know and feel like we are not alone. Everyone that has been down this path has been willing to give us their best advice. And those that just didn't have experience with it took the time to look into it, to send encouraging words of support and to just let us know "everything will be ok".

And that is what gets us through each day. The love and support of our wonderful family and friends.

We should have the hearing aids made and ready for wear by October 29th. We cross our fingers that he tolerates them but they did warn us that he may go through a period of adjustment and will fight them a little bit. I guess we can handle a little fighting. We do that now anyway ;)

And what better to add with a post about hearing, is to now have music playing while you read our updates. Hope you like the song selections!

hard to say goodbye

I think it would be good if last week didn't happen. If all the decisions and results that came out of it just never occurred. So many life changing events. Nothing earth shattering but change none-the-less. I don't mind change. I just don't like it when it happens all at once. And I don't like it when it means we lose a team member, we need surgery or we need additional services.

But it is what it is. And what it is makes us grow stronger and appreciate things even more....

Owen started Children's Therapy Center with Anne his speech therapist in 2007. His school services were not giving us what we needed. And everyone we talked to told us, go see Anne! So off to Anne we went. And 3+ years later we still see Anne 2 days a week. Until November 1st, Anne is moving. To say I was bummed is a bit of an understatement. Owen has no idea but I know if he knew he too would be upset.
Finding a good therapist is hard. We have had our share of them. But to us, you have to be more than just a therapist of speech or physical work or occupational tasks, you become part of our team. We don't just drop Owen off and away he goes to "get better". It's about communication. It's about how much you care how well he does. It's pushing him beyond his limits. It's about working together to make a difference in his life. You have to make it a team effort.

Anne you will always be a part of our team, even though you are too many miles away to meet him twice a week. Owen has learned great things from you and would not be where he is without all of your hard work, your love for him and your dedication to him.

For those of you who do not know Anne. I will tell you she is an amazing advocate for anyone for special needs and was even nominated this year for the Eleven Who Care award. Well deserved.
Here is a link to that story:
http://www.kare11.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=214522633001

We have been blessed to have you part of our lives Anne. We will miss you beyond words but wish you the best in your new adventures!

Birthday Girl

2 years have flown by. 
Her contagious smile. Her cute laugh. Her amazing spirit. Her ability to learn and her love for Owen is unmatched.
We are so lucky to have her in our lives.

This morning Owen and I attempted to sing happy birthday to her. Her response "I don't want it". I guess she was just not ready for today to be her day. But we sang anyway.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Photography class!

I have been trying to "learn on my own" with this Digital SLR camera and I still feel really clueless. As I was paging through the community ed classes last month I stumbled upon a "Shoot Like a Pro" class. So I bit the bullet and signed up. It is a 3 session class with get this...homework! EXCITING! I had my first session last week and absolutely loved it. There are only 5 others in the class so it feels like a one on one atmosphere because you can blurt out questions whenever you have them. And trust me I have many.
I walked out of class thinking I learned SOOO much. And then I tried to apply them for my homework and got frustrated. But kept trying and trying. It only led to the kids getting a bit annoyed with me but I finally caught on. And now I really feel like I understand things better. Can't wait for the next session this week!

Here is a few shots from my assignments.

Assignment 1: subject standing at one side of window with photographer standing on other side. (This one was all about getting proper lighting indoors - without using a flash)
I had Jason stand in until I got it right.

So here is the real shot. We tricked her into looking for birds and airplanes out the window.

Assignment #2: Have subject sitting in a chair opposite a window. Photographer standing with back to window. (Again, working with natural lighting).

Here is my wonderful stand-in again :)

And the 2 shots I will submit for review...(They didn't want the subjects looking directly into the lens so that is done on purpose)

Assignment #3: This was the toughest one. Since they didn't help us figure out what setting to use like the first 2. So I had to figure out the Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO settings to use appropriately. The purpose is to show Depth of Field. (try to get subject up front in sharp focus while background is blurry and show depth in the picture)

double whammy

It has been nice to be on a break from any medical worries or issues. We lasted a whole 4 months. No dr. appointments. No threats of surgeries. Just go with the flow, usual every day kind of days. And then I had to go and schedule appointments and you know what hits the fan. Oh and school started and kids started getting sick.

So to start with an easy one. Olivia has had a terrible cough for 2+ weeks that makes her sound like she smokes 2 packs of cigarettes a day. Luckily that is not the case and after a quick trip to the doctor she was diagnosed with another ear infection. Since I had an already scheduled ENT appointment for Owen, we also snuck her in to be seen and it is time for tubes for her. Surgery scheduled later this month. The hope was over the summer her ears had gotten bigger and we were out of that phase. That hope is now gone.

Owen's sleep study results yielded the same conclusion as the test he had a year ago. Mild sleep issues. Not better. Not worse. So since he is not worse, that is good news. Next steps are to just pay attention to how he is sleeping and if we notice a change for the worse we will do another study.

Our ENT appointment was a scheduled follow up for the sleep study results and to do another hearing test. We go just about every 6 months. We have done countless tests and the results never get above a 30 (they were even at a 60 at one point...). The thinking on the results was that maybe since it was a behavioral test he wasn't understanding what to do for the test. I guess we always just thought and hoped that is what it was. They've also done ABR tests (that is where he is sleeping and they test the ear responses) but those have also shown mild hearing loss.
I never really understood how bad "mild hearing loss" was until today.
Owen did fantastic in the hearing test. He actually wore the headphones for the first time and followed the directions perfectly. He grasped the concept. So I knew this time the results were an accurate representation of how he was doing. Still showing mild loss.
I watched the test, I watched as they cheered each time he "got one right". But I was also watching as they tried to lower the number and try and then have to keep moving it up. He just couldn't her the lower numbers. And then they brought us to a room that demonstrated a simulation of what his hearing capability was. That is when it really hit home. The sound was muffled. It was hard to hear. It became real at that moment. Everyone agrees Owen can hear. But he doesn't hear everything. He hears things muffled so he will have trouble hearing articulations. So if he is already behind because of development delays, the last thing we want to do is worsen that by not allowing him to hear everything. It is time for hearing aids.
Hard news to take. I never thought it was actually this bad. Reality check today.
Whatever it takes to help Owen succeed is what we will do. A new chapter has begun, wish us luck!