Thursday, January 21, 2016

James's 5th Birthday Interview (finally!)

September 21, 2015

1. What is your favorite color?
       orange
2.  What is your favorite animal?
       elephant
3.  What is your favorite book?
       The Very Hungry Caterpillar
4.  What is your favorite toy?
       Avengers toys
5.  What is your favorite fruit?
       apple
6.  What is your favorite TV show?
      Mickey Mouse
7.  What is your favorite thing to wear?
      Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt
8.  What is your favorite song?
      Itsy Bitsy Spider
9.  What is your favorite game?
      Candyland
10. What is your favorite drink?
      milk
11. What is your favorite holiday?
       Christmas
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
       "fighter fire"
13. What do you want for your birthday dinner?
       pizza
14. What is your favorite dessert?
      brownies
15. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
      go to the playground
16. What is your favorite movie?
      Finding Nemo
17. Who is your best friend?
       Scout
18. What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
       use the punching bag
19. What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
       give Mommy kisses
20. What is your favorite place to go on vacation?
      K-pa and Gamma's house

Alyssa's 7th Birthday Interview (a little late)

August 22, 2015
*I actually asked her these questions on her birthday, but I've just gotten around to blogging.  I hope to do better.

1.  What is your favorite color?
       yellow
2.  What is your favorite animal?
       monkey
3.  What is your favorite book?
       Mal's Diary
4.  What is your favorite toy?
       Princess Scooter'
5.  What is your favorite fruit?
       banana
6.  What is your favorite TV show?
       Hannah Montana
7.  What is your favorite thing to wear?
        Hawaiian dress
8.  What is your favorite song?
        Bad Blood and Fight Song
9.  What is your favorite game?
        Monopoly and Eye Found It
10, What is your favorite drink?
       water
11. What is your favorite holiday?
        Christmas and Thanksgiving
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
        teacher
13.  What do you want for your birthday dinner?
       Olive Garden
14. What is your favorite dessert?
        cherry pie
15. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
        swim
16. What is your favorite movie?
       Enchanted
17. Who is your best friend?
        Ian, Evan, Ellie, and Jordan
18. What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
       go to a baseball game
19. What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
       get mani/pedi
20. What is your favorite place to go on vacation?
      Georgia

This is James: My Sensational Boy



This is James.  James has SPD or Sensory Processing Disorder.  What does that mean?  When people get stimulus through one or more of their senses it travels through their nerves to their brains and the brain sends a signal back so the person can make the correct response.  James has a traffic jam.  Either he over responds or under responds or he's a seeker or an avoider.  Just because someone avoids one behavior it doesn't mean he/she avoids everything.  Each category stands alone.  For example, James is a proprioceptive seeker but a tactile avoider (more on those big words in a minute).  SPD commonly goes hand in hand with Autism Spectrum Disorders, but you can have one or the other or both.  At this time, we believe James just has SPD.

There are seven main senses:  Proprioceptive, Vestibular, Tactile, Oral, Olfactory, Visual, and Auditory.  Apparently, the 5 we learned in school weren't enough!

Proprioception is the subconscious awareness of where you are in space.  It is required in everything that involves eye-hand coordination.

Under responsive proprioceptive (sensory seeking) kids love tight squeezes and bear hugs, kicks feet on floor or chair, excessively bangs on or with toys, chews or sucks on fingers, and makes noises constantly.  They cannot get enough movement.  This is James.

Over responsive kids tend to be clumsy, fall frequently, struggle being gentle, anxiety when moving (swinging), written work is messy.

Vestibular sense detects movement and helps us balance.

Vestibular hypersensitive people have problems maintaining balance, struggle to cross the mid-line of the body, have poor balance, avoid swings, slides, ladders, and physically cling to adults.

Vestibular hyposensitive people will swing for hours, spin and not appear dizzy, constantly move, can be a thrill seeker, loves to jump on furniture, loves to be upside down.  This is James.



Tactile sense is the system that processes everything we touch.

Tactile defensiveness can include complaining about having hair brushed, showers, rain, or wind are bothersome, refuses to wear certain clothing because of seams or tags, only eats certain tastes or textures, does not like dirty hands.  This is James.

Tactile hypo sensitive people usually walk on his/her toes, craves sensory play, mouths objects frequently, not bothered when hurt, not aware of dirty faces/hands.

Oral senses are those having to do with the mouth.

Oral hypersensitivity can mean having problems digesting food, cannot stand spicy, sour, or salty foods, problems brushing teeth, gags with textured food.

Oral hypo sensitivity can include not keeping things out of mouth, poor eating habits, never get enough condiments, often messy eaters.  This is James.



Olfactory is a scientific word for smell.  So, the olfactory senses have to do with the nose.

Hypersensitivity to smells means someone cannot stand strong odors and may  refuse certain foods because of smell or avoid certain homes/people because of the smell.

Hypo sensitivity to smells means someone may fail to notice strong odors and he/she may not be able to smell scratch and sniff sticker, weird, right?!

Honestly, I don't know if either of these is James.  I know he can smell, but doesn't seem bothered by smells.

Visual

Visual hypersensitivity is when a person may avoid eye contact, cannot be in bright rooms, have difficulty keeping eyes focused, bright lights are bothersome and will squint or cover eyes.  This is James.  When he was little he put his blanket over his head all the time.  We thought it was funny.  He was like a bird.  If we only knew....

Visual hypo-sensitivity may include poor depth perception, confuses right and left, writes on a slant, or struggles with puzzle.

Auditory means having to do with ears and hearing.

Auditory hypersensitive people can't be around loud noises, have difficulty remembering what was said, loves loud TV/music, does not respond when called, need to repeat directions often, love to make noise just to make noise.  This is James.

Auditory hypo-sensitive people are distracted by noises others usually don't hear, may not like someone because of the sound of his/her voice, covers ears, runs away, or is scared from unexpected noise.



We are lucky to live in a place where there are teachers able to work with James and meet his needs.  He has grown so much in the last 2 years.  He went from being paralyzed when his shirt was wet and not being able to process what to do next to just being bothered by his wet shirt and knowing that it will dry and he can move on.  He is an amazing kid.  All these things are James, but that's not all.  James isn't going to be defined by SPD.  It's just going to be something he works through.  He is a sensational kid in so many ways.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Natalie's 3rd Birthday Interview

My funny, free spirited, lovable, beautiful girl turned 3 on April 9th.  For months I asked Natalie what kind of party she wanted and her response was always, "Buzz Lightyear blue cake."  So, over Easter weekend we celebrated her birthday at the beach with Kiki and Papa.  We rode the ferry to Bolivar, ate delicious seafood at the Stingaree, and had Buzz Lightyear blue cake.  She loved it! Here is my little firecracker's birthday interview.






1.  What is your favorite color?
       blue
2.  What is your favorite animal?
       elephant
3.  What is your favorite book?
       Grinch book
4.  What is your favorite toy?
       blocks
5.  What is your favorite fruit?
       apples
6.  What is your favorite TV show?
       Wild Kratts
7.  What is your favorite thing to wear?
       pajamas
8.  What is your favorite song?
       ABCs
9.  What is your favorite game?
       Hungry Hungry Hippos
10. What is your favorite drink?
       Sprite
11. What is your favorite holiday?
       Halloween
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
       Tinkerbelle
13. What do you want for your birthday dinner?
       Chilis
14. What is your favorite dessert?
       Laffy Taffy
15.  What is your favorite thing to do outside?
       playground
16. What is your favorite movie?
       Wreck It Ralph
17. Who is your best friend?
       Sissy
18. What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
       hug Daddy
19.  What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
      hug Mommy
20. What is your favorite place to go on vacation?
      on a boat

Friday, January 30, 2015

State of the Union

Every year the president gives a State of the Union Address to give the nation a run down on what's going on and what we have to look forward to in the future.  Since it has been so long since I've blogged I decided to give my own State of the Union.  Here's what's happening in my world.

The main man (aka Jonny) took a different position at AIG.  He now works "regular" hours and has much more potential for growth.  He seems to enjoy this position a lot.  I'm not sure if it's the work or the fact that he's getting better sleep or a little bit of both.  Unfortunately, the different hours leave little time for play.  I'm sure he'd love to go hit a bucket of balls or start up softball again, but until we find the time we'll file that under "One Day."

Jonny and I are going to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary in March.  We are super excited that Papa and Kiki are going to take on the zoo and we get to go on our 3rd trip as husband and wife.  That's right, we've only been on 3 trips not involving the kids since we've been married.  A decade ago when we got married at the Justice of the Peace we always said we'd renew our vows at 10 years with an actual wedding.  We'd have a ceremony, get a DJ, have a reception.  The works.  Well, 4 kids later, we don't quite have the budget for a big shebang so we're headed to Vegas.  Maybe for 15 or 20 years.

Mini Me (aka Alyssa) is 6 going on 16.  She is way too smart for her own good.  And a little too curious for mine.  Her nose is always in a book and she's in such a rush to grow up.  If she only knew. Of course, she is excelling in school.  1st grade seems to be a breeze for her. She is in her fourth year of dance.  She takes ballet and tap.  I'm not 100% if she's the next prima ballerina, but she seems to be enjoying it and that's all that matters right now.



Little Man (aka James) is in PPCD (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities)through Katy ISD and is flourishing.  I have nothing but good things to say about this program.  It is helping him work through his Sensory Processing Disorder as well as preparing him for school.  He will have another year of it before kindergarten and I am confident he'll be more than ready by then. James has a small obsession with dinosaurs.  I now know more about dinosaurs than I ever thought possible.  He played soccer last spring.  I say play, but it was more like whine about soccer so he could get a snack.  To us it seemed like torture.  He loved it.  He wants to play soccer again.  So we will give it another go this spring.



The firecracker (aka Natalie) is giving me a run for my money.  I love how I read articles about parenting the "strong-willed" child and think to myself this is my daughter.  She is most definitely a threenager.  Don't get me wrong, I am so proud she is so determined and she knows what she wants. But this is the child that causes me to hide in the pantry sneaking chocolate. She is spunky and funny.  Natalie loves to be a princess and Buzz Lightyear all wrapped into one.  How she does it, I'm not really sure, but she does.  She wants nothing more than to hop on the bus with her brother and sister and go off to school.  In due time, my love, in due time.



Baby girl (aka Charlotte) is my saving grace right now.  She forces me to slow down and take in the world around me.  She has grown so much in the last 5 months.  Her little life has already been so full.  Some days when I feel like I didn't accomplish much I remember laying on the floor playing with her is the most important job of the day.  Right now she is definitely a snuggle bug and I love it.  I have a feeling she'll be on the go at any moment so I'm trying to get all my snuggles in now.


Friday, October 3, 2014

James's 4th Birthday Interview

I really did ask him these questions on his birthday, 9/21/14.  I'm just a little late posting this blog. I'd love to say it's because I'm doing so many educational activities with my kiddos, keeping an immaculately clean house, and making lots of nutritious scratch made meals, but really it's because I keep forgetting.  So without further ado, here is Bubba's interview.

1.  What is your favorite color?
       orange and blue
2.  What is your favorite animal?
       elephant and dinosaur
3.  What is your favorite book?
       The Evening Book *not sure if such a book exists, but this is what he said
4.  What is your favorite toy?
       trash grabber
5.  What is your favorite fruit?
      orange
6.  What is your favorite TV show?
       Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
7.  What is your favorite thing to wear?
       my clothes
8.  What is your favorite song?
      Itsy Bitsy Spider
9.  What is your favorite game?
      Operation
10. What is  your favorite drink?
      milk
11. What is your favorite holiday?
      Christmas
12.  What do you want to be when you grow up?
       "fighter fire"
13. What do you want for your birthday dinner?
       sausage
14. What is your favorite dessert?
      chocolate
15. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
      soccer
16. What is your favorite movie?
      Lego Movie
17. Who is your best friend?
      Gavin
18.  What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
      go to the movie theater
19. What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
      read books
20. What is your favorite place to go on vacation?
      Sea World


Saturday, September 6, 2014

Alyssa's 6th Birthday Interview

 

1.  What is your favorite color?
        yellow
2.  What is your favorite animal?
        monkey
3.  What is your favorite book?
        Kirsten's Surprise
4.  What is your favorite toy?
        Barbies and My Little Pony
5.  What is your favorite fruit?
        apples and cherries
6.  What is your favorite TV show?
       The Suite Life on Deck
7.  What is your favorite thing to wear?
       bumblebee costume
8.  What is your favorite song?
       Do You Hear What I Hear?
9.  What is your favorite game?
       poker
10. What is your favorite drink?
       tea
11. What is your favorite holiday?
       Halloween and Thanksgiving
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
       singer
13. What do you want for your birthday dinner?
        Jimmy Changa's
14. What is your favorite dessert?
       cookies
15. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
       swim
16. What is your favorite movie?
       We Bought a Zoo
17. Who is your best friend?
        Christina
18. What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
        go to the movies
19. What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
        get pedicures
20. What is your favorite place to go on vacation?
        Cedar Park