The Wonderful World Of Jesse

My view of the use of the "R" word

2011-06-26T14:00:00.000-04:00

At first I heard friends from my DS community talk about how they didn't like the "R" word. I guess I never really thought about it back then and how much it really did affect me. You see that word is used to slam people and well that had to come from somewhere. It came from the term "mentally retarded" which is very close to home for me. Down Syndrome is a form of mental retardation. So when I hear people use the "R" word I see it as a slam to Jesse.

A few years ago Jesse was playing in my living room and a neighbor came over. I can't remember what Jesse was doing, but she looked at Jesse and said "what are you retarded or something?" WHAT???? OMG did you really just say that to MY son? My sweet baby boy. All the sudden that word hit so close to home. I was FURIOUS. I didn't even think to educate her about the use of the word. I just told her to leave before she went flying through my front door. Then all the sudden my views totally changed on people's choice of words.

Since then I've always tried to educate people about the "R" word and why I don't like it. Most people understand right away because they know and love Jesse, but there are some who just don't understand why it's so bad. Well, it's kind of like the "N" word or spic, or any other negative terms to refer to one's race. Those aren't acceptable terms and that is how the "R" word is to us in the special needs community.

For those who know Jesse it's easy for me to explain why it's wrong to say. I mean if you know Jesse you would probably do anything to protect him because you know he's the sweetest, most amazing lil' man ever. I normally just explain it as how would you feel if someone called Jesse retarded? Most of the time the response is I'd kill them, or kick their butt, or I'd be pissed. Well when you use the "R" word I see it as you are slamming MY son. MY pride and joy is the one you are attacking when you so lightly throw that word around.

So please think about how your words affect those around you before you speak. My son can't defend himself, it is up to me to stand up for him. So I'm standing up for my son and I'm saying it's not okay for you to use that word and I will not associate with those who use it.

In Michigan.... Finally

2011-05-10T22:29:00.002-04:00

Last week we finally made the move from VA to MI and let me tell you I am sooooo glad to be home. I have spent the past week catching up with family and old friends. I took Jesse to put flowers on my moms grave on Sunday for Mother's Day. I really needed to do that.

I've gotten to spend some time with my younger brother Sean and let me just say I am so proud of the man he has become. Jesse just adores his Uncle Sean and I think the feeling is pretty mutual. Jesse and I also have a new morning routine. During the weekdays my best friend Kristy stops by for coffee.

I had a meeting with the school about Jesse and am proud to say that there is a good possibility that Jesse will be in a General Education classroom because of how well he's doing. I'm so proud of my little man. He is making such great progress in all areas. I'm especially proud of his manners. He can be the most polite little guy ever. He is also talking up a storm these days and I love it!!!! I'm so excited to see how much more progress he will make now that we are here in Michigan and our stress levels are lower than they were in Virginia.

Anyway, it's getting late so I'm going to sign off for tonight.

I'm back and we're alive

2011-04-08T15:27:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't been around for a while, but things have been pretty crazy. I don't have much time to post right now, but wanted to leave a post letting everyone know that we are doing well and I will be back to posting soon. Until then I'll leave ya with a updated picture of Jesse.

Making my blog private for a while.

2010-07-04T22:13:00.002-04:00

Due to some personal stuff going on I need to make my blog private. If you'd like to be added to be able to view my blog please send me an email at sharkyerin79@yahoo.com

Thanks for understanding and reading my blog.

Jesse's new school!!!!

2010-05-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

Today I found out which school Jesse will be attending this fall down in Florida and let me tell you…. It is AMAZING! I’m so excited. I talked to one of the preschool teachers. She explained to me that it is reverse mainstreaming just like it is here, but the therapies are above and beyond anything the school systems here in Chesapeake will do. They have swimming therapy in the pool that they have at the school and they also have horse riding therapy there at the school. I wonder if they use the horses that are down the road that I always pass a couple blocks from my dads. Anyway, I think it’s great and I think Jesse will do great there. They also said I should be able to get a one on one aid for Jesse because he’s a flight risk and has the feeding issues. It’s an all day program which will allow me to possibly work without having to worry about daycare. I’m also going to take advantage of the fact that I won’t have to pay out of state tuition since I’m a navy wife. By the time the divorce is final I will have my residency. Go Me!!! I’m going to look into some different options for school. I’m still not sure which path I’m going to take for school yet. My ultimate goal is Speech Therapy, but they don’t offer that close to my dads. I’d have to drive to Orlando probably which would mean a lot of day care. I’ll get it all figured out though. I’m happy that things are finally starting to look up for me. I think I just need to get down there and get settled and I’ll be just fine. I’m looking forward to my fresh start at life and being able to go back to school. I’m also looking forward to being close to my dad again. Jesse never got to meet my mom before she died and I’m glad that Jesse will get the opportunity to know his Grandpa Linney. I just have to figure out how to keep my dad from spoiling him to much. I’m not looking forward to hurricane season in Florida, but I know it will all work out so I’m not stressing about it. Well, it’s midnight and I think I’m actually going to try to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight so I’m off for now.

2010-05-21T01:04:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, here I go again. I just don’t know how else to deal with what I’m going through. I don’t want to talk to anyone because I feel like I have to be strong and I don’t like showing weakness so I don’t want to cry in front of anyone so I’m just going to write. I don’t know if I’m even going to post this blog post, but the writing is kind of therapeutic for me.

Tony came by tonight to see Jesse. Jesse was to busy playing with toys and focused on everything except Tony. Tony just sat there. It was so frustrating to have him just sitting there and not try harder to get Jesse’s attention. He did put Jesse to bed so that was a little time, but Jesse was so tired from not taking a nap today that he fell asleep pretty fast. He was supposed to come over this Saturday too and spend time with Jesse, but he said he might have an opportunity to work. I don’t know if for real he’s going to be working or if he’s just saying that so I won’t think anything else, but I can’t help but think he’s just going off to do something else that involves his new life without me and Jesse. I really hope he’s not blowing Jesse off for anyone or anything else other than work.

I just don’t know what to think anymore. I feel so overwhelmed with stuff to get done. I know I need to just focus on one thing at a time, but when I get one thing figured out it seems that I have a bunch of other stuff come up. Like I was focused on Jesse’s IEP 100% then the divorce thing came up which brought a ton of stuff that I need to do. Then as I was starting to get divorce stuff figured out I find out that Jesse needs surgery. Well I know God would never give me more than I can handle, but wow. God must think I’m Super Woman.

I think what I’m going to do is just get my focus back 100% to Jesse and the IEP. Then after the IEP meeting is done I’ll start focusing on the surgery and getting all our medical stuff figured out for when we move. Then I’ll start contacting the school Jesse will be going to and find out what kind of preschool programs they have. Jesse has been in a great program here and I’d like to find a program that is similar. I also have a meeting with social security about benefits for Jesse. I’ll “try” to wait to start worrying about a job, daycare, moving, finding a home for Sasha, until after Jesse has recovered from surgery. That should minimize my stress and give me plenty of time to relax with my favorite little man. Jesse is going to need about a weeks worth of snuggle time with mommy after surgery so I’m going to put everything aside and stay focused on him until he’s back to his normal self.

Today I found myself getting stressed and I shut my computer down and just watched Jesse play for a while. Jesse has this amazing power to make his mommy forget about all that is bad in the world and smile. He’s got this giggle that is so contagious too. A tiny little tickle to his side has the ability to break our smiles where ever it’s heard. I think his giggle should be bottled up and sold.

Ok so it’s 1am. I think it’s time to wrap this up, post it, and get off this computer and try to get some sleep. I know I’ll be laying here for about an hour or 2 before I actually fall asleep so that will hopefully give me at least 3 hours of sleep before I have to get up and get Jesse to school.

Divorce sucks!

2010-05-18T00:17:00.000-04:00

Ok. So I’m hitting my blog for something other than Jesse talk. Things have been pretty rough around the Baker household for some time now. I think the ship has put a strain on my marriage along with a whole bunch of holding back emotions and not talking about our problems. I’ve tried to make things better, but it just hasn’t worked. I guess Tony has tried to make things work also, but we just never really talked about our problems. Well, I know I have voiced my concerns sometimes and told him I wasn’t happy, but I guess the subject just got dropped. So somewhere along the line we have lost each other.

I am always 100% focused on Jesse and basically put our relationship issues on hold. He is always stressed about work and thinking about work or World of Warcraft. We are just at different places in our lives. I’m all about family and doing what’s best for Jesse and he’s all for making the money so I can do what’s best for Jesse and playing his game. It just doesn’t work.

I have done a lot of thinking about this and thought about divorce for a while, but wanted to try to save the marriage because I don’t want Jesse to grow up like I did with dad not around. It was really tough on my brother and I not having our dad around and I didn’t want that for Jesse. The past few months we have spent more time arguing or giving each other the silent treatment than we have happy. It has affected Jesse. He is acting out, BAD.

We came to the decision to get divorced. I don’t really want to add marriage to my list of failures in my life, but I think it is what is best for Jesse. I don’t want to see him grow up in an unhappy home and I don’t want to be unhappy anymore. I want Jesse to think back on his childhood and remember how happy he was growing up and not about the arguing and fighting that he grew up with. I want him to have a great happy childhood and not resent us later for putting him through hell.

Now even though I know we are making the right decision to get divorced I can’t help but be scared for what lies ahead for me. I’m going to be moving into my dads house with Jesse and putting all our stuff in storage until I can find an apartment in a good safe neighborhood with a school that has great programs for my little guy. I’m almost 31 and going to be living with daddy. Wow, that’s pretty pathetic in my eyes. It will definitely push me to hurry up and get on my feet though so I guess that’s a good point. Plus I am sure my dad is going to be through the roof happy having his little guy around.
I also wonder, is this really what is best for Jesse? Now I’m going to be a single mother with a job and going to school. Is this going to affect Jesse? I have busted my ass with him and he is doing great because I am always working with him. Now I won’t be able to as much because of work and school. Is he going to regress? Is he going to think mommy is leaving him to like daddy does?

There is so much going through my head right now I feel like it’s going to explode. I have tried to get a good night’s sleep to no prevail. I can’t shut my brain off. I am a control freak and hate it when I’m not in control over a situation. That’s where my problem is right now. I’m not in control over this and I have no set plans for the near future. Hell I’ve been worried for the past few months about who Jesse is going to have for a teacher next year and about our IEP meeting. I feel like I have enough on my plate to feed an army right now.

Well, I better get off here and at least try to get some sleep. Jesse has an appointment tomorrow to see if he needs his tonsils taken out. It’s definitely going to be one of those triple venti mocha kind of days tomorrow. Thank God there is a Starbucks on the way to the naval hospital. Ok so that’s my rant and now I’m off to bed.

First time playing in the snow!

2010-01-30T11:22:00.002-05:00

Jesse had a blast. He didn't move around much, but sure did bend down to play with it. He is definitely a true Michigander at heart like his parents.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jesse is starting to read

2010-01-14T20:27:00.003-05:00

Ok so he's only reading a few words, but hey he's 4 so that is totally amazing right? Jesse amazes me every day. Each milestone is such a big deal around here. I remember when he first walked I shrieked and started crying and well it scared him so he didn't walk for another 2 months, but wow it was like the best thing ever and we worked so hard to get to that point. Now he can read his name, yes, no, stop, go, and bus. We got him some flip books that have the word and a picture with it from The Lakeshore Learning catalog and I love watching him point to the letters of the words and say the letters. He is so excited about learning and I love that about him.

Now I'm off to clean up the mess Jesse left for me when he went to bed. I'll try to post again soon.

It's our Anniversary!

2010-01-08T07:38:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband. We've made it 6 years. We've had a lot of trying times, but love makes it all work out in the end.

Christmas pics!

2010-01-01T14:39:00.004-05:00

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T23:46:00.004-05:00

So it's Christmas Eve and I can't wait until morning to see the look on Jesse's face when he sees all his gifts. Anyway, it's almost midnight and Santa has already been here so I guess it's time I let the dog out and head to bed. Tony will be home in the morning and we'll have our Christmas. Jesse will get to play with his toys for a little while then we hit the road after lunch to head to Tony's moms. When we get home I'll post about our Christmas. Until then Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

School picture October 2009

2009-12-12T14:35:00.001-05:00

Just pictures

2009-10-31T21:41:00.003-04:00

Just playing.

Being silly!!!!

This is perfection. What a sweetheart!

Buddy Walk 2009 with Dr. Meyer. She's the best!

Potty Training

2009-10-25T22:23:00.002-04:00

We've been putting Jesse on the potty off and on for months and nothing. We've sat him on the potty with a sippy cup of juice or milk and nothing. I have always joked that we could let him run around naked and he wouldn't pee unless he was in a diaper or the bathtub. Jesse surprised me while Tony was deployed and went potty once, but nothing since then........ until tonight. I had just gotten bath water run for Jesse and I put him on the potty for a few minutes. After a few minutes I heard it.... yep Jesse totally went number 1. I am so proud of him. He is growing up more and more every day. He's helping me around the house with taking care of dirty diapers and picking up toys. Anyway, I know I've been bad at updating so I thought tonight's accomplishment was good cause for one so here ya are. Now, it's off to let the dog out and get a lunch box ready for Jesse in the morning.

2009 Annual Buddy Walk

2009-08-31T11:50:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again. We are getting ready for our Buddy Walk.If you would like to make a donation in our teams name. You can do so by visiting the page for Team Jesse. All donations are greatly appreciated and will help families with children with down syndrome. Thanks for checking us out.

Just some pics

2009-08-22T09:21:00.002-04:00

Don't have much time to blog right now, but here are some adorable pics and I'll try and get another blog done in the near future.

Stressful times

2009-08-10T11:56:00.000-04:00

Last Friday I got a phone call from my dad. I immediately knew something was wrong. I had just talked to him Thursday to wish him a happy birthday. We normally talk about once a week so two calls in two days, well something was wrong. He said I’m sorry baby, but I’ve got some bad news. Big Momma passed away today. Big Momma was my dads mom. I knew it was coming since she has had a lot of health problems for many years, but it still hit me like a ton of bricks. I stayed strong for my dad on the phone, but was hurting so bad inside. I hadn’t seen her in over 15 years, and hadn’t talked to her in probably a month or so. She’s been weak and takes naps often so it’s hard to know when a good time to call is. She had been struggling with her breathing for a few weeks and my Aunt had been staying home with her since her problems had gotten worse. My Big Momma died in her bed with my Aunt holding her. It was a peaceful passing from what I’ve been told. Most importantly is that now she is no longer in constant pain.

This has been the first death that’s close to me since my mom died a few months after Jesse was born. My moms passing was a total shock to all of us. It had been over a year since I had seen her and she had never gotten to meet her first grandchild. My mom was my best friend and losing her was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. It was a very tough month when we lost her. We were traveling home for the funeral and everything else we needed to take care of and we were in a car accident that could have easily killed Tony, me, and Jesse. Anyway the point is that was the worst month of my life hands down. I think the only thing that could affect me more than that is if I lost a child. I didn’t deal with my moms death very well if even at all. I can honestly say that I don’t think I would have made it through my mom dying if it wasn’t for having Jesse to take care and live for. He is truly my whole world. I have pushed so much to the back of my mind and that is where it stays… for the most part. I have my times where I break down and just cry and grieve, but I feel I do a good job covering it all up. Tony doesn’t even know that I still can’t come to grips with it. The point of all this about my mom you ask. Well, lets just say that since getting the news of my grandmother on Friday I am now dealing with everything I have pushed back to the back of my mind.

My mind is in overdrive and it won’t stop. I’m not going to go into detail about everything running through my mind, but I will share a few things. Was my mom in pain when she died? I’m pretty sure she was and I just can’t deal with that fact. I hate to think that my moms last moments were in pain. I’m also scared of who I am going to lose next. You see they always say it comes in 3’s, well I’m not sure about 3’s, but about a month before we lost my mom we lost my Grandpa Jeff who was Big Mommas husband. Just a few months before we lost Grandpa we almost lost Big Momma. I was around 7 or 8 months pregnant with Jesse. Big Momma had a lot of problems and died on the table a few times. Doctors were obviously able to bring her back, but it was real sketchy for a while. I remember that I was pregnant because my dad didn’t want to tell me because he was scared that it would hurt the pregnancy. So anyway, back to my thoughts, who’s next? I’m normally not the kind of person who thinks it’s all about me so I’m sorry if it sounds like it. I’m not one for talking about my feelings when it comes to being emotionally hurt and spent, but I’m hoping maybe by blogging this it will help.

There are a lot of really AMAZING, great things going on with our family right now and eventually I’ll blog about those things, but for now it’s hard to write about the great things when all I can think about are the bad things.

If you made it this far thanks for reading my ramblings. Now I need to go and fix Jesse some lunch and start to get ready for therapy. My next blog will be cheery I promise.

ABC’s and turning 4

2009-07-13T12:21:00.001-04:00

We are 4 now! Jesse had a wonderful birthday yesterday. Tony put aside his gaming and I put aside twitter and face book. We watched Signing Time, played, and had lots of cake and ice cream. I think it was the perfect day. We decided not to do a big birthday party like last year because we might not have another birthday with Tony home and wanted to spend it together without all the commotion of a bunch of kids running around. We went through pictures of Jesse through the past 4 years and remembered how small and sweet he was. We watched the videos of the first time he crawled and the first time he walked. It was so good to just sit and go through all the old pictures and videos, but it was kind of sad to know that my sweet boy that was happiest laying on mommy’s chest is now grown up and just wants to run and play. Jesse has made so much progress this past year. He amazes me every day with his accomplishments.

Now onto the ABC’s. When school got out in June I really started to focus on the ABC’s with Jesse. In just a month he now knows the entire alphabet and sings them by himself with no prompting. If you write a letter he will tell you what it is and is so proud of himself every time he does it. Of course that probably has something to do with the fact that I pretty much always make a big deal out of it like he just got done doing his first night as lead role on a big Broadway production. I’m his mom though so I’m supposed to do that right? Well, I do and he loves it! Now I have to give credit where credit is due and say that none of this would be possible without Rachel Coleman and the ABC Signs dvd from the Signing Time Series. This has been one of Jesse’s favorite dvd’s for a while now. I just can’t say enough about Signing Time. It has helped Jesse so much and has become a very important part of our days here in the Baker house.

It’s lunch time for us so it’s time to get this posted and get to cooking. Will update again soon.

Sharing videos for your viewing pleasures

2009-06-19T23:54:00.002-04:00

Ok so I need to update, but it's late so I'll share some videos and update when I have some time. Here are some vids of our lil' mans pre school graduation. He's growing up so fast. I still can't believe he'll be 4 next month.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Endocrinology appointment

2009-05-29T00:42:00.002-04:00

Jesse had an appointment to see how his thyroid meds are working and I'm glad to say they are working great! There is no need to change the dosage or anything. Now all we have to do is have labs done every 4 months or so to make sure the meds are still working.
We have our annual I.E.P. appointment next Wednesday so I will be sure to post about that experience sometime next weekend. I'm sure it will be an interesting appointment since I'm bringing an advocate. I'll post about why later. For now though it's almost 1am and I need to get the trash out and get my butt to bed. 6am comes early around here.

An update just for Pam!

2009-05-09T11:02:00.003-04:00

So I have been informed by someone that she needs her Jesse fix. So here we go with an update. Tony came home last month. I have never been so happy to see his ship come into sight. We didn't have the dream homecoming moments I had hoped for because there were a lot of problems Tony had to deal with on the ship before he could come off. It bummed me out, but it's ok because eventually I got my husband back and took him home and we had him for an entire 2 weeks to ourselves. No work, just time for the 3 of us. Jesse has been so attached to his dada since he's been home. Jesse cries when Tony gets his shoes out to walk the dog. Jesse is showing off his signing and talking skills for his dada all the time which is great! Jesse is also showing off his bad side to dada which dada doesn't like, but I think is the funniest thing ever. Remember I've been dealing with it by myself for 7 months so I've learned to deal with it and not get so angry so when Tony gets frustrated and angry all I can do is laugh.lol

We are getting ready to go in for our annual IEP meeting which I like to call the meeting from hell, but this one should be better. We are bringing reinforcements. We are bringing an advocate from the naval hospital and she doesn't put up with bs. The teacher is kissing our asses now as she understands how unhappy we are with the school. I gave her paperwork we got from the hospital and I made sure to highlight key points in there where they mention what the school is doing wrong. Is that wrong of me? I think it's great! Since then the teacher has been doing her best to kiss our asses and tell us how great it is to have Jesse in class and how great he's doing. I think it's a little late for all the ass kissing, but who knows.lol

Tony has gone back to work since Jesse has gone back to school and it's been kind of rough. Jesse comes running out of his bedroom in the mornings calling for dada and looks all over for him then gets real upset that dada isn't here. It breaks my heart, but I am sure he will get used to dada having to go to work soon.

We are trying to figure out what all we should do for season passes this year. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is about an hour away and has opened up a Sesame Street park inside for kids. We are thinking about getting season passes to give us something to do as a family. We are also talking about a year family pass to the Virginia Zoo. It's not the greatest zoo, but it's the closest one to us and Jesse loves going there. It just doesn't compare at all to the zoos I've been to in the past, but Jesse doesn't know any better yet. Maybe by the time he notices that our zoo sucks, we'll be stationed somewhere else with a better zoo. I can hope anyway.lol

Well, I think I'm done updating for now. It's about time to get lunch ready for lil' man. I'll try to do better updating. I'm sure Pam and others will keep me on my toes asking for updates. Until next time here is some cuteness for ya. One of the pics is of Jesse and Tony's dad who came down to surprise Tony when he came home from deployment. I just love Jesse in his sailor hat and shades.lol

And the countdown begins

2009-04-07T09:57:00.004-04:00

So is everyone probably knows, my husband is on deployment. He left in September for a 7 month deployment. That 7 months is almost over. I am so excited and so happy that this deployment is almost over and that soon my son will be able to hug his dada again very soon. I haven't been so great at the blogging thing, but I've been so busy with so much going on.

We've had a lot of stuff going on with Jesse and the school. We had some problems come up within the past month and so I've been trying to take care of all of that. We're also loaded down with doctor appointments and therapy appointments. We've been sick quite a bit this winter and now the pollen is here so allergy and sinus problems are here to make us miserable.

Jesse is doing great, no wait fantastic is more like it. His therapists are great and do a wonderful job showing me what I can do at home to keep it going. Jesse is a lot more verbal now and it's finally hit me that my little boy is growing up. I can't believe he's going to be 4 this July. Where has the time gone?

Well that's about it for an update right now. I've got to get ready to pick Jesse up from school and get him some lunch, then it's off to therapy.

New pics

2009-03-06T10:49:00.001-05:00

Ok so here is the new hair cut. Oh and since this blog is about Jesse, here's a pic of him at school the other day.lol

Need advice please

2009-03-04T09:36:00.003-05:00

Ok so I know this is probably stupid to some of you, but I really need some help figuring out what to do with my hair. My hair is long now and I always have it pulled back in a pony tail because Jesse hates it in his face and I never have time to do my hair because it never looks right without a blow dry and flat iron run through it then I always end up pulling it back in a pony tail eventually anyway. I am also getting migraines a lot and can't figure out why. It could be my hair weighing to much or stress, sinuses, etc. My hubby loves long hair so I don't know if I really want to cut it, I know he would tell me to do whatever I want, but of course I want to have my hair a way he'll like it. So what I need from you is to look at these 2 pics and tell me what you think. Is it better long or short. The short hair pic was taken before Jesse so I was much thinner. That's another thing I'm worried about, what if I look horrible with short hair now that I'm heavier. Anyway, what do you think? Please leave a comment telling me long or short. Then if I decide to cut it I'll post pics after I get it done. Thanks in advance. Now here's the pics.

Jesse and his ABC's

2009-02-15T11:54:00.001-05:00

Jesse is learning his abc's and let me tell you it is so adorable. He is saying A then says apples, then he says B babies, c cat, d doggie, and e elmo. He is just so darn cute. He's also saying I luh oooo.

Nascar season is back and anyone that knows me knows all to well that I am a die hard nascar fan. When I was pregnant I was at the Daytona 500 when Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag and Jesse totally kicked me. I thought wow my son is a nascar fan already. Well it's proving true. All week since it's been Race Week he has been glued to the practices, qualifying, and anything else that has to do with the cars going around the track. I can't wait to take him to his first race.

Well, it's time to get Jesse some lunch so off I go.

Jesse and his sharing skills

2009-02-03T17:56:00.003-05:00

Well Jesse is learning to share now. He tried to share his sippy cup with me the other day and has been sharing his dada bear too. One thing though I am upset about him sharing. He's sick and he shared it with me. Ugh, now we are both congested, tired, and cranky. It makes me so happy that Jesse is sharing, but I have to say he is sharing way to much. I hope he starts to feel better soon. It was so bad the other night I almost took him to Portsmouth, but I handled it so I didn't need to. That was a good thing because we would have been waiting for about 4 hours just to be seen then another 2 hours when we finally got a room. It was already 3am and we hadn't been to sleep yet so I'm glad I saved us from that trip. He's eating and drinking today so I'm hoping that means he is starting to get over this. I need him to go to school so I can catch up on the housework I let go over the weekend to cuddle with my sick little man. Just look at this poor kid. He's miserable.

SIGNING TIME GIVE AWAY! YOU CAN'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONE

2009-02-03T00:03:00.002-05:00

Pam over at The Bird Flock is rocking this give away thing. What better give away than Signing Time. I'm sure you have kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, or a friend who has kids that you can get stuff for. This is the best of the best for give aways. I mean you have the option to have Rachel, Alex, Leah and Hopkins in your house everyday! What more could you want? You totally need to get in on this give away. So get over to The Bird Flock now. Here's the link. http://theflockofbirds.blogspot.com/2009/02/signing-time-giveaway.html

Better check this one out

2009-01-29T00:26:00.002-05:00

So a friend of mine over at The Bird Flock is doing a Bloggy Giveaway and you definately don't want to miss out on this one. You have a chance to win the most adorable lovems for your kiddos. So if you don't already read The Bird Flock you totally need to go there now and check it out. Not to mention she has the cutest little boy ever, well equally cute with Jesse anyway. So don't waste anymore time, the blog giveaway ends soon. Here's the link! http://theflockofbirds.blogspot.com/2009/01/bloggy-giveaway.html

Time for a much needed update

2009-01-28T23:45:00.002-05:00

Jesse is doing great! He is having a hard time with deployment still, but school and therapy is going good. Speech therapy is tough because as far as I can tell he doesn't like the speech therapist. I can't blame him though since she told us to cut back on Signing Time and well Jesse won't stand to have his beloved Rachel cut out of his days. His speech therapy is Rachel, it's just Rachel and me. He has shown so much improvement since we got the whole Signing Time collection. I'm not going to take that away from him. He loves physical therapy. He spends the whole time in physical therpay laughing and having a blast. School is going good for him. The teacher said he's making progress with a lot of things.

I'm doing pretty good. Just trying to stay busy to keep my occupied for the deployment. Jesse missing his daddy and crying for dada has been really hard on me. I just can't stand it when he's crying and really upset and I know I can't do anything to make him feel better. I'm just glad we have already past our half way point for this deployment. It doesn't help any that Tony can't call that often either. It seems they are always cutting off the phone lines or Tony is working 20 hour days with no days off. It's really rough. I email Tony at least once a day to let him know how we're doing and tell him the new things Jesse is doing. Most of the time I find myself emailing him 2 or 3 times a day. He looks forward to our emails every day so I make sure to keep them heading his way. I also try to send him at least one picture of Jesse a day. I just recently started working on our Down Syndrome Association Buddy Walk comittee. That should take up a lot of time also because I have so many ideas. Currently I'm trying to get Rachel from Signing Time here for the event. I've also been trying to lose weight. So far I've lost 25 pounds since September when Tony left. I am hoping to lose another 20 by the time Tony comes home.

Well, it is after midnight and I am in desperate need of sleep so off to bed I go. So that is about it for now. Time for me to go to bed. I'll post again soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T20:24:00.002-05:00

Today I'm thankful for swallow studies that show there is nothing wrong with Jesse and for my wonderful sailor who although isn't home has still made it a point to call and email as much as he can. I'm also thankful for the most important man in my life who has brought me more joy than anyone could possibly imagine. Of course I'm talking about Jesse. He has been such a blessing to us and we cherish every moment with him. I'm also thankful for my wonderful family and friends. I honestly think I am the luckiest girl around because I have the greatest friends. I especially need to thank Jen who has been my voice of reason through this deployment and all the crap I've had to deal with since it started.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Swallow study??????? What?????

2008-11-12T12:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had some therapy evaluations for physical therapy and occupational therapy since we've been able to have any therapy services since Jesse turned 3 in July. I was explaining about Jesse and how sometimes he chokes on his food. It seems to me like he gets lazy and doesn't chew it good enough, but they asked me if we have ever had a swallow study done. I have had it mentioned to me before, but the drs never said lets have one done. Honestly, I don't have a clue what a swallow study even is. I feel so horrible for not knowing, but here I am taking a deep breath and admitting that for once I don't know what's going on. That takes a lot for me to admit. I'm always having to be in control and know exactly what is going on and when I don't I feel like a horrible mom. What does a swallow study consist of? Should I tell the drs I want one done even though I think it's just because Jesse gets lazy and doesn't want to chew? Any input or advice on this would be wonderful and appreciated so much. Thanks in advance. Oh and here is a cute recent pic of little man. It's not the best since he is looking down, but Jesse has found a new way of getting around the living room.

Tempers and an update

2008-11-02T12:13:00.004-05:00

Jesse has such a temper now days. I think it is really starting to get to him with his daddy being gone. He has been biting himself in the arm and leaving teeth marks all over. He has also been banging his head. I just have no idea what to do to try to get him to stop anymore. He hasn't even talked to Tony for the past week because all he wants to do is scream on the phone. I just don't get it. I hope the next 5 months go by fast.
We discovered last week that Jesse has had high TSH levels pretty much since birth. We finally saw a doctor that actually gives a damn and she referred us to an endocrinologust who put Jesse on some thyroid medication. I'm hoping this helps with his thyroid levels.
Other than that nothing really going on here. I'm just so ready to head south to my dads for Christmas. I'm getting so sick of Virginia and all the stupid navy wife drama. I just can't believe how some wives can act and think that it's ok.
Well, that's about all I can think of right nowl. It's been so hectic here, I'm sure I forgot some stuff, but once I remember I'll post later.

Update on deployment and Jesse

2008-10-19T13:49:00.003-04:00

We are a little over 1 month into this deployment now. 39 days to be exact. Jesse has finally relized this isn't just a short time with daddy being gone. He's had his days that he's been real fussy and ticked off and spends the day screaming for his daddy, but Signing Time gets him to calm down. Once I put on his favorite Rachel, he stops screaming and starts signing and singing along with the Signing Time theme. Rachel is such a blessing in this house during this deployment. I think I would go crazy if it wasn't for Signing Time. I have tried everything to keep Jesse busy, but nothing works except Signing Time.

Jesse is doing great in school. He came home from school on Friday with the most adorable pumpkin hat that he made in school. I'm trying to plan his class Halloween party right now. If anyone has any good suggestions for a preschool Halloween party I would greatly appreciate it. How could I have thought it would be a good idea to volunteer as class mom?LOL I've got so much other stuff on my mind right now that I don't feel I can put 100% into being class mom. Oh well, I'll figure something out to make it great!

School update on Jesse

2008-10-02T19:59:00.004-04:00

So Jesse has been in school now for a month. He's doing really well. I've already noticed a good improvement in him. He's also been playing with his friend Marissa a lot and is learning so much from her. Jesse has brought home some fingerpainting he's done and some coloring. The teachers absolutely loves him. They are working on getting him used to transitioning from activity to activity. I have also been sending Jesse to school with his Signing Time dvd's. We love Rachel and Signing Time and now his class does too. Here is a pic of Jesse and little friend Marissa.

Here is a pic of Rachel Coleman from Signing Time when we saw her a few months ago. Jesse was just in awe of her.

Well, that's about it to update on now.

Saying goodbye for a long time

2008-09-11T14:59:00.002-04:00

So the navy took my husband away again. You would think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm not. Goodbyes are always hard especially when they are for 7 months.

My Montage 9/11/08

Family Vacation

2008-09-11T14:28:00.001-04:00

Here are the pics we got from our vacation to Florida to see Jesse's Grandpa Linney. We had a blast. It was to short though. Jesse misses his Grandpa so much.

My Montage 8/29/08

New pics of Jesse

2008-07-21T11:35:00.001-04:00

My Slideshow 7/21/08

Happy 3rd Birthday Jesse!!!!

2008-07-12T17:21:00.003-04:00

My man is 3 today. I can't believe he's growing up so fast. I will update on how his birthday went in a day or 2. We are still trying to unpack in the new place.

Much needed update

2008-05-23T19:53:00.003-04:00

So I've been missing in action lately. I have been so stressed out with the navy and the constant underway schedules. I just wish for once the navy would keep his ship in for at least a month.

Anyway, here's the update. Jesse is doing wonderful. He is still signing like crazy, but he's also talking so much more. His latest is oh yeah. I'm trying to teach him to say stupid navy, but so far he's not going for it. lol

We've been out and about a lot lately. We've been going to parks and the museums when the weather permits. Now everytime I grab my keys he says bye bye bye bye and waves at the dog. It's tricky trying to get out of the house just to check the mail.lol

Anyway, I guess that's about all for now. It's time to start Signing Time and relax for a while. Here are some updated pics of my sweet little guy.

New pics of Jesse

2008-04-26T13:30:00.002-04:00

Finally an update

2008-03-30T23:54:00.002-04:00

So it's been crazy around here. I found out a couple of weeks ago that I might possibly have ovarian cancer and would need surgery to find out for sure. I had surgery last Wednesday and thank God it wasn't cancer.
Now, on to Jesse. He is absolutely amazing. I can't think of anything else to say. He is just so wonderful and perfect. He is signing up a storm and he's starting to try to piece together words now. Oh and can we say attitude? Oh wow, I am so getting paid back for all the stuff I put my mother through when I was a child. He has such an attitude sometimes. He is very stubborn and is getting more and more independent every day. I miss my little man who used to sleep in my arms all the time.
Anyway, I am off to bed now. This is going to be a long week.

Trip to the Aquarium

2008-02-23T12:59:00.003-05:00

We had a girls day out with the kids. It was Jesse and I, my friend Dani and her son Brandon, and my friend Laura. The kids had a blast. Jesse even got to touch a ray. It was fun. Here are some pics we got while we were there. Notice Jesse and Brandon seem to be best friends already, just like their mamas.

Jesse playing with my cell phone

2008-02-07T23:08:00.000-05:00

I just thought he was so cute playing with my cell phone so I called it to see what he would do. He is just the cutest thing ever.

Jesse and the Living Museum

2008-02-07T12:22:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine Laura and I took Jesse to the Virginia Living Museum here in Newport News yesterday and let me tell you Jesse had a blast! Laura had decided that I don't have enough pics of Jesse and I together because I'm always the one behind the camera. She took pics all day. I figured I post some to show how much fun we had. I think I'd have to say his favorite part was a toss up between looking at the fish and sitting in the eagle nest.

Feeding

2008-01-23T12:42:00.000-05:00

Jesse has now mastered the chunky food thing now so we are focusing on getting him to feed himself with a spoon. We are having to put our hand over his on the spoon, but he's doing good with it. The biggest problem we have is him trying to shovel everything in his mouth at once and what to do with his other hand. His other hand seems to end up in the bowl.lol It is real fun to see how excited he is to be using the spoon though. He cheers after every couple bites.

Update on us

2008-01-16T10:41:00.000-05:00

Ok so I haven't been on here for a while. My hard drive crashed on my desktop so I said the heck with it and got a laptop. Now our computer desk is gone and has given Jesse more room to roam around. Jesse amazes me! He is growing up so fast. He is doing new stuff everyday. We are really focusing on his language and feeding skills right now and it is going great. He is really trying to talk now and his feeding skills are moving right along as well. I think he'll be spoon feeding himself real soon. We just have to get rid of the whole compulsive stuffing his mouth habit that he has now. Anyway, that's about it around here.

family pics

2007-12-24T12:46:00.001-05:00

Well, we finally decided that it was time to get some family pics done. We've always wanted to, but never had the extra money since every time we have anything extra it gets spent on something for Jesse.

New update

2007-11-26T15:20:00.000-05:00

Haven't had much time to update this thing since I had my surgery and Jesse has been running all over the place. He is so dang active I can't seem to catch much of a break. He is doing outstanding. He is walking like a pro now and has since moved onto his feeding and speech skills. He is def. a music lover and is trying to sing along with the Wiggles. He loves techno music thanks to my husband. He gets right up and starts shaking his booty every time techno is played which would be never if it was up to me.LOL Anyway, things are great here. Jesse is just cruising all over the place with me or Tony not far behind to keep him out of trouble.

Jesse playing the keyboard

2007-10-18T09:10:00.000-04:00

Jesse has decided to take up the keyboard. I think he's got a future in the music industry.lol

video of Jesse walking!!!!

2007-09-18T17:57:00.000-04:00

I'm so proud of my lil' man. He is growing up so fast. I already posted about him walking, but wanted to share the video after I edited out the parts that he was just standing there. Sorry there is no sound, but my mic on my web cam won't work. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave comments. We love comments!!!!!

He's walking on his own now

2007-09-18T09:36:00.000-04:00

I'm so proud of my little man. Last night he walked all over the living room for about 10 minutes by himself. I couldn't believe it. I got out the web cam and recorded him for a while. He is growing up so fast.

update on language skills

2007-09-04T13:18:00.001-04:00

Jesse now says eat, Elmo, milk, bye bye, bug, and doggie. In the last couple of weeks he's taken off with his speech skills. Our therapist doesn't even want to work on sign language anymore because he's doing so good trying to say everything. I'm so proud of Jesse.

My poor little guy is sick

2007-08-31T11:20:00.000-04:00

Jesse has the crud right now. The poor little guy is so congested and barking like a seal. It's a good excuse for me to make my home made chicken noodle soup though. He's a real cuddle bug right now and just wants snuggle or sleep. I'm hoping I can get him into the Dr's next week if he isn't feeling better over the weekend. I'll update later. I need to get back to snuggling with my little guy.

Finally a birthday party

2007-08-27T10:55:00.000-04:00

The in laws came from North Carolina and Tony was actually home. We did the whole cake thing for Jesse. We let him tear into the cake since his dada wasn't home to see it last year. He wasn't loving the cake as much as he did last year, but sure loved the frosting.

Officially a blogger

2007-08-23T23:21:00.000-04:00

I wasn't planning on blogging, but after spending so much time checking out the blogs friends have I figured I'd give it a shot.