Thanks!!

 
 
 
 
 Wow! I almost forgot about this thing. I guess life just happened and this online journal got put on the back burner. Thanks to all that have followed me on this motherhood journey, and a special thank you to the ones that have helped and supported me through the Cochlear Implant saga with my children. I would also like to give a shout out to Rebekah, my most invested follower. She has followed me throughout the years, learning everything she could about me and my family. I'm so honored.
Maybe someday I'll pick this up again, but for now I will just use it to look back at the memories.



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My #1 follower!

We're back!! ( I think)


We're back!

Ahh! it's been so long. I have million drafts started and none finished so I figured I would just start all over with the start of the school year. We are now 3 weeks into the school year and we are slowly getting into our routine.
Kemper is now 7yrs old  and in the 2nd grade!! It is his second year being mainstreamed at his home school and  he is doing fabulous. It's what we hoped and prayed for, so we can't ask for more.
 Little Miss Kendall turned 3 at end of May and just started going to our regional day school for the deaf.  She is doing awesome and loving it! I think having an older brother in school has helped her with the transition from home to school. She's always wanting to do what big brother is doing.

Kemper is a proud member of the Cub Scouts and takes an all boys Aerobats (gymnastics) class in his free time. He's still my shy quiet little boy with the best sense of humor. Hes crazy about Star Wars, Mine Craft and Legos.
 
Our little Kendy bird is our little firecracker. This Lady Boss knows what she wants and when she wants it. She has been taking ballet for the last year and just recently started in gymnastics (because she couldn't stand being on the sidelines and watching her brother) She is also an honorary Cub Scout member, t-shirt and all ;)
Kendall loves Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol and wearing all kids of accessories. Her favorite activities include anything that her brother is doing.
As for me I'm still a full time mom, working part time as a nurse in the ICU at a Children's hospital, and recently started back in school ( that's a whole other story).
Hopefully I can get back into this blogging thing. I've missed my online scrapbook!


Kendall's new Bling

 Kendall gets her ears pierced!
July22, 2014

We kinda of have a tradition in my family of the girls getting their ears pierced at a young age. I'm talking like before they are a year old. I had mine done when I was just a few months old and had planned to do that with Kendall but decided to wait until a few months after her cochlear implant surgery. So at 14 months old off we went to Sweet and Sassy to have her ears pierced!!

Sweet girl had no idea what was coming :(

 I'm sure it hurt but she seemed more upset about us holding her down.


Before you call CPS on me...
 This picture was taken a minute or two after they pierced her ears.
Nothing a little candy couldn't fix!!


Sweet baby girl with her new bling!

Afterwards we stopped off for an ice cream treat!

This little girl is a champ.
 Like nothing ever happened.

Kendall turns ONE

Kendall turns ONE !!
 May 28, 2014

Kendall's pink and gold 1st Birthday party!!!



We celebrated Kendall 1st birthday at our home with friends and family.
Pink and Gold was a perfect theme for our Girly Girl.

One of my friends/coworkers, Susanna, made Kendall's cakes at home from scratch.
  

They were perfect.
Vanilla cake with buttercream icing. I'm talking wedding cake quality, no lie.


My birthday girl who wouldn't sit still for a picture!


or stand up!



Some of the decorations...

Hints of pink, gold, and white throughout the house to go with our theme.

I had this poster with all her stats and favorite things made from a site on Etsy.

A collection of her month to month photos.
 12 months went by so fast...



Let her eat cake!!

I love the last picture "And I'm out!"

 We were so happy that our friends could join us for this special day.
 We went simple and grilled up some hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch.


Kendall loved her pink chocolate covered treats.
The kid friendly Shirley Temple drinks were a hit too. 


 I love having Kendall's birthday at the end of May, it's not quite crazy Texas hot yet, but warm enough for pool parties!!!

Thanks to all that came out to celebrate!!



Sources:


ONE onesie
 poster
Pink and Gold birthday outfit 
Gold Crown headband
Crown Cake topper


Kemper turns 5



 Kemper turns 5!!!
April 7th 2014

  • You wear 3T, 4T &5T clothing.  You are a skinny yet tall little boy. You need the waist of a 3T-4T but need the length of a 5T.  Finding clothes that fit is a challenge.
  • You don't eat much, we joke that you are on an air diet. Playing is more important I guess.
  • Your favorite food is pizza with TONS of parmesan cheese.
  • You love to watch Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, any Disney movies, and the Despicable Me movies.
  • You are amazing when it comes to electronics.



  • You have the best sense of humor, you even crack your own jokes.
  • You are the best big brother, you protect your sister at all times.
  •  You love to read books and are excited about learning to read.
  •  You are right on track for starting Kindergarten in the Fall.


This year Kemper wanted to have his party at Bounce U with a Peter Pan theme. While I love Peter Pan it's almost impossible to find Peter Pan party supplies.

Kemper has never been the type of child to stray from his parents side. The only time he takes off at lightning speed is when we have his birthday at Bounce U. He's nowhere to be found!

Kendall in her Tinkerbell outfit had a blast at her brothers party.

The "spider web" was a hit.

Kemper's beautiful cake.
 It was almost too pretty to eat. Like I said, it was almost impossible to find Peter Pan themed party supplies so I had to hunt for a baker that could make me a cake that had Captain Hook on it per K's request. Luckily Piece Of Cake Bakery was able to do that for me.

I didn't want to spend a fortune on a cake, so I just ordered K a smaller personal cake and had cupcakes with Peter Pan toppers I found on Etsy.

We put trick candles on the cake, so K needed some help when it came to blowing them out.


I think the cup cakes were a hit.
All the kids turned into tiny Incredible Hulks hyped up on sugar!

It was such a wonderful day. We are so thankful or all the friends and family that came out to celebrate with us.
Goody bags filled with candy for all the kids.

Play Ball!!


This summer we decided it was a good time to sign Kemper up for T-Ball. He's five, a perfect age to start right? Apparently I didn't get the memo that you're supposed to sign your kid up for sports while still in utero. Turns out K was the only kid on the team that had not previously played before. Most of the others had been playing for at least two years! This was going to be his first time in a group sport activity, so naturally we were a little nervous.  Kemper has always been a homebody, keep to himself kinda kid so we weren't exactly sure how it would go. Luckily it all turned out for the best!


We took him to the park down the street to test out his batting skills. He was a natural with a really good swing!! Nothing like Daddy/son moments to melt your heart.


Baby sister loved getting outside to watch her brother practice. We had to give her her own ball because she insisted on practicing herself. Softball may be in her future, she has a great arm!

We decided to have Kemper try T-ball first, mainly because it is a non contact sport (for the most part) When you have cochlear implants it's just something you think about. I know other CI recipients have done/do contact sports, but this being our first time doing any type of sports we didn't want the extra worry of him hitting his head. Although, in the planning process it didn't even cross our minds that the children are required to wear batting helmets while at bat. Cochlear implants and helmets really don't make the best combination. I think we tried every helmet out there to find one that would fit comfortably over his CI's without knocking them off. We originally tried the Adidas Incite batting helmet . It was a helmet that you could put on and then turn a dial that would tighten the helmet to your head for a more custom fit. We loved it and the idea. The only problem we had was that K has a tiny pea head like his mother and we could not get the helmet tight enough. I was just loose enough to knock his coils off his head when he moved. Total bummer. Next we moved onto a regular Rawlings T-ball Helmet   We were able to get a tighter fit with this one but his processors and coils did not have enough room. To help with this my husband cut off a small portion of the 1st foam layer of padding around his ear and where the coils would go. While I don't recommend removing padding from a safety helmet, I was okay with this because very little was removed and  this is T-ball not the major leagues. I think we will be okay!!




PIRATES!!
Kemper still loves anything that has to do with Pirates so I found it so fitting that his team name was the Pirates.
My skinny little thing, I think his uniform wore him.




Kemper had a great coach this season. He challenged the boys and was very patient them. He also made them work as a team and encourage each other. I loved that when a player would make it to home plate all the boys in the dugout would yell like a pirate ARRRRGGGGHHH!!




 A few games into the season Kemper's coach was looking for a little help so my husband stepped in as an assistant coach. K loved having his Dad on the field and having someone there to help him with his batting helmet.


I had a crush on the assistant coach.

This is what 5year old T-ball looks like.
I love Kemper's clueless facial expression, the coaches all pointing in different directions, kids playing in the dirt... It's not the easiest sport to teach or learn for sure!!

Pirates!!
So thankful for such a great group of boys and coaches.


My sister made Kendall her own Pirate uniform. It had a Pirate skull on her shorts and a number 7 on the back of her shirt. She was an adorable little cheerleader on the sidelines. She would clap and get so excited when she would see her brother at bat.


 His first season of T-ball was a great learning time for him. He made a lot of progress with his catching, fielding, and hitting. Kemper was so proud of the patch he earned for making a great catch during a game.


I never thought I say this but I kinda miss our 8am Saturday morning games.
Good times, Great memories!!!

Cochlear Implant Activation!!



Here we are again!
 
Kendall had her cochlear implant activation on February 27th, two weeks after her surgery .
We made it a family affair and brought her brother Kemper with us. He was so excited for Kendall to  "get her ears turned on."
   Her audiologist started the activation with the introduction of beeps and tones from the computer into her implants.  The initial sounds didn't phase her but as they continued she would stop playing with her toys and look up at me like "what the heck was that?" 

When her audiologist first transitioned over to speech sounds Kendall got a little nervous and began to fuss. The sounds were quickly turned off and she continued to play. The second time speech was introduced she didn't cry or fuss but she quickly turned to me for support. The third time she hardly took notice. She just took a quick pause from playing to look at me in wonder then she would start doing a little bounce in my lap each time she heard a noise.

We had a special guest follow along with us on activation day. Our local news channel had contacted us when Kendall was having her surgery and asked if they could do a story on her. They also wanted to do an update on Kemper. They had done a story (can't find video version) on him back in 2010 when he was implanted. It was fun but so nerve wrecking. They take so many shots and ask so many questions, so you never know what they will use. Plus trying to wrangle two kids while talking on camera is near impossible. Two versions of the interview were shown on the news that day, thankfully the one with me talking showed up late night. I thought the prime time version that I have linked below was much better. My husband did the talking!;)


North Texas Toddler Hears for the First Time « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth



Kemper and Kendall's audiologist takes a picture of  all her cochlear implant recipients on their activation day. K found his as well as the spot left open for his baby sister.


With our favorite audiologist Leslie.


It took Kendall a good two/three weeks before she was fully comfortable and understanding sounds. We had to make a several trips back to the audiologist to make some tweaks to her C.I.s during those first few weeks.  Her audiologist originally give us four programs, each one gradually increasing her access to sound. Every couple of days and we were supposed to go to the next program as tolerated. Only thing is we could never get to program 2 before she started blinking at sounds requiring us to keep her volumes and sensitivity settings really low. Each time we would adjust her programs she would be fine for a day or two but then she would start blinking to sounds, alerting us that her program was too loud. It was like as her brain adjusted to hearing sounds it was requiring less and less stimulus to get a reaction. This was quite the opposite for her brother.When he was activated we had to make multiple trips back to increase his settings.

Kendall has taken to hearing like a fish to water. She loves to hear. We thankfully haven had any issues with her taking  her C.I.'s off, except while in the car. Although everything tends to come off while shes in the car bows, shoes, socks...;)




Here are a few videos of Kendall in her first 2months of hearing.

March 17 (2wks 4 days hearing)
responding to her name and understanding "hi"


March 19 (3 weeks hearing)
A friend posted a video of her baby making raspberry noises with her mouth, Kendall didn't even need to see it in order to imitate it!

March 26 ( 1 mo hearing)
Kendall responding to her name and acknowledging that I am speaking to her.


April 21st (almost 2 mo hearing)
Trying to shake her egg but shakes her booty instead!
I did not give her any visual cues, she understands the word shake!



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