videos from our camping trip...

Dave is the first to pop awake in Hotel Vanagon.

Group hug from Dad!

We took a one-night camping trip with the kids in Hotel Vanagon. We had lots of fun - we intended to take a hike, but the path was still covered in snow. So instead, we checked out Peyto Lake, a really neat canyon, and then took a gondola ride in Banff. It was a great mini-vacation. We're gong to try to get out as many of Mike's weekends as we can. With the kids both in school in September, we only have a couple months where we can do stuff together, without pulling kids from school, or booking off from work. We think next we'll head east - maybe Cyprus Hills or the Dinosoar provincial park. I'll post more pictures really soon, but for now, I have a couple videos. These are from a new camera, so hopefully, they're ok. My old one is being held together with tape, so Mike bought me a very snazzy new one. It didn't cost very much at all, but still blows away the old one.

One is of a very tame squirrel who invaded our campsite. He stole smores and cookies, and dodged our kids. The other is of Mike showing the kids how to start a fire. My favourite part is Joan trying to blow it out.

Anyway, enjoy. And enjoy John's crazy hair - it's finally getting cut tonight!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eay75EJNsvQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHj4Mhu5bcM

the dilemma....

Now that Joan has a placement, i went to look into the registration process for getting John into Kindergarten. In my hunting, i discovered that the other school in our neighbourhood - not the one I can throw a stone at, but one about a 15 minute walk away - is french immersion.

French immersion had always been our plan for John in hamilton, but here, the schools are fairly far between, so we had dropped it.

So, now, with it being so close, we have a dilemma. Do we stick with the school we live beside, and do regular afternoon kindergarten, to coincide with Joan's pre-k program. Or do we enroll John in french immersion, which is only available to local kids in the a.m., and staggar the kids' schedules?

Our day, in the first scenario would go something like: Head out for John's school after lunch, drop him off, then head to Joan's, which starts about 45 min later. I go home for a couple hours. Then, head back to John's school, let him goof around on the playground, then head to Joan's school, which gets out an hour later.

Scenario 2, has all of us heading out first thing to drop John off at school - or just letting the little ones sleep, while Mike gets ready for work. Then, we head down to pick him up. We either play on the playground for an hour or so for lunch, or head home, or run a quick errand. Then, we take Joan to school. Head home. Then, we go pick her up.

In the first scenario, we have both kids in school at the same time, albiet for a short time, because of overlapping drop off/pick-up times.

In the second, the kids are staggared - I'd always have at least two with me all day, unless Joan is accepted into the full-day gross-motor program at her school. (she's on the wait list, but they said based on her therapist's report, she's an ideal candidate, so they may bump her up.)

Either way, weekdays are shot. It'll be a lot of ferrying around. In the second scenario, it might be good to have time each day to focus on each kid - it would be good for Joan's therapy, and good to do stuff with John, and they'd still spend time together for lunch and after school. Plus, John would learn a second language. The first scenario would just encourage them all to sleep in late, and stay up late, which is no good for us. Though, the pro for the first is a glorious two hours every day with just Dave and I. Can we say...NAP.

We're pretty sure John can handle the french. here, it's 100 per cent immersion - no english is spoken in the classroom until grade 3, when it's introduced as a formal subject. It's hard to know if he'd find that frustrating, or if he'd take it in stride, because that's just the way it is, and 20 other kids are in the same boat. I think the real challenge will be on our end. Not so much in Kindergarten - I can muddle my way through O Canada in french. there's no homework. But it could get interesting in grade school. They say it teaches them to be self-disciplined and independent workers - probably because mom and dad are too confused to help. But we always figured we'd try to learn along with him, so we could help him out.

I think we're leaning towards the french, but haven't decided for certain. The schedule issues are only going to be there for a year - next year they'll likely both be in full-day programs. But then, John will have an extra year of french under his belt (Kindergarten is optional here, and french K isn't required to get into the immersion program - it's just a bonus.) Do you think it's a good idea in general? Does this scream "big mistake" to anyone out there?

awesome, awesome, AWESOME news!!!!!

We got a call this morning from Renfrew school- Joan's PUF Funding has been approved by the province, so she's officially "in" at our first choice program, in our first choice location! Woohoo!!! We're stopping in this afternoon to pick up the paperwork to make it all official. But what a load off my mind!

Constraint therapy is going well. So well, there was discussion of extending the session by another week. Part of me screamed "NOOOOOOO!!!!" when she said that. And thakfully, in the end they changed their minds. We're taking a break. It's hard on the family, and uses a lot of manpower on their end. But it does do things. It's getting her to pick up objects palms facing in, instead of with right palm turned out (try doing it yourself and see how far you get.) It's creating strength in her hand - she can actually pick up ad carry blocks in her right hand now, with lots of concentration. And it's starting to bleed into normal life The other day, she ate a cookie with two hands! And her hand was in the right C position! And last night at dinner, she asked for my knife. I put it on her tray. She then picked it up with hr right hand and rocked it back and forth over her food, pretending to cut it! She was so proud of herself! It doesn't sound like much, but Ive learned to revel in the baby steps, because that's how things progress with therapy - little bit by little bit.

for those interested, here's a link to Joan's new school, so you can check it out. There's no pictures of our location, but it's beautiful - and just a 3 minute drive away:
http://www.renfreweducation.org/

just checking in...

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Things have been a little nutty. Joan is in the middle of her first round of consraint therapy now - one week to go. It means spending every single morning at the children's hospital, which has been greulling for everyone.

Constraint therapy is when the good hand is bound up, so the affected one is forced to do...stuff. So far, it's going well. We haven't seen too much bleed over into normal life, though. She does it while she's there, but not at home. We think it's a psychological thing - she knows it's what's expected, and she has the mitt on. Here, it's just business as usual. But she actually really enjoys it, strangely. She likes the assistant doing the therapy a lot, and she has a student observing who Joan likes, too. She's such a goofball when she sees them!

Until this is over, all other therapy has been put on hold. Then after that, they've signed her up for a one-month strength and balance workshop with other kids. Her physio is excited about that - she thinks we'll see some good results from that.

They sliced her AFO ad put in a hinge, so now her ankle can bend. She was a lot more wobbly at first, but is getting stronger every day. The day we had it done, the orthotist warned me she'd be tippy - and sure enough, she went splat right on a concrete floor in the parkade. She was a little hurt, but OK. But now, she's so much more mobile! She can go so fast now, and bend in ways she never could before. It's great. Her gait is a lot more natural as well. Still limpy, but getting better every day. If only the top half was making such awesome progress.

I had a parent teacher interview for John. It was entertaining. His teacher adores him of course. She says he's very smart. I think her exact words were "he's scary smart". With him, they're working on the social end. Speaking out of turn, forgetting to use his words when he's upset. That kind of thing. The same things we see him do here. He interrupts us all the time - he just gets so excited about stuff he can't wait. And apparetly, when he's upset with a classmate, he just screams gibberish. He does that here with Joan. She doesn't have words yet, so fights between them are usually just a barbaric monosylabbic grunting and screaming match. Actually, she has one word for fights..."BAD!!!" So now it's often a back and forth that goes something like this: Joan: "Bad!" John: "I'm not bad. You're bad!" Joan: "BAD!!!" John: "YOU"RE BAD!!!!" Joan: "BAAAAAAD!!!!!!!" John: "BAAAAAAAAAD!" All together now: "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD BAAAAAAD BAD BAD BAD BAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!!"

Good times.

Anyway, I'd better get moving for real. I've been up half the night courtesy of another never-ending teething session with Dave. How long can it take for a freaking tooth to pop! It feels like I've been watching those swollen bright red gums for weeks. Weeks of sleepless night. More good times.

So on the bright side, I get to see a rare sight - the sunrise. I hear it happens daily, or so the legend goes. I usually sleep through it. Mike gets up early, but only wakes me up a little bit before he heads out, because he knows I'm up in the night a lot. Today, the tables have turned! I'll be back soon - probably in a week, once this crazy schedule ends.

for your viewing pleasure...

Happy Mother's Day! To my mom in particular, but to all moms too.

In keeping with the holiday, I took some videos at John's Mother's Day concert at school on Friday. They're a bit dark and a bit wobbly, and I wished I had kept rolling between every song, because as you can see, that's when the real show was. What you miss between the videos is John running up to me, pointing to his nametag (from the hospital playroom, where he had been that morning - he always refuses to take them off for school) and announcing, so all could hear " Mom, look! It's me! your John!" and then scurrying back into position. And sadly, you missed my big welcome to the room. As soon as he saw me, he threw his arms out wide and pronounced "Surprise! Happy Mother's Day!" Afterwards, one of the moms came up to me and said "your son is such a wonderful performer!" He had actually announced a couple weeks ago "Mom, I would LOOOOOOOOVE to be an actor! I want to star in a movie!" When I asked him what kind of movie he'd like to make, he said "Watch, I'll show you" and proceeded to do a round of his wild ninja moves, followed by a stint as Wall-E. So, I guess a "Kung-fu Wall-E" kind of premise. The city offers acting classes for little kids here, but sadly, they fill up fast, and all were full when I checked. They get to dress up and put on little performances for the parents, which he would probably enjoy a lot. He tends to upstage...everybody. But he would have fun. Now I know where to find them. Hopefully this fall, I can snag him a spot.

It was a fun little party. They made us fruit salad and punch, and we got our presents. They made us handprint cards which were really cute. I also got a handmade card. Inside, he drew himself - a big smiley face. On the front he drew...Tarkus. I imagine the only people reading this who knows what that is are Bruce and Adrian. For the rest of you, Tarkus is a creature which is half tank, half armadillo, and is the subject of a 70's album by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. They wrote this horrific rock opera-esque thing about it, and in the album cover, give a pictoral life story for it, including its birth from a fiery volcano, all the battles with other half animal, half machine, freak creatures, its eventual defeat at the hands of a half monkey half scorpion thing, and its retreat into the sea, where it transforms into, naturally, Aquatarkus. Anyway, Mike has been able to dust off his old record player, and has this album. He showed it to John, and ever since, John has been obsessed. Move over Wall-E. It's pretty entertaining. The John version of Tarkus has infinite possibilities. When John helps me clean, he becomes Garbagetarkus - half tank, half armadillo, half broom and half trash compactor. He's 200 per cent of...something.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the videos, and I'm sorry they aren't of better quality. It was tough with the little camera, in such a crowded spot, with a toddler hanging off me. But it's definitely more entertaining than stills.

here's the youtube links - in case you have trouble here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZvk3beObw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iPbnLpIEJw

interim Joan update...

Just a quicky. The neurology nurse called to invite me to join a focus group on pediatric stroke care in the hospital. While I had her on the phone, I told her about "the incident."

She told me to keep an eye out for a second instance - particularly if it happens during the day. But she thinks Joan actually had a night terror, because she was in a real fit right before. She said sometimes, kids hold their breath, or are too busy screaming to get enough air during a night terror episide, and it makes them go a little limp and/or twitchy. She thinks that's the most likely explanation.

So no need to worry! She's been fine since. Obviously, she's still at a risk - a 10 per cent chance isn't nothing - but she's likely still perfectly fine.

a wild night at the Walchuks

I could hear them horsing around in the night, but wasn't quite prepared to walk in on this in the morning. John says it's a rocketship. That's Joan's mattress across the top, by the way.


The final move is done, but it was rough on the kids. John got overexcited, and was getting on the movers' nerves. One of them threatened to kick his bag of "delicate toys". It make John cry. Mike was surprised I tipped him after that, but I didn't think I could tip the other two - who were awesome - and not do something for him. The guy's like 70, and a bit of a roughneck. I don't think he meant any harm - he has a gruff sense of humour, that didn't jive well with John. But he still worked hard. Anyway, that's done. now it's just a day of cleaning, then we're all done. We just drop the keys in the mailbox, and they'll call to say how much of our deposit we get back.

Not to alarm anyone, but I think Joan MAY have had a seizure a few days ago. It's really hard to tell. She had a bit of an episode, with her flopping around like a fish out of water, but it only lasted a couple seconds. Mike doesn't think it sounds like a seizure, but I mentioned it to the physio yesterday, and she agreed with me that it could have been, and advised that I call the neurologist to discuss it with him. He had given her a 10 per cent chance of developing them, and told me what to watch for. But I don't think they actually do anything if they start, other than moniter them. It hasn't happened again since. We told John what to look for as well, in case he sees something when I'm not in the room. I'll keep you posted, obviously. Hopefully, it was just a really big shiver or something.

Anyway, better go. A full day of fun, fun cleaning awaits!

this and that

I tried, and failed, to get a good picture of the kids playing during Saturday's hockey game. They had built a bed, and were all snuggled in. But the second the camera was seen, the whole living room erupted into a round of antics and "cheeeeeese!" Oh well.

Things are busy. we're finally finishing up the move. The junk guys came today - movers come tomorrow. we were going to take up our many offers of help from friends and family, but everyone has a different schedule, and we have heavy stuff left - like boxes of books and the chest freezer. One call, and I've got a couple guys coming with a truck - for not too much more than a truck rental would be in the first place. They come when I say, and I don't need to feel guilt for making them work, because they do this to pay their own bills - they sounded downright excited, to be honest. Someone's got to keep the economy churning, right?

Anyway, a couple more days, and it will all be over - thank goodness!

Kids are all great. Dave is over...whatever that was. He still has big red patches on his face, but the body rash and fever is gone. I assumed it was all a heat rash, but John's teacher sent home a note last week saying one student had fifth disease. we looked it up - it looks EXACTLY like what poor Dave had. Maybe it was that all along. But I think I'm going to take him in to the doc anyway, to have his skin looked at - he has really raw patches that just won't clear, and is due for a check-up anyway.

John's doing well. Going through a bit of a tantrumy phase, but not too bad. Sometimes, he gets it in his head that he runs the world, and we have to knock him back in his place. Gently. One day, we're driving to school or something, and he says to me "Did you know I'm in charge of you?" I was unaware I had been overthrown.

Joan is awesome. She's in a pretty tantrumy phase too. (hmmm...a pattern? Perhaps related to a certain chocolate spewing rabbit? Hmmm...something to ponder....)

Anyway, tantrums aside, she's doing well. She had her gross motor assessment - she's in the first percentile. That counts as severe. It means if there were only 100 kids in the world, she'd be the worst-off one. If there were only 1,000, she'd be somewhere in the bottom 10. It's awesome for funding, and not bad news - with intense therapy, she's expected to make great gains. And that's just what the team intends to do this summer, to get her into preschool in the best shape possible. Tomorrow morning, she's having a mitt made for constraint therapy! It's a removable cast thing that goes over her good arm, downgrading it to a helper hand, and starting in mid-May, we'll be in the hospital for 2-3 hours each day for intense constraint therapy with one of the aides. Should be very exciting. It's kind of an experiment for this hospital - they've neve actually used it before. But this OT is excited about the research, and wants to try it out on some kids. Joan made the list, because she's been using her affected arm the past couple months in ever increasing and exciting ways. Her OT hasn't heard this story yet, but at her last dancey class at the Y, they pulled out a game with pegs, and had a bunch of plastic rings to put on the pegs. Most of the kids were more interested in twirling about. But Joan decided to have a go at this game, and moved each ring, one by one, from one peg to another...all with her right hand exclusively. She COULD have used her left. But she wouldn't - she wanted to do it with her right, so that's what shew did. She did awesome. The first few rings didn't wind up anywhere near the receiving peg. She just kind of flopped them down, and they landed wherever. But the last two actually got on the peg! I wish someone who knew her had seen it. It was a private victory just between us, but it was a great moment. She came over to me for a big hug and a cheer afterwards.

She's got such a fiesty, stubborn streak in her. We turned in her walker just before we moved - she wasn't using it anymore. It had just become another toy for John, and we knew other kids could use it. So back it went. It got replaced with walking sticks. But she refused to use them. We tried everything - we got John to model them. We used them. We left them lying around, thinking maybe she'd secretly use them while no-one was looking, which is kind of her style. But nope - refused. She can walk now, and that's that - she won't use anything, even though she can go faster with help. And in the hospital, she even refuses to hold hands. It takes her about 10 minutes to walk from the parking lot to her therapist's office, but she won't accept any help for a single step of it. Not even holding hands. It's hilarious. And when she gets there, she has this look of "so there - told you I could do it!" smeared all over her face.

She walks everywhere now. She scoots pretty rarely. I can't actually remember the last time I saw her scoot across a room. She has a limp, but it's getting better every day. This house is great for her - she walks miles every day, there's so much room. She finally saw her orthopedic team a week or two ago. They refused to let the OT try botox - they feel she's too young (it usually begins around 4) and they want to see more strength in her hand first, because the injections weaken the hand, which would take her already very weak hand and make it useless for 3 months. But apart from that, they took an X-ray. So far, her hips are completely unaffected by the stroke, and both the surgeon and therapist who works with him think she's made fantastic progress, and walks very, very well.

I'm a little dissappointed they're limiting the OT, but I'm really really excited to see what constraint therapy can do.

In other news, a belated thank you toMike's Grandma - we actually just got your Easter parcel yesterday - the landlord took a while to get us our mail key (we have one of those community boxes). They both love the little music box, and our house is now decorated with giant balloons! Thanks for Mike's B-day present, too - that will come in handy. And a belated thanks to Mike's parents for thier easter parcel, too. It did arrive on time. The hoody fits Dave perfectly - so cute! The puppet has been a hit, too. And you can't go wrong with chocolate. Except when you try to eat it all so your kids can't. Happily, they're too young to notice it evaporating in the night. But it's not a great idea for it to evaporate into me - it doesn't evaporate at all...it pools in unsightly places.

Anyway, better go. Big day tomorrow - hospital in the morning, movers in the afternoon.

dave crawling!

He hasn't completely mastered it, but it sure gets him around! (By the way - he didn't eat it in the end.) And here's a link to the youtube version, for anyone having trouble here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQSEILRTAIg

a couple more...

These two were taken just this afternoon, after getting home from chores. we discovered we live just around the corner from a value village, so went to check it out. We found Joan this summer dress. she carried it all around the store, and cried when she had to let it go long enough to put it on the counter. I think the mismatched boy's socks complete the outfit perfectly, don't you? We got some new things for Dave, too, but he's just hangin' in pj's here.

pictures...

These were taken by Jer at Easter - the shades are Uncle Billy's. Sadly, Dave slept through most of the festivities, waking only for dinner, which was late, as usual. I have a huge, huge chore list for today, which includes buying batteries, so I can get updated ones of everyone. Maybe even a movie of Dave "crawling"!

Things have been tiring and busy here, with the never-ending move. We both just want it all over with, but it will take a lot of work to get through that final push. Mike is convinced we can do it all without renting a truck or hitoing movers - but it means endless trips and packing the vanagon over and over again, which is gruelling work with three kids. However, our old place is already rented for May 1, so we're getting short on time! On the bright side, it will all be over soon!

Anyway, I'll post more soon, but gotta go. I have top get John a haircut, get groceries, go to Canadian Tire. blah blah blah.

just had to share - was looking up the assessment of our little duplex, which we've just moved out of. the building is assessed at 566,000. And our unit, which we were told was 900 sq ft? It was a mere 774 sq ft! Yikes!

we're still alive!

sorry I haven't surfaced in a while - been a little hectic here, being mid-move and all. But I have a few minutes tto pop in now - mike just left for work, the kids are still asleep, Dave just wants to cuddle, and we're listening to the kids' furby sing itself back to sleep.

Thed move is slow and torturous, but going smoothly. most of the daily stuff is over now. we've been moving bit by bit - another day, another van load. we got the kitchen table and all the kitchen stuff moved yesterday, which was nice. we're watching tv on pillows for now, until we get our couch in here. but it's all fine. we have the kids' big tent 'n tube system set up in the living room, seeing is there's so much space, and they think it's great. they spend most of their time here bouncing around in there. it's a good way to end the day - spending days packing up a virtually empty apartment is painfully boring for them.

oh - kids just woke up. I'll have to go soon. I know where the camera is, but need to find batteries. will take care of that while john's in school tomorrow.

I also have a school tour of the Renfrew site just down the road tomorrow - it's stunning from the outside! Big, bright, and barrier-free, just like the main site. They only have afternoon spots now. but it's better than nothing, right? though we only had afternoons in the northern schools, too, because the returning kids get first dibs, and everyone wants mornings.

Dave has been sick. he had a fever of 38 for more than two days, before even looking sick. but then the caughing and spluttering started. And now, he's got a nasty rash from head to toe. We thought at first it might be measles, and part of me still thinks t might be. but we're pretty sure it's a heat rash from the fever that just wouldn't quit - i've been giving him lots of cool baths - (soap free! I tried using a "soothing" baby soap once, and he screamed and writhed until I could rinse it all off, poor guy.) He's so much more sensitive to things than the others. He broke out into hives for days in February - we're pretty sure it was his shots. nothing else seems to recreate it. I think if any of my kids are going to wind uo with wierd allergies, it will be him.

But he's a toughy! He can get up on all fours now and rock back and forth! It won't be long now, before he can crawl.

better go for now - joan is down and needs fed. I'll check in again soon - hopefully with pictures!

we have a new house!

Umm...yeah. We have a new place already.

It's in Sundance, which is a subdivision from the 90's, in the deep south. Not convenient to vicki, sadly. But technically, it's the same amount of time to drive. And everything else just seemed too perfect.

It's 2000 sq ft, three bedrooms, with an eat in kitchen, family room, living/dining room, fenced yard with deck, a home office, and a nook upstairs big enough for a bookshelf and reading chair. You can SEE John's new school from the back deck. It's like a block away. How perfect is that, Mom? As for Joan? there's one school location a 5-minute drive - on the other side of Sundance. Another is in the next neighbourhood over, in Midnapore - about a 7 min drive away. Hopefully, between the two of them, she can snag a spot. You better believe I'll be calling first thing Monday!

Unfortunately, they didn't put any pictures in the listing online, so I can't show it to you yet. But we take posession April 1, as long as we deliver them a letter proving that Mike is gainfully employed, so we'll take some then. But it is lovely - very bright and sunny. Usually, there's more to the selection process, but for some reason, they didn't bother with us. I guess we look trustworthy - and he liked that we had kids going to the school (we're more inclined to stay a while).

anyway, better go. more soon...

news...

just a very quick heads up - we're moving!

there's many reasons:

1. we have thre kids, in a 900 sq ft, 2 bedroom apartment. Can we say...cramped?

2. We need to let Joan's preschools know ASAP where we'll be living to lock in a placement near where we'll be living. Otherwise, we'll just get shoved wherever.

3. Mike is no longer getting paid to replace telephone wires - the ones that hang above the street - but is still required to replace them as part of his job. By moving to the edges of town, he can work in areas where the wires aren't strung up (they're burried, which is someone else's problem) It will let him get through jobs faster, thereby making more money.

Our lease was originally expiring July 31, because the owner wanted to let it out in the summer, instead of the winter, and July 31 corresponds with when our neighbour's leased is up, too.

We gave them a call, to see what theyd say about us leaving early, explaining the third kid, and Joan's CP, and needing a preschool placement. They talked to the owner for us. They called back today, with a green light to go now, free of the usual $950 penalty. Apparently, he was shocked we were living here with three kids, and totally understands us wanting to go.

So, now the hunt begins. We saw 4 last night - 2 were rejected outright. 2 are on the shortlist. there's a couple more appointments tonight. we're not sure if we're going to push for any of them, or just wait and get a place for may 1. We want at least 1 month of overlap, so we can have a relaxed move. The managers will be advertising this as a june 1 rental, most likely - unless we find something right away, and they find a replacement right away.

just thought I'd give you all a heads up. We discussed buying (yikes). But we're going to be renting again - a three bedroom newer house on the edges, but still in city limits - the new subdivisions. I'll send everyone a link to any that we apply for, so you can see what we're up to. But these houses are all really beautiful. Lots of oil and gas people vacating, and keeping their houses for the time being - two of the four we saw yesterday were in that category. One got a contract in Vietnam - the other was being kept, but transferred to Fort Mac. Prices to buy have dipped low enough to be realistic, too. but we're not going to go there just yet. We're still transient enough that we need to stay in the rental market.

In other news, very quickly, Joan had her speech assessment the other day. She's in the 6th percentile for understanding, according to the test, which is in the mild-moderate delay range. But she tested normal for expression, which we all know isn't true. The therapist said she's going to stand by the understanding part, because it's better for the funding. but she'll put in her report that the expression numbers are not accurate - that she is in fact delayed, as shown in previous tests. Regardless, the tests must continue, because the speech alone isn't enough to get her into the school. But the combination of everything should be. However, even if it's not, her therapist said she can continue with the hospital program, and get an aide through another funding program, which will give her a one--on-one therapist, 2 hours a day, five days a week. We're actually applying to get her an aide now, which could be in place until school starts - I'm finding it hard to do everything myself, with a baby in the house.

oh - I also just signed up Joan for a little dancy movement class at the Y! It runs while john is at school, and is all set to music, which she loves, and promises to enhance body awareness. Sounds perfect for joan - something fun for her to do with other 2-year-olds, and it's parented, so I'll be there to help and cheer her on. I hope she likes it. The dance stuff through cerebral palsy is for older kids, so this is the closest thing to dance lessons I could get for her - but it sounds like something she could get a lot out of - more fun than structured, and designed for clumsy toddlers who like to dance! Perfect!

Anyway, we'll keep you all posted on everything

I know - no pictures. It''s like, unthinkable, isn't it?

In short, I've been run absolutely ragged. Mike has been in Edmonton for the last two weeks, and I'm really starting to appreciate how hard it is to be a single mom. Having him off on these trips with one or two was always so much fun. With three. Oh. My. God. I can't wait for him to come home, so I can curl into a ball in the closet and weep.

Well, maybe it's not THAT bad. But it's certainly no fun. It doesn't really seem like Mike does that much when he's here, but he actually does, in his own way. He defenitely does keep the kids occupied and entertained while I'm busy with other stuff, so they don't trash the place while my back is turned, which has been my reality these last couple weeks. And he watches the older two for me, so I can get out with just Dave, which is like a break for me. If someone were to tell me just after John was born that going out with a baby would be an enjoyable break from life, I would have had my tubes tied then and there. I've been thinking about that lately, because one of Mike's hockey teammates just had a baby three weeks ago. (well, his wife did.) She ws supposed to come to the last game to show off the baby to the team. Mike brought us all, so we could see her (we've known her through her whole pregnancy). But when she didn't show up, I knew she was probably sitting in bed, bleary eyed in the middle of a non-stop breastfeeding session. Turns out, I was right. I had days when I just couldn't get out the door. Now, that seems so ludicrous. But looking back, I totaly understand and empathize with that poor, poor woman.

So, how are the kids? Pretty good. Dave just had a second round of shots. I can't actually remember what his weight was, but he was smack on the 50th percetile for the weight-height ratio, so the perfect level of plump. His hair is definitely growing in red. Sort of a pretty strawberry blonde, as opposed to John's orangy red. but definitely not brown - not yet, at least. I've met a ton of people who say they started out red, but then it went either blonde or brown. He's really strong. During tummy time, he gets right up on his hands. And the other day, he was trying to get up on all fours. He managed to get his belly off the flor, up on his knees and elbows. He let out a giggle before flopping back down. It was realy cool. He's got this inchworm thing going on, which he uses to get around. He'll draw up his legs, then push off to propel him forward. The nurse's eyes bugged when I told her all this - apparently he's very far advanced for his age. Joan's therapists asked how he was doing, too, so I told them as well, but they weren't surprised at all - they said baby siblings usually progress fast, to keep up with the gang.

I gave him some cereal yesterday. He's been literally lunging at everyone else's food lately, and getting mad when he can't have any. So out came the rice. He was NOT impressed. He would grab the spoon, and ram it hungrily into his mouth...then grimace and spit it out. None of my kids liked that stuff. Joan wanted to try it when she saw Dave eating it. But she didn't even get it into her mouth before grimacing and letting out a "blech!" I think I'll move on to fruit for Dave. Maybe some banana. He might like that better. But the rice incident has actually stopped him from lunging at our food!

As for Joan, things are going great. She's going through yet another growth spurt. I can feel her muscles tighten, which happens every time she grows. She's also eating like a horse. She's constantly following me around, chanting "Eat! Eat! Eat!"

We've made an exciting therapy breakthrough! We've tried this before, with bad results. But I think her right arm is starting to wake up, so it seems open to it now. We've started holding her good arm, forcing her right arm to do things. And it can!!! If it's given a task, it can't do things at first. But if I actually hold it, and move it through the action, it can repeat it. It's like, it has to be taught. But once taught, it can do all sorts of stuff. I started with a toy she got for Christmas - it's a spinning ball that sings the alphabet. She loves it, so I "taught" her right hand to play with it. it was slow going at the start, but now, she can do it with her right hand on comand, which is amazing! We also have a game where we fill a little box with toys. She's allowed to take a toy with her left hand. But then, she has to take the second with her right. She always says "help!" when her hand is in the bucket, becuase she still has trouble manipulating her fingers. But after a few times of being guided, her right arm could do it all by itself - with help on the finger end. One of the last times we did it, she had a toy in her left hand, and automatically reached in with her right, without prompting. We've been doing it for a while, and now her right hand is starting to do all sorts of stuff by itself. I saw her rub her eyes with only her right hand. Today, she was trying to open a cupbourd with it. She couldn't turn her arm the right way, so it was tough. (Her palm naturally faces out, instead of in.) But when I turned it for her, she was able to wrap her fingers around, and pull it open! I was showing it to Mike the last time he was home - we got her to bat at one of Dave's hanging crib toys, and grab and squeeze our fingers on command. It was really cool. Her occupational therapist hasn't seen it yet, but I told her physiotherapist about it during the preschool play group on Friday, and she was really impressed. She said they've always seen the potential for good function in that hand - it's just a matter of tapping into it. So she said to bring it up at her next appointment, and we can talk about maybe doing constraint therapy. She said in the meantime to experiment with the therapy, by taping her hand in a sock or in a tensor bandage. I haven't done it yet. But I'm curious to see what would happen.

Her therapists are also eager to see how she reacts to having glasses. No - we haven't gotten them yet. All of our money has gone to our apartment in Edmonton. It's only $45/night for a fully serviced and furnished bachelor apartment, but we had to pay a month as a deposit, plus pay each week inadvance, so it was a lot up front. And Mike's per diems from ATI are just now starting to trickle in, four days before he's scheduled to come home. So we've been just flat broke, and will be for a few more days. But then, we'll be more than fine, and can FINALLY get Joan some glasses.

Also in Joan's life is the hunt for a preschool. The government has something called PUF - program Unit funding. it will pay for her to go to a therapy program, whether it's a spoecial needs school, or having a therapist come to our house, or a preschool of our choice. The consensus from joan's team is to go for the special needs school. It gives the greatest intensity of therapy, and it lets her socialize with her peers. I was a little leery. i was actually considering going with the visiting therapist in a normal preschool plan. But after seeing the school, I've definitely changed my mind. I was envisioning a bunch of kids in wheelchairs, being stretched in painful ways. Kind of an old style asylum/torture chamber. Dim, twitchy lights, distant screams. That sort of thing. But it wasn't like that at all. There were a couple kids off to the side, in their chairs, not able to move. But the vast majority were runing around, playing, having an awesome time. The activities were totally different. More gross-motor than what you see in a normal preschool - lots of obstacle courses, climbing, jumping - alongside water tables and all that usual stuff. The ratio was 3-1, and the calsses are all integrated. About a third of the class doesn't need therapy at all. They stay home Fridays, so the teachers can focus more intensly on the special needs kids. There's monthly home visits as well, so we can be kept up on what's happening, and they can dig through our toy box to see how we can replicate it at home. The co-ordinator said Joan was the school's perfect candidate - she's so far behind, but he says just looking at her, he can tell she'll do very well with intense therapy. They can get big, exciting results, which excites all the agencies that hand out the money, which can help open doors to more services for her. I have one other tour in the morning. Then, it's just a matter of getting her assessments done, securing the funding, and then locking in a placement. Hopefully, we can get a place near wherever we move to in the summer, in one of these schools. They have bussing, but not for kids who live too far away. I'm still open to the normal preschool/visiting therapist scenario. But it's definitely not my TOP pick anymore. So I have all my fingers crossed that everything falls into place.

John is of course, doing awesome. He's loving school, and his teachers seem to have learned to love his eccentric nature. he goes to schol in costume now and then, and his teacher just takes it in stride, and plays along with him. I've though we should put him into acting classes of some sort. But, does he really need them? Is this something we realy want to encourage? Come September, he'll be 5, which seems to be the magic age for all things extracurricular. So far, we're defaulting to Scouts. But we'll see what's out there.

I don't think I told you about his show and tell. He was so excited! He took..a Mars rock. Yes, his own little chunk of Mars, that he found in our yard. It's actually just a red rock - some piece of broken brick or something. But he created a very exciting story of how it broke off of Mars, and crashed down into our garden, where he found it. I was a little leery about letting him take it - I thought the teachers might be irritated by a fictitious object. But I thought, show and tell is really just an exercise for public speaking and listening respectfully, and it really doesn't matter what the object is. So off he went, with his little chunk of Mars. The teacher LOVED it, and said he did really well. She said most kids need prompting for show and tell. Not my kid. Nope - she just announced his name, and off he went! He has another show and tell day on Wednesday. Not sure what he's going to take, but it should be exciting.

He finaly got to see the science centre, with a class field trip. He's asked to go every single day since! They have a little kids section called Wow Town - his teacher said she had a hard time getting him out of there. Then, they went to another section called the creative kids museum, where they have a music centre. She has a hilarious picture of him whaling away on a guitar, looking very rock-starish.

He's been asking to go to Dryden lately - John's begging to go to Dryden has become a good guage of spring in our house. Move over Wiarton Willie. Not sure when we'll be coming. He wants to: celebrate his birthday, pick apples and go to the fall fair, this summer. That's a pretty long stretch. We'll have to work something out. Until then, we'll just have to endure the whining.

well, that's about all I can thing of for now.
I'll come back soon with more

crazy pictures!!!!

OK - not very exciting to look at - there's pictures posted below, for some instant gratification. But these are supposedly online photo albums, that you should be able to click on and see. There's hundreds of photos from the past few months. they're virtually unculled. just a big dump-a-roo from my camera, really. Let me know if you can get access on your end. If you can't I'll keep working at it.

If it works, this is so cool! So much easier than photoshop. (Thank you Grandpa Walchuk) Now I just need lots of new photos!



http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/HykmanSPass?authkey=EsRsdcTn1A4&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/BcVacation?authkey=1uvtxuY49-I&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/Dave?authkey=05HSq_Oxxy4&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/JoanSBirthday?authkey=bIYj7kcwyKs&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/Christmas2008?authkey=6BI5v5buScE&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/JohnSChristmasConcert?authkey=DNBaA0zx0Jo&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/OurSummerInDrydenGeraldton2008?authkey=HmRBOlv-n-M&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/AuntDorothySHouseAsSeenByJohn?authkey=WCyPfXn1nKQ&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/AuntieDorothySHouse?authkey=7sAgfgnBYhU&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoandave/FamilyPhotos?authkey=mnWGgK_H4eA&feat=directlink

more pics from Picasa

John, at Christmas

Joan, in PJs made by her great grandma Hart

a little snuggle with grandpa walchuk

pictures!

just exploring Picasa (thank you Grandpa Walchuk.) Still figuring out all the features, but good news - I have pictures!

John's space man outfit.

The kids, after discovering that they can fit in my stock pot

Dave - sleeping like a baby

all eyes on Joan

sorry no pictures - mike still hasn't had a look at our computer. however, W. inc did buy me a snazzy new-to-me laptop, so I can do paperwork stuff without leaving the kids alone, which is what I'm on now. Sadly, it doesn't have Photoshop, but I'm going to see what I can do. Hopefully, Mike can resurrect the desktop. My camera is bulging.

We're working through our crazy appointments for Joan. Last week, we had her pediatric check-up. It's just a well-baby visit, but becasue she's special needs, she's seen by a ped, instead of a GP, because they know more about these strokes and what she's going to need. She's also in a better position to apply pressure for whatever it's deemed she needs. Don't qualify for preschool funding? A strongly worded letter from a pediatrician can often sway opinions, she says. Joan has disabled status for the next four years thanks to a pediatrician's letter saying she will likely never walk without assistance. She says she'll help our therapy team get botox, too, if the orthopedic docs say no. She's also trying to push for a faster admission into the neuromotor clinic, which is where her orthopedic docs are. She has yet to be examined by one.

Anyway, the pediatrician said she looks awesome, and was really impressed with the progress she's made since her last check-up six months ago. She's still tall and slender for her age, but in a good way, she said.

That was last week. This week, we saw the opthamologist - ( the eye doctor.) Two bits of bad news there, for now. There may be more on the way, but it's too early to check for blind spots, and her field of vision test was inconclusive. (she admitted it wasn't very scientific - she just waved a toy in her periferal vision zones to see if she'd look.) However, she did see some nerve damage in her right eye - likely caused by the stroke. What does that mean? no-one knows for sure. In an older stroke victim, it means poor vision for that eye. However, she's seen other neonatal stroke survivors with similar damage, who go on to have perfectly fine vision, because the brain learns to correct the image. So it's way, way too early to tell. What we do know, is she's moderately near-sighted, and needs glasses. Things start to get blurry at about a foot from her face. She suspects that could be the cause of her extreme nervousness and shyness. She's had many patients blossom socially and developmentally, after getting glasses.

I did suspect near-sightedness. She's very clingy, even at home. She often sits on my feet, or wraps herself around my leg, if I'm standing. It makes her very cuddly, but not very adventurous. As well, she never points out things that are far away, and if we point them out, they don't seem to register. I thought it might be her language barrier, but she's good with books and near-by things, so this makes sense. I'm hoping this might help her venture out. The doc was actually hemming and hawing about writing the prescription. But then she held the lenses that would match her prescription in front of her face, and she really liked it. She actually got all pouty when they were taken away. When we saw that, we were both sold.

She said not to worry about her brain too much. She said she's a very bright little girl. The reason her periferal test was comprimised, was that Joan kept following the doc's hand around, as she was grabbing toys, and moving them to the side. "She's very observant," she said. "Most two-year-olds don't do that."

In other news, all is...ok. We're all working through a series of colds and flus. I'm hoping the flu shot the public health nurse practically forced into my arm when Dave had his shots will do some good. As it stands, I have three kids with eye infections. I almost cancelled Joan's eye appointment this morning, because her eyes were glued shut with gunk. John has a sore ear. Mike has a full-blown flu. I have a clogged ear from an earlier bug, but am otherwise in good shape. Just have to keep reminding myself to not touch my eyes, so I don't get what the kids have. Blech. I don't think I've ever washed my hands as frequently as I am now.

Dave's doing great. He's actually creeping now, which is a littlecreepy..no pun intended. He can flip himself from back to belly, and on his belly, he can scootch around a bit. He can raise up on his elbows now. Sometimes, I see him peeking over the top of his cradle. And he can do the tripod sitting thing, for a second or two - where he holds the floor with his hands. He sure is growing fast. I feel like we've been so busy, I'm missing out on his whole babyhood. At his last check-up, a month ago, he was 14 pounds, and has grown a lot since then. He gets more shots next week, lucky duck.

In other news, Mike is heading to Edmonton for a few weeks with work. It was a good opportunity to get some extra money, so he volunteered. We'll probably head up on his days off, or he'll come home, or a mix of both. But we'll generally be separate - John has school, Joan has therapy, and it's just a general pain in the butt to relocate with kids anyway. Mike's looking forward to catching up on his reading, and being able to go to bed when he wants. I'm looking forward to sleeping in - as much as the kids let me. And watching HGTV and Food after they go to bed, without listening to moans and groans.

Anyway, better go. Joan is having a rough time falling asleep. But I'll leave you with a John tidbit I've been meaning to write in for a while. It came after a discussion on pets.

Me - "What pet would you like?"
John - "I have cats."
Me - "But if you could have another pet, what would you choose?"
John. - "Oh. I don't know. Something normal, like a dog or a whale. Or maybe a pelican."

Joan!

Sorry no pictures. Our desktop computer died a few days ago, so I'm stealing a rare moment on Mike's laptop. I don't have time to download photos here though, because it's 1 a.m., and I need to start timesheets/invoices and I'm sick and just want to go to bed.

But I had to pop in, because I took Joan to her first little preschool play group on Friday, and she did AWESOME! I was so proud of her. It was her and two other kids - both largely with speech delays, so both were walking. They structured it like a little tiny preschool session, with circle time and set activities. Joan LOVED circle time! they had a little tiny parachute, and she made it go up and down on command - she even got to scoot underneath it, which made her giggle. She giggled with delight all the way through ring around the rosie, and played along with all the actions. She shocked her PT all to bits by putting her hand in her PT's, and asking to go around again. In a normal session, she won't let her PT touch her. She had so much fun! She was the only kid who made it through without a single tantrum or all-out meltdown. One of the speech pathologists running it said she has an impressive attention span - she can stay on task for a very long time, which she said will serve her well, by allowing more learning opportunities than her peers.

So all in all a great thing for her. I was so worried about her, but I guess it was a very small group, in a familiar setting, with a few familiar faces, and it was a very inclusive environment, so it was a good experience for her. The other kids even inspired her to walk about without her walker for a few minutes! Yay! Can't wait for next Friday!

we're back..we're alive...and we're swamped!

Just checking in - we've been back from Christmas holidays for a few days now, and are settling back in to a flurry of activity.

First and foremost, we're getting geared up for the arrival of Billy, Mike's brother-in-law, who's starting his new job as a hospital security guard out here in Calgary, to be followed shortly by Vicki, and all their stuff and cats.

Then, there's appointments up the wazoo. I'm feeling overwhelmed just thinking about it. On top of all the normal appointments, of physio and Dave's vaccines and check-ups, which are done on separate days by separate people here in alberta - we have a bunch of new stuff coming up for Joan.

In the next few weeks, she has: a pediatric check-up, an opthmology test (to check for blind spots and other abnormalaties the stroke may have caused in her vision), a new pre-school-type play group for kids like her the therapists have set up. (She starts on Jan 23, and it runs every two weeks for 10 weeks.) Then, we have real preschool to sort out. Ugh. They have a funding program, and several special needs preschools in Calgary that Joan can join. It's the next logical step in her therapy. But we have to start now to get her into a school for this upcoming September. There's an information night next week. Then, we need to register in February. Then, the assessments start, to try to qualify her for funding. It gives preference to cognitive and speech delays, over physical problems, because bright and communicative kids do fine in school, whether they're able bodied or physically disabled. It's an intensive school-readiness program, and it rolls all the social aspects of pre-school with all the therapy she needs, all in one place. If she doesn't qualify for the funding, they have a hospital program, but it's much less intensive - once a week, instead of every day. So we were told, half-jokingly, to lay off speech work, so she'll fail her speech assessment. Luckily, it's an assessment I'm not involved in, so she'll likely go mute and stare blankly, like she normally does to all therapists and doctors, ensuring us a fully-funded spot in a top-ranked facility. (They test that way, because they need to see how they'll react in a school environment, away from mom and dad. The test we did before, which showed her only mildly delayed, was a questionaire answered by me, on the best of her abilities under ideal conditions.)

Should be an exciting few weeks and months, for sure! Not to mention next September, when John starts Kindergarten in public school...and Joan's halfway across town in her special therapy preschool. A logisitical nightmare, for sure. Have I ever mentioned how happy I am that I'm not working right now? I don't know how I'd juggle all of this with a full-time job. Now THAT would be a logistical nightmare! The only part I'm looking forward to is the little group class for Joan. She's so painfully shy, and I think she's feeling the social affects of being behind her peers. We took the kids to a playplace at McDonalds the other day. Joan has trouble getting up the slide by herself, and adults generally can't get up in the tubes (though, Uncle Billy proved THAT wrong! LOL! I wish I had a camera as he squeeeeezed his way out. He was probably close to needing to be cut out of there, but Joan appreciated a chance to go down the slide.) Anyway, we were there again, and Joan was scootching around, playing with the stuff near the floor. Then, a little girl walked up to her and said "What are you doing? Why don't you stand up?" She didn't mean anything malicious about it. It was just innocent curiosity, without a "politically correct" filter. But I think Joan took it the wrong way, because her lip started quivering, and she started to sob sad sobs, and refused to play again. It was heartbreaking. Then, we were at the gym (we got me a membership at Mike's gym, to try to lose my stockpile of baby weight) and we put all three kids in the childcare room. We figured it would be good for John to get some exercise, and good for Joan to socialize a little. Well, when I picked them up, I found Joan, in the middle of the room, all alone save for a tiny toy bulldozer, with face buried in her hands. It was a sad, sad sight. I think it was partially the caregiver, who was very young, likely untrained, and clearly not sure what to make of her. She actually recoiled when I expained the stroke. I almost told her not to worry, it isn't contagious. But I let it go. A playgroup of other delayed toddlers, run by a team of therapists, is bound to be a more rewarding social outlet for her. She'll be on par with the other kids, and the leaders will know how to make it a good time for all. After that runs, they're thinking of bumping her into a group with other kids with hemiplegia - which is just the fancy word for a weak side. But they don't want to start her there, because those kids are all closer to three and up, and are all walking and talking, so she might feel left out. The group she's in is kids with both speech and various motor delays, including some younger kids, so they think it won't be quite as overwhelming for her to start with, considering how shy she is.

Apart from that, she has her new brace, which keeps her fingers splayed. it's pretty cool. it just supplements the other braces. She only needs it on about 20 minutes a day, only when we do loadbearing activities. They also want to lobby her orthopidic team for botox injections. That works by relaxing the tense muscles - in her case, her bicep, and the mescles that contract her fingers - followed by about three months of intensive therapy to strengthen the opposing muscle, which is her tricep, so it has an easier time competing against the tone, after the botox wears off. Does that make sense to anyone but me? I feel like I'm going to start breaking into hemiplegia lingo, and lose you all. Anyway, they can generally only get approval if there's a measurable goal. They think they're going to go to them and lobby for it on the grounds that Joan can't open containers on her own, like ziplock bags, or tupperware, to access food, and these injections will increase her independence. We have to try to think up several things she can't do to take to the orthopedic doctors in charge of her case.

Oh, I almost forgot about David! (ah, welcome to being the third kid, Dave.) He had a check-up just today. He's an ounce shy of 14 pounds, so growing slower than the other two, but still right on track with normalacy. Doc said he's a great size, and everything looks fantastic! He gave the Doc lots of smiles, and the Doc told John that David really liked him, because he looked in his direction and smiled everytime he spoke, which tickled John pink.

Anyway, I had better go. John's telling me not to look at something he's done, so I had better go see what horror he's created. I'll be posting pictures of the trip soon, so check back now and then!

heads up...

Joan with Mike's grandma at the beach in geraldton this summer.

There's John, too, in the blue trunks. He had a great time! It was a few days of relaxation on our holiday - a holiday within a holiday. John still remembers this day, and talks about it a lot - he remembers the mom who brought an ice cream maker and shared with him, and he remembers the playground. He spent months referring to this day as " the bestest day ever!" Sadly, it ended in a nasty burn - and he remembers that part too - but the good far outweighed the bad.

Nothing big to say - life chugs on. but thought I'd give all a heads up on some moderate life changes we've been discusing quite heavily lately.

First, is a move. I know, we just renewed our lease until July. But we've been looking into what is out there, and for a few hundred extra a month, we can get a full three bedroom brand new house, with a dishwasher, main floor laundry, fenced yard, near tons of other kids. It means a move to the 'burbs. Mike prefers that, because he works where he lives, and it's easier to work on new homes. The only downfall is we'd be about a half hour drive to the hospital - instead of 10 minutes - but that's not so bad, as long as I don't schedule any appts to conflict with rush hour. We spent an evening doing drive-bys of places we'd seen listed, and they're pretty great. Most hover around the 1600 sqaure foot range, so it's definitely more space. Mike's itchig to go on the sooner side, but I'm not sure about breaking our lease. Technically, we're supposed to find our own replacements if we want to leave our lease, but I can't see the management company doing that in real life - I imagine they'd want to choose their own people. We'll see. Our little nest seemed so cozy at first, but somehow, just one extra little body makes everything feel so cramped.

Second, is Mike's schooling. The official plan has always been to finish the contract, then go back to st catharines, where Mike would finish his schooling. His idea was to move back here for the summers to work. However, we do have a university here, and in the back of our minds has been in inkling that maybe, we should just stay here for the contract AND school. It became a more serious option this week, when Mike actually checked out the physics department online. They have, of all things, an observatory. It has always been Mike's dream to study astrophysics. It isn't ofered at Brock - they only do condensed matter (aka, solid stuff). That would mean doing his thesis on crystal structure, which he wasn't too excited about. Here, he can live out his childhood fantasies. Then he's free to do his teacher's certificate wherever - including Lakehead, which would put us close enough to home for frequent visits. The plan would also allow him to work in Calgary for the summers, without splitting up the family. Again, we'll see. Still thinking, thinking, thinking. He liked the atmoshere at Brock - the profs knew him personally, so it was easy to get extensions when he was too busy with his job. And they made time to listen to him if they didn't understand his answers. He liked the teachers and his classmates. At Mac, the classses were huge, and they tried to weed everyone out, so he'd lose massive marks on minor mistakes, like writing elements as abreviations, instead of spelling them out. He'd like to see where on the "weeding spectrum" U of C physics falls. He's thinking he may give the school a trial run by taking a course or two, then deciding from there. He's even thinking he may go as early as this coming fall. But that depends on finances and many other things.

Anyway, I had better go. Sory for the short update. All the kids are healthy and happy. Joan has a few new words - help. Again. Therapy is on hold until after the holidays. My goal is to have her walk into the appt, but it probably won't happen. We've been out and about with her little walker, but it's scary how fast she goes when she has more space! But it's helped her in ways I'd never anticipated. Normally, she's so painfully shy. But we had taken her walker to Mike's hockey game, because there's a huge observation room upstairs. I figured I'd just let her wander about. So I set it up, and in he walked, and what did my little walflower do? She walked straight up to a group of four kids, gave them a huge smile, and waved hello!!! Then she motored to the opposite end of the room, where there was a little boy about her age, and gave HIM a big smile and wave too! John spent the whole time playing tag with the four older kids, and for the first time, she was able to join in! She wasn't as fast, and they weren't actually playing with her, but they were all running around, and she was running around too, and you could see by the look on her face, she really felt like one of the gang. It was aewsome. She needs more days like that. Unfortunately, she's not very good at running full throttle, or stopping when she's running, so she had a couple of spectacular spills. But she was a trooper - she just got back up and kept on going! At the end, I got a little taste of the hell I'd be facing if she were able bodied. It was time to pack up, so I was heading over to put her back in her stroller...and she ran away from me! I had a crying newbown, a crazed preschooler, who was wired from a long game of tag, and a cheeky toddler, runnng away from me, giggling the whole way! In many ways, I've been spolied by her disability.

The other kids are doing great, too. Dave is a chunk. He's big. He's fat. But he's STRONG. He can already wriggle himself right out of his car seat, if he's not strapped in! He's trying hard to roll over, too. He's so close! He can get from bck to side, but just can't get the rest of the way. But it won't be long. Very scary. He can holf his head up for long perods, and when he's on his tummy, his head is right up, looking about. We're not sure about his hair colour yet. So far, it looks kind of strawberry blonde. But it's too early to tell.

John's doing awesome, too. I'll share with you his favourite knock knock joke de jour:

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Bananarana.

Bananarana who?

Bananarana pooped on you! Then peed on you! Then he ate an orange! (followed by crazy, wild laughter.)

Or, here's one, from his Dadaist series:

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Flashlight.

Flashlight who?

Quack! (followed by insane laughter.)

update....

Joan, on wharf at Bella Coola, during our vacation this summer

Waitin for laundry to finish, at bela Coola. Dave was there too - behind the camera in my tummy.

John, striking a pose, by the fjord. He thought the boats were cool.

Joan can walk! Like...on her own!

Well, kind of.

She's been bonding with her walker these past few days, and doing great with it. She can do a 180 turn no problem, and uses it to putter around the apartment - even just to follow me around. It's going great, and we've got great hopes for this thing. But last night, Mike tried something that was amazing. He wrapped a receiving blanket around her front, and hooked it under her arms, and held the "reigns" out the back. He gave her lots of slack, so that he wasn't actually supporting any weight, but kept holding, so he could catch her if she fell. Then he asked her to walk to me. And she DID! I tried it too - I held the ends of the blanket, so i could catch her if she fell, but took no weight, and she walked clear across the room, no problem! Take the blanket away, and she refuses to move. But with just that little bit of security, she can walk just fine. It's shakey - it's like saying a 12-month-old can walk. But she did it all on her own! It completely supports our theory that she can physically do it, she's just too scared of falling down. It's really, really exciting! We just need to find a way to boost her confidence enough to walk without a safety net. I imagine with enough practice, she'll get there.

In other Joan news, we just had her formally tested by the speech pathologist. She's right at the 50th percentile for understanding - so bang on the average for her age. But she's at the 10th percentile for expressive language. 16 per cent is the bottom end of average, so the SP said she would consider her delay to be fairly mild. Not a whole lot we can do - just keep plugging away with one and two word sentances. Keep teaching her new words. Fucus on "fun" words, like zip and zoom, and animal noises, and she'll check back in the new year to see how she's progressing. She said she sees good things happening, like how she'll copy the words we say, and that she picked up three new words in the last week ("beep,beep" (for when she wants us to get out of her way when she's with her walker), "water" and "blech".) She's really very confident speech is on the horizon - it'll just take longer. She thinks we'll start to see 2-word sentances in maybe 2-3 months.

John had some issues at school this week. The teacher pulled me aside, and told me that John didn't eat his snack, because he refused to sit at the last available seat, which was with a bunch of girls. So he chose to be all alone in the corner, snackless, rather than sit with them.

It sounds bothersome, but upon questioning, the pieces of his day seem to suggest something like this:

There were two new toys in the classroom that day - a Barbie van and some sort of doll house. John called the van a Vanagon, because Barbie vans do have a certain Vanagonesque quality. A little girl names Naya said, no, that's a Barbiemobile. It's a girl toy. An arguement ensued. So John went on to play with the doll house, which he does at home anyway. Naya said no - that's a Barbie house. It's a girl toy. So John, thinking they were calling him "petty" and "a girl", got a black car, and made it poop on Naya's head, which made all the boys laugh.

Then, it was time for snack. Naya was at the girl's table, and he was still mad at her for insinuating that he was pretty, when he is clearly just cool, so he refused to sit at her table, and had to be alone.

After purging this story to us, something changed. He went from hating Naya, to loving her. He said she was pretty, and wanted to decorate his lunch bag (which I often put goofy smiley faces on) with hearts and diamonds to show Naya that he loves her again.

So, now I've got this lunch bag, all covered in hearts and diamonds, that he wants to present to this girl he thinks is pretty, but won't let him play with the girl toys. I'm really, really confused on what I should do about this. I'm not sure if this is like, a first crush situation. I mean, nothing says I love you like making a car poop on a girl's head, right? Or is this his way of making friends? Should I say something to the teacher, so she can see what transpires on Monday? ( or at least talk to the kids about how there aren't girl toys and boy toys.) Should I just let it all go. Do I let him take this lunch bag? I'm ...very confused.

But as you all chew on that, and hopefully offer your suggestions, as wise elders, who've had experience with the complex social rituals of pre-schoolers, I'll leave you with a gem from John:

John, on the drive home from school one day: "Mom," he whispers, poking my arm. "Did you know, I control the world, and tell it what to do?"

yes - we're still alive!

The kids at halloween, courtesy of Grandpa Walchuk

The kids...all in our bed. You can even see Dave's little head off in the corner. Courtsy of Grandpa Walchuk.

I know, I know. A month with no news!?

Things have been busy here. But I'll try to be better. Maybe shorter entries more often would work. It's hard to get down here.

Let's see. Let's start with...Dave.

He's smiling! It's so cute! He's growing fast, and sleeping great. He's just barely starting to sleep through the night. Wish I could say the same for the other two.

Which brings us to....nasty viruses. Yeah, they've become part of the family too, I'd say. We have all been sick in some capacity since Dave came home. I have the kids' chest cold. Bruce got to see a bit of that in Joan, as she coughed up copious amounts of phlegm one morning. That's me now. The kids got a puffer from the doc which worked very well for them. (kids aren't allowed cough medicine under age 4). But I'm stuck not being able to take anything, because of Dave. I've been going all homeopathic in an effort to get some relief, and it's working alright. I was looking into humidifiers/steamers, which the public health nurse told us is the key to staying healthy in a desert climate like Calgary. Turns out the one we already have - a cold water one - is just as effective at preventing and treating colds as steam, but they require a higher level of maintenance. Ours needs new filters, which remove all the scale from the water. Then,it will be good to go. Until we find them, I've been just boiling pots of water on the stove. It works great. Adding humidity definitely makes the air more breathable. We've gotten used to the dry air, but I guess the body never quite adjusts. I've also tried peppermint tea, which tastes vile, but does work. Just sniffing the bags clears my head, it's so pungent.

As for...John. He's doing awesome. I'm getting great reports from school. He's starting to sit still and listen during circle time. He's been doing some cool craft projects and it's starting to rub off on home. He'll start gathering things up from around the house and start building things, out of the blue. he built a very cool little rocket ship out of Mike's business card box. it has beer cap thrusters glued to the bottom, and straw jets along the side. My aunt gave him a whole ton of stuff when he was here (and sent another giant box of great clothes since - thank you!) One of the toys he got was a mechano set, and he loves it. He sits and builds all sorts of cool things for hours on end. He puts it all together with little bolts and a screwdriver. It's the one toy I'm willing to buy him. If I ever see more, I'm loading up.

He's really into mummies right now, and has decided he wants to be an archeologist. He wants to hunt for mummies and pyramids, and "be brave". Last week, he wanted to be a spy, so all of his career choices are along the same vein, I guess. But archeologist is pretty cool. Sadly, they don't have an Egyptian display at any of the museums here, so we went to the library and got him a couple of kids picture books on mummies,and how they're made. He carries them all over, and tells us all about the pictures he sees. He chose a kids' space book from national geographic, too, which dad reads to him.

He's going through a funny phase. I don't know if it's just his age, or if it's the influence of school, but he's trying to distinguah between masculine and feminine. The other day, we had this conversation:

John: "I don't do pretty things."

Me: "What kinds of things do you do?"

John (with a karate move): "I do coooool"
Me: "Hm. What things are cool?"

John: "Weeellll. Like, finding mummies. Finding pyramids. Sitting around. Sleeping. Hurting bad guys. That's cool."

He's half preschooler, half teenager.

What's next...I guess...Joan!

She's doing great, too. She's becoming such a little ham in her own right. I see a lot of John in her, like her fake shocked expressions when she does something cheeky. She's very, very cheeky. I think she's going to be a wild one when she gets mobile. Almost makes me want to keep her this way. Except she's getting too heavy. We've started back up with therapy. We had a one-on-one speech meeting earlier this week. I drew up a list of words that Joan has, and she said it looks like she indeed has a speech delay. We're going to be doing formal testing next week, to see where on the scale she really is. But I know I've missed words, and have discovered that I've been missing whole sentances. Two nights in a row, she's handed me a piece of food that she isn't interested in from her plate, and said, with relative clarity, "I don't want that." The first night, Mike pointed it out to me, and I thought it was just a fluke. But then she said the exact same thing, under the exact same circumstances the very next night. She also says "what's that?" So maybe she's not as bad off as I thought. We had physio yesterday, Her new Occupational therapist is awesome. Very no-nonsense but still very likable. i had taken the little plastic toy walker my parents had gotten her, to show how well she can boot around with it. But it's so small now, she's all hunched over. The PT was gone in a flash, and back she came with about eight tiny little walkers, like old people walkers, in miniature. They found one that Joan liked, and was the perfect size for her, and sent us home with it that day. They retrofitted it a little, so that her right hand can grip it easier. She walked up and down their hallway for nearly an hour, kicking a giant ball as she went, beaming the whole way. When we got home, i set it up in the living room, and she actually used it to get around all evening, instead of bum scooting. It's really, really great. She's figuring out how to turn it all around. It's really exciting, and it gives her a more natural posture, because the bars are to the side, instead of her being hunched over. They retrofitted ut with a bar that does go across the front, though, so she has the option, if she finds that easier. They told me that she'll find the easiest and most efficient way to use it for her particular disability. They're also going to make her a new hand brace. It's called a load-bearing brace. It's a rigid plastic, which will hold her fingers splayed out straight. That way, when she's crawling, which she does every day now, she'll have more support from her hand, and it will train her hand to be open, instead of curled up all the time. With the soft neopene splint she has now, her fingers bunch up and curl over. I asked about contraint therapy, but they're not sure it's right for her, so that probably won't happen. That's where the good hand is splinted or put in a cast, forcing the weak hand to do daily activities. They said the literature is mixed, and there's no specific age when it's recommended. it's a case-by-case thing, and they're not sure Joan would get a benefit from it at this point - perhaps when she has more strength and control on her other side. But I had brought it up, becasue she's started using her right side spontaneously. She gave me a high five with her right hand the other day. ANd before that, she took a toy from Mike with her right hand. The OT gave me a few activities that can help reinforce that - like doing high tens insted of high fives.

What else...oh. The Vanagon.

Yes, we own a Vanagon. I'm still shaking my head. I saw it for the first time last week, as we all drove four hours to Kimberley BC to pick it up. It was owned by a retired lesbian mechanic and her partner. They had three of these things, and decided they needed to pare down the collection. This one went on the chopping block because it had no extras - the other ones had pop-top sleeping quarters in the roof, and sinks and stoves and such. This one just has a card table and a bed.

The drive was not great. We had to get over two mountain ridges to get to Kimberley, and this is not the mountain's best season, weather-wise. It wasn't bad getting there, but it was definitely a white-knuckler on the way back. It was dark and gloomy, so it got dark early, and it was freezing rain and sleeting up in the higher altitudes. I'm not the best winter driver - I drove the Nissan back - but I think I did OK. We passed a couple of SUVs in the ditch, yet I only skidded a couple of times. It helped that I was going 40 most of the way, and know enough to lay off the brakes on ice. Still, don't think I'll ever tackle the rockies in the dark in winter, ever, ever again. Skidding towards cliffs is not a good feeling. But we brought our little two-way radios, so we'd be in constant contact. We kept in visual contact most of the time, but around the curvy mountain roads, we relied on radios to keep tabs on each other. Mike was up ahead and warned me about any particulary rough spots. It worked out pretty well.

But now we've got this weird hippie bus thing. It's a monster. And it's one of those cars with a cult following. It attracts a lot of attention on the road, and there are whole online communities devoted to it. There's a club in Calgary. i don't think we'l be joining. That just seems..weird. It's so kooky, it requires a special mechanic to service it. Well, you can take your chances with a regular guy, but its engine is in the trunk, the battery is under the passenger seat, you gas it up through the door, and put in oil under the licence plate. There's nothing particularly normal about it. There's a Vanagon specialist guy in Calgary who comes highly recommened, and when I talked to him on the phone, I asked to see if he's exclusively a VW mechanic. He said "well, we're a pretty big shop, so unfortunately other things come through the door now and then. Like (with disgust) Hondas. Or even...Toyotas." I feel like I've joined some sort of cult. Mike let me drive it once. I went very, very slowly around the Canadian Tire parking lot. I'm content to leave it at that. I have the Nissan, and use it as a daily runner for school and stuff. But when we get groceries, or go anywhere as a family, we take the bus. It's actually kind of nice. Mechanical quirks aside, it's a great family vehicle. If we're out abd about, and Dave needs to eat, we just all hop in the back and chill out, while I nurse Dave. We let the kids out to roam free, and all of the back seats face each other, so Mike and I can chat while we're stopped. it's like a living room on wheels. If we want to eat while we're out, it has a pop-up table, so it becomes a dining room on wheels. We did that one the way home from Kimberley. I made sandwiches for the road, and instead of splitting them up, and everyone eating while we drove, we actually stopped a couple of times for snack breaks around the van's table. It's a very social vehicle, which I've enjoyed a lot. it makes days of running around doing chores as a family a LOT more enjoyable. The kids really like it, too. Especially John, who is typically pawed at, poked and bitten by Joan in the back of the Nissan. It's so bad, when it's just the four of us, I let him sit in the passenger seat. In the Vanagon, they can't touch. Instead, they make faces at each other, and laugh. It's a lot nicer than constantly yelling at kids to stop biting or hitting, or whacking each other with books.

Other than all that, things are...ok. We had a great visit from Mike's parents. The kids had a blast, going to the park and the zoo. John is STILL talking about the zoo. Thanks to my parents and auntie Glenn Ellen for the boxes of winter clothes. The kids are set and stylin! Everything fits great - nothing is too small, and lots have plenty of room to grow into. The new toys and books are a hit, too. Thaks to everyone for the pictures they've been sending, too. I'll get a whole bunch of them processed and posted shortly.

Ah - Dave just woke up, so I'd better get going. I'll try to update a lot more frequently. Little updates, more often. I think that's the way to go. And pictures! More pictures. I know, I know.