Pumpkin Walk

This morning was our schools annual Pumpkin Walk. Room Moms solicit donated pumpkins for their own class as prizes and then each class had an assigned time to come and walk the circle in attempts of landing on the chosen number.

Rachel was so excited to get to participate this year. She was even more excited when her number was a winning number and she got to choose a pumpkin from the pile of pumpkins donated to our class. She was very pleased with her choice - a pumpkin with pink fuzzy hair!

Build A Bear

For her birthday, Rachel received a Build A Bear outfit and two gift cards! With Hannah away at a birthday party this afternoon, Rachel saw it as the perfect opportunity to ask to go to Build A Bear, and that's what we did!

First, we made the exchange of the outfit as she already had it. And then we discovered how much was on one of the gift cards, and figured out just how much money Rachel had to spend! And then it was off to pick her animal. She chose a brown bear, whom she named "Browny", pronounced Brownie.And then time for stuffing....And time for dressing...
She chose a leopard print outfit, which fits her wild personality to a tee.And a final shot before paying for all the goods...Two boxes you might ask?? Well, Rachel had enough money to buy Hannah a bear, in which she also put a Hannah Montana voice box into, just for her. Such a sweet sister...

Fall Harvest Party

This evening, our family participated in a good old fashioned Harvest Party where you came dressed as scarecrows and made carmel apples and just had a lot of fun. There were no signs of witches, ghosts, or goblins. It was a great, great night and the girls had a ton of fun.

Because I had an activity table, we arrived early to set up. Rachel was more than delighted to play with her friends, and played and played and played with her friends all night long. We ended up staying long past the party ended and visiting with a few other couples and Rachel literally kept going until we left at 11:30. She had so much fun. And was one dirty scarecrow by the end of the night. One of the table activities was a fabric pumpkin. Rachel was so proud of her pumpkin. She made it with no help from Mommy or Daddy!What could be more fun then wrapping your own carmel apple and adding mini M&M's to it!?!? Rachel loves apples. And she loves her M&Ms. So it made for a perfect combination!The evening was a great time of food, fellowship, and lots and lots of fun!

Speech Therapy Update

Monday mornings I work in Rachel's classroom. This morning as I was putting my purse away, she handed me this envelope that was in her cubby. It was from the Speech Therapist.

Rachel was apparently pulled from class one day last week and was screened by the speech therapist and the conclusion was a concern for her articulation (sounds in words). Rachel has "nasality with certain sounds (b, p...) and distortions typical of a repaired cleft palate". There were no language concerns, she puts sentences together very well. And there were no fluency or stuttering concerns. Her concerns were our concerns and the same concerns of the Speech Therapist on our craniofacial team.

The recommendation is that Rachel "be referred to the Student Study Team for intervention strategies and/or consideration for possible evaluation."

I had to ask the teacher for clarification on what exactly that meant. LOL. Rachel was just screened by the Speech Therapist. And her recommendation is that now a team of people get together to talk about Rachel and what to do. Her teacher must submit paperwork and then they go from there.

The good thing is Rachel wasn't denied right off the bat, like we were told was a possibility...

Prayers for Adalynn

This is Adalynn. Some of our regular cleft friends might recognize her. She was born with a cleft lip and has surgeries to repair it, etc. But this post isn't about Adalynn's cleft. It's about a terrible, terrible accident that occurred and the request of prayers.As a mother of a cleft affected child, I know I'm always much more cautious about things in the mouth - suckers, straws, toys, etc. While after a palate has been repaired, the chances of developing a fistula (hole) are slim, I'm generally a little freaked out by anything that involves Rachel's mouth.

So imagine Shannon's (Adalynn's Mommy) current nightmare...

At the beginning of the week, Adalynn's older brother was being helpful when he handed her her toothbrush, but then he tripped her and the toothbrush went down her throat. An uneventful trip to the doctor was made, only to be followed by a trip to the ER after Adalynn had not eaten or drank anything all day long, not even swallowing her own saliva. Four X-rays later, and being told she was okay, was sent home with Tylenol and Motrin.

The next evening brought another trip to the ER as Miss Adalynn was pretty miserable with a lot of swelling in her neck/throat. After a diagnosis of a possible infection at the site where the toothbrush hit, she was sent home on antibiotics.

Thursday afternoon, Adalynn woke from a nap with blood pouring from her mouth. Trip #3 made to the ER. Arrangements were made to see an ENT the next day for a possible scope.

The ENT finally ordered a CT scan whereas Adalynn was diagnosed with a hematoma and was admitted to the hospital. A hematoma in such a place is life threatening as it could potentially obstruct the airway if the swelling got worse. She is being closely monitored, on an IV, and is receiving antibiotics.

Please be praying for the swelling inside Adalynn's throat to diminish and that there wouldn't be any long term complications from this. Please be praying for her Mommy and Daddy as well. I know they would very much appreciate prayers right now! Thanks!

It's a Part of Her

These are Rachel's official pictures for her kindergarten year and I love them! Sometimes when picture day comes I get a little nervous for how Rachel's, Hannah's too, pictures will turn out. But I'm always a little more nervous when it comes to Rachel's pictures - will they make her smile too big and therefore you'll see her cleft gum and jacked up tooth? Will she smile in such a way that her scar will look drawn up?? Will her nose look okay?? Will her repaired cleft stand out in the picture or will you not be able to tell?? Things that go through a mother's head when she's had a cleft affected baby, or a child with any facial deformities for that matter.

This picture captures her cuteness. A glimpse into her personality. I just want to go to her and squeeze her cuteness, but I can't, she's at school! :)

Sure, you can see the notch in her lip. Maybe you can't, but the Mommy and the Gramma can see it. But really when I sit and stare at the picture and think about it, that little notch, as little as it is, is part of her. It's how the Lord chose to make Rachel, it's a symbol of how great our God is- in providing a perfectionist of a plastic surgeon and a testament to all the prayers prayed on behalf of Rachel. She'll always have it. It's a part of her...

Sick Girlie

Rachel and Hannah spent the long holiday weekend with their Gramie.

Unfortunately when she brought them home yesterday afternoon, Rachel had caught a cold. You could hear it in her little voice the instant she opened her mouth to talk. As the evening went on, she developed a cough.

To bed she went with Vicks and socks (I'm telling you, it works!) on her feet for the coughing. But the coughing got progressively worse through the night and by 1:00am you would have thought we were at the Seal Exhibit at the zoo. She was barking like a seal and there was no mistaking she had Croup.

Thank goodness I had some steroids from a previous case of Croup and once I gave her that, she was able to get a few hours of sleep in without coughing. But it wasn't a good night's sleep to say the least. She was also complaining that one of her ears hurt.

There was no way I could send her to school coughing the way she was coughing, not to mention not wanting to spread what she may have, so she stayed home. Once our Pediatrician's office opened I was able to get her an appointment for mid morning.Thankfully, her ears were fine. No signs of any fluid in her ears. Our Pediatrician thought she might have been complaining because of the change in elevation from coming down from the High Desert. But her cough was just as I had thought - Croup. So is in steroids for a few days.

She's been acting okay and has good energy. So I'm sure as long as we have a good night, she'll be back at school tomorrow!

The BIG Day

Rachel's birthday morning found presents from Mommy and Daddy, and Hannah, and out of state family to be opened. Surprisingly she started off with the gift bag of clothes and jammies and much to my surprise she wasn't as disappointed as I thought she would be with such a gift! LOL.After presents, it was off to school! We baked cupcakes in ice cream cones to enjoy during recess and they were a hit! When Rachel taste tested one the other day when I made them, she wasn't crazy about them, but she humored me and and at least enjoyed the frosting. She was the Star of the Day in her class and got a special sticker to wear and a pencil and of course lots of 'happy birthday' wishes from her classmates!As soon as school was out, we hit the road for Disneyland. This years promotion is getting into Disneyland on your birthday free, but when you're an annual passholder there are alternatives for you. One alternative is a "Fun Card" in the amount of what a day ticket would cost. That Fun Card can be spent in the stores on merchandise and Rachel's list of 'wants' have been growing in anticipation of getting this card for months! LOL. So off we went!"It's my birthday and I'd like the Fun Card and a birthday button, please."

As you enter the turnstiles into the park, and your annual pass is scanned, your name and picture shows up on the computer screen. And in Rachel's case, today it popped up that it was her birthday. Not only did the Cast Member wish Rachel a happy birthday, but she had Rachel and I both get behind her computer screen and took this picture. It's nice to see there are still some Cast Members going out of their way to make ones visit special!It was Rachel's day, we did what Rachel wanted. Providing she obliged and made Mommy happy with the proper picture opportunities for this special day. We rode the little old firetruck down Main Street whereas she got to ring the bell off and on alerting people in the street that we were coming, we watched the Mary Poppins street show and she got called up to participate, we ran into Mickey and Goofy who were causing quite the ruckus on Main Street, we celebrated the day with a special cupcake, and of course did some shopping with her Fun Card. She looks so big standing there!Sporting new ears that she made and purchased with her Fun Card.
The crowds weren't too bad. But it was extremely hot. So we planned our activities so that we could be on the tram and on the freeway home before the evening traffic. We had a great few hours at The Happiest Place on Earth and Rachel's birthday afternoon was made special!

The Birthday Party

Rachel's birthday party this year was an Ice Cream Party! And considering we've had several days in a row of 100+ degree heat, it was a perfect party theme!

The birthday girl could not wait for her party! She was so excited to be having a few friends over and her cousins and family. This last week and this morning just couldn't come soon enough. Because it was extremely hot outside, I needed to come up with a way to keep the few kids that were invited occupied while we waited for the rest of the party guests to arrive. So I printed off ice cream coloring sheets and they colored them! I was surprised this was a hit and the kids asked for more. Once all the kids arrived, we played 'place the cherry on the ice cream cone'. It was fun, it was simple, everyone was a winner! LOL. I learned in April with Hannah's birthday party, how I really enjoyed the short and sweet party, so the party was scheduled for two hours. So the next thing on the agenda was making ice cream sundaes!!! We had vanilla ice cream (way tooo much ice cream and will be having another evening of ice cream fellowship soon!) and all the toppings you could think of! Everyone enjoyed making their own ice cream sundaes and enjoyed eating their creations.Following the cool treat, Rachel opened up her presents. I couldn't see her facial expressions from where I was sitting, but Steven said her facial expressions and how animated she was in her gift opening was hilarious. She was especially excited to get her very own iPod shuffle from her Gramma and Papa. Now she won't have to fight over Hannah's! She also is very much looking forward to coloring and building her cardboard house from Uncle Bart. Her other presents included - lots and lots of art sets, crayons, paper, etc (she LOVES to draw and color!), an adorable Tinkerbell backpack, gift cards to Build-a-Bear, and good ole fashioned cash!After opening presents, the kids did an ice cream cone relay outside. And quickly came back in where it was cool. As Rachel's guests were leaving she thanked them not only with words, but also with a party favor - an ice cream cone filled with skittles in a cellophane bag tied with a note that said "It was sweet of you to come to my party". Those were a simple and huge hit!!

Rachel had a wonderful birthday party and was very blessed by our friends and family's generosity.

The Excitement is Building

Monday is Rachel's 5th birthday. Tomorrow afternoon is her birthday party. Needless to say she's beyond excited!

For the last week, she asks every morning "is today my party?" When we told her her party was on church day, the question changed to "Is today church day?" LOL.

She was especially excited when she came into our room this morning and discovered wrapped presents sitting on the floor. They weren't there yesterday. I've already made cupcakes in ice cream cones this morning for her to take to school on Monday and she can't wait to try one.

Tomorrow afternoon cannot come quick enough for the little party girl.

A Step in the Right Direction

I received a note in Rachel's cubby at school yesterday from the school speech therapist. She was requesting permission to screen Rachel for possible speech therapy! It's a step in the right direction and I didn't even have to make inquires about my request yet!! Most definitely a step in the right direction!

Seeking Speech Therapy and Thoughts About Starting School

At Rachel's craniofacial team appointment back in January, the Speech Therapist recommended speech therapy for Rachel. It wasn't bad enough to warrant going to Loma Linda weekly, but enough to seek help from the school district. Because we were in limbo about where Rachel would be going to school, we needed to wait to see where it was she'd go once accepted or denied. Once we learned she was accepted to the school Hannah is at, it was too late in the school year to seek out a speech therapy evaluation.

So, I was prepared the first day of school. I wrote a letter to the principal stating my request for an evaluation and then gave a little history on Rachel and her birth defect and how she's already had speech, etc, etc. I included a copy of the team report, highlighting the section from the speech therapist.

During Kindergarten Orientation on Tuesday, we got a chance to talk to Rachel's teacher. We briefly told her about Rachel. I wanted her to be aware of her birth defect especially because sometimes when she smiles big, you can see that her front top teeth are jacked up, in addition to her nose being a little off. I also made her a copy of the letter to the principal and the team report and let her know we were seeking a speech evaluation. She told us that she's had a cleft affected child once in recent years and the district at that time refused to evaluate him/her. But the district has a new speech therapist now and things could very well be different. If Rachel is denied speech therapy by the school, we'll seek it elsewhere, but it'd be nice if she was given it through the school.

I have to say, I'm a little nervous about Rachel and school and the other kids. Up to this point, she's really had no one ever tease her about her nose. Kindergarten could be the year it starts. Maybe not. We talked extensively to the plastic surgeon back in January about having a nose revision done before school started, but the things they would work on weren't the things we were concerned about as far as the appearance of her nose. It would have been an unnecessary surgery at this time. We need to wait for her face to grow some more before anything noticeable would be done. On an interesting note, the tooth we refer to as her 'special tooth' which is located sideways up in her gum is starting to straighten and come down! We're not sure what that means, but it has to be better than staying high up in the gum.

Other than those worries, I know she'll be a success in Kindergarten!

First Full Day of School

This morning I took both the girls to school. Hannah went her way and I took Rachel to her class. She walked in, handed her teacher her milk money and some papers that were filled out last night and went and found her name plate on a table. I walked over hugged her, gave her a smoochie, and said have a good day and I walked out. I got a little choked up, but did good. I then walked out to find Hannah waiting for me at the fence. I then walked her over to her line and watched her teacher come and greet them and take them to their class.

I returned to the school at 11:34 to pick up Rachel. She had a good day. Made a new friend, but doesn't know his name. And then told me how one boy was mean to her and said he was going to punch her. He sounded like trouble, because he ended up not getting his STAR (positive reward) for the day. LOL.

After lunch she asked me what she's doing tomorrow. The typical question asked EVERY day of the week. And much to her surprise I told her she had school tomorrow! It'll take a while before she gets that she goes every day of the week now!

First Day of Kindergarten

School officially started today. But tomorrow will be the BIG day for Rachel. Today we took her to her class and it was a Kindergarten Orientation and then she got to come home with us. Tomorrow will be the day that I will take her and leave her for her school day. Tomorrow will be the day I'll definitely need Kleenex walking out to the car.

Rachel was so excited. She was up at 6:20, and dressed and ready by 6:30. LOL. Let's hope it continues. After taking Hannah to her class and seeing her teacher greet the class, etc, we then walked Rachel to her class. The teacher read the class a story about going to Kindergarten and then had the kids do a little activity where they traced their name with glue and then poured glitter on it. After that little project, they were to find the teacher and get a Classroom Hunt List. A fun way to find the important things in her class - her name on the star chart, the restrooms, her cubbie, the playground, ending with the punch and cookies the PTA supplied for the Kindergarten Orientation. When Hannah started Kindergarten, she started her school year already knowing three kids in her class whom we knew from church. Rachel wasn't going to know anyone until our friends from church got their son pulled from another Kindergarten class and put into ours! We're so happy to embark on our final year of Kindergarten with our friends.Isaiah and Rachel
After a while of playing, we needed to get home, Daddy had to start his work day! Tomorrow will be the "official first day" as Rachel will stay her full school day, 8:00-11:34.

Class Lists Posted!

We already knew who Rachel's teacher was for the upcoming school year. But I couldn't help but take a picture of her in front of the class list when we went this afternoon to see who was Hannah's teacher.

Rachel is SOOOOO excited to be starting Kindergarten tomorrow!!!