June Fun

In June we enjoyed a weekend visit from grandma.  My brother Chad and his girlfriend brought all their kids up to Denver for vacation and we met up with them a couple of times.  We went to the zoo one afternoon and Big Time Trampoline center the next afternoon.   

   

We had the opportunity to spend a wonderful Saturday afternoon my cousin's house for a little family reunion with my dad's sister Sandy and her family.  Even though all who gathered live in Colorado it has been a long time since we had seen each other.  My cousin Micki and her husband Randy hosted our get-together.  Micki's sister and brother were also able to make it; Penny and her husband Ian and their daughter Francis were there, their other daughter Michelle was not able to make it. Troy and his family, wife Becky and daughters Kaitlyn and Taylor also came.  My parents, both of my brothers & niece and nephews were there too.  Milo and his cousins had a great time playing in their playhouse, swingset, tire swing and trampoline.  We gathered at Micki's house outside of Florrisant, CO in the mountains.  The elevation there is 9100 feet so I made sure to bring an oxygen tank just in case but Milo did very well and didn't need it.  I was glad to see that Milo took it all in stride and was friendly with all his "new" cousins.

(above) Calli, Milo, Brett & Kaitlyn

(below) Cali & Milo at the tire swing; Brett, Calli, Taylor & Kaityln on the trampoline; Dylan, Milo & my aunt Sandy enjoying some time on the deck

 

Milo, my cousin Micki & Dylan on the rocks outside the playhouse.

That evening my parents and my niece Dylan came to our house.  Grandpa spent the next two days constructing a swing set for Milo and the kids have played on it every day since. 

Grandpa went home after staying 2 days but grandma and Dylan stayed for the rest of the week. 

Sunday afternoon we went to the Cherry Creek Mall to visit Build-A-Bear.  Dylan made a puppy dog and Milo got a Smurf.

On Monday while I helped finish up the swing set Grandma took the kids to the Butterfly Pavilion.

(above) Dylan holds Rosie the tarantula
(below) Butterfly photography by Dylan

    

SPIDERS !!!!

Tuesday we went to see a play at the Aurora Fox.  Charlotte's Web was put on by the Little Foxes Summer Children's Theater.  Milo just couldn't sit still for the whole play but Dylan did enjoy it.

That afternoon we went to Coldstone Creamery in Northfield for an afternoon snack and then walked down the street to play in the water fountain.

   

Wednesday we went to Pirate's Cove and had a fun day playing in the water.  Of course it also happened to be the only day it rained that week!

   

On Thursday Chuck E. Cheese was enjoyed for lunch and play time.  My brother Dell and his roommate & her kids joined us.  Everyone else went to see the movie Brave after that but Milo and I came home for a little quiet time since he has a hard time sitting through a whole movie.

   

Friday we went back to Big Time Trampoline center.  The kids just love this place!

   

That evening we got crafty and made some tie-dye t-shirts.

   

Just as June was ending Grandma and Dylan headed back home but we would see them soon in Alamosa!

Busy Summer

It's hard to believe how fast summer break is going this year.  We've been keeping busy, having fun playing with friends and family and doing just a little bit of traveling too.  This post will catch you up through the 2nd of June. 

Just after school got out we went down to Alamosa to visit family.  While there we went to The Great Sand Dunes National Park.  My parents, my brother and his girlfriend, and my niece and nephews went with us.  Luckily it was a beautiful day with no wind (trust me you don't want to be there with the spring winds, talk about getting sand blasted).  The river was running very low this year but the kids had fun playing in it anyway.  We spent the morning playing in the water, had a picnic lunch then a little more sand fun before heading out. 

Next stop was the Sand Dunes Swimming Pool in Hooper, CO with it's crazy warm water for some more fun. The water comes out of the ground HOT. The pool is at an amazing 98-100 degrees and the therapy pool is at 105-107 degrees without being heated.  The best part is that because of the temperature they do not need to use chemicals to keep the pool healthy.

 There is a nice slide and small pool for the kids, picnic areas with BBQ grills, volleyball courts and they even had a little inflatable bounce house.

 They also have a fantastic view the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.

On Memorial Day, my mom and nephew Owen come up to our house for a week of fun in the big city.  It was a fun and busy week!

We went to Chuck E. Cheese, bungee trampoline jumping at the mall 

and a carnival in the mall parking lot.

We went to Tiny Town

and saw...

 

a tiny firehouse, a tiny theater, a tiny windmill....

and a tiny jail with some rotten criminals :0) ....

who repented their sins at a tiny church...

and got to ride on a tiny train!

We also went to Big Time Trampoline Center and had a blast

 jumping and swinging...

the foam pit was the most fun!

We went to the Denver Zoo to see the new Toyota Elephant Passage

on the first day it was open to the public.

Some of the animals we saw...

the boys played on a poo powered tuk-tuk (it's fuel source is manure and trash)...

We got to meet some new friends including 2 rhinos and 2 new male elephants...



and our old elephant friends Dolly & Mimi

On the last day we played with a giant squishy bag (thanks to Pintrest for the inspiration)

We had a blast with Owen!

June was just as busy.  Check back becuse that post will be coming along soon and will be as lengthy as this one!

Preschool Graduate

Today my little boy graduated from Preschool!  He has grown up and learned so much in the last year it is unbelievable.  He LOVES school and I hope that continues for many years to come.  Next year Milo will attend our neighborhood elementary school, we've been talking about his new school.  He went to a developmental preschool that is several miles away so unfortunately none of his friends from preschool will continue with him to his new school.  Even though he is a bit apprehensive he is excited too.

 Milo has had the same preschool teacher for the last 2 years and I can not say enough good things about her.  She is kind yet firm in her expectations, she encourages the kids, she makes learning fun, she brings books alive and encourages the kids to write stories, she truly cares for all the children in her class.  She has set the bar high for future teachers and for Milo.  We will miss seeing her!



Milo & Mrs Ross

The paraprofessional in Milo's class this year was great as well. 

She has helped Milo this year in many ways.  She will be missed as well.



Milo & Mrs Lucero



Good-bye Preschool and watch out KINDERGARTEN...here comes Milo!

This Boy Is BANANAS!

This little boy is completely bananas for bananas!  All of the sudden Milo has been wanting to eat new foods.  For the longest time he would only eat cheese, then only hot dogs.  Yogurt was he passion the beginning of the year.  Cheetos are a favorite too.  Since last fall he has been eating meat, anything dairy and getting most of his starches orally.  We even cut his g-tube feeds down to one per day and those consist of mainly fruit & veggies or 8 oz of formula.   Despite all my efforts he just WOULD NOT eat fruits or veggies much less drink juice.

Earlier this year I caught him eating applesauce for snack at preschool.  He would eat it at home too, even the flavored ones with strawberry applesauce being his favorite.  However he still wouldn't even attempt to eat an apple or a strawberry.  He did drink apple juice for me one day but has never wanted it again.  

About 3 weeks ago Milo decided he wanted to eat a banana.  I have been putting them in his g-tube food  and the only ones we had left were a bit ripe.  I gave him half of one figuring it would be mushed up and that's about it.  He really wanted to eat it but was hesitant.  We sat on the couch and I had him smell it, then kiss it (put his lips on it) then lick it and finally he got a tiny piece in his mouth.  We played a game and I fed him the rest of the banana.  The next day he wanted more and ate a total of one and half bananas. A few days later I cut some up and put it with his beloved Yoplait strawberry yogurt and he ate that.  He's been eating bananas every day, in fact I've had to start hiding them in the cupboard or he would try to eat them all in one day!

About two weeks ago Milo asked me for broccoli, out of the blue.  Of course we didn't have any that day and it was a few days before I went to the grocery store.  When I told he I bought some he was so excited, I figured that would end when I put it on his plate.  Instead he totally surprised me and ate steamed broccoli, the next day I added some steamed carrots and he ate those too. 

The last week has been incredible.  He has consistently eaten his broccoli and/or carrots as well as his banana in yogurt.  He has asked for a juice box and has been working on drinking that same one for about 3 days.  The straw is still a bit hard for him to use.  He tried blueberries but they aren't his favorite.  Yesterday he ate 2 gummy vitamins, I'm so glad he decided to try that again because I wasn't sure how to get vitamins into him if it didn't go in his g-tube.  He will take all his meds by mouth now too.  Today he decided he wanted Funyuns while in the check-out at Wal*Mart so I was skeptical he would actually eat them but bought them for him and he ate half the bag on the way home.  Right now he is playing with some apple chunks.  He found a regular size straw and drank most of him milk at lunch with it, I've never seen him use a regular straw before.  He was so excited! 

In January I decided that maybe he needed some visual re-enforcement to decide that fruits and veggies would be good.  I included a reward system too.  I put it on the wall and made a big deal about it but he could have cared less.  Well, within the last month he has decided that it is fun to earn a reward.  His goals increase every time and he has done pretty well.  He gets to choose a small reward such as a book, a small toy, a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, a trip to the Disney Store and mall play area.  The poster of fruits & veggies has been helpful too.  He has been looking at it more and more and telling me what each one is.  It's also been helpful if he tries to get an "X" for something that isn't a fruit or veggie, if not on the poster then no "X"

Of course he still has some things to work on.  He won't touch bread, tortillas, pancakes, muffins, etc. but I'll just be patient like I was with the fruit and veggies and one of these days he'll surprise me about that too.

And ya wanna know what the most exciting thing about all if this is?  Milo has NOT had a g-tube feed in the past 6 days and so far has had no weight loss. 

 Hallelujah!!

Of course now that I have posted this he will probably go on a food strike or loose weight!

Ok must go now because Milo just came and asked me for chicken nuggets (gluten free and not so processed) and french fries (Orida crinkle cut for this picky guy) so far be it from me to tell him 'no'!