If you're here for the pics...scroll down...!
Where in the world to start? It seems as though since my feet returned to american soil my blogging muses have flown away into never never land. Actually, my muses have just been very very busy giving birth to a child, changing diapers, contending with CSE meetings, juggling a work load outside of the home, running to doctors appnts, wiping noses and just doing life in general. I'm hoping to "get back on the bike" so to speak. Maybe if I can blog a few times in the next week or so it will become natural again...we will see!
So...what have we been up to?? Ahhhh nothing much in the Kulp home! Well, I certainly can't catch you up on 6 months of our crazy life in this entry...that would probably bore you to tears....so howz about a brief snippet of some of our highlights and we'll call it even?
My amore... Daniel. We marked 8 years of marriage this week. Yes I know we have a 9 year old daughter... but thankfully since she looks more like Jet Li than Dan or myself people don't give us the hairy eyeball about that! I'm excited about the book he's been plugging away on. Hopefully it will be seen to completion in the next months. We spent a marvelous date night together this evening, thanks to mary alice poppins, who held down the fort with Simon, Shea and Danielle. We took emily in tow...she's still quiet and cute enough to be "allowed" on our dates with us.
My "first born".....Simon. He is monkey boy, loving the ladders and slides at the play ground to no end. He is having a serious love affair with water sensory seeking "ah hemm" activities lately. We find him in the tub, in the kitchen sink, standing under the water machine on the fridge door - letting it trickle down his back. I guess there are worse things he could be obsessed with right now! He is thriving at SHC still, and Dan has joined me in the world of CSE meetings as we still are pleading his case. I'm also very happy that shortly he will be examined by the pediatric dermatologists at Strong. Standard dermatology has left us uncertain of how to help him....so I'm hopeful that possible progress can be made now. My "fun" purchase on our date night was a book on autism interventions...and he will have to endure my experimentation over the next few weeks, now that mommy has new reading material. If anyone has ever come across any good info on kiddos with dual diagnosis of developmental disability and autism...please share.
Mogley....aka Danielle....come on...picture her in her white undies and you have mogley from the jungle book! She has had a whole new world opened to her as she now attends SHC as well, and has entered a community of having buddies, and jobs, and a whole new level of socialization. In this case, the CSE has been smooth sailing which we are thankful for and we pray that it will continue on. Danielle is in love with her sister emily. I do believe she feels a sense of ownership over her "baby doll". Her singing voice continues to fill our minivan. She is also the first to raise her hands up to the heavens in church. She may be our handful on many occasions...but never the less she has a direct line to our man in the sky.
Shea...wow, the language skill are still amazing us. He is so inquisative, trying to figure it all out. And..the motivation...amazing... He is learning all about cooties, and is thouroughly "grossed out" when mommy and daddy kiss. We certainly had fun with this advantage at open house! In literally days, his very own wheels should be here. He is a pro at turns and spins and speed. He had grown bigger and stronger in the last months. Hamstrings have been waking up! The major event on his horizen will be a left hip reconstructive surgery on june 6th. He will be at Strong for 2-5 days, and then home, braced for 4 to 8 weeks. Let's pray for 4 not 8!
Emily...all we need to say is that she is the cutest baby in the universe...ok sorry sorry, I'm quite biased. She is a very happy baby, sitting, starting to crawl, and loves standing up on those legs of hers. She has no lack of smiles and giggles for anyone in need of a pick me up. I do believe she may be the toughest baby in the tri-county area to endure all the jiggling, slobbering, and jostling that she receives from her siblings. And...yes, I do wish I could keep her tiny forever. And...yes, I do wish she was even close to sleeping through the night....or even just up once or twice. I will take any suggestions from those of you who have been there, done that.
As for me....I am quite exhausted, but happily so. I'm certain I've never been this sleep deprived, for such and extented period of time between all 4 kids.... but I'm sure this too shall pass. If I'm going to be deleriously tired, I suppose this is the best cause for it that I can think of.
To close... Kulp Kaboodle "look out items". We are eternally crunched for space in our humble home, and needing to shift the kids around soon. We are ever creative with ways to save money and try to be frugal. As garage sale season and spring cleaning is just around the corner....we are looking for one or two small childrens dressers, bunk beds with a nice rail so simon can be on the "top shelf", and for some elves to come build an addition on to our house! If you see any of this in your travels give us a shout out! Also, in all seriousness, I'm looking to hire a mommy's helper for a few hours here and there to get through some spring cleaning and such. If you have a teenager or college age that needs a few extra dollars please send them my way.
Off to bed I go. Hopefully it won't be 6 more months before I blog again....but after how long this one has gotten my readers...(probably 3 of you left by now) might not mind! Ta Ta for now.
