Gabi's World

Pray For Julian!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:44:00 +0000

The little boy above is close to my heart. He is part of my extended family. You see Julian is one of Jeremy's brothers from his dad's side. As I type this Julian is undergoing surgery to have a shunt placed to relieve pressure off his brain stem. The prognosis isn't looking good. As the Neurosurgeon explained to Tommy (Jeremy and Julian's dad), the brain stem is one of the parts of the brain that is least tolerable to injury.

What lead up to this point is as follows. Tommy and Carla (Julian's parents) were headed to a parent teacher conference with Julian. Originally, Julian was to stay with his grandmother, but asked if he could go with them. At some point Julian suddenly started complaining of his head hurting and saying something was wrong. His dad had him turn his neck from side to side asking him if his neck was hurting too. (Jeremy's dad is also a nurse and was thinking this could be meningitis.) He decided to give him some ibuprofen and they headed to the parent teacher conference. On the way there, he kept asking Julian questions which he answered without any problems. They met with the teacher and after it was over they were walking towards Julian's desk to pick up his things when Julian began crying. Tommy kept asking Julian what's wrong, but Julian didn't respond. He sat him down in a chair and Julian's head fell back. At that point, he lowered him to the floor, and Julian began having seizures and posturing. Julian was brought to the nearest hospital and from there he was life flighted to Hartford where he was intubated on a ventilator in the PICU up until this surgery.

Julian had a AV malformation in his ear a few years back that was surgically repaired. It looks like he had another AV malformation in his brain stem that went undetected.

Tommy also mentioned that Julian wrote him and Carla letters this afternoon telling them how much he loved them. Tommy said the letters sounded like he was saying goodbye.

My son is obviously upset as we all are. All I can do is pray with him, hold him and comfort him. I wish I could make this all better. Will you all please, Please, PLEASE pray for Julian and ask God to give him a miracle?

Lord please be with Julian and give him a miracle. Lord, put Your healing hand on him. Be with his surgeons, doctors, nurses and anyone else involved in his care. Give them the wisdom to know exactly the right thing to do. And Lord be with his parents, Jeremy, and other loved ones as they go through this difficult time. Let them feel the comfort of Your Presence. I ask and pray this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen!

Blog Hiatus Is Over

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:19:00 +0000

Welcome Back ME!! I didn't intend to take such a long hitaus from blogging, but I did. Then, we lost our our old blog domain (gabis-world.com). So please note that we have a new address gabisworld.com (no hyphen). So much to catch you all up on if you aren't following us on Facebook. But for now we will just address today and this weekend's walk for Down syndrome.

Gabi Had Surgery On Her Ears Today

Several weeks back, I took Gabi to her ENT. She kept telling me her ears were "broken," and she had a horrible smell coming from her left ear. As expected, she had an infection in her left ear. She was placed on ear drops and oral antibiotics. On her follow up appointment, the infection had cleared, but her right ear had wax that was attached to the ear drum. The attempt to remove this in office failed, and surgery was scheduled for Gabi.

Today was the surgery date. I slept on the couch to prevent Gabi from ruining her nothing by mouth status by waking early and invading the refrigerator and kitchen. She amazingly didn't wake early this morning.

This was this morning as we were getting ready to leave for the hospital.

In the waiting room, Gabi played with a sand box that you move cars and boats with a magnet from underneath and a really neat interactive wall. As you can see in this picture above, Gabi was actually catching the falling projected colors in her arms.

This was preoperatively. They had just given Gabi Versed. It obviously had not taken affect yet.

And this was in the recovery room as she was beginning to wake up.

Unfortunately, the surgery didn't go quite as well as we hoped. We hoped that she would have the right ear cleaned out and find her tubes intact. The tubes were both protruding with granulation tissue. Her ENT said this is what happens when the ears reject the tubes. So the tubes had to be removed. New tubes were not put in at this time. The ENT said the new tubes would reject as well under the current condition of her ears. We have to allow the holes to seal off and pray that fluid does not collect in her ears again. If they do, then she has to have surgery again.

DSSASI 2010 Capabilties Walk and Talent Show (formerly Buddy Walk)

Our walk was this past Saturday. The kids all had fun. We had our family of seven plus Nana and Papa who have been visiting us from South Florida and Ms. Elise (Gabi's teacher) with us to support our wonderful blessing on this special day. Here are a few pics from that day:

Gabi started off with her favorite activity... face painting. They offered her to have a pumpkin, cat or a bat painted on her face, and Gabi said, "I want a ghost!" Well she got what she asked for and ghosts became an option from that point on.

Gabi also visited the Home Depot booth and helped build a bean bag toss game or as known in some areas "corn hole."

Preston played a few games and was excited to tell his sissy that he won her a stuffed animal.

This was during the walk. The boys had all walked ahead while us girls took pictures and talked during the walk.

Appreciating Our Favorite Teacher

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:10:00 +0000

A few years back, when we moved 2 cities over, I was trying to pull a fast one on the school system by not changing Gabi's school. I kept her at the same daycare and was going to have the bus continue to pick her up and drop her off at the daycare like they always did. After all her school had a great reputation for it's special needs classes and I heard horrible things about the schools where we had moved to. Well, I made the mistake of including Gabi's teacher at the time in our plans. I didn't think it would be an issue. After all, she cared just as much for Gabi as we did, right? Wrong! She threw us to the wolves as far as I was concerned. After all, SHE was the one who said all of those bad things about the schools in the city we moved to. I got a call while I was at work from the principal that we either had to pay an incredibly ridiculous tuition to keep Gabi in this "public school" or she could not continue there. I was pregnant with Preston and raging with hormones. I spent the entire day crying my eyes out because I was hurt that her teacher didn't care and that God could allow this to happen. I just knew I was being punished and/or being taught a lesson for lying about our address. I couldn't afford the very expensive "public school" tuition they were requiring and requiring in 2 weeks from then nor did I want her to have to go back to the teacher who pretended to care. I was heartbroken. Anyhow, one of the other nurses I worked with that day had a sister who worked in the schools in the city we moved to (and worked with kids with special needs) and she got her on the phone with me. She helped me to find out which school would be best for Gabi and guided me through the process of how to get her in this school. I spent our entry meeting to the new school system in tears because I was sure my daughter was destined to be doomed and there was nothing I could do about it. During Gabi's 1st day, I met her new teacher and became more comfortable with where she was heading. Within weeks, I was thanking God for this switch! Gabi was doing wonderfully and her new teacher REALLY did care! It was different (in a good way). God had blessed me tremendously (not because I lied). I did however learn a lesson in the process. So it is possible that He is teaching me this lesson and going to give us blessings in the process.

Gabi has had this teacher every year since we moved here and will continue to have her until Gabi enters middle school. Gabi has made huge progress each and every year under her care. Thank you Ms. Elise for loving my daughter and providing her with a nurturing and caring environment to learn. I appreciate your time that you devote to her in and outside of the classroom. You are not only Gabi's teacher, but we also consider you our friend and extended family. Thank you.

Ms. Elise and Gabi during our 2009 Capabilities Walk and Talent Show.

Thank you also to the classroom aides. We love and appreciate you just as much!

Lord help us all when it's time to move Gabi to middle school. I'll be a quivering bundle of nerves. Ms. Elise, sure you don't want to try out middle school for a few years?

Have a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Day!

Milestones

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:33:00 +0000

Many new or expecting parents get a grim prediction of their child or unborn child's future. I am here to tell you that children with Down syndrome do walk, talk, learn, run, jump, read, and many other things we are told they won't do. Gabi learned her first word at 7 months old and today she can carry on conversations and sing. She learned to walk at 2 years and 2 months old and now she can jump, run, and skip. Gabi was potty trained at 6 1/2 years old and this year she helped inspire her little brother to use the potty. I've seen videos of people with Down syndrome who drive and personally seen many, many of them in a work environment. While some of these milestones happen at a later age, they still happen. And ask any parent whose child has delays and they'll tell you the same, you just learn to appreciate and celebrate those milestones even more. And now, at 10 years old, I celebrate a new milestone that Gabi has achieved. Gabi has learned to READ!!!!

Thank you Ms. Elise and your wonderful group and to the wonderful educational websites out there like starfall.com that devote their sites to helping kids read!

Spread The Word to End The Word

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:20:00 +0000

It's that time of year again. It's time to take the pledge, but remember to abstain from the use of the word "retard" or "retarded" all year long (not just during or pleas for respect.) Visit http://r-word.org to take the pledge.

And read my archived post of when "The R-word Hits Home."

Where Do I Start?

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:04:00 +0000

It's been awhile yet again, but we took time out for enjoying my parents visiting for 3 weeks during the holidays. While Nana was here, we did a lot of shopping and redecorating. Jeremy got a new (and much needed) bed and linens.

We surprised him Christmas morning by texting him the above picture since he was in Connecticut visiting his dad, and he texted us back with this pic:

And Gabi got a new bed, too. Once we got started with Gabi's room, we decided to just redo the whole room.

So these are the before pictures:

We had many, MANY holes and dings to fix on the walls, the walls where dirty and the colors were just not as vibrant as they once were. The blinds were broken, and the carpet was dirty.

And these are the After pics:

A new bed, new linens, new blinds, fresh paint, new area rug, cleaned carpet, and a few other added details make her room look great again. And although the bedding is technically "High School Musical," don't tell that to Gabi. The moment she seen it, she declared it a "Kiki room." She is talking about Kiki from The Fresh Beat Band on NickJr.

As you can see, Gabi is more than happy with her new room:

And Just after Nana and Papa left, we had our first big snow storm of the season. Jeremy was happy to just have a day off of school. Gabi and Preston wanted to experience it all. So outside we went.

The first thing Gabi did was take off running in the snow.

Then, they decided it was fun to throw snow at Daddy who was just inside that window there:

Whoops! Guess I should've put a belt on this little girl:

The snow was still falling as we played outside. The most beautiful snowflakes landed on my gloves:

And I had to get them to stop and pose for some pics, too:

And guess what else we tackled during our bloggy absence? Here is the hint:

Just in case some of you haven't figured it out. Here were the clues: Preston is sitting on a pack of toilet paper and wearing underwear. Did you guess? Preston is a big boy now! He was potty trained in 3 days for pee and a week for pooping! Yayyyy Preston! And yay me since I finally don't have to change diapers after a 10 year run at it! Gabi was 6 1/2 when she finally potty trained and Preston was born within a few months of that.

And I am not sure why this happens during the winter, but the Lawn Mower Fear is rearing it's ugly head again. Ugh! And Gabi did so well last year with it!

And what happened to these 2 little kids that featured at the beginning of this blog?

They have both grown up so much since then. Here is how they look today:

Merry Christmas!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Happy 3rd Birthday, Preston!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:53:00 +0000

Preston's Birth Story is here.

Gabi Update

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Gabi's ticks are back. They aren't the same as last time. Now they affect her whole body, and they differ from day to day. Sometimes they look intentional and other times they appear to be involuntary. Her teacher has mentioned them at school several times as well. I had a theory that maybe it was due to lack of sleep. Her melatonin had run out and I was in no hurry to buy more. After a few weeks, we found her up in the middle of the night on the computer, watching TV or playing in her room. The ticks followed soon after. Since that time, she has been getting her melatonin every night and sleeping much better. The ticks still continue though. So next month, I'll be talking to her pediatrician about it during her check up.

Build A Bear

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:35:00 +0000

Here are our long overdue pictures from our visit to Build a Bear back on November 1st for Gabi's birthday:

Arriving at Build a Bear

Once inside we were having so much fun learning how we go about building a bear that I almost forgot I had my camera with me to take pictures.

During the heart ceremony.

Enclosing "Papa Bear's" heart.

Time for a fluff bath.

What is that coming out of there?

Brush time.

Hmmm... what should Papa Bear wear?

Time to get dressed.

Gabi had trouble getting the underwear on the bear. So, I sat down the camera to help. Gabi quickly picked it up and took a picture of me.

Almost done.
How cool is my Papa Bear?

Papa Bear? Are you in there?

My Little Sportacus

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Preston loves wearing his Sportacus costume and dancing to Lazytown when its on. He's so cute and really gets into the motions and mannerisms of Sportacus. Here is one video I took. Of course he usually stops doing most of the stuff every time I pull out my camera.

Not Quiting

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Funny how time slips away so quickly! I can't believe I have gone over a month without so much as an update on this blog! Of course, I can blame it on being sick with bronchitis again or my back that put me out for almost a week or that Ryan's laptop is broke and he's using mine or that Preston uses the computer more than anyone else in this house or Gabi who I find on it when I wake up every morning! Oh I could go on and on, but truth is, I just got lazy about it! And now, my laptop is about to bite the dust, too! I haven't quit though! I love blogging! I love having the memories to look back to! I love having that timeline to help refresh my failing memory. So, next week, look for a long overdue post! And I also hope to visit some of my bloggy friends too that I haven't seen in awhile!

Holy Double Digits, Batman!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:12:00 +0000

Today is a very special day! It's not just the day after Halloween. It's not just the beginning of November. It's not just All Saints Day. It's not even just Gabi's birthday.

It's Gabi's 10th birthday!!!

She's entered the double digits! There is no turning back, but we can reminisce to those earlier days.

Happy Birthday to Mommy's precious girl!

Gabi sang Happy Birthday to herself this morning only she was still calling herself Stephanie (from Lazy Town) because that's what she was for Halloween:

We're headed to Build-a-Bear today to celebrate!

And how about a little bit of yesterday's fun:

Gabi and Preston dressed as Stephanie and Sportacus from Lazy Town!

Thank you Ms. Elise for making Gabi's Stephanie dress! If it wasn't for you, she couldn't have been Stephanie since the costumes didn't come in her size. And you made it PERFECT!

Trick or Treating was a bit chilly so we had to wear jackets.

Preston was thrilled with the Halloween decorations with motion sensors in this lady's yard.

2009 Capabilities Walk & Talent Show (formerly called the Buddy Walk) benefiting Down syndrome

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:05:00 +0000

We had fun at our walk this year. Thanks to all who were able to contribute and/or come out to help raise awareness for Down syndrome. Here are some pics and video from our day.

As soon as Flash The Firedog walked up, Gabi immediately said, "Hi Anthony!" Yep! Her brother Anthony was inside, but not sure how she knew it unless she used the process of elimination.

Gabi was thrilled to see Shrek & Fiona!

Posing with Buddy the dog and Elmo
(who was working with American Red Cross at this event.)

Uh oh! DOG FIGHT!!!

Christopher and Ryan waiting to help teach families about fire safety!

Preston loved seeing "Spiner-nan" (Spiderman)
and even showed him his "Spiner-nan" shoes!

Starting out the door for the walk. Cool temps and light sprinkle at this point.

During the walk: Ms. Elise (Gabi's teacher) and Gabi in front, our niece, Jordan and her boyfriend in the back left side and Kami (Christopher and Anthony's mom) to the back left. We turned back right after this as it began to rain a little harder. No use risking illness.

This was taken just before the kids from the Speech/Music
Therapy class began their performance for the talent show.

Videos of both performances:

This video below cracked me up! I had trouble keeping
the camera still because I was laughing so hard:

Posing with Mark after his Elvis performance.

Gabi getting her participation award for the talent show.

And receiving her participation medallion also.

Showing off her goodies at the end of the festivities.

Does MENSA Need a New Member?

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:54:00 +0000

I am finding it harder and harder to get anytime at all on the computer lately. Preston has become a computer junkie and a computer whiz, but we will get to that in a second. If it weren't for being able to get on Facebook and Twitter via my iPhone, I'd have no updates at all. I just wish Blogger would come up with an app that would be easy enough to post to this blog via iPhone. So, if your looking for more frequent updates, you'll have to add me on Facebook or Twitter.

This Saturday is our local walk to benefit Down syndrome. And like a true procrastinator, I just completed Gabi's poster that will be displayed at the walk:

click image to enlarge

When the walk is over, I will display it on Gabi's closet door. She loves to look at pictures. So this should keep her entertained for quite a while. Check out our fundraising page if you are interested in donating to our local Down syndrome association.

Now back to the computer whiz... Today, Preston wanted to go on YouTube to watch Lazytown videos, only he changed his mind as soon as I got onto the site. He decided he wanted to watch, "Preston." Naturally, I thought maybe he was talking about the videos of him and Gabi in the pool this summer. So, I logged into my YouTube account and discovered that a certain 2 yr old has not only been creating videos on YouTube, but publishing them as well under my account. No one has showed him how to do this. He just figured it out on his own. There were like 10 different videos on there that Preston did. So, of course, I posted some here for you to see just what he does.

Preston shows off his dance moves while Gabi
waves a Wii-mote cover in front of the camera.

So who has the number to MENSA?

Gabi Goes Bowling!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:52:00 +0000

I got an email this week informing me that our local Down syndrome association was going to start a bowling league. Usually we aren't able to go to a lot of the events because of me working nights every weekend. This time was different. It was going to be held on a Sunday! While the time meant I would only get 2 hours of sleep, it was worth it to see Gabi's excitement as she bowled!

Look at the nervous fingers behind her back.

She becomes airborne celebrating knocking down some pins!

She was great a rooting on the whole team!

My favorite part of the day was when Gabi said to me,
"Mommy, that says, 'Way to go!'" She actually read the board!!!

While Gabi never got a strike at least she got a spare!

Look at that bowler's form!

And look who won Game 3!!!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ Terrible Twos

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:05:00 +0000

Preston has a very serious case of the terrible twos! This kid is NONSTOP!! Yikes! I know it's a cliche' but I really, REALLY wish I could bottle his energy! Of course, last week, he did cause a plumbing mishap (which is totally worth reading... it's short and funny at our expense!) Real quick, I'll give you the update regarding that. Daddy removed the toilet gagging and puking the whole time with Preston standing in the doorway saying "Daddy wud you dewwing?" Then, Anthony, comes around the corner asking, "Dad, what are you doing?" To which Preston decided to answer for him by saying, "He doing (insert wretching sounds)!" It was hilarious! But a moment later, I heard Preston exclaim, "Daddy! You founda da phone!"

Okay so back to today! Preston's halloween costume came in a couple weeks back and I tried it on him today. Preston immediately transformed into Sportacus in looks, but less in acrobatic skills although he did try:

Of course, it was bound to happen and little Sportacus eventually fell flat on his face and bloodied his little nose:

But that still didn't stop him. After a good cry and a wiping of his nose he was back to his acrobatic stunts. Only a couple hours later, now out of costume, Preston tried his hand at artistry while Mommy went potty:

Did I mention there is a toddler for sale real cheap?

Don't Make Him Talk To Daddy!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:14:00 +0000

Today, Preston was playing with a toy cell phone and wanted me play with him. I was busy, but took the phone anyhow and pretended to talk to Daddy on the other end. I handed the phone over and said "Here Daddy wants to talk to you!" He grabbed the phone and responded with "I no wanna talka ta daddy" and ran in the other room. He came back a moment later empty handed and grabbed a page from Gabi's scrapbook and one of Gabi's socks and ran back. I heard a flush and ran to the bathroom to see the page and sock stuck in the toilet! I grabbed them out quickly thinking I saved the day! Only Preston looks at me and then looked into the toilet and said, "Where da phone? Phoooonnnee? Where are youuu?" and shrugged his shoulders...

Hmmmm... Are you thinking the phone is where I am thinking the phone is?

(and our toilet is clogged!)

Getting It

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:09:00 +0000

I wrote a letter to Gabi's teacher tonight that I thought I would share with all of you. First let me give you a little background information that will help you to understand some of the content. Our household has been sick the last couple weeks. Everyone but me has been majorly sick (Preston was the worst.) Gabi has a communication paper sent back and forth to school for her teacher and I to keep communication about pertinent information regarding anything going on with her. Today's message from her teacher said, "She had a rocky start with hitting Ms. Carrie. She settled down and was great."

Hi!

I wanted to tell you about Gabi, but it was too long to put on the communication paper. We went back to Awana tonight after being off for 2 weeks with sicknesses. I spoke to her prior to going because her Smilemaker (aide for those with special needs) mentioned last time we were there that she wasn't trying to participate and was wanting to go off on her own to play. I just reminded her that she needed to listen and she needed to do work too. I noticed that her Smilemaker wasn't there and it was already time for class to start. The Awana teacher seemed comfortable enough with Gabi so I left her in class and went to take Preston to his.

Preston totally flipped out screaming, crying and clinching my neck with a death grip. I tried to stay in the class with him until he calmed, but it was obvious that he was making it worse for the others in the class. I went ahead and took him back out to the lobby where he calmed down. Once calmed he was wrecking havoc all over the place and even ran out the door, through the parking lot, and to the van once. I was very tempted to just pull Gabi out of Awana and all go home. It was a waste of a night anyhow, right? Preston didn't make it to his class, I wasn't going to make it to worship or my class, and Gabi's smilemaker wasn't there! I figured I'd probably be doing her teacher a favor by pulling her out. Preston ran up to her class once, but they were out of the room. I decided to just wait it out with Preston until Gabi's class returned.

Gabi's class didn't return until pick up time. They were in Kid's Church. I seen Gabi in line coming down the hall with her class and knowing in my head that the moment she spotted me she was gonna dash out of line straight for me like she always does. I noticed when her eyes met me and I just held up my hand to let her know not to run. You could see she wanted to but resisted the urge and continued to walk in line back into her class. Once her teacher finished counting all of the kids and all were accounted for, he turned to me and said, "Gabi had a wonderful day! Her smilemaker wasn't here, but she participated well, played games with the class and even won the first game!" I was so happy that she did so well especially since I underestimated her. I gave her a hug and told her how proud I was of her.

We began to walk out and I could tell that Preston was gonna make a mad dash for the parking lot again. So, I swooped him up and carried him out. This made him mad, and he started kicking, screaming, biting, scratching and pinching! I was thoroughly embarrassed by his behavior. I offered to let him down if he held my hand, but he just kept saying, "I no wanna hold your hand!" I knew he wouldn't anyhow. The screaming fit continued all the way to the van, while I buckled him and all the way home! Yes he's feeling much better now!

Anyhow, I tell you this because even a minute of Preston doing this sends Gabi into meltdown mode! She walked calmly to the van, got in, put her seat belt on and resisted any inkling of meltdown until we were about 3/4 of the way home. She let out a little scream which I quickly addressed with, "Gabi you have been a very good girl and Preston is not being very good." She stopped and continued to hold her composure the rest of the way home. Once I got Preston to bed, I came back to Gabi's room to get her to bed. I held her and told her again how proud I was and how happy she made me. She said, "Mommy's happy, but Carrie's angry." I asked, "Is it because you hit Ms. Carrie today?" She nodded. "Don't hit anymore, and make sure you tell Ms. Carrie you are sorry, okay?" She nodded again. I was surprised that she even remembered it or mentioned it. I hadn't even talked to her about it yet!

She's growing up, and she's actually "getting it!" I remember the days when I would ask with great frustration, "When is she gonna just 'get it?'" Some days, I wondered if it would ever happen. I just thought I'd share this with you because of the progress she is showing.

Shannon

Most moms and dads of a child with Special Needs know what I mean about "getting it." I have heard many parents in frustration wonder if their child will ever "get it." The best way to describe it to others who may not understand "getting it" is like an understanding, the ability to connect the pieces, being able to understand the cause and effect or even a negotiation or reasoning.

Holiday Road ~ Orlando Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:05:00 +0000

Yikes! Totally didn't mean to let so much time pass before posting more about our vacation this summer, but life happens! If you missed the first post of our vacation, you can find that here. So here we go with the rest of our time in Orlando:

Day 2 in Orlando we headed to Islands of Adventure.

Hitching a ride on big brother's shoulders, Preston and Jeremy
entered the park along with the rest of our family.

While waiting for some friends, I took the opportunity to make one
of my many Twitter/Facebook updates of the trip.

Nana and Gabi pose for a picture.

My husband's best friend from High School (also named Jeremy),
his wife, Melanie and their children were with us at the park. And
no we didn't plan for the girls to wear purple and the guys to wear
blueish/green tops... it just happened that way.

Gabi giving a playful pose with one of the shows performers.
This guy was totally in love with Gabi and her enthusiasm to join in.

I tried to get a good picture of Gabi with Thing 1 and Thing 2,
but they were being the menaces they are and wouldn't stop
tickling her! You can't see their grubby little paws, but trust
me they both were tickling her sides.

I took this picture of what my husband calls the best
rollercoaster ride ever... The Hulk!

Day 3, we spent at Downtown Disney MarketPlace.

First, we stopped for lunch at a prehistoric-themed restaurant
called T-Rex. I had to literally drag Gabi through the door.
Maybe because a life size T-Rex that was greeting us at the door.
It also moved and made sounds as well. It's hard to convince
her that it's not real when it certainly looks real!

We were seated under the ice caves which were changing colors
from blue to red all of the time. It was certainly beautiful as
you can see. And the food was fantastic!

One of my favorite pictures of our vacation was this one taken
of me and my husband at the restaurant.

Here's Nana and Jeremy.

And Gabi and Nana.

Anthony and Christopher.

After lunch, we traveled around Downtown Disney and were
amazed by the Lego sculptures. This one is of a Loch Ness type
of monster in the water. All made of Legos.

The guys checking out more of the Lego creations.

I wanted Gabi to pose with the Lego tourist family, but she had
other plans. She was a little moody and not quite wanting to
cooperate. So I settled for the "Where's Gabi?" pose. If you haven't
found her yet, she is directly behind the boy with the black
shirt that is walking the dogs.

She was happy to see the princesses, but still not eager to cooperate yet.

By the second princess, we started to get a smile.

Next, we went shopping. Preston was thrilled to find Nemo!

For Gabi we looked at dress-up outfits...

and dolls...

and even funny headbands...
But we finally settled on a talking Nemo for Preston and A talking
Dori and colorful bracelet for Gabi.

Then we found Buzz Lightyear...

and Mr. Potato Head...

and finally the highlight of the day was when the little ones went
to play in the dancing fountains.

I loved watching them play.

and Preston flirted with the girls. Here he was showing off his
water catching moves to this little girl who was totally thrilled.

That night we had dinner at Old Town. There we met up with
Jeremy's Mima, Papi, and Titi Jennie.

Day 4, we went to Universal Studios.

Ryan and I and our 5 kids and Nana in front of the Universal Globe.

This day, we decided to let the boys (minus Preston) go off on
their own while the rest of us went to enjoy the stuff that the
younger ones would enjoy more. So we went to see Donkey...

and Shrek and Fiona...
Before we left, Gabi gave Shrek a kiss on the cheek!

We waited in line to see the lion and penguins from Madagascar.
And the kids were so thrilled by their presence that they wouldn't
even turn around to pose for a picture!

However we did get a pose with SpongeBob Squarepants!

Water play in the hot Florida sun is a necessity if you want to have fun.

Day 5, we packed (or crammed) up the van (with all 8 of us)
and headed south to my hometown of Homestead, Florida!

More Holiday Road to come...

It's Time...

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:31:00 +0000

It's time to retire the cute little phrase at the bottom of this onsie...

It's time to buy the proper equipment...

It's time to pull out the big boy pants...

It's time for POTTY TRAINING BOOT CAMP!!!

And it's also time to end the 10 years of diaper changing. Gabi was finally fully potty trained at 6 1/2 years old... just a few months before Preston was born. We are serious. Ryan and I have become determined. Hopefully, Preston is ready. Lately, he's been removing his soiled diaper as soon as he's done the deed, and he sits himself on the potty. It's so cute because as soon as he sits down, he makes grunting sounds, looks into the potty, shrugs his shoulders, and says, "It's not working."

I'd love any wise words of wisdom anyone has for us to make this a successful transition!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ Halloween Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:16:00 +0000

I've been watching Gabi and Preston lately when they watch LazyTown and realized that the characters in it would be perfect for Halloween costumes.

Gabi will be Stephanie:

Preston will be Sportacus:

And I tried to get Jeremy to be Robbie Rotten, but he wasn't going for it. He said I would have to pay him $100 to do it. Suddenly today, that became $200 when he remembered that Robbie Rotten wears tight-like pants. This is what he would have looked like as Robbie Rotten:

Personally, I can't wait to see Preston in the Sportacus mustache. I think they will both be thrilled when they realize that is what I am planning.

It's Finally The 1st Day of School!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Jeremy, the 11th grader.

Gabi, the 4th grader.

And Preston, the disappointed one since
his playmates all went to school.

Dad & Jeremy Update

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:24:00 +0000

My dad was just discharged about an hour ago from the hospital. All of his tests have come back negative (except the cardiac enzymes). The cardiologist believes that the cardiac enzymes were a false positive. He said that since my dad has already had heart attacks and experienced some pretty violent vomiting that it can release some enzymes from the already damaged portion of his heart. They believe it to be this because the elevation was only slight. Thank you for your prayers!

And Jeremy is doing so well that he went to the movies with some friends today.

Jeremy's Surgery & More Prayers Needed

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon @ Gabi's World) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Jeremy's oral surgery: I always hear that the younger you are having your wisdom teeth out, the easier it is. I am not so convinced anymore. I did far better than Jeremy did. When we first came home, he was right in the bathroom vomiting. I called the surgeon's office and asked if I could give him one of my Phenergan tablets that I had here for when my migraines make me nauseated. They said that would be fine. Thank God it was just a one time thing. Then the pain got worse and worse as the numbing wore off. It was tough watching my son in so much pain. The first pain medication he was on wasn't helping his pain at all. He was getting more and more apprehensive as the time went on. I called the surgeon's office again, and they switched his pain medication. He finally fell asleep and slept a few hours. I kept checking on him periodically. It's probably a habit from being a nurse. I would wake him and ask him if he was okay and make sure he wasn't over medicated. By 10 pm, he had significantly improved, and by this morning, he was even better than that. I resisted any picture taking and videoing, too! This morning he looks like a chipmunk. His pain is now tolerable, and his need for any pain medication is getting further and further apart.

More Prayers: Tonight, my father is being admitted to hospital. He has been having nausea and vomiting for days and back pain. They ran blood work and found his cardiac enzymes were elevated. This means he had another heart attack. They are doing a cardiac characterization in the morning. Please keep him in your prayers.