New Pics...

Halloween Pics, etc.

I'm a little behind, but here are some pics of my little chicken and cat. :) They were both sick and a little cranky. Dasha perked up once we got outside and she saw all of the other kids in costumes. John Paul started to melt down. He really liked it last year, but wasn't into it this year. I think it was a combination of feeling cruddy and we made the mistake of hitting up the houses around the playground area. I think he was really confused about why we were outside in the dark walking around the playground and no one would let him play. :( Well, we were on the sidewalk. In front of our house it is set up like a square with the playground and tennis courts in the middle. So we actually weren't torturing him intentionally. Next year, we'll know better. Anyway, that explains why there are more pics of Dasha. After we got back in the house he wanted something to drink and then wanted to go upstairs to get his bath. He was ready to go to bed. He was done with Halloween! lol! Poor little guy! Dasha went after the candy bag. She was very interested in what people were putting in her bag the whole time. And she went after it as soon as she got back home. The pics are listed with the last pictures taken being posted first. They'll make more sense if you look from the bottom up. It looks like Dasha really ate a lot of candy, but really she just bit each piece outside the wrapper (to claim it maybe? lol!) and then ate one mini sized 3 musketeers. The funny thing is that after she ate it she reached down and grabbed the same candybar and bit it from the outside of the wrapper. I guess she liked her first candybar! lol! I posted a few pics of John Paul from over the summer because I didn't get as many pics of him at Halloween. I have so many pics that I need to get on here of both kids!


Sweet Angel!



Had to sneak this one in. It was 4th of July and she found this flag on her own. Well, she swiped it from a plant that it was stuck in.

What? Don't disrupt a boy who is digging!
Halloween...Start from the last pic and work back up to this last one. Sorry, no time to rearrange them.

Dasha Walking

Here's a quick clip of Dasha taking some steps! She started Pre-K on Tues. and really seems to enjoy it. John Paul is being a great big brother at school. They are in the same class. Dasha is taking her new walker with her to school and JP has been bringing her walker back to her when she gets away from it. How sweet is that?

I have her using the walker so that she does not have to be in a stroller at school and also so that she can get used to the idea of walking every where rather than crawling. It has really seemed to do the trick! She has been taking steps all around the house today. I'll get some pictures of her with her walker taken and posted soon. She looks so adorable walking into the school with her walker and backpack on her back. She made quite a scene on her first day. The older kids were swarming her in the hallway and watching and smiling at her. She loved the freedom of being able to walk and also to be able to go in the school like JP does. She was screaming with excitement and laughing the entire way back to her class. And JP was really excited about having her go to school with him. I told him before we left our house that Dasha would be going to school with him today and she would be in his class. When we got out at the school one of the teachers was trying to get JP to go with the rest of the class. Dasha was behind a little bit because she was moving slower. He wouldn't go and went back to Dasha to make sure she was coming. He really loves his sister and you couldn't ask for a better big brother. Well, maybe minus some of the W.W.F. moves he tries on her some times. He had her in a head lock a few days ago. He's definitely getting more independent and acting like a boy! lol! I'm still not sure where he has picked it up from. Dasha is tough though. I guess it's from her Yolotchka training. lol!

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The Latest Scoop and Pics

I know it has been a really long time since an update and I apologize for those of you that have been waiting. I am also grateful for your patience in continuing to check in on us. Things have been going good. I unfortunately don't have their birthday pics to put on right now. I have misplaced the CD and will have to get a new one from my mom. However, I do have some summer pics that I will add below the post.

John Paul is back in Pre-K and is loving it. He has missed two days this week though because he and Dasha have both been sick. I will send him back tomorrow though as it will have been over 24 hours since he ran a fever. They both still have some nasty lingering congestion. Dasha had to go to the E.R. again on Sunday because of labored breathing. This happened once before right after she came home. Any time she gets a cold I am on pins and needles watching and checking for fevers and rapid breathing. She was a preemie and has some lung issues and is prone to pneumonia. We are hopeful that this will get better as she gets older. Anyway, this time we were told that it was not pneumonia. They said it appeared to be something viral and she did have a lot of congestion in her lungs. It's difficult to tell when she has congestion because she doesn't cough and with her nose running so much I figured it was coming out of her nose and not going down her throat to make her cough. The whole ordeal was scary because when she took went down for her nap she was fine, but when I went to get her up she was breathing heavily. By the time she got to the E.R. she was wheezing badly and her chest was sinking in with each breath. They gave her a breathing treatment, some antibiotics, and some steroids. She seems to be feeling a lot better now, but she still isn't 100%.

I have decided to send her to Pre-K as she turned three in May and is old enough to go. Initially I was scared that it might be dangerous for her because she was so small and not walking. But she has really grown since Feb. and I think she will really benefit from being in school. Also, it is the only year that she and John Paul will be able to be in the same class together. Here's the big news...she has started to take some steps! She took eight steps last night!!! That has had me on cloud nine ever since. :) She's going to need some support to really get going though. We had her hips x-rayed and she does have some slight dysplasia. The doctor doesn't feel it is significant enough right now to require any treatment. She wants to monitor her and check back in six months. She's hoping that as Dasha starts walking that it will improve. She also gave us a prescription for SMOS and I am really excited that we will be getting those for her soon! The PT didn't want them for her because she felt she might become dependent on them. Chloe rolled one ankle and had SMOS, but I have never seen anything like what Dasha does. She literally stands on her ankles and her little feet turn out like a duck. The orthopedic surgeon felt like Dasha not having the SMOS was only keeping her from being able to walk. Hopefully she will be able to wear them to get going and her feet will improve when she does. Between her hips and ankles it has been an obstacle for her to walk. I'm so proud of her that she has started taking steps in spite of it all. She's a very determined little girl! :)

She is doing quite a few signs. She is a dancing, signing queen! Her favorite is "eat". She loves to eat! lol! She knows the following now...eat, drink, milk, cat, baby, mama, daddy, stand up, banana, cracker, cereal, all done, potty, car, bird, juice, water, bath, wash hands, more, and hat. I think that's all of them. John Paul has gotten a lot better with signing now from watching Dasha. She has really helped his communication skills a lot. And he has really helped her physically. They both want to do what the other is doing and they mimic each other a lot. They are so wonderful for each other! They really love each other too. Some times when I am driving I look in the rear view mirror and they are holding hands or one is rubbing the others arm. So sweet! And JP is such a good big brother. He is always trying to help Dasha do things. :)

John Paul has started to bite and chew some!!! Some days he will totally refuse to bite or chew, but other days he does good and doesn't protest as much. And a few times he has found it all to be funny and cooperated. lol! So far he has chewed banana, gummy dinosaurs, cheerios, and a grape! I cried and cried the first time he bit the banana and chewed it. That has been about a month ago. It has taken so long and we have both tried so hard to get to that point. It was definitely a moment to rejoice!! I'm so proud of him! I mentioned he has gotten more verbal. He has said, "bye", "yeah", "no", "bud (for bird)" "mama", "nana", and "da". I think he might be trying to say Dasha.

I guess that is about it for now. I'll be adding more recent pictures. These are from April to June.

JP checking out Dasha eating Cheerios. He had already eaten btw.

And then he noticed the camera. lol!
I walked out of the kitchen to find this, Dasha asleep using the laptop as a pillow.
John Paul decided to imitate her and get his picture taken too. Aww! :)

JP and Dasha sleeping at my brother's house during a NC visit.
This pic is dark, but so sweet.This was the next morning. This is the back of Dasha's hair. I took it after she came over to the couch to harass me (I mean make sure I was awake).

So, mommy is awake. Time to wake John Paul up. And how does she do this? By pouncing on him. Poor John Paul.
John Paul says, "What just happened?" Dasha says, "mission accomplished."

John Paul looks like he is thinking, "Why was that necessary?"Guess I'll get up.

Sweet angel face
Speaking of sweet angels.
Dasha signing mama.
Dasha signing daddy. She signs it off the top of her head instead of her forehead. Too cute.


In April or May at my brother's house




In May at the Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival in Harper's Ferry, WV
John Paul is watching the Blue Grass band that was playing.

Rick carrying JP off from the Bluegrass band. He had been dancing, but it was time to go home.

Same festival - smiling sweetie