Day 7 of the new contact, rating = cautiously optimistic

And the march of the contact continues. We have been able to get the contact installed in Kate’s eye in less than 15 minutes 6 of the 7 days. We will update you again after her check up with the Eye Doctor on Friday.

New professional portraits — 2009

Each year we take a set of professional portraits of the kids and we just got this year’s set today. It was hard to choose but here are my two favorites from this round.

  

Day 4 of the new contact, rating = good

 

Day 3 (the 4th of July) began as a very dramatic and difficult day with the contact. Kate and I weren’t successful, we were in fact quite disheartened by how bad the morning went after Day 2’s lack of issues, but Auntie Amy came to the rescue in the evening and turned us back around.

We carried that good will into day 4 and had another “relatively” easy time getting the contact in Kate’s eye this morning. My current definition of easy being 10 minutes or less and no melt downs by either Kate or myself. The hardest part to date has been trying to figure out how to get the contact to “let go” of my finger and even Aunt Amy was having the same issue, so at this point we’re just hoping things turn around magically.

The good part to all of this is once Kate is in the contact, she is having no issues at all. So when we’re ready to do the next round of patching therapy we should have a good chance to get the last bit of development we need.

So here is Kate showing off the puzzle we finished this morning that she and Bapa started at the birthday party last night. 200 pieces, all work completed in the contact.

Your continued wishes of good luck are keeping us going, thank you for the support!

4th of July 2009

The birth of the nation and Pete, Gma Roo, Kate, and Grammie’s birthdays. The 4th of July is never quiet with all the fireworks going on but it also is the heart of birthday season for this family. The gorgeous weather we’ve been experiencing was almost too good, or at least too hot, but we did start out the celebrations outside in the sun.

  

Then we retired inside to the air conditioning to open presents before dinner. Here is the birthday crew: Karen, Kate, Pete, and Roo.

This year we got to grill shish kebab and marinated flank steak on Pete’s new high power gas grill–loving it! While we were waiting for food to arrive Kate and Jake hung out and Bapa and Kate started work on Kate’s new puzzle.

     

Happy 4th of July everyone from Pete, Kate, Jake, and Candice.

Day 2 of the new contact

Just a quick update… We went back to the eye doctor yesterday to pick up Kate’s new contact, which makes today my first time putting it in her eye. Let’s just say we’re still learning but it only took us 10 minutes to get the new contact in her eye today. YEAH!!! Kate and I high fived for a few minutes after that.

Happy 6th Birthday Kate

Today is the 6th anniversary of my dear Kate’s birth. I truly can’t believe it’s already been six years but all the indicators are there: she’s over 4 feet tall, she will start 1st grade this fall, and of course the fact that she’s already acting like a teenager means she’s not a toddler anymore.

This year we let Kate choose her party locale and she selected Chuck E. Cheese without hesitation–much to my dismay… Pete and Kate adore Chuck E. Cheese but it just gives me a headache. While that hasn’t changed I do have a brand new respect for Chuck E. Cheese as a business. Their customer service is spectacular and they really know how to put on a party and make it all work. Anyhow, Kate invited her classmates and the usual crew and had just a wonderful time.

Here are Kate and Auntie Tricia waiting for her guests to arrive.

And a couple shots of Kate’s friends enjoying themselves on the games. First are Mina and Neha playing a game with Yvette looking on. Then Kendal and Blake in the play house.

  

Then you have Kate showing Jake how it’s done.

 

And finally a shot of the whole crew waiting for Chuck E. Cheese to arrive.

Mini-Pete strikes again

Jacob and Kate have definitely both picked up Pete’s need for order and honoring the linear. The first time I got great photographic evidence was back in the January Mini Pete post but Jake gave me an even better show last night. Again I gave him a completely disorganized pile of crackers and I returned to find this. Please note the devious smile lurking behind the sippy cup.

Then I turned away to get some more of Kate’s dinner put together and I come back to this. I’m thinking the devious smile may have been because he was plotting phase 2. So pleased with himself!!!!

  

The Bad Contact and a White Flag

OK everyone, the surrender is full and official. While Kate was an absolute champion of patience in the 5 days we spent trying to get used to her contacts (I say “we” because while Kate had to wear them, mommy had to figure out how to get them in her eye), we declared a unilateral cessation of hostilities. The contact was just too big and I could never figure out what it was that I did right when I got it in her eye after 40 minutes of struggling and doing the same thing over and over.

So yesterday I called Kate’s ophthalmologist’s office and told them unless they wanted to move in with us we had to come up with another solution. This Thursday we will be getting Kate’s new, smaller contact and trying that out for a bit. We’ll let you know how it goes.

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

Day 4 of Kate’s new contact. Not “contacts” as she only wears one in her left eye. Yes oh yes friends and family, little Miss Kate at the tender age of 5 is attempting to move into contacts and no more glasses.

Kate has been absolutely amazing. Aunt Amy can swear by the fact that Kate’s contact is huge, an issue we believe is tied to the fact that she has a stigmatism. Since Kate’s eyes are small, getting the contact in is an extreme exercise of patience and determination. My daughter has not only kept up with repeated sessions of at least 20 minutes to get the contact in her eye but she is determined to learn how to get it back out on her own. I am in awe of her patience, her spirit, and her positive attitude. Here’s the Amazing Kate, contact in place.

 

We’ll keep you informed on her progress. And just in case you’re still curious about the post title, here is the Simpsons video clip for reference.

Jacob is prepping for Mt Everest

J-Dizzle (a name Jake is actually answering to these days) is prepping for his destiny… Summiting Mt Everest. Now any of you who’ve heard me talk about my hopes and dreams for my children’s futures will be sitting there saying “What in the world is going on and when did Candice’s overachieving tendencies finally kick the dickens out of her id and let the super ego take over?” OK, maybe not, but you might be thinking something along the lines of “I thought Candice just wanted her kids to grow up healthy, happy, and self-assured.” I promise I am still only concerned with my children knowing that they are loved and that I will support them in following their passions, which is where Everest comes in.

My son climbs everything.

The couch, the counters, chairs, desks, walls… There is no end to what he wants to summit. I’m thinking an apprenticeship with Joe may be in order. But in the meantime, please enjoy some pics of Jacob on one of his many new favorite perches.