Happy Belated Thanksgiving

This past week/weekend was full of fun, family and fantastic food. However, there have been a few bumps in the road, hence the late post. Up first, the need to replace the brake pads on the Tahoe. Thank goodness I had the good sense to get an oil change and have the brakes checked before we left for Florida. I knew there was a reason I could hear them while backing out the driveway. Next up, the extra long drive home from Florida. Not really unexpected, but not welcome either. Delilah is usually a great little traveler, but I65 on Sunday was really pushing her limits. Finally, the straw that broke the camels back, was returning home to the power going out. Seems to happen everytime we return home from a trip. However, this time it wasn't the power company (who was very rude to me in my distressed state). Apparently the main breaker was fried. How? No idea. Even the electrician was stumped. He says we were lucky it didn't cause a fire (silver lining). As I type this it doesn't seem very dramatic, but I was a bit of a stress ball with it all.

On to what you have been waiting on, news on little miss Delilah. She is absolutely amazing, as usual. She really enjoyed her time with family. She is always treated like the little princess she is. Which is to say, she gets spoiled rotten. One major event of note, Delilah said her first, clear three word phrase/sentence. It happened when we put her up on a horse with her Aunt Danielle. She said, "I want down." Clear as day. Multiple times. I was elated. 

A quick pic on the horse. 

Since then, I feel liked am hearing more and more multiple word phrases, like "I want milk". It's really really nice. 

Thanksgiving was a great day. We spent it at Grandma and Grandpa Barrow's house. The food was great. I really could eat Thanksgiving dinner every day. So good. While we were waiting for dinner, Delilah, my mom and I went outside to expel some energy. Delilah loves her Nana. She kept running and jumping into her arms. It was adorable. It also helped wear her out a little. She nearly fell asleep eating the stuffing! 

On Friday we went to spend the weekend with Janet. Delilah had a blast sitting on the deck watching the water. We learned she likes Smoked Tuna Dip, a favorite of mine. Also, she isn't a fan of spicy food. We had a shrimp boil Saturday night, which had a bit of a kick to it. She bit into her corn on the cob and immediately put it down. Her nose started running and she was scraping her tongue. (I promise I didnt think it was that hot. Lesson learned.) She was fine once we made her some new, non spicy corn. 

Now that we are home, and no new major issues seem to have creeped up (knocking on wood), we are getting excited for John's return home. He should be home sometime tomorrow evening and we can't wait. Now to just get the house in order. Once he gets home, I will finally be able to get the Christmas decoration out of the attic and put up.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Growing too fast!

Two days ago, Delilah climbed out of her crib for the first time. Actually, she kind of fell out of it. At least, that is what I assume, considering the big thump I heard coming from her room. I thought she had just thrown her baby dolls out, but then I heard her banging on the door. I cannot say I was excited about this new development. All I could picture was nap time flying out the window, and bedtime becoming a struggle.

Instead if immediately taking the front bars off her crib, I decided to wait and see if she would do it again. I was hoping the fall would deter her from doing it again. That night and the next day and night she didn't climb out. I was sighing with relief. Until today, that is.

Little girl has climbed out of her crib not once, not twice, but three times during nap. Oh no! Looks like she will be graduating to a toddler bed now. Hopefully night time won't be such too difficult.

On a completely different note, the other day, my friend, Lindy, and I took our two little princesses out for some photos. We both needed to get some good shots out Christmas cards, and it is always fun to get Addie and Delilah together. Let me just say, the photos turned out ADORABLE! The girls were much more cooperative then we even imagined. Apparently the secret weapon is lipgloss. Who knew? I am dying to show you all the pics, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Once the cards are mailed, I will post all the cuteness. Until then, here is a tease.

Planning for the Future

This past Tuesday I was fortunate enough to attend a Parent Seminar put on by The Bell Center. This particular seminar focused on financial planning for your child with special needs. I am so glad I went. I had no idea how complex planning for the future really is. I really wish more parents would have attended.

One of the biggest pieces of information I learned (in my opinion) is how it is a bad idea to leave anything in the child, with special needs, name. Actually it isn't just a bad idea. It is a terrible, no good, very bad, don't you dare do it idea. Why? Well, if the said child (hopefully adult by then) has $1 more than $2000 in assets, they are disqualified from government assistance. As in no Medicare or Social Security, no government assistance with group housing, transportation, etc. Nothing. Nada. Trust me, we don't want that.

You may be wondering (or not) what qualifies as an asset. Pretty much anything with a cash value; examples include car, house, savings bond, cash, etc. It's just a good idea to assume that nothing, absolutely nothing should be left in the child's name. Instead, it should be left for the child, in a Special Needs Trust.

Which leads me to my next bit of new information, the Special Needs Trust. I had never heard of this before. Not surprising, considering I've never really considered the future. Instead of leaving insurance, money, etc in the child's name, we will set up a Special Needs Trust to be managed on her behalf. The trust will then be able to provide extra care and support beyond that which will provided by the local, state and governmental programs.

The above just touches on a couple of things I learned in the Seminar. Once John returns from Maine, and we get back into the swing of things, we will be sitting down with some professionals (Attorney and Financial Planner, specializing in Special Needs) and mapping out a plan. I'm so glad I learned of all this now, so that we can begin to get the ball rolling. As we all know, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I want to make sure Delilah had the best possible life, even when we aren't around.

Testing

I think I have finally found an app for my iPad that will let me write and publish blog posts. This is a test post to see if it works. I'm hoping this app will help me post more often.
Here is a pic of D, as no post is complete without one. I took this pic to try out my new Camera Connection Kit for the iPad and an editing app called Photoforge2. It allows me to do some simple edits and work in layers, which is how I was able to add a watermark.

The combination of these apps should help me update my blogs more frequently. Having it all available on my very portable iPad means I can now work on posts while D is in school.
Please check out my new blog if you have a minute. Creations By Kera.

Audrey Hepburn

As you all know, yesterday was Halloween. You also know that I live for the opportunity to dress up Delilah. This Halloween was no exception. Before I show you the pics, let me take a moment to tell you how this costume came to be. I had every intention of making a Peacock costume for Delilah. I had already ordered the feathers and was, quite literally, about to walk out the door to buy the remaining supplies. Then I went on Pinterest, which happens to be my obsession. It was like fate. As I scrolled through recent Pins I came across the most adorable Mini Audrey Hepburn costume I had ever seen. My jaw hit my desk. My Mother-In-Law, Deanie, happened to be in town (and a fellow Audrey super fan). When I showed her we both knew it was meant to be. Delilah was definitely going to be Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly). This may be my last year I get to choose the costume. Might as well go out with a bang!

Without further adieu, I present Audrey Hepburn. ***WARNING: The cuteness is at a dangerous level.***

The coach bag was her Trick or Treat bag. Couldn't let it clash with her outfit!

An outtake, but I couldn't resist posting. She wasn't thrilled Jenn walked away.