Back To School

Cade loves school. He will be in the PPCD program again this year because he doesn't turn 5 until December. At meet the teacher night (he has Mrs. Tate again, very helpful for us!) he was so glad to be back in his classroom. He was jumping around and making himself right at home. He couldn't wait to get back on his bus.Not very flattering early morning pics of Dad, Callie and I but Cade looks like his fresh and chipper self. Of course Callie is in her Christmas pajamas. She alternates between two and is devastated when her "santa jamies" are in the dirty laundry.
Callie was the only one more excited than Cade to wait for the bus. She has been asking us for weeks "Tade get on bus? I sit on the rock and put Tade on the bus?" She loves him.


He did have a hiccup his first day back. His afternoon bus takes him to his daycare. He has never done that and we have always picked him up. Well the daycare called me 30 min. after he was supposed to arrive to inform me he wasn't there. I drove there, called everyone I could think of several times over. To make a long story short, they had the wrong address for his daycare and he rode the bus for TWO hours until they finally figured it out. I was a stressed out mess imagining my little clueless boy lost in this big world. But Cade was all smiles and rested up from his big fat nap on his bus ride. Nothing phases him, which has it's advantages and disadvantages. It should all be figured out now and if it happens again, I will be calling the evening news.

"NO TAKE MY PICTURE!"

And this is what a grouch Callie is if you wake her up too early. I have no idea where she gets this from...

My Little Photographer

Posing with her mouth full...Taking my picture, and then she flips the camera around, as if it's digital, and says "look mom, there's you, and there's Em." I always show her the picture afterward so she will keep posing!

Dancing Fools

Amy's sister-in-law Becky got married this past weekend. It was a fun wedding and the kids were adorable. They couldn't stop dancing. Emily's got the dancing down, now she needs to work on her flower girl skills.
Cade just wouldn't cooperate and dance with Callie.


Yes I know another pony tail for mom... It is hard getting so many people ready!
Each kid got to dance with Grandma and Grandpa.
Just can't stop dancing.... The YMCA was on, they learned it quickly.
Water break
Em couldn't get enough of the cake and mints.
They are always helping each other out.



The cake was really good. Congrats Becky and Sony!

Aren't They Precious???

They are both way too independent and stubborn for their own good. Emily would only hold Callie's hand as we walked around the park.
As always, riding the train. Someone tried to tell us how to place the kids on the train, as if we haven't rode before. Lady, we have passes. And the only person who has rode more than us is the conductor.

Looking everywhere but at the camera.

Bath Time Beauty Shop

Bedtime = story time = jump on the bed time = one fell off and bumped their head time

The Moment I Have Been Waiting For

My kids do not watch TV at all. And it's not because I'm some super parent that doesn't allow it. Nope not me. I would give anything to be able to clean up my kitchen while they caught an episode of Dora. Cade has NO interest in TV and Callie will sit through the theme song. Today, they sat for five whole minutes!

Surgery Number... Oh I Don't Know

Cade's ENT felt that now would be a good time to begin closing Cade's tracheostomy hole in his neck. The first in the series of two surgeries is to removed the skin tract on the inside. It seriously annoys me that this particular doctor doesn't operate on kids until the afternoon. Cade does not understand NPO nor it's importance. All he knows is that he's hungry. Of course I dressed him in another inspirational shirt...
Waiting, waiting, more waiting...

He is such a trooper, he makes all of this so easy on us!

Post "happy" medicine

My mom brought Callie up to see him after the surgery. She was so concerned! She knew Cade was going to be in the hospital. She thinks you need to go to the hospital for every scrape and "owie".

She kept telling him "It's O-Tay Tade" and giving him kisses.

My friend Cassie bought Cade this sock monkey after his last surgery and Blaine and Meg brought him this cute little dinosaur this time. Cade is into cuddly things so of course he loves them. Well not at this moment but I had to get a pic for the thank yous.

And best part of all... Daddy stayed the night this time!

Thanks to everyone who came and visited Cade and sat and waited with us all day. I know it gets old but it is very much appreciated!

Cade's New School- The Morgan Center

Cade was born 4 weeks before I went back to school. He came home from the NICU just 2 days before I started nursing school. I have always struggled to find care for him. We started off with family and friends and Robyn, Sonya, Amy, Sarah, and Haley gave him lots of love and attention in our home because he wasn't able to go to daycare. I cannot thank them enough because I always felt comfortable leaving him in their care. Of course his grandparents were also a huge help. After he got his trach out, we began trying various in home and public daycares. He never quite fit into that age specific setting. Just last summer 4 schools refused to accept Cade. I was always grateful when someone would even agree to keep him.
And now for the first time, I feel that we have found the perfect mix of love/attention and understanding along with the knowledge and willingness to help Cade succeed. A brand new inclusion (the first that I know of) daycare opened this summer in New Braunfels. When I took the tour, I almost cried because it was so perfect for Cade. Typically developing children as well as children with special needs are accepted here. The teachers are all certified, they all know sign language. They are not at all frightened by his feeding tube and do all the care required with that. They have better teacher/child ratios so Cade gets lots of special attention and hand over hand assistance.

the facility if beautiful!

The motor lab contains therapy equiptment and it is Cade's favorite room. He will now get his speech and occupational therapies here at school. This will be such a blessing for all of us. His therapists will work with him more often and for not as long. That will be a much better fit with his attention span.

They are working very hard on getting Cade potty trained. Here he is showing you his potty button. He doesn't tell us if he needs to go but if we keep him on a schedule, he stays dry all day. He is learning to use his button appropriately. They also use communication boards and picture symbols with him to help him to communicate.

As an added bonus, I graduated high school with one of his teachers so I know that she is fabulous.

Outside the school has playground equipment that is more special needs friendly. They are working in conjunction with the school to help Cade meet his goals. Once school starts, he will ride the bus over and spend his lunch and afternoons here. I get a note home every night about how much they love and enjoy Cade. I cannot express how overjoyed I am that Cade has this opportunity. I feel like this place will help him make great strides with his development. I can go on and on about what a perfect fit it is for us but I think you get the idea.

Also, I have made the decision to send Callie here as well. She will start next week. I have been impressed with their planning and curriculum. I feel this is a great opportunity for Callie as she already realizes that her brother is special and requires extra help and patience. Not only will she be learning her letters and numbers, she will learn some life lessons too. It is so important for her to understand how to deal with children with various special needs and how to help them. Also she will learn sign language and that may be the only way she will be able to communicate with her brother. She won't be in Cade's class but she will still see him frequently during the day. Stay tuned for more updates... I am sure I will have more raving to do!

Blaine and Meghan's Reception

Because some of us couldn't go to the wedding in Vegas, Banks and Charlin had a reception out at their house for Blaine and Meg. The decorations were awesome, I wish I would have taken pics of them. They worked really hard and it turned out great. And it was a really fun party. The Akin kids of course were crazy. Cade kind of goes wild in a big crowd and was trying to jump in the pool, knock over chairs & tables, eat people's food, drink their drinks, etc. People figured out real quick they needed to be on the look out for him! Again, so happy for you guys! Here they are with their favorite niece and nephew...
Callie's date was of course her friend "Pait" (Payton.)
Cade likes Payton too.
Granny looked over at the trampoline and said "all those kids over there are my grandkids" So I took a pic for her and Cade stepped right in front of poor Audrey.
Callie hugs are the best! Cade hugs are pretty good too. He uses his whole body and wraps his legs around you. They both are pretty lovable and give out hugs freely. You can tell Daddy likes it.