Gah, it won't let me comment under the Giant Slide video below. Look at how fast these people come down! I'm scared to try it myself, but my boys (all 3 of them) love it! While waiting for my guys to come down, I saw so many kids get to the bottom in tears. It looks like quite a ride! Note J's plugged ears.

The Giant Slide at the Wisconsin State Fair 2010

State Fair Pics

1. Jameson enjoying some "Irish Nachos" at Slim's.

2. Jackson chatting with his duck friend.

3 & 4. The crazy giant slide. Note J's plugged ears.

5. J2 wearing Daddy's "Rock of Love" hat.

Steak Fair!

Took the boys to the State Fair yesterday. I knew Jameson would love it. I wasn't so sure about Jackson. He did surprisingly well and only wore the ear phones for a very short time.

The fair has a giant slide (I'll post pictures once they are off the camera) and Jameson saw it on TV and said, "I want to go there!" When he saw it in person, he was in awe. Daddy took him up the slide and Jackson watched them go up the steps and come flying down. Jameson was giggling his fool head off, so cute! While Jackson watched all this, he jumped up and down yelling, "Wanna go wheee, wanna go wheee!" I didn't think he would want anything to do with it. So, when Daddy came back with J2, I told him J wanted to give it a go. Jackson had his fingers in his ears the whole way down, but he really seemed to enjoy himself!

The other big hit of the fair, was the "gucks" aka ducks. Both boys were very excited to see the ducks. No clue why they were more exciting than the other animals. J had some sort of connection with a big white duck, who looked to be wearing a poofy wig. They chattered back and forth to each other and the duck would cock it's head every time J said something to him.

We saw lots of friends we haven't seen in awhile and tried lots of horribly unhealthy food. The Reuben Rolls were fabulous!

Object du Jour: "Cracker Snackers" J has always been a big fan of Club crackers. They now make little mini ones, that for some reason J has taken to calling Cracker Snackers. We brought a bag to State Fair and he happily munched away, he probably ate the healthiest of all of us.

Life is dream (and a highway). Sh-boom Sh-boom

J turned 6 last Friday! We gave him his gifts when he woke up in the morning and I honestly think he had no clue what was going on. Jameson got it and wanted to open all the presents. Once Jackson got into opening up his goodies, he was very happy. He got a Chick Hicks hauler, a Cars case for all his cars, a Toy Story alien game and a lunchbox for school. Jameson picked out the lunchbox (Toy Story of course).

Jackson didn't have a birthday cake this year for two reasons. The first is that I couldn't find anywhere to make him a dairy-free cake without the fear of cross-contamination and the second is our stove went Kaplooey (awesome word) and I couldn't bake him one myself. The new one is coming tomorrow. Sooo, I went to Whole Foods and got J his first dairy-free/nut-free chocolate bar. He liked the fact that it broke into rectangles and was willing to hold it and lick it. That's as far as we got, but I'll take it! As for the chocoholic's (me) verdict on the bar: it wasn't half bad. It's the Enjoy Life brand and they make all sorts of things that are free of eggs, dairy, nuts, and gluten.

We've been listening to the Cars soundtrack over and over and over. J tells me daily that, "Life is a dream, sweetheart." So cute! Sh-boom, Sh-boom!

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone! It's August, wow! State Fair aka "Steak Fair" starts Thursday and both boys are very excited to go.

We got his school info for the fall last week. J will spend part time in the special ed class and part time in the regular Kindergarten class. The Kindergarten teacher is male. This will be the first male teacher/therapist he's ever had in his 6 years. He's had male doctors, but doesn't see them weekly, let alone daily. I'm really interested to see how this works for him.

Object du Jour: Anything Chick Hicks or Cars. Toys, movies, music, stickers, whatever he can find.

Just call me Slacky McSlackerson

Sorry! I've been neglecting my blogging duties lately!

Jackson has two weeks left of summer school. He's still dodgy about going, but it's not as much of a fight when we get there. I'm sure once he's done, he'll ask to go 20 times a day! He hasn't had any appointments lately, which has been really nice. I just made his 6 year (!) check-up appointment. Whoa, back up the bus! When did my sweet, teeny, tiny little baby get that big?

I took Jameson to see Toy Story 3, his very first movie! He loved the popcorn and the springy chairs. He loved the movie until about halfway through when he stood up and yelled, "I want to go home!" at the top of his lungs. I convinced him to stay and he spent the rest of the film on my lap. I think the scene at the dump was a little intense for him.

I really wanted to take J to see the movie, but I was afraid it would be too overwhelming for him. Jameson was even telling me that it was too loud. The theater occasionally presents "Sensory Friendly" shows. The lights are left on and the sound is turned down. I'm hoping to take J to one of those showings and see how he does. At least he won't stand out there. He is a HUGE fan of the movie Cars. He loves Chick Hicks! Cachigga Cachigga! I downloaded "Life is a Highway" and "Get Real Gone" from iTunes and if it were possible to wear out songs on an iPod, we would've done so by now!

It's official: the boys are now wearing the same size clothes. I knew this day would come. J is still one shoe size bigger, but Jameson is closing in fast. Hand-me-ups aren't that far down the road, I'm afraid.

I gave away some baby "stuff" yesterday to a friend who's having a sale to raise money for cancer. It was mostly the bigger things, bouncy seat, car seat, swing...I thought it would be harder. I thought I would feel a sense of sadness, but I didn't. Maybe it's because those aren't the items that hold the fondest memories for me. I did keep two buckets of clothing that I can't bear part with. I have sweet memories of what was going on while they were wearing them. Each kiddo has a small keepsake box of little things that hold memories for me. Someday when they are older, I'll give them the box and tell them why each item is there.

Object du Jour: The "dark" iPod. J had me draw an iPod on a dark green piece of paper with a white pencil. He even slept with it last night.

I'm a slacker!

Geeze, we've been so busy, I haven't been posting very regularly!

Let's see...the birdies grew up and flew away last week. They ambushed me when I was getting the fellas in the car one day last week. I'm amazed at how quickly they went from eggs to flying away. *sniff*

Jackson is still iffy about summer school. He asks to go, but when we get there, he doesn't want to stay. I haven't heard about any issues while he's there though.

We spent two days this week at Summerfest. It's a large music festival with food and lots of stuff to do. Monday was Kid's Day and there was several kid friendly activities. Jameson's favorite part was the milk carton shaped key chain he was given when we bought him some milk. Easy to please, he is. I was worried that Jackson wouldn't be comfortable with the sound level there. I brought the headphones and he asked to wear them within a few minutes of being in the park. About halfway through the day, he took them off and handed them to me. No crying or upset. He's asks to go back daily. Hopefully, the 4th of July festivities will go just as well.

The fellas are in love the the talking Buzz Lightyear at Target. We have to go check him out every time we make a Target run.

The next two pics are from Summerfest. J wearing is earphones enjoying contraband pretzels and J2 sampling some chocolate/strawberry Dippin' Dots.

Object du Jour: Chip Clips. J's been carrying them around today. He's very happy with the blue "rectangle clip."

Go to the up!

It's been awhile since I've posted. Busy few weeks!

Jackson finished 4K/EC. It was sad because he'll be moving on from the people he's been with for the last 3 years. He'll be at the same school next year and move between the special ed room and 5K. I really think we made the right decision keeping him where he's at.

We spent the last week at Grandma and Grandpa's house as Grandpa had surgery last Tuesday. We helped Grandma around the house and got her back and forth to the "hopstible" to see Grandpa. Hopefully, he'll be home in the next few days.

Today is the start of summer school for J. He'll be going half days, M-R, for six weeks. J cried when we left and didn't want to stay. When Daddy brought him home, J said, "Go back to school!" all the way home. He's with one little guy from his regular class and when J saw him come in, J visibly relaxed a bit.

J had dental clinic and things look good. There's some concern with the size of his lower jaw and how that is going to affect the big teeth when they come in. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess. His dentist is moving out of state, so we'll have to see someone new at our next appointment.

When J wants to be picked up or put down, he says, "Go the the up!" Don't know how that started!

Mama Robin decided to build her nest in the bush right outside our back door. This is her second year with us. There were two eggs when we left for Grandma and Grandpa's house and now there are two sweet babies.

Object du Jour: We love cruising the sale aisle at the Walmart by Grandma and Grandpa's house. On this visit we found a big Handy Manny doll with his tools and toolbox for 5.00! The fellas love it! He fits into the HM pickup truck J got last year for his birthday. Score!

Jameson decided on a small Woody from Toy Story. When we got home, J flipped Woody over and looked at the bottom of his feet. He handed Woody to me and said, "No name." I was absolutely shocked that he noticed that the doll didn't say, "Andy" on the bottom of it's boot. When TS is on, I didn't think Jackson was paying that much attention. Wow!

May I see your license and registration, please.

We went walking around our neighborhood today for the annual neighborhood association rummage sale. We didn't see anything we could live without until we came upon the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe Police Car! Both fellas jumped out of the stroller, Jameson jumped in it and Jackson made a beeline for the light up talking radio. There was no way they were leaving without it. The sellers were asking 25, we asked if they would take 20, they said, "Sure!" Wow, that was easy! It's in excellent shape and the boys are in love with it. It goes nicely with the firetruck we already owned.

Tonight was the very first meal I served (in the history of ever, it seems) that Jackson was able to try a bit of everything the rest of us were having. I gave him a plate with homemade sloppy joe meat, snap peas, and french fries. He actually tasted a bit of all three, but mainly stayed with the fries (naturally), but I'm so proud of him for trying everything. It was wonderful for the whole family to be eating the same thing! After a bit of coaxing, he also ate a bowl of Jello for dessert.

Object du Jour: The police car.

Potty Training, I DO IT (Hold me!)

We've begun potty training in earnest with both fellas. Jameson gets it. I bought him a pack of Pull-ups yesterday (Toy Story - score!) He understands to pull them up/down on his own and he tells me (for the most part) when he needs to go.

I'm pretty sure that Jackson just likes being naked. He'll ask to go potty and then just want to run around with his tushy hanging out. He's gone on the potty twice, but I don't think it was purposeful. We'll keep trying.

Jameson has entered into the, "I DO IT" phase. Oh, joy! I'm happy he wants to do things for himself, but it takes him a half hour to put his slippers on. LOL

Jackson only has a week left of school. This year went so fast! He's not going to understand why he doesn't go anymore. J loves school so much! We'll start summer school two weeks later, so that will help.

Object du Jour: The Phyllis Root library of books. Seriously, the fellas love her books! We've gotten from the library: What Baby Wants, Rattletrap Car, Kiss the Cow and we own One Duck Stuck. I bought Rattletrap Car from Amazon; it's become such a favorite. Her books are full of funny made up words and they often rhyme. Jackson loves this! And what I find even more wonderful, is he is starting to predict lines in the books and says them along with me. I will do whatever it takes to make sure I raise readers that love books as much as I do! So far, so good!

On The Air!

Jackson's radio debut! He we all are at the WKLH Miracle Marathon for Children's Hospital. We shared J's story and hopefully it inspired people to donate big! Honestly, it was such a blur, I don't really remember what I said.

Jackson was fascinated with the "On the Air" light. One of the DJ's told J he could ask for it to go on or off. J did and the DJ turned it on/off for him, but then J didn't stop and was yelling, "Turn the square light off!" during the interview. Randy took the boys out so I could finish talking.

They gave each of the boys a toy, Jameson got Buzz Lightyear and Jackson got a shape puzzle. The whole family got admission to the art museum. When the interview was over, we were sent upstairs to get a family picture taken. The photographer said that our picture might show up on a billboard someday. Yikes!

It was wonderful to see the other members of the Family Advisory Committee that came down to support us. Thank you!!

Some of the stories from other families I've listened to over the past few days have been heartbreaking. I'm amazed and inspired by the strength of families who have lost a child. Injuries, multiple surgeries, heart defects, cancer - I continue to remind myself no matter how hard some days get, how lucky Jackson truly is. He is defying every odd we were initially given. And much of that is due to the care and support we've gotten from the hospital staff.

Object du Jour: The shapes from the puzzle.

iPad and Miracle Marathon

When I dropped J off at school today, his teacher told me they'll be trying out an iPad in the classroom for the day. I know what we're going to be talking about for the next 3 months (at least).

On Friday morning, we'll be telling J's story on the WKLH Miracle Marathon for Children's Hospital. You can listen live at http://www.wklh.com/ Please donate if you can!

Object du Jour: The ABC book and a picture of a woman listening to a very old school radio. J has named it, "Listening to the iPod."

ETA: I picked J up at school and the whole way home he yelled from the backseat, "Go back to school!! See the iPad!!" So, I guess the practice run with iPad went well to say the least. I looked into them and they are about 500.00. A little bit pricey for us right now, but maybe they'll go down in price like the iPhone and iPods.

Ducks make fire drills

Eye clinic today. The booger is now 20/30 in the right eye and 20/40 in the left. I really think his scores (aside from the wandering eye) are mainly based on interest in the items on the screen. The orthoptist started with the apple. Nope, he's not gonna do it. He's gone so many times that he's now shouting out requests. "Square! Rectangle! Microwave! Freebird!"

He saw a laminated card with letters on it and she asked if J knows letters. I said yes, so she brought letters up on the screen. No problem. Got them all correct, but kept asking her to show him the X. So, now I don't need to worry if the date of the visit is a "feel like talkin' about apples day," we can go straight to letters.

When we were finished, the orthoptist said J could get a sticker and a Beanie Baby. She put a few on the counter for him to pick from, a duck, moose, elephant, lobster and bear. No interest, but he did ask if there was a microwave in the bucket of animals. I chose a duck because he's been very into hearing stories about ducks lately (One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root, check it out - compelling reading). We get out into the lobby and I show him the duck. J tells me, "Ducks make fire drills." Just in case you were wondering where fire drills come from. He happily carried the duck to the car, until I strapped him in the seat and he says, "Want the elephant." *sigh*

The end result: get him to wear the glasses as much as possible. J has been better about wearing them at home and will put them on by himself. Often times, upside down, but progress is progress!

Today is "Hippie Day" at school. J is clad in jeans and a Summerfest tie-dyed shirt. It's the same shirt that causes people to think Jameson is a girl.

Object du Jour: A Yo Gabba Gabba toy video screen.

Syttende Mai, Earphones, First Naughty Note and My Soapbox.

Let's start with the fun stuff!

This past weekend we went to the Syttende Mai festival in Daddy's hometown. There's a parade, rides, craft fair, food and music. The parade part always concerns me for Jackson. He spent last year huddled under a blanket sobbing. This year, he watched every single second, commented on what he saw and talked about going back ASAP. The difference? The sound blocking earphones I bought a few months ago. They've been practicing wearing them at school, so when I first busted them out at the parade, J said, "Fire drill?"

New foods this past week include: Kettle Corn and bacon. J has been really rockin' the toast lately. Yay!

J came home from school yesterday with his first "naughty note." I guess at the band/chorus concert (which he thoroughly enjoyed while wearing the earphones, btw), he pulled a girl's hair. When the teacher told him not to do it, he did it again. Stinker! I read the note and had a little chat with him about being nice to our friends. He took it all in and turned to me and said, "Dot Com!" Glad he was listening and thinking about his behavior. The teacher said the girl wasn't upset, but hopefully, it won't happen again.

And now for the Soapbox portion of the program...Nothing bothers me more than to hear people refer to people with special needs as a special needs child or a Downs child or an autistic child. These kids are kids, first and foremost. You wouldn't say a cancer child or a heart defect child or chromosomal disordered child. Jackson is an adorable little boy who happens to have a diagnosis. The diagnosis does not define who he is as a person. I know I've posted something to this effect before, but it's worth repeating.

Object du Jour: The Yo Gabba Gabba pieces and parts.

Can I get a do-over?

This has been a really long week...

My car died at J's school and the custodian had to come out and give me a jump. He really was not happy to do so. I'm pretty sure I need a new battery.

Then, we finally go out and get a new gas grill. Menard's had an awesome one on sale. We pick it up, take it home, Randy starts putting it together and we realize, it's the wrong grill. Gah! He talks to the manager who said they can only take it back if it's fully assembled. So, poor Randy had to spend the evening fighting with a grill we weren't even going to keep. We have the right one now (which is still sitting in the box!)

Then, the water heater died. I'm never, ever going to take hot water for granted again. I had to boil water to wash dishes and we ended up giving the boys baths in the sink with boiled water. But, the new one is now in and working. I just had the best bath of my life!

Then, last night I notice that the cat bite on Jameson's calf from earlier in the week has a lovely 3" red ring around it. I called the ped last night who told me to bring him in today. Yep, infection city. Now he's got a 10 day course of augmentin. His first prescription ever. If it doesn't work or gets worse, we go back in. Word of warning: If you ever visit my house, do not make eye contact or even think about the cat. She's just kind enough to let us live here.

Then, I show up for my haircut this morning and my stylist tells me that I wasn't on the schedule for today. She was in the middle of another haircut when I got there. Seriously? It's on my Google calendar, which I live and breathe by. She said she saw me on a few days ago, but then it was gone and thought I had canceled. Nope, not me. She's so darn wonderful that the squeezed me in anyway. I adore her. If you live near me and need a stylist, drop me a note. She thinks what happened is someone with a similar name canceled and they took me off by mistake.
On a happy note: We'll be telling Jackson's story on the radio on the Children's Miracle Marathon for Children's Hospital at the end of the month. Very exciting!

Object du Jour: A plastic letter X, occasionally known as the "criss cross" and the Dr. Seuss ABC book. He's sleeping with both now.