The Verdict

Finelea went in for her airway study yesterday for her diagnosis of sleep apnea. It wasn't a painful procedure, but she did have to go to the OR for anesthesia so they could stick a scope down her mouth to get a better look. The study showed that she has 3 points of obstruction. They will have to do 3 different surgeries to remove the obstructions, then repeat the sleep study to make sure it corrected the apnea.



It was pretty interesting watching Finelea go under. After she took the sedative to relax, she was very funny... laughing and making all sorts of funny noises. The rest of the day consisted of her asking for cereal and sleeping, and groggy head bobbing. It was quite a chore getting her to and from the van for the next few hours as we went to Toa's house to eat, then went back to Tracy from Stanford. Being 8 months pregnant didn't help the situation much, but at least she didn't completely pass out. That would have scared me a bit.

So, we're going to have an interesting fall between all these events:

1. Finelea's 3 surgeries 4 weeks apart from eachother
2. The baby and blessing to go along with him in August
3. Noa's baptism in November
4. Rachel and Chad coming to visit in October
5. Tekina's and Finelea's birthdays
6. Tekina attending preschool half-day with Noa (that could be a chauffeur's nightmare)


And there's probably more I'm missing... but oh well. Looks like my fall is already planned out for me! So, here's to a lovely, quiet, peaceful summer --- what's left of it.

Tough To Beat

There's a Comcast commercial that I saw recently. See here:

TOUGH TO BEAT

That gopher is like Finelea. Although I wouldn't actually take a club to anyone, I get frustrated often when I can't get through to her. She surprises me every now and then with different phrases, and never fails to come and rub her cheek against mine when she's being especially difficult. Today, Finelea came up to me and said, Nonnie (that's Mommy), I yuh yooo while I was having my prego hormonal ugly moment. I'm so glad I have had the opportunity to have such a sweet spirit in my home. It's so funny when she gets an attitude and stomps off or slams a door --- like a normal kid her age. But immediately, she'll turn around and be the tallest teddy bear you know. I sure am lucky to be her mom.

Swimming

Self Photo. She's an avid photographer.


At a ward party.


Frumpy me.... but this is what I was talking about -- rubbing cheeks.

Tekina's Graduation

I don't ever remember getting a big celebration for Kindergarten, but apparently, it's a big deal for parents here in our area. Extended family will all come in just to see their kid do a little dance and graduate from Kindergarten. At least, that was the way it was with Noa's Kindergarten class. But, this year was Tekina's year to shine for her Preschool Graduation (and so will be the next year for another Pre-K class and the year after that for Kindergarten). On Monday, we were invited over to the one teacher's house who organized the whole thing (who is actually a good friend of ours from Hawaii), complete with Pomp and Circumstance (Joy School style), grad caps, and bashful dance/song. See here:




Did I mention BASHFUL?

And here Tekina is getting her diploma:

We had fun with Joy School... and I wish I had the energy to keep doing it. I've flaked out and found a program with the school district for a pre-K type class for her at Noa's school. I know she'll be happier there than trying to watch me take care of a newborn. It's only a half-day, but I think she's going to love it, and she'll be able to claim that she's a big girl going to the same school as her big brother.

Upsides

Last night Tekina came up to me and said, "Mommy, I'm going to do 10 upsides." I looked at her funny and said, "okay", while thinking, what the heck are 'upsides'? As I curiously watched what she was going to do, I glanced at my husband who had the same bewildered look on his face. Tekina dropped to her tummy on the large rug in front of us and proceeded to do a mix between a yoga downward-facing-dog and a push-up. I snickered underneath my breath as she proceeded to count. When she got to #4, my husband couldn't stand it anymore. He got up and showed her how to do a "real" push-up. By the time she got to 10, she started to cry (probably more because her ego was bruised than her arms being hurt from going down and up). I looked at her and gave her a big hug and told daddy, "She wasn't trying to do push-ups.... she was doing 'upsides', Daddy.... and THOSE aren't 'upsides'". He quickly apologized. So, now you know... if anyone claims "upsides" as their own exercise... you'll know the new-fangled calisthenic originally came from a 3 year old.

Finelea's Progress

Today was Fine's annual IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting. I've been so pleased with her progress this year. She's getting so much better at identifying letters, and is even using scrabble pieces to start to spell her name. I think we're leaning towards a reading goal this year. I think we'll see a lot of improvement because of her new glasses... well, the replaced ones anyways (she broke her glasses after only wearing them for a week). She's able to now jump with both feet off the ground without assistance. She's also doing so much more talking and babbling. I told the speech therapist that if we can get her to say her bilabials, then we'll make immense strides in language this year. She'll have summer school for about 4 weeks, then we'll have a good couple of months off. I have a lot I want to do with her, but because of the new baby coming in August, I don't think I'm ready to dive in, so I'll just dip my feet for a bit. One thing I really wish I could get her would be an adaptive bike so I don't have to use the heavy duty double jogging stroller when we 'walk'/bike to the park. There are a lot of things I wish I could do with her, but I'm always restricted by time and energy. It takes so much out of me to spend all my time with her. Thank goodness for great school programs. She'll be changing classes soon, but hopefully it will be a smooth transition since the two classrooms are right next to each other. I had a lot of issues with the program in the beginning, but Fine is adapting and doing so well, that I can't complain. They provide a lot of programs that I could never provide for her at home.
Now all I have to do is to figure out how to spend the rest of the summer. Hmmmm.... the options are so open. I've got Noa enrolled in the Little Giants program that is paid for and administered by the SF Giants and in the GATE summer camp. I'm thinking a lot of trips to water parks and maybe even Yosemite National Park. We've never been there, so that might be a grand adventure if I do say so myself.