Jacey Ability Camp - Week 9

I can see the end in sight...we are almost there...just a little bit longer and I can return to my own bed and hubby. These are all things that I tell myself in the morning, in the afternoon and usually again at night. I also tell myself these things when Jacey is being a punk and I wanna poke her in the eye, or if I am really tired...so basically this runs through my head ALL THE TIME!!!! We are beginning to get a bit anxious to go home, or at least I am, Jacey could care less. This week is the last "normal" week that we are doing. Next week is a gongshow full of video's, interviews, full day parents in, graduation and alot of bonding time with the other families. So Jacey did her thing at camp this week, she was heavily involved in her individual program...NOT! This week was a bit of a struggle getting her focused on her program with me in the room. She is sooo nosy that she usually does her excercises without looking at her feet, hands or anything to do with herself. She is usually gazing at the other kids, the dads that she adores, her walker, a dust particle floating...anything other than what she is supposed to. hehe Although I want to lose my cool whilst I grab her face and turn her head to look at what she is doing, I kinda love that she is inquisitive and mindful of what is going on around her. She really enjoys the other kids here and is often crawling into the other rooms to play with them. She also adores Ivanna (I've mentioned her before, she is wonder woman who helps me get a shower, or holds Jacey, or tells her to get her hands out of her mouth), and a couple of the dads here. I often wonder if she would rather playdate with the dad across the hall or his kid?!? She is really doing well with her walker though and if the mood hits her right will run to the next activity in it, or towards a dad. Whatevs, as long as she is doing it I don't care. We will worry about her gentleman infatuation later...that will be her dad's department! =) I am also proud to say that we are consistently using the potty and keeping a dry diaper for a lot of the day. She is making fantastic progress with this and is so proud of herself. I still love the giggle when she pee's into the potty and then looks at me like "Yeah, that was tinkle and I did it!" She is very quick with many of her excercises that at first she really struggled with. 10 weeks of camp has really transformed her into a workout machine, she is ripped and has developed into quite the mover and shaker. Excited for everyone to see her progress. This week was also busy for me. I was able to enjoy movie night almost every night with a handful of the other parents. We really enjoyed ourselves and kept busy getting to know each other. It was fun and I am hoping to stay in contact with some...not all...but some hehe. I was able to go to Belleville with a few other parents and shop a bit and had a dad treat all of us ladies to dinner. Romantic...except that we had all of our kids who dumped half their meals on themselves and the floor. Jacey pooped her pants and laughed about it and one of the boys stole one of the little girls supper making her cry. If you call that romantic then it was romantic hehe Don't worry guys, Jon knows all about our 5 ladies, 1 gent relationship hehe The poor dad knows now just to say "Yes, Dear!". We also as a group went out for breakfast which was nice and enjoyable. Saturday was by far the funnest day this week. There were 5 families, (4 ladies and 1 gent, not the same one poor guy) that rented a Pontoon boat for a few hours in the afternoon. SOOOO FUN! The kids were so excited and loved parking in the middle of the lake to jump off and swim....but not as much as the parents loved it! We parked in a couple spots and jumped off a few times from the side in different poses and then donned lifejackets so that we could hold up our dead weight kids in the water. It was fun, they loved it. We packed some odds and ends snacks and chowed down mid boating and then each of the kids had a turn driving the boat...ON THEIR OWN. Now when I say on their own I don't mean that they all took turns sitting in the chair, because like 1 out of the 5 can sit independantly. C'mon now! They sat on the dad's lap and he let them hold the wheel on their own and steer and honk the horn. Now for those who don't know this, CP kids tend to have an intense startle reflex. Sooo when the horn was honked repeatedly there was a huge shake up, each time. Every one of those kids jumped every time, even the horn honker themselves. It was hilarious! After we returned the boat and set up to re-rent it next week we headed to a restaurant for dinner with the crew. It was close to 6:30 which is the time that most of our kids hit the sack around here, so there were some very tired, very dozy, can't hold ourselves up kids at the restaurant. Fun day though. On Sunday I picked up my mom in the evening and we enjoyed a dinner out. I am so glad that she is here and Jacey is all over her already. So much fun!!! Anyways gonna run and watch another movie here with the crew. Love Jacey and Alyson

Jacey Ability Camp - Week 8

It was another busy week for us girls...and by girls I mean Great Gramma too!! We sure enjoyed more of Gramma's home cooking and her awesome tidying skills. Gramma sure gave me a break this week as well with Jacey help and keeping her occupied so that I could get things done. Gramma came to Jacey's swimming lessons this week and got to witness the Jacey scream a thon spectacle that takes place whenever we drive in the car together. I don't know what it is all about but for goodness sakes, I am getting over it. I have mastered the art of ignoring and singing to my ipod with the volume cranked!!! This week was awesome with Jacey's conductive education, she sure worked hard. There were some new excercises that she did with me for the first time and she did well...a little distracted as she usually is but she worked hard and I see such improvement. Some of my fav quotes from the Conductors about Jacey's nosiness/inquisitiveness/busyness/curiosity are: "Jacey...you are not a court reporter, we don't need an update about everything!", "Miss Bird, looking at everyone else isn't going to make them work harder...it only makes you work less.", " Jacey, get working on your own jobs and quit worrying about everyone else's...nosy!". hehe It kills me everytime they bust out their Hungarian accents and tell her to get working. She adores Krisztina and Viktoria and thinks that Dawn, Brenda and Silken are great, but her alltime favorite people are the gents. She loooooves Kevin (the director and dive operator) and Paul (the maintenance man) and all the dad's in the group. A few of them just pick her up when she flashes her little white grin at them and carry her around while they get meals ready or are playing with their own kids. She is a bit of a flirt with these men and totally gets whatever she wants from them. What a bunch of suckers!!! It is hilarious to watch, I think that she must miss her daddy and these men are fillers for the few weeks we are still here. hehe Something not so fun this week is Jacey's lack of wanting to sleep good. She got up quite a few times this week for longer periods of time, which sucks. I was losing my patience quite a bit and getting over the whole up all night thing. I think some of the other moms saw me hit my wall a bit and one of them offered to take Jacey for her afternoon dive this Wednesday, it was so nice and really appreciated...I used my time wisely...I slept! There is another girl here who has her mom, gramma and cousin staying and they were the ones who took her in the dive. The cousin, Ivanna has been an awesome help with taking Jacey so I can shower, or playing with her so that I can tidy up or just keeping her occupied. It has been really nice that all the parents and kids get along and take turns hanging with each others kids. Real nice. Other fun things this week were that Gramma and I were able to shop a little bit in Bloomfield and were able to sightsee a little bit. We really enjoyed going to the Birdhouse City, which is a bunch of birdhouses in the shapes of different homes, buildings and things in the Prince Edward County area. So cool and really pretty area that we walked. Jacey was happy to be outside and slept really well that night after all the fresh air. This weekend was pretty eventful. We went out after the second dive on Saturday and went to Belleville to see Madagascar 3. It was the first time that Jacey went to the theatre and she did a really good job. She sure enjoyed the music and colours and laughed a few times. However, her favourite things were anytime someone walked into or out of the theatre and she could watch them walking, or when the ladies behind us would laugh and she would turn her head around to look at them. Sheesh! What a little owl with all the head turning. I bought her a pretzel and she LOVED it...she kept saying Mowa, Mowa, Mowa and followed my hand when I put it down behind her. So funny! We went out to eat with all the families to Kelsey's and she did great there too...tired day and she passed out flat when we got home!! Sunday was nice too. We went to the Sandbanks beach after our 2 dives with all the other families as well. It was such a hot day and really beautiful, the water and area was gorgeous and so much fun with all the kids. They really enjoyed it and really loved the swimming. Ivanna took Jacey in for a real good swim for me and then she came and plunked down on the towel to play in the sand. It was a nice day followed by one of the dads BBQ's hotdogs and hamburgers for everyone. Jacey enjoyed her first BBQ'd hot dog with bun and ate most of it. Such a great day. This week has also brought upon the 4 sticker day!!! She made 2 poops and 2 pee's in her potty in class. Another awesome thing....she is consistently peeing or pooping for me in the room almost once or twice a day. This potty business is getting awesomer and awesomer...yeah I said it and mean it...it's a word!!! Jacey gets pretty excited first thing in the morning when I tell her that it is potty time, she crawls over and grabs her little red potty and tries to pull her pants down. She isn't as excited once she is on it, but she gets the job done. hehe We are sure getting ready to come home, so excited and ready to see our daddy and sleep in our own beds. Jacey has been a rock star and I am grateful for all the visitors who have helped keep me sane for the last 8 weeks and final 2 weeks. WOW!!! 10 weeks, crazy. My mom comes on Sunday...did I mention how much I am looking forward to her hanging out in the dives with Jacey and perhaps switching rooms for a night or two? Mom?...hello?...did you catch that?...love you! =) Take care guys and see you soon....like in less than 2 weeks soon. Woot, woot! - Love Jacey and Alyson

Jacey Ability Camp - Week 6 & 7

Sooo I got lazy...so what, who cares?!? If you don't watch Saturday Night Live....then that wasn't for you! hehe We are however, not lazy at all around here. The opposite in fact, clearly too busy to blog. The first week there really wasn't any excuse except that I didn't want to yet, but knew that it would be a CARAZY post after my sis and Grams got here....so I waited. The first week back was same old, same old. I wondered if Jacey would scream fest as per usual when she walked in to class in the mornings but she pleasantly surprised me when she screamed happily to see Krisztina and ran in....yeah you read that right...RAN!! My kid runs. It was a very awkward, daringly balancing, walker drag, tip to the side kinda run, but she ran none the less. (Truthfully I am not 100% sure that none the less belongs there but I kinda like it) Her day was fantastic with pee's and poop's to celebrate. She just is really coming into her own now and there is proudness radiating from her and I. She loves her new group of kids, there are 8 and that means there is always someone to play with, chase, look at IPAD's (not touch) and yell in the face of. She is enjoying it immensely. Jacey also busted out her first 3 sticker day, a poop and 2 pee's. I am beginning to think that this blogging is a potty central thing, it isn't but there are an awful lot of potty remarks going on. We got back into the swing of hyperbarics, class and potty schedule and made a menu and things. It was kind of a boring week, except for meeting all the new families and learning names. JENNY, STELLA AND GRAMMA CAME!!!!! So excited to have some fam here with us. Jacey was beyond shocked when we got to the train station and she saw her Fanty Jenny. There was a jaw drop and some excited bouncing in my arms to get to her. Another surprise was how excited Stella and Jacey were to see each other. They reached their little arms out to each other and hugged and "talked". I was pumped for Gramma's home cooking, cuddles and back or hand rubs. AWESOME!!! We got back to camp and settled in and met the other fams and made a menu and shopping list and just visited. I don't think Jacey wanted to go to sleep for fear that her Fanty would disappear. They did great while here. Stella was a bit of a cling on but did ok with me and wouldn't grace anybody here with anything but a stone cold look. Jacey just wanted Jenny...and sometimes Gramma. Jenny did some of the dives for me so I could have a break from them, so Stella and I hung out and worked on being quiet. Gramma cooked and baked up a storm, and Jacey and I appreciated it. There are a few dads here with their kids and some single moms here with their kids who have benefited from the cooking and everyone chows down her baking. It is sure a nice treat to not have to cook. Poor Gramma! This week was Stella's 1st Birthday and so we did a big party up for her. It was a potluck and everyone made such cool dishes, the kids were in heaven and Gramma whipped up 2 cakes which were demolished and gone within 24 hours. There were another Gramma and Great Gramma and Aunty visiting and so between all of them the dishes were always done, the floor swept, the tables washed and delicious food always cooked. This weekend everyone went home (excpet my Gramma), so I am sure there is a little bit of a funk and some strays will be joining us. We were able to do some shopping and eating out together with the girlies, Jenny enjoyed snapping some sweet pics of her Stella and we got to sightsee a little bit in the area. It is so pretty around here...to visit. We were sad to have Jenny and Stella leave on Saturday morning but happy that my Gramma is going to stay for another week and keep me company and still cook some favs. Jacey also started swimming lessons this week in Picton. She goes twice a week for a 1/2 hour and is not sure if she is enjoying them yet. Her teacher, Laura rocks and just graduated University with her Physical and Occupational Therapy which is right up our alley. We'll see how they pan out. Well we are 3/4 of the way through this 10 week adventure. Jacey is progressing amazingly and mommy isn't losing her mind yet and we are excited to be done and home. Until then we will work hard, play hard and make friends. Glad to have this experience! - Jacey and Alyson

Jacey at Ability Camp - Week 5

Well week 5 was a busy one. We started off having the whole "stay for another session" incident. We are excited for all aspects of this experience, however, a little homesick and mommy misses her bed. Jacey just kept trucking away this week in sessions and her hyperbaric dives, she also had a week full of potty stickers. She has consistently pooped every day in the morning in class or right before class and has had her first of 2 three sticker days... WAHOO Jacey "I do it in the potty" Bird!!! She seems quite proud of herself and more grown up, she gets excited when I ask her to do things or help with things like lifting her leg, or reaching with her arm as I would have just done both of those things for her before. I am just proud of her and really enjoying watching her change and morph into her big girl self. (Although secretly I enjoy giving her the extra cuddles and carrying her once in a while...not all the time though sheesh my back has already thanked me for the change)We also have experienced the no cry while walking into class on Thursday and Friday of this week. It only took 5 weeks for her to mellow out enough to walk into class without screaming her face off. Proud!! I was so excited when she looked back and smiled at me while she walked in with her Conductor. She is getting it, and I am interested to see what tomorrow brings for the infamous "walk in". We had our Graduation on Thursday after class with a big celebration and our Conductor made homemade Hungarian Goulash and cake. It was so tasty and interesting to watch the little people eat it. The Graduation was cool, they handed out a medal with their name and session engraved on it and also a folder of all her artwork and potty sticker charts, which I haven't decided if I will gold crust them or blow them up to put on her wall as a "pick me up" hehe. All of the girls wore their Ability Camp shirts and black pants and they looked too cute while the only gent wore jeans and a fancy button up shirt it was just too cute!!! We cleaned up and packed for the weekend and took off around noon on Friday for Niagara Falls. It was such a fun weekend as a family!! Jacey really enjoyed Marineland and mostly the rides, she was smiling and laughing on them and also watching the dolphin show was cool. We were not huge fans of the freakin hotness or the fact that the poor deer looked so hot that they were dead. There is a pic of Jacey and I watching one to see if it is breathing, and then when it did a smile pic after. Whewph!! Jon was in top form again as he slathered on the sunscreen but still burnt THE SIDE OF HIS FOOT....the only place without sunscreen. Seriously?!?! That was the first day followed by some Hard Rock Cafe and Hershey Chocolate shop and swimming in the pool to cool off. The next day we walked down to the Falls and did the Maid of the Mist. Jacey got soaked but rocked it and was smiling after, her biggest concern was the plastic poncho's. She hated them more than anything else. We then hit up the Rainforest Cafe, which Jacey liked as well. We contemplated some more sights but it was hot, Jacey was tired and we needed to get to Toronto to check in our rental and re-new and head to the hotel at the airport. We stayed right at the airport and ate a delicious meal there and went swimming again. Daddy left really early Monday morning here and Jacey and I headed back just in time to make our afternoon dive. It was such a fun weekend and a real nice break before another busy 5 weeks. Can't wait for Jenny and Gramma Hudkins to get here next week. Counting down the days. Love y'all!! - Alyson and Jacey

Jacey Ability Camp - Week Four

Well, this is a bit of a late post as things have been "going down" since Sunday. Jacey and I are staying at Ability Camp for another 5 week session!!! The Director approached us and invited us to stay longer since Jacey was sick for the first week and we missed some time. Jon and I really had to make some decisions whether it would be good for our family or what. We decided that we were gonna make it happen! Soooo here is the low down. Jon, Jacey and I are going to head to Niagara Falls this weekend for 3 days of relaxation and family time before our 5 week break from each other. During our oh my heck were staying for 10 weeks total time, my sister Jenny and my Gramma Hudkins are coming together for a week and then Gramma will stay for another week with me and then either my mom or other sis Leslie will come for a bit at the end to help me head home with Jacey. Whewph, it is quite the set up and I am excited, nervous, tired, but really pumped for Jacey!!! Well now that the whole oh my heck 10 weeks total time away is out of the way. Back to our week. Jacey is doing really great. We are a potty machine, Jacey has consistently pooped almost every morning this week and also for my mother's day present did a poop and 2 pee's...count em 2! She rocks and I am seeing a light at the end of the diaper tunnel. This week was the start of her first 2 sticker days and I was just so proud of her and she is so proud of herself as well. Jacey is also consistently using her walker to walk to and from most activities, with minimal assistance around her hips. Jacey is sitting independantly on her stool and her lunch chair and she is helping feed herself her meals. She is really separating herself from me more and doing things for herself. This is huge and I am soooo excited for myself and the break on my back and arms...and for Jacey of course too!! hehe Our time outs have slowly decreased to almost nothing, which has made for a nicer work out and mommy feeling better about things. She is just blossoming and amazing and you can tell how proud of herself she is. In other big news last week.....DADDY IS HERE!!! Jacey was a little apprehensive when she first saw him but it sure didn't take her long to be all over him. She missed him and was so happy that he was here. BUT, not as happy as mommy was to have him here. Jon has been a great support and help with taking over some of her hyperbaric dives and also being a participant in her sessions. We took some time together for our Anniversary (May 11) and toured around some of the tiny, beautiful towns in the area. We sampled some delicious cheese, and bought some cute things for our family members. This weekend our whole camp group cooked a large mother's day dinner. It was sure enjoyed by everyone and such a great bonding experience. This is a shorter post because it is already into the last week and I will be letting y'all know about our future here. So excited and miss you all. Know that we are doing well and Jacey is doing amazing things here. So blessed to be able to do it again with family's awesome support. Thanks - A