A Peek at the Poulsens

It finally happened! We bought a VAN.  We've been putting it off because we were getting along just fine in Cecy (our beloved 2010 Chrysler Sebring) and we knew that once we switched to a van we would never go back, but after our tax refund came in February we decided it was *TIME*. $7300 later Sybill was in our driveway, and the kids adore her. She's a 2006 Toyota Sienna, 96K miles, excellent condition, etc. We bought her at the end of February and have already put over 5,000 miles on it! The timing was really good because Cecy's engine has started sounding extremely suspicious, so I feel much more comfortable driving a quieter car on the freeway.   New view versus old view  The kids LOVE the van. They love having their own windows, they love the automatic door, and Natalie loves that it's red (that was her one request...we obviously didn't buy it just because it was red, but she certainly thinks so!) (Gracie in the backseat while Nat...

Jack rode the scooter down the grassy hill in the backyard and crashed at the bottom. Natalie ran in to tell us (we were chatting with the Beddes' after dinner) and I made my way outside, assuming Jack was just being wimpy. His cry did sound a little different though, not mad or whimpering but actually pained. We brought him inside and gave him some ibuprofen, and watched him the rest of that night and the next day. By the next night he was still really sensitive and not putting weight on it, so we took him to urgent care to get x-rays. The x-rays didn't show anything, so they advised us to watch it and come back if he still wasn't walking after a few more days. The accident was Saturday, first x-rays Sunday, and then by Thursday he still refused to walk (he would crawl or ask to be carried) so we brought him back in for more x-rays. Those x-rays still didn't show anything, but they referred us to the orthopaedic clinic the next morning since Jack was still ...

Oh Stockty. He's doing so well. He loves his family, ACT clinic, playing outside, and is getting so good at having conversations. I don't think we'll ever take his communication for granted. His recall is getting much better (he can answer questions like "What did you eat for lunch? Where did we go yesterday?") and he really seems to enjoy talking to us. He asks strangers, "what's your name?" and makes observations about people ("she's sad" "he is watching a movie"). He notices when someone is missing and asks where they are. He learns new and more sophisticated skills every week and it's exciting! in mid flap, really excited by the necklace that I tied between the two toys  He teaches me to enjoy the little, simple things. I love watching him get excited about random stuff.  he thinks it's funny to say "wheeeeerrrre's Stockton?......peek!"  He loves taking selfies, especially with...