Cliff notes version of March...July 2010

I'll try and make the last 5 months as brief as possible - ha.

Our Spring Break this year was all about Grandparents. We got to see all of them within 9 days. We kicked it off with Gran Gran and Papa visiting us on their way back from their snowbird winter in southern Alabama. We took them to the National Kite Festival down on the National Mall. If you haven't been, we highly recommend it.

A ride on the carousal first and then we started prepping for our flight.

Jimmo did enjoy his trip to the mall but noticing the small things flying around in the sky wasn't nearly as exciting as his Miss Spider book as you can see in the above picture.

Then we went to visit Pappy at Stone Harbor, NJ. We had a great time catching up and Jimmo especially loved his favorite place (the beach). After he got the lay of the land, he walked around like he owned the joint.

A cool but pleasant afternoon on the beach - a sensory dream for our son

And our favorite animal at the Cape May Zoo - the Zebras

And last but not least, Nana came to spend Easter with us. We attempted to see the Cherry Blossoms again but it was insanely crowded so we took the "cliff notes" tour. It's kind of a theme with our life ;0) Here is a drive by picture. Literally Nana and Princess got out of the car took the picture while I moved ahead about 20 inches in traffic. And you can't even see the Cherry Blossoms....go figure.

Easter morning was lovely. It was very crowded at service but the kids did well. It was a beautiful celebration and always a reminder of the amazing gift that God gave us - his one and only son. It was great to have Nana and Uncle Muscles with us for Easter.

Nana and the little people

You can see that Jimmo was really into this picture taking thing. As we're standing on a hill, the grass is wet and your heals are sinking into the ground....you ask yourself.....why are we doing this?

Hunting for eggs and now for the best part - what's inside?

We went over to our friends for Easter for a big potluck. Just like the old days - LL! We always attempt these couch pictures and this was the best one I could get. This is of course post egg hunt and dinner.....the little one's are toast at this point.

Later in April we had some dear friends stop and visit us on their way to Myrtle Beach. It's been too many years since we've seen them and hopefully it won't be that long again. The girls just had a great time playing. As you've seen in many previous blogs, we're really into talent shows. Aunt B....I'm sure you're so glad to see those costumes being put to use!

I don't think we've mentioned much about potty training lately. Well that might be because there is not much to mention. We're just chugging along very very slowly. We're still on a schedule with training and we take data each and every day. We knew that cognitively he was not ready, but he showed physical signs of being ready...so that meant it was going to be a long road. As his teacher always says - it takes a thousand trials. We'll get there...someday. Here is what he thinks about his time on the potty lately....poor little guy.

So now it's May....in case you're wondering. During the school year, the kindergarten class has been working on memorizing all the patriotic songs along with the songs for each branch of the service. They put on a Memorial Day Sing Along and it was quite impressive. Here is princess and some of her classmates pre-show.

She was asked to announce one of the songs. She's use to memorizing verses so she knew her line very well, but when you stand in front of over100 parents with cameras flashing and video cameras...it's a little scary. She did great! (Don't forget to pause the music below so you can hear it)

And then it was June. We met some dear friends..we'll call them the "Wiplets" for security reasons ;0) They have triplets that are almost the same age as Princess so it's a guaranteed good time. We met in Lancaster to conquer Dutch Wonderland. Since Jimmo has never been to an amusement park, we thought this was a perfect place to see how he would do. And he did fairly well. He loved the rides, but couldn't understand the concept of waiting in line to get on the ride. It was the perfect low key park for him. I rode the train with him four times in a row in the late afternoon when the lines went down. It was a good test for him and us. We stayed at a surprisingly great place for kids and had a blast.

All the kiddos on the hotel playground. Hopefully the "Wiplets" have a better version of this picture.

The boys were just so sweet with Jimmo - good buds.

And the silly girls on the top bunk giving their mothers heart attacks.

Out to dinner after a long day at the park.

In June we also had Husband's class reunion in New York and a wonderful getaway with just the two of us, thanks to our dear friends who watched the kids for us. Our last day of school wasn't until the end of June because of our snowstorms this past winter. We don't take last day of school celebrations lightly around here! And off to the pool we went.

You might have seen these on Facebook. It's amazing how they've grown in just a year.

And then in July we took off for a 12 day adventure. First we had my "10" year high school reunion (he, he). Auntie D watched the kiddos for us. Husband then left for a business trip and I took the kids up to New York to visit with Gran Gran, Papa and all the cousins that also came in to visit. It was a cousin extravaganza...since they haven't seen each other since Christmas.

Summer time + Cousins = S'mores

Triple decker - you go girl!

These two share the gift of gab!

Jimmo was hanging out inside with Gran Gran eating graham crackers

Big cousins played mini-golf

Gran Gran and Papa graciously watched our children for 5 days and 4 nights (WOW) so we could attend the Fragile X Conference in Detroit, Michigan. Yes folks - Detroit. The kids did wonderful.....so says Gran Gran! I don't think she would ever tell us different. Jimmo is now off the GFCF diet, so things are a little easier for travel. Besides some eczema returning, he's doing wonderful.

The conference was absolutely amazing. Between Husband and myself, we attended over 30 breakout sessions on topics that ranged from toilet training to augmentative communication devices to the hopes of future medications. This conference is only offered every other year and they offer 5 days with the top experts in the world of Fragile X including scientists, doctors, therapists, teachers, psychologists etc. It's a priceless opportunity and we learned a tremendous amount. My "To Do" list is about a mile long, but it's all good....all good. We also participated in an auction and won the opportunity of having one of the top Fragile X Neurologists come to our house and school for a full evaluation. We were stunned and elated that we won. We're hoping for an October date for her visit. To have a Fragile X expert in your home watching how your son goes thru his day and to evaluate his school day is an absolutely priceless blessing!

On a not so good note, my Grandma passed away during this trip. The funeral and viewing was right in the middle of the conference, so I sadly could not attend. It was definitely interesting thinking about her during the conference and this "gene" in our family and how it's been passed from generation to generation....silently....until it was identified with our sweet Jimmo. I'll miss her greatly and I celebrate her wonderful life - a loving husband, 8 beautiful children, 16 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer. One month of summer left to squeeze in as many pool days as possible, VBS, a few more s'mores, hopefully a trip to the beach and maybe a water park. Oh and maybe another backyard camping night!