no words

I have no words for the horrible tragedy that has happened.  Most of you know through facebook that my sister Rachel's husband died in a car accident on Friday morning.  My sister and Justin live in Austin Texas.  Today would have been there 3 year wedding anniversary.  We flew out very early Sat. morning (my parents got out Friday night) and came home yesterday (Tues).  It's a very very sad time for so many people and my heart is just so saddened for Rachel's loss as well as for Justin's entire family.  Justin is originally from Michigan so the service is going to be here on Saturday.  I love my sister so much and am just so saddened this had to happen.  I didn't get to know Justin very well since they moved right after they got married, but I know he loved my sister very much and he will be missed! It's just so sad and horrible. We love you Rachel and I am always here for you.  I'm so very sorry and wish I could take the pain away.  We are always here for you and to hold you while you cry and to listen.  I know you miss him so much and I am so sorry you have to go through this. We love you and we will miss you Justin!

Thank you everyone for your kind words, prayers and thoughts. It means so much!

Our visit from the Bunny

Easter was pretty fun this year with the kids. Will is at a great age to ask for more toys for yet another holiday and Kaela had fun finding eggs and eating chocolate. What more can a kid ask for :) We started Easter weekend with a trip to a near by city who was having an Easter egg hunt. We went with our neighbor Dale and his kids William and Natalie. Their mommy had to work, which was a big bummer, so she wasn't able to join us. Next year :)They had the bounce houses, face painting and eggs filled with candy. Unfortunately it really wasn't much fun because there were SO many kids and parents that you could hardly even move around.  It was fun getting out of the house though. 

William and Natalie (our neighbors kids)

 Saturday night we colored eggs which was a lot of fun to watch.  Will liked putting each egg into every color, which makes for some pretty ugly eggs.  He did the same thing last year, but somehow this year they turned out much better. Kaela started by chucking one egg at one of the cups, which is always fun.  The little plastic egg holder was a nice thought, but it turns out little 3 year old and 1 year old hands work much better. By the time we were done we had pretty colored eggs and hands!

Sunday we woke up and the kids found their baskets full of yummy treats and toys. They loved that part.  We then went out to eat with Matt's parents, his brother Joe and his g/friend Marcy as well as my parents, which was fun.

Will and Kaela ate chocolate, starburst and tootsie rolls all day long. It was a lot of fun. I imagine it will only get better in the next couple of years.

One other big announcement. William is potty trained!  Woo hoo!!  He hasn't had any accidents in about a week and he's doing GREAT! We are so proud of him.  Last night we put him to bed in underwear, and didn't even realize it until he woke up this morning. Matt sent me a text at work telling me Will wore his underwear all night and didn't have an accident.  He has been waking up with dry diapers, but I just was a little nervous to start putting him to bed without it just to be safe.  He's so proud of himself and loves wearing his big boy underwear so I think we are down to one kid in diapers. Talk about exciting news!!  He will be 3.5 in June so I think he did pretty well with it. I've heard boys take longer, so I'm happy.  Great job Will!!  

The last bit of new news is we are heading to Texas one month from today.  We are thrilled. We booked our tickets about a month ago, but we are getting really excited since it's not too far away now. We are going to Austin to visit my sister Rachel. The kids are excited to ride on a plane and Matt and I are dreading it :) Hopefully it goes well.  Three hours on a plane with 2 kids 3 and under can't be that bad, can it? If you have advice please don't hold back!  I know some of you travel with your kids often so I'd love some advice or suggestions on how to make for an easier trip. 

 So I didn't have time for cropping and I'm sorry for the picture overload, but when you have kids this cute it's just too hard to choose :)

What's it like...

I was talking with a friend the other day and thought about a topic to write about on the blog. I know I get a few new parents who read the blog or come across it when they are searching for things, so I wanted to talk about what it is like to raise a child with dwarfism. I know there are also people out there who don't have a dwarf child, who might wonder too and that's okay! I know this is different for everyone, so I can only talk about my experience and state my opinions. Obviously I still have a lot to experience, since Kaela isn't quite 2 yet, but I do have some idea. I'm sure the dwarfism part is a bigger deal to some people and families then it is others, and people are going to have their own feelings about what's right and what's wrong for our children just as we do with our average sized children. For our family, the fact that Kaela was born a little person, really means very little. I worried a lot before she was born and right after she was born, but I feel like that was a natural grieving process in some ways. I was scared and I worried about her and things I should not have to worry about, but this was my baby. All I ever wanted was for my kids to be healthy and happy, and then I hear that my daughter is going to be born with a skeletal dysplasia and she will be very little. It turns out I have much more important things to worry about then Kaela being little, because there are a lot of complications that come along with her form of dwarfism, but still, for us, it's really a non issue. Don't get me wrong, I want the best for Kaela and that include the best health care and treatments. I take her to see an Orthopedic surgeon at least every 6 months to see how her spine is curving, check her neck to be sure it's stable, look at her bowed legs, we've seen physical therapist, occupational therapist, a physical medicine doctor, a pulmonary doctor, etc....our lives are different then they would have been had we had an average kid with no medical complications, but really, she's just a kid just like any other kid I would have had. Kaela does everything any almost 2 year old kid does other then walk. I think parents get scared sometimes thinking their lives are going to be so different and that their child's life is going to be so different. I'm not saying that in some ways it isn't going to be or that it isn't different, but I personally feel like it's as different as we make it. I want Will and Kaela to both grow up to be good, caring, smart people. I want them to know they can be whatever they want to be, they can do whatever they want to do. Obviously we all have our own limitations, but for us, Kaela can and will do just as much as William. I don't ever want Kaela to feel different around her family and friends. I want her to know that we love her, respect her, and support her and the same goes for Will.

I sometimes have people ask me if we'd have another kid not knowing which gene causes Metatropic. I don't really understand this question 100% unless you haven't met Kaela ;) I absolutely would and will (hopefully) have another child even knowing that their is a small chance we could pass this down. I adore my Kaela! Will adores his Kaela and Matt adores his Kaela! And our Kaela adores us! Kaela plays just like any other kid...well, maybe any kid that has an older brother. She likes to play with his cars and she likes to smack Will when she doesn't get her way...but hey, she's got to fight back and she does it well! She screams just like any other kid, she laughs, she climbs, she does it all! There is no stopping Kaela. Matt and I joke (I use that word lightly) that Kaela is going to be our problem child. We know she's going to be the one that brings out the grey hairs. She thinks she rules the house with her little index finger out telling everyone "NO!" Or "STOP" to anything SHE doesn't like. I know our kids might need an extra stool, or may need help with some things that other kids don't need help with but I think it just makes them stronger. I don't worry so much about Kaela going somewhere where she can't reach something or what not, because she's already found ways! Obviously I will do what I need to do to make sure she has what she needs in life, but she is one determined little girl! I walked into Will's room yesterday to find her sitting in the middle of Will's train table. Apparently when your arms aren't long enough to reach the middle of the table, you climb on top and sit on it! I just want people to know that our life is just like yours! We might have more doctor's appointments and we may have some extra hurdles, but it does not consume our lives. We really rarely even talk about Kaela's differences unless we have just been to an appointment or we are worried about something with her spine. Obviously we know it's there, but Kaela is Kaela. She is a little girl, a person, before she is anything else. I don't mind the questions people have, because that tells me you are interested enough to ask! If you say something that isn't okay, I'll let you know. I'm not scared to talk about Kaela. I LOVE my kids and would talk about them all day if you let me! I just want people to understand that we really are just the same as everyone else. My kids like to play and have fun just like any other kids. Kaela deserves to be treated just like any other kid her age. Even if you don't think she can do something, assume she can, because usually she can! She might do it in a different way then you and I, but she can do it! Yes, we will have to go through some things that the 'average' kid does not have to go through, but those things are not our everyday life. I do worry about her and Will both, and yes, I may have a day here and there where I worry more then I should, but I feel like that can happen with any child. Obviously I have some things I need to be more concerned with when it comes to Kaela, but I really don't want to ever make her feel any more different then she has to. I know when she steps out into the real world she will have to adjust to certain things too, but I truly believe that because we will raise her to be a strong person she will be fine. I also believe that in some ways this was the best thing that ever happened to us, because it's taught us so much in such a short time. It makes us better people. It educates us, and it's brought us into so many lives we never would have known.

The Kids love this Sit and Spin :)

Kaela on the train table showing off

This was taken at the natural history museum in Ann Arbor....And Kaela with her Bella