So much good news to share...

Okey dokey friends....I feel it is time to update the blog once again! I know it's been a while, but we've been super duper busy. But I have so much to talk about and so much good news to share!
First, Devon is almost done with baseball. Yay! Haha. No im kidding, thats not the good news. As soon as baseball is over, he will start basketball for the winter, which he seems to like much more than baseball. He is also in the midst of testing for his black belt! And is ALMOST done! He has passed his mile run (run a mile in 10 min.) and has passed his 10 min drill (100 push ups, 100 sit ups, and 250 balance kicks with each leg all in 10 min.) He has also passed his 1st pretest! One more pretest and the final test will be Nov. 13th. I am soooo proud of him! What an accomplishment to not only have his black belt before he's 9 years old, but to have stuck with something and worked hard at that something for sooo long! He has been doing this since he was 3, and has never even taken a break. I think thats pretty amazing for someone so young. Just sayin'. On top of that, he got his first report card of this school year yesterday, and again, all A's!!! He is really just an all around amazing kid. I am so lucky to be his mom. So lucky.
Now for Brooklynn! Sweet baby Brooklynn! Oh the accomplishments she has made! Yep, she has FINALLY rolled over from tummy to back! (8 months old) She has only done it twice, but considering she has not yet had her knee surgery and cannot yet straighten her left leg to be able to push herself over, it's pretty amazing she can do this. She has to work twice as hard than the general population of babies to accomplish these "simple..not so simple" tasks, yet she accomplished this! I am a little sad that her last surgery had to be postponed due to her running a 104 temp., because her therapists were so sure that had her surgery been in Sept. like planned, that she would be crawling by Thanksgiving (10 months old) and walking not long after her 1st birthday. Yes, they know all about RTS. They know that it's not the typical age for these things to happen. Yet they felt that Brooklynn pushes herself so hard and tries so hard to do these things, that she would accomplish them so soon. She just can't do any of these things until after her surgeries. If you put her in the crawling position, she can hold it for a short period, and will rock back and forth....obviously trying to get somewhere! :-) We'll see what happens after her surgery. It has been rescheduled for Nov. 3rd and she will have a full leg cast (from foot to hip) for at least 6 weeks. Then of course she will have to go to rehab after that to learn how to use it. She has never been able to straighten her leg since she was born so this will definitely be a task getting her used to using this leg. Also, she has begun to mimick sounds that I make. :-) YAYYY! If she is in her nonstop babbling mood, I can make a soft babble noise, and she will make a soft babble noise. If I make a loud babble noise, she will make a loud babble noise. Then laugh! She is so stinkin' cute! She is also now finding it hilarious when her brother plays peek-a-boo with her! He will hide behind her dolls, or on the other side of the couch, and jump out and scare her while yelling "fishy". ( I have no idea why he choose that word..) But she will get startled, then finds it absolutely hilarious and laughs her little tushy off at him. And she lovesssssss to pull his hair. She loves to pull everyones hair, but her brother is nice enough to let her pull his! They absolutely adore each other. And she lovessss her daddy's hats! He always has a baseball cap on, and as soon as he walks through the door and she hears his voice, he will bend down to kiss her and she tries to steal his hat! Sneaky girl. He always has his ways of making her smile too. She just has to hear him and she's searching for him. Definitely a daddy's girl. She has also found it hilarious to put her paci in her mouth, then take it out and stick it in my mouth, then her mouth, than my mouth, etc. When she takes it away from me, she laughs hysterically. She is such a goober. A super duper smart goober! She has incredible recognition too! There are certain songs that I can sing to her, and as soon as she hears them, she is smitten with joy! When I sing her new songs, she will just stare and listen. But when it's something she knows, she gets so excited! I am so proud of her accomplishments. I know for those of you reading this who don't have children with special needs, this doesnt seem much, as many of these things all come natural to most children, as it did my son. And those of you who have children with RTS or other special needs will really appreciate this. But these are huge accomplishments for Brooklynn. She has to work extra hard, as do all our children with RTS and other disabilities to accomplish the "little" things. So for her, the "little" things, are not "little." They are "BIG!" And I am so proud of her.
On another note, I have to send a HUGE thank you to all those who put in so much time this past weekend making her benefit happen. It was so much fun and a HUGE success! We definitely have our struggles at home, but I am so blessed. I really have so many amazing people in my life and so much to be grateful for. Life is good. Life is very very good.

XOXO