What I'm Loving Wednesday

Goodness.  It's been a while since I've linked up with Jamie for WILW.   The kids are keeping me busy and I lose track of time.   I've been loving all the things we've been doing but just haven't had a chance to post about them.   I am so behind  but am trying to ward off the evil anxiety spirits and am just having fun.

So here is what i'm loving this week

{1}

These cute, star-spangled ice cream sandwiches



Darian getting ready to chow his down!



Those strawberries look good, too.   These are from Disney FAMILY FUN magazine.

{2}

Sparklers!!!

We LOVED these as kids and now our kids are addicted to them.   Just have to keep them from getting burned!

{3}

This dress from Garnet Hill.   I love the color and those straps look very flattering!

{4}

Look at this cute cake, shaped with cupcakes.   Would be so cool for an "Under the Sea" party.  

Hope everyone is having a great wednesday.   Can't wait to read all the 'favorites' for the week.





Our visit to Brown County State Park

We made our first stop on the "I-Spy Indiana" tour last week and it was a visit to Brown County State Park.  The Park is in Southern Indiana and is a bit to the east of the town we live in.   This was our first visit to this park.  



16,000 acres of beautiful park grounds along with the Abe Martin Lodge, where we stayed.

The lodge has around 80 guestrooms and here are Kya and Darian hanging out in the room and the lobby area.

We happen to live in a log cabin so this is all familiar.   These digs would be a nice change for a city dweller!

A very "outdoorsy" feel no matter where you were.



The kids rockin' away at the front entrance.



The kids' favorite part was not the hiking trails or just getting to know nature.   It was the indoor water park, of course!!!

The Abe Martin Lodge was named after a cartoon character and was built in 1932.   We had such a good time strolling around the building, checking out the views of the park from all the different points of the lodge.  

We spotted a little guest cabin from one of the lodge verandas.

We had planned on hiking ALL of the 12 or so hiking trails but only finished 2.  The kids were hot and wanted to swim.   Enough said!!!

These trails were a big old workout!!!!

Look at these silly, hiking extremists!

I think this little guy in the picture below is Chip.

These hats crack me up!

So many acres of land, so much exhaustion!

But in a good way.

Hi from the mini explorers.

Climbing this tower was so exciting for them....until they got towards the middle and realized how high they were.    Then it was "ah, were coming down now"

Hi mom, look how tall we are!!!

The Pony rides were a big hit, until one of the pony's bit Kya.   She then thought they were quite evil.



Kya gives some love to one of the bigger horses.



An abundance of things for the kids to do.   Creeks to wade through, wooden playgrounds with those old fashion metal slides and beautiful lakes to observe.   They were in heaven!   Mommy was worn out but we had so much fun.

Wave your hands in the air like you just don't want to play anymore!!!

Checking out the nature center, below.

What a great start to our summer road trips.

Thanks for visiting.  

Our Special Boy

Our 'special' little boy, Brandon, was born at 33 weeks and was, for the most part, healthy.

He started having these eye tics and then would go on to do crazy things with his arms. 

After doing brain studies (EEG's) where they put a bunch of wires all over his head, he was diagnosed as having INFANTILE SPASMS.   This is some kind of rare, epileptic disorder that happens to infants in the 3-12 months group.  

Look how cute.   He made everyone smile and was just a blessing!

It was rough putting Brandon through those tests, which they did on and off after trying  out certain medications.    The infants have to be sleep deprived and then have all those wires  on their heads and THEN have to hold really still.   Not pleasant!

He did well for a few years, walking around with his little walker and having the funniest personality ever!

He had issues with eating and drinking and was found to be aspirating his food.   We took him to so many different doctors and we were told that he had a genetic disorder, Mitochondrial Disease.   I guess it occurs when the mitochondrial cells fail to produce energy for the cell/organs.  

He would end up having a feeding tube inserted  and it just seemed that his muscles got weaker, he wasn't growing as he should and his coordinating wasn't great.  

We worked with many therapists to strengthen and stimulate him.

This is a picture taken at his therapy clinic.   He wore these plastic shoes called 'dafos' that were made especially for his feet.  They wrapped around his ankles and were then stuffed into the shoes.   Looked uncomfortable!  What a trooper.  You can see that there is a giant rubber band wrapped around his lower leg and then around his waist.   He was not always thrilled with these therapy sessions.   But he did everything with a smile. 

So hard to put your baby through this.

These little guys try SO hard.....they want to do the same things all the other kids are doing.  

The hardest thing about having a special needs child is not knowing how comfortable they REALLY are.  Brandon would make these little whimpering sounds but he could never truly tell me how he felt or what he wanted.    When he was exhausted he would make these funny sounds and point to his bedroom.   I guess everyone has there ways to communicate. 



Our little angel is in Heaven now and dearly missed!

Thanks to  Kelly @ Kelly's Korner  for giving parents the opportunity to talk about their special babies and to educated others about their conditions.