Happy May!

Well, well, how time has flown....the past several weeks have been busy, busy. David and I went to Boston for 6 days while my mom watched the kiddos and then we enjoyed a few more days with my mom. Then David went on a well-deserved golf week-end and a few days later, I went on a four day work trip to New York. Phew...no wonder we've been a bit out of sync. We have had a lot of fun - David and I really enjoyed our long week-end away and he did a wonderful job at the Boston Marathon. I was so proud of his hard work and the marathon fit the bill of the "Super Bowl of Running." It was so festive with so much energy for the runners. Not only did David run incredibly tough, he also raised nearly $10,000 for the NODCC - the organization for Taylor's ACC. This is a small organization, so the money will go far. We were so touched that so many people care about Taylor and contributed to help sweet kids like her.

Of course, the crazy routine makes it a little tough on the kids - this was by far the craziest few weeks we've ever had regarding travel. Jacob, in particular, craves routine and missed us while we were gone. I taught him my phone number and he called often - but it was cute to hear from him and empowering. They didn't have much time to miss us though - my mom was a trooper keeping up with the nutty schedule. We've recently added Tball and soccer games for Jacob and soccer games and practice for Lauren to the mix, on top of our typical craziness.

We're in a good groove right now. Here are a few notable Taylor updates:
1. Her endocrinology test results came back and they were normal. This is good news - no shots or supplements required, but definitely confirms that we need to make progress on her diet.
2. Taylor is the recipient of an eye patch - her left eye is weak and wanders a bit - if you remember, it was her eye doctor that first clued into her condition. So, now she needs to wear an eye patch on her right eye to help strengthen the left eye. We're starting slow - about an our a day - so we'll see if it helps. It would definitely be helpful for her to have good vision. We also hope she doesn't mind the patch too bad. Lauren was so sweet about it - both big kids were very interested in the patch - thankfully Lauren has had a few classmates with one, so it doesn't seem too odd to her. In fact, she and Jacob both wanted one too. Lauren was concerned that we didn't have a cute enough patch, so we have work to do. I said Taylor would be a cute little pirate and Lauren got very excited and said Taylor could join she and Jacob while they play Playmobile pirates. You gotta love the silver lining.
3. One of the areas I'm most excited about is Taylor's speech. She still isn't saying words, but she is babbling more and really paying attention to our mouths when we speak. I went to her speech therapist on Wednesday and was so encouraged. She is such a sweet lady and Taylor is mesmerized by her. She watches her so closely. Judy is working with her to make sounds - and now Taylor is comfortable enough with her to let Judy move her mouth and cheeks. Essentially her mouth is weak and needs to be strengthened. This will ultimately help with her eating too.

We're so happy for her progress and for our family. I'm working on some PR efforts for the EEU and have been interviewing various families. It is both sad and heartwarming to hear different stories. It is helpful to see the common bond we share and refreshing to hear the honesty of the other mom's. It is hard to find time for extra efforts, but I feel so strongly that it is important to share what a wonderful place the EEU is and to help educate people about kids with special needs - how wonderful they are and how deserving they are of resources.

Will post more soon and pictures.....sorry for being behind....we're in a nice, normal stretch for a while, so hopefully I'll do a better job on the blog.