Short On Words

I'm short on words these days...but definitely not on pictures!  Life is strange right now, but we are striving to keep our heads up and keep moving forward.  I wish I had the ability to summarize things here, but that's not the case for now.  I think creating posts with pictures helps keep fresh in my mind that we are pressing on and doing our best.

Sweet siblings watching an iPad movie together 

Napping with Daddy while sitting up  

Parker & Tessa movie night!

 she enjoyed every minute!

Every 10 minutes or so Parker would start hollering from the bedroom for one of us: Tessa would either be taking her CIs off, chewing on them, her headband down around her eyes, or intentionally trying to fall out of her nap nanny.  I think she was more entertained by keeping Parker on his toes than she was watching the movie.  Devious little thing ;)

We had some time with a loaner Tobii Eye Gaze Communication device over the weekend

At some point I'll try to write more specifically about this new communication device, but here's a brief description for now:

Basically the computer screen is calibrated with Tessa's eyes.  In order to make a choice from the boxes presented on the screen, and have the system speak her choice, she has to look at her choice for a certain amount of time.  The screen that is up in the video has things related to meal time.  In this video she asks for more food and then after that, she asks for her drink.  Her little laugh at the end cracks me up.  It's a giggle that says "Ha! I just asked for my drink and you had to pick it up off the floor and give it to me ~ wow! communication is a powerful thing!" ;)

Oh and Parker's reaction is hilarious!  That's kinda how we feel about it too...technology is pretty amazing.

( and yes, the video is dark.  we have to turn the lights off or Tessa will stare at the lights instead of focusing on the screen)

  Tessa with her serious-face waiting to see her eye doctor

 Daddy and Parker entertaining themselves at the eye doctor

 Parker is the sweetest big brother ever.

And I just love how the doctors always take the time to tell him how good he is :)

 Loving the water!

He wanted an action shot...and surprisingly I got one!

 Loving time at the pool

Tessa loves to splash!

 And she loves being swung in the air 

 Daddy's starting swimming lessons early ;)

Standing up on the steps...she looks so big in this position!

 Parker trying out his sister's floating contraption ;)

Lots of swimming = Lots of giggles

See!  So Big!

"Daddy, this is fun"  

I guess this could kinda be our whole 'when life gives you lemons...make lemonade' thing.  Watching your child go through her first grand mal seizure isn't something that passes very quickly.  Fighting with the school district in the middle of the summer over Tessa's educational rights and details that should have been lined out at the beginning of April...doesn't sit well.  And wishing our concerns were over the minor and petty...unrealistic.  Ups and downs are so very real, and extreme for us at times, but I believe the Lord is our continuous provider.  Some days I have to fight a lot harder to see and grab hold of those provisions...and even harder to embrace them.  They don't always looks like what we thought, but experiencing them is just as sweet. 

~Whitney