Just Fixing a Flat...

Cute little Eliza will be getting a new accessory on March 6th that will look something like this...


No she is not exceedingly accident prone (which was honestly my thought when I first saw a baby in a helmet like this.) She has what they call plagiocephaly (aka - a flat spot on her head). For Eliza, her scoliosis and torticollis prevented her from turning her head to the left until she was about 5 months old and the physical therapy started working. So for 5 months she would lie on the same part of her head, hence the flat area. The physical therapist warned us about the worsening flat spot but hoped she would grow out of it as she learned to sit up. After almost 2 months of sitting it was still very flat so she was evaluated for a helmet.

Eliza's head was "bad enough" for insurance to approve her helmet as medically necessary based on two separate measurements. If left untreated the plagiocephaly can cause jaw and other problems in the future. With how hard it is to get insurance companies to pay for things, we knew that if it was bad enough for her to qualify we should go ahead with the treatment. I added a line in this picture so it is clearer how uneven the two sides of her head are.
Yesterday she was fitted for her helmet which I thought would be traumatic for her. They make a cast of her head that gets shipped off to the helmet manufacturer. Surprisingly Eliza wasn't too bothered by any of it but Hazel freaked out! She kept telling the orthoitst "Take it off!" "Don't cut her" etc. In a way it was cute that she was worried about Eliza. I just hope we can convince Hazel that the actual helmet is just a silly hat so she doesn't keep freaking out about it.
Not to worry Eliza, helmet hair or not, you'll always be the cutest girl ever!

Cutest Girls Ever

Hazel

This is her Mary Poppin's Dress. She is obsessed with Mary Poppins right now. She goes around singing "supercallafradle - humm-di-diddle-die" and "chim-chim-cherry-do!"

Rocking Panther to sleep before bed. Each night she takes off Panther's wand, tirara, and shoes because "that's not comfortable" to sleep in:)

While I was in the shower the other day she packed up a bunch of my shoes, put on her "high heels" and told me she was going to church. (Notice, she still wears a skirt over her pajamas EVERY night)

Eliza

Here she is showing us how big she is by "drinking" from a straw. I love this little peanut!

Is this not the cutest smile you've ever seen?

Build-A-Bear Valentines

Back in December my mom and her twin sister had a "Pink Panther" themed birthday party. It was the first time they had celebrated their birthdays together in 30 years so it was a big deal and everyone had a blast. Sadly, we missed it because it was right before we moved out to Utah. For the occasion, my Dad decided to build my Mom a pink bear at Build-A-Bear and he named it Panther.

Once we moved out and Hazel saw the bear, she fell in love with it and wanted one too. My dad was all ready to pack her up right then and go build one. But in the interest of not totally spoiling her rotten I asked if they could wait for some event and it was decided that she could build one for Valentine's Day. So, Saturday we met my parents at the mall so they could get Hazel her Valentine's bear. Hazel was sooooooo excited because she has been looking forward to this for over a month. It was a big event to her and she determined she needed to wear her tiara for the occasion:)

Hazel built a pink bear just like Gram's and even named her Panther! Of course, she had to work in her favorite color so Panther has a purple dress. She also has a wand and a tiara so she can be a princess. My mom even caved at the end and got Hazel a cute little backpack to carry her in instead of just the house box. Hazel was in heaven and loved every minute of it.



While we were there my Dad decided Eliza should build a bear too. None of us expected that she would like it all that much but she LOVES her bear! She laughs and coos every time she sees it and then proceeds to slobber all over its nose:)


The girls had a great time, but I think my parents may have enjoyed it more! Thanks Mom and Dad for spoiling the girls. They LOVE their bears.

Blessings Flow

I don't know why it continues to amaze me how much the Lord blesses us and cares for us, but it does. As I mentioned in a previous post, we moved to Utah because we felt strongly that this is where the Lord wanted us. We felt assured that if we moved, things would work out and we would be taken care of.

Well, things are slowly starting to fall in to place here. That's not to say everything has worked itself out, but I have seen the Lord's hand in our lives. Blessings both large and small have been given. Some were blessings we'd hoped and prayed for (like Eliza getting accepted in to Shriner's Hospital for the follow up on her back) while others were very unexpected.

The biggest unexpected blessing has been that I found a job. Keep in mind, I wasn't even looking for a job. The plan when we moved was that I would be able to stay home with the girls, and I've been loving every minute of it. One day while they were napping I got online to take care of changing addresses related to my certification. I decided to look briefly at what ABA services are available here in Utah mostly out of curiosity. I had thought about looking for some very part time work just to keep my certification current, but that was all it was - a thought. However, I came across a company I was interested in learning more about and decided to call just so I could get more information.

Well, the next thing I knew I had an interview set up for the following day and they wanted me to email over my resume (which I hadn't even updated). I got off the phone, typed up a resume, sent it, and started calling people to ask if I could use them as references. The next day, the interview went great and I was hired on the spot.

The Lord led me to this job - pure and simple. It is literally the perfect job for me. If I had designed my dream job, this would be it. I am working for Utah Behavior Services. They essentially provide me with clients and I will work 6 hours a week with each client. Meanwhile, they take care of all of my insurance billing, liability insurance, taxes, supplies, curriculum, continuing education, etc, etc, etc. They also act as a support system where I can turn for help with a client if needed. I get to set my own schedule and do what I want with the client. It is literally all of the best parts of my old job (working one-on-one with the kiddos, seeing them improve, helping families) without any of the worst parts (all the management, report, paperwork stuff). I will be working with two kids which means I will only be working 12 hours a week. It will be just the right amount to keep me current, make some extra money, and also keep me sane:)

I am so grateful! It is a huge blessing for the family and has strengthened our faith that this is where we are supposed to be. It has also allowed us to rest assured that when the perfect job for Mike is available the Lord will lead him to it just as He led me to this job.

Speaking of blessings... they don't come any cuter than this one:)