Holiday fun with 3

Tuesday 14th. Brendon getting some rest and Asher keeping him company. The one advantage to him getting sick while on leave is that he can really rest. If he wasn't on leave he would be working through it and I am sure it would take longer to get well.
Hezekiah and Asher have especially enjoyed having Dad home every day.

Popcorn treat after dinner while watching a movie together.

Wednesday 15th. We had signed up to come to the "sibling day" at the Champion centre today but were not sure until this morning if we would still get in. Thankfully the coughing seems to have stopped and the noses are all better.
Hannah and Hezekiah especially enjoyed the play dough table.
Hezekiah and Asher enjoyed this little toy. Such a cutie.

And the two of them enjoyed this swing too. At least this one stops Asher from throwing herself backwards. We didn't let her swing too much, but just being in there with a little bit of movement was loads of fun for her.
They ended the morning with a long music session. It was a bit long for Asher (who didn't recognise all of the songs). She did love the parachute though - and did what is so typical of little ones - and she went and sat underneath it. :-)
She also enjoyed the bubbles that were are part of the music time.
On our way home we got some shopping done - including picking up the canon bones (marrow bones) I had ordered. Time to get some more bone broth made and get some soup made with that too. I don't know why I haven't made more soup through this winter. Rather late than never. ;-)

Hezekiah actually started with a fever on Wednesday afternoon and so he and Brendon spent the last days of the week feeling rather ill. Interesting that both Hezekiah and Asher got a fever with this cold. Perhaps it was more of a flu for them too. I know it was flu (and not just a cold) for Brendon and I. I heard yesterday that so many people have gotten sick this month and it's been really hard - with people very sick for an extended time.

It made me realize we were actually doing rather well. Yes, everyone at home has gotten sick (for the first time in a couple of years), but the worse of it with the children is the runny noses. Brendon and I have just gotten tired of wiping snotty noses. ;-)
On Friday Hezekiah was still coughing, and so I didn't insist on him heading outside to play. So I made a tent for them to enjoy inside. It was lovely to see the three of them having so much fun together.

And Asher discovered sliding on her tummy because of the tent. :-)

Saturday 18th. Although Brendon isn't quite 100% yet, he did take Hannah out to the tea rooms this afternoon. She had hoped to go to the playground too, but as it was raining she was happy to just head out for a treat to eat.

I got the kids "Jumpstart" this week (the new on-line version as all our disks are too old to work on the newer computers now). It's been fun watching these two enjoy it together. Hezekiah has done well in learning how to use the mouse and navigate around the 3D environment. And he enjoys doing his "school work" too. :-) He might just be the earliest of the kids to learn to read if he keeps it up.

And when the camera is out it's a great opportunity to pull funny faces. :-)
Thankfully Brendon was well enough to still preach on Sunday night. His voice was tired by the time he got home - but he managed. Back to work in the morning and I know the children will miss him. It's been fun having him home for two weeks.

Mum in the snow and Asher on a slide

Off to the airport to pick Brendon up this morning. And then on the way home we picked up Ruth and Hannah. Thankfully we had some time to visit before getting Asher home for her nap.
We were so impressed with Ruth learning to play a bit on the accordion. They played a Christmas Carol and Ruth did a harmony.

It was really pretty. Unfortunately the video I took didn't come out well.
And then they let the little ones have a "play".

Ruth asked me to take a photo of her at the woodworking area. She had helped make a wooden spinning top this week.
And she suggested Hezekiah have a turn with the helmet too.

Once Asher was in bed I asked Ruth to come out with me so I could take some photos of the igloo. I didn't get any "finished" photos yesterday.

This is the window on the the back.

From this angle you can see that there has been a bit of water damage from the rain overnight. There were a few holes in the roof.
Asher enjoying some whipped cream when she woke from her nap.

Brendon didn't get any sleep last night as he arrived in Auckland at midnight and then flew down to Christchurch this morning. So he napped while Asher had her nap.
Once they were both up, I asked if Brendon wanted to go out in the snow. He was far too tired though. There was however, a small little something inside of me that made me feel like I wanted to go out and enjoy "playing" in the snow.

It was only a little feeling, but I was sure glad I decided to head out. We learnt from the Redepennings to use warm thin gloves (my merino gloves are wonderfully warm) with dish washing gloves over them (to keep dry). Hezekiah was the only one without gloves - so he regularly put his hands in his pockets to warm up.
First we added some snow balls to the roof to patch up the wholes. Then we got the wheelbarrow to collect extra snow for small patching up. Hezekiah did a great job pushing the wheelbarrow for us. And Ruth did a great job repairing the inside of the roof. Hannah and I focused on the outside.

I had such a fun time with the children. It didn't take long for my jacket to come off. At least now I know not to insist that the kids have extra layers on when they are working.

Our goal today was to try and get everything nice and smooth so that if there is more rain - it won't further open any holes. We couldn't really smooth the top very well as I was too short. :-)

This evening I decided to let the two enjoy the slide on the castle. Up till now I have just had the step side up so that we take it slow with Asher's movement.

They had a great time. For a while Asher just happily sat watching TV while they played in front of her.

And eventually Asher decided to join in. She just loved the slide (as we knew she would).
We had to smile at her. She put one foot forward (pictured on the right) and then took it back and put the other forward. You could see her thinking "how do I get both forward". So she lifted herself up (where her hands are in the photo) and swung both feet forward. It was lovely watching her work it out. We are hoping that this extra bit of movement won't be a problem for her. In the past lots of head motion seemed to be a trigger for seizures. We have been slowly introducing more movement over the last couple of months though - so that she can just get to enjoy more things.

Indoor castle and a Brownie promise

Tuesday 9th: I had asked the children to clean the castle off so we could bring it inside. They took it apart today and gave it a quick clean. It wasn't quite ready to come in, but it was a first step.

On Tuesday Joanne walks to our place after school and gets a lift to dance with us. She is always welcomed by Asher, who hugs her and plays with whatever she can find (zip, buttons, earring, clips).

In the evening Asher enjoyed wrapping herself up again. So sweet (even though it is a bit harder for me to keep an eye on her and make sure she is fine).

Wednesday 10th: Today I decided to get the castle cleaned off myself. It didn't take long for Hezekiah, then Hannah and Ruth to join me. With the little bit of demonstration, they finally understood how clean it could actually get. Rachel was too busy with school work, but we called her over to take a photo.
It didn't take Hezekiah long to get climbing. :-)
Thankfully the slice reverses as a step. So for now I will only have the step side up. I'm not going to push things too quickly with Asher's motion. We have kept her from jumping, swinging and sliding for so long now. I will only bring them back slowly.
One happy little girl.

The physiotherapist had noted how much Asher loves climbing (she climbs on everything she can find when we are at Champion Centre), so I was very motivated to get this inside for her and give her more opportunities to climb (and hopefully safe my lounge furniture which has been what she uses to climb).
I know this is going to give her hours of fun.

On Wednesday evening Asher had a 2 minute Tonic seizure and went very blue with it. It was different to other tonic seizures in that her arms and legs were not straight and stiff, they were bent and stiff. Her hands totally spastic as the muscles all just got so tight.
On Thursday morning at 7am, she had another tonic seizure, this time only 1 1/2 minutes. Her limbs were again stiff in a bend but this time she had very small shaking (a little like shivering). Thankfully after a sleep she was back to her normally happy self.

I could not resist taking this photo of the snow capped mountains when we went to fetch Rachel today. So beautiful. And I love that Brendon has said he never gets tired of how beautiful it is. He told Rachel that the most beautiful time is just as the sun is coming up. The lighting and colours are just magnificent.
An exciting time at Brownies today as they got to try on uniforms from Bronwies all over the world.
And they learnt about the different promises from the different countries. They got written out on flowers, folded up, and when placed in water they all opened up.
It was fun for the girls to watch the flowers opening, and they tried to read some of the promises before the ink disappeared.
And then it was time for Hannah to say her promise. She has been looking forward to being a "real" Brownie for a few months now.
And that also means that she can get all the badges that she has been working on over the last couple of months. She came home with 7 badges, 4 of which she had earned (the others just showing quick Brownie unit and area she is a part of).
Asher enjoying the steps this evening. I thought I would take some photos so I could show the physiotherapist the next day.
Even though she has great gross motor skills, I have seen her balance improving and her muscles are getting a nice workout too. The physiotherapist was so impressed she said they needed one for the Champion Centre. :-)