Mommy's Show

As my Alex sits curled up beside me at 10:00 pm I am grateful to have him beside me! I love awards shows and tonight was the big one!! Alex is under the weather and slept most of the day away. He woke up around 7:00 pm and curled up on our blue chair. As he started to watch the show he looked up and asked..."What's This!" Daddy answered with "Mommy's Show!" I am happy to say that as the medication started to kick in Alex started to enjoy the show. He enjoyed the animation awards as well as the musical numbers. He even clapped a few times. I truly enjoyed the Oscars tonight not because of the films or the show, but for the experience of seeing the show through the eyes of my little one :) Now we are all off to bed!!

Jealous

Daddy sent a picture of himself to the kids today. I was excited to share the picture, not knowing the reaction that was in store. Addison saw the picture first and she was truly taken back at first. She was surprised to see the snow and for a short moment she had joy in her voice, but that soon changed! She looked at me and said "I never get snow!" She was very upset and that brought Alex running to see what he was missing. Alex looked at the picture and began to cry. I don't know if the tears were from missing his Dad or if they were because of the white stuff!! Amelia smiled and tried to tear my screen off my computer!! Lil Adam is still at school, but if I had to guess he will be a tad jealous as well, but he will think it is cool.
So, for all that are tired of shoveling the walk/driveway and can't wait for the seasons to change already there are a few little ones in Arizona that would trade places with ya in a heart beat :)

Star Student

Adam was the STAR STUDENT last week in his classroom! Each week of the school year a student is chosen to highlight themselves and share with the class. Adam picked out all of the likes and pictures for his poster. Mom didn't add the dinosaurs though and as you can see he added a picture of his own on the upper left hand corner :)
Adam was allowed to take something to share each day of school to share. Adam took pictures from his trip this past summer on Tuesday. Wednesday he took the fossils he was given on Kelly's Island in Ohio. Thursday he took his Star Wars Legos book. Friday he took his Valentine's to share with his class during their party!!

Valentine's Day 2011

Party Prep
Sunday night Addison started preparing for her school party. We began with painting her finger/toe nails. After the nails were properly painted the girls enjoyed a bath followed by sponge rollers! Addison wanted curls for her party and so she was willing to go through the process a little bit easier than her usual hairdo experiences, it was still a hard thing for her to sit through, she really wanted those curls :)

With our new diet I was worried about how our holiday food would have to change. We began our morning with pink pancakes dipped in blueberries and real maple syrup. The kids were able to enjoy their class parties food and all and then we enjoyed a dinner picked out by our kids. We ate mashed potatoes, corn, asparagus, steak & eclairs!!! I took them to the grocery store and let them pick the menu...I was amused with the discussion over the veggies. Addison and Adam were both excited to get their veggies!!
We received a lot of cards and calls from family and friends. Thank you for all of the love, we assure you it is mutual :) Happy Valentine's Day!

PEC's

People that stop by to visit and use our restrooms and other hot spots in our home might be taken by surprise when they see detailed instructions with pictures as to how one might accomplish their task at hand. Alex's teacher Ms. B and his speech therapist Ms. Melissa have been using PEC's ( Picture Exchange Communication) with him since August. Ms. B has helped me a lot in order to create a binder based on his work with Ms. Melissa to have at home.

Using a binder, Velcro and a special program with pictures we created a PEC's book to use with Alex at home. We are hoping that we can cut down on the frustration of not knowing what he needs and wants. You can see from the pictures above that Alex is also using and learning sign language to help explain his wants and needs.

These are Alex's PEC's from school. Ms. B knows how much he enjoys Pirates so each of his prompts have treasure, pirates and other items from the pirate realm!!

We are so grateful to Ms. B for getting all of the pictures for us and laminating them. I have finished cutting them out and need to get more Velcro to finish Alex's binder. I am guessing that we will really never be finished with it though. As he grows older we will be able to add and take away things in the binder in order to meet his needs. We have noticed that using PEC's and sign language helps Alex a lot when he is stuck or in his worst moments. I find my self more and more grateful for the minds of those that have traveled this road of special needs before me so that I can have these items as quickly as possible to help my little one!!

A Christmas Wish

Last November when most children were creating their list for Santa our children decided that they would pass on the large amount of toys from Santa & family in exchange for a trip to Disneyland. Lil Adam wrote Santa a letter and in return Santa spoke to the Berniger Family and created a New Mexico/Phoenix Berniger Family Reunion.

We are happy to say that everyone was able to attend. Uncle Jared had just finished a class and his new classes aren't starting until February. Aunt Donna and Nanee have retired and so they were able to make it and Great Grandma Greg loves Mickey Mouse so of course she was in too!!
Aunt Donna had never been to Disneyland or Disney World before so the kids were excited to share all of their favorites with her.

Throughout many visits to the Happiest Places on Earth we have met many Princesses. We were thrilled to run into Princess Tiana during this trip. We took the train to New Orleans Square for dinner and we heard the Princess and the Frog song, I thought it was recorded, but to my surprise it was Princess Tiana herself singing the song with her very own jazz band.
We happened to be in Disney on my brother Jacob's birthday. He has always been a fan of Disney as well and so on his birthday we celebrated for him. Adam even took a picture with his favorite Princess in the place of Jacob.

Look closely at the photo of Alex & Woody...I wasn't there, but I was told that Alex basically ran up and tackled Woody!! He was thrilled to meet him as well as running into Mary Poppins. Dadam and I both mentioned multiple times how surprised we were to see so many characters just out and about. Cinderella was just walking towards the castle without a care in the world at one point in our visit. I promise I have never seen as many characters as we did this trip!!

Our three days at Disneyland were fun, chilly, memorable & tiring!! The World of Color was a great show as well as seeing the fireworks :)
We are grateful that everyone was able to come and build memories with our little ones, most importantly we are grateful that once again Santa and his elves were able to grant our little ones Christmas wish!!

Huntington Beach, California

January isn't the best month to visit the beach, but we just couldn't resist!! We arrived in LA just in time for lunch and we decided the ocean would be a great view to enjoy :) Adam selected Huntington Beach which had a pier. We even got the chance to eat at the end of the pier at Ruby's Diner. We left having wonderful meals and loving the view!

Growing up in Florida I never saw a lot of surfing. Hurricanes were usually the only time that good waves came our way. We had a great time watching the surfers and talking to their friends standing on the pier. They all seemed like a tight group that enjoy spending a few hours at the beach each day. The pier had a few shops, but the one shop that kept my little ones attention was the wind sock & flag store. They had airplanes, hot air balloons & bicycles.
After lunch we walked across the street and side walked shopped (Addison really wanted to go inside). Dad even had us circle our loop again so that we could enjoy fresh gelato!! Dad enjoyed his salty caramel and the kids had chocolate & s'mores.
The weather was perfect and we had a great time enjoying the beach in January!!! We didn't even have to vacuum out sand from the van :)