Louisville Spring Break = Visits From Lots of Friends!

(WARNING: This post contains lots of pictures!)

This past week was spring break for the Louisville public schools, so a few of our friends came for a visit and we had such a wonderful time with all of them! First came our dear friends Mary, Tracy, Penny and JoJo. The plan was for them to drive through the night while the twins slept, but that didn't quite go as planned. I am truly thankful for Mary and Tracy, who had to endure an 8 hour car ride each way with two little ones who did not want to ride in the car (they ended up having to split the drive in half and spend the night in a hotel). Once they got here, we had a wonderful time shopping at the outlet mall, letting the kids play together and then, right before they left, we took them to an indoor playground to wear them out before the long trip back. I think it made the adults more tired than the kids, though.

A few days later our friends Margaret and Kord arrived. Margaret was one of Ethan's therapists (the only one, actually, who saw him from the time he was 5 months old until right before we left). She quickly became much more than a therapist and we love her and her son, Kord like family. Margaret was blown away by how much progress Ethan has make since we've left. Ethan loves Kord and kept following him around the apartment and watching every move he made. If Kord wasn't around, he would say, "Where's Kord?" One of the highlights of our time with them was our trip to the Lazy 5 Ranch, where you ride around with a bucket of animal food and get to feed the animals with your bare hands. We had so much fun and, again, the adults were pretty worn out by the end of the day.

I am so thankful for our dear friends who decided to spend their spring break with us! We love you and look forward to seeing you again soon!

Ethan, Penny and JoJo

(Ethan's therapist recently suggested standing him up against a wall to work on his independent standing - so we tried it out and he did really well. He stood there for about 5 minutes without falling! Slowly, over the next few months we will try to see how he does without leaning on the wall)

Margaret and Kord at the Lazy 5 Ranch

Ethan liked throwing the food off the side of the tractor

And Cara, of course, thought the food was for her. She would slowly put her hand in, while watching the animals and then pop the food in her mouth like she was eating popcorn at the movies. It was only oats and molasses, but still.

Some of the animals (I can't remember the actual name of these guys) would stick their tongues way out for you to drop the food in their mouths. So gross.

Kord would put a bunch of food in Ethan's hand and then Margaret would hold his palm flat for the animals to eat out of it. I was thankful she was there, because I'm a little squemish around animals and would not have been able give him that experience.

Cara in the dress Margaret's mom made - so beautiful!