HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We celebrated Halloween three times this year - trick-or-treating at the zoo, the VIPS annual Halloween party and, of course, our last "Halloween at the Veecks" with our neighbors in Portland. Here are just a few pictures from our Halloween celebrations. Enjoy!

Mountain Vacation

We returned home last night from a week vacation in the mountains of NC. Ethan's favorite vacation activities included swinging on the front porch, crawling outside in the grass, practicing walking everywhere we went, going on a few short hikes, playing with his cousin Cara and watching her eat leaves (which she is doing in both pictures below), going to a few small town festivals (including the Wolly Worm festival - see picutre below with the giant wolly worm) and a couple of old general stores, and passing the time waving at the cars that passed him by. We had a relaxing vacation and we're ready for a busy fall.

Colorful Carolina

Pictures of the Day

Cookie Therapy
(I told you, we're thinking outside the box around here these days.)

It all started a few weeks ago when our friendly neighbor saw Tim swinging Ethan on the front porch, and in a "hint, hint" sort of way, asked him if he owned a weedeater or just enjoyed "going green these days." Tim answered that our weedeater was broken (thank goodness he had an excuse this time), so a few days later our neighbor came over and weedeated our whole yard...just to be nice (or maybe so he didn't have to look at our ugly yard anymore). That same week one of Ethan's therapists suggested that we use cookie dough to help Ethan get used to touching different textures. He doesn't like squishy textures like playdough, so she thought he might be more into touching it if it tasted good. So, we thought we would kill two birds with one stone...let Ethan work on textures AND make some cookies for our nice neighbor. Needless to say, Ethan has no problem touching cookie dough (or any dough that tastes sweet and has chocolate chips in it). As you will see in the video below, he shoveled the stuff in his mouth and would have continued with the whole roll if I'd let him. Oh, and the last picture here is of Ethan's newest achievement...signing "MORE!"

Ethan before his cookie mess...

Hair Therapy

Lately we have been working with Ethan's therapists to provide opportunities for him to work on pulling as well as tolerating different textures. He has always been a little squeamish about touching hair. I think we're learning that when it comes to therapy, we just have to think a little outside the box!

Labor Day in Radcliff

Ethan had lots of fun today with his cousins in Radcliff. He ate some yummy food (gotta love potlucks!), played with a new drum (thanks Aunt Karen!) and and old car, got a great new book about rabbits (thanks Aunt DD!) and crawled up and down Grandma's step a thousand times before we headed home.

A Morning at the Races

Ethan went to his first (and his mom's last) 5K this morning at Churhill Downs to benefit VIPS (Where Ethan goes for vision therapy and preschool). Tim and Ethan walked most of the race while I ran/walked with a couple of friends.

Here is Ethan in his Stampede shirt...

He wasn't too thrilled with the giant furry horse. He was probably thinking, "This looks nothing like the horses at therapy and it is just wierd that he is trying to shake my hand."





The group of us before the race. Thanks Tracy and Aleasha for coming out to support us! You are both in much better shape than me!






The Bugler (is that what he's called?) who starts the horse races at Churchill Downs came to kick off our race...





See how red my face is? This is why that was my first and last 5K! It was worth it, but next time I think I'll just volunteer to help with registration and cheer on the other runners.

A Week With Cara

Every 6 months (around the time of Ethan's 6-month evaluation with First Steps therapy program) Ethan and I take a trip to Charlotte to relax. The only rule for the week is NO THERAPY! Oh, and mom must get a pedicure and watch lots of Lifetime and TLC. Anyway, we just got back from one of those relaxing weeks. And this time we got to spend it with Cara! Ethan and Cara had fun shopping with their moms at Ikea, playing in the bathtub, swimming at Aunt Lois's pool, helping Pop pack for his business trip, swinging, eating lots of good food and going consignment shopping (well, actually Ethan chose not to go but Cara woke us up at 5:30am so we could be number 80 and 81 in line for the consignment sale). We're back at home now, but we had a great time with our Charlotte family!

Ethan Starts "School"

Ethan started his first day of "school" at VIPS (www.vips.org) two weeks ago. We have been going to the parent and child group at VIPS for over a year now, but Ethan just started going to the 2 year old class for three hours one day a week while I volunteer in another part of the building. He did fine without me there and in fact the only time he cried was when Ms. Margaret (his teacher...whom he loves, by the way) left for just a second. We are looking forward to seeing how more interaction with other children might help in his development.

Visit from Grandpa Veeck

Tim's dad came for a little weekend visit a few weeks ago -- we went to Huber's Farm to pick blueberries and blackberries and celebrated the 4th of July. Tom said that the trip was worth it the minute he got here and Ethan saw him and said, "Grandpa" (or Ethan's version of Grandpa, anyway). Ethan loved picking blueberries, but I have to say that he picked more green ones than blue ones. And most of them ended up in his stroller instead of the bucket. We froze most of the berries for Tim to make ice cream - the only way Ethan will eat them.

Vacation in Asheville

We had a nice, relaxing vacation in Asheville. Ate lots of good food, went swinging at every park in the Asheville area, took Ethan on his first bike ride, read books on the front porch of our cabin, and took a nap every single day.

North Carolina in Bloom

We just got back from a week of vacation in Asheville, NC. One of our favorite vacation activities...taking pictures of all the beautiful flowers in bloom. Here are just a FEW of our favorites from the week. More vacation pictures to come...

Outside Adventures

The past few weekends we have taken advantage of the nice weather and gone on a few outside adventures. On Memorial Day we took Ethan on his first dip in the river - the Blue River in Indiana. As you can see, he loved splashing and throwing rocks on the shore. This weekend we took him on his second trip to the strawberry patch at Hubers Orchard. He REALLY enjoyed the tractor ride and loved throwing the hay and crawling around in the field. Our friend Margaret and her son Kord came with us - we had a nice picnic dinner, fed the ducks and, of course, stopped for ice cream at Berry Twist on the way home.

Pool Time

Meet Captain

About 2 months ago, Ethan started weekly PT and hippotherapy at Green Hill Therapy (www.greenhilltherapy.com). Hippotherapy(which has nothing to do with hippos, by the way) is therapy that works on balance, flexibility, strength and much more while riding on a horse. Ethan has made some great improvements since starting at Green Hill, including the ability to alternate his legs while walking with assistance. Two months ago he did not seem to understand the need to alternate his legs to move across the room. Now, if we hold his hands above his head, he will initiate that movement. The first month was rough - he wasn't too thrilled about the horse and HATED having to wear the riding helmet. In fact, up until the last two weeks, he cried most of 20-30 minute ride. However, the past two times on the horse have been tear-free and he has warmed up to his therapist, Nikki. Here, Ethan is riding Captain who seems to be the best match for Ethan. Captian has smoother movements than some of the other horses and has seemed to help keep Ethan calmer during his rides. We are extremely proud of Ethan and his strength and perseverance in the midst of so many obstacles. He is generous with his love and his joyful spirit is contagious. We are truly blessed!

Visit with Grandma and Aunt Jenny

Tim's mom and sister came for a visit this weekend and Ethan had lots of fun loving on them. He showed them all the new tricks he has learned since Christmas and they were even able to sit in on a hippotherapy session (blog post to come on this later). We had a great time hanging out with you guys - thanks for coming all the way here to see us!

They Say It's Your Birthday

As crazy as it sounds, Ethan turned 2 this past week...I know, it really can't be possible! He had so much fun celebrating throughout the weekend. Lots of friends and family came over for his birthday party on Saturday and he even went to his very first baseball game on Sunday!

But I think his favorite part of the weekend was dinner at Dragon Kings Daughter (Ok, really that was his mother's favorite)...





Or maybe it was playing with all the party balloons in the backseat of the car...





Or it could have been eating the yummy cake with chocolate icing...





Or playing outside with his cousin Cara on her first visit to Kentucky...



Really, he is such a happy boy, it was hard to tell what he liked the most. We are so thankful for the blessing of Ethan in our lives! Happy Birthday big boy! We love you!

SPRING!

Happy Birthday!

Happy One Week Birthday to Cara Elinam Akosua Agbeke! What a beautiful addition to our family! We love you so much!