The Gingerbread House

The kids had a lot of fun while they were on break. They had to teach Iris how Santa comes. They made up a "sleigh" and hitched up Clementine as drive it. I didn't get the reindeer in the picture.

Then they made a gingerbread house. Everyone had fun with that.

Iris showing off her creation.

(We tried curlers in her hair)

Ansley getting it just right

The finished product

Iris Gets a New Toy

Iris got her new weapon cane. Boy was she excited. She loves it and wants to take it every where with her. Even if it is just in the car to go pick up one of her siblings.

Iris and her O&M therapist doing cane training.

I am amazed every day by this beautiful little girl. She is very determined to learn every thing. She loves her cane. She has stopped running into walls and falling down stairs now so that is a big help. Iris is just not afraid of anything.

Happy Birthday Iris

Saturday, we had our first birthday party with Iris. She turned 3.

Iris is not to sure about this.

Turns out it was good

Iris had a great time opening gifts. She wasn't sure what to do at first, but once she figured it out there was no stopping her. She was a very gracious receiver. She loved all her gifts. I think she just liked the idea of having her very own toys. She knows they are hers and will let you know it if you try to play with one of them without her permission. Older siblings are GREAT for teaching that.

Tricks By The Handfulls

We will just say that this Halloween had a lot more tricks then treats. Don't get me wrong, they still got plenty of candy. The stomach bug hit us all pretty hard. Luckily we were able to make it down to Joel's hometown for the weekend. We came back home on Sunday and the flood gates opened.

Iris trick or treating at her school
Raggedy Ann and her therapist


Darth Vader, Raggedy Ann, and Laura Ingalls

Ansley was so excited to go see the "Little House on the prairie"

Norman (grandpa), Ansley, Iris, Elliot, and Melissa

I would have pictures of the older kids in their Halloween costumes by themselves but we were dropping like flies with the stomach bug. Needless to say Halloween wasn't as much fun as we all would have liked.

Happy Holloween

pumpkin carving

Elliot with his masterpiece

Ansley working hard on her pumpkin

Iris enjoying her beauty

Look out Pre-School

Here comes Iris! Boy was she excited to get to go to pre-school. She is such a social butterfly.

She couldn't wait to get her picture taken with her sign

She just loves her "batpat"

Showing off her "stuff"

Iris and Elliot in front of the bear

Iris and her teacher

Iris showing Elliot around her class room

She was so proud to show Elliot all about her school. She let him know that "Iris is have good day"

She knows I always tell the older kids to have a good day when I drop them off.

Her teacher says Iris has picked up the routine quickly.

It does make for some long mornings for mom as I now have 3 kids in 3 different schools. Ansley has a 8:00am drop off and then we race downtown for Iris's 8:30 drop off then back uptown for Elliot's 9:00 drop off. I have a quick minute to throw in a load of laundry before I race back downtown to pick Iris up at 11:30. Home for lunch and nap. Then we pick Elliot up at 2:00, the Ansley up at 3:00 and then all the crazy after school stuff starts. Wow that made me tired just typing it.

Fitting In

It is hard to remember when Iris wasn't part of the family. It seems like she has always been here.

She will not let the older kids out do her on anything.

If they are riding scooters, then by golly so is she.

She doesn't let a little thing like a bump on the head slow her down

Elliot's First Day of Pre-K

I am very late at getting this posted, but here it is. Elliot's first day of Pre-K. We had NO crying and clinging to my legs like last year. I guess my boy is finally ready for school.

I was sure I had ruined it for good last week when I was knee deep in paper work for Iris and the phone rang. It was Elliot's school. I asked "Is Elliot sick?" her reply was "No, but he is still here!" I looked at the clock and I was 20 minutes late picking him up. Needless to say I felt like a very bad mother the rest of the day. Once we got to school he was in the office showing off his silly banz. I was very relieved when I asked him if he was scared and he said "No, I knew you were coming." Such a sweet little soul. Last year that little slip up would have cost us dearly.

What Are The Next Steps

The Chambers family is doing well but things seem very busy (typcial for this time of year).  Iris is adjusting more each day along with Ansley and Elliot.  They all seem to be falling into their places in the family and life is getting back to normal.

Yesterday we visited CCVI (school for visually impaired children) and they are great.  Melissa and I had visited this facilty several months ago when we knew Iris would be joining our family.  CCVI evaluauted Iris to determine what she can see.  Up til now the doctors have only told us she has limited vision but they expect improvement.  CCVI evaluated her based on colors, shapes, light, and other variables.  They spent one hour with three people evlauating her and their evaluating is based on what she can see currently.

It was great to visit with CCVI as they focus on vision and how to prepare young children to survive with a visual impairment.  However, it was "humbling" to hear them tell us she is severly impaired.  Until now I knew she had limited vision but it hit home with CCVI telling us this.  Until now I focused more on the chance of improvement rather than what she needs now which is time spent with professionals teaching her.

CCVI provided us with a lot of things to think about (that we had not thought of).  Will she need a cane so others know she is impaired?  Teach her ways to be safe when she is in unfamiliar areas.  So many things we have not thought of and I am sure over the next several years our family will encounter new things daily.

The county we live in contracts through CCVI so we will have someone visit our home and work with Iris one-on-one.  This will start very soon and they will provide this service until she turns three.  Once she turns three the county turns her over to the school district.  The school district we are in is one of the only dstricts in the Kansas City area that does not contract to CCVI.  They have contracted to them a few times in the past for certain kids but it is rare. 

We will meet with the school district and have her evaluated and see what they will offer.  Our hope is that we can get them to contract with CCVI for Iris.  Based on what we know it seems like the district will not be able to provide the best environment for Iris.  We will talk to the district with an open mind and see what their plan is.  If they will not contract to CCVI and we feel she needs to be at CCVI then we will find a way to send her there and pay for it.

Whats Going On with You?

I get that question a lot these days. So here is a sample of what we have been doing.

visiting with family (Elliot is getting ready to go to a swiming party)

Yes, I know I have a lot of trouble keeping my eyes open.

playing T-ball with our best friend

swinging and bonding with our siblings

Starting 3rd grade

Our fabulous teacher

patching eyes and trying to figure out what she can see.

It does seem to be getting a little better each day.

wrangling a pack of short hair wild cats kids. Why is it they will never cooperate for a picture?

So that and laundry. But who cares about laundry.