Talking

I thought I should post a bit about James and his talking- or lack thereof- and explain what's going on. Sorry, no pics this time... 

So, in May, James got tubes in his ears to provide an outlet for the fluid build-up and hopefully restore his hearing. In June, he tested "normal" for hearing ability. Yay!

I was particularly excited that he got his tubes in because now maybe he would being talking- hoping to hear "mama" within a month. As most of you know, this didn't exactly happen. He is enrolled in Early Intervention play group and has a Speech Therapist. We recently met with his ST and this is what she said:

James has a neurological disorder called Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS). Big words. All it means is that the motor center in his brain doesn't know AUTOMATICALLY to put lip movement, breath control, tongue placement, and palate manipulation all together to work in concert to produce a word. DAS is Genetic AND can sometimes be situational... like when he had his seizure. Think of when an older person has a stroke and has to re-learn how to speak. Its not that they don't KNOW what the words mean, its that they have to re-train their brains to form particular combinations to produce certain sounds. Thats pretty much what we're working on right now. 

Now for the good news: this is TOTALLY workable. James will be a little slower to speak, but he will speak eventually. And that is good news to us, indeed.

Accidents

On August 13, Drue got hit by a car. He's fine now, but I thought I'd post pictures of the bike and some abrasion...

This is called a "taco wheel". Notice that the rim has been bent and twisted into and almost "taco shell" shape.
Just one of the many abrasions. We feel very blessed for Drue to have sustained minor injuries- considering what the REST of the bike looked like... The frame (a TREK frame) was seriously bent and the pedal on the side he was struck was pushed into a vertical position- had his foot been in it, he would have crushed all the bones in his foot.

Its times like these that make you truly thankful for the blessings and good health of your family! Drue healed like a champ! Thank you to all for your prayers and love.

Labor day- finally

So, I realize that Labor day was almost a month ago. Please forgive me. We decided to celebrate the Labors of our lives with a family trip to the temple grounds. James loved it! He had a great time running away from us as often as he could! We visited the tabernacle now that it's re-opened, and he delighted all the Sister Missionaries and older couples by wrenching out of my grip and RUNNING down the aisle to the front- disturbing all kinds of folks and laughing out loud. To be honest, it WAS cute.
James and I decided we needed to pose for a picture. I think this may be the first time I have posted a picture of myself on this blog. Aren't the flowers lovely? The ground's keepers are always wonderful and prepared for the next "flowering" season!
I think baby bottoms are the cutest things!
James decided to help the gardeners out by "cutting the grass" (read: pulling out handfuls of it)

"watering the plants" (read: shaking his sippy cup out) and "mulching" (read: depositing all the pulled up grass on the flowers). It really was a sweet gesture.
He was so proud of himself after helping. Notice the car in his hand... we can never get him to let go on one of these! He doesn't carry his blanket around like Linus, and he doesn't use a binky anymore- but the car is his security! And, instant entertainment whenever he's bored.

Auntie Mame

Every one needs an "Auntie Mame"! James just happens to be lucky enough to have a REAL Auntie Mame- my sister, Amy. This great picture of James on his new "big boy bed" features his birthday presents from Auntie Mame- Red Sheets, a new Lightning McQueen Blanket and LMcQ PJ's.
Here's his car collection! I think we have almost every car from the movie. His favorite car is the Sheriff (now we have 2) and then in close second- Doc Hudson. He is such a car boy! He can't contain his delight when he gets a new car to play with! And it's not just cars- trucks, dump trucks, loaders etc... Anything with wheels, he LOVES. On the way to church this morning we saw a "mini-loader"- like a Bobcat, and he just stood there looking at this thing- mouth agape- and then got all excited that he saw a REAL one. We just love his little bones!

The third time's the charm

I've tried to post this entry twice already, but my internet connection keeps fizzing out. So, here's the third enstallment of the Birthday Boy Saga! We were planning on having his party at the local park, but the weather god didn't check his calendar to make sure it would not be raining, so we had to make do with my house and backyard.
James got his very own cup of (watered down) sprite! He really enjoyed it.
This is what happens when you have too much to drink... even if it is just sprite- he's only 2! I wonder what his BSL (blood soda level) is?Half the party people outside while I'm cooking burgers- manning the grill so they don't burn!
This is Drue helping James open his presents! There were a BILLION kids running around my house, backyard, front yard and bathrooms. We had 22 people all crammed into my little downstairs living room and kitchen! It was HOT with that many bodies and we had the swamp-cooler on HI too! James had a great birthday party- his favorite part was when everyone started singing "Happy Birthday"- he got this enormous smile on his face and clapped when everyone was done. We DID have a difficult time blowing out the candles, though. He tried to touch them, but mom was quicker. All in all, it was a blessing to have so many friends to share his birthday with and we are grateful to everyone for their GENEROUS gifts... They were many, and James just loves them all!

Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad!

This is a "tandem post" with my sister to say a BIG HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (#19) to my parents: Alan and Michelle Simpson! We've been a family now for 19 years... that really seems like a long time when I put it in writing, but really, it seems to have gone on longer... or shorter. Depens on the day. I remember the day my parents got married- I can't forget it! It's my birthday! I remember jumping on the Michael's trampoline with Amy and getting our dresses dirty and ripped. (Granna was not happy about that!) I remember there was a lunar eclipse and the cake was yummy- so were the other food stuffs.

Here we are- 19 years later. And what's changed? A lot, but we remain family in a very real way!

Happy Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad- you're doing great!

The cake

Well, here it is! This is the Lightning McQueen cake I worked on for 2 days! Isn't it awesome?!
The red "icing" is a read fondant (that I also made). Unfortunately, the fondant I made is not friendly to heat, and also is not that wonderful to roll out in big sheets... Verily, I got a read fondant about 1/8 inch thick and lumpy in most places.
The tires are the wonderful Hostess Chocolate Frosted Donettes. The "windows" are white fondant, as well as the "swoop".
The anatomy of a cake: We  (Devany and I) built this cake in two steps: a regular pan "rectangle" cake and a "bowl" cake that we glued together with icing and then sculpted out McQueen's hood, side and back- adding cake where we needed to build him up.
Here's the back! Notice the tail lights? Devany had a wonderful idea- and its even better that it worked! Take those sugar-coated, "fruit wedges" and roll them out with LOTS of granulated sugar. Then, cut out your shape and stick on! They were easy and lots of fun!

 Check back for pics of the actual party!