We wrapped up a wonderful celebration for Jordan and Cameron’s grandparents (and my in-laws). They are celebrating something that you just don’t hear about a lot these days: a 50th wedding anniversary. To add into the fun, the kids’ uncle brought his girlfriend and her awesome triplets who spent a super fun week with us in Maine earlier this year.

We kept everything simple: good food, friends and family. The day was beautiful and we got to play all day. The highlights included basketball, football and a lot of coloring with chalk.

When I first met Randy, we went on one of our first dates by visiting his parents’ house and attending a wedding together. I knew I had picked the right guy after meeting his parents. They are good and loving people. I’m honored to be a part of their family!

Happy anniversary Jone and Charles! We all love you very much.

I’ve been very quiet about a very special opportunity we have that starts today. We’re hopping on a plane and ending up in the Disney World Resort… and tomorrow we start exploring the parks.

But that isn’t all. This week we have one other really special opportunity: Winter the Dolphin.

Our family (Jordan, her brother Cameron, her dad and I) and a family we met through this website are going to have a chance to spend time together at the parks on Tuesday and meet Winter together on Wednesday. We really like Ashlyn… We had a chance to play with her during the Amputee Coalition conference.

This visit is a special chance to celebrate our family, our connections and friends we’ve made thanks to Born Just Right and a very special chance to have fun in the Disney way. Expect to see short posts on Facebook and periodic updates here as well.

It’s kinda hard to be five years old and not the center of all attention. This past weekend Miss Jordan joined the rest of the family as we celebrated her brother’s birthday in Kansas City. Jordan was not on her best behavior… Mainly because she wasn’t the focus. Also, I think it’s because she shared bunk beds with her brother and he was a very wiggly sleeper. The combination of both things made for a challenging kid over the weekend.

The positive side… When Jordan wasn’t focused on the “me me me” of her world, she and her brother were actually kind of sweet together. Here are a few other pictures I love from the weekend:

Jordan likes to be in charge… That’s been obvious for a while. But when you spend 24-7 with my girl, it becomes more clear how dominant she wants to be. And to be honest, most of the time I enjoy it. During our yearly trip to Maine, Jordan’s been climbing the rocks like she owns them. She’s biking with her bike and with our trail-a-bike with happiness and power. She’s also enjoyed every bit of sun and fog and everything in between. Has she napped enough? No, not at all. She was so tired today, she took a nap late in the afternoon without anyone asking her. We’ve kept busy and active. The dominance is really mainly an issue when she’s so tired, she wants to be in charge of irrational things. (Usually during loud and ridiculous fights with her brother.)

I’m already overwhelmed about what we’re headed into this summer. My calendar is full of juggling travel, summer camps, baseball games, dance classes and work meetings.

I keep looking at it and thinking about everything we have to do… I’m excited and looking forward to our adventures but I’m also trying to figure out how I can keep organized. I realize we’re supposed to let kids roam free in the summer… but when I work and want to make sure the kids aren’t just sitting at work with me, I have to find cool things to do.

Did I mention how excited I am about our cool adventures? I’m not complaining, just feeling a little overwhelmed.

I’m out of town – attending a super nerdy conference in Washington, DC called DrupalCon. And while I’m here… Jordan is at home with her dad and brother.

And she doesn’t like it one bit.

I swear the majority of our conversations on the phone are like this:

Me: Hi Boo! How are you?

J: When are you coming home (whiny voice)?

Me: I’ll see you Monday morning.

J: I want you to come home.

Me: (Ignoring her) What did you do at school?

J: I played. Come home. Right. Now.

Me: I can’t do that. But I’ll see you when I get home… it will happen soon.

J: But I want you home NOW (whiny level turns up a new notch)

Seriously. Randy tried as hard as he could to redirect Jordan’s attentions while we talked but it just didn’t work. The one thing I noticed though: Jordan’s verbal jumped up a notch AGAIN. Every time I leave she is more understandable and clear. She’s such a person and time away from me clearly requires her to verbalize clearer. I miss the kids a ton – but it’s great to be able to delve into my nerdy world from time to time. The good news: Things warmed up at home and the kids are enjoying the swingset in the backyard. Jordan returned to the sandbox and Cameron is enjoying the treehouse. I’m sad to miss the fun but I’m glad they have warmth to get outside and feel less trapped in the house. Now if only I could shake this mommy guilt every time I talk to them, I could really enjoy this nerd fest here in DC!

The birthday celebrating didn’t end when we left Disney World (which by the way – left a balloon and a card signed by all of the major Disney characters in our hotel room the night before we left). We drove 10 hours to Knoxville to visit my bestest friend in the whole wide world who lives there. Shockingly – we hadn’t see her in person in a VERY VERY long time. Even more shocking, she hadn’t met Jordan in person yet! But that didn’t stop my dear friend Tisha from decorating and buying presents for both kids. It was so freaking sweet.

Jordan hadn’t removed the pink hair yet – so we continued to celebrate Miss Princess on her official third birthday. It was the 100 day celebration! (Or 3 day… who’s counting?)

It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come in three years. My little gorgeous baby is a now firecracker three-year-old full of energy that far surpasses her tiny frame. Jordan is a handful in so many ways. What she’s done in the last year just amazes me. She tolerated an arm that never fit or worked properly… And now she has an arm that is really offering her some ways to balance, play and learn. She didn’t wear it much during our vacation, but she’s already back on track since we returned home. She started dance class, learned how to go potty on her own and is FIERCELY independent when it comes to doing things for herself. I actually sat and waited for her to put on thick tights on her own this morning. It took her 10 minutes, but darn it – she put them on! Jordan’s love of pretending to be a princess, chef, mommy, super hero and many other things blossomed in the last year. You never know when she’s going to pretend to be a mommy or a ballerina or a little baby that needs cuddles. She got really good at egging her brother on – They will start fighting the MOMENT you leave the room. But more often than not, she will run over and give Cameron a hug or try as hard as she can to keep up with him. I’m so proud to be her mommy. I’ll admit, she keeps getting cuter and she can melt me from time to time and that lets her get away with stuff. At the same time, she’s very respectful and worries about others. She’s mindful and aware of emotions and needs. I can only imagine the amazing adventures we will have in her fourth year of life!

Happy birthday Boo!!

We made it to Florida! We also had a chance to celebrate an early Christmas with Jordan and Cameron’s Poppy and Grandma (aka my in-laws)! They had a ball opening gifts. We also got to drive long distances with the kids in the van — for the first time we had them sitting in different rows with two separate DVD players.

It changed EVERYTHING. Our drive was relatively peaceful… happy and enjoyable. I think we will travel this way from now on. It was too nice. No fighting and relatively few outburst from either kid.

I did figure out an additional way to help Jordan keep up with her toys without them all falling to her left side and she can’t reach it. It’s a soft tray that attaches with a belt behind her so it doesn’t fall down. She was able to play with smaller toys and eat food without losing stuff. I highly recommend it!!

Today we enjoyed a little time in my parents’ pool (it was freezing cold) and riding bikes. Jordan was exhausted but we did pull the bike arm out for a little while. Not long enough for her to be willing to let me leave and find a camera. She was exhausted by the end of the day and even fell asleep on the floor. Hopefully she’ll get a good night’s sleep so we can have a really fun day tomorrow!

I’m in a hotel just hours away from when I need to hop on a plane towards Shanghai for work. It’s very exciting. I doubt I’ll be able to get access to this blog from blogger.com since China blocks many popular American web tools. But I might try to email updates. We’ll see what happens.

I haven’t updated one last big event for Jordan this past week. I took her to the occupational therapy clinic on campus to introduce her to the students there. She’s visited the class once a year since she was 10 or 11 months old. I just tell the students what it’s like to have a child born with a difference and explain the various things we’re doing to make sure she stays on track. And she’s really on track and I expect to keep her that way!!

The coolest little moment was when Jordan was hanging out with Lea Ann who directs the clinic. They were sharing some Teddy Grahams when Jordan held out her new hand to hold the snack. Lea Ann helped turn it enough for Jordan to actually hold it. It was a really cool moment. It’s the little things. The little flexible hand is helpful but so darn simple — But since it doesn’t really restrict Jordan, she really uses it. I watched her chase a friend with TWO hands earlier this week. Today she was petting our big dog with TWO hands. The hand that opens and closes still feels restrictive to her. She doesn’t hold her arm as heavy or dead as she did with the previous myoelectric arm, but she isn’t really using it to the fullest potential. She’s only had it for a week – With a little extra OT and effort, she’s going to catch on to that one as well. We have yet to try the bike hand. Maybe she’ll work on that when I’m away — But hopefully she’ll wait so I can be there for the moment she has full balance and stability riding a bike!! (can you tell I’m excited for that moment?)

We made it to our final hotel before we start our camping trip for five days. We snagged a nice room in northern Vermont before we cross the border over to New Hampshire. It’s very exciting.

I will probably be completely offline until after we arrive in Maine. I promised Cam that I would not turn on the computer at all while we camp. That means five days off the grid. It’s longer than I’ve gone in a while and I’m sure it will feel great.

So for family checking the blog, we’re doing fine. We survived a 1300+ mile, two-day drive across the country and we’re ready to have fun outside! For anyone else, we have a full agenda: Camping, swimming, hiking, biking and exploring! Very exciting.