Merry Christmas.........early!

Merry Christmas!

I am on vacation!!!! This week already seems to be gone. Being the holidays, there is always so much to do. We had my Family's Christmas party on Saturday. It was so much fun! We always enjoy having the opportunity to get together. I went to the Dr. yesterday and finished my grocery shopping while the kids went to daycare.

Well today is December 23rd and Christmas came early this morning! Seth and I woke up to Colton having opened up all but 4 gifts under the Christmas tree! He even went as far as taking the gifts from their original packages and had a screw driver and batteries on hand for the toys that needed it! I am normally a light sleeper; however, being on vacation......I guess I am sleeping better than usual. I had to finish opening the already torn up boxes and put them all in gift bags! Kids crack me up! Today we went to my job and then went to Target. Tanner was driving me crazy as always and when I got on to her she said....quote...Simmer Down Mommy! Words out of the mouths of babes! We came home and hung out and played the kids new game. We made Christmas cookies and the kids loved frosting them and putting on the sprinkles! I have a ton of sprinkles on my kitchen floor!

Tomorrow we will do our normal Christmas Eve tradition with Seth's family. It always proves to be eventful! The cousins really enjoy getting together. Grammy and Papa's gift was one of the ones that he had to be wrapped again.

Christmas day we will spend with the kiddos in the morning and then head to Forney, to my sisters for Christmas dinner. Christmas morning will be so much fun! The kids will love their Santa gifts!

We plan to leave on Friday for the deer lease. My best friend's husband is on Seth's deer lease, so we all plan on going there for the weekend. The kids just absolutely love being out doors. It will be a nice get away with my friends!

Back to work on Monday!!!!!!! Yuck!

Sleep Depravation!!!!

Wow! I need some serious sleep. It has been rough in my house with the time change and all. Colton seems to want to party like a rockstar starting at 3 am now and thinks his sister needs to join in the fun. Needless to say, I tried to get the sleeping Giant to participate in the party this morning so the Zombie....me...could go back to sleep, but did not happen. Therefore, her I am.. I am working on Christmas plans and doing some Christmas shopping online. I thought I would include a couple funny things the kids did since I wrote last.... Enjoy!

Halloween

Kids loved it. They really enjoyed passing out candy so much more than trick or treating. Colton and Tanner would run as fast as their little legs would take them to the candy dish and jerk the door open to see what kind of surprise was waiting for them. If Colton thought the kids did not get enough candy, he would chase them down the sidewalk yelling " here more......." I think it kind of freaked the little kids out! He liked a little skeleton the best. He opened the door and said "oooooh scary". Tanner just liked the candy.....my little sugar addict. She enjoyed the costumes of the little girls I think.

This week

Been a little tough like I mentioned earlier. Kids have been a little grumpy, but all in all their cute little selves. Seth was at the deer lease until Monday so every time Tanner would talk on the phone to him she would say "daddy...you beer bunting?" Seth was seriously wondering what exactly I had been telling the kids he had been doing on the weekend. I just laughed. Tanner's annunciation is off sometimes and it is really funny. She is constantly cracking me up! The other day my stomach was hurting and she asked "mommy...what is wrong?" I not thinking of course told her the truth that my ovaries were hurting....so now everytime I make a face or anything she ask if my ovaries hurt. Her new favorite phrase is "whatever". Boy she makes me proud. Colton is having an infatuation with inanimate objects. He seems to love the car a lot this week. Everytime he sees it or gets ready to leave, he hugs it and goes "bye car...luv you". Wow!

Seth has been sick this week. He is starting feel better I think, but is afraid to admit it. He just might stop getting pampered! We really do not have plans for the weekend and I am so excited!!!

Well, the kids are still hungry, so I need to go get them some more breakfast!

Family and Friends......Friends are Family

Yesterday was one of those days when you are just in a mood. I had an average day at the office, but I could not get in my groove. I came home and worked on dinner, the kids were demanding and I was just kinda in a bummed out mood. I got online and started playing on myspace and checking my emails. I had a little wine and began to relax and had some me time. It was nice. I had some great conversations with family that I don't get to talk to that often. It made me realize how blessed of a life I lead. I am really so lucky. I got to visit a little with Lisa, my nephews fiance, and it was nice getting to know her better. I look forward to seeing her Thanksgiving. It is going to be nice having most of the family there. I am going to my moms this weekend to have our annual Halloween Hunt. It is so much fun. On Saturday we carve pumpkins with the kids. On Sunday, we have the kids dress up in their Halloween costumes and hunt Easter eggs filled with Halloween candy and take pictures. I will post them when we get back! I can't wait!

Angels vs. little Devils

Look how cutes she is......sometimes! We went to the fall festival this past weekend and they had a petting zoo. The kids loved it. Tanner loved the bunnies the most. She is so funny. Every time I get her to smile...she has to wrinkle up her nose. She is a very sassy 2 year old. I hear most of them are, but I think she takes it to extremes. She is quite the trendy 2 year old who loves to accessorize. For Halloween she is going to be a princess, which is a title that she does not take lightly. Out of the blue occasionally she states, "I am Daddy's princess!" Usually it is randomly or when she wants to get her way or she is trying to make up for something she did bad. She will definitely keep you on your toes. She is going to be my challenge. I can see it now! Look out world here comes Tanner Lee Sorenson......hell on wheels!

My Sweet Angel

I noticed when reviewing my blog that I had not included any pictures of Princess Tanner. I will devote my next blog to my little angel tomorrow! Just wanted to show you this pix to see if you can see the horns.....ha ha!

Colton Davis Sorenson

Hello from the Sorenson home! I have been meaning to get back to blogging; however, time has been very limited. With 2 active children, there is never enough time for anything it seems.

About 3 weeks ago we were finally able to get Colton into see the geneticist and developmental pediatrician.

He has been diagnosed with Smith-Magenis Syndrome. He is missing a portion of his chromosome 17.

It is a syndrome that is not very common. 1 in 25000 are diagnosed. The only way to diagnose the syndrome is through extensive chromosome testing. Just like anything, there are different levels of diagnosis. Colton has a moderate to minor deletion. The syndrome has a series of symptoms that apply to Colton; however, some of the more major medical conditions do not seem to be present. The biggest battles that are apparent right now for him is his behavioral issues, developmental delay, speech delay, sleeping issues and sensory issues. We have 6 more hours of consultation with therapist before we start his speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. He has actually been in programs receiving similar treatments since he was 2; however, now we will be going through independent therapy as well as the therapy he is currently getting at school. The fun begins!

It is a blessing to know what we are dealing with now. For the past 4 years it has been a guessing game and very hard to deal with certain issues with him because I did not understand what was going on. Now I have a game plan. Some days are more challenging than others. We are working through it though. When we started battling certain challenges with Colton, my wonderful pediatrician put it to me this way, "God gave me Colton for a reason!" He only gives special children to special people that he knows can handle it. Some days I actually wonder. Colton at times requires an unmeasurable amount of patients, and those who know me....well, do I need to say more.

He is about 2 years behind on his speech and about 1 year behind on his cognitive understanding. His fine motor skills are behind and due to hypotonia, his physical skills need some fine tuning. I am confident that with therapies and prayer, everything will turn out just as it should.

With that being said, please add our family to your prayers. Pray that Colton does well in his therapies and give him patients with me too. I know that the Lord does not put more on your shoulders than you can handle.

Thought I should bring y'all up to date on what has been going on with Colton. Thanks for your friendship and support! One of the other characteristics of this syndrome is an endearing, affectionate personality.....wow what a wonderful thing to be blessed with! All will turn out fine. I have absolute peace about it.

Suzanne

Kiddos!

Well yesterday I went to the zoo for Colton's field trip. It was so much fun! At the very last minute, Seth decided he was able to go! He works so much that it is hardly ever an option. Over all the first part of the zoo trip was over crowded. There were so many schools there. After lunch, all the schools went home and we actually had a good time. We got to see the lions stalk a bird, pounce on it, and swallow it whole! That was very entertaining! After the zoo, we did a little shopping. I found some great clearance items for the kids. We then went to pick up the little princess from daycare. We bought her a hat at the zoo. I took it into her and she thought she was the coolest. We came home briefly to change clothes. The Dallas Stars played last night, and lost they! We do not have cable, so we grabbed some dinner and went to Seth's parent's house to watch the game.

Tanner is potty training and it was our first true lengthy outing in panties. She has not had an accident in days so I was feeling brave. She announced in the middle of dinner "I potty!" I scooped her up and headed to the bathroom. I had this great fear that she would just let go on the way and pee everywhere. We made it to the stall and I sat her on the potty. It was one of those self flushing toilets. Tanner is so small that when she moved a little, the toilet flushed. She about jumped over the stall door with fright! At that point I tried to get her to sit down and go and she was not having it! As I was using the restroom, she noticed someone else in the stall next door. She was baffled that she could see feet. She kept saying, "feet mommy, feet mommy". I don't think she realized that there were more than feet next to us.

We went back to the table and started eating dinner when the dreadful "I potty!" came again! This time Tanner did pee everywhere. I was discretely trying to clean her up in the booth. She just keep screaming, "I potty, need diaper, I potty, need diaper, yucky!" At that point we cut dinner short and headed for the truck! I was changing Tanner in the back of the Tahoe when the motorcycle parked behind us started. It scared the living daylights out of me! I threw Tanner forward and almost jumped in the truck with her. Seth laughed so hard, he almost peed himself! What a life and a day in the Sorenson household!!

Blogging

Here goes nothing. I really don't know what I am doing; however, my best friend Allison suggested I start this. It could be fun! The true challenge will be to try to find time to do this. I recently started a myspace. Sometimes, I wonder am I too old for a myspace. Blogging might be a better option for me. My challenge will also be to keep it short and sweet. I have a tendency to be a chatter box! Those who know me will agree. I talk really fast just so I can get everything said I want to and then some. I included (at least I think I did!) a picture of my son Colton! He is such a ham. He had a great accomplishment tonight. Most might not think of it as an accomplishment on several accounts; however, in our world it is! I told Colton he was in trouble for yet again destroying my Clinic powder. It never fails, the boy zones in on the new stuff! I asked him, "do you know why you are in trouble?" and he said "WHY?" Colton never communicates in a conversation structure. As soon as he asked why, I totally forgot he was getting reprimanded and started celebrating! Wow, the simple things that deserve acknowledgment! As soon as Seth and I started celebrating, Tanner chimed in shouting "why" "why" "why"! She is quite the mimicker! Colton and Tanner actually liked each other tonight! It was a great evening. I am so tired though. My insomniac children have it in for me. On that note, I think I will go to bed. Maybe tomorrow, I will have more to say and spice up my layout some!