Dragon Mom

Dori having fun with Alex

Wynnie at pediatrician's office

For State Fair Day (no school) we spent the day watching movies and going to play laser tag and video games. The babies held in there for 2 whole hours!

For two weeks Viktoria is gone visiting her family in Germany and to meet her brand new baby nephew. Before she left for the airport I told her Ben and Alex would be wearing dirty underwear until she came back to resume her duties. Well it hasn't been as overwhelming as I thought it would be, but we sure do miss her tons. Dori was in his bed the other day calling out for her and laughing saying "Vika! Vika!" ... it was so cute.

A fellow i-cell mom shared this article this week from the New York Times (the link is below) about a woman who calls herself a Dragon Mom. She's the mom of a Tay-Sachs baby, another degenerative terminal genetic disorder. This is just a small glimpse of what we feel, what we aspire, and what we enjoy.

Sure with Ben and Alex we worry about their grades, their behavior and their character development as any normal parent would. We drill them to use their manners, we nag them to pick up their shoes, and we take them to Sunday School & Sacrament preparation at church every week with the hopes that it will turn them into loving, smart, generous, loyal and successful men.

But with Dorian and Wynn we focus on the here and now since that is all we have as a guarantee. Reading someone's else's perspective is refreshing and inspiring to know there is a small "fraternity" of parents of the terminally ill that all share one thing -- a rock solid and fiercely protective love for their child. I am proud to be a part of such a special fraternity ... no one ever "pledges" or wants to be in this selective group... you just end up here.

Please read this article, it warmed my heart: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/notes-from-a-dragon-mom.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share

This month will be Dorian and Wynn's 3rd birthday so October is a month we reflect on how much they have blessed us and continue to bless us everyday.

Although we may not see Dorian and Wynn walk across a stage at Harvard or Yale to receive a diploma, we are just as proud to know that they will be starting their scholastic endeavors in January taking the Functional Life Skills program at THE SAME SCHOOL AS BEN AND ALEX!!!

The Lewisville school district designates each different elementary school to specialize in one main Special Ed program. Luckily for us, our school (just 8 houses away) offers the class that is geared toward the most developmentally delayed preschoolers. Since the babies will be 3, they officially qualify for LISD special ed pre-school. Ben and Alex are excited that the babies will go to their school with them. It makes me cry a happy-cry to know that for once all my boys will be roaming the halls and making a name for themselves on the same campus. I can't wait til January so the babies can socialize with kids and develop some new skills and routines 3x per week. I have no doubt that they will make lots of friends and melt lots of hearts in the process.