She loves the violin.

You wouldn't believe the things you can do with an empty macaroni box :-)

Our caterpillars!!

The Black Swallowtail

And, the Monarch about to Chrysalis in Casha's playhouse. She didn't quite know what to think of this. LOL

Father's Day 2008

Today, we went for a wagon ride...

And, looked totally adorable!!!

And, helped with the garden.

Happy Mother's Day from a friend

I received this from a friend and have finally gotten around to sharing it.

Happy Mother's Day By Lori Borgman


Expectant mothers waiting for a newborn's arrival say they don't care what sex the baby is. They just want to have ten fingers and ten toes. Mothers lie. Every mother wants so much more. She wants a perfectly healthy baby with a round head, rosebud lips, button nose, beautiful eyes and satin skin. She wants a baby so gorgeous that people will pity the Gerber baby for being flat-out ugly. She wants a baby that will roll over, sit up and take those first steps right on schedule. Every mother wants a baby that can see, hear, run, jump and fire neurons by the billions. She wants a kid that can smack the ball out of the park and do toe points that are the envy of the entire ballet class. Call it greed if you want, but a mother wants what a mother wants. Some mothers get babies with something more. Maybe you're one who got a baby with a condition you couldn't pronounce, a spine that didn't fuse, a missing chromosome or a palate that didn't close. The doctor's words took your breath away. It was just like the time at recess in the fourth grade when you didn't see the kick ball coming, and it knocked the wind right out of you. Some of you left the hospital with a healthy bundle, then, months, even years later, took him in for a routine visit, or scheduled him for a checkup, and crashed head first into a brick wall as you bore the brunt of devastating news. It didn't seem possible. That didn't run in your family. Could this really be happening in your lifetime? There's no such thing as a perfect body. Everybody will bear something at some time or another. Maybe the affliction will be apparent to curious eyes, or maybe it will be unseen, quietly treated with trips to the doctor, therapy or surgery. Mothers of children with disabilities live the limitations with them. Frankly, I don't know how you do it. Sometimes you mothers scare me. How you lift that kid in and out of the wheelchair twenty times a day. How you monitor tests, track medications, and serve as the gatekeeper to a hundred specialists yammering in your ear. I wonder how you endure the clichés and the platitudes, the well-intentioned souls explaining how God is at work when you've occasionally questioned if God is on strike. I even wonder how you endure schmaltzy columns like this one-saluting you, painting you as hero and saint, when you know you're ordinary. You snap, you bark, you bite. You didn't volunteer for this, you didn't jump up and down in the motherhood line yelling, "Choose me,God. Choose me! I've got what it takes." You're a woman who doesn't have time to step back and put things in perspective, so let me do it for you. From where I sit, you're way ahead of the pack. You've developed the strength of the draft horse while holding onto the delicacy of a daffodil. You have a heart that melts like chocolate in a glove box in July, counter-balanced against the stubbornness of an Ozark mule. You are the mother, advocate and protector of a child with a disability. You're a neighbor, a friend, a woman I pass at church and my sister-in-law. You're a wonder.


Lori Borgman is a syndicated columnist and author of All Stressed Upand No Place To Go, her latest humor book now available whereverbooks are sold

Casha's Processors

RIGHT EAR with snugfit and being worn in the babyworn configuration from Cochlear Americas

LEFT EAR with snugfit and being worn in the babyworn configuration from Cochlear Americas

Casha's Day At The Race Track

We've arrived and we're standing in pit lane. "I see Daddy!"

Taking Puppy for a little stroll down pit lane and through the stands.

No, no. No more photos please.

"I'm wiped out." Leaving the track after hours of glorious fun.

"zzzzzzzzz" While visions of race cars danced in her head.

I Love Samantha and AJ Too!

I Love Meghan!

A Few More Pics

Photos! :-)

I thought I'd post a couple of pictures as an apology for not keeping this blog updated.


(on our knees, begging for forgiveness ;-)

Our Bilateral Baby!!

Cahsa will receive her second cochlear implant on December 11th! We cannot wait to call her a bilateral CI recipient.

I know it's been a while since our last update. Things have been so crazy around here.
Casha is doing SO well. She's talking A LOT, typical toddler. She currently has no language delays and continues to progress within the same level, which just happens to be that of a toddler with typical hearing.
It's so amazing that a child could be born completely deaf and because of early detection, early intervention, early amplification, and early implantation that child can progress as well as her hearing peers.
It hasn't been easy but it's so been worth every step of the mountainous climb.

Keep your eyes open for new pictures coming soon:-)

Mr. Green Bug

Casha made a new friend today.

His name is Mr. Green Bug.

A Rather Cool Pizza Joint AND A Request;-)

I've told most of you about Piece and that we were planning to contact them to meet Casha.
Well, I sent that email today. Check them out http://piecechicago.com/

Now, the request.
Everyone, please post comments HERE about how cool Casha is and how cool it would be to meet her :-D
My hope is that the guys at Piece will read your posts and be so honored and thrilled that they don't blink an eye before responding to our email and making plans to meet our adorable little girl.

Thanks a bunch and lots of love!

My Daddy ROCKS!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rzMh64guYbY

My Daddy is the COOLEST!
He's at the bottom right of the shot.

I've Got Two Words For You

We spent the weekend moving and while that would ordinarily be a horrible experience, it wasn't all bad this time.
On Saturday, Ryan was moving things in and out of the house while I was taking a break and hanging with Casha in the family room. We were just having some fun, playing with toys when Ryan walked through the room. Casha turned to look right at Ryan and said, "Hi Daddy" and went right back to playing. It was clear as a bell! Ryan and I just looked at eachother in disbelief. It's as if she's known all along how to say it but just thought she'd pull us along a little longer. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to get that girl to say hi to her daddy on the phone. I was so thrilled to see the look on Ry's face when he heard his little girl say, "Hi Daddy."

They need better cameras!

Ooohh Ooohh Aaahh Aaahh

Meghan says she looks like a monkey in this picture! LOL :-D

BYE BYE

She said it! She said "bye bye" while we were riding in the van yesterday! The deaf girl SPEAKS!

sniff sniff

We have yet another HUGE accomplishment in this house!

Think to yourself, for a moment, how quiet the sound of a dog sniffing is. OK, you've got that image in your head now right? GREAT! Read on. :-)

Casha is actually able to hear the sound of the dog sniffing! Each and everytime she sees a picture of a dog, she sniffs. She sniffs at pictures of our dog, other dogs, when she sees her dog outside through the back door, and when she sees dogs on tv. She absolutely loves to watch the Eukanuba dog show on Animal Planet on Saturday mornings.

I do realize this seems a bit extreme to be excited about something like a sniff but if it weren't for her cochlear implant Casha would NEVER had heard anything like a dog sniff. She couldn't hear the lawn mower right in front of her before she was implanted. :-D

Carrie, feel free to post a comment telling us how many dB you think a dog sniff might be:-D

Casha and Layla