Even a Little (or maybe big) Fire Can't Stop Us from Having Fun!

So if you're on Facebook, you already know that we had a little fire at our house this week. I say little because relatively little damage was done in the grand scheme of things, but it was traumatic, exhausting, stressful and damaging non the less. It happened on Monday when Jamie was at work and Kinsey and I were out at a MOPS playgroup. Apparently someone driving by must have thrown a cigarette out the window and the ditch between our house and the neighbor to our East caught fire. The fire burned in both directions. The neighbor was home and put it out when he saw it on his end, but assumed we were burning the ditch (something people do a lot around here) and didn't check to be sure. The fire made it's way to the bushes on the back side of our house and eventually to the house. Fortunately some workers were pressure washing the oil tanks on the West side of our house, saw the fire, came over with their hoses and called 911. The only other neighbor that would have seen it wasn't home, so we're very lucky that these workers were here at the time. All our other neighbors are on the West side of our home and they wouldn't have seen it until the house was up in flames. The house still did go up in flames, but only the back side, and the steel siding, in addition to the firefighters getting here quickly, saved the house. The original wood siding under the steel siding is still in perfect condition! It did get into our attic and roof and the original bathroom (the only working one currently in the house) was pretty much destroyed - more by the firefighters than the actual fire though. We're extremely fortunate that otherwise our house had minor smoke/dust from the insulation and really only required a week of heavy cleaning. We were able to stay in our guest suite out in the workshop for a few nights and are now back in the house. Also fortunate that Jamie was just about finished with our new master bath (and he's now finished) so we have a working bathroom. The firefighters even saved our bunnies, whose hutch was on that side of the house and totally burnt (one of the bunny's fur is a little singed, but she is fine.) We lost most of Kinsey's outdoor play equipment, but none of our belongings otherwise. Friends and neighbors have been extremely helpful with watching Kinsey, doing laundry, cleaning the house, meals, etc. and we are very fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives. The insurance company has already been here and their settlement seems very fair to us. Now on to the repairs! Hey, we were planning to remodel that bathroom someday and Jamie tells me we needed a new roof anyway. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Here are some photos of the damage:


This photo was taken by the local newspaper reporter before we even got home. This steel siding burned, but the backing under it didn't and it saved our house!


The rabbit hutch. Unbelievable that they were ok.


Kinsey's swing set melted. This pile is sitting in front of the house now and it makes me really sad every time I see it.


Here's the ditch where it started.


The bathroom. Everything is salvageable except the tub surround, which we didn't want anyway. It was covering up that window. We were going to remodel this room someday anyway, so now it will be sooner than later.

Anyway, on to why you're really here - Kinsey is doing great. The fire hasn't affected her at all, except that we had to cancel all of her therapies for the week since they all come to the house. She's been eating, sleeping and playing as usual and is happy as always. We did find some time for some fun this week in the midst of all the chaos. Here are some photos and videos:


Just like the cool kids wear it! Kinsey found this baseball cap in my closet and put it on her head backwards like this. At one point she was also wearing it sideways.


Kinsey had fun playing at Aliy's house on Tuesday. Aliy watched her all day and even did a few loads of laundry and fed us dinner that night!


We don't have a bathtub right now, so Kinsey has to take a shower in our new bathroom. I got in with her and she liked chasing the bubbles and water and feeling the tiles.


This is the Summer Bucket List we made at MOPS. So far we've done 4 things - swimming, visited the farm, finger painted and went to a splash park (see below). We're also going to the Fair (Greeley Stampede) this weekend.


Kinsey playing in the sand at the Park.


Playing in the water at the Splash Park.


Ohhh, the fountain was hitting her the face, but she liked it anyway.


I just love this picture! Pure Joy!


It's been 100 or close to it all week, so we broke down and bought a window AC unit. Kinsey thought it was really funny watching Jamie install it.


Getting ready for some painting. We tried the paint brushes, but it turned into finger painting instead.


Getting messy.


Kinsey's masterpiece!

Another Fun Week

We've been having so much fun lately and not much else to report, which is a good thing.

The only important thing to report is that we've really been trying to figure out why Kinsey isn't standing and walking as well since we got the new splints a while back. Her PT took a look recently at her standing in her splints without socks or shoes so we could really see what her feet looked like in them and we noticed that she is totally standing on the inside side of her foot instead of putting her foot flat on the floor. So the outside of her foot is up off the ground and her foot is rolled on it's side (it's called Pronating). We tried her old splints on, even though they don't really fit anymore, and she still pulls her foot to the side a little in them, but not as much. The doctor previously told me she will need another surgery to fix the shape of her foot - the previous surgery really just corrected her ankles - but I'm kind of in denial over that. I was so hoping to be done with surgeries and don't want to deal with months of casts again :( Not sure when they'd want to address that, but it seems like another surgery will be in her future. Anyway, the splints are supposed to keep her foot in proper alignment and they're not. So I've called the orthotics people to see about an appointment to have the splints adjusted.

On an exciting note, Kinsey is quickly closing in on 22 lbs - she is up to 21 lbs 14 oz at a mid-day weigh in (I usually weigh her at night when she's at her heaviest, so she might even be at 22 lbs at night). I have no idea why she's suddenly gaining weight when she didn't for SO long, but I'm not complaining!

And this week I did something Jamie probably wishes I hadn't . . . I registered Kinsey to participate in a pageant for kids with special needs. It's called the Colorado Angels Pageant and is free to participate. They will provide clothes, hair styling, makeup, etc. too. But of course I have to make sure Kinsey looks extra special pretty, so I bought her a dress (found one online for only $35). It's pretty "glitzy" like you'd see on Toddlers & Tiaras :) Anyway, one of Kinsey's therapists told me about the pageant. It's a statewide pageant that just happens to be in Greeley, which is about 20 minutes away. It's in mid-August and I'm pretty excited about it!

So that's it. Here are some pictures and videos from this week:

Aunt Cheri sent Kinsey some of Patrick & Hope's old books this week and she has been loving them. I opened the box when it came and let Kinsey unpack it: http://youtu.be/NfGgubxB8sw Kinsey spent some time reading the Gator book - I guess she's preparing for football season: http://youtu.be/Qa6jnasrzG4






Playing with Hope's books again and wearing one of her hand-me-downs too. Cheri gave me a bunch of Hope's old clothes before Kinsey was born that are size 2T and up and Kinsey is just now fitting into the smallest things.


Kinsey got into a few of my bras - I had to take a picture because it reminds me of my cousin Jackie. I have a very similar picture of her playing with my bras when she was very little and we were all visiting at my Grandma's house in NJ. Wish I could find that picture - it was before the digital days!


Chowing down on green beans. She ate nearly the whole can herself that night!


She's still enamored with the baby gate and spends a lot of time sitting at it. The other day she was pushing all her toys over the top.

Fun with Gramma and Papa Wayne

Kinsey had a great time with Gramma and Papa Wayne while Jamie and I went out of town last weekend. They were busy, busy, busy all weekend and Gramma reported that Kinsey was in a great mood the whole time (I'm not surprised). Oh, and I was relaxed and didn't worry about Kinsey at all - even though we had no cell service where we stayed. I knew she was fine and in good hands :)

Here are some pictures from Gramma's visit:


Happy girl after a bath!


Eating out (apparently she took the hair tie out of her hair and put it on her wrist)


Worn out and sleeping in the car

It's been a HOT week here and we've been busy trying to stay cool. We had to open the door to the basement to circulate the cool air from down there to up here which means we had to get a baby gate for the entry way instead of closing that door. Kinsey thinks it's a prison gate and she sits at it all the time. She likes to stick her toys through it, bang on it and poke at the dogs on the other side.



Yes, that's the other news. Due to Kinsey's increased allergic reaction to the dog fur, we've sequestered the dogs out in the entryway. They're either out there or outside (weather permitting) and no more lounging on the couch all day. We thoroughly cleaned the rug, floors and couch since moving the dogs and Kinsey does seem to be doing better. I haven't heard her wheeze once and no rashes either. I feel bad for the dogs, but they're fine and Kinsey's health is most important.

When Jamie and I got back in town on Sunday, we all met my friend Nicole at The Farm (where we had Kinsey's birthday party last year) for a photo session for Gramma. Here are some of the pictures:


I love that smile!




Always got to grab the ears!




I love this thoughtful face and her sitting at the cute Kinsey-sized picnic table!


So sweet!


Dylan was with Nicole so of course Kinsey and Dylan played a little.
They're so cute together.

Getting Away

The post this week is early because Jamie and I are going away for the weekend. We are going to a hot springs up in the mountains and won't have internet access. Gramma and Papa Wayne got here tonight and are going to stay with Kinsey while we are gone. I'm sure they will have tons of fun (Gramma hasn't seen Kinsey since December!). I'm hoping to relax and enjoy the time away, but haven't left Kinsey for more than a night (and even that was in my dad's RV in our backyard) for more than a year! It's so hard to be away from her. Please say a little prayer that I can relax and enjoy our time away.

I failed to mention previously that I've started taking Kinsey to a pediatric chiropractor. An old friend who is a pediatric chiropractor back in FL suggested that they can do something to improve Kinsey's immune system. I felt like it was worth a try. He didn't find anything majorly out of alignment with her spine from xrays, which is good, but he did feel like she could benefit from some treatments. We are going once a week for three months and have been three times so far. The only thing I've noticed so far is that she poops more on the days we go to the chiropractor - and that's always a good thing!

Kinsey did something really cool this week. She was in her room and picked up the bottom half of a toy then scooted to her toy area in the living room, found the top half of that toy and put it on, then scooted away with the whole thing. I was really impressed!

We had another swimming play date with Nicole and her boys this week and everyone had a great time again. And of course, Nicole took some great pictures!






Playing on Hayden's tricycle after swimming