A Tibit and More

I'm cheating a little, in that I am only sharing a video, but it's still a good tidbit! Something I haven't done yet, but it looks pretty cool!


On Sunday afternoon, I did a photo shoot for a family of five. Our friend from church, Abigail, came to help. These are a few I took of Levi & Abigail before we got started. I am still weeding out & editing the pics from that day but promise to share them here when they are ready.



We raked up a HUGE pile of leaves and played and played yesterday.

Levi busts a move and says, "Oh, yeah!"

We had a fun "family date night" last night & used a gift card we had for the Japanese steak house. Fun, fun, fun!
Adam was a little unsure of the fire coming from the onion volcano.
And while Daddy & Levi enjoyed the big fire burst, Adam was hiding behind this partition.


I know he LOOKS happy, but he sounds like a puppy dog barking when he coughs, and he has an ear infection.


These two had fun entertaining each other while we waited for the doctor.
The doc we saw today is quite a character. He told me this poster was made by some nurses that have too much time on their hands. I thought is was hilarious!!!

People keep telling me that Levi & Adam are starting to look alike, which reminded me that I always wanted to post these pictures together for you all to see.

Levi at one week old.
Adam at one week old.
I think they've always looked alike :)

Hodge-Podge

I have been dealing with plantar fasciitis for about 3 years. It got so bad that I had knots up & down my calf muscle. I have had physical therapies & multiple cortisone shots that did nothing for me. I wore a night splint. I bought expensive orthodics. I wore the shoes that were supposed to help. I did stretches and used ice. I saw an orthopedic doctor that told me if the shots didn't work, surgery wouldn't work either, but the podiatrist I've been seeing told me that I would probably need the surgery.

Although plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot, it is directly related to tightness in the calf muscles. I could not figure out why things weren't getting better for me after all the stretches I have been doing for such a long period of time.

I finally asked my chiropractor about it, and he noticed that even my tennis shoes had a little bit of a heel. He said that my calf wasn't getting stretched out enough b/c of the shoes I was wearing (Danskos have been on my feet almost nonstop for the past several years). It made sense to me. Not only was I keeping my calf from getting a full range of motion, I was wearing these orthodics that kept my foot from stretching & moving, too.

The chiropractor recommended a "barefoot shoe," with no heel at all, and I cannot believe what a difference it has made.
These are Vibram Five Finger shoes. There are other barefoot shoes that do not have toes, but I just wanted to try them and absolutely love them. I felt much better in about 3 days, and I did nothing but change my shoes! Since then, I did a few massage therapy session (painful!) to work out knots in my muscles, and I've been doing some exercises to strengthen my feet. I still have a little discomfort but no pain, and am very thankful I didn't opt for surgery!

I have read a lot about barefoot running while researching the shoes and plantar fasciitis. Very interesting stuff.

Here's what else has been going on with us...
We mixed shaving cream & a drop of food coloring to make some great bathtub paint!

I got my hair cut short.
Our electricity was out for several hours the other night. These battery operated decorations came in handy. Adam & I played hide & seek with them. Quite fun! Maybe we'll play again sometime even when we do have electricity.
We spent Saturday with Wes's brother & family. Had a wonderful time. The highlight of the day for the little ones was this great park. Lots of fun for everyone.


Levi & his cousin, Tyler









And Halloween was a blast!!


It was absolutely hilarious watching Adam try to ring the bell in a costume that wouldn't let him reach!

We were very thankful to have Grandpa along for the ride this year!

October was Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Stay aware ;) More thoughts on that later this week.