Weekend in Indianapolis

This weekend Dave had his annual Thrivent kick-off event in Indianapolis.  In the past Dave and I have gone without the kids, but this year we decided to take the kids along and have a fun family weekend.  While Dave sat in meetings on Saturday the kids and I swam in the pool at the J.W. Marriott, went to Disney on Ice at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and ate dinner at the food court in Circle Center Mall.  Despite getting stuck in traffic on the way back to the hotel, it was the perfect day.  There were many events going on downtown Indy this weekend, which made getting around interesting.  On Sunday we all went to the Children's Museum.  We had some bad winter weather on the way home (which seems to happen every time we go to the kick-off), but made it home safely in time for supper.  It was a great weekend!

ready for our road trip

We wasted no time.  We checked into the hotel and went straight to the pool.

We had great seats for Disney on Ice - front and center

Liam loved the whole show.  Lilly especially loved the seeing Mickey and Minnie and squealed when they came out.  She was also really excited by the lanterns from Tangled.

We finally got to see the China exhibit at the museum!  Dave and I felt like we were just there.  It was great to be reminded of our trip.  Lilly loved making and serving the Chinese food and practicing her calligraphy.

We drove through rain, freezing rain, and snow on the way home - yuck!

Update on Lilly

We took Lilly to The Hearing Center to have another hearing test done and to adjust her hearing aid levels.  Lilly had a growth spurt and we needed to get new molds for her hearing aids.  When we picked up the molds two weeks ago Lilly had a hearing test which revealed she had hearing loss.  So, today we had another hearing test to confirm those results.  The test today confirmed that Lilly had some more hearing loss in both ears.  We were not surprised with the results.  Lilly had stopped saying words and sounds that she previously said.  She also didn't seem to be hearing toys that made sound.  We have not adjusted her hearing aids since we got them last summer.  It is common to have to increase the levels of hearing aids after a growth spurt.  Larger ears need more volume.  Since getting her hearing aids Lilly has also gotten t-tubes in her ears.  Her ears finally look clear (no fluid or wax).  Without fluid or wax, the hearing aids work the best.  Lilly is getting good at the hearing test, which makes it easier to get accurate results.  There is no way to tell at this time if Lilly's hearing will continue to decline.  She is too young for a CT scan.  For now, we'll keep going in every 3 months to check her hearing and keep an eye on her fluid and wax.  We are waiting to hear back from the pediatric outpatient therapy at Parkview hospital about speech therapy.  It was suggested at her cleft clinic that she have therapy through the hospital in addition to the therapy she receives through the school system.  The hearing specialist gave us the names and numbers of other great speech pathologists that will accept our insurance should we not get into Parkview.  We are hopeful all these adjustments will help our Lilly speak.

Herman Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Dave's family on December 28th.  All of Dave's sisters and their families came home to visit.  Liam and Lilly had a blast playing with all their cousins.  Liam and Andrew Lockard really hit it off.  They have similar personalities and came up with imaginative games.  

Kusch Christmas

What an amazing Christmas!  The kids woke up at about 4:30am and we made them lay in bed with us until 6am.  Then, we turned on the TV and waited for everyone else to get up.  We finally let them get out of bed at 7am.  They got so many presents!  They had fun playing with all their new toys.  We enjoyed a great breakfast and supper, played games, and enjoyed being together as a family.  We made some great memories.

The kids on the way to Michigan -

My present from Dave was tickets to see Wicked. Mom and David watched the kids so we could enjoy an evening out.  It was a fantastic show!

Family Christmas

Merry Christmas!  Lilly woke up at 5am, so I put her back to bed.  Liam was in our room at 5:30am, so I sent him back to bed.  He came back in our room at 6:30am, so we turned on Disney channel and then finally started unwrapping presents at 7am.  Lilly joined us about an hour later.  After the chaos of opening presents, we ate a nice big brunch complete with organic sparkling apple juice served in plastic champaign glasses.  I think that was Lilly's favorite part of the day.  Then, we played with new toys, took turns taking naps, and snacked throughout the day.  We ended the evening with the family candlelight service at Emanuel.  Then, we loaded up the van and headed to Michigan, so we could wake up and do the whole thing again the next day.

Before opening gifts

Total Chaos

Liam's gifts

Lilly's gifts