Shriner’s Christmas Party

On a Saturday in December, Daddy and Jilly headed to Special Olympics and we headed to a Christmas party.  With so many little ones, it is becoming more necessary to split up as they have many activities.  I am so thankful to not have to go at this parent thing alone.

Molly is a Shriner's Hospital patient.  We are grateful for the free care this organization provides our sweet Molly at their hospital in Minneapolis.

We also are so thankful for all the other special ways they serve our family throughout the year.  Every year, they have a Christmas party for the patients, and it never disappoints.

They had a live band with brass and woodwind instruments.  It was loud, but this girl slept anyway.  I think she was unimpressed with the festivities. 😍

Molly was all smiles though because she knew she would receive a gift, and she was waiting with anticipation!

We met some some amazing patients and their families this year who are served by this charity.  I am always so thankful for the time I get to spend with other families who are parenting special needs kiddos.  The fellowship is always sweet.

Mall of America Trip

 Molly Kate had an appointment at Shriner's in the Twin Cities, and it was so fun to make a vacation of it with our entire family.  We hit the MOA the first night as we stayed a few minutes away.  I got a groupon for a diner type restaurant so we got to enjoy chili dogs, burgers, fries, and shakes to kick off our trip.  Anna Mei loves, loves vacations.  She was one happy girl to be on our trip.

 This girl ate like a champ in this crazy, over stimulating environment.  I used our manual chopper to puree a foot long chili dog and she ate it all!  This manual food chopper has greatly improved our quality of life as now Jillian can eat at a restaurant without packing her food from home.

 Notice the toddler harness on this one.  She is CRAZY!  She needed a harness so bad as she just never stops going, but she loved our trip.

 The girls love legos so the lego store was a great stop.  Jilly flings them like she does everything.

The littlest posed by the lego friend.

 We spent the next day at the aquarium at the MOA.  The girls absolutely loved it and we are so grateful for all the perks available to Shriner's patients in this area as the tickets were a great bargain.

 This girl is a lover of water so her aquarium experience was over the top!  She was thrilled with all the sights.

 The touch tanks were enjoyed by everyone.

Just look at this face!  She was truly happy to be here.

 I think Molly would have jumped in.

 The stingray tank was an absolute favorite!

 Jillian spent a good part of the day revisiting the stingray tank.  It was so peaceful in the dark area there watching the movement of these amazing creatures.  She would watch and watch and watch with a smile the whole time.

There were some toddler activities at the mall we enjoyed as not everyone wanted to just take up residence at the stingray tank like Jillian did.  We had a wonderful trip and Molly's appointment was awesome!  She showed herself to be truly amazing with her little hands and no surgery or treatment is recommended right now.  She uses them so well that anything we could do to alter them would put her at a disadvantage so we go back in a year. :)

Visiting Santa

We don't celebrate with Santa at our house, but she got to meet a Santa at the Shriner's patient Christmas party.  She wasn't at all afraid to sit on his lap, but also didn't wait for her presents.  After all, she had no idea what presents were as this is her first Christmas home with us.

Molly stole the hearts of everyone.  She was darling in her red corduroy dress! Like I said, she didn't wait around for Mrs. Claus to pass off her gifts as she had no clue gifts were coming.

After receiving her gifts, we showed her how to tear them open.  When she discovered there were toys inside that were for her, she was all in.

There were three gifts for her to open so she became quite good at it by the end of the party.

She was so good at it at the party that she decided to begin tearing into a few gifts under the tree when we got home.  I heard Anna Mei shouting from downstairs..Momma!  Molly is opening the presents right now!

She was pretty happy with her gifts!

A wagon with blocks was a perfect choice for her at this stage!

Anna Mei accompanied us and she loved the party!  We had a cookie activity, craft, lunch, and juice boxes.  My littlest girls were thrilled with the fun clowns and balloon animals too!  We are grateful for the care we receive at the hospital and this party was so thoughtful too!