Today we had the honor of being showcased on a new blog I’ve been reading, This Little Miggy Stayed Home. Every Friday Miggy does a Special Needs Spotlight on a child and their family. This week Sebastian got to be the star. So go check it out. You will be happy you did. Be sure to check out her stories and adventures with her two beautiful daughters too. And stop in again next Friday to see who you can meet next in the spotlight.

Thanks again Miggy.

Above photo is from school this fall. A little sneak peak at what you’ll see in the spotlight post.

Although the photo is a bit blurry from his movement, I absolutely love how proud he is of himself and the fun he is having.

I forgot my camera so did my best with the phone and a little photoshop express on the iPad. I love how interested Seb is in the artwork. What a fun day!

I was wrong.

The golden thread breath did not calm me or make my labor pains any less. I did not feel like I had the stamina or strength I had gained from my weekly classes after bouncing on a ball for two days while my waters leaked from my body. I did not have the energy or clarity I had gained in yoga class while I became more exhausted with each trip to the hospital only to be sent home twice. Or nights without sleep as I labored for 30+ hours. Yoga was not with me in the room when I had to push but I couldn’t feel my lower body because of the epidural I was forced to get. The golden breath had long left me when my son was born without breath. In labor, yoga had failed me.

I didn’t realize this for months, possibly even years. Ali asked me why I didn’t want to do yoga anymore and I just thought I didn’t have the energy from lack of sleep. I made one excuse after the next until yoga day, I realized I believed that yoga had failed me and I just couldn’t do it anymore. So I didn’t.

I am not one who works out. I like to walk. I’d bike if I had one. I love being outside in nature. I attempt to garden. But I always loved yoga. And then for 3 years and 7 months, I didn’t.

Tonight I did yoga for the first time since I was pregnant with Sebastian. I just did a 30 minute pre-natal yoga DVD I purchased this summer at the resale shop, in preparation for hopefully getting pregnant in the year ahead. Each pose flowed through my body as though I could perform them in my sleep. I knew each one by name and did them with ease. Memories from my pre-natal class in London came flooding back and during relaxation pose I just started crying. In yoga teachers often say that poses can open up your body and your emotions just flood forth, laughter and tears. Although I have always connected to poses with my breath I have no recollection of bursting into tears or laughter, until tonight. I remembered my big belly where Sebastian went through each pose with me. I remembered my teacher that I never called after his birth because what could I say? My baby was born not breathing. He was in hospital for 16 days. He has cerebral palsy from his traumatic birth. It was for these same reasons I felt I could not call the friends I had made in class either. So I just closed the door on that chapter and yoga altogether.

Until tonight. And next time, it will be easier. Less emotional. Because there will be a next time. Maybe even tomorrow.

Yoga. I’m back.

Happy New Year from The Sharps, times FOUR! 12 weeks today. Simply over the moon. And so looking forward to being over my extreme morning sickness.

So now ya’ll can see why I’ve been hybernating…

Muppets poster.

We now live within walking distance of an assessible theatre. It took us about 15 minutes to race there. Running a little late, I had to run alongside Seb while Ali pushed him in his wheelchair. Although we were planning to have Seb on our laps, we wanted him to feel a part of the process of getting tickets, etc. Being in his chair he is much higher up. I also think people see him as a little kid instead of a ‘baby’ compared to being in his stroller, since he’s such a small guy. The look on his face speeding down the sidewalk was priceless. He was having the time of his life. He loved looking over at me and we were both laughing as I tried to keep up.

In the lobby.

Once we got to the Ciniplex, we had to find an elevator in. That wasn’t easily done. Lots of escalators but only one designated elevator area. After getting to the cinema, we purchased our tickets. We have a special pass we purchased from Easter Seals, called Access to Entertainment, which allows one person accompanying Sebastian to go free to movies, museums, and other fun places around Canada. We then had to take a small elevator up, just for folks in wheelchairs, to the theaters.

Here we go!

Since we were a little late we were worried about getting a seat. Thankfully they offered to exchange our tickets if there wasn’t a place for us with the wheelchair. Because Seb would be sitting on our laps, so we weren’t too worried. Once inside, I saw that there was only one row which was wheelchair assessible with just one, maybe two places for wheelchairs. Theses spots were open, but the seats next to them were not. There was a short Toy Story film on, so we parked the chair and went down a couple steps to the second row in front of the big screen. I wanted to make sure we were on the end so we could leave early if we needed to. I had no idea how Seb would do.

The Muppets was a hit, for all of us. Seb enjoyed the entire movie, only startling twice to loud noises. Overall, the sound wasn’t overwhelming, which I was thankful for. He was mesmerized by the big screen and all the singing and dancing. He’s a huge fan of Sesame Street and we had watched The Muppets Take Manhattan at home to see if he’d like this one. He was an instant fan, smiling at the funny parts and enjoying the jokes and songs. One of my favorite parts was when the muppets cleaned up their old theatre to ‘We Built This City’, by Starship. One of my brother Josh’s favorite songs as a kid. The flashbacks the the 80′s were a real treat.

The final credits rolling. Papa-daddy sports a mo for Movember.

The best part was getting to go see a movie together as a family. For us, it was a very big deal.

Today he went down with one of the girls holding him tight. He giggled all the way down. At the bottom of the slide she said, ‘Bastian, I love you.’ Can you imagine it? A little girl, 3.5 years old, who has limited verbal communication skills herself, hugging my son and saying such beautiful words? I melted right there. Tears came up in my eyes and I let my smile take over.

I am so thankful for those stories. Those teachers listening and sharing those stories. Those children holding on to and loving Sebastian, creating those stories. The fabulous school fostering an environment for such stories. And inclusion. For making those stories possible.

After taking a break from the slide for some other soft gym fun, she later found Seb again, requesting he go down with her, one more time.

Ever faithful,

Kara

Taking breakfast to Papa-Daddy.

Family time by the river after a short walk in our old hood.

More yummy food for the birthday boy! I cooked my first steak after getting some advice from a lady at the local butcher. I had a portabella mushroom ‘steak’ myself.

Triple chocolate birthday cake. Recipes from one of my grandma’s cookbooks.

Sebastian helped me make the cake and frosting so he was very excited about his dad getting to blow out the candles. He was also very proud of the cake we created together. It was an awesome feeling to see him so excited about his papa-daddy’s birthday.

Welcome to decade number three Ali!

Starring Seb as Curious Sebastian with appearances from Papa-Daddy in the Yellow Hat and Mama Monkey.