Dance Dance Dance

(above is Taylor on solo night. Trey came back stage and was so excited to be with Taylor:) Taylor's friend Alex is in white, they have been practicing together all year preparing for their solos. And then all the soloist from the studio. I also threw in the random ballet picture since I didn't post about her ballet class preview in december...she did great! Can't believe how far all of the girls have come on pointe...there teacher Angel is awesome)

I love competition season! Although it is crazy busy and emotions run high, it is also a time where I get to spend some really great times with my Taylor. I love watching her dance, it is so fun to see how all of her hard work pays off, and I love seeing my shy girl blossom on stage. This extremely quiet girl gets on stage and is able to morphe into whatever character she is portraying and for those 3 minutes she is a true performer. And then right as she gets off stage she is back to my shy, reserved Taylor. It is a great outlet for her creativity and I love seeing her make friendships with the girls she dances with. Everyone on her team is so supportive of each other and they cheer each other on with genuine excitement for each other.

This month Taylor had a dance competition at Viewmont High School where she competed her solo and her four team dances. I was so proud of her!!! She looked amazing and I am amazed at how she has matured into such a talented dancer. Her solo was great and this is just the first competition of the season:) Her team dances also did well, I will video them next time and try to post them so that you all can see.

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Better Late than Never

So the last little while has been soooo busy. I am finally trying to get caught up. Right like that will happen, but hey I can try.
In November my sweet Trey turned 4 years old. Happy Birthday to Trey! Hey I'm only four months late:)
I can't believe how time flies. Trey is in preschool at Ellison Park Elementary and I can't say enough about how good this year has been for his development. I have been very impressed with his teachers. They have really supported him and gone to bat for him. It is because of his wonderful teachers that he was approved to go to preschool four days a week, which really has been a huge reason for his amazing growth this year.
I am seeing less anxiety about entering the classroom, and he is getting over some of his sensory issues. He is even washing his hands without fighting me on it:) Also he now comes to me in the morning and asks me to do his hair for school. He still won't let me brush it, but baby steps right? For now I am happy with him letting me pat down all of the hair that sticks straight out and slapping on a little gel.
Everybody needs a friend to thrive, and it seems that one of the keys to unlocking all of Trey's potential was in that very principle. That is why little Ben Nicol is our angel. In this picture you can't see Ben, but this is an amazing sight to see Trey playing WITH other kids instead of sitting on the sidelines observing them.
Ben is our neighbor and he has been coming over for play dates with Trey and he goes to the same preschool as Trey on Tues. and Thurs. Since Trey has had Ben as a friend he is excited to go to school and he has a vast amount more spontaneous speech. His little personality is really starting to emerge both at school and at home.

I know, I know, feed that kid right? I apologize for the rib shot, but I thought it was so fun that Trey was showing off his muscles with his brothers. On the eating front, Trey is beginning to gain weight and we are slowly introducing gluten back into his diet and.......he seems to be doing well with it. He isn't getting a rash and his speech continues to improve daily. Thank Heavens for this miracle in our lives.



I am so grateful for this little guy. I have seen such changes not only in him, but in all of my children and in myself. We recognize the little victories each day and experience joy from simple things like Trey showing of his muscles. We celebrate each and every word and my children have learned and continue to learn compassion like they never would have if Trey was not part of our lives.
Trey loves being part of the Three Amigos and our house is host to many light saber duels each day. Of course Trey is like The Emperor in that he sets the rules and the rules are subject to change without notice. Devin and Dylan are amazing at watching out for their little brother and are a key part of his speech therapy. Trey has had to learn that he has to use his voice so that he can be heard and so that we know what he wants. Dylan and Devin make sure that he uses that voice every day, Trey is learning to say "Knock it off" and "STOP that!" We love it!!
Trey I love you so much! I feel blessed that the Lord has entrusted one of his strong and special spirits into my care. You are so strong and have come such a long way. I know that we have a long way to go, but I never thought that you would progress this fast. I am humbled by your determination and by the amazing Light of Christ that you have.

Adventures in potty training

Since I haven't blogged for a while I was looking through my old photos and couldn't pass up the chance to share these. I waited a loooong time to potty train Trey. I just couldn't face tackling it while I was tackling his diet, speech, sensory issues. So finally we he hit 4yrs old in November I figured that I had waited long enough. Although my sister Heidi said "Don't worry as long as your not packing diapers in his backpack as you send him off to Kindergarten you're fine, and even then I'm sure it would be o.k." I can always count on Heidi to cheer me up and make me feel that I'm doing everything "right".
Trey was surprisingly easy to potty train even with the speech barrier that we have. For a couple days he would bring out his little potty into the family room and sit all day on his potty and play the wii. My kids would come home from school to find Trey with his underwear around his ankles sitting on the potty playing the wii and would say "Mom gross, he's in the family room, what if my friends came over", I thought that it was so cute that all I could do was laugh.

Arrgh Matey, we've had a fun October!

Get ready for lots of pictures! I tried to condense them as much as I could. October was such a fun month for the Draney family. We had tons of cousin time and loved every minute of it. We went to the pumpkin patch which is always a hit. They had a witch that was welcoming the kids as we waited, but Trey took one look at her and immediately turned the other way and starting RUNNING back to the car:) After we got to the patch he warmed up as he saw all the cousins finding their pumpkin.

Above are pictures from when we went to the park in our costumes for a picnic. We had fun playing football, playing on the playground and laughing as Jason tried wading in the stream to retrieve the volleyball.


October is Dylan's birthday month and he had fun at his family party. Also I planned Dylan's class Halloween party and went to school for that, you can see Dylan's "This is awesome!" face above as he is painting his pumpkin. We were also trying to get some of Dylan's scouting requirements finished before he turned 10 and got out of Bears so I took the kids to Salt Lake for a day and we went to a really fun art gallery, had a picnic and went to Temple Square. I had such a fun time with my amazing kids! And for the first time since moving to Syracuse we took to boys and went to the pumpkin walk. It was very cool, a little too cold, but my boys loved it. This next year we are going to enter some pumpkins that we carve.
Our picnic in the middle of downtown Salt Lake City.




I went a little crazy with the sewing machine and made pirate costumes for my whole family. I loved watching my pirates having fun!

Love all of the fun family memories:)

Happy Birthday Dylan

On October 19th my sweet boy hit double digits!! Dylan turned 10 years old, I can't believe that I have been blessed to have him in my life for 10 years already. Dylan is simply the sweetest, most loving, most considerate, and most caring boy that I know.

Dylan had so much black hair as a baby, it was so much fun:) He is all Hunsaker genes and has one of those sweet faces that hasn't changed that much since he was a baby.



Dylan was pretty sick as a baby, until he got tubes, but that didn't stop him from smiling all the time. He has always tried to make everyone around him happy, and he always succeeds! Dylan has always had a special little sparkle in his eyes and a powerful spirit about him. I am constantly learning from his amazing example and feel blessed to be the mother of such a strong young man.



Dylan has always looked up to his big sister. He has learned so much from her, and in return, he has been one of Taylor's best teachers. Dylan has always had an ability to look on the bright side. I am often impressed by his naturally happy demeanor and selfless attitude.


(Dylan at Preschool graduation)



(Dylan at a singing performance)





Dylan is what you would call a late bloomer, I remember in Kindergarten he was so sad, because everyone lost a tooth before he did. I told him that I didn't know when he would start to loose his teeth, but only that I knew that he would loose them eventually. He might have been slow to loose his first tooth, but he has always been pretty mature when it comes to coordination. Dylan loves all types of sports and has the ability to take constructive criticism and coaching well, without letting it get him down. He strives for perfection, but takes criticism in stride.




(Above Dylan at his Kindergarten graduation, and below Dylan right
before his baptism) Like I said before, Dylan has a such a special, strong spirit about him. He has learned to really listen to the Spirit and to follow its promptings much earlier than I ever did. Still I struggle to listen as I should, and I learn so much from his great example. I have often been impressed at how he handles hard situations. There was one time when he was in 2nd grade that Dylan was being constantly teased for being so small. One bully in particular began to cross that line and went from verbally bullying him to physically bullying him. Every day I would ask Dylan how his day went, and everyday he found something positive to say until one day he just broke down and started to cry. He told me how he was being pushed down and just didn't want to go to school anymore. When he told me the whole story, I got my mamma bear claws out and wanted to march up to that school and give that little bully a sound spanking.However, my cooler head prevailed and I gave him a hug and told him that I believed in him and new that he could figure this situation out.
About a month later I was checking up on the situation with him and was asking if he was still being bullied by this kid. He said: "Oh no, we are good friends now." I dug a little deeper and found out that this same bully was having to stay in at recess because he needed to get an insulin shot and no one would stay in with him, until Dylan volunteered and got all of his friends to stay in with him too. He showed compassion to someone who hadn't showed compassion to him, and turned an enemy into a friend. I am humbled by his example to me! I know that I would not have been that brave, and still sometimes I am not as brave as him.


Dylan is just like his Dad, in that he loves golf! He is naturally gifted at it, and we need to nourish that a little more than we do. Dylan loves to go golfing with Jason and to be outside. Dylan swing is natural, or so Jason tells me since I wouldn't know what a natural or unnatural swing looked like:) Dylan would be happy just spending the whole day on the course with his Dad and Grandpa Hunsaker.
Dylan shines in many areas, but where he really shines is in his role as big brother. Dylan has two little brothers that think the suns rises and sets with Dylan. Whatever Dylan does, he has two little imitators that follow right behind him. I am a little sister myself, and know how much I always wanted to follow Heidi around. I wanted to dress the same, where the same makeup, go everywhere with her and her friends, and luckily I have a big sister who has been a champion for me still even today. Dylan similarly has taken his role as big brother and has set the bar pretty high for all other big brothers out there. This year, Dylan's friend Fox gave him an invitation for a late night. When Dylan gave me the invitation, he said "Mom, this is an invitation for a late night over at Fox's house, but I already asked him if Devin could come for a while." I almost cried, I told him that I he doesn't have to let Devin go to the late night with his friends. He assured me that it would be o.k., but maybe I could come get him after an hour so he would have the rest of the time with his friends. Dylan always includes Devin and it makes Devin's day every time. What a selfless big brother he is. He also takes such an active role in helping Trey, he has learned sign language so that he can communicate with him, and he is constantly participating in my speech therapy sessions with him.

I love you Dylan so much!!! You are an amazing young man and I feel blessed to be your mother. I thank God each day for your positive spirit in our home, you help everyone around you to look on the bright side and to be better versions of ourselves.

Trey speech progress (Apraxia)

For school I am giving a presentation on Apraxia (the speech disorder that Trey has) and so I have video taped him for the presentation. I have decided that it would be good to chart his progress so that I can better work with the speech and occupational therapists.
Trey will be 4 next month. These clips don't show that his cognitive level is actually pretty high. He knows all of his letters and can identify them using his ipad.
Also he recognizes and can spell his name, and counts from 1 to 10.
Keep in mind that just 2 months ago he was still very silent with little or no sounds being produced. This is the progress that we've made since going on the GFCF diet.
(Trey Signing that he wants a treat!)


Also Trey uses sign language to communicate, but since we are really struggling with getting him to be at all verbal, when we practice speaking, I try to have him use just his words and not his signs.

Follow these links to access the videos of my sweet Trey:)

http://youtu.be/Y_05sljAyLM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4kNHnNTSvo
http://youtu.be/IKPCwzKppr8

Trey really has made a ton of progress, even since these video's and learned a speaking part for the primary program. He didn't end up being able to give his part, because of his sensory integration disorder. All the people in the chapel along with the size of the room is really hard for him, but I was so proud of him that he let me take him to the podium and then back to his chair....it's all about baby steps here, and celebrating the little victories!

Up next for Trey is a visit to a Pediatric Neurologist, and then hopefully to some specialized speech therapists and occupational therapists at Primary Children's rehabilitation center in Bountiful.

Our Latest Adventures

Soccer Has Begun Again!

We love soccer! I love going to the games and to practice and watching my boys:) Dylan has turned into quite the player. His footwork is impressive this year and he has turned into a great leader.
Devin is getting in their this year and when he chooses to be aggressive, he does great things.












Labor Day Weekend

For this labor day, we stayed home, which is new for us. We had so much fun spending time together as a family.
We took everyone golfing which was so much fun. Dylan has been golfing for a while and so he already knows what he's doing. Devin and Trey had fun on the putting green, and Jason gave Taylor some lessons to improve her swing.
I even hit some and was surprised to see that I remembered how.












Trey's 1st day of Preschool!!!

Trey is in preschool at Ellison Elementary this year with peers that are not struggling like he is. I have been so nervous for him to go to school this year. He has something like 15 kids in his class, with 3 teachers. This is not the one on one attention that he was used to last year. No signing is done, and there are not pictures to help him with stations. Thank heavens that we have a great occupational therapist that is evaluating him as well as a speech therapist and special education workers. I think that he will end up going to school 4 days a week which will be wonderful for his development. Right now I think that they are leaning toward having him in the functional skills class for 2 days and the class he is in for the other 2 days. We will see how things work out, there is more observation that has to happen and then a meeting with me and all of the specialists. I am hopeful!





Adventures in Sewing

Since Taylor is in the Pep Squad, she has had to participate in spirit week this week. This meant crazy hair day, duck tape day, fake an injury day and today which was super hero/character day. Since our family is going to be pirates this year, we figured she would go as that. However, my schedule has been crazy and at 10 p.m. last night, I still hadn't gotten her costume done. It was Jason's birthday and we got home from our date at 10pm. Somehow I pulled it out of the crapper, as we say in Idaho, and stayed up for most of the night sewing her a pirate shirt and corset, which she wore to school with a bandana and my boots. I think she looked awesome!!! (Too old, but awesome non the less) She is supposed to be Penelope Cruz's character from Pirates 4.