Miscellaneous Recap

I'm more than a little behind, but here's a recap.

Parent-Teacher Conference at school
I love E's teacher. He really tries to promote a sense of community in the classroom, and at the same time, allowing the children to be autonomous--at least, part of the time. This is difficult for Elena sometimes. Besides talking about what a great kid E is, e talked about how E relies on her aide, when both of us think she could do certain things herself. E's aide is FANTASTIC--but we wondered how far behind, if any, E would be if the aide just happened to be unavailable. This is an important test, since Elena will most likely not have an aide next year. I also learned (just recently) that we'll be redistricted to a different school next year. Ugh. Anyway, back to the meeting--E is very bright. At present, I have no worries about her academics. We have had some problems with teasing, and I brought it up. The teacher happens to be frustrated, with one child in particular, regarding teasing (not just directed to Elena, but she is an easy target). Not shortly after our meeting, there was a meeting with the principal, E, and the bullying student. That was a bit of a surprise to me--I didn't think they needed an official intervention. BUT, I applaud everyone for taking my concerns seriously. I didn't want to single Elena out. But, if it stops the teasing, or sets an example to show that behavior won't be tolerated, that's fine by me.

A Matter of Time
This sort of ties in to E and the school aide/independence thing. In essence, we don't carry Elena any more. We try to get her to do things herself. She can fully dress and undress herself (occasionally she gets caught up on socks, and we put her braces and shoes on) but it takes a LONG TIME. So, we dress her on school mornings. On four occasions, I have carried her from her bedroom, down the steps, on the way to the breakfast table. On EVERY one of those occasions, we've been 10 minutes early for the bus. That means it takes Elena 10 minutes to get out of her bed, and slide on her rear down the steps. 10 minutes--and that's for ONE of the many things we expect her to do herself before school. As you can imagine, our school mornings are regimented--as to when E needs to get up, be downstairs, finish her breakfast, etc. or else we will not be ready when the bus arrives. Early summer, I timed Elena doing various activities, and decided it took Elena on average 6 times longer to do any gross motor activity (and some other activities--she's a slow eater, for example). 10 minutes is longer than that (to get down the steps)--but that's b/c she's just waking up and her motivation is zero to get out of bed. STILL. Until this improves (and I believe it will, at least some) it's a struggle to help E get more independent, and have time to enjoy things. Everyone says "it's a balance", or something like that. I KNOW. I get tired of hearing/thinking that.

E plays with the Tee Ball set Viv got for her birthday (pretty awesome! We should have bought this months ago!)



Some PT videos









Dancing to Don Quixote

Busch Gardens

We had the pleasure of spending a great day at Busch Gardens with some great friends. We've done this a few years in a row, and it's amazing to see how much the kids have grown and changed. We all enjoy each other's company, and the park is wonderful. Elena is much taller than last year; she's about 40" tall, when wearing her shoes and braces. She's eligible for more rides--which is great, b/c E is a real thrill-seeker (loves the Battering Ram, Grover's Alpine Express, Le Scoot Log Flume, Prince Elmo's Spire, and the Swings, to name a few).

It's not all great news, though...we had our difficulties this year, too. This weekend was one of the first real hot ones--and Elena's endurance is pretty poor. Both she and Vivian (2 yrs old) wore out very quickly in the sun and heat. We knew we'd need a stroller, and opted for the Jeep jogger double--both kids were in it A LOT. I don't know what we're going to do as Elena gets taller. She did walk plenty with her crutches, too, and without them. She spent most of her time in the Festhaus walking/dancing independently, which was really great! It's obvious in the videos how much she favors bearing weight on her left leg...guess we'll just wait and what happens with that. E also had a pretty nasty fall at dinner, smashing the back of her head on the bottom of the iron table leg (she leaned for the table, and missed)--it's been a while since our last bad fall, and this was the worst one yet (pretty big lump in the back of her head for the day). I know E is tough, but I know that one HURT. :(

We left an hour and a half before closing--longer than we expected to stay--but the last hour or so was spent looking at animals and having dessert.

Here's the highlights!

E's Purple Carousel Horse


Viv got to ride close to Elena


Festhausian


E and Viv doing the Polka


White Baronesses


Bumper Cars (E got it!!)


Kites

Busch Garden and Water Country 2010

We had the pleasure of going to BG/WC with our good friends again this year! A and E went together last year, and had a blast. What a difference a year makes! First of all, it was a billion times hotter this year--each day it was close to 100 degrees. Second, both A and E's younger siblings also came, which made for some serious multitasking. Viv and ER didn't seem to like as many attractions as their older siblings, and both tired out quickly in the heat. Still--despite all the work and exhaustion, it was a great trip.

We brought the Beach Walker to Water Country USA. This turned out not to be a good idea. E's Beach Walker is pretty small--any water over a foot deep makes the wheels start to float. So, we ended up lugging it around (not the biggest deal, as we all had giant double strollers and gear) and not really using it. We did get a few people asking us about it, and saw two children with CP (one was much older, navigating the park independently, wearing AFOs and crocs). I saw a few other children with disabilities, but as you know--they're a minority. I feel this difference is strongly accentuated in a place like a water park. Still--I am proud that we're out there, doing our best, having a great time, no matter how challenging it may be.

The best part was the Hubba Hubba Highway. No lines, just ride along with the current. Last year, E couldn't right herself in a life vest (any type). This year--not only could she stay upright, she could doggie paddle across the water and ride along the current with her good friend A. That is a HUGE CHANGE. I still had to stay close--she tipped twice and I helped--but it didn't freak her out.

E and Mommy getting ready to float away

G'ma and Viv--Viv only liked it if you were holding on to her tightly

We rode some rides--E would try to stand in line, with her feet down while we waited. She moved along the line sometimes while holding a handrail, other times I carried her. It was a full-time job, seeing that the kids were safe, having fun, staying fed and hydrated and cool (ish). A pretty tiring day.

The next day we woke up ready for Busch Gardens! We love it. Both families pushed kids in double strollers. Occasionally, the kids (not Elena) got out and walked. That stung--too many hills, too hot, for Elena to do much on her own. We did bring her crutches, and she did use them. Elena is an adventure-seeker--she LOVES rides, even scary ones. She rode her first roller coaster in the Sesame play area. WOW did she like that!

As always--the highlight of BG was The Festhaus!! Vivian went bananas when the band came out...



E danced a lot too--but I only have pictures. She liked to have a "launching point" from a bench--she'd dance around and then come back to the bench and do it again.



Here is E doing the Chicken Dance! Last year I had to hold her up. This year, she did everything!



Viv also had her first "big girl ride". She didn't really enjoy the rides (not even the carousel!), she preferred to play on playgrounds and watch shows.



Elena loves them, though. Grandma, not so much. E loves the "scream" part when you're up high.



Here's the group, near the end of our day, around "Italy".




What a great time. A big special thanks to our friends, the Rs. Thank you so much for your fun company! A big thank you to Mr. Ben, since he did most of the planning for this trip. And another big ups to Grandma and Grandpa--I literally could not have done this without you.

A Cinderella Story

I took E and her friend H to the Charlottesville Ballet this weekend. We just LOVE them!!

The kids got to have a little "mini" ballet class, watch the Pas De Deux dance between Cinderella and her Prince, and then they drew life-sized paper dolls of themselves, with the idea of decorating their picture like a princess at her royal ball.

Two Ballerinas and the kids talking about dancing, and what the show will be about (E is far left, purple tutu)



I knew E would want to dance with the other girls. I got on stage with all of them, and E held my hand when she needed it, which was pretty often. But what I really enjoyed was how E didn't hesitate to try new things. She is brave. There was a moment when the kids were lining up near the back of the stage (this take a while, herding lots of little girls) and I told Elena to look out from the stage. "There are all these lights, and look, the people out in the audience love to watch you dance!" I said. I meant the "royal you", but E let go of my hand, went to center stage and started dancing. Alone. She shook her midsection, tried to keep her hands out wide sometimes, smiled, and did some turns the best she could. I followed her the best I could in case I had to catch her (I didn't)--but what I really wished is that I could have been in the audience to see that.

E loved the show. The Prince remembered her from the last performance we attended (how cool is that?!). E just calls him "The Prince". I can't wait for her to see him in a supermarket or something. ;) E and H were the last girls to pack up their drawings before we left.

E and H making "life-size paper dolls"



Can't wait for the next show!

E's Dance Moves--the Repertoire

Elena loves to dance. Years ago, our goal was to just get her to stand up without falling. Then she moved a little (without falling). We've come a long way since then.

E's newest moves involve "side-stepping", something we've been working on for some time. We've also been working on "twirling", but we're not there yet. Overall her weight shifts are improving, particularly onto the right leg. Her hips are also more square than before, which I believe makes it easier for her to stay upright while in motion. E still has a tendency to hold on to the nearest object and jump around while "dancing"--we're trying to encourage her to try things with her hands free.

Shake it, E!

Big Weekend: Water Country and Busch Gardens

Last weekend we had a big trip. This was a pretty big deal.

We took E to two amusement parks; one per day, with her good friend A. They also got to spend a night in a hotel--a first for E, and they even got to sleep in the same bed! E's first sleepover!!

We went to Water Country USA as our first park. I wasn't sure how that would turn out...E can't swim (like most 4 year olds, though, so that's not a big deal) but she also would be without her shoes on for the entire duration of our time at the park. No AFOs, no shoes, no crutches (she can't really use them yet barefoot)...which either means a lot of floating, or a lot of carrying. Turns out, it was a pretty good day! Even though E isn't the most confident sometimes, she is a thrill-seeker.

Before getting wet


We started on a ride called the Hubba Hubba Highway. It's a "river"-style attraction with a medium current, where you just plop in with or without a life vest (we all wore ours) and float along. There are different styles of jets and sprinklers along the way. It was great fun for everyone--but I noticed something VERY QUICKLY: E cannot right herself in the water while wearing the life vest. We planned on staying together, but literally we needed to be holding her the entire time (or she was holding on to us) b/c otherwise she could not reliably keep her face out of the water. She won't stay "up and down" like the other kids. Not right now, anyway.

Really, any (age/height) appropriate attraction that involved a handhold was fine for E. This means any raft-type of ride, she could do, and loved it--even the fast ones! But any activity that involved no hand holds--slides, a mat-style ride, or straight up swimming was a no-go. We tried her on a small kiddie slide, with Jason helping her start sitting up at the top, and me at the bottom to catch her. At the bottom of the slide, since she was lying down, she slid under the water and got gushed in the eyes, nose and mouth. I caught her the best I could--but slides were a definite NO after that

Here is E on a smaller raft ride.


E "swimming" in the shallows--looking pretty good here.


Overall Water Country was great. Stay close to E, no slides--once we learned that, a fun time was had by all. The highlight (not shown) was when we all got to ride a BIG slide, where all 5 of us got to ride together in one big tube. The girls had a blast, and were pretty exhausted by bedtime.

Mr. Ben reading the girls a bedtime story


The next day we all went to Busch Gardens. Our first stop was to inquire about a Ride Access Pass, where Elena could have the opportunity to go on the rides without waiting in line terribly long. We actually didn't use this too often, but when we did, it really made the experience easier. People who have the RAP wear bracelets on their wrists--one to signify they have "priority access", and the other to inform the ride operator if there is a height restriction (in this case, E wore an orange band b/c she is shorter than 40 inches). This made for very little hassle getting to the front of the line. Everyone was quite nice, no one gave us any fuss, and no one who was waiting in line for an hour made any mean comments. Here are E and A on some rides!

Glider Girls


White Baronesses


At the entrance to DragonLand (a big playground, with some kiddie rides)


On the rope bridge at DragonLand (YES I am very tired!)


Interestingly, they have two large metal slides at DragonLand. I posted above how slides are a problem for E; she really wanted to try these. Jason took off her shoes (to let her slide better), and let her go. Turns out, the slides aren't so slippery; it was more of a inclined tunnel, as everyone had to "scoot" their way to the bottom. E can do that--and it was great exercise for her.

And last, the highlight of the weekend: Das Festhaus!! Ben thought the girls would like the show. That is a GIANT UNDERSTATEMENT--E was so excited, she started stiffening on her bench while clapping and yelling. Seriously, I have not seen her this excited EVER. Not Christmas, not her birthday, not having grandparents visit--Das Festhaus trumped ALL! One of the dancers--a VERY tall, handsome gentleman, came right up to E to see if she wanted to dance. ADORABLE!

ein Gentleman, wie er im Buche steht




One of the last dances was The Chicken Dance. A was very excited--she had been practicing before our trip! E knows the dance too, but has problems with the shimmy part, and when the dance speeds up. Still, she had a FANTASTIC time, I was just tickled to be there to witness it. I know the video is shaky, but hopefully you get the idea.



Thanks to the staff at Water Country, Busch Gardens, and Ben and A for a suPER FUN WEEKEND!