Fun Times at the Albemarle County Fair

E and her friend Oia went to the Albemarle County Fair last week. They had a day with free admission for the elderly/special needs. There weren't many rides open, but there were plenty of animals, lots to see, and a great group of friendly people.

E and a duckling


E and a longhorn


E, Oia, and the Moms


E was thrilled to have new AHS cheerleader friends! Thanks so much to Candace and Jesse!


E and Jesse ride


Oia tries to give E a push on their way to the Ferris Wheel.


They loved it!


Thanks to the AC volunteers and the Fair staff for a great day!

OF COURSE YOU CAN

E saw this set up for another person at the therapy center. I tried to focus her attention elsewhere, but Teresa educated me by telling us "of course you can".



Emboldened, she saw a dolly pram (it normally isn't out) and went for it. This particular pram is very lightweight, so E can't lean into it to push. This is an issue, b/c she's not that good at independently stopping her forward motion. She tries to stop, but instead just takes smaller steps on her toes.



She went up a rope ladder again and into the sensory swing--see E's YouTube channel, The Doodle for the most recent vids.

E tried a new challenge today--using hanging rings. Takes core strength, coordination, and patience. A little bit of each ain't bad?

PT recap: Same issues, Different Exercise

Here is E working on 1) moving more independently, and 2) trying to move her feet in/out of obstacles--whether that be uneven terrain, swings, ladders, etc.

Every session now she does steps with her crutches. This is to try to practice for school this fall--there is a small set of steps to her classroom. I think it is highly unlikely she will be ready to use her loftstrands at the start of school. We'll probably have to go back to the walker. (Steps vids not here, but are on the YouTube channel).

E gets some choices as to what SHE wants to do during PT; using the swing was one of them--but she didn't realize getting out was part of that program.





some time after that, all learned another type of sit-up.

Weekend at Maymont

Nana and PopPop came to visit us this weekend, and we planned a trip to Maymont (Richmond, VA). It is BEAUTIFUL! I can't believe I didn't know it was there before...if the day wasn't so hot, it would have been perfect. E loved the fountains, and flowers, and trees--spending time outside on uneven terrain isn't something she gets to do often. We were all pretty worn out by the end of the day...but what a lovely day!

E in a big magnolia (you KNOW I was sweatin' this one...I must have asked her a thousand times if she felt like she would fall)



E at one of the garden fountains



There's more pics on PopPop's camera...hopefully I'll post those soon.

A VIP luncheon

Last week Annette organized a lunch date with Elena and her Bright Stars teachers, Ms. Geisha and Ms. Ruth. She had a BLAST. These two are the creme de la creme, folks. Baby sister Vivian go to go, too.

PT recap: Scooter Boat, "Blue Cocoon"

E started off the session with her crutches like the week before (see youtube channel), going up the steps outside the therapy center as before. She's getting it, but she is unstable and lacks confidence.

They started off the session using the Sensory Swing (?), we call it the Blue Cocoon. It takes a lot of upper body/core strength for E to climb into the swing, and she loves being twisted up inside. She's a very happy caterpillar.



Later E worked on core strength/movement through her hips while using a scooter board. Here is one video; there are more on The Doodle youtube channel.