Girls in the City: New York, AGAIN

I'll try to get back on schedule (end of summer, back to school) but this deserves its own post.

We headed back to NY for an end-of-the-summer trip. E and Viv refer these types of trips as "Girls in the City", as Jason works during most days of a trip like this. Our (first) trip (last year) was so successful, we decided to go again, only this time, armed with City Knowledge. You might notice E is wearing her "pocket sash", our current attempt at practical pockets. More on that in another post--she typically carried her clip on sunglasses, her metro card, and anything else little (lego person, map, money, etc.)

We traveled by train to NYC. We all love the train. The girls were busy with games, coloring, and walks up and down the carriages; parents read and planned our trip, while we all studied maps. Naturally, we brought Elena's wheelchair. Our goal this year was less on shows, more on seeing different parts of Manhattan. We were not necessarily going to shy away from the subway; we have became more confident with Elena and our ability to carry or use her wheelchair on public transit.

The weather was beautiful, even though it was a bit hot. It rained one day out of our week. The first day, we arrived in our lodgings near Chinatown and had an easy dinner. The following day, we headed out to brunch in Harlem (by Uber; the subway was going to take a long time!) and then headed to Central Park.

Elena received a song in her honor at Red Rooster!

We decided to try to ride bikes through the park. We rented three; a bike for Jason, a bike for Viv, and a bike for me with an attached trail-a-bike. I am the only parent who has successfully used a trail-a-bike, and my knee is much stronger than it used to be--but the last time E was on one, she was much smaller and lighter. I considered a tandem, and I am very glad I decided not to get one. Elena and I had a rough start; I felt very uneasy, had trouble starting once stopped (a significant issue, as bikes have to stop for foot/horse/vehicle traffic in the park), and Elena kept leaning from side to side so much I had a very difficult time maintaining balance for the two of us. Her feet kept falling off pedals (which would have been a HUGE problem on a tandem). We stopped by my request..I was ready to give up. I asked Jason to take the kids on the carousel, while I tried to collect myself and figured out what to do. I ended up talking with E about my concerns, and my plan to try again and what to do if our attempts ended in failure. We were a team. And we figured it out. We rode all over the park! Biking in Central Park was one of the top two things we all did in NY!

Jason daringly snapped this mid-ride

Strawberry Fields

Walking the bike was just about as difficult as riding it. For me.

Our only rainy day, we headed to the Museum of Modern Art. Elena loved it, Vivian not so much. Then we headed to the NY Public Library. Vivian loved the children's room, but E wanted more, so she and I explored the building.

Warhol Cows at MoMA

Trying to keep dry in the City

We were joined by our good friends the Gs; we spent a lot of time exploring parks and museums. We decided to head to Brooklyn from our Chinatown spot. Elena decided she wanted to walk the whole bridge; so she did!

Girls on the Bridge

Enjoying the Park

 We really enjoyed Brooklyn. Lots of walking, for all of us. We hopped on the Ferry to the Financial District.

Fearless Girls

The Bull

We enjoyed walking back through Chinatown. We ate in Little Italy. Viv and M and M and Z loved running around the parks, chasing pigeons and playing in fountains (Elena was tired). And, very important--if you are wondering if your kid can catch a pigeon, the answer is yes, so you better figure out how to convince your child to release it. 

Fountains

 

We went back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We loved it. There is so much to explore, and with the wheelchair, there is enough energy for everyone to see as much as they can.

The kids at the top of Belvedere Castle on the way to the Met

Bamboo Display at the Met

Lots of playing in playgrounds and parks, stopping along the way for cool shops and food. Loved walking the Esplanade along the Hudson. Enjoyed the shops and bars in East Village. Only messed up once on the Subway--and everyone in Queens was very nice. Vivian and M ended up joining in a square dance/dance/exercise group in Chinatown. J and I got to go out to dinner, big thanks to the Gs for watching all the kids! So much to see...the only repeat we did this year was the Met and Rockefeller Center (kids always want to visit Lego and see what new displays they have!). Everything else was new.

Pickle Shop!

Heart Balloon

Hailing Taxi

Japanese Crepes? Yes please!

Union Square

We ended our trip with an easy evening at a Cat Cafe, called Meow. It was a very weird but pleasant way to recharge after being in such a busy city.

Refuge for Cat Lovers

Our only issue, besides me being tired from walking, was that we forgot E's crutch hand grips and she mentioned she probably wouldn't be as tired if she had them. We'll remember next time--b/c we'll definitely be back!

End of Summer 2014 Recap!

I have so much to write about!  I wanted to wrap up the summer stuff, but then school started, and E's knee hurt...so here I am, a few months late.

The biggest thing we worked on this summer was independence.  Things like getting dressed (everything except putting on her kiddiegaits, which can be tricky), brushing teeth, brushing her hair.  If she forgot something upstairs, she had to get it herself.  Carrying books and toys and things.  Elena can already undress herself completely and get into the tub; this summer she was able to wash herself (including her hair), get out (wet and slippery), dry off, and then get dressed for bed.  We worked on doing these things in a timely manner, as to prepare for school mornings and evenings.  We still get a lot of complaining, but overall Elena has made a lot of progress being self-sufficient.

When we did special events, we let Elena try things herself--getting in and out of cars/carts/rides/doors, navigating steps/trails/water, figuring out how to carry/build/transfer items--and then, as always, how to balance doing these things in a reasonable amount of time.  Our biggest issue right now is making Elena start something early; she knows it takes her a certain amount of time, but she procrastinates a lot and then complains tons about being rushed (hooray for age appropriate behavior, right?).

All of this work on independence is scratching the surface of an essential skill:  problem-solving.  It's a long, arduous struggle--but we are making progress!

So, here is the end of our summer, in recap form:

W e went to Busch Gardens with our friends, the Rs.  I brought Elena's wheelchair.  Elena used it when we were going longer distances, and she had enough energy to climb the huge playground--even the rope bridge (!) and stay up late for fireworks!  Vivian hitched a ride whenever she could. As always, Elena is the adventure seeker.  Vivian is getting braver every day, but not as adventurous as her big sis.

Water Play

That's E, white shirt--did all those steps herself, no crutches!

She couldn't do this last year!

I love that Viv is big enough so they can ride together! 

Monster Shirt Girls

Awesome Fireworks with Friends

Roller Skating at the local community center is always a fun, free (!) time.  Vivian is an independent skater (and working on going backwards!).  Elena needs a lot of help, and grown-up backs need a lot of breaks--but it's still great fun.  

Dad and E

Aren't they adorable?

We spent several afternoons in parks/playgrounds, and biking when we could.  Vivian is an independent biker.  Elena's upright bike is small for her.  The larger bike frame seems too big for her to put her feet down quickly, but the smaller one she tips with the small training wheels.  I think the solution is to get the bigger bike frame, and extra large training wheels.  In any case, she has spent more time on her recumbent pink trike.  

Art in the park

Walk Bike Play Day

We went camping with our friends, the S-R family.  We met some great new people, and the weather was really nice this time (not much rain!).  We played games, sang songs, rode bikes, and broke in our new tent!

E's gorgeous fairy house

Our "Taj MaTent"

Lake Exploration

Great way to end the summer.  Huge thanks to our friends for making these little trips possible and super fun!  Next up...return to school!

Bonus Vivian:  washing my car

Beach 2014 Recap

We went to Litchfield beach for our family vacation this year.  For two weeks, this time.  Spending that much time away from home sounds great, but given how tight Elena was last year after one week at the beach (it took us 5 weeks to recover), I knew we were going to have to find a way to keep her stretched as best as possible.

Since the beginning of summer, we've been diligent in her wearing her Dynasplint at night.  We started at a very low tension setting, and now we're at 8 (out of 10).  She normally wears it on her right leg at night, but occasionally we put it on her left.  Without a doubt, this brace has made the biggest difference in her range of motion since school ended.  We also brought her new Gecko Stander, with the goal of having her spend time in it daily.

As before, we took driving breaks every two hours and kept Elena's feet supported during the ride.  She was energetic and moved well at every stop.  We broke up the trip to the beach with a night's stay at our friends' house in NC--always good to see K&A!

I had made some Beach Crutches for the trip.  They are made out of PVC, and painted green (Elena's choice).  The most expensive part was the 22 degree angle slip fitting; this is close to the angle of the loft strand crutch.  I also looked for options to make a cuff, but I didn't find a substrate that was strong and flexible to fit her arm.  I do have three sets of extra loft strand crutches (a gift from the children's hospital that just moved to a new space), so I used the cuffs (and brought the rest of them in case the homemade beach set didn't work out).

Beach Crutches, front view

Beach Crutches, side view

Beach Crutches v. Walk Easy

The Beach Crutches didn't really work out; the main reason is the cuff post won't fit in far enough in the 22 degree slip fit, making the shaft of the cuff post too long (so the cuff is too close to her elbow).  I could trim it a little, but I didn't have a saw at the beach.  Elena also wanted her soft crutch covers on the beach crutches, which I did not allow b/c we'd never get out the sand.

Overall I think the crutches would have been a success with a few tweaks.  I'm happy we have a "spare set", as the pins in the crutches we did end up using have rust issues now, and still have sand in them (but not much).

Spare Crutch set worked well at the beach

We went to the beach every day except two.  We typically set out after lunch (except a morning bike ride) and stayed until dinnertime.  No one got a sunburn, and the girls had lots of fun playing in the surf and going deeper with grown-ups.

Viv gets a tow
 

Wave-jumping Elena

 When the kids weren't playing in the surf, they loved playing in a "beach pool".  (I spent a lot of time with a shovel each afternoon).

E waiting in her requested "heart shaped pool" for the tide to come in

Vivian cannonballing

Sand Fortress

One day, we went out on a sailboat.  Elena loved it.  We rode the boat to a small uninhabited island, where the shore was littered with hermit crabs and all kinds of shells.  We took a few back with us, most ended up escaping on the beach.  Big thanks to Captain Dave!

Elena loved riding up front

Viv preferred the stern

Mommy bow shot

We met up with some friends that come to this beach every year at the same time.  Their daughter is Viv's age, and they played together beautifully for the week.

Viv, Cha Cha, and I

Viv and Grandma

E and Nana

We had our annual Sorry! Championship--two of them, actually, since different family members came for different weeks.  This years Champions:  Week one, Aunt Kate, and Week 2, Elena!

Champions

We went to play mini golf; in years past, this has been unsuccessful because it was dreadfully hot and normally too crowded when the sun goes down.  We managed to play a few holes before a Pirate Show on an overcast day--Elena did GREAT maneuvering around the "pens" for each hole.  No trips!  AND Elena made a hole in one!

Putting

We didn't bring the trail-a-bike for the beach this year...because we just brought the kids' bikes instead!  Vivian lost the training wheels earlier this month, and she did a great job on the beach.  E is too big for her frame (as is Viv--they are nearly the same size), but the next size bike is too big for her.  Elena did a great job in sand--she really had to use her muscles to propel the bike.  Both girls had fun, even though E was a little upset that Vivian was far in front of her most of the time.

And they're off!

Fun morning on the beach!

Our favorite thing to do is just hang out on the beach, though.  We saw dolphins (on our bike ride!), I found a starfish, and the girls enjoyed digging for clams, being mermaids in the surf (E did get flipped over with a strong shallow wave--but only once, and I was right there), and playing in the sand. 

Wave Rider

Lounging

Just us girls

"Mount DripCastle"

I had a hard time paring down pictures for this post...there's so many I just love.

Laughing

Standing on a sandhill

Elena was expected to move mostly on her own.  She wasn't responsible for carrying anything but herself and her crutches while we were out there.  A lot of times she wanted a hand (sometimes she got one, especially if very tired or in rough water) but most of the time she walked alone.  Her gait looked better (of course) when using crutches.  The hardest part was always walking back to the beach access pier, with her crutches (she'd be tired, maybe a little cold, and not wanting to do stairs).

Walking, side view

Right foot down

Left foot down

Most of the time she fell in the water or sand right after a picture like this.  But still, she looked better than last year walking on sand, especially if she took her time and thought about it.  And now they can run into the surf together.

Surf Sisters

So Happy

And yes, there was a lot of this.  

Yes, my back hurts

Right knee collapse--but still walking (so far, always without pain)

Wagon ride home (one block away)

We had the best time.  This beach is so family friendly, the access is close (the handicap access is about four blocks down), the house has everything we need, the water is warm, and the company can't be beat.  Thanks always to our whole family for making this trip possible (and so much fun!), and to Dad and Kate for snapping most of these pictures, and for taking our big gear in their truck.

And how long did it take E to recover from so much beach time?  NONE.  We used the stander probably 10 days out of 14, the dynasplint every night, our usual stretches and a few massages in there (for both E and Viv).   Bonus!