Super Summer Recap

We have had a very busy summer.  It's been my first summer being home, and I have loved it.  These pictures are in semi-chronological order...except the Pony Show was in the Spring.  I was hoping to get permission to post a few cute closeup group shots, but I never had the chance to talk to all the kids' parents.  

Pony Show

(Did I already post this?) E and Viv were part of the Pony Show at Fairhunt Farm.  The girls were patient, but it was a very long wait; all the older riders went first, is that typical for a pony show?  Vivian was in the Lead Line/Hunter Pleasure category.  

Vivian riding

Blue Ribbon!

Elena was in the beginner Walk/Trot category.  She was excited, but not super excited to be on Teacup; she can be a feisty pony.  She had a leader and a side walker, both extremely helpful and kind girls.  

Smiling for the judges

Trot!

White Ribbon!

Blueberry Picking at Grelen

The family went picking at an absolutely gorgeous farm.  We harvested blueberries and black raspberries!  The farm is relatively small, and pretty accessible for Elena.

Vivian

Elena

What a view!

Maymont

We visited the Richmond Maymont Estate with some friends.  It is pretty expansive, so we brought Elena's wheelchair.  She used it about a third of the time--it was pretty hot and she was thankful for the ride (as was Vivian).

Some of the garden walkways are very steep and uneven

E at the Bear Pen

Simply Gorgeous

Fourth of July

We went for a walk the morning of the Fourth.

Fourth Cuties!

After resting, we went to the neighborhood pool party.  E and Viv had a great time swimming and playing with friends.  We stayed up for fireworks at a different friend's house.

Sparkler Girls

We got a double-dose of Fourth action the following day, where there was a weekend celebration in Crozet.  We hung out with our friends the Rs, enjoying dinner, a great parade, and community fireworks that were set off right outside their house.  Can't beat the view from their front porch!

E sparklers

Viv sparklers

Swimming at the Lake

We went to visit our friends the Andersons for a lake swim!  It was such a great time with good friends!  We did some kayaking too, but everyone preferred to swim b/c it was a hot day.

E gives Viv a ride

E and Avery

Snack Pile

Finally captured a Rainbow!

We make a pretty big seasonal "bucket list", and one of them was to see a rainbow.  Every time it rained during the day we would look for one, and we finally found one.

Rainbow Girls

Beautiful Afternoon

Overall we've spent our 'home' portion of summer swimming, exercising, stretching, playing with friends, and enjoying our community.  It's been fantastic!

Hodgepodge update, again

Hot and Cold

The weather has been just starting to match the season.  I decided to take the girls out a month (?) ago (this is a catchall update) before the leaves fell off the trees--it was beautiful out, but freezing!!

Beautiful Fall

Running

Hot Cocoa

 The New Playroom

When Elena was learning to walk, she fell "like a tree" all the time.  We decided we needed a "crash room"--so we emptied our dining room, bought the thickest carpet we could find (and put the thickest pad under it), removed any furniture, padded any and all "corners", and gated the sides.  That was our arena before Elena could move about the house safely (roughly, two years).  Now, our entire main floor is littered with kid stuff--Elena has trouble carrying lots of things, so we never stressed cleaning up after herself--and we didn't really stress it with Vivian either.  Now that Elena can navigate the entire house on her own, I decided to move the playroom to the basement and reclaim our dining room (eventually).

I've been working for the last month on the new playroom--cleaning, painting, putting together furniture, etc.  I still need two chairs for the table.  Pictures when they arrive!

Rainy Indoor Day (first days as a stay-at-home Mom!)

It was such a yucky day...so we made the most of it, gross-motor style.  Here are some highlights of our  obstacle courses (Vivian not shown).










More Riding at Fairhunt, with Bonus Vivian!

Elena's riding is improving.  Some of the best cues Susan has given Elena have been referring to her pelvis as "a bowl" and how she doesn't want to "tip the bowl" (less lordotic posture).  Elena is starting to understand what a pelvic tilt means, and this is one (out of two) exercises that maintain that awareness.  She is also posting better.  Starlight a.k.a. "Teacup" is a good pony, but she is very old and will retire soon.

Just like her big sister

Roller Skating!

The local recreation center in town offers free roller skating every Friday night and Sunday evening.  It's wonderful--the staff are so friendly, encouraging, and nice; the other kids (honestly, all of them) have been super nice.  It's full of people falling, not just Elena, which is a refreshing change.

Granted, Elena has a harder time on skates than anyone else I see there.  Still, she enjoys it, and it's a new and different balance challenge--and that's always good, in my opinion.  Elena skates best with two adults (one on each side, normally Jason and I) or one adult if she's doing really well.  She also wears a harness I bought a long time ago (thinking it might help with skiing or bike riding) that has a handle near her back.

We have three goals when E is skating:  1) for her to keep her head up (mainly to keep her butt in line as much as possible), 2) to try to put all four wheels on her right foot on the floor (this is rarely successful) and 3) to keep her feet moving (otherwise she stays on her left foot too long).  I think she is doing beautifully, and she improves every time.  Elena is discouraged when she sees Vivian, now skating by herself; we try to be happy for everyone, and just have fun out there.



We had a really great experience when a little gem of a girl Elena's age skated right up to her as I was lacing up her skates, and she introduced herself and asked about Elena's braces.  Then she said she doesn't like wearing her brace either.  I didn't see one; she said she wears hers all the time when she is not exercising.  I think she was talking about a back brace for scoliosis (I didn't get that far in the conversation, as she and Elena were talking).  It was nice for E to realize other people wear braces, even if it isn't obvious.

Our New Stable

Elena was making progress becoming an independent pony rider at the end of her time with our Hippotherapy program.  Brenda, our therapist, recommended that we consider another riding place, which she'd be happy to pre-approve for us (that's great, b/c we live in horse country and I don't know a thing about horses or what would best suit Elena's needs).  The reason was that Brenda thought that Elena could take typical riding lessons (I consider them "riding-lite"), and that was not her specialty.  Our last hippotherapy session was July.  

We now go to Fairhunt Farm to ride.  It's a lovely place, and Susan is very patient.  Elena rides Starlight, nicknamed "Teacup" because her hooves are so tiny.  Teacup is an tiny old mare who is well trained and very patient.  Elena loves her. 

Elena is learning horsemanship, so she helps care for Teacup before and after riding.  I didn't see much of a physical gain in it as much as relationship-building with the pony--but I was wrong.  One time, after riding (when Elena typically has "jelly legs") she was brushing Teacup with very straight legs and not leaning on her at all--that almost never happens.  Teacup even moved towards E a little, which would have sent E flying if she was leaning on her--but it was fine b/c Elena was in control, in her own space.  That's pretty huge!

"Painting" Teacup's hooves to prevent cracks

Saddling up

 I am typically a side walker.  I have to confess that when I see E in the saddle, I'm very proud of her--and afraid half the time she's going to fall off.  Not b/c she's going too fast, but because she's expected to do so much more balancing than she's used to, and since our riding time is after school, she is quite tired.  To me, E seems to have a hard time focusing on Susan's instruction right now.  I think that will change--she's still getting used to her school schedule, for one.  Elena also originally arrived at Fairhunt feeling pretty confident of her skills, and I believe is realizing she has a whole lot to learn.  Maybe it's a bit overwhelming, and that contributes to the lack of focus sometimes?  We'll see.

Walkin'

Side View

Trot Action, #1

Trot Action, #2

Elena loves to talk to Susan and enjoys steering and walking.  She leans forward a lot right now when executing movements, but she is getting better at her posture and that awareness is exactly what I want for her.  I think that Elena's riding will improve quickly.  Susan's voice is gentle and she is a different type of instructor--I worry that my presence of being a helper isn't the best fit.  I try to be quiet and defer to Susan as much as possible.  

Vivian and Leonard

Vivian comes to Fairhunt with us, of course.  She really wants to ride a pony, but somewhere in her almost 5-yr old mind she knows this is Elena's lesson.  She is allowed to explore the farm, including goats, barn cats, dogs, and chickens.  She likes to pretend she's a pony and run around the ring.  She occasionally gets to brush and even ride Teacup for a short while--she's so happy to do what her big sister does, it's adorable!  (Hopefully I'll get a good pic of Viv on Teacup soon!)

Hodgepodge Update

Words.  I'm so tired I'm just going to post some pictures.  In no particular order, here are some summer highlights!

Elena has a lot more bike endurance than Viv these days

Viv swinging (can't get that sunspot out of the picture!)

E swinging

Pond at the Botanical Garden

My beautiful butterflies

Sprayground!

Fourth of July Pool party!  E is amused while Viv doesn't want her to touch the floatie.  

Pinky gets a wash down

Another ride

Latest lesson--learning to steer herself!  She can also start and stop her pony!

Back on the Horse (Literally)

Elena had to take a break from therapeutic horseback riding for 6 weeks after surgery. This was her first day back. Our lesson was as if we never left--still 30 minutes, and our handler had E do her normal range of motions--sitting forward, backward, sideways. The only real difference is that Elena needed more help with her transitions, and that she was a little more wobbly than usual. She rode Patchy, who is a large pony. Sometimes, she rides Cookie, a smaller pony (takes more core strength when she rides him).

These are action shots of her riding Patchy.


Reaching forwards (not shown) and backwards from forward sitting (trunk rotations)


Backwards with "airplane hands" (extensions)


side saddle with "airplane hands"


Normally we do therapeutic horseback riding once a week. The next couple months will be intermittent, as there are scheduling conflicts at The Barn.