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

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.