Therapy Update

Speech

Ruby is rocking and rolling. I keep saying it, but she adds so many new words and blends all of the time. This means articulation suffers as she tries to keep up with her expanding vocabulary, but that's why we do so many hours of speech each week (to correct). She still does speech 2x/week at school as part of her day, and then she does speech once or twice a week with private therapists that focus on different parts of her articulation and blending. Ruby is stringing together thoughts to make toddler-esque sentences now; it is so cool!

PT/Aquatic Therapy

This is Ruby's favorite type of therapy. She LOVES the pool, she LOVES Miss Beth, and that means she LOVES Aquatic Therapy! Ruby is jumping all of the place now, which was our main goal when we started. She can jump from standing still, she can jump forward, she can jump off a curb, she can jump twice in a row (sometimes). For an hour each week Ruby and Miss Beth motor around the pool, sometimes with ankle weights, kicking (on her stomach, on her back, seated, on a kick board), maneuvering pool stairs, jumping up and down in different depths and on dry land, doing sit ups, balancing on one leg, balancing in the water on a noodle or Miss Beth's knee....it's an exhausting hour!

OT

This is Ruby's biggest struggle right now. We still haven't acquired private Occupational Therapy. She receives it 2x/week at school, and when she stays for the full day at school, the afternoon focuses on handwriting, which hits this area. That being said, when I work with her at home, my assessment is that her skills are still very lacking. Her control of crayons, pencils, etc. is not great at all, and even tracing straight lines is difficult, so the only letters she can at all form on her own are "O" and "X". And those are not on a specific writing line, but wherever on the paper she lands. We are tackling that harder than ever at home right now. We do a lot of thera-putty, cutting, using utensils to pick up objects...that girl works hard!

Boosterthon Fun Run

An annual tradition since Eli started Kindergarten oh-so-many years ago! My kids love Boosterthon. They gather outside with their peers and run 35+ laps around a coned off area, accumulating tally marks on their Boosterthon t-shirts while the music plays and the parents cheer them on.

When Eli was in 5th Grade they started allowing the 4th/5th grade students to have color as part of their run. So in addition to the previously mentioned craziness, now corn starch color powder is thick in the air (and hair).

Maddux was all about the color last year, and this year was the same. Thankfully she thought ahead both years to bring a pair of clear glasses to protect her eyes, but the color she begged the volunteers to pour on her shirt and hair promised to stain for days.

Oh yeah, and if you pour water on yourself, or sweat (as it's August in Georgia), the color powder bonds to your skin/hair/clothes and makes everything even more messy. I'll be coughing up color for weeks.

A fun surprise: Ruby got to participate this year! There is an exceptional student run in the gym just before the 4th/5th grade run, and the Pre-K was invited to join. Ruby LOVED this: the music, the lights, the chaos, the running...it spoke to her for sure!

Eli's Birthday

Eli turned 12 today. In other news, I haven't aged at all.

As he has done several times now, Eli opted for a soccer party. This is our favorite type of party because it is literally just everyone running around having a good time: no lunch, no balloons, no goodie bags, no hired entertainment. And we encourage our kids to raise funds/resources for others if they have a party (more than 3 people). Without any prompting, Eli chose Songs for Kids (which we obviously love and benefited from in Ruby's hospital time).

This year was a great crowd, as it always is. Mostly repeat offenders, with a new face here and there. I love that the kids ages (except Ruby) spanned from 10-16; that's just cool.

Oh, and I brought enough water this year; in every other year I would bring more than I had previously, but still not enough to deal with the hydration needs of 20-ish kids and adults running around in a humid hot box. This year I nailed it. #winning

 

Oh yeah, and the kids had a great time too.

Back to School

Maddux

5th Grade! I am having a hard time processing the fact that Maddux is in her last year of Elementary school. She has a young teacher that we've heard some great things about, and her best friend is in her class. The first few days have gone well; Maddux jumped right in with applying for a 'job' in her classroom and taking on the homework (minimal) assigned so far. After school this year she is participating in three programs: Drama, Cardio Sharp and Math Marvels. Her biggest excitement is surrounding Cotillion, which she'll participate in after New Years.

Eli

Eli started a week later than the girls, just like last year. His schedule this year allows more time with Drew, which was a huge bonus for both of them. Outside of band and PE last year, they haven't had a class together since Kindergarten. This year they are in homeroom and a few other classes together. Eli's locker is still a lower locker, which is a good thing because he can't access most of the upper locker's space (and it's right across the hall from Drew's). Eli's homeroom teacher is the Latin teacher, who he already knew from last year. When he and I walked in for his pre-school conference, he and she immediately connected on something; I think this will be a good year!

Ruby
Ruby started the same day as Maddux this year, since she's at the BIG school. She desperately wants to ride the bus, but I still drive her to and from each day. She is in the same Special Needs Pre-K class she started at the end of last year; same main teacher but a different paraprofessional. There are a few familiar faces in her class, and plenty of new ones.

This year Ruby will stay for the full day (until 2PM) 1/2 the time. (On those days, she takes a short 'rest' and then works more intentionally on handwriting and other things that will help her in Kindergarten. It's more one-on-one too because only a few kids stay the whole day.) She still does so many private therapies that the afternoons would be impossible if we waited until that time to try to fit those in along with the big kids' stuff. So two or three days each week I will pick her up at 11:45 and bring her to speech or aquatic therapy and be done in time to get Maddux off the bus. I am very excited to see this girl thrive in her class!