Un-favorite

This isn't my favorite time of year. Don't get me wrong I LOVE summer! I love warm weather and the beach and cookouts and all the fun stuff. But we're entering into our "summer limbo"... Summer extended school year program just ended for the Pope and the Princess has only 2 weeks of summer recreation camp left, yet the the first day of school is still FIVE weeks away! And, of course, I don't have the next five weeks off from work (who does?) so, we're in limbo. Mike is charged with the Pope most days, although to avoid as much of a backslide as we can, and I do anticipate some backslide without any OT, PT, Speech, O&M or TVI services for the next 5 weeks, we're going to enroll the Pope in our local daycare a few days a week. He's been to the daycare before, the only trouble is they tend to keep him with the children who are much younger than he is, but it does get him out of the house and around other kids, so I guess it's beneficial.

The Princess, on the other hand, gets very busy in August. Her performance dance troupe begins training again and cheerleader practice starts up. She has also chosen to participate in a month-long intensive hip-hop dance course this August, something I am sure she will enjoy, but it will put extra pressure on me to get her to all of her practices and rehearsals. She also has plans to spend a week at my parent's house... wonder how she is planning to fit all of that in? And did I mention the middle of August is when she will celebrate her birthday?

So yes, it's not my favorite time of year...

The Chalkboard

I remember the first time the Princess wrote her name on this chalkboard. She was just about 3 years old and every letter, every single one, was backwards. It turned out she was a "mirror writer", something that's very common in left-handed children. I had thought the Pope was going to be left-handed too. He holds a utensil exclusively with his left hand to eat. But as I watch, I'm beginning to think the Pope may be ambidextrous. He throws a ball, equally well, with both hands. Here he is, at 4.5 years, writing his name on the chalkboard, with his right hand. I still tear up to see this....

River Tubing

The Princess and I went on a river tubing trip this past weekend with the Girl Scouts. Although my pasty white Irish skin got burned to a crisp, it was worth it to spend the whole day with the Princess. We had a great time. I love creating such wonderful summer memories!

Swim

It's no secret... the Pope LOVES the water! This past week it's been SO hot that we broke down and bought the kids a GIANT inflatable pool (to go along side the tiny plastic pool that's already in the back yard). It's been nearly impossible to get the Pope out of the new pool, except for his weekly swimming lessons, of course!

New kicks

The Pope got a new set of kicks. Actually, they are Sure Step SMOs...(Supra Malleolar Orthosis). Pope has been receiving physical therapy since he came home last year. He has severe hypotonia which causes his joints to seem super loose. While the physical therapy has helped tremendously, the Pope's feet just don't seem to be improving on their own. He feet pronate and he continues to drag his toes. This is not good for someone with a visual impairment as it's increasing his frequency of trips and falls. So the decision was made to get braces. Honestly, they seem to help a lot. The Pope's feet are nice and straight and you can barely see the braces when Pope is wearing his shoes.