Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Emily's First Day of School

I am jumping the gun here with this post. I haven't written yet about Emily's last day of speech and OT, but that was really kinda depressing and her first day of school really helped beat the blues around here. So on to our new adventure first...

In true Momma fashion, the story of Emily's first day of school starts with our misadventures the night before. In my rush to get us back from Grandma's house so Emily could have a good night's sleep, I inadvertently left the house key with Grandma. Yes, we were locked out of the house. So, at 8:30 at night, I was on the phone trying to find someone with a spare key to let us inside. Emily and her Dad played bouncy ball in the drive, while Nora and Lacey looked at me with eyes that said, "Oh my God woman I need to go to BED". Eventually we did get in (thanks Rach) but the kids weren't in bed until well after 9 pm. Whoops.

The morning started off on the same note. Late to bed = no one was up at 7:30. And the bus comes at 8:30, so I had to rouse the troops. My girls do not like to be woken up, and it took several attempts to get Emily out of bed. I explained to her she was going to school just like Blue, and she just looked at me. I showed her pictures of Mrs. Mack, and she just looked at me. I got her dressed, hair combed, back-pack in place, and guess what she did.

She didn't seem to get excited until we went out the front door and waited for the bus. We have never, as a family, stood in front of the house before and Emily thought that was really funny. We waited and waited, and when she began to get bored, the school bus turned onto our street. Now those of you that know Emily know she loves all kinds of vehicles, cars and trucks and trains and school buses. She'd never seen a school bus up close, so you can imagine how excited she was when it turned into our driveway! I think she was actually shocked when the door opened up and we put her inside. She had this huge smile on her face, and her eyes were like saucers. I wish I knew what she was thinking at that moment! I'm sure it was the ride of her life.

What she was feeling was probably the opposite of what I was feeling. As the bus pulled away and drove off, the tears welled up in my eyes. I looked down at Nora, who was also crying but for different reasons. And then there was Ryan, who looked at us like we were nuts. So much for my mantra of not taking anything too seriously! I really cried. And in trying to figure out why I was crying, I could only determine that I really was nuts, considering all I had done to get her in school in the first place. As Emily would say, "Sill-wee Mommy".

Emily came home at noon, and she was full of things to say. I don't know exactly what it was she was saying, but among all of the babble was one word that got repeated again and again, and that was "school bus". I could be wrong, but I think I have another star student on my hands. I also had a tired student. Emily napped for 3 hours and went to bed an hour early.

Emily's 1st Day of School 2010

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Emily's First Bike

Here are two short videos of Emily's inaugural ride on her very first bike. When her Daddy gave her the Radio Flyer tricycle a few weeks ago, we asked her if she liked it. She responded, "I love it, I love it, I love my bike! Pink! Bike!". As you will see, she's pretty good on it too, although when she needs to go fast, watch out! Nora wasn't left out either. Note that big sister is sporting her new purple helmet. A few days later she also got a pair of pink biking gloves.



Saturday, August 14, 2010

Music Therapy Comes to an End


Once again my blog is becoming woefully behind-the-times. I've been on the computer non-stop for several weeks now updating my online art appreciation course; how I wish I were writing about my beautiful girls instead!

There's a lot to say about what has been going on with Miss Emily lately. As of next week I will find out about her school schedule. Little Miss will be starting preschool this fall. I'm both anxious and excited to find out if she will be accepted into the district's special education program. I believe in my heart these services will be of great benefit to her; both Ryan and I are keeping our fingers crossed that we will get good news.

As this door opens, of course other doors must close. And so, writing this entry is a little bitter sweet. Several weeks ago, Emily had her last session with her music therapist/group therapist Miss Angie. I had hoped to write several posts on her progress, and then this farewell, but here is everything at once.

As I've mentioned in prior posts, Emily attended Miss Angie's sessions weekly from the beginning of the year to her third birthday, at which point she aged out of the Early Childhood Intervention program. When these sessions started, Emily was for all intents and purposes non-verbal, and had a hard time interacting with the other kids. As the weeks turned into months, the change in Em was just phenomenal. She began singing many of the silly little songs at home. In the last month to 6 weeks of the sessions, Emily began singing the songs in front of the other children. Huge step people, huge! You see, she almost never talks to anyone outside of our immediate family, so to have her singing in front of children (some of whom were newer) was just incredible. The pride and joy I felt hearing her sing and strum the guitar can't be measured. Her ability to show compassion and interact with other children increased due to Miss Angie's guidance. But, by far, the most important thing to come out of these sessions was discovering Emily's love of music. She loves songs, she loves instruments, and as soon as she's old enough I am going to have Aunt Rachel teach her how to play the drums.

I did say this post was bittersweet for me to write, however, because we no longer attend these group sessions. Emily hasn't asked for Miss Angie by name, so I wonder if she misses her. As time goes by, though, I've noticed Emily has started singing some of the songs from the sessions without being cued. Whenever she washes her hands, now, she sings the "Scrub your hands" tune. When we leave a place, she sings the "Bye-bye" song. And I've noticed she plays with our percussion instruments more as of late. But she can't really tell me what she is thinking, so I am left to wonder.

I just want to close by saying Thank You to Miss Angie. I don't know if you will read this or not, but you've done so much for my little girl.

From Music/Group Therapy

Friday, August 13, 2010

Random Silly Pics

The "Silly Pic of the Week" feature at Momma's blog has been renamed "Random Silly Pics", seeing I haven't posted one in the last six months, and the likely-hood that I will be able to post to this blog twice a week in the comings months is in doubt. But I have a ton of great shots of the girls to share. Hope you enjoy!!!



"Momma...do you think this mascara brings out my eyes?"