Swim Playdate

Summer is definitely starting for the all the kiddos. We went to the first of many splash play dates for this summer. Kelsie didn't actually swim, but she played in the sand a lot! I think she thought we were going to swim in Sophia's pool and was a little disappointed with the baby pool and sprinkler. She still seemed to have a good time even though she was definitely having a hard time adjusting when we first got there. Besides school we haven't been to any events that had that many kids there in a long time. Although the play date didn't go as well as I had hoped, Kelsie did reasonably well and I am hopeful that with a few more play dates under her belt she will get out there and play more in the future.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Kelsie was scheduled to start swim lessons today with her friend Sophia at their house. Although the sky didn't look great this morning it certainly wasn't anything that would have prevented that from happening. That is until about an hour before the lesson was scheduled to start when it started thundering and lightning first and then it proceeded to rain. :( Unfortunately that meant that the swim lesson was cancelled for the day and the girls were more than a little bit disappointed and to tell you the truth I think Heather and I were too! We were all looking forward to it and I was particularly curious to see 1. how the girls would do with the instructor, Sam, 2. what his goals are for the girls this summer, and 3. how they were all going to work together. I just hate it that shortly after it got cancelled, but after swim lesson time the weather cleared back up enough that it would have been possible. Oh well we will just have to find out next week.

We decided to let the girls play together and they did have fun. However they both kept bringing up swimming and didn't understand why they couldn't go in the pool. I felt like I was listening to questions in stereo, because when they get together they just won't stop. Luckily that only lasted through naptime. They had pretty much accepted the fact that we wouldn't be going swimming after that. It was definitely a bummer and I hope we don't have a repeat of this weather next week.

My Sewing Blog

I have decided to start a sewing blog instead of writing about my projects here, since I plan to do a lot more sewing in the future. Feel free to check it out http://thesewingbug.blogspot.com/!

Happy Birthday Kait!

Kelsie got to make some icing art out of the leftover icing from the cake



My sister-in-law's birthday was this week, so we all got together this today to celebrate! We had a great family day playing and celebrating together. Kelsie always loves having everyone together, so she had a great time!

Chuck E Cheese

These are pictures of Kelsie dancing in front of the blue screen which puts her on TV!


Since Mike had the day off for the first time in a long time and Kelsie did so well at the Psychiatrist appointment we felt that Kelsie deserved some fun, so we took her to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. She had a blast again! We didn't stay very long, because it was really close to naptime but it was definitely worth it!

Psychiatrist

Our behavioral therapist had suggested that we take Kelsie to a psychiatrist to see if there was anything he could do to help with her anxiety/mood issues. After waiting 2 months for an appointment we finally saw him on Friday. Going in I was really afraid that he would just say put her on this medicine and this medicine and lets see what happens (I was fully prepared to question any medication recommendations, because Mike and I are against meds unless they are absolutely necessary). I was very pleasantly surprised that he agrees with what Mike and I feel that she shouldn't be on medicine at this time. The only thing he said that he might suggest trying on her most severe days would be to give her an antihistamine to calm her down, but other than that he wouldn't suggest anything.

He said that he does agree with the diagnoses that we have received, but feels as we do that she is making some major strides especially lately in her social skills and her development milestones. She is getting closer to catching up to her peers and seems to have a little less backsliding. He even suggested that it seems like she is working her way toward the milder side of the autism spectrum from where she started. (She has always been on the mild side anyway, but he was saying that she is even improving from there) I came out of the appointment feeling so much better about our current choices of therapy and course of action to continue to help her cope with her issues. Although he wasn't able to offer much assistance, just his affirmation that we were taking the proper steps seemed to make me feel so much better. I am so glad we went and I regret wasting as much time as I did worrying about what he would say!

Thursday

Thursday was a fun day. It was Kelsie's last day of school for the year, so she had an end of the year program that evening. Grammy, Grandma, and Grandpa all came over early and we went out to eat then headed to her school. Kelsie loved having everyone together! She loved showing off her art work and school to all her grandparents!

She did really well at her program too! She stayed up on stage the whole time without being right by the teacher and sang some of the songs. She even did some of the motions that went along with them. Her staying off to herself was a big change from last year when she sat in her teacher's lap the whole time. She is starting to show signs of independence which is very exciting given the struggles we have had getting her to be less clingy/needy. It was fun to watch her up there having a good time! It was really funny that every now and then she would yell off the stage something like Grandma, you aren't clapping or Grammy I can't see you. She wanted to make sure we were all watching her!

After the program we went to her classroom to say goodbye to her friend and teachers for the summer. It was a little sad saying goodbye, but we got some more artwork and a book of memories the teachers had prepared for the kids that took your mind of the sad parts. We didn't stay long, because it quickly became obvious that Kelsie was ready to get away from all the commotion. We let her play on the play equipment a little and then we went home to get ready for bed. It was a great night!

My 2nd Solo Sewing Project

These are the pictures that Mike took at work in the Flight Control Room


Mike wanted a bag for his headset that he uses at work, so I decided to make him one. We went and picked out the fabric and I gave him the choice of which size bag to make. Unfortunately it looks like it may not be big enough, but I think it turned out well. I messed up the first time I tried, but I wanted to make something out of the material so I made a extra small version too!

My First Solo Sewing Project

I finally finished my first solo sewing project! I decided to start with something familiar and made a smaller version of the bag we made in our Level I sewing class. I started it two weeks ago, but the sewing machine my mom is letting me borrow needed a cleaning and a new bobbin case about half way through the project and I just got it back from the shop tonight. I was so excited that I went ahead and finished it right after I got home! I made this one for Kelsie and she was pretty excited to see the finished product. Poor thing has been waiting for a long time!

Best Friends

This is what happens when you try to take a picture of two 3 yr olds. The last shot was only successful due to a little bribe of candy!





Finally one where they are both looking at the camera!