...but my antibiotics have cleared my previous infections up nicely. This has been quite the month. I think I felt good the first few days and not since then. It's not that I feel terrible, just run down and ready to be healthy again!
We took Danielle's first (okay, second) set of casts off tonight and she gets the next set tomorrow. Then only one more set. She's also getting casted tomorrow for AFOs (ankle foot orthotics) to wear at night to help keep her stretched. She has tolerated the casts GREAT! She calls them her boots and thinks they're cool. I honestly expected a lot of drama over them but we really talked them up beforehand. And since she's not missing out on any activities she's pretty content. I will be very glad to get the serial casting done before it gets hot and we're trying to go swimming.
Showing posts with label Danielle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Danielle. Show all posts
Monday, April 16, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Everyone can tie their shoes!
...and there was much rejoicing! ;)
In other news, the offer for our house finally went through. We went through about a week where we thought the contract was going to fall apart. They wanted some things done that we refused to do. They finally caved and we are set to close in mid-May. That will be a wonderful day. :)
Danielle got her first set of serial casts yesterday...and we have already broken BOTH plastic foot plates that are in the bottom of her casts. Thus, we go back in tomorrow for new casts, without foot plates. So tomorrow we have speech x1, physical therapy x1, and casting x1. Better than yesterday which was supposed to be speech x3 and casting x1. We switched our schedule around so we weren't spending all day at SLCH and did speech x1 and casting x1. Part of the difficulty with the casts is that Danielle can't be weight-bearing for four hours after the casts are put on. Yesterday we went down to the cafeteria and did schoolwork while they dried, and then Mark came by after work and got Danielle in the van. I'm thinking we'll run the same plan tomorrow. During speech and PT the rest of us will play in the rooftop garden, and then when we're waiting for the casts to dry we'll do schoolwork.
I must confess to loving the flexibility of homeschooling. Since we have so many different therapies going on right now, taking people in and out of school would be a nightmare. This way we just take school with us. :)
In other news, the offer for our house finally went through. We went through about a week where we thought the contract was going to fall apart. They wanted some things done that we refused to do. They finally caved and we are set to close in mid-May. That will be a wonderful day. :)
Danielle got her first set of serial casts yesterday...and we have already broken BOTH plastic foot plates that are in the bottom of her casts. Thus, we go back in tomorrow for new casts, without foot plates. So tomorrow we have speech x1, physical therapy x1, and casting x1. Better than yesterday which was supposed to be speech x3 and casting x1. We switched our schedule around so we weren't spending all day at SLCH and did speech x1 and casting x1. Part of the difficulty with the casts is that Danielle can't be weight-bearing for four hours after the casts are put on. Yesterday we went down to the cafeteria and did schoolwork while they dried, and then Mark came by after work and got Danielle in the van. I'm thinking we'll run the same plan tomorrow. During speech and PT the rest of us will play in the rooftop garden, and then when we're waiting for the casts to dry we'll do schoolwork.
I must confess to loving the flexibility of homeschooling. Since we have so many different therapies going on right now, taking people in and out of school would be a nightmare. This way we just take school with us. :)
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
SLCH
It's a good thing we love Children's Hospital so much, and that it is so close! We are spending three days there this week, although very thankfully all as outpatient.
Tuesday was one hour of speech for Emily. Normal time, normal activities for the rest of us (playing in the rooftop garden).
Today was a tooth extraction for Tim. He had full sedation and was intubated (which was a surprise for Mark and I) and had three teeth removed. He had an extra adult tooth on the top row that was preventing a few of his adult teeth from being able to drop down. This also meant he had not lost some of his baby teeth since the roots were not being dissolved by the incoming teeth. No worries; he lost two baby teeth and an (extra) adult tooth today! He did great and is the first of our kids to undergo anesthesia without throwing up afterwards (he's the third kid to undergo full anesthesia, and another has had nitrous). We had prepped him pretty well. He felt miserable when he first got home. He took off his coat and shoes and went straight upstairs to bed. I think he thought that's what he was supposed to do as I had told him that when he got home he wouldn't feel good and would want a nap. ;) After he woke up he ate a bit, watched a movie (a very special treat in the middle of the week around here!) and then started playing. By bedtime he was pretty normal, but a little more subdued than usual. I made sure he knew to wake me up if he woke up in pain. Sometimes our kids just don't think to come tell us if they have problems at night since they spent so long without anyone to help them. :(
Tomorrow is speech for Emily in the morning (school for all the rest in the cafeteria!) and then a physical therapy evaluation for Danielle in the afternoon. I was hoping we could get those scheduled concurrently but I'll take a separate eval time if we can try to get regular therapy times coordinated! We had put off having Danielle do PT for quite a while, giving her time to strengthen her muscles and simply be upright for more than a few hours a day. But now I am concerned about her posture and think she probably needs to do some more stretching and strengthening to prevent back problems in the future. Our pediatrician agreed so we'll see what the PT thinks after the eval tomorrow.
Thankfully the kids are very used to our crazy schedule and are learning to do school pretty much anywhere. That's particularly good as both Julia and Danielle will be starting speech therapy next month. I think we're going to need our own schoolroom at Children's!
Tuesday was one hour of speech for Emily. Normal time, normal activities for the rest of us (playing in the rooftop garden).
Today was a tooth extraction for Tim. He had full sedation and was intubated (which was a surprise for Mark and I) and had three teeth removed. He had an extra adult tooth on the top row that was preventing a few of his adult teeth from being able to drop down. This also meant he had not lost some of his baby teeth since the roots were not being dissolved by the incoming teeth. No worries; he lost two baby teeth and an (extra) adult tooth today! He did great and is the first of our kids to undergo anesthesia without throwing up afterwards (he's the third kid to undergo full anesthesia, and another has had nitrous). We had prepped him pretty well. He felt miserable when he first got home. He took off his coat and shoes and went straight upstairs to bed. I think he thought that's what he was supposed to do as I had told him that when he got home he wouldn't feel good and would want a nap. ;) After he woke up he ate a bit, watched a movie (a very special treat in the middle of the week around here!) and then started playing. By bedtime he was pretty normal, but a little more subdued than usual. I made sure he knew to wake me up if he woke up in pain. Sometimes our kids just don't think to come tell us if they have problems at night since they spent so long without anyone to help them. :(
Tomorrow is speech for Emily in the morning (school for all the rest in the cafeteria!) and then a physical therapy evaluation for Danielle in the afternoon. I was hoping we could get those scheduled concurrently but I'll take a separate eval time if we can try to get regular therapy times coordinated! We had put off having Danielle do PT for quite a while, giving her time to strengthen her muscles and simply be upright for more than a few hours a day. But now I am concerned about her posture and think she probably needs to do some more stretching and strengthening to prevent back problems in the future. Our pediatrician agreed so we'll see what the PT thinks after the eval tomorrow.
Thankfully the kids are very used to our crazy schedule and are learning to do school pretty much anywhere. That's particularly good as both Julia and Danielle will be starting speech therapy next month. I think we're going to need our own schoolroom at Children's!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
I love ESL
"Mama, mama, Emily put all of the pilgrims in the box!"
Me: "Tangrams. Emily put the tangrams in the box."
At least I know we learned some Thanksgiving vocabulary. ;)
Me: "Tangrams. Emily put the tangrams in the box."
At least I know we learned some Thanksgiving vocabulary. ;)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Some explanations
I think there might be a little confusion out there about the current state of our family, plus there may be a few of you who are just joining in from this last adoption so I thought a detailed explanation of "us" might be in order.
Mark--sole breadwinner and highly esteemed physical therapist, house rehabber (rebuilder!), and worm digger
Courtney--highly educated (not the same thing as qualified, FYI) stay-at-home mom as of this past Monday, former maker of medicines, now dispenser of more band-aids than can be counted
Alex--8 years old and going on 40, loves history, has issues with anxiety especially with schedule changes
Tim--7 years old, loves to tell jokes and do "magic" tricks, keeps me laughing when he's not driving me crazy with his antics
Danielle--7 years old, thinks she's a princess, prefers not to do any work (princesses don't have to do work, do they?) and is definitely going to want the largest share of the mirror as she gets older
Bianca--6 years old, new to the family in March 2011, loves language and almost knows the alphabet song (there are lots of C's in her version)
Emily--5 years old, thinks she's cute (and will tell you!), never ever EVER stops talking
Julia--5 years old, new to the family in March 2011, has an infectious giggle and a monster pout
Those of you who've seen us out and about during the week have probably also seen another little girl with us. That's R. She's 18 months old and the daughter of one of Mark's co-workers. We babysit her during the day. We did not adopt another child right after Bianca and Julia. :)
As you can imagine, things at our house are a little chaotic. Right now during the day it's usually just Bianca, Julia and R, but on days like today and tomorrow when the other kids are out of school I have all 7 at home. I've found divide-and-conquer to be an effective strategy. As in, send two to play in one room, two upstairs, etc. ;)
In the stay-at-home realm, I am still LOVING IT. I am so much more relaxed than when I was working (that should say something since I have 7 kids at home!). I love that I can do all of our meal preps during the day. I am slowly tackling various projects around the house to try to better organize and streamline our lives.
Mark--sole breadwinner and highly esteemed physical therapist, house rehabber (rebuilder!), and worm digger
Courtney--highly educated (not the same thing as qualified, FYI) stay-at-home mom as of this past Monday, former maker of medicines, now dispenser of more band-aids than can be counted
Alex--8 years old and going on 40, loves history, has issues with anxiety especially with schedule changes
Tim--7 years old, loves to tell jokes and do "magic" tricks, keeps me laughing when he's not driving me crazy with his antics
Danielle--7 years old, thinks she's a princess, prefers not to do any work (princesses don't have to do work, do they?) and is definitely going to want the largest share of the mirror as she gets older
Bianca--6 years old, new to the family in March 2011, loves language and almost knows the alphabet song (there are lots of C's in her version)
Emily--5 years old, thinks she's cute (and will tell you!), never ever EVER stops talking
Julia--5 years old, new to the family in March 2011, has an infectious giggle and a monster pout
Those of you who've seen us out and about during the week have probably also seen another little girl with us. That's R. She's 18 months old and the daughter of one of Mark's co-workers. We babysit her during the day. We did not adopt another child right after Bianca and Julia. :)
As you can imagine, things at our house are a little chaotic. Right now during the day it's usually just Bianca, Julia and R, but on days like today and tomorrow when the other kids are out of school I have all 7 at home. I've found divide-and-conquer to be an effective strategy. As in, send two to play in one room, two upstairs, etc. ;)
In the stay-at-home realm, I am still LOVING IT. I am so much more relaxed than when I was working (that should say something since I have 7 kids at home!). I love that I can do all of our meal preps during the day. I am slowly tackling various projects around the house to try to better organize and streamline our lives.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Blame Danielle
Last night as the girls and I prayed before bed, Danielle's prayer went something like this...
"Dear God Holy Lord, please bring the snow back and my snowman and not make him melt I like the snow and make him hard not melt. Thank you and amen and thank you God."
So when Mark told me this morning that we're supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow tonight...I promptly blamed my daughter. :)
"Dear God Holy Lord, please bring the snow back and my snowman and not make him melt I like the snow and make him hard not melt. Thank you and amen and thank you God."
So when Mark told me this morning that we're supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow tonight...I promptly blamed my daughter. :)
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Living large
I am a small person. That's really more genetics than a lot of effort on my part, which I am very thankful for.
My girls are also slender and they haven't spent much time around women that aren't fully clothed (which is a good thing), so they haven't really made a connection to how people look with and without clothes on based on their size.
However, it doesn't do much for the mama self-esteem when we all go to the bathroom and I hear...
"Mama, you have a big bottom!"
Of course, she sort of makes up for it with the next comment out of her mouth:
"When I get bigger, I'm going to have a big bottom just like Mama."
My girls are also slender and they haven't spent much time around women that aren't fully clothed (which is a good thing), so they haven't really made a connection to how people look with and without clothes on based on their size.
However, it doesn't do much for the mama self-esteem when we all go to the bathroom and I hear...
"Mama, you have a big bottom!"
Of course, she sort of makes up for it with the next comment out of her mouth:
"When I get bigger, I'm going to have a big bottom just like Mama."
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thanksgiving
We had a nice Thanksgiving visiting family. Mark had to work Thursday and Friday, so the kids and I hung out at home. I grilled out a turkey in the snow(!) and we did lots of playing. We left to visit family late Friday and got in even later (well past the kids' bedtime). Of course they were still up early Saturday so we put all of them (and Mark :)) down for a rest at 10:30 Saturday morning so they could have some down time before family arrived.
And when they arrived, the kids had a blast. They had lots of second cousins to play with and of course lots of food to eat. Once lunch was done, Mark and I took all of the kids (still loving the 12-passenger van) to a playground. We had to laugh when we got out at the playground and watched the other moms' faces when 8 kids got out of our van, ages 13, 13, 8, 7, 7, 6, 5, and 5.
The other adults at my mom's house were quite happy we had rescued them from the swarm of small children. :)
We spent about an hour at the playground before heading back to my mom's house. The cousins had to head home (two of them were in the car three hours each way--just for lunch!) so the kids all said goodbye but are excited about the possibility to see everyone again at Christmas.
I loved getting to meet my 3-month-old niece for the first time. She's a sweetie and the kids adored her--although Alex decided she needed to go home and take a nap when she was crying.
We've paid for the quick trip and the overstimulation of lots of people with some increased negative behaviors with Danielle and Emily. It's unfortunate, but it's going to be quite a while before they're really able to handle a lot of family. Of all the things we have to be thankful for, I am so thankful for our supportive family and their understanding of our need to do things differently for our kids. It sometimes takes a little extra planning, but it helps so much to be able to have them rest, or take breaks, or whatever they need to help them better process and enjoy the holidays. :)
And when they arrived, the kids had a blast. They had lots of second cousins to play with and of course lots of food to eat. Once lunch was done, Mark and I took all of the kids (still loving the 12-passenger van) to a playground. We had to laugh when we got out at the playground and watched the other moms' faces when 8 kids got out of our van, ages 13, 13, 8, 7, 7, 6, 5, and 5.
The other adults at my mom's house were quite happy we had rescued them from the swarm of small children. :)
We spent about an hour at the playground before heading back to my mom's house. The cousins had to head home (two of them were in the car three hours each way--just for lunch!) so the kids all said goodbye but are excited about the possibility to see everyone again at Christmas.
I loved getting to meet my 3-month-old niece for the first time. She's a sweetie and the kids adored her--although Alex decided she needed to go home and take a nap when she was crying.
We've paid for the quick trip and the overstimulation of lots of people with some increased negative behaviors with Danielle and Emily. It's unfortunate, but it's going to be quite a while before they're really able to handle a lot of family. Of all the things we have to be thankful for, I am so thankful for our supportive family and their understanding of our need to do things differently for our kids. It sometimes takes a little extra planning, but it helps so much to be able to have them rest, or take breaks, or whatever they need to help them better process and enjoy the holidays. :)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy thanksgiving!
And indeed, we have so much to be thankful for. Four beautiful, healthy children with one or two more on the way...Mark's job that he loves and is stable (particularly since we live in the most dangerous city in the US, apparently)...a warm house and plenty of food...friends and family that love and support us...and a God and savior who gave his life that we might be His again.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy some turkey...
And some ham...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy some turkey...
And some ham...
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Therapy and a wedding
Our days here are filled with normal, for the most part. Danielle's ankle study is almost done, and I am so happy for that. I do believe it has strengthened her ankles, but I will not miss the extra three days of therapy we've had. The other kids have been relegated to a kitchen off of the therapy room to do homework while Danielle is in therapy. It's not ideal and sometimes we have a hard time getting everything done that needs to happen at night. But the kids haven't complained at all and I'm so grateful to have kids who are accepting of our sometimes bizarre schedule.
One of the things I neglected to blog about was our trip to Colorado. We went to Colorado for a quick weekend trip for Mark's sister's wedding. We flew out there on Southwest and the kids loved it. It's the first time they've all flown together and they did so well. Apparently they're spoiled by the international traveling though, as they wanted to know where the music in the armrests was and why there weren't any TVs. ;)
My future sister-in-law (as of next July) managed to get this picture of us. I was impressed she managed to get all of us standing still. :) :)
One of the things I neglected to blog about was our trip to Colorado. We went to Colorado for a quick weekend trip for Mark's sister's wedding. We flew out there on Southwest and the kids loved it. It's the first time they've all flown together and they did so well. Apparently they're spoiled by the international traveling though, as they wanted to know where the music in the armrests was and why there weren't any TVs. ;)
My future sister-in-law (as of next July) managed to get this picture of us. I was impressed she managed to get all of us standing still. :) :)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Danielle
Danielle had a pretty good start to the school year...for awhile. :) She loves kindergarten and is doing a great job with her letters and numbers, which is good because she started off the year way behind. However, she's struggled with her particular teacher.
The first field trip of the year was to an apple orchard, where Danielle (intentionally) wandered off and they couldn't find her. She had been having some problems at school the week before with not staying with her class. She had been warned that if she didn't stay with her class that she would not get to go on her field trip so she stepped it up the week of the field trip and stayed with her class. Then on the field trip, she wandered off during play time and she's now not allowed to go on any more field trips. She scared her teacher half to death and now her teacher does NOT want to have to worry about keeping track of her, especially since the next field trip involves a pumpkin patch and a corn maze!
Danielle's ankle therapy is going well. She's definitely getting stronger and her gait is much improved, although it's hard to know if that's directly related to the ankle therapy. She loves going and we've found a small kitchen off of the therapy room where everyone else can get homework going while she's working. She gets a sticker each day she works hard, and after three stickers she gets to pick a prize. So far, she's picked nail polish, lip gloss, a princess pencil set...can you see who the girly-girl is in our family? :)
Danielle has been the hardest child to bond to for me but I have glimpses into our relationship that tell me we are going to be really, really close as she grows up. She loves to help me with anything house-related and can't wait until she is big enough to cook dinner by herself (me, too!!). She has a very sweet disposition but can get herself into trouble pretty easily with lying or laughing when she's being disciplined. ;)
The first field trip of the year was to an apple orchard, where Danielle (intentionally) wandered off and they couldn't find her. She had been having some problems at school the week before with not staying with her class. She had been warned that if she didn't stay with her class that she would not get to go on her field trip so she stepped it up the week of the field trip and stayed with her class. Then on the field trip, she wandered off during play time and she's now not allowed to go on any more field trips. She scared her teacher half to death and now her teacher does NOT want to have to worry about keeping track of her, especially since the next field trip involves a pumpkin patch and a corn maze!
Danielle's ankle therapy is going well. She's definitely getting stronger and her gait is much improved, although it's hard to know if that's directly related to the ankle therapy. She loves going and we've found a small kitchen off of the therapy room where everyone else can get homework going while she's working. She gets a sticker each day she works hard, and after three stickers she gets to pick a prize. So far, she's picked nail polish, lip gloss, a princess pencil set...can you see who the girly-girl is in our family? :)
Danielle has been the hardest child to bond to for me but I have glimpses into our relationship that tell me we are going to be really, really close as she grows up. She loves to help me with anything house-related and can't wait until she is big enough to cook dinner by herself (me, too!!). She has a very sweet disposition but can get herself into trouble pretty easily with lying or laughing when she's being disciplined. ;)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Loving school
My kids are keeping me rolling with their school antics. I have a really hard time trying to be a stern disciplinarian when I really want to laugh.
Emily did a much better job yesterday listening and obeying at school. The only thing she got in trouble for was putting her ziploc bag (gallon size) over her head, and then laughing about it when she was told to stop because it could hurt her. She is a total ham. If I had to guess, she was trying to wear it as a hat but her head is so small it fell down over her face. ;)
Danielle had a small episode of lying yesterday. That's been a prevalent problem for her over very little things and we definitely want to nip that in the bud. Other than that she seems to be an angel at school and enjoyed learning about "cabibull I" yesterday.
Tim's favorite subject is still P.E., and I think it will be for his whole academic life. He was excited that they got to use their little chalkboards yesterday and work on vowels. What are vowels, Tim? "E...A...O..." And from the background pipes up Alex, "A E I O U." Really?? Where did that come from? He didn't know that at the end of last year!
I mentioned that Alex had been trying to control his teacher but didn't give any specifics. Apparently every day since school started he has asked to go to the bathroom numerous times. On Monday which his teacher mentioned this to me, I said there wasn't any reason for him to go outside of scheduled times, and when it happened again on Tuesday I told Alex (in front of his teacher) that he was only going to be allowed to go to the bathroom with his class--no other times. Yesterday afternoon he asked to go and when she wouldn't let him he pestered her for a while and then, miraculously, he made it to the end of school just fine without going to the bathroom (there is a change of clothes in his backpack just in case). So I'm guessing this new behavior should settle down pretty quickly once he's really not allowed to go.
Before anyone has concerns about underlying medical problems that might cause Alex to actually need to go, let me just say this is not the first time we have experienced this. He goes to the bathroom with the class but tries to be the first one done and doesn't actually pee (or not very much) and then needs to go again 10 minutes later. This has happened with us at home and out and about as well, so we know what's going on here and don't suspect any physical cause for his behavior. :)
Emily did a much better job yesterday listening and obeying at school. The only thing she got in trouble for was putting her ziploc bag (gallon size) over her head, and then laughing about it when she was told to stop because it could hurt her. She is a total ham. If I had to guess, she was trying to wear it as a hat but her head is so small it fell down over her face. ;)
Danielle had a small episode of lying yesterday. That's been a prevalent problem for her over very little things and we definitely want to nip that in the bud. Other than that she seems to be an angel at school and enjoyed learning about "cabibull I" yesterday.
Tim's favorite subject is still P.E., and I think it will be for his whole academic life. He was excited that they got to use their little chalkboards yesterday and work on vowels. What are vowels, Tim? "E...A...O..." And from the background pipes up Alex, "A E I O U." Really?? Where did that come from? He didn't know that at the end of last year!
I mentioned that Alex had been trying to control his teacher but didn't give any specifics. Apparently every day since school started he has asked to go to the bathroom numerous times. On Monday which his teacher mentioned this to me, I said there wasn't any reason for him to go outside of scheduled times, and when it happened again on Tuesday I told Alex (in front of his teacher) that he was only going to be allowed to go to the bathroom with his class--no other times. Yesterday afternoon he asked to go and when she wouldn't let him he pestered her for a while and then, miraculously, he made it to the end of school just fine without going to the bathroom (there is a change of clothes in his backpack just in case). So I'm guessing this new behavior should settle down pretty quickly once he's really not allowed to go.
Before anyone has concerns about underlying medical problems that might cause Alex to actually need to go, let me just say this is not the first time we have experienced this. He goes to the bathroom with the class but tries to be the first one done and doesn't actually pee (or not very much) and then needs to go again 10 minutes later. This has happened with us at home and out and about as well, so we know what's going on here and don't suspect any physical cause for his behavior. :)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
First days
School has started, albeit sporadically. :)
The boys started in 2nd and 1st grade and had full days of school last Thursday and Friday. The girls (both in kindergarten) had orientation on Thursday and a half day on Friday, so I really consider Monday their first day of school.
So far, we're not seeing anything unexpected. And yeah, that last sentence just made me laugh out loud. :)
Alex is working on control (of his teacher, not himself) and we've given her some thoughts on dealing with that. Nothing major, but stuff he knows better about and just has to test at the beginning of school. Monday he came home with his memory Bible verse for the week and he's already recited it to me (from memory) two days in a row. Tim is a little freaked out about 1st grade as he's realizing he was pretty much allowed to coast through kindergarten and now he's actually going to have to work. I really like his teacher and she'll be great for him. Danielle's behavior has actually been way better than I expected (or her teacher is holding out on us). She's loving being in kindergarten. Emily is pushing every button she can trying to figure out this kindergarten thing. She's being pretty defiant and if it keeps up we'll have no choice but to put her back into preschool. Thankfully she's not acting out at all, just not doing what she's asked to do. As in her teacher says tells her table to stand up and she sits there and looks at her while everyone else gets up. :) Her teacher has 16 kids and I'm not going to prevent them from having a good kindergarten year just because our daughter is causing problems. We'll see if she can manage to settle down. She really wants to be in the big school, not the preschool, so we're using that as leverage.
Danielle's first few days of ankle therapy have gone well. She goes on Monday mornings before school and then Tuesday and Friday after school. Coupled with Emily's speech on Thursdays after school and we've managed to pack a lot into the week. Thankfully, Danielle's therapy is in a place that is quiet with no one else around so the boys can get their homework done there (and Emily if she has any). The ankle therapy is only about 45 minutes so we can still be home by 5 and have dinner by 5:30 (if I've planned ahead ;)).
So far so good. By the end of this week I think we'll be pretty well settled into the new routine. One day at a time!
The boys started in 2nd and 1st grade and had full days of school last Thursday and Friday. The girls (both in kindergarten) had orientation on Thursday and a half day on Friday, so I really consider Monday their first day of school.
So far, we're not seeing anything unexpected. And yeah, that last sentence just made me laugh out loud. :)
Alex is working on control (of his teacher, not himself) and we've given her some thoughts on dealing with that. Nothing major, but stuff he knows better about and just has to test at the beginning of school. Monday he came home with his memory Bible verse for the week and he's already recited it to me (from memory) two days in a row. Tim is a little freaked out about 1st grade as he's realizing he was pretty much allowed to coast through kindergarten and now he's actually going to have to work. I really like his teacher and she'll be great for him. Danielle's behavior has actually been way better than I expected (or her teacher is holding out on us). She's loving being in kindergarten. Emily is pushing every button she can trying to figure out this kindergarten thing. She's being pretty defiant and if it keeps up we'll have no choice but to put her back into preschool. Thankfully she's not acting out at all, just not doing what she's asked to do. As in her teacher says tells her table to stand up and she sits there and looks at her while everyone else gets up. :) Her teacher has 16 kids and I'm not going to prevent them from having a good kindergarten year just because our daughter is causing problems. We'll see if she can manage to settle down. She really wants to be in the big school, not the preschool, so we're using that as leverage.
Danielle's first few days of ankle therapy have gone well. She goes on Monday mornings before school and then Tuesday and Friday after school. Coupled with Emily's speech on Thursdays after school and we've managed to pack a lot into the week. Thankfully, Danielle's therapy is in a place that is quiet with no one else around so the boys can get their homework done there (and Emily if she has any). The ankle therapy is only about 45 minutes so we can still be home by 5 and have dinner by 5:30 (if I've planned ahead ;)).
So far so good. By the end of this week I think we'll be pretty well settled into the new routine. One day at a time!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tenacious
That's the polite word. ;)
Last week was so far my least favorite week of the year. Let's hope it stays that way and that there aren't any more like it.
Friday afternoon I got a call from the kids' school. Due to lack of enrollment, they will not be having the AE (pre-K) class this year that Emily was supposed to attend.
I was devastated.
For reasons I have not gone into (and won't) on the blog, we really wanted Emily at the school this year. I spent the weekend stressed in the background over this (in the midst of Showboat at the Muny, base ball Saturday, and peach picking--64lbs!!--Sunday) and just didn't feel good about the whole thing. Yesterday I called the preschool to see about getting Emily set up with her new teacher (she has to move up). They did have an opening with the teacher we feel would be best suited to her, but I still didn't feel good about all of it.
So I Googled "missouri kindergarten law" and look what I found:
"Section 160.053, RSMo, states that:
A child is eligible for admission to kindergarten if the child reaches the age of five (5) before the first day of August of the school year beginning in that calendar year...
Exceptions
Pursuant to statutes 160.054 and 160.055, RSMo, the St. Louis and Kansas City School Districts may establish a kindergarten/first grade entry date if a child reaches the age of five (5) or six (6) no later than the first day of October."
Emily is old enough to go to kindergarten as she turns 5 at the beginning of September and we live in St Louis!
So I called the school principal, who was concerned about Emily's speech. She went down to the preschool and talked with Emily and was stunned at how much her speech has progressed since the spring. :) I talked to the school administrator and preschool director, who was concerned that Emily can't read. But none of our kids have been able to read going into kindergarten. They all agreed to talk about it, and the consensus last night is that Emily is going to kindergarten.
Added bonus: they had exceptionally large enrollment for kindergarten this year, so there will be two classes and Danielle and Emily will each be in one, with the same teachers they already thought they would have.
We do expect Emily to probably repeat kindergarten next year. She's nearly a year and a half younger than Danielle and will be younger than all of her classmates as well, but this will get her into the school and we feel will be the best environment for her at this time.
Last week was so far my least favorite week of the year. Let's hope it stays that way and that there aren't any more like it.
Friday afternoon I got a call from the kids' school. Due to lack of enrollment, they will not be having the AE (pre-K) class this year that Emily was supposed to attend.
I was devastated.
For reasons I have not gone into (and won't) on the blog, we really wanted Emily at the school this year. I spent the weekend stressed in the background over this (in the midst of Showboat at the Muny, base ball Saturday, and peach picking--64lbs!!--Sunday) and just didn't feel good about the whole thing. Yesterday I called the preschool to see about getting Emily set up with her new teacher (she has to move up). They did have an opening with the teacher we feel would be best suited to her, but I still didn't feel good about all of it.
So I Googled "missouri kindergarten law" and look what I found:
"Section 160.053, RSMo, states that:
A child is eligible for admission to kindergarten if the child reaches the age of five (5) before the first day of August of the school year beginning in that calendar year...
Exceptions
Pursuant to statutes 160.054 and 160.055, RSMo, the St. Louis and Kansas City School Districts may establish a kindergarten/first grade entry date if a child reaches the age of five (5) or six (6) no later than the first day of October."
Emily is old enough to go to kindergarten as she turns 5 at the beginning of September and we live in St Louis!
So I called the school principal, who was concerned about Emily's speech. She went down to the preschool and talked with Emily and was stunned at how much her speech has progressed since the spring. :) I talked to the school administrator and preschool director, who was concerned that Emily can't read. But none of our kids have been able to read going into kindergarten. They all agreed to talk about it, and the consensus last night is that Emily is going to kindergarten.
Added bonus: they had exceptionally large enrollment for kindergarten this year, so there will be two classes and Danielle and Emily will each be in one, with the same teachers they already thought they would have.
We do expect Emily to probably repeat kindergarten next year. She's nearly a year and a half younger than Danielle and will be younger than all of her classmates as well, but this will get her into the school and we feel will be the best environment for her at this time.
Monday, August 16, 2010
CP study
Today I took Danielle for an evaluation for an ankle-strengthening study for kids with cerebral palsy. Knowing that we only have a tentative diagnosis of CP, I had explained all of her background to the physical therapist heading up the study in case they needed to exclude her.
The took lots of video of her walking (with the cool reflective "sticky balls" stuck to various joints) and measured her muscle response with electrodes. They tested her ability to stand up without using her hands, to jump, to run, to sit and balance while bending for various objects, and to step over obstacles. A few highlights of the day:
The therapist wanted to see Danielle walk up stairs, so she took her to some stairs and had her walk up them holding on to the rail. Then she showed Danielle how she wanted to see her walk up the stairs without holding on to the rail...step, together, step, together, etc. So Danielle went over to do it and promptly walked up the steps...step, step, step, step. I started laughing and asked if the therapist had wanted her to stop on each step. She had a look of astonishment on her face as she said "no, that will work just fine!"
The therapist did lots of measurements and feels (as we do) that Danielle does not fit the norms for a child with CP. She has a couple of markers (toe-walking and strabismus) but none of the typical muscle tightness markers that most kids with CP have (and no typical brain injury markers for CP). She spent a lot of time saying "this is so interesting" and "this doesn't make any sense" as she measured various things. :)
Everyone at the study got a big kick out of Danielle's English (she's understandable, but sometimes she says the weirdest things!). So the therapist taught her to say "gluteous maximus" for some of the muscles she was attaching electrodes to.
Danielle was really a trooper. It was about 5 hours of testing and she was so good-natured about it. She will be in the study which means we have added 3 hours of therapy to our week (I know!). But the therapy is free and is targeted to strengthening her ankles, which we know she needs. I did tell the therapist that I already knew the outcome of their study, as I have watched Danielle's walking improve tremendously as her legs and ankles have strengthened. :) I think we totally piqued the therapist's academic interest in a case like Danielle's, where her circumstances made her underlying medical condition much worse than it needed to be.
The took lots of video of her walking (with the cool reflective "sticky balls" stuck to various joints) and measured her muscle response with electrodes. They tested her ability to stand up without using her hands, to jump, to run, to sit and balance while bending for various objects, and to step over obstacles. A few highlights of the day:
The therapist wanted to see Danielle walk up stairs, so she took her to some stairs and had her walk up them holding on to the rail. Then she showed Danielle how she wanted to see her walk up the stairs without holding on to the rail...step, together, step, together, etc. So Danielle went over to do it and promptly walked up the steps...step, step, step, step. I started laughing and asked if the therapist had wanted her to stop on each step. She had a look of astonishment on her face as she said "no, that will work just fine!"
The therapist did lots of measurements and feels (as we do) that Danielle does not fit the norms for a child with CP. She has a couple of markers (toe-walking and strabismus) but none of the typical muscle tightness markers that most kids with CP have (and no typical brain injury markers for CP). She spent a lot of time saying "this is so interesting" and "this doesn't make any sense" as she measured various things. :)
Everyone at the study got a big kick out of Danielle's English (she's understandable, but sometimes she says the weirdest things!). So the therapist taught her to say "gluteous maximus" for some of the muscles she was attaching electrodes to.
Danielle was really a trooper. It was about 5 hours of testing and she was so good-natured about it. She will be in the study which means we have added 3 hours of therapy to our week (I know!). But the therapy is free and is targeted to strengthening her ankles, which we know she needs. I did tell the therapist that I already knew the outcome of their study, as I have watched Danielle's walking improve tremendously as her legs and ankles have strengthened. :) I think we totally piqued the therapist's academic interest in a case like Danielle's, where her circumstances made her underlying medical condition much worse than it needed to be.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Umm, it's August??
Yes, August is getting away from me. School registration, school supply shopping, frantically trying to figure out what we were doing with the boys for the week and a half before school started (but after summer camp ended)...August is rather taking my breath away. And it's not half over yet. ;)
So what have we been up to?
The boys are in extended summer camp. A few other parents and myself were able to convince them that they needed to offer something during the week and a half before school started, since most of us don't have enough vacation to cover that time plus all of the school holidays. They're basically doing the same things they were before, except no cooking in hot oil and no bus field trips. ;) The boys have picked up the words "dude" and "duh" at summer camp. So I get sentences like this:
"Dude, I have piece of paper?" and "Wow, that's a cool red truck duh."
Can I just say that it's hilarious to hear slang coming out of Alex's mouth mixed in with the speech apraxia, and I find it hysterical that Tim uses the word "duh" (if you can call that a word) but has no idea it's supposed to be sarcastic so he just tacks it on at the end of sentences.
Emily and Danielle are both super-excited for school to start. It's a daily conversation regarding going "upstairs", since the school and their classrooms are on the floor above their preschool classes. Danielle knows most of her letters and numbers to 10 now, although we're still working on it nearly every day after school. Emily's birthday is coming up soon--she'll be 5!--and we're getting her...
...wait for it...
...a vacuum!
Yes, a real working vacuum. She is going to be over-the-moon with her own working vacuum, and I'm thinking my house may be cleaner than I'll know what to do with. ;) It's a small stick vacuum with a telescoping handle, but if it doesn't telescope enough we can remove the handle and she can use it as a hand vacuum. I know it sounds like a bit of a sexist present, but all of my kids love to clean and I anticipate some fighting over Emily's present. A few days ago Alex asked me if, after he came home from summer camp the next afternoon, he could "sweep up the dog hair, and then get the bucket and cloth, and clean the bathroom floor?" And Tim was so excited about it that he wanted to help too. To which I replied that maybe they could each do a bathroom so they could each have one to themselves, and they thought that was a great idea.
No, I am NOT joking. My kids love to clean and I'm going to let them think it's a fun way to play for as long as I can get away with it!
For me, clearly I haven't been cleaning. ;) I did can 12 jars of peaches (I could have canned a few more but it was 11:30 at night and I wanted to go to bed, so I made a peach cobbler from the leftovers the next day). Mark has been busy keeping track of the contractors for the other house (that's a whole other post!) and we're getting close to being done with the systems (HVAC, electrical, and plumbing) and should have functioning air conditioning by the end of the week. I'm sure it will be in just in time to break the heat advisory we're under here. ;)
So what have we been up to?
The boys are in extended summer camp. A few other parents and myself were able to convince them that they needed to offer something during the week and a half before school started, since most of us don't have enough vacation to cover that time plus all of the school holidays. They're basically doing the same things they were before, except no cooking in hot oil and no bus field trips. ;) The boys have picked up the words "dude" and "duh" at summer camp. So I get sentences like this:
"Dude, I have piece of paper?" and "Wow, that's a cool red truck duh."
Can I just say that it's hilarious to hear slang coming out of Alex's mouth mixed in with the speech apraxia, and I find it hysterical that Tim uses the word "duh" (if you can call that a word) but has no idea it's supposed to be sarcastic so he just tacks it on at the end of sentences.
Emily and Danielle are both super-excited for school to start. It's a daily conversation regarding going "upstairs", since the school and their classrooms are on the floor above their preschool classes. Danielle knows most of her letters and numbers to 10 now, although we're still working on it nearly every day after school. Emily's birthday is coming up soon--she'll be 5!--and we're getting her...
...wait for it...
...a vacuum!
Yes, a real working vacuum. She is going to be over-the-moon with her own working vacuum, and I'm thinking my house may be cleaner than I'll know what to do with. ;) It's a small stick vacuum with a telescoping handle, but if it doesn't telescope enough we can remove the handle and she can use it as a hand vacuum. I know it sounds like a bit of a sexist present, but all of my kids love to clean and I anticipate some fighting over Emily's present. A few days ago Alex asked me if, after he came home from summer camp the next afternoon, he could "sweep up the dog hair, and then get the bucket and cloth, and clean the bathroom floor?" And Tim was so excited about it that he wanted to help too. To which I replied that maybe they could each do a bathroom so they could each have one to themselves, and they thought that was a great idea.
No, I am NOT joking. My kids love to clean and I'm going to let them think it's a fun way to play for as long as I can get away with it!
For me, clearly I haven't been cleaning. ;) I did can 12 jars of peaches (I could have canned a few more but it was 11:30 at night and I wanted to go to bed, so I made a peach cobbler from the leftovers the next day). Mark has been busy keeping track of the contractors for the other house (that's a whole other post!) and we're getting close to being done with the systems (HVAC, electrical, and plumbing) and should have functioning air conditioning by the end of the week. I'm sure it will be in just in time to break the heat advisory we're under here. ;)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Watching for triggers
I love that I know my kids well enough to be able to see when their behavior is a result of triggers in their lives.
Danielle has been reverting to some not-so-acceptable behaviors in the past couple of weeks, and I know it's due to some changes at the preschool. Her main teacher was out on vacation last week and then her afternoon teacher broke her arm and has been in and out. Since Danielle has only been in the preschool over the summer, she doesn't know any of the substitute teachers. I think her current rotating-teacher situation is reminding her a little bit too much of the orphanage. But it's comforting to know that this is temporary and that as she goes through this and comes out the other side, it's one more way to show her that this is not an orphanage and that she is home for good. :)
Danielle has been reverting to some not-so-acceptable behaviors in the past couple of weeks, and I know it's due to some changes at the preschool. Her main teacher was out on vacation last week and then her afternoon teacher broke her arm and has been in and out. Since Danielle has only been in the preschool over the summer, she doesn't know any of the substitute teachers. I think her current rotating-teacher situation is reminding her a little bit too much of the orphanage. But it's comforting to know that this is temporary and that as she goes through this and comes out the other side, it's one more way to show her that this is not an orphanage and that she is home for good. :)
Monday, July 12, 2010
What HAVE we been up to?
I go back and forth with not posting because we're too busy or it seems too boring. ;)
In the past week...for the fourth of July we didn't do anything really special. We took the kids to watch the downtown fireworks from a parking garage again this year but we're thinking next year they may be ready to handle actually being downtown in the crowds and the noise. We'll see. ;)
Mark had to work on the 5th but the kids and I were off so we hung out around the house. The weeks stay busy with the kids in summer camp and preschool, plus speech once a week for Emily. So far we've been able to work things out so that the boys are not going to watch the movies that we don't feel are appropriate for them. Since Mark worked last Monday he had a day off to use so he used it to keep the boys on their movie day. They had a good time hanging out with him and still got to watch part of a movie at home, then went back to camp at lunchtime.
Mark and I have seen two shows at the Muny--Beauty and the Beast and Titanic. Beauty and the Beast was--I'm sad to say--very disappointing for me. I love the music from the Broadway version but this did not live up to it at all. There seemed to be whole parts missing from the score and it made things very weird. Usually the Muny puts on top-notch shows but this was a definite disappointment. That was somewhat made up for with Titanic. Mark and I first saw this musical in Michigan and I loved it! Here at the Muny I enjoyed it so much again. For those not familiar with the broadway version of Titanic, it is nothing like the movie...which is a good thing. :) It is such a romantic musical and knowing that it is based on history makes it a very powerful story.
This past weekend we did lots of running around. An old friend from TCU was in town for a wedding so we caught up with her and her family for a couple of hours at a local playground. It was great to get to see them again and to meet their adorable daughter.
This weekend was also Tim's birthday! He is now 7 and was very happy about his birthday. He somehow seemed to believe that everyone he met should tell him happy birthday. ;) For his birthday dinner we went to Hometown Buffet and the kids LOVED it. All they could eat and so many choices! We had some close calls, but no one got sick from overeating. LOL
I made Tim his choice of cake--a church cake that looked like our church...are my kids weird or what?--and it was dry but the icing was fantastic. I haven't liked either of the two cake recipes I've used for the boys' birthdays but this icing was a keeper. I've been eating the leftover icing by the spoonful (makes up for not eating dessert at the buffet! ;)).
Tim liked his cake but told me at church that I left off the statue (our church used to be a Catholic church and there is a statue of a saint in the front towards the top of the building). He was still happy though, because he got to eat the steeple. Weird, I tell you...just weird.
And we've been over to the dirty house a couple of times cleaning out drywall. The kids love to help carry the drywall to the dumpster. Danielle was actually begging to get to go again so she could carry more drywall to the dumpster. Silly girl. They like being able to point out how strong they are, and they try to see how many pieces they can carry at a time.
In dirty house news...all of the drywall is done! Taping and mudding starts this week and the electrician will be out next week. We should have AC in the next couple of weeks which will be great!
In the past week...for the fourth of July we didn't do anything really special. We took the kids to watch the downtown fireworks from a parking garage again this year but we're thinking next year they may be ready to handle actually being downtown in the crowds and the noise. We'll see. ;)
Mark had to work on the 5th but the kids and I were off so we hung out around the house. The weeks stay busy with the kids in summer camp and preschool, plus speech once a week for Emily. So far we've been able to work things out so that the boys are not going to watch the movies that we don't feel are appropriate for them. Since Mark worked last Monday he had a day off to use so he used it to keep the boys on their movie day. They had a good time hanging out with him and still got to watch part of a movie at home, then went back to camp at lunchtime.
Mark and I have seen two shows at the Muny--Beauty and the Beast and Titanic. Beauty and the Beast was--I'm sad to say--very disappointing for me. I love the music from the Broadway version but this did not live up to it at all. There seemed to be whole parts missing from the score and it made things very weird. Usually the Muny puts on top-notch shows but this was a definite disappointment. That was somewhat made up for with Titanic. Mark and I first saw this musical in Michigan and I loved it! Here at the Muny I enjoyed it so much again. For those not familiar with the broadway version of Titanic, it is nothing like the movie...which is a good thing. :) It is such a romantic musical and knowing that it is based on history makes it a very powerful story.
This past weekend we did lots of running around. An old friend from TCU was in town for a wedding so we caught up with her and her family for a couple of hours at a local playground. It was great to get to see them again and to meet their adorable daughter.
This weekend was also Tim's birthday! He is now 7 and was very happy about his birthday. He somehow seemed to believe that everyone he met should tell him happy birthday. ;) For his birthday dinner we went to Hometown Buffet and the kids LOVED it. All they could eat and so many choices! We had some close calls, but no one got sick from overeating. LOL
I made Tim his choice of cake--a church cake that looked like our church...are my kids weird or what?--and it was dry but the icing was fantastic. I haven't liked either of the two cake recipes I've used for the boys' birthdays but this icing was a keeper. I've been eating the leftover icing by the spoonful (makes up for not eating dessert at the buffet! ;)).
Tim liked his cake but told me at church that I left off the statue (our church used to be a Catholic church and there is a statue of a saint in the front towards the top of the building). He was still happy though, because he got to eat the steeple. Weird, I tell you...just weird.
And we've been over to the dirty house a couple of times cleaning out drywall. The kids love to help carry the drywall to the dumpster. Danielle was actually begging to get to go again so she could carry more drywall to the dumpster. Silly girl. They like being able to point out how strong they are, and they try to see how many pieces they can carry at a time.
In dirty house news...all of the drywall is done! Taping and mudding starts this week and the electrician will be out next week. We should have AC in the next couple of weeks which will be great!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Switching things up
This past weekend I decided to make some changes. Specifically, I decided to put the girls in the boys' room and the boys in the girls' room.
The girls' room is right in the middle of the hallway and has a pocket door. I don't like closing their door as I'm worried they will have trouble opening it in the middle of the night if they need to go to the bathroom. The hallway outside their door happens to be the squeakiest part of the hall so every time we walk by it is really loud and often wakes one or both girls up.
The boys' room is at the end of the hall, right across from our room, and has a regular door on it. By putting the girls in there I can hear them better at night and I can pull their door to and not have them hear as much noise. Plus, the floor in the boys' room is quieter so when I go in to one of the girls I don't wake the other one up.
We started the switch on Sunday night. Of course it decided to thunderstorm that night. But it worked out great because I stayed in our bedroom folding laundry and listened for the girls. I could peek in on them without waking them up. When Danielle got scared I was able to go in and comfort her without waking Emily up (Danielle was the only one who ever woke up).
Right now we're on trial for a week, so we haven't actually swapped any of their clothes or toys yet. I want to see how this works. But so far I am LOVING it and think it may be a permanent change.
The girls' room is right in the middle of the hallway and has a pocket door. I don't like closing their door as I'm worried they will have trouble opening it in the middle of the night if they need to go to the bathroom. The hallway outside their door happens to be the squeakiest part of the hall so every time we walk by it is really loud and often wakes one or both girls up.
The boys' room is at the end of the hall, right across from our room, and has a regular door on it. By putting the girls in there I can hear them better at night and I can pull their door to and not have them hear as much noise. Plus, the floor in the boys' room is quieter so when I go in to one of the girls I don't wake the other one up.
We started the switch on Sunday night. Of course it decided to thunderstorm that night. But it worked out great because I stayed in our bedroom folding laundry and listened for the girls. I could peek in on them without waking them up. When Danielle got scared I was able to go in and comfort her without waking Emily up (Danielle was the only one who ever woke up).
Right now we're on trial for a week, so we haven't actually swapped any of their clothes or toys yet. I want to see how this works. But so far I am LOVING it and think it may be a permanent change.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Carnival
Very rarely do I wish that I had brought the camera somewhere, but that was definitely the case Friday night. The kids' school had a carnival--complete with rides!--as a fundraiser. The kids have been talking about it for weeks and were over-the-moon with excitement when they started putting the rides up in the parking lot on Wednesday.
Since Mark has base ball today and I have an out-of-town baby shower, we knew the only option was to go on Friday night. So after homemade pizza for dinner (thankfully they don't yet realize the yumminess of carnival food) we walked to the carnival. The tickets were $1 each and each ride was 2-3 tickets so we had to set a limit so we didn't go broke. :) We perused the rides and after a little discussion Mark and I decided they could each ride one ride (there weren't very many that they could ride because they are still so little). These are the first carnival rides any of them have been on. Emily and Tim chose a car ride that went around in a circle and Danielle and Alex chose a dragon mini-roller coaster. We bought extra tickets for me to go on the roller coaster with Alex and Danielle (we were a little afraid of someone having a panic attack) but as it turned out I was too tall to ride (first time that's ever happened!) so we sent Tim on instead.
Alex and Danielle were sitting in the very front seat with Tim right behind them. As soon as the ride started, you could see absolute terror on Danielle's face. One time around...I can see her trying to tell someone, anyone, to stop the ride. Second time around...boys are laughing and having a ball, Danielle is slightly less terrifed but still very unsure. Third time around...Danielle is smiling. :)
They had a great time and I now think we could go to an amusement park and all of them would enjoy it!
Since Mark has base ball today and I have an out-of-town baby shower, we knew the only option was to go on Friday night. So after homemade pizza for dinner (thankfully they don't yet realize the yumminess of carnival food) we walked to the carnival. The tickets were $1 each and each ride was 2-3 tickets so we had to set a limit so we didn't go broke. :) We perused the rides and after a little discussion Mark and I decided they could each ride one ride (there weren't very many that they could ride because they are still so little). These are the first carnival rides any of them have been on. Emily and Tim chose a car ride that went around in a circle and Danielle and Alex chose a dragon mini-roller coaster. We bought extra tickets for me to go on the roller coaster with Alex and Danielle (we were a little afraid of someone having a panic attack) but as it turned out I was too tall to ride (first time that's ever happened!) so we sent Tim on instead.
Alex and Danielle were sitting in the very front seat with Tim right behind them. As soon as the ride started, you could see absolute terror on Danielle's face. One time around...I can see her trying to tell someone, anyone, to stop the ride. Second time around...boys are laughing and having a ball, Danielle is slightly less terrifed but still very unsure. Third time around...Danielle is smiling. :)
They had a great time and I now think we could go to an amusement park and all of them would enjoy it!
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