A Glimpse of our Summer

Painting pottery with friends at The Glazing Pot

                                       

Celebrating Dane's friend, Dap, at a super fun pirate party

                                       

A rare moment during trauma rotation...family time at the zoo

                                       

                 Eating ice cream & popsicles after playing in the fountains with friends

Exploring Hollywild Animal Park with friends

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We are enjoying Summer so far, and with less than one month until the first day of school it's time to soak up the rest! Trying to stay cool has been key so we've made many trips to the fountains in downtown Greenville and to the pool in the neighborhood adjacent to ours. Having a pass to the zoo has been fantastic, and experiences we have had with friends and playgroups have brought lasting memories. We have also enjoyed visiting the library to participate in fun activities, check out books and play on the computers. Things we are looking forward to include a trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC, a visit from Mimi & Papa, swimming lessons, and gathering school supplies! And I'm sure more trips to the Greenville zoo, fountains and various parks before school begins. Signing up for Fall soccer for both Blake and Dane is happening, so that glorious, COOLER time of year is on the horizon! We hope you are enjoying all the fun that Summer has to offer where you are! Stay cool!

Happy Birthday Blair Elise!

Our sweet baby girl is one year old today! Time, of course, has gone by so quickly, but we couldn't imagine our family without Blair. She is a happy, sweet, busy, inquisitive and (thank goodness!) flexible little girl. She is loved by her brothers and loves them back even more. Blair is my " go with the flow" baby who thus far has taken quickly to transitions...eating table food, drinking from a cup, enjoying cow's milk and hopefully by the end of this week drinking from a straw. And the fun and messy spoon feeding will begin soon, as well! She will start "school" this Fall a couple of days a week, so I am enjoying being full-time Mommy for a few more weeks which I was blessed to be able to do her first year of life. We love you Blair Elise and are excited to see all you have in store for us this next year!

Status Post Tonsillectomy

Last Thursday Blake had his tonsils removed. He did great before and during the procedure, which seemed to be over in the blink of an eye. Recovery has been...well, recovery. Not awful, but not easy. Controlling pain of a 6-year old isn't the easiest thing to do when you have to do so via the mouth where the pain is located! And now controlling HIM isn't a cakewalk as a 6-year old only wants to run, jump, play, wrestle with his brother, etc. Two weeks of "light activity" is somewhat of an impossibility. All in all he is improving daily and with this picture he has once again revealed his sweet smile, rosy cheeks and the absence of the dark circles that were once under his eyes. Blake is eating well, staying hydrated and has returned to saying "No!" and refusing to comply. In other words, normal. He also enjoyed riding his old tricycle in the garage, where we told him he had to stay, which he didn't and ended up going downhill in our yard and falling off face first into the grass. Luckily all is well and he just brushed it off. We have a few more days to work on healing and hope to return to a tad more than "light activity" by the weekend!

11 Months

Our little girl is almost one...

School's Out For The Summer!

Some of you who read this blog aren't a 70's baby like me, but I have always sang this song, "School's Out For The Summer" in my head every year for as long as I can remember. Courtesy of Alice Cooper, circa 1972. I think I sang it louder than ever this year after all of those hectic mornings getting out the door at 7:00am to make the 45- minute commute to Blake's school, then on 3 days the additional 20+ minutes to Dane's school. I'm not sure I can say I got used to it, but I did it. Every. Single. Morning. And to say I am pumped to have the boys home with me this summer would be an understatement! I do have to do it again next year (hopefully not if our house sells and we get to rent closer), but I am not going to think about it for quite awhile.

We are looking forward to a fun summer playing outside, going to the outdoor YMCA pool and to the pool in the neighborhood next to ours (yes, thanks to no pool in our neighborhood. still.), going to the zoo, the library, and I'm sure many other fun places! I am also continuing with a structured day here at home with circle time, worksheets, activities related to a weekly theme, and reading time. Mimi (my Mom) is coming to visit this coming weekend, the first week in July and the first week of August with Papa..and I'm sure lots of play dates with friends! Here's to many fun days in the sun with your family, and some rest and relaxation we all deserve!

Beaming with Pride

Matt and I have enjoyed being a part of the TOP soccer program, Blake's team, this past year. We have watched it grow this past year and have been lucky enough to be a big part of St. Joseph's High School integrating their boys' team with the program. Blake and our entire family has felt so welcome at each soccer practice, at the SJHS half-time clinic, and as special guests of SJHS's regional game. The local paper, The Greenville News, has also reached out this past year giving Blake a beautiful collage of pictures taken of him by the photographer (and signed by the head coach) and now today publishing an article highlighting the program including a picture of Blake with some buddies from SJHS. *See link below.

Words cannot describe how much this means to us and how proud we are of Blake. We have had a rough week with Blake's IEP which is still not complete and we are still at odds with the school district. Matt and I are firm believers in inclusion, which the school district has unfortunately not come to in this modern era of education. BUT, this article exposes a program that does believe in children with special needs and integrates them with typical kids who serve as buddies and play and teach along side them. A quote from another parent, Beth Nichols, at the end of this article says it all to me..."She is highly motivated by normally developing peers and always will be." This is true not just for her daughter and Blake, which we as their parents know, but for ALL children with special needs. As a professional in the area of serving and knowing children with special needs, I see differences in progress between the midwest and here. The model used in South Carolina is lacking and certainly does not benefit anyone. We are in hopes that with increasing awareness and more articles like this one things will progress in this state...

Click on link below to read article...
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20120524/SPORTS/305240010/TOP-Soccer-program-about-being-buddy?odyssey=tabtopnewstextSports

Our Little Mentor

This past Saturday Dane received his first acceptance letter in the mail! We are so excited and looking forward to next school year when he will attend Oakview Elementary as a mentor in the Pre-K classroom! He will enjoy school Monday through Friday 8:00am-2:30pm and the perks of a K-5 school...carpool line drop off, lunch in the big cafeteria, PE/music/art/etc., and a full curriculum that will prepare him for Kindergarten. Dane will go to the same school as Blake where 900 kids attend, so in addition to being exposed to a diverse population (something VERY important to Matt and I) and having the very important role of being a mentor, he will learn to navigate a "big boy" school and, in essence, have a real world experience. We have loved his current school where he has attended since before he turned one year old, but feel it is in his best interest to come out of that bubble and be exposed to much more.

The process of becoming a mentor was a bit more than I expected. I had to virtually stalk the Pre-K teacher each week since January asking if it was time to apply. They don't announce it to the public as it is purely word of mouth. The stalking proved to be beneficial as I was one of the first to apply in March to this particular classroom and was able to hand it directly to the teacher that same day. We waited and waited until two weeks ago when he was asked to attend school one day for a screening and to see if he was a good fit. This public school educated gal was a bit squeamish as it felt like we were trying to get him accepted into a private school...it felt so foreign. But, all turned out well as he was accepted! We are so proud of Dane and excited for him to have this experience, especially prior to starting Kindergarten in San Diego.