Our Week

Monday we headed to GI for Bella, hoping for some answers.  It was a hard visit with lots of tests.  Since I have to take Brother, I often stick him in the wheelchair.  (Isn’t he the cutest?  And his bump on his forehead?  He threw his head forward and banged it on the x-ray table  - awesome! About par for the visit)

After all the trauma, we needed some fun – the playground at the girl’s school while we waited to pick up Lizzy and Joy.  Brother had no idea where he was or what this stuff on his feet was, but Bella had a great time!

Speech made these super cute owls from pine cones with the girls.

Family Home Evening

This girl LOVES to pretend!

Brother is doing a new thing.  When he gets bored with whatever he is doing in the family room, he gets up and walks into the play room where all of his toys are.  I love that!  That is independence! 

I put him in the bean pit – I haven’t before because he is still so oral that everything goes into his mouth.  So with a binky firmly in place, we explored.

We have worked on putting toys “in” the bucket.  He put himself “in” the bucket!  I loved it and he thought it was so funny!

Working with Miss Lien on getting out of chairs.  (We have one year till preschool.  We have set so many goals to get us ready!)

So proud!  Sammi got TWO Bearkat awards – wahoo babe!  Lizzy got an award for hard work and an award for Star Patriot for the first nine weeks.  I’m so proud of how hard y’all are working!

Therapy all the time and from everyone      Between Brother pounding on the window from inside and Husky jumping on it from the outside, the window got broken.  Fortunately, Jason is getting to be a pro on replacing broken windows – and for some reason, it’s always that pane of glass!

The weather was great and I had just read an article about exposing blind children to new experiences. I thought over our schedule and realized we had a little time before the next appointment, so off we headed to the park.  It was one of those moments that his blindness hits me square in the face.  What does a kid do when they get to the park?  Take off and play.  What does a blind kid do when they get to the park?  Absolutely nothing.  Yeah – he can’t see it.  So we explored.  It amazed me how long he would spend on each surface.  The “floor” has holes.  I didn’t think twice about them.  Alex did.  He spent forever running her hands over the surface, finding the holes.  The rail felt different.  The slide – it was just another piece of plastic.  The tunnel – forget crawling through it.  He wanted to listen to how everything sounded.  It’s amazing how different a hand pat on plastic sounds different near and far in a tunnel.  I vowed we’d be back.  More exposure, that is what we need.

Lizzy worked so hard this week and memorized the cup song.  She is really good.  Her sisters would appreciate a little less practicing.  Joy loves the Muppets.  She loves to sing along.  This is her newest favorite place to watch the ipad.

Sweet Lizzy LOVES being an Ambassador at her school.  This day she helped to set up for the Book Fair.  She passed us as I was picking up Bella from school (half day).  She loved on Bella and told her friends, “That’s my sister!”  My heart was so proud of her!  I’m so grateful that she’s not embarrassed by her sisters and publicly shows them affection.

And this girl – she has read everything, literally.  Jason loads book after book after book onto her kindle and still she comes back, do you have anything new?  Here they are looking through his collection.  Time to branch out to a new genre.

On Wednesday the weather was beautiful so we took PT to the park!  (the same park – gotta get used to it before we move on to a new one)

Friday was the ward Fall Festival.  Jessi had been home sick that day, so she, Bella, and Alex stayed home.  Meanwhile Joy the pirate, Lizzy the pioneer, and Sammi the gypsy went.

Saturday we went to the DARS Fall Festival.  It was so cool!  It was held at the Old MacDonald’s Farm.  The kids got to touch the animals, ride a pony, get their faces painted, eat lunch, everything.  There was an O&M instructor there.  Lizzy, Jessi, and I put on the sleep shades (we are now effectively blind) and he gave us an O&M lesson.  Wow – awesome! I LOVED that Alex got to touch so many animals!

On Sunday we went to Kathie’s ward because Caleb was being ordained to the office of a Deacon.  Nursery was fun…

Afterwards we had dinner with the family and Kathie and I got this picture of Nathan and Caleb.  Can’t believe these two are 12! 

For some reason this picture of Daddy and Lizzy reminded me of my Grandma and her dad, Great Grandfather Pitt, although I never meet him. 

I’m a little frustrated with Alex’s school options.  I talked with the diagnostician/ case manager at the elementary school and they have never (since 1991 when they opened) had a blind student.  Yes, two low vision, but that is a totally different ball of wax.  Low vision –> make thing big.  Blind –> braille and TONS of modifications.  Great!  I talked with a special ed teacher.  Even she (who is amazing BTW) doesn’t feel qualified to teach Alex.  Shouldn’t we just send him to the special school?  The school for the blind?  Let’s think about that a moment.  Let’s put a five year old on a bus every Sunday night and have him spend the week in Austin and then pick him up on Friday night in downtown Houston after he’s been on the bus all afternoon.  No Mama to tuck him in at night or teach him to say his prayers.  Hmm.. NO.  He is entitled to learn in the same school as his siblings.  But people don’t know what to do with him.  Awesome!  So I keep researching and learning and getting more and more frustrated.  There is a plan for my Alex.  I know there is.  I will find it. 

*I do have to admit that the PPCD teacher is excited for him to come, but after he’s five, what then?