Tuesday Thoughts...

For the past couple of days, I have waited to go to the park with Sarah until the evening. She's on some medication that makes her skin more sensitive to the sun so we've gone out after supper. Last night as I was reflecting and watching her play, I had a few thoughts come to mind. Sarah is nine years old. Her style of play would say otherwise though. As I was observing her it seemed like the word "simple" was one to describe her. Sure there are other things that make her uniquely complex but something about seeing her play outside was simple. She went on one slide over and over again with no need or desire to try anything else out. Part of this is because the amount of louder kids on the other equipment keeps her from venturing too far. After 20 or more "slides", we made our way to the swing, her little hand tucked in mine. The large swing, designed for special needs kids was free and she quickly made her way over. This type of swing allows her to relax and fully enjoy the swinging motion without having to think about holding on or balancing. After the swinging, we made our way back to the now empty climbing structure where she began to take my order and made me coffee, fries, and hotdogs.

She's a quiet observer when she's out. Occasionally she will interact with other kids but only if there's one or two and if they appear to be calm and usually they are younger in age than her but closer to her developmentally. Last night I was her playmate and we had a wonderful evening together. These are the things she remembers and I love being with her, playing and watching her discover the world around her.

The swing that makes her feel safe and secure

I Made a Choice

I'll be the first to admit that not every day is easy with Sarah. She puts on a good face when she's around others and usually friends get to see her best side. Saturday morning was one of those times where the severity of her special needs came through, loud and clear. Literally as she cried most of the way from Edmonton to home- about 25 minutes. It was exhausting listening to her desperate pleas of begging to have me cuddle her. No matter how many times we told her she needed to be in her carseat where it was safest, she wouldn't be convinced. By the time we arrived back at home, she clung to me as her hicupping sobs slowly subsided. I too was deflated and my own tears flowed as my emotions seeped out of me.

{She hasn't ever enjoyed her car seat- in fact, she cried all the way home from the hospital as a teeny newborn. Although she doesn't always cry, most times she fights it. Getting in is fine and she usually is happy to be going somewhere. The "fighting" (as we've dubbed it) means she pushes on her thighs with her hands and her legs lift up against her hands. It's a small, but fluid motion and requires many reminders to ask her to stop. There are times when she's so resistant, she almost doesn't even hear us. If one of the kids is paying attention, they can set their hand on her leg and she's perfectly fine. Not very comfortable for them, but it calms her. At the end of September, we are making a long trip to see my brother get married. Needless to say, after only 25 minutes of crying, I wondered how the six of us will survive a trip to the coast.}

Later that day, as she and I spent the afternoon in the backyard together, I sat on my chair reflecting on her and who she is. I knew I had to redirect my thinking from frustration to doing something that I know Sarah loves. And that was to take her for a walk to a park. She loves going to playgrounds, especially when there's no one else there. Again, I think it has to do with her sensory issues and if she only has to worry about herself and not what the other kids may do, she's much more relaxed.

 At the top of her "mountain" and she was the queen!

On Sunday, I suggested that we head downtown and check out the Legislative grounds. It was a lovely day and when we arrived, it wasn't even that busy. Sarah loved wading in the pools. Once she realized that her dress could get wet, she had a wonderful time splashing and playing in the water. After the rough beginning to our weekend, I'm so thankful I was able to make it a special time for Sarah and the rest of the family. 

Wordless Wednesday

 Arianna's certificate for her hair donation!

 He's always gotta get to the highest point on a playground!

 Stunning!

 "Look Mom, I am a puppy."

 "Where I've Been" Starbucks mug that my sister brought from Vancouver. I'm loving collecting these.

Cute. Sweet. Precious.

One of the props at VBS.

Parks & Playgrounds

Sarah is beginning to love going to playgrounds these days, now that she's beginning to master the climbing structures and slides. It is tough for me at times because she is still so little and her balance is still really poor. She also is very innocent, naive and can easily be pushed around. I try to find a good mixture of watching her closely while at the same time letting her explore and challenge herself. Today I had taken the girls to a park to play and Sarah was doing fine until she wandered to the swings and was hit on the face by one that was gently moving in the breeze. Kinda tough when the base of the swings comes to her face level. The other problem with 'big kid' swings is the fact that she doesn't always remember to hold on. When she indicates that she's done, she simply lets go. Up until now, I've managed to catch her and prevent a fall but part of me is expecting a tumble to occur.

Sometimes Sarah likes to sit back and just watch the goings on that are happening. Bigger kids ( not my own) can be quite rambunctious and rowdy and it can be too much for her. Today while she was sitting on a platform just keeping an eye on things, she ended up in the middle of a fight between two boys who were throwing fist fulls of wood chips. Poor girl received a handful of chips in her face which indicated (for her) then end of the play time. I did firmly and loudly tell the boys to not throw things around my kid and apologies were made. It makes me sad when a fun time ends on a note of tears though. Thankfully, a trip to Sobey's and a cookie make things better for her.

Lots of learning for both of us. It was the first time I've stood up like that but I had to defend her and the protector in me was really unhappy. She's recovered and so have I and I am thankful that by tomorrow she will have forgotten everything that happened and will be ready to play again!

Wordless Wednesday

Ah, this makes me smile.

One year ago, she was scared of slides and heights. This year, a whole new person has emerged who is confident and brave! I'm so proud of her!

Long Weekend 2013

Well, it was a busy and eventful weekend for us.

Arianna had decided that she wanted to cut her hair to sit just at her shoulders. When we measured the length, we found that she was only about 1.5 inches from the minimum length for locks of love. With the determination that she has, she went to the hair dresser and cut off 10-12 inches of hair. She is loving her new 'do and feels so much cooler, especially with the hot days we've been having.

Isn't she so pretty and grown up looking?

Speaking of hair cuts, someone else had a hair cut, only she did it herself. I wasn't nearly as pleased with this one. It's taken us five years of watching it slowly grow out.

Yeah, not nearly as fun...

On Monday (Canada Day), the kids and I headed out to Jubilee Park to participate in festivities that our city was having. Things were going fine until the traditional fighter jets flew over us. Of course the sound is startling as well as deafening and at that moment, all I could think about was Sarah who was trapped in her stroller. The kids and I whipped her out as quickly as we could but not quite soon enough. Her whole body appeared to have shut down. She didn't cry but she didn't blink or talk either. She was sweating hard against my chest and although she jumped as the second fly-by occurred, she was motionless. Somehow, her body went into a shock type reaction and it was a good 15 minutes before she stopped shaking and would respond to us. Usually her response to noise is to cry and cling to me but this one was really different and kind of scary. All day, she was talking about the scary planes... The weather was very hot today and so when I got her home, we went to my room with the air conditioning unit and snuggled in for some recovery time.

Once her body temperature was a bit more normal, Andrea, Sarah and I went to a park. Of course it was empty which is kind of how we like it. Today, this gave Sarah the opportunity to try some new skills. She mastered a little climbing wall and the swirly slide! I was so proud of her. Up until now, she's resisted the slide because she can't see the bottom so this was a huge accomplishment. She must have done it 15 times!

Loved it!

The kids Doug and I are just hanging out this evening, doing out best to stay as cool as we can. Tomorrow is back to the good ol' routine! Happy weekend!

In just a month

...my "baby" girl will be a year old and I'm sure I'll document that day as well. Today was fun as we went to a playground and Sarah went on the swings for the first time. She loved it. Her giggles and full faced grins were infectious and it was wonderful to watch her experience it for the first time.









~She is about 13.5 pounds
~She does not sleep through the night
~She loves to nurse frequently
~She is so close to crawling
~She ADORES her older siblings
~She is so much fun and has changed so much in these 11 months

I look forward to this next month of changes for her and then to see what will happen with her in her second year.