Swimming and life

Noah's first time in Exersaucer
Noah's first time in high chair

Lillie swimming with a noodle

Lillie has been in the water since she was a baby. She always loved going to the YMCA to play in the water. She always had a fear of gettimg her head wet or being splashed so she never really learned how to swim or got wet in those splash pad areas. Over the summer Lillie tried some swimming at camp and enjoyed it till she was splashed. She then decided to no longer go in the water. We have her signed up now at the YMCA for a special needs swim class. This enables her one-on-one lessons with very small goals rather than the long term one of learning to swim. Instead they will work on just getting her head wet or putting her face in the water.......or even getting splashed. She had her first lesson Saturday. At first she was reluctant to even get in the water and cried alot. Once she was in she had a great time and even swam with the boogie board which she thought was pretty cool. Way to go Lillie!

This week brings some difficult events for us. After much research and speaking with some people we discovered some blood work for Lillie could answer alot of questions for us in regards to her behaviors and eating concerns. We can look to see if she has had any metal poisoning, is deficiant in minerals or vitamins, check for allergins and look at sugars and thyroid.

We had blood work done for Lillie once two years ago. She had to go to two different labs. One stuck her four times with nothing and then the other got it on the second try. She was so upset beyond description. She does not remember all the details but knows she never wants to have it done again. Dave and I have tried our best to never have it done again but feel at this point the benefit may outweigh anything else.

We are taking her to Quest in the morning before school and plan to tell her tonight about it, so if you are reading this before do not say anything about it please. We will be honest with her and pray for the best response. If all goes well she will still make it to school and maybe even on time.

Tomorrow afternoon dave and I need to go back to Dupont for the results of her eval a month ago. We are not sure at this point what to expect but continue to pray and plan for open hearst and lots of understanding. We know no matter what they tell us Lillie is a wonderful little girl who has been enriching our lives since day one. God entrusted us with parenting her and if we do not find out as much as we can to help her we would have failed at our jobs. We never wish to make Lillie endure more than she needs and hope that after these few things Lillie will be able to breath a sigh of releif (or should I say mom and dad) and live life to the fullest!

Lillie rides the bus

Lillie started asking to ride the bus last year but we just were not ready to let her. She started asking again right away this year. Of course we snuck up to the bus on the first day to meet the driver and check out the other kids on the bus and then we still had to ponder it over for two days!

Today we let Lillie ride the bus home. She was so excited that she was going to get to ride the bus and without us! We waited for her at the designated corner. When she came off the bus she was smiling so big and looked so proud of herself. Dave and I were so proud as well. What a big girl we have.

She did much better the past two days at school. She received marbles from her pricipal for doing such a great job. She has made some friends and seems to be ok.

How Sweet

Noah in his outside swing for the first time.

Lillie is telling Noah what shapes the clouds are forming.

First Day Of School

Today Lillie started first grade. Of course I questioned all summer how i would make it through and now I wonder what my hurry was. I miss her already. The morning did not go how I wished though.

Dave took the day off so we were able to both take her on her first day. When we arrived at school all the other kids were already at their desk listening to the teacher. We were on time they just started doing things already. Lillie gave us each a hug but then ran out of the class crying begging us not to leave her there. She said she would miss us and especially Noah. In the past Lillie has dealt with seperation anxiety but last year in school she was fine till the last three weeks and that was when Noah had been born. She kept saying all summer she did not want to go. I started thinking maybe homeschool was a good idea. I had that plan last year but then opted out. I hated seeing her so distressed. It got worse so the principle had to come and take Lillie so we could walk out without her following. It was not an easy situation to walk away from and not the one you want to have when leaving for the next 7 hours.

I am hoping Lillie enjoyed her day and wants to go back tomorrow. Lat year Lillie had 13 kids in her class and this year there are 23. The class looked very full.....too full. I am concerend that she may not thrive well with that many children. Dave beleives with a little time she will be fine. We continue to pray about it as we want the best for her and want her to enjoy these experiences of life. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for her:)

Last Days Of Summer

I think this was the summer of "Phineas and Ferb" at our house. In case your not aware this is a cartoon on Disney that Lillie and Dave have come to enjoy alot! I think we watch them at least once a day. With 3 Disney channels the show is on anytime of day. I even drew a picture of the characters yesterday for Lillie. I thought she could put them in her locker at school. Maybe she will come to think I am cool, haha.

Last night we went to CCS for orientation. Lillie is all set to start first grade. Last year the school let several teachers go to cut costs. There is now just one first grade class with 23 students. Lillie knows all but 2 new ones. It is a large class compared to just the 13 she had in class last year. I am a bit nervous because she easily gets lost in a crowd. I am sure God has a plan and maybe this is the year she will find her voice amongst her fellow classmates.

I can't beleive summer is at its end. Lillie's first day is Tuesday. Dave took the day off so we can share in it together. It was just a short time ago I questioned how I would survive the summer. We did it! Lillie has read lots of books and even won a prize at the library!

Next Saturday Lillie starts a swimming team at the YMCA. It is for kids with special needs. She qualified for the program due to her many struggles so far with learning to swim. They meet once per week and she has one-on-one traing. She is very excited about it and so are we.

This morning when I opened my eyes Noah was staring at me with a huge grin on his face. He just loves to smile and giggle all the time. He is so sweet and pleasant. He has not been sleeping much at night leaving me with just an hour or two of rest. He does nap during the day so Lillie and I get our time too.

Today we took Noah for a walk in his stroller. He did not need the infant seat in it. I was glad because it still makes him cry some. He loved looking up at the trees and cooing at the birds. It is such a wonderful sound.

Dupont

I have still been waiting for follow up from Dupont about Lillie's evaluation. At first they said we would know everything at the appointment, then they said follow up would be within 2-3 weeks. Today is two weeks. I finally heard from them today and we go back on September 14th at 1pm. So we must wait two more weeks.

In the meantime I have all the paperwork here for Hersheys feeding program and already have an appointment for CHOP. It turns out CHOP has an outpatient program that we may be able to try right in King Of Prussia. We go the week before Thanksgiving for a two hour eval. There they will determine if an op program would work or if it indeed must be inpatient. Still hoping Dupont will shed some light on things.

Noah Gets Dedicated

The Dedication Ceremony

Our Family Before Church

Pop-Pop and Ms. Dottie with Lillie and Noah at Church

Pastor Ralph with Noah During the Dedication

Sunday was a wonderful day for us at church. Noah was dedicated. We have primised to God and our church family to raise Noah with the direction and understanding of the Lord. It is not an easy thing always in todays society but we have managed very well with Lillie with lots of help from our church and her school. I am sure Noah will learn alot from his big sister.