First day of 1st grade - Sunday, Aug 23rd to

This week Ashley started back to school and she had a lot of changes to adapt to. I think she did really well with having new teachers, new school, new classmates, and a new schedule. We made a visual schedule for school with all 4 of her teachers on it so she can start associating the word school with these ladies. I knew her words might decrease this week due to all the changes and school but it was still hard not knowing everything she was doing at school or any new sound she said.

Saturday

Ashley had a fun morning playing outside and then a great Session with Brogan. Then we had our last summer celebration meeting with Haley, Tracy, and Brogan.
She said "bubbles" 2 times to request, "water", "dess" 2 times after I said lets get you dressed, "shuh" for shoe!

Sunday

Ashley has slept really well the last 2 nights! Finally after 2 weeks of major sleep issues she seemed happy, awake, and back to her normal self. She got to spend a few hours in the afternoon with Haley at the pool and said "water, ball, and Haley"! At dinner, she ate grilled chicken breast again and said "watermelon"! She even initiated a game of hide and seek with me around the house!

Monday

She started 1st grade today and it was really hard dropping her off. There are 7 kids in her SLE class and 4 teachers. She has done so well this summer having 1-on-1 attention in the Playroom with no distractions. School is crowded, loud, and strict on schedule... I really like her 4 teachers and they seem to love Ashley already! Ashley was so excited that morning when I kept saying "school" and I was able to get some pictures on the way to the car. She was so happy! She also had to bring her Veggie Tales picture! I have to print multiple sheets of this exact image with Veggie Tales gang AND the tuba must be included. I have even started laminating them because if it gets ripped, wet, or crease on paper she wants a new one.

Her teachers reported that she had a great first day and they were really impressed how well she
followed directions even if she wasn't happy about it. At recess, she got to meet her 1st grade class that she will join for Specials, Recess and lunch this year. One of the girls in her class kept trying to talk with Ashley at recess and play with her! Ashley's teachers are excited and looking forward to having her in their class this year!

In speech & OT, she said "buttons" and followed directions really well!

Tuesday

In school she said "fish" and "water". When I asked her if she had her Veggie Tales Picture, she said "weggie". At speech she said "Watching Veggie Tales" in singing voice 2 times to request it and 2 times while watching theme song! After bath when I said I love you, she said "I love you"!!!! :)

So Ashley was being a typical sibling today and it was fun to see because this has NEVER happened before!  Noah was playing with a Little Mermaid necklace that makes music when Ashley grabbed it and  ran off laughing! He was chasing her upset and Ashley just kept laughing running circles around our stairs. She was interacting with him in a normal sibling way and it was so fun to watch for a little before I had to step in! :) I couldn't help but try to snap a few pictures before it ended! Noah forgave her and gave her a big hug!

 

Wednesday

Today we had to do a 4 hour test with blood drawn at every hour and fasting during entire time. It was not fun and the nurse somehow couldn't get her vein well each time. It was a traumatizing day for both of us so I did not take her to school after. At night, she said "muffin"!

This afternoon Ashley really wanted a bath but Noah was awake so we couldn't just leave him downstairs. I decided to try giving BOTH of them a bath at same time and I knew I was taking a risk with how Ashley would react to her bath tub. She sat in the front and Noah sat in the back. She did not mind at all and it was so much easier to bathe them at the same time!

Thursday

"I want" at school. In the evening she said "muffin". I couldn't help but capture Noah sitting on Ashley's lap after school. Ashley didn't seem to mind while she ate her crushed ice.

 


Friday

At speech with Brooke, she said "watching Veggie Tales. bye-bye, minute, quack, more duck,  yeah, want duck, water backpack" (when Brooke said your waters on backpack).

We did a short Playroom session and had a good time just playing! She seemed exhausted from the week and there were a lot of changes for her to adapt to. In the evening she said, "I want ice" and "muffin".

Saturday

Ashley said "trash" 3 times today and then "straw" 2 times after I commented on her Strawberry Shortcake toy. She also said "dwess" after I said word dressed from coming inside from water play. She had a great time outdoors today and fun time at the pool with daddy!

Sentences & Summer Celebration Party!!!! -August 22nd, 2015

This summer we began our Son-Rise Journey with Ashley and had 3 main goals. We wanted to work on eye contact, social interaction, and words. We made progress in all 3 areas and it was amazing to see her progress in this short time frame over summer! We thank God daily for the progress we are seeing and I know that I could not have survived this summer without our AMAZING team!

We will continue doing a part-time Son-Rise Program during the school year. Her teachers seem great and are very loving which Ashley needs! I am a little nervous about sending her though since she has done so well with the 1-on-1 times with no distractions. We will keep a close eye to make sure we are doing what is best for Ashley!



We got to have our Summer Celebration Son-Rise Meeting for all our Team Ashley members and gave them our gifts. We had to do 2 separate meetings so that everyone could make it.

We made picture frames for each Team Ashley member! Ashley helped me paint each frame but didn't always want to finish! I put glue spots on frames and then Ashley picked a button to put on top of glue dot! She is not a huge fan of crafts so we had to space it out last week to complete all frames. It was a huge challenge to capture a good picture with each volunteer.... I really think she rolled her eyes at me a few times when I was trying to get the pictures. :) She is probably annoyed that I am always taking pictures but I LOVE pictures!

 

If Ashley could fully communicate, I imagine this is what she would say to each of you!

 

"Thank you Grammy for finding Son-Rise Program and for believing in me! Thank you for the picnics we got to enjoy, water play outside, coloring on the wall, reading books, and for introducing blowing bubbles with bubble gum which I thought was fascinating! I enjoy when you read me Disney books with an animated voice and for making crafts more enjoyable with edible items! I am so thankful that you are my Grammy and I will always love looking at pictures/videos of myself on your Iphone!"

"Thank you Papa for coming each week to watch Noah so I could spend more time in the Playroom with mama! Thank you for always acknowledging me, for playing catch with me, for loving me unconditionally, and for always praying for me! I had so much fun playing catch with you this summer for the first time and interacting with you! I am so blessed to have the best Papa in the world and I love being spoiled by you and Grammy!"

"Thank you Mrs. Tracy for coming each week to play with me in my Playroom! Thank you for introducing marbles, playing treasure hunt for Strawberry Shortcake pictures, rolling balls down the ramp with me, and making me feel special! I enjoyed matching colors to my Strawberry Shortcake characters, tea parties, and initiating peak-a-boo game with you!  I am so grateful we will get to keep playing together this fall because I love all the fun we have together and all that I am learning from you!"



"Thank you Mrs, Wendy for coming each week to play with me in my Playroom! Thank you for always being goofy and making me laugh! Your Improv Comedy background brought a lot of imagination showing how a toy could serve many different purposes! Thank you for wearing all the crazy wigs, jewelry, playing blanket games and for introducing glow in the dark bracelets! Thank you for all the tickles and laughs! I am so glad I get to see you at church on Sundays too!"

 

 

 

"Thank you Brogan for coming to play with me in my Playroom and outside! Thank you for always being patient with me and all the encouragement you gave me! Thank you for playing Jake the Pirates with me, Dora scavenger hunt, hula hoops, coloring, and your dancing experience! I loved how you made it a game to put the hula hoop around me when I was jumping and then I came over to you and did the same thing! It was fun to interact with you because of your animated responses!"

 

 

"Thank you Haley for coming each week to play with me in the Playroom and also being my buddy at church for the last 3 years! Thank you for all the fun outings we have gotten to do! Thank you for allowing me to jump on your back and for jumping next to me on the trampoline! Thank you for playing with me in the evenings even after you had exhausting days at your full time camp position! Thank you for accepting me just how I am and for always being excited to see me!"

 

"Thank you Mrs. Kimberly for joining our team when my Grammy got injured and for coming to play with me! Thank you for using your singing talent to sing Veggie Tales and other theme songs that I love! Thank you for running in place with me, jumping from hula hoops, and for how you encouraged me to keep making sounds! Thank you also for working in Kings Kids A at church so that I can have a sensory room to escape to if I need!"

 

 

 "Thank you Kellie for coming to my house to play with me in my Playroom and outside! When you come to our house, I like to take your hand to my backyard right away! Thank you for introducing confetti eggs and water balloons that I love to roll and pop! I said a lot of new words outside with you because playing outdoors and with water is my favorite! I loved writing with sidewalk chalk with you too! Thank you for being my friend and coming early each week during your summer vacation!"

 

 

 

"Thank you Aunt Miranda for coming to play with me in the Playroom each Sunday after church! I loved getting to have one on one time with you and get to experience Miranda hugs! Thank you for loving me and being willing to be so goofy to get my attention! I loved playing princesses with you, having tea parties, looking at items you put on your head/hair, and playing with costume jewelry! I enjoyed laughing with you and keeping you active at all times in the Playroom! haha! I am so thankful to have you as my Aunt and to have you live so close now!"

"Thank you Uncle Chris for coming to fill in to watch Noah so that I could be in the playroom with mommy! Thank you for making the theme song CDs for me because I really enjoy music! Thank you for waving and saying bye to me the day this picture was taken because that was our first real unprompted interaction! Thank you also for letting me steal Aunt Miranda each weekend even though it took family time from all of you! I am looking forward to seeing you more and more!"

Saturday

We got to attend a special needs family pool event this morning which the kids loved. Ashley just loves the water and was so happy there! It was nice that when I called her name several times she would hear me and look at me! All I would do was smile, wave, and say "hi" since I don't want her to think her name is only called when demand is going to be placed. It is little things like this that makes me grateful for Son-Rise program. Leaving the pool was really tough because I did not get to give her enough notice before whistles were blown. However, she might have still been pretty upset even with more notice since she loves the pool sooooooooo much.

In session with Jeremy she loved tickles and jumping on his back! In session with Kellie, she made a great approximation for Little Pet Shop when playing with that toy!


Sunday

At church, we saw Wendy in the parking lot and I loved how Ashley recognized her immediately. I wanted to try and get another picture of them together so have a better picture for her gift! Well I got several cute ones and Jeremy thinks we should title the middle picture "how to properly join"! I love how she was holding Wendy's hand and then she wanted Wendy to come to her classroom! It was really sweet! When Wendy and I talked about it on Monday after session, she started tearing up and I could tell it meant a lot to Wendy and that all her hours spent with Ashley showed in that small unprompted loving interaction that Ashley had towards her.

In sessions with Miranda over the weekend, Ashley said "be-be" for Strawberry and "Ah-gee" for Veggie Tales.


Monday

She said "chi chi" and "chee" for chicken and of course "water"! In sessions, she said "bubu" for bubbles, "want" and "hungry"! When Tracy asked her Are you hungry, Ashley said that new word back to her.


Tuesday

In the morning, Ashley walked up to Jeremy with no prompting and said something very close to "run" so Jeremy immediately started running laps with her! :) I showed Ashley her new pink Carter's dress and she wanted to put it on. I said dress and she replied "dess". In sessions, she said "cri-cra" for cracker, "eee" for eat, "berry" when looking at Strawberry Shortcake, and "mmmm" when eating snack!

Ashley gave me pec for bath so I gave her opportunity to say bath. However she said "I want it" and then said sentence again! I wasn't quite sure if she was saying a 3 word sentence or making similar babbles. However, the next day confirmed it with Tracy!

Wednesday

In sessions, she said "ball, che-chess (for crackers), button, want, chi (for chicken), I want". She then said full sentence "I want chi" for I want chicken!!!! Tracy also rubbed her belly while saying yummy when Ashley was eating snack so she mimicked action and said "nummy". She also said "Awesome!" twice today.

Ashley is not a really affectionate kid but can tolerate hugs if you ask. You kind of have to grab her and squeeze tight before she runs off. She does love tickles though and will hold your hand if you ask too. If she cuddles with you, that probably means she is sick especially since she is not moving around. :) However, after bath times I wrap Ashley's arms & body in towel and give her a big bear hug. She seems to really enjoy this routine. Today after we did the bear hug and I got her dressed, I said I love you. Then she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and gave me a hug spontaneously!!! I think she mumbled I love you but I am not positive (I want to believe she did and responded like she had).



Friday

She said "juice" and "up" for going upstairs. At speech with Brooke she said "want quack quack", "all done", "weggie te" for Veggie Tale, "brush", "duck" and "ice".

Saturday

She said "dess" twice after I said you need to get dressed. She also said "icture" for picture of Veggie Tales.

Baking with Grammy & Mama - August 14th, 2015

It has been an interesting week with lack of sleep for all of us but so thankful Ashley continues to say new sounds/words each day! Some of her new sounds came from singing Veggie Tales theme song and the Bubble Guppies theme song! I also thought it would be fun to have 3 generations in the kitchen baking cookies from scratch...However, it had too many steps for Ashley but at least we tried! It was fun to experience that for the first time!

Saturday

Ashley had major sleep issues over the weekend so she was up about 4-5 times each night. She was very tired and low energy just like the rest of us. She didn't say too much so there is not too much to report. She didn't even make her happy sounds. She was not sick and we have always had sleeping issues since she was a baby.

She had fun sessions with Brogan, daddy and me! She liked spinning items and water play outside. She said "water, mama, wazawa, and new-jew-jew" (this sound was repeated a lot).

Sunday

In session with Miranda, Ashley played tickles, tug-of-war with pool noodle, looked at books, played with balls and said "moo" which is a different sound. At lunch she said "trash" and "ba" for banana. She had a blast at pool with daddy and somehow got extra energy to play there! :)

Monday

Ashley got to break the eggs again doing hand over hand, pour, stir wet ingredients, and dumb in dry ingredients for breakfast treat. Noah loves to watch! We got to enjoy outside water play with the sprinkler head she loves to run through now.

In sessions with Wendy and Kimberly, she enjoyed the spray bottles and worked on word squeeze.  She was lower energy but still made some good eye contact. She said "eee" for squeeze 6 times, "mmm" when eating nuggets, and then she said "chick-n" for chicken nuggets!! When singing Veggie Tales theme song several times, she said "oh-gu-lee" for Broccoli and "edgeee" for Veggie!

In speech, she said "I want" and worked on following directions. She also said "trash" and "Awesome" that evening.

Tuesday

She slept much better so she was almost back to her full energy today. In session with Tracy and Becky, she said "more, want, I want, eat, drink, no (when asked if wanted juice), water (when spraying water mist toy)".

During the day, she said "ee" for eat, "juice", "ooh" for open, "eee" for squeeze, and "trash". Ashley enjoyed making her own pizza again and cutting up strawberries.

At swim lessons, she said "reach" 3 times, "water" for water fall and "on" after I said shoes on when leaving.

Wednesday

In sessions with Tracy, Kimberly and me, Ashley said "up, eat, more, want, chi-chi (for chicken), Dora, booh(for book), nak (for snack). There were a lot more sounds today and it seems like she is testing all her sounds!

Tracy introduced a new Son-Rise game using old fun crazy socks and we hid different objects inside. Some included snacks so she was motivated to keep asking for socks and find what was inside. One of them included Strawberry Pop Rocks candy and she loved those popping in her mouth! Then we used socks to throw them up in the air and then stuffed socks with others to make a pillow sock fight!

In the evening Ashley said "tuh" for Tinker Bell and "ruh" for run.


Thursday

Today in sessions with Tracy, Becky, and me, Ashley said "want, I want, more, up, eeee (eat for snack), dan (for dance), meme (for sesame street book), mon (for Monsters book), boooh (for book), . waki (copying Tracy saying walking), meo (for milk)." At lunch Ashley said "juice" and "chuh" 3 times for a chicken nugget piece.

We also got to enjoy part of our afternoon outside with water play. She said "water" 2 times with no prompting for hose and "balloon" once. At swim lessons, she said "reach, ju (for jump), no (when answering question)."

Before we left for swim lessons, I thought it would be fun for Grammy, Ashley and I to make cookies together from scratch. This is the first time all 3 generations were in the kitchen baking together! She enjoyed pouring the ingredients, squishing butter with her hands, and stirring with small measuring spoon! However, making it from scratch had too many steps for Ashley and she was eager to get to chocolate chips.:)  At least we tried and brought some cookies to Ms. Allison at swim lessons!

Friday

Today Ashley said "trash, more, chuh (once for chicken nugget piece)." At speech with Mrs. Brooke, Ashley was really motivated by some games that Brooke let her pick from the closet. I love that our speech therapists use Hanen method which is play based and child led by their interests! She said "more di (for more ducks), Awesome!, Okay, water wash (for water splash), more muck (for more duck), on, quack-quack,  watch, cwass (for class), help me, & yeah." Wow! She had an amazing speech session with ALL those words!

In session with me she said "wape (twice for grape), ba-per (for cracker) & ba-buh babies (singing the Bubble Guppies song)". She also got a hair cut and this was the best one ever since she followed directions and did not throw a fit like she normally does. She sat so still with her dum-dum while getting hair cut so it was a very pleasant and stress free experience! You can tell from the picture she was ready to leave.

Sibling hug! - August 7th, 2015

Jeremy and I got to get away last weekend to celebrate our 10th Anniversary in Corpus Christi! Thanks to Haley, Becky, Doug, Miranda, and Brogan for making this possible and for keeping Son-Rise program going!  Ashley was a little off on Saturday and Sunday without us around but she recovered quickly.

We had to see 2 Specialists this week so there was a lot of waiting which Ashley is not the best at.

The highlight for me this week was Noah giving his sister a hug on Friday morning and Ashley tolerating it with small smile.

Sunday

At church, Ashley was interactive and sat with all the kids during circle time. In session with Miranda and Brogan, she had good eye contact and said "water", "yes", "bazaba" for balloon, and lots of "t" and "tsk" sounds which was new.

After we got home that afternoon, Ashley kept saying "mama" and asking for lots of tickles!

Monday

She said "Awesome!" when I gave her cereal at breakfast.

Ashley helped me make breakfast treat again and this time I let her break the eggs doing hand over hand. She LOVED it! We made a little bit of a mess but it really wasn't hard to clean it up and it was easy to pull out egg shells from mixture!

She also helped me make her daddy's egg muffins and Noah needed his own stool to stand on too. :) I almost got to stand on side lines and watch her! She helped pour the egg substitute, measure & pour spices, pour in the ingredients, and stir. Then with NO prompting or any direction, she started pouring the mixture into each muffin tin. I was so surprised that she knew what to do next and so impressed! I was in shock and then I started praising her and encouraging her which you can see her small smile in the 5th picture. So I just kept snapping pictures! :)  She filled all the cups evenly and did a great job! I was praising her so much after and she was so proud of herself! I love that smile she shows even with that front tooth barely hanging on!

In sessions with Tracy and Kimberly, Ashley said "more, water, eat, nah, mmm, down, nuh for no, booh for book, ju-ju for juice, and borsey(horsey)."

- Tracy said Ashley was smiling and laughing so much in their session today and lots of happy sounds! Ashley even INITIATED a game of peek-a-boo with Tracy!
- Kimberly said Ashley was singing a lot! They also pretended to ride their hula hoops like a horsey and that is when Ashley said "borsey"!

In the evening, she said "trash" when I mentioned throwing item in trash. She also said "yes" when I asked her if she wanted ice and "no" later when I asked her if she needed to go potty.

Tuesday

In sessions with Wendy and me, she said "Wee!, earring, no, mu (for music), buh (for book), and Awesome!" when I was spinning her on my back. She is also making some new happy sounds of "wheat-zuh" and "wheat-tree".

At speech she did a great job following directions and said "more". At swim lessons she said "reach" 2 times, "yes", "water fah" for requesting water fall, and "Great jah!" after I said Great job!

Ashley helped make the PBJ sandwiches for her and Noah. She is still needing some help with spreading peanut butter and portion control on jelly! :)

Wednesday

In sessions with Tracy and me, she said "up, more, what, want, trash, juju (for juice), nah (for no), yeah (for more snack), buh (for book), Bubbles (for Bubble Guppies book), Bob (looking at Veggie Tale picture), move (wanted Tracy to move table), and water.

"Trash" 2 times while throwing food items away and "Awesome!" while playing with her toys.

Ashley and I also had craft time today and Friday to make some gifts for all the Team Ashley volunteers! We had to space it out during these days because Ashley's attention span doesn't last too long and she is not a huge fan of crafts. I think these are going to turn out really cute and what I love is that she helped with each one.

Thursday

In sessions with Tracy, Kimberly & Becky, she said "more, want, water, Jack (for Jake Pirates book), and awe-berry  (after Kimberly sang Strawberry Shortcake song)". Ashley got to enjoy part of session outside and we attempted Boat races using soap. She loved watching them go down the slide! She also got to discover what soap taste like since she later put one in her mouth...

Ashley said "trash" again. What a word to master, right? :) When we went potty, I asked if she could turn light on and she said "on" while lifting switch. When I told her I love you, she responded with "Awesome!". Haha!

Noah, Ashley and I played chased that evening and during it we always say Run. Well tonight I finally heard a "Wun" out of her!

Friday

We played chase again this morning and we pause in between laps. The kids just love running and laugh the entire time. In between I gave Ashley a hug and then Noah a hug. I asked if Noah wanted to give Ashley a hug and he did! She tolerated it and had a little smile on her face! I was lucky to catch this sweet moment since their hug lasted almost 5 seconds!

In sessions with Haley and me, Ashley said "buh (for banana), juice, yes, no, water, uh (for up), Toy , Woody and Story (looking at Toy Story book), Door (asking for at Dora book), Jake (for Jake book), eat, (for chicken nuggets she said all of following at different times) chuh, chick, nuh.

Ashley's 1st with Papa & Uncle Chris - July 31, 2015

This week Ashley had her first real (unforced) interaction with my brother Chris and played catch for first time with her Papa! We are also getting some new words and better eye contact each day!

Saturday

In sessions, Ashley said "bus, water, and no" to a question! She enjoyed lots of tickles, jumping, balls, and Tinker Bell books! She also replied "bye-bye" to me!

After dinner, I asked Ashley to put item in the trash and she said "trash" really clearly! We praised her and then she said "trash" 2 more times! For requesting ice chips, she made sound "iii"!

Sunday

Ashley had a great time with her buddy Haley and buddy Alissa at church today! In session with Miranda, she made lots of eye contact and they shared a lot of laughs! Ashley said "no" when Miranda asked if she needed to go potty. She also said "bubbles" when washing hands and "po" when looking at My Little Pony picture. 

At lunch, Ashley said "ju" for juice and "water" when I started talking to her about going to play at pool with daddy. When I got her dressed for pool, I said I love you and she then replied "I love you"!!!!! I will never get tired of hearing those beautiful words out of her mouth! I think she will say it back when she is REALLY happy and that means it must involve the pool! :)

Since we took Ashley off her ADHD medication, she has put a lot of items in her mouth. We finally found a chewy tube that she will actually use since is chocolate scented. She was so content to cuddle with daddy and use chewy tube.

Monday

Ashley seemed extra tired today. Her front upper tooth that is loose is really bothering her but she wont let us touch it. She has wanted a lot of ice chips and her chewy tube today which I think is helping her stay awake too. In session with Wendy, she said Ashley was the most interactive she has ever seen for the first 55 minutes and lots of eye contact! She rolled ball back and forth with Wendy 4 times (4 different games). She also got to dress as a Fairy with wings and headband. I was so surprised to hear she wore the headband because she hates anything on her head. During session, she said "Awesome! and "ch-ch" for cracker!

In session with me, we ate lunch, played tickle games, potato head, and sticker game. The stickers have different parts of the face so you can create the face how you want (big eyes, small eyes, girl mouth, mouth with tongue out, big or small nose, etc). She decided she didn't want stickers on the paper but on the actual potato heads! She said "Awesome!" about 3 different times in session and one time was VERY clear with the s. She also said "ju" for juice, "no, more, bus, beep-beep, water, and ba" for banana!

My brother Chris came to watch Noah so I could have session with Ashley. At the end we gave him Chocolate Oreo Truffles as a thank you but Ashley didn't seem to eager to give them away. Chris was about to walk out door and looked at Ashley saying "bye-bye". She looked at him making great eye contact and waved bye! We think that is the first time she ever truly interacted with him with no prompting! Chris responded perfectly afterwards praising her for saying bye to him and looking at him! :)

In speech therapy, she said "chip, water, and ball".
Driving home we stopped at Goodwill store and Ashley acted like she was in a candy store! :) So many happy sounds coming out of her including "Awesome!" and we got great finds on her favorite characters! I asked several times "Are you happy?" and she repeated once "Happy". At dinner, she said "juice". Before bed I asked her if she wanted a banana and she replied "Awesome!" with a smile walking towards the bananas!

Tuesday

In session with Kimberly, Ashley did a lot of singing (hums or babbles). So Kimberly joined her and then changed up sound a little when she got green light. Then Ashley repeated a sequence of sounds she made!!!! She also made great approximations for snack, chicken and nugget. In session with Becky, she got to be in backyard for first part to eat snack and enjoyed playing with polished rocks. She said "ha ha" for hot since Becky commented that it was hot outside and "mm" for marshmallow since they did fun craft with them.

In speech, she said "on" 4 times to request for Disney game, "off" and "more".
At swim lessons, she said "chase" when Allison said chase the ball,  "reach" when we said reach with your arms, "ba" for ball, "no", "water" for turning on the waterfall again and  "Awesome!"

Wednesday

In sessions with Tracy and me, Ashley said "more, want, turn, ju (jump), ball, up, duh(down), bouncy". She had fun dressing up, rolling balls, looking at Strawberry Shortcake and being silly! At lunch, she said "juice, trash (2 times), ee (eat) and Wow!"

She got to help me take Oscar to Petsmart so she loved seeing all the fish and birds. She also was a big help in the kitchen cutting up vegetables.

Thursday

We brought in the play kitchen into the Playroom and cleared out other items so we could change it up a little. We got play food, blanket, baby dolls and tea set so we could do a picnic. We also got a small play muffin tin with different color muffins. The small squishy lizards really enjoyed eating the play food! :) She had fun with playing with feather boas too! She made some great approximations in sessions and said "nuh" for no to a question. She also had really good interactions & eye contact with Kimberly and Becky.

At night she said "waffles" and "i" for ice!

Friday

In the morning, Ashley said "Awesome, drink, and water". In session with Tracy, Becky & Haley, Ashley said "more, water, want, meet, drink", "ju" for juice, "eat" for snack, "my chicken" when asking for more nuggets, "No-a" for Noah and "Toy Store" when looking at Toy Story book!
That afternoon Ashley interacted with my dad Papa and this is what he emailed me. I thought it was better to just copy and paste.

"I had a really special experience today with Ashley.  She was chilling between sessions by laying on her side up against your front door of the house.  So I gently kicked the blue “lightning” ball in her direction like a soccer kick.  She snagged it perfectly and rolled it back to me.  I kicked it again and she returned it.  We did this for about 20 times and every time she smiled at me and made eye contact.    Wow!  You might say that I just played catch with my granddaughter for the first time.  For me, a lifetime memory occurred.  This whole serendipitous event lasted less than 5 minutes but it was a great day for me.  This Son-Rise program is indeed working.  Stay the course !!"