Spring Break - March 21st, 2016

Saturday

Ashley had a good session with Jeremy in the morning and even gave him the potty PEC when she needed to use bathroom! She enjoyed playing with balls, brain flakes and lots of tickles! She did not want to play Candy Land today but wanted to look all over the game board!

I took both kids with me to HEB and Ashley barely fits in the main part of grocery cart. She did better than last time and I just have to keep trying these outings.

At lunch she said "chip, juice, water" and after when we were playing in living room she said "awesome & yes".

Jeremy took her to Play for All Abilities to enjoy the great weather and they had a water table which she loved. There was also a birthday party going on and the adult was blowing bubbles. Ashley ran over to join in and they were really nice to let her be included! Bubbles make her so happy! The adult let the young birthday girl try to blow the bubbles but she didn't do a great job so Ashley went over got the adults hand and put in on the bubbles! Haha! She was clearly telling the adult she wanted her to do the bubbles! :)

At dinner we had a great coupon for pizza so I ordered the kids a cheese, sausage, bell pepper & spinach pizza to challenge both of them to expand past plain cheese. They BOTH ate it up but Ashley pulled a few sausages off which her daddy did not mind helping eat up!

She did even better tonight when we flossed her teeth which is nice to see a little progress each time!

Sunday

She had a rough first hour at church and Haley thinks it might be because the music was really loud today. Once they went down to Kings Kids A she had a great time!

In the afternoon Haley took Ashley to Play for all Abilities and Haley's 9 year old cousin came too! Apparently Ashley LOVED playing with her and wanted to play chase with her while made lots of great eye contact! I love hearing how Ashley wants to be social now and it is her engaging others!!!

Monday

We went to Variety Peaceable Kingdom Retreat today with other special needs families in Killeen. It was soooo much fun and it went so much better than last year! My mom and niece Chloe came to help and Chloe was a HUGE help! The kids enjoyed the bounce house at the beginning and Ashley was going over to Chloe holding both her hands wanting to jump at same time. At one point Ashley (pictured below) got on her stomach and Chloe joined her. Ashley thought it was so funny and started playing peekaboo with her too! :)

We then got a ride on golf cart to miniature golf but both kids only lasted about 1 hole. Ashley wanted to roll ball around and Noah liked the rocks.  Then we went to the Pirate Ship Playground and swings are always popular with our kids.

After we went into the theatre house which had a miniature theatre showing Big Hero 6, pool table, board games, basketball game, air hockey, pac man, etc. We stayed there for a long time and Ashley kept going over to fish tank to watch the huge fish. They even gave Ashley some ice cubes from soda machine!

They had golf carts to help families around the Retreat since it can be a long walk to different activities. The kids loved the golf cart and I think Ashley would have been happy to keep riding.

We did the parachutes for about 5 minutes and Ashley enjoyed pouring the balls in the center while Noah wanted to run underneath.

We took a short break and ate lunch inside with AC because it was starting to hit 90 degrees. After lunch we caught another golf cart to Archery which both kids sat while he explained the rules but kids were not too interested in actual activity. Chloe loved it and was pretty good!

We walked over the low ropes courses to explore and this year Ashley took about 1 step on each course which was better than last year. After that it was almost 2pm and we were ready to head home. It was a very fun and memorable outing!

Tuesday

We went to Urban Air this morning with other special needs families and kids got some great exercise. The hard part was keeping kids out of obstacle course when other kids were going through it. It also started getting really crowded at 10 so we had to leave pretty fast. At lunch she said "juice & chip".

I took Ashley to a play based therapy facility to get evaluated because they have a fun summer camp program. It has lots of fun field trips and social skills are worked on in small groups. The assessment did not go well and they had toys all over the play area to where she could pull out anything. There were also other therapist with their clients in there. It seemed to be overwhelming and very distracting. She had several meltdowns and sadly they do not think she is ready for summer camp. It would have been nice to have consistent schedule for her each day even though far drive. I have to keep remembering that she has made TREMENDOUS progress this last year and in-home might be best to keep doing. We have been praying a lot about this and summer plans for Ashley. We were praying for wide open doors or closed doors so this was a definite sign of closed door. I was definitely emotional afterwards. I am thankful we had God show us clear direction that this is not answer for Ashley but selfishly it was not the answer I wanted. :) We are praying and searching some other possibilities for this summer and what is BEST for Ashley.

Last night Noah and Ashley were so playful with each other playing chase and in the hammock. It was fun to watch! Even though her evaluation was a disaster I just need to remember how MUCH progress she has made in this last year and I believe she will continue to make progress in her own timing!

Wednesday

We had a lazy morning which was nice and again Noah wanted to play with Ashley so I loved hearing their happy laughter! Late morning we went to cookie decorating at Baked By Amy's which lasted about 15 minutes. I was trying to pay and Ashley started to eat her cookie. I couldn't blame her because I had not told her to wait nor was I right next to her. We got another cookie for her to decorate but she was not to interested in really spreading the icing. She did enjoy putting lots of sprinkles and then eating it! She even shared with me and gave me 2 bites! Wow!!!

We went next door to outside playground and kids enjoyed that before we left for Speech. In speech with Brooke, she said "push, duck, watching veggie, swing, yeah, ooo (for no) & watree". She also played the ducks game with Brooke and gave her the correct number of ducks with correct symbol! Brook would ask for 2 purple ducks, 1 red duck, etc and she did 100% on about 10 requests! There was another boy that came into the gym and she shared game and played with him! It was really encouraging to hear! Brooke even captured a picture because Ashley is normally very possessive over that game.

In session with Tracy, she had a great session and was really interactive with Tracy! Ashley loved playing with books, balls, tent, pillows, dancing with fabrics, looking at herself in the mirror and jumping with small poms on trampoline! She also played Candy Land for 4 minutes and then lost interest. However she did listen attentively to 3 stories that Tracy read. During session, Ashley said "bite, want, eat, crat (for cracker), treat, more, tree, yeah (answering a question), mine, this, jum (for jump), no (for nose while pointing to it), why, ttt (for turn), what, ball, two, three, one, fi (for five) and fff (for four)."


I know it is only Wednesday of Spring Break but so far this has been best school holiday break ever for Ashley at home! Holidays are normally really challenging with schedule changes. It has been so sweet to see Noah and Ashley playing together! I tried to capture a little of it this afternoon because I love seeing how she is interacting with him! She even told Noah and me to "run" so she could chase us! God has blessed us with 2 precious children!

Thursday

Ashley wanted to run again with Noah this morning and they had a good time!

Ashley had a great session with Grammy this morning! They played with My Little Pony, made train with crayons, read books and played with new Dora music maker!

In speech with Brooke, she said "push, quack- quack, tridangle (for triangle), dircle (for circle), bug, duck, watch me, bubble, pop, gym, jump". Brooke also sent me a picture of the game and how Ashley liked matching shapes today and had a great session! She enjoyed the bubbles and new game with bugs of different colors!

In session with Tracy, she got to play with confetti eggs and really enjoyed spreading confetti around and jumping on trampoline watching them move! She did great at matching colors, shapes and numbers, allowed Tracy to use her finger to track words while reading 1 story! She said "what's this (when holding egg carton), this, more, eat, my more, treat, one, tritri (for triangle), ooo (for oval), or (for orange), gree (for green), buh (for blue), book, batra (for bathroom & pointed to Potty Pec)"!

In the evening we had early dinner and went to the school playground! After when the kids were in bath tub Noah started singing the song I sing when washing his hair. Ashley smiled and got right in his face watching him sing! She said "mouse" when wanting Mickey mouse figurines and "awesome" when I got her ice chips.


Friday

We attended a special needs event at Catch Air this morning and a friend we have not seen in long time was so sweet with Ashley! She followed her around almost entire time and was trying to engage Ashley!
  I also decided to take a risk taking both kids to Mighty Fine Burgers (new place for Ashley) all by myself! I am learning new tricks each time we go out and Ashley's learning patience while we wait on the food to come! She also ate half her cheeseburger which was great seeing her try new food! Yay!!!! We have come to conclusion that some adventures will be successful and others will be disaster but we have to keep trying!

She had a great session with Brooke but I forgot to get a copy of her words. She had a hard time waiting on Brooke to come out to get her today but at least she left happy which normally she hates leaving. At home I did a session with Noah and Ashley and brought in confetti eggs again! the both loved it and how fun it is to make a huge mess! Ashley said "this one, more, buh (for blue egg)."


Saturday

We had a great time at Special Needs Easter Egg Hunt at Play for All Abilities Park this late morning! Glad we signed up for last time slot with this cold weather! Thank you Seton Hospital and Round Rock Recreation for all your hard work! They had to stuff hundreds of eggs and tape them or hide for 4 different rounds.

Sunday


We ended spring break with Ashley painting a turtle and she did a great job! She used ALL the paint for background, drew the 2 circles and even painted inside the lines! I helped her hand over with the face and his smile kept getting larger and larger

First Family Vacation & Helping Noah Down the Stairs!! - March 11, 2016

Ashley had a spectacular week and here are some highlights!
-first family vacation & slept well in new place
-tried new foods on short trip
-getting Noah in the mornings and helping him down the stairs
-identifying letters A- F
-She adjusted to Ipad grid size increasing to 48 images on screen from 30. Now when she request items the images are much smaller and shifted out of order
-played "Ashley version" of Candy Land for 12 ENTIRE MINUTES with Tracy in Session
-mastered almost all her IEP goals from last ARD
-participated in Rodeo Day with her 1st grade class and loved square dancing

Friday

We survived!!! We had a free night at a hotel so we decided to make a trial run to San Antonio traveling the first time as family of 4. We have not traveled with Ashley in almost 3 years so we needed to test Ashley's flexibility before we attend Joni & Friends Family Retreat this summer. Thankfully we can say we learned a few things from this and found out both kids like to sleep in middle of bed! We are excited that she is ready for the Christian Special Needs Family Retreat this summer!!! God is good!!!

We left straight from Ashley's speech therapy on Friday and stopped in San Marcos for Chic-fil-a for dinner. Ashley said "dench dies" 5 times at Chic-fil-a and they enjoyed playing in playground! When we were walking to our hotel room, the kids saw the indoor pool and Ashley said "water" for swimming! Once they saw the pool, they both wanted to go swim right away. Even though it was indoor pool it was still really cold but that didn't bother the kids! After swimming we went to get ice cream to end our fun day!

 

We went back to the hotel room and pulled out electronics for the kids to play on because Ashley was about to have meltdown since we were saying no to swimming. Sometimes it feels like a hard line between wanting to teach her the word no and preventing a full out meltdown. Ashley seemed to go to sleep easily next to Jeremy but Noah was not quite ready to sleep so that was a challenge to keep him quiet. However, the night went soooooo much better than we imagined and everyone seemed to wake up around 7am. Noah woke a few times in the night almost like he was a little scared not knowing where he was. As soon as I rubbed his back and gave him kisses he was okay. Ashley woke a few times too but did not head bang against the wall and also did not get upset that Jeremy was right there!!!! Hurray! This was our biggest concern about going to retreat were the sleeping arrangements in 2 double beds.

The picture below is right before bedtime and the bottom picture is after everyone woke up to cuddle in same bed!

Saturday

We went to the breakfast buffet and kids did great waiting at the table for me to get the food. I was hoping Ashley could come help pick out her breakfast but it was really crowded. She got to try a new yogurt and waffles with peanut butter and syrup! She did so great eating with us at the table and it seemed so easy and natural! At home she gets really upset if she doesn't have her favorite muffin for breakfast so this helped us see she is more flexible out of the house with food!

After breakfast, Ashley really wanted to go swimming again which we had not planned.... but we gave in because she asked with the sweetest face using her Ipad. How is she suppose to understand why we cannot swim because mom and dad don't want to get in cold water? Kids had a great time and pool was shallow that we didn't have to worry too much about Ashley. Our challenge starting out the night before was having her sit at side of the pool or stay in water. Otherwise she wanted to run around on slippery tile which was dangerous. By this morning, she did great staying in the pool!

We had a fun time at Morgan's Wonderland in San Antonio which is a small amusement park that accommodates all special needs! I love the big smiles Ashley makes when swinging! :) Glad they had discounted prices since kids only lasted a few hours riding train, indoor grocery store, playground, sand pit and swings! We discovered it was hard to stay together as a family because kids had different interest. We also had challenge of Ashley wanting to run off and explore more parts but there is also a train she could run in front of. One time she started running off and another family noticed and started positioning themselves in front of her path. It was so comforting for other people to notice and help! :) After her doing this 3 times and I explained that we could go anywhere she wanted there but she needed to stay with me it got better. Hoping we can get some more help in this area to keep her from running from us or others.

Sunday

Ashley had good day at church but I think we were all more exhausted from our short trip than we thought. Haley took her to Hop N Happy and got some good exercise. They had a few challenges because several birthday parties were happening so she had to keep Ashley away from cakes.

In the afternoon she said "awesome" when got ice, "straw" for strawberries at dinner, "boh" for boat, and "ba" for bath.

My friend came over that evening to get a book and Ashley took to her right away even though she has not seen her before! Ashley took her hand and led her to different places to sit. She even shared her play food with her and then wanted her to sit in the hammock! She was making great eye contact and Hillary was being so energetic with her! It was cute to watch and of course I could not help but get a picture when Hillary was surrounded by both our kids!

Monday

We had some extra time before leaving for school and Ashley seemed to be watching me as I was about to go upstairs to get Noah like every morning. I asked her if she wanted to go upstairs to get Noah instead and she walked towards me. When she got to top of stairs she started eyeing the Playroom but I asked if she could open Noah's door and help him come downstairs. She then opened his door and turned on light. She got one of his toys off his bed which might have been her main motivation! :) When they came to the stairs I asked if Ashley could hold Noah's hand coming down the stairs. It was sweet to see her reach out for his hand and assist. About halfway down the stairs she was done helping but I need start trying more of these situations where she feels helpful!

At school, she was very happy and even played with one of her peers on swing in OT room! She said "this one & that one" today! Her teacher also told me she can identify letters A, B, C, D, E & F 100% of the time now!!! She also adjusted to Ipad Proloque2go grid size increasing to 48 images on the screen from 30 images. So now when she requests items the images are much smaller and shifted out of order but that did not hinder her from finding the right buttons!

I tried to do a session with Ashley but Noah joined us since he did not want to nap. It went pretty well for first 40 minutes and we played with Brain Flakes again. Ashley actually helped me build the princess crown this time making a pattern of pink and purple! We played in the tent and I surprised them with tickles when they were sitting in the tent. I just love hearing them laugh in anticipation! During session and the rest of the evening Ashley said "mouse, awesome, want, puh (purple), boppy, want, yes, bath".

Tuesday

At school, she had another unprompted social interaction with her peer. She walked up to her friend, stood in front of her, and made great eye contact. The teacher then asked the peer if they could say hi so her friend said "Hi Ashley!" and waved. Ashley was watching and waved back to her! She also said "this one, lashes, & water".

My mom came to do a session with Ashley and had so much fun! Ashley was eager to take Grammy upstairs when we got home and did great identifying all her colors and even said "orange"! After session, we all tried to play a new game Pizza Mania sitting on game room floor. It is electronic game where tells you to put 2 bell peppers on pizza, add 1 mushroom, take 1 bell pepper off, add 3 pepperoni, etc. and then tells you at buzzer what should be left on your pizza. Noah seemed to love it but wanted repeat directions. Ashley just wanted to dump topping pieces all on her pizza, Grammy's pizza and then on mine! :) It was fun to try that game and we will try again soon!

Wednesday

At school, she was in a great mood and was really interactive with her teachers and her peers! They said by 1pm she shut down though and was ready to leave! She said the letter "K"& letter "A" when they were working on manipulative and then writing her name!

In session with Tracy, Ashley was not very verbal but happy to see Tracy again since Tracy was sick last week! She enjoyed jumping, books, counting with jellybeans & Candy Land game. She said "want, treat, this, turn" and some other sounds. I found Candy Land at Goodwill so this was first time Ashley has ever seen it. I bought it hoping that one day we will get to all sit and play as a family. Well today she sat WITH Tracy for almost 12 minutes playing Candy Land her own way but she was taking turns drawing a card and moving her piece!!! Tracy would help Ashley on her turn with "1, purple" so it is working on colors and numbers together! That was very impressive that her attention span for that game was 12 minutes!!!! I could not help but get a picture of them after session with it because it is a big deal to me!

Thursday

This morning she got Noah again from his room and she was smiling coming down the stairs holding his hand! :)

At school, she was silly but not super focused on work. However she still said "Ashley, one, & water"! Her teacher sent me the draft of her IEP goals and it is so encouraging to see ACTUAL subjects listed on there with educational goals!!!!  She mastered almost all her goals this year so she has moved past matching, sorting, etc! So proud of her!

In the afternoon, I took the kids to Hop N Happy because Ashley hasn't been been able to go outside this week due to all the rain. Both kids ran around for almost an hour getting some great exercise. Ashley was super playful with me and making great eye contact with me! It was fun to play with her there and it was not crowded which really helped! She said "awesome" on the way to Hop N Happy!

When we got home Noah wanted to play with Legos and Ashley sat with us for about 5 minutes helping build/take apart! At dinner she said "chuh" for chicken nuggets and "ba" for bath!

Friday

Today she did great getting Noah from upstairs and helping him down the stairs again! It is so sweet to see her helping him! Since Ashley is doing better listening and comprehending, I am trying to get better at asking for her help around the house because she loves to stay in constant motion and she feels proud of herself after lots of praise! It is so sweet seeing her helping him and smiling! :)

At school she had a great day and had fun at Rodeo day! She said "water, please & why" today! She said "why" to her peer when she messed up her animal train! :) They are working on her shaking her head no or nodding her head yes by holding her head. She is starting to hold her head while nodding yes now! Haha! Her teacher sent me some pictures and video from her Rodeo Day activities and she LOVED square dancing and got to do it 2 times today! Her teachers said she was even trying to do steps watching others and was clapping too! I was surprised to hear that she participated with her 1st grade class for almost all the activities because it gets very crowded at these special activities. I regret not making arrangements so I could have gone but will do that next event.

In speech with Brooke, she is starting to work on helping her express her emotions using Ipad to possibly help her stop hitting herself. She said "watching veggie, water, again, I want, do it again, help me & uh oh".

Jeremy's team left work early today and he completed his first week at new job! He really loves his new job, team and short commute! We all went to Chic-fil-a for dinner and Ashley said "dench dies" 3 times!

Sleep issues resolved! - March 4th, 2016

Saturday

We tried a new sleep medicine last night for Ashley and she slept really well! Today she was happy and seemed more alert! I finally got more pictures printed, laminated and velcro added for her visual schedule so she got to see everything we were doing today. In the past, if she saw pool picture she would want it right then at that moment. Today she pointed to swimming picture and looked at me. I told her she would get to swim with Ms. Amy later today in the afternoon. She seemed to accept that and did not get upset!!! :)

We went to Catch Air this morning with special needs group and both kids love it there! Ashley kept wanting to ride on the balls shown in picture below. Hard part was that she needed lifting and I couldn't get her on. Jeremy was able to get her on the ball but then she wanted him to help about 20 more times. Finally his back couldn't take it anymore so he tried to hide behind me. Ashley found him though and then he tried make a game of chase so he could get a break. :) She was chasing him and laughing which was fun to watch! 

In the afternoon, I took her to swim lessons and she did even better than last time! She did not get out of the pool to run around and she listened so much better to Ms. Amy. Towards the end, she was taking Ms. Amy's hand and making great eye contact! She is starting to bond and get to know her better! She did say "no" once to a question.

In the evening, we did our weekend tradition of Chic-fil-a and Ashley did great waiting at the table for our food to arrive! On the way there, she said "dench-dies" 6 times for French fries! :) After eating, she went to play in the playground. However, today she wanted to get out and run around restaurant. She did it 2 times and we had to redirect her quickly so she didn't try to make it into a game. What we started realizing was that she was bored in there since only noah and another child. We went in there to sit and play with her and she liked climbing all over Jeremy's shoulders. She liked me giving her tickles when she would come out of the slide and running to the steps. I also caught a sweet moment when she was sitting next to Jeremy on bench!

Sunday

She did great at church this morning and always has a good time with Haley & Alissa! After church she went to her last Basketball Champs League and had a great time! She ran all around and even got a trophy! At home she helped me wash and cut up strawberries while saying "straw". She also is saying "issa" for ice now! While eating her dinner she said "awesome".

Monday

After I got her hair done this morning, I hugged her from behind and said I love you. She responded back with "love you"!!! :)

At school, she did not have any challenges or sensory issues! She said "French fries, lashes, water" and tried say her peers name! At recess, there was a volunteer dad who was playing chase with all the kids. Ashley got involved in the game too! They said she was going up to the man making eye contact and grabbing his hand so he would chase her!

In speech with Viki, she said "push, it, duck" and also did great using Ipad! Viki said she had excellent session and no whining at all!

Noah did not want to nap so I tried to do a session with both kids downstairs. Noah seemed to be very interested in building Legos so I did get some focused time on Ashley! We played the tickle game and she gave me some kisses unprompted. She also just cuddled with me on the couch for a while which was sooo nice! Ashley was so alert tonight and making such great eye contact! She requested Monster figurines and on the way to get them down she said "Awesome!". When she requested another set of figurines I asked her if she could clean up her Petshop toys. She walked away without whining and picked them up quickly. Then looked at me eagerly for next set of toys! Great listening!!!

I love how Ashley is helping more around the house and listening sooooo well! She can now feed Oscar, let him outside and watch for when he returns to open the door! It is really helpful while I am getting dinner made!

Also some good news is I think we got her sleep issues managed! The last 3 nights have been VERY good and everyone in household is extremely happy to have decent sleep! :) (She is almost sleeping 8 hours straight which we do not believe she has ever done). Her teachers even commented on how great she did today following directions, no tantrums, no challenges, very vocal, super happy mood and playing chase with peers on playground!

Tuesday

At school, she said "bubbles, drink, water" and was super happy! They said she was really focused and hard working until after recess she seemed to lose focus.

In session with my mom, she had a great time and was more interactive with Becky than she has been in over a month due to sleep issues! She had fun matching color of jelly bean to colored easter eggs in new book. They also had fun tying ribbons in their hair and admiring themselves in the mirror! She also did a few puzzles really fast!



Wednesday

Today at school, she said "ready, lashes, trash, & bubbles." She went potty on her own today with no one asking and it was not normal time on schedule! She also waited patiently  on the sidewalk for a turn on the swing. She also played with one of her peers by coming up and holding her hands. She wanted to play with her peer and was making eye contact! Her teacher sent me this picture so I could see how happy she has been this week!

In session I tried it again with Noah and Ashley in the Playroom. It went a lot better than last time and we spent most of the time playing with Brain Flakes. I made a light saber for Noah and asked Ashley if she wanted a crown. She looked at me eagerly listening so I asked if she could help me make an orange and yellow crown. She picked them out in right order to make pattern and actually helped me connect the pieces!!! We also looked at some books that show items on the side and you are suppose to find item in the Large picture. Ashley was looking at her own book so I started asking Noah to find the items in a similar book. One of the pages showed pizza and ice cream to find in picture. When I said those words to Noah, Ashley looked over and was then engaging with us. I asked her to find those items and then the pink box which she did perfectly! At the end I asked Noah to give Ashley a high five which she gave laughing! During session, she said "cree (for cracker), izza (for pizza in book), and tih (for tickles)".


Thursday

Today at school she sat by her peer at recess and was looking at her! She said "wait, yes, water & bubbles" and seemed a little unfocused on her work compared to other days this week.

After school, I took both kids to get their hair cuts and they both did soooo great! Then we needed to go to Walmart to get a few supplies before our short trip tomorrow. It wasn't the easiest visit to Walmart but it was better than last time I went by myself with both kids! The only words I got of her today were "water & more."

Daddy came home early and Ashley was soooo happy to see him! Both kids were fighting over him so we are practicing on sharing and taking turns getting tickles!

Friday

Ashley had a fun Friday at school today and said "straws, water, I want". She sat and watched the 4th grade specials showcase and gestured "yes" with head shake! One of her SLE peers got to have nail painting party as reward and Ashley showed interest also! She sat down and put out her finger to be painted! :) I never paint my nails so I have never thought to try this. Her teacher texted me to ask for permission and I responded back "sure! I doubt she will sit long enough for it to dry." I was wrong. She got pink on all her nails and it looks so pretty! It makes me wonder what other "girly activities" I am depriving her of! Haha!

In speech with Brooke, she said "ducks, gym, swing, jump, on, push, push me, help me, yeah, on, down, home, watching veggie, chicken, go, poo, happ (for happy), & oop (for oops).