-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!
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!
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