First, a BIG thank you to all of you who donated to Walking for Dreams and the Jackson Center. We were able to raise a lot of money to support such a special organization. To those of you whom I didn't thank personally, THANK YOU! You all are so near and dear to us.
So we begin summer this week. So far I survived one day. Ha! This week I'm home with all three before camps and summer commitments start. I think I'll make it, but yesterday was 128 hours long, so we'll see how it goes today. In an effort for positivity, I will say it's nice to not be running out the door every morning. There's something to be said for leisure mornings.
Elena finished up Kindergarten last week. It turned out to be a really tough year for us. Elena did wonderfully, and completely loves school but we had some issues making sure our expectations were being met. We all learned a lot about the process. We are always advocating for Elena in various ways every day, but this year it was pushed to the max. It was exhausting. However, we do have a lot of confidence in Elena's team at school and feel really good about what we have in place for next year.
The communication device. Thank you all for your fervent prayers on this the last couple months. As anything, it's been a roller coaster of emotion. Hope. Frustration. Disappointment. Then hope again. Such is life, right? Long story short, Elena was showing some promise in using the device. Then, we had technological issues, which happens. We determined that Elena would likely need a bigger screen than the model we were using. A bigger screen would allow her to have more "options" at a time without it being to difficult visually for her. However, to trial a model with a bigger screen, there was a waitlist until October. So, we are currently on pause.
It's slightly discouraging, only because any progress with Elena can require A LOT of time and A LOT of effort by her entire team. And to make progress, then for it all to stop, is discouraging. Not only that, but my greatest desire is to be able to give Elena the ability to express everything that her little mind wants to. I dream of her someday being able to tell me something without me asking her or giving her a choice. Not only for my sake, but for her sake. I want her to feel the power of expression. The time and difficulty that we have faced on this road, is incredibly trying. For now, we are on hold. It comes at an ok time. It's summer and Elena's schedule is a little less consistent. Hopefully, we can pick up where we left off later this year.
Calvin finished up his 2's year of Preschool. He's our talker. Constantly. Around the clock. He's either narrating his day or singing all the time. Our babysitters always report to us that he didn't eat his dinner because he talked the whole time. Even Elena gets annoyed. At dinner he won't stop talking and she'll start yelling just to drown him out. It's pretty hilarious. And noisy. Don't come to our house for a nice, quiet dinner.
Turner is nine months and is always on the go. He hates to be contained for longer than 10 minutes. He is content to just crawl all over the house. We set him down and he just takes off. He's a smiley little thing, though he certainly lets you know when he's not content!
I can't believe how quickly time goes. Here we are heading into another season, summer! I like summer because there seems to be a bit more freedom in our lives, but at the same time a slower schedule isn't always a good thing for us! Fortunately, Elena starts summer camp at the Jackson Center next week and Cal will be heading to his preschool one day a week. We have some fun things on the calendar to look forward to. Hooray for no (foreseeable!) surgeries this summer!
One thing is for sure, summer is sure to fly by!
First Day:
Last Day:
Calvin 1st & Last Day of 2's Preschool
T-Bug at 9 months
