Reading Time

Chloe has really taken to reading this year. She loves it and wants to read all the time! We've been borrowing those little Sunshine books from the library (you can see a pile of 20 or so on the bottom right of her bookshelf) and I'm amazed at how well she does. Granted, she's using context clues and the sentences are repeated but she's paying attention to the letters and…it's so much fun!

Here she is reading to Bluebell, aka. "the fluffiest foot stool ever!"

Of course, she has a fantastic role model in Solana. Solana's last report card was so funny. Her teacher commented that she's never seen a student read so much and that Solana will probably read every book in the library before the year is out! That girl LOVES to read! She used to get in trouble at school for reading when she was supposed to be doing other things but she's gotten that under control. At home she reads on the couch, on the bed, on the toilet (I'm trying to stop that because she'll sit there for 30 minutes), walking down the hall, at the table (also a no-no), at the restaurant, in the car, walking through the parking lot (well, she would if we let her), etc. etc. And she leaves books in her wake. I've started picking up books and keeping them in my room to make her earn them back. LOL! Seriously! Have you ever heard such a thing? Anyway, it's no wonder Chloe wants to read. It's probably her best bet at spending quality time with her sister!

Literacy Night at PVS

Since becoming involved with the PTO at Chloe's school I'm much more aware of all the cool stuff the PTO does. In the past I probably would have blown off an event like Literacy Night because we read at home all the time. But the Principal and coordinators really talked it up at the PTO meeting so I decided to be supportive of the program and take the girls. And it turned out to be lots of fun for them! We started the evening with pizza in the cafeteria, which was a big hit. 

Here they are using a variety of instruments to make sounds in/with water. I'm not really sure what this has to do with literacy but they really enjoyed it. Ringing the bell under water was particularly exciting.

There was a word hunt all over the school This was a great scanning exercise for Chloe and she just about screamed every time she was a word on the wall.

Solana got to practice her patience by waiting for Chloe to scan the page to locate the words.

We sat on a blanket and the girls used props to retell the story I just read to them. The books were super cute and the girls did a great job listening and retelling the story.

 The final activity was writing in shaving cream. There was more rubbing going on than writing. This is definitely something we can do at home!

Chloe is 4 Years Old!

Our big girl woke up to her much anticipated number 4 pancake. Look how big that thing is! But in true big-girl style she ate every bite. One of the things I love about Chloe at this age is her genuine appreciation and excitement for everything around her. She gasps and exclaims when something is new and wonderful to enjoy and I pretty much melt every time she does so. I was a puddle all birthday weekend. Chloe enjoyed everything as much as any parent could possibly hope and I'll cherish these memories forever.

I wish everyone could have seen her opening their presents. It's fun to see a little kid get excited over the gift you sent them and she would not have disappointed anyone. You'd think she received a real rainbow in every package.

Chloe got this car from her Grammy and Grampy. She LOVES IT!!!

She had her first school-friend birthday party on Saturday. Dave rented a bouncy house and four little classmates came over for an hour and a half. They had a fantastic time playing between the bouncy house, the playground, and Chloe's new car.

The girls played hard in the bouncy house. They even ripped down all my streamer decorations from around the yard and decorated inside the bouncy house. Solana headed up the mission and wanted to make sure it was a surprise for Chloe so they worked fast and furiously while Chloe went for a joy ride in her car. When she came back to the bouncy house they all yelled, "Surprise!"

The girls enjoyed some snacks and a much needed hydration break. It wasn't tremendously hot but warm enough for a break in the shade.

Chloe's just chillin' with her friends. Check me out with my hands on my hips. I think I'm a big fan of the free-style birthday party. (Quite the contrast from Solana's unicorn-pegasus party!) Just let the kids play I say! I didn't even bake the cake, if you can believe that. We got an ice cream cake!!!

Chloe's riding with her friend, Lydia. 

Chloe Bea - 4 years old!!!

(This little blouse used to be mine. :-)

Chloe's First Day of School 2013!! Pre-K (2nd Year)

After a very long one-week wait Chloe finally had her first day of school! She was very excited to finally join Solana outside waiting for the bus. This was Solana's second week and also picture day. She was practicing her picture smile. I have no idea why they're both holding their arms out like that but they both look to me like they're about to lift-off and fly away Superman style. I love these girls so much! This picture makes me want to squeeze them!

Solana's First Day of School 2013

Solana's first day. Chloe's practice first day.

Solana picked out her outfit the night before - she's actually wearing a precious mandarin colored blouse underneath but I forgot to have her open her jacket. She rolled out of bed within 15 seconds of me opening her curtains. She then finished her morning checklist, ate waffles (sourdough - yum!), drank her milk, and was ready to go 10 minutes before the bus. I expect all mornings will go this smoothly (optimism at it's most best). She wore flip-flops with her skirt. It was pretty cool for August. Low 60's in the morning and we'll only get up to mid-70's today but you absolutely positively must wear flip flops in August!

Third grade will be a great year!

Dork of the Year

The first day of school for Centerville is today! The Summer flew by but the girls are anxious to get to school and I'm anxious to get back onto a routine. It's difficult to get workouts in with the girls home so I'm squeezing into my clothes, the house is also in disarray, and paperwork is piled up to my eyebrows on the computer desk. The mornings before school want to be chaotic so I was a bit nervous about this morning. But somehow we made it outside in plenty of time without any frazzled nerves. I was feeling mighty proud. Solana happily skipped onto her bus and I waited with Chloe for her bus to arrive.

But a strange thing happened. Her bus drove by in the wrong direction and on the other side of the street. It usually stops at our driveway. Then, even stranger, it kept on driving right past us. It was a bit chilly out this morning and Chloe got cold after we had been outside for fifteen minutes so I was holding her. I waved frantically while precariously holding my almost 4 year-old with one arm. The bus stopped a few houses down and I started walking toward it with Chloe in my arms. The Aid popped out and speed-walks over to us, "There's no Pre-School. It doesn't start until the 21st. The bus driver is calling to check but that's what we read on our bulletin board today."

Super Duh. I felt so stupid. "Are you kidding me? I don't know how I missed that! Thanks for stopping and telling me!"

Actually, I know exactly how I missed that. I didn't pay close enough attention to the letter from school that came a couple of weeks ago. I was so preoccupied worrying that Chloe got into the correct school this year that I completely overlooked the line stating the first day of school for Pre-School! It's a whole week later! Poor Chloe was all ready to go to school but she's sitting next to me now happily playing in her doll house so I think she'll be ok. We'll probably stop by the school today so she can visit her classroom.

I'm sure I have bills to pick up, anyway. I'm the PTO Treasurer this year - part of the reason I have a huge pile of paperwork waiting for me at home. But I'll talk about that in another post. It's a story.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! We had something awful happen at 11pm the night before Valentine's Day. It involved a skunk, Monty, and our entryway. But I'll detail that great adventure in another post. For this post I'll focus on Valentine's Day.

I love Valentine's Day. Probably more so because I have two girls and they are just adorable dressed up. Their outfits this year are sort of a mashup of everything pink, red, and hearts that we could find and I love it! They were pretty excited, too!

We started breakfast with some cottage cheese pancakes with strawberry dipping sauce. As cute as the pancakes look on the plate...they were raw in the middle. I first tried cottage cheese pancakes from my friend, Megan's, blog almost 3 years ago. (Could it really be that long ago?!? Wow!) I loved them and then found another cottage cheese pancake recipe in my Cook This Not That Book. Of course, the cookbook is more easily accessible to the kitchen so I keep making that one. I don't know why I do because this is the third time they came out raw in the middle. But the idea of cottage cheese pancakes is very appealing to me. I'm struggling with fast plummeting blood sugar (brought on by my increased running) and, since these pancakes have lots more protein than your regular pancake, they help regulate my blood sugar a little better. Anyway, I just printed Megan's recipe and it's going in my book for next time!!! Maybe even tomorrow... We took a picture and then the heart-shaped pancakes went into the trash. 

Valentine's Day breakfast number 2. Greek yogurt with strawberry puree and granola sprinkled on top. So much easier...Why didn't I do that to begin with? :-P

The girls went off to school and I went out for a quick run before Chloe's class party. I was a baking fool the day before. Brownies and Valentine Puppy Chow for Solana's class. Strawberry cupcakes for Chloe's class.

 I didn't take any pictures at Chloe's party but snapped a couple at Solana's party. Here's Chloe making herself at home as we arrived. Solana's an eager hostess when Chloe visits her classroom.

 Here they are participating in the activities. Solana's working on her answer for the guessing jar and Chloe's taking over at the white board.

We had some cheese fondue and yummy chocolates for dessert. The super secret mission was a success and I was thrilled to get my box of chocolates. In fact, I think I'm already sporting my first February pimple. The girls each got their own box, as well, and we all exchanged cards. Unfortunately, the day was tainted by our odorific problem and I was pretty stressed out about it all day but I think we made the most of it.

Preschool Going Well

4 Signs Preschool is going well:

1. I went to the school to train the nurses on contact removal in case of emergency. Everyone was falling all over themselves over how adorable Chloe is. Her teacher stayed to watch the training. At the end she said goodbye to Chloe. Nose to nose and in that quiet low pitched voice one uses to talk to a baby she says, "I will see YOU tomorrow." Chloe leans in for a kiss and her teacher kissed her back. Chloe doesn't do that to everyone. Obvious adoration from both sides.

2. I dropped off cupcakes for Chloe's birthday and had a chance to observe Chloe with a couple of other children from her class. Her teacher explained that these two girls are older (almost 5) and have self-appointed themselves Chloe guardians. They were helping her put her backpack in her locker and advising her on what to do next. They were hovering like little big sisters and obviously felt a sense of responsibility for Chloe. Her teacher said she wanted to work on teaching them "buddy" skills so they can help keep an eye out for her on the playground and when walking in line, etc. Chloe was eating up their attentions.

3. Teacher pulled out a series of four photos she had mounted on a poster board and described them to me.
Photo A. Chloe playing blocks with a little boy who happens to be wearing binoculars. (Teacher explains that Chloe hinted to the little boy that she wanted the binoculars.)
Photo B. The little boy has taken the binoculars from around his neck and is helping Chloe put them on.
Photo C. As Chloe wears the binoculars the little boy holds them up to his eyes demonstrating to her how to use them.
Photo D. Chloe is looking through the binoculars but instead of looking up and out she has them pointed down toward the ground. The little boy has squatted low so that she could see him and he's smiling and waving into the binoculars.
My heart melted as the teacher explained the series of photos to me. She said that when she noticed them playing together she just got a feeling that she should grab her camera. Apparently, all the kids want to help Chloe. It could be her small size. I'm not sure but it's awesome.

4. There is an aide on the bus who buckles Chloe into her seat and monitors her and the other kids during the bus ride. In the afternoon it's a sweet little old man. On day 2 (after the bus driver, a 50ish woman, said, "Can we keep her?!?! She's adorable!") the aide said proudly, "She already knows our names!" On day 3 Chloe was exiting the bus and yelled, "Bye Mr. Brown!" He answered, "Bye Chloe! I love you!"

That little girls has the whole school wrapped around her finger in less than a week! She is somethin' else! I think she's handling the stress of a new situation pretty well. Why was I ever worried?

First Day of School!

The first day of school 2012 was an exciting one! Solana moved up from PVN to Stingley Elementary since she's a big 2nd grader now! And Chloe began PreSchool at PVS. Their buses are scheduled 5 minutes apart (7:33 and 7:38) so we all go out together to wait. I anticipated that putting Chloe on the bus might be emotionally difficult so I jokingly mentioned to Dave that I needed his support. He came home from work the next day that he was taking the day off. What a good husband :-)

7:30 arrived and we were running a bit late (that's my way) but I knew the buses would be running a few minutes late on the first day so we weren't as frantic as usual :-)

Look at these big girls!!!

 Solana strikes a pose.

 Bumblebee for Chloe Bea.

As it turned out, I was right about the buses being late. Solana's was a half hour late. We're not sure why but it showed up as our neighbor was explaining to us, "I just called Transportation and they said for us to just take our girls to school." Her daughter and Solana quickly boarded and then we realized we forgot to take pictures of them getting on :-(

The girls got pretty bored.

We called Transportation about Chloe's bus and discovered that her driver forgot about her! Actually, she was added to his route the day before and he forgot to pick up his new route that included her. He came back for her and she got on her bus an hour late. I was glad they sent him back out because she would have pitched a fit if we tried to put her in the van. 

 Here she is - excited to ride the bus! I think these pictures were taken simultaneously by Dave and me. There's a lady (an aide) who buckles her in and sits back there with her every day.

Day 1 down. Chloe's teacher called and informed me that it went well. She loves school and they're going to get her to the nurses office once a day for drops. This is just precautionary so that her eyes don't dry out at school causing her contacts to fall or get rubbed out of her eyes.

Solana reported a successful first day at Stingley but it's difficult to get too many details out of her so we'll leave it at that. She seemed happy so that's good :-)

Now to decide how I'm going to spend my luxurious 3 1/2 hours a day M-Th alone...Bonbons? Soaps? I'm not sure but I suspect it will involve lots of laziness and pampering. That's how it works when your kids go to school, right? I'm almost certain...

Pre-School Open House - Yikes!!

We attended Pre-School open house last night. Chloe loved her classroom and wanted to go play before I could even sign in at the door. I think she'll do great! 

Observations: Her classroom doesn't have any obvious obstacles that would be challenging for her to see. Her teacher seems great. She'll probably be the tiniest kid in her class. (Ages range from 3-5 and she turns 3 later this month.)

Planning for the school year: We had her IEP meeting on Monday and she's getting 40 minutes/week with the OT and PT and 40 minutes per week with the Vision Therapist. She's also getting some time with the Orientation and Mobility folks but they can't work with her until the second week of school so I'll be taking her to the classroom and playground today so she can become even more comfortable and familiar with her environment. I'll also train the nurse and teacher on her contacts, drops, glasses, etc. I think we're good to go.

During the IEP meeting they asked if Chloe would be riding the bus. I had planned on driving her but they encouraged me to consider it because "they love it and buses are 22% safer than riding in the car." I also learned that the teachers actually put the kids on the bus and take them off in the morning and that made me feel better. Plus, I remembered that Chloe often asked to go on the bus when Solana would get dropped off at our house last year. "We'll think about it." Then we went to the open house and there was a bus sitting outside the school. We got on and checked out the 5-point harness. I had no idea! Chloe LOVED it and cried her eyes out when I took her off. Umm...she'll be riding the bus.

I suspect I'll be a crying my eyes out the first day I put her on it. Hopefully I can keep the tears at bay until they drive away. I can't believe this is happening! Wasn't it just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital?

Last Day of First Grade

Solana will be home in about 30 minutes from her last day as a first grader! Here are her first/last day pictures for comparison. She seems to be growing. I definitely felt a little tug on her buttons when I helped her with her shirt this morning. Lots of changes this year. Glasses. Short hair. 

Her pants definitely fit shorter. Maybe they just shrunk...

 

They had "Bubble Day" this morning. I was a sucker and volunteered. The kids loved it. The parents were exhausted! But what a fun last day of school! The kids were bubbleologists and they had bubble experiments set up in five different rooms. The parents stayed at their stations as the five first grade classes rotated from room to room so I only got a couple pictures of Solana when her class was in my room.  Here she is about to go in the giant bubble.

Doesn't that look fun? I wanted to get in and do that!

 

My sweet girl. 

Solana came back to see me during the last rotation. She said, "Mommy, I'm really uncomfortable." She had run right up to me and I squatted down to talk to her. All I saw was her face. Then she looked down and my eyes followed hers. She was soaked in bubble solution basically from her neck to her knees. Dilemma. I didn't bring her extra clothes and I didn't want to pull her out of school on her last day. Luckily, Dave would be heading to the school in an hour to have lunch with her so he brought her a change of clothes. She had to stay in her wet clothes for a while but I figure that's the price of bubbly fun. :-)

Her bus driver, Mrs. Tickle is great. She saw me with a camera at drop-off and had Solana sit down to pose before getting off. There were cars waiting so I didn't ask her to stand up for another picture like I wanted :-) Solana was sad when she got off because she'd never see her teachers again but Leticia was on the phone at the time and told her to write letters to them. I think she was ok with that.

 Bye Bye PVN! Hello Stingley! She starts second grade and Elementary School next year. Such a big girl!

Transition Meeting

The next step in Chloe's transition from Early Intervention to Pre-School was a transition meeting at our house with the Director of the Centerville Pre-Schools.

A little background on Centerville schools: we have two Primary Villages - North and South. Kids go to PVN or PVS for Pre-K through First grade.  After first grade the kids from each Primary Village are split up into 3 elementary schools which they'll attend from 2nd through 5th grade. We live in the PVN area and that's the school Solana attends.

The Pre-Schools are physically located in PVN and PVS but are sort of a separate entity from Kinder/1st. Each of the Primary Villages has its own Principal but the Pre-Schools at both PVN & PVS are run by a single Director. She came to our house a couple of weeks ago for the Transition meeting.

We sat on the floor in our living room and discussed the program for about an hour and a half, filled out paperwork, and observed Chloe at play. It was a good meeting and I like the director. She's professional but personable and very agreeable to just about anything I wanted to request for Chloe. Linda, Chloe's current VS, was in attendance (mainly because she's almost as over-protective of Chloe as am I) and her presence was a blessing.

Here are some of the things the Director agreed to:
-Linda will accompany Chloe for her first day or two of school.
-Chloe will work with the orientation & mobility person to help her learn the school
-The floating helper will be assigned specifically to Chloe during recess for the first year. Their sole responsibility during Chloe's recess will be to keep her from getting hurt.
-Chloe will attend PVS even though that's not our home school. This was suggested by Linda because she knows that PVS is a much newer building full of natural light. This will make a HUGE difference in Chloe's ability to function easily at school.
-We'll work with the nurse so that I can train someone on Chloe's contacts in case of contact emergencies during school.

It was a good meeting. I'm pretty certain that Chloe will qualify for special services just based on her diagnosis, doctor's report, and Linda's report. They can't tell us that for sure now but I think that's just a formality. They've given every indication that she'll be approved. The fact that the Director was so agreeable to special requests right at the start made me feel good. I know we're in a good school district but it's relieving to have such a smooth first meeting.

Chloe's New IFSP

We've been working toward Chloe's transition from Early Intervention to Pre-School for a while now. I'm not quite sure why I haven't blogged about it very much at all but suspect it may have something to do with the fact that I'm in total denial.  The first step was to update Chloe's IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). We actually did this at the beginning of April.


 Here are the results:


Cognitive/Problem Solving = Within Range

Chloe dramatizes using a doll, engages in simple make-believe activities and talks intelligently to herself while playing. She matches identical pictures and primary colors. She uses size words to describe objects. Chloe identifies objects by their use. Practice identifying the larger or smaller of two objects as well as body parts by their funtions. Have Chloe sort objects. 

Physical/Gross Motor = Caution

Chloe walks independently on a variety of surfaces. Her gait pattern is maturing as arms are down, feet are closer together and she is using a heel-toe pattern. She is demonstrating less extension and toe walking overall. She can push, pull, carry, and pick up a toy while walking. She can throw and kick a ball. Running skills are developing. Chloe can walk up and down a short set of steps holding the handrail. She is beginning to step onto and off of a single step without holding on. She climbs well. She jumps on a small trampoline and attempts to jump on the floor. Continue to provide opportunities for typical toddler motor play:  ball play, riding toys, swing, slide, climb and run. 

Fine Motor = Caution

Chloe is able to put oversized buttons into a vertical slot which requires advanced prehension and wrist movements. She can engage resistive knob pegs into a rubber pegboard but seems to develop some eye fatigue after about 5 placements.  Chloe needs about 50% physical assistance to get  1 1/2" plastic  loops onto a slightly oversized pipe cleaner as her bilateral hand skills are just beginning to develop.  She needed verbal cues for hand positioning and repositioning.  Bristle blocks were used to challenge the strength component of her hand function and she needed some assistance at times

Next Steps: Continue to offer activities to develop fine motor skills but include a strengthening and bilateral component  such as stringing or oversized beads and stacking of bristle blocks. 

Communication = Within Range

Chloe is using 2-3 word phrases frequently now.  She has started to use ‘ing’ ending appropriately.  Communication is a strength for Chloe.  Chloe follows simple directions and makes choices consistently.  Next steps: Continue to expand Chloe’s vocabulary and length of phrases through books and modeling. 

Personal/Social = Within Range

Chloe feels strongly possessive of loved ones. Chloe shows independence and sometimes insists on doing things independently. Chloe takes pride in her clothing. She dramatizes with a doll, shows shyness with strangers and obeys and respects simple rules. Begin to show Chloe how to cooperate in circle games (ring around the rosie). 

Adaptive/Self Help

Chloe has progressed with her feeding skills.  However, she continues to have some difficulty biting food and tends to stuff large pieces into her mouth.   She also has difficulty clearing any food that is stuck on the roof of her mouth and is unable to spit. Next Steps: Mom will continue to work with Chloe on biting of foods laterally not frontally.  She will work on her tongue movements, in particular touching the roof of her mouth and making sounds such as la-la-la-la.     

It was pretty exciting to see so many "within range" areas. This is a huge leap even from her last IFSP six months ago. Her Physical and Speech Therapists are totally comfortable being taken off her plan. We went ahead and left them on just in case we wanted them for anything but they're not really working with her any more. There's not much time, anyway, since Chloe turns 3 in August and no longer qualifies for Early Intervention services. The first step toward Pre-School. It seems strange.

Solana Lost a Tooth!

Yesterday Solana pointed out to me that she's growing a new tooth behind her loose tooth. I took a look and, sure 'nuff, there it was. A little bit of white was poking out of her gums right behind her loose tooth. The fact that her loose tooth seemed far from falling out made me nervous. I called the dentist. They said to encourage wiggling and twisting. Eww. Just the thought gave me the heeby-jeebies. And just after I finally got that finger out of her mouth... I gave Solana a tissue and said, "Go for it. You need to wiggle your tooth out within the week. If not, the dentist will want to pull it." By the time she went to bed she was proudly showing me blood on a tissue. I went weak in the knees and congratulated her for her perseverance.

After school today Solana jumped off the bus yelling, "Mommy! Mommy! My tooth fell out at school!" If I didn't see it I wouldn't believe it!

Interesting Solana tooth fact. You can see that she has four teeth remaining on either side of the missing tooth. Knowing that this is her first lost tooth you may think, "Hmm. That doesn't make sense. If she lost only one tooth shouldn't she have four on one side and five on the other?" The answer to your question is, "Yes." That is, if two of her teeth weren't fused together. The tooth that you see to the right side of her gap is actually two in one. They say the permanents will grow in as two. That just happens sometimes with baby teeth. Weird, huh?