day with Avery

Thursday was Avery’s first hippotherapy. We are just going to call it horse back riding. I was able to pick up Thursdays for Camille so she went to school. First Avery had speech. Speech has been going better but she still really had not been talking until this week!!!!!!!!!!!! She finally talked. I was so excited to hear she finally talked to Miss Angela. Apparently she talked and talked like she had been talking all the time to her and it was all the sudden no big deal. That just made me so happy. Then off to see the horses. She first receives some therapy in the clinic and then rides the horses. The therapy didn’t go so well. She cried and cried. At first they wanted me to wait in the other room so I did. It was horrible. I could hear her crying and calling for me. So hard to just sit there and listen to your child cry for you. Then they brought me in thinking it would help. It didn’t really. She just hates doing things on the spot when people ask her too. So silly. After that we went out to the arena to ride. Her horse for the day was a little pony size horse named Mickey. He was so cute. They helped her climb on him and away they went. She rode for half an hour. She seemed to really like it. She was stone faced the whole time but that’s what she does. They walked in a big circle, stoped and stated and walked in figure 8’s. All of it works on her core strength. Afterwards it’s treat time for the horse. She was so proud to give him a treat and really was excited that she rode a horse. I think she will end up loving the whole thing. It will just take her some time to get used to it. Afterwards we went home to play outside with Jackson and Blake. We played for hours it was so pretty outside. Then off to pick Camille up. It was a big fun full day. I think I am going to really like getting some one on one time with Avery again.

Molars already?!?!

Last Wednesday I was at work when I got a call from Camille’s school. She had been crying since she got there and they could not get her to stop. Very unusual for her so I left work right away to pick her up. She had actually slept in that morning and so we didn’t have time for breakfast before school. She cried pretty hard on the way to school but I just thought it was because our routine had been thrown off that morning since she slept in. I knew she would eat at school as soon as she got there so I thought that would solve any problems. Once home I really could not get her to stop crying either. I gave her some Tylenol and that kind of helped but she was still on edge. She napped for a bit but woke up screaming again. Finally I was worried and left her in her bed screaming to call the dr. They said it sounded like an ear infection and made an appointment for me. I really didn’t think it was an ear infection so I checked her over and found a big molar half out far back in her mouth. Seemed really weird to me. She has her eight front teeth but that’s it. I know they can get teeth out of order but it just looked like it was in a weird spot. So I kept the dr. appointment. Either it was her ears or I wanted the dr to look at the tooth. Everything checked out so it had to have been the tooth. I should have known, she was grinding her teeth last week and she only does that right before a tooth pops out. I guess she just wanted a day with mommy!!

bad momma

Avery comes home from school with many many many pictures, drawings and art projects. On top of the ones she does at home I can’t possibly keep them all. I make a point to make a fuss and ask questions about them and about half end up on the fridge or on her bulletin board in her playroom but the other half end up on the counter until I throw them away. Monday she came home with 2 pictures. Each was a single color scribbled on a small part of the paper. It didn’t at all look like she had taken any time on them. The artwork she is starting to bring home lately usually has more than just scribbles on it. She told me they were drawings of fall leaves. They sat on the counter and while making dinner I was going through and getting rid of lots of stuff. The drawings ended up not making the cut and into the garbage they went. Nothing different than I had done a 100 other times with other pictures. Well those must have meant something to her. She came in later and asked where her pictures were? I must have looked like a deer in headlights and I quickly said they must be on her little table. She went to look (had her back to me) while I fished them from the garbage. I said, “oh here Av, I found them.” She turned and looked at me and said “momma threw my pictures in the garbage.” I have no idea how she knew, she just did. I was horrified and felt sooooooooooooooo bad. I will NEVER do that again. All new pictures will be in the house for at least a week before they make it to the trash. John was home at the time and had his head hiding in the fridge while he laughed and listened to me dance my way out of that one.

music

I just realized that I have not written about the music class I take Camille to every Friday. She LOVES it. I took Avery to it too when she was little. Camille is a little more vocal about her love for it than Av ever was. It is so cute. We sit in a circle and start with a hello song, which includes each child’s name. They love hearing their names. We sing, dance, play rhythm instruments and just act silly! We move and interact to stimulate both the vestibular system (coordination and balance) and visceral development (gut and heart). Camille’s favorite parts of music are the towel ride (she sits on the edge of a towel and I pull her around (it strengths the core muscles)) the hammock swing and walking to the beat of the drum (we walk fast or slow and stop as the beat goes). She just laughs her head off.

Hippotherapy

Avery is going to start hippotherapy. No it has nothing to do with hippos. Hippotherapy is basically therapy on a horse.

Here is what their website says about hippotherapy:
Hippotherapy We specialize in hippotherapy because we believe in the healing power of the horse. When a child receives therapy on horseback, they are exposed to more than 3,000 repetitions per half hour created by the rhythmic movements of the horse. The sensory input is key to helping kids improve neuromotor function, strength, flexibility, balance, posture, coordination and speech. Children who come to Green Hill for therapeutic services spend 30 minutes on the horse and 30 minutes in the clinic.

I am really excited about this. Although Avery has never been on a horse she loves them. I really hope this bonds her to horses and is fun for her instead of being therapy like. To Avery we are just going to ride the horses and have fun with them. She will go on Thursdays at 1:30. Since she also has speech on Thursdays Camille will head to school. It’s not really fair to Camille for me to be lugging her around all day to Avery’s stuff plus school is good for her. Why not? So I will have them both on Tuesdays, Av on Thursdays and Camille on Fridays (Camille attends a music class on Fridays, it is so cute!). It will just be during the school year and then all summer long I will keep them both together with me again on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That time is our time and I don’t want to miss out on it.

http://www.greenhilltherapy.com/

manners

We have taught Avery when asking for something to say, "may I please have....?"  To hear her saying it is pretty cute.  Now when she wants something she says, "may I please have some milk please?"  She knows please is the magic word so I guess she wants to make sure she got that in there.  She eats dry cereal a lot and can get it herself but this morning she wanted me to get it for her and she was whining it.  I said, "how do you ask nicely for that?"  She said, "may I please have momma get me some cereal please?"  hehehehhehe

School

Camille has really started to like school.  She gets excited about going there and when her favorite teacher Miss Juana goes to grab her from me Camille kicks her legs in excitement.  She is starting to know and understand the routine of our life.  She realizes on the mornings when mommy is running around like crazy she is going to school that day.  So today I brought her downstairs all dressed and ready to go.  I set her down and moved onto doing something else. Next thing I knew Camille was standing under me with her shoes.  She was ready for me to put them on her and go.   She is a smart one!