Week 6

I edited these photos a while ago, and was so happy that I was only a week behind, but then life happened.

2nd week of August:

Sunday:
Guess what? We have a new kitten!

We found her outside. Adi claimed her and didn't let go.

So we decided to take her home!

Her name is Mushu. Isn't she gorgeous?

On Monday we drank a lot of Vitamin Water in preparation to Tisha B'Av the next day. I fasted pretty well!
The next day is when all the fun began.

Wednesday:
Adi's evaluation at school. It went well! I packed up her backpack, to help her associate it with school. How cute is it?

She had evals is special ed, speech, OT and PT.

Here she is drawing pictures in OT.

And "cutting." Boy, was I relieved when the scissors were safely out of her hand again!

She did very well and only tantrummed a little towards the end! When we were done, she joined the kids in the yard. They were playing hide and seek. See a cute little face hiding under the slide?

 Later that day: Dentist visit for the boys!

Friday we went to get Gedalya's stitches out!
Gedalya got trapped in a phone at a bus stop. :)

One last look at the stitches! It looks so much better. The removal wasn't that painful... it was over in a few minutes.

On the way back from the doctor.

Gedalya was walking down the station steps, saying, "Look, Mama! I am bending my knee!"

Even though it was Friday, I took the kids to Target as a "bravery" prize for Gedalya.
We saw a bird there! A little sparrow got stuck indoors. The workers knew about it and were working on getting it out. Hope they were successful.

More busy week recaps to come!

Summer Vacation; Week Five!

First week of August.
 Adi filled out the calendar this time. :)

The Nine Days.
Gedalya's stitches episode.
Poor first week of August got gypped. The following photos are literally the only ones from that week. Besides the bloody stitchy photos I already posted.

Sunday: Park

Adi's last time in a swing for the next two weeks. We didn't go to any parks at all while Gedalya wasn't able to bend his leg. That was 11 days. Then the next few days there were thunderstorms with a smattering of heavy showers.

That was also the day that  my in-laws came to visit in the morning, before the park... and after the park, Zusha, Gedalya and I left Adi with Hillel and jetted off to Target!
We got some cool stuff there, like Thomas the Train fuzzy blankets for the boys, the squishy dinosaur I mentioned before and some more little goodies.

Later that night: Lightning! As seen outside our door.

 Cool, or what?

On Monday Gedalya fell and got stitches. You can read the rest of the week in that first photo above!

Oh, except one highlight I must mention. The weighted compression vest.
Long story short (long story will be make an appearance as well- shortly) Adi has sensory issues (like the rest of the world.) But hers are interfering with her life.
Imagine if you didn't know where you are in space. You don't know how far to step to step over a curb, how much pressure to exert when lifting something... Try this: (I did this to the boys.) Take a boxed juice and put it on the counter. Now tell someone in the family to throw out the empty juice box, and watch what happens when they try to pick it up. Then drink up the juice and leave the empty box out. Ask someone else to put the boxed juice in the cabinet, and watch them pick up an empty carton, thinking it's full.

Now imagine living your life this way. Not knowing how to act, feeling no control over yourself and your environment, and having everything in your life be unexpected. You'd get frustrated and tantrum a lot.

But eventually you'll learn what to expect by trial and error. Now you have a handful of things in your life you can depend on. And you try to stick only to those predictable things.
But then something unpredictable happens. Like your mother steers the stroller into a store! You've made peace with your surroundings, and now they are changing. Scary stuff. Cue the screaming.

So there is something called a weighted compression vest.

It weighs two pounds and is made of stretchy neoprene. When you pull it tightly and close the velcro, the child is able to feel themselves a lot better.

When Adi had the showdown of a century in the urgent care while Gedalya was being stitched, I begged Adi's OT to do SOMETHING. She lent us this vest.
Within two days, I had therapists and relatives commenting on how focused, relaxed and happy Adi seemed all of a sudden.

We had this vest for two weeks, and just gave it back today. I ordered one for Adi for keeps! I hope it will bring my happy, carefree, little girl back. When she was an infant, she didn't really care if she was perpetually confused. But as she grows and understands more, she gets more and more frustrated at her limitations.

Those Eyes!

Adi two years ago, at age ten months.

I think all parents spend countless hours gazing into the eyes of their babies, until they have learned every nuance of their child's soul.

In our family, we often talk about eyes. Both my husband and I have brown eyes. Both our mothers have brown eyes as well. And both our fathers have blue eyes. The odds are decidedly against blue! Nevertheless, our first child was born with clear blue eyes. His brother came along two years later, with eyes to match his parents, with a hint of green thrown in. So Zusha started wondering why he was the only blue eyed family member. I never realized how much his eye color bothered him until he started predicting that our third child will be a girl, with blue eyes. (And earrings.)

And indeed, our third child was born- a girl, with blue eyes. (But no earrings.) Zusha couldn't have been happier- or prouder. He now had a blue-eyed pal, and all is well in his world. He didn't feel like the odd one out.

Adi's blue eyes have undergone a lot of scrutiny and questioning. Every doctor we took her to in regard to her developmental delay asked us about her eyes. They are too blue. Does anyone else in the family have blue eyes? Even though Adi has a blue-eyed brother, her eyes get a lot of attention. The doctors are looking for clues to find genetic causes to her many delays, and the eyes get questioned first.

But these bright, sky blue balls of life are just her. They are just Adi, bright, beautiful and intriguing.

Week Four of Our Summer

Last week of July:

Week four was a great one! Very busy and fun, which is just as well because the following week we were forced to take it easy.

We were going to meet Adi's PT at an indoor park Sunday morning, but when we got there we discovered that they didn't open till noon. So we went to a playground nearby, and Adi did very well!

Learning to walk down stairs. When she masters it, I'm in trouble, because that's the only thing keeping Adi from escaping the house when the door is open. ;) 

Hard work deserves a rest on a bench and a tangerine snack.

After the park we went home... but the boys wanted a detour to 13th avenue. By the time we got home, we had walked over three miles. On our way back we saw this adorable kitten. It is obviously a fancy breed, so I think it was someone's. Gorgeous eyes!

And if three miles in the heat wasn't enough for us, I decided to wash and fill our kiddie pool. I had been doing research on a better pool. Still vinyl, but it's filter  compatible, eliminating the need to empty it every two days and wash off the slime. They happen to sell this pool around the corner from us, so I went to buy it. Setting it up wasn't hard, but we had to shovel away half the sand "box" to make room for the pool. Wash the plastic tarp, spread it out smoothly... by 4 PM the pool was up and we went swimming! Yay!

Monday: Library day, as usual. After the library we went to check out something new... a Jungle Gym opened in our neighborhood! $10 per kid, kinda steep, especially since there isn't that much to do. But the time isn't limited, so you can play all you wish!
I know the kids enjoyed. :)

My wild Yaya... doing his stuff.

On Tuesday we enjoyed our new large pool. Yeah!

Snorkeling!

 By the time we went outside, it was too late to do anything but a little shopping. On our way home, we were lucky enough to catch this sunset.

Wednesday:
Nothing out of the ordinary. Adi had therapy... I keep trying to get photos of Adi and her OT. I have not even one. It doesn't help that she screams if I stick around during the session. So I have to hide. But I still can't manage to get one out the window! I caught her cuddling her bear, but the therapist was out of sight. One day, I must!

On Thursday we went on an awesome trip to the aquarium and the ocean.

Too much awesomeness for one post, so stay tuned for more. :)

On Friday we were swimming when we discovered something wriggling in our sandbox.

What? A snake! A baby snake! (Where's the mother, that's what I wanna know.)

Look at that cool tongue.

Gedalya was in love.

What a lucky day!