Interim Report

Kindergarten report cards are basically boxes with checks or 'x's' and general comments about how the kiddo is doing.  It was great to get Ayden Jane's sheet with lots of checks showing she has learned every skill she is supposed to by now.  Her teacher goes a little further and does a quick assessment with the kids to give a little more information on how the reading skills are coming.

 

In the first picture the highlighted things are all the ones she got correct!  This page shows she knows all the letters and the sounds.  She also read most all of the sight words she is supposed to know!  She informed me as we were looking at it that she now knows how to read do and see so she will get them all next time.  (of course they'll be different...)  The second page shows she still does not get rhyming words and is just starting to get syllables but she did great on sounding out the consonant/vowel/consonant words!  I'll take it!

 

She is learning so much and is so happy at school.  I wish every year could be this awesome!

 

Crazy Kid

Yesterday I was cleaning and I removed sofa cushions.  Much to my surprise I found a months supply of probiotics!  (yes, that means I have not properly cleaned in a month...)  A lot of things suddenly began to make sense!

I noticed Ayden Jane's belly distending a bit.  I started to slack off on the iron because it can back you up.  I added back in a gummy probiotic.  I started to push fluids...  All little things that usually get things going again.  Jen even noticed it last week at PT and commented.  At first she thought there was some lumbar curve thing going on then she realized it was just reactive of the big belly!  I was still just scratching my head!

After the good, long, hard swim in the pool she had some relief.  Major pipes emptied and stomach flat.  Well, here we are Wed. of the following week and it's back!

Now to be fair, she also had a cold 2 1/2 weeks ago that she hasn't been able to shake.  We went in to see the pediatrician and are on Augmentin.  It is awful!!  She is miserable and a terror.  Today was the first meltdown I have seen in months.  She actually did not really want food, she is just so argumentative and emotional.  Soooo hoping she shakes it tomorrow because I am not sure how much longer I can handle it!

I brought her home today and she was sweating and complaining her head hurt.  Well, it was hot out and she would not take off her sweater!  I made her take it off to cool down and you would think I took off her right leg!  She refused to have a snack and she argued ...  After she cooled down and fell asleep for a good long nap she woke of much better.  It is amazing how everything gets thrown off, even the ability to regulate body temperature!

Hoping that tomorrow brings a breakthrough in the infection and some relief for us all!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, Gary had to work so the kids and I were off to Grandma's house.  We brought some of the Thanksgiving meal and Grandma made some and together we pulled off a nice supper.  My little meat eater was very happy with the turkey leg!!

 

There was a time when I stressed over Thanksgiving (or any big meal for that matter) and I suppose there will come a time again one day when big holiday meals will be a concern.  For now I can honestly say it was really stress free!  Ayden Jane had her turkey leg, some green bean casserole, a few mashed potatoes (a treat for her) and some applesauce and thought she was queen for the day.  She enjoyed the big family meal with her college siblings home and Grandpa and Grandma.  Honestly, she had eaten breakfast but basically skipped lunch with all the excitement.  There were a few pies to choose from when desert time came, but Ayden Jane was very excited about her ice cream so a few scoops of that and she was basically done for the day.  It was a breeze.

 

 

After the feast (as AJ calls it) the kids put up Grandma's Christmas tree for her.  (or played in the box)

 

Just love this one of Kayla and Ayden Jane.

Swimming Part 2

Ayden Jane finally had her swimming lesson with Coach R.  He was awesome with her.  Ayden Jane had literally been counting down the days (twice) to get to go.  She did all he asked, worked really hard and loved it.  By the end of the one lesson she was swimming freestyle so much better!  It will take some doing, but I am going to try to get her in the pool with Coach R once a week until Christmas rolls around.

So, why am I so excited about swimming?  First of all, Ayden Jane is genuinely good at it.  I mean good for a typical kiddo.  It is so awesome to watch her do something that comes easily and naturally for her.  Maybe it sounds awful, but it is honestly great to watch her excel over other, typical kids.  Trust me, we have plenty of time to 'build character' in other activities.  When she is in the water, it's like the playing field evens out and that hard working nature makes her excel, not just keep up.

Secondly, it has always seemed to calm her.  I don't mean makes her tired, not that sort of calm.  It sort of quiets her sensory system and makes her able to focus tremendously well.  For example, today she spent time playing with play doh, working on writing letters and 'painting' (with water).  Things I love for her to do as fine motor is her weakness, but she struggles with doing for extended periods.  She followed that up by reading 10 books!  Yes, 10!  I was amazed at how sharp her reading was (well for the first 5 or 6).

As a bonus, the rigorous exercise helps 'clean out her pipes' and she is oddly less hungry when she has had a good hard swim.  So, today she had breakfast, a snack before swimming around lunchtime, some green bean casserole and mini almond butter muffin after swimming followed by a long walk with the dogs. Now it is bed time and all she wanted was a few apple slices instead of supper.

No doubt I am calling Coach R Monday and getting things nailed down to get this kid swimming at least once a week!

Thanksgiving Kindergarten Style

 

Today was the Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast.  For some kiddo's with PWS (and their parents) holiday parties at school can be stressful.  Okay, any parties at school can be stressful!  Just the idea that there are lots of foods and well meaning adults doling out all sorts of treats and drinks...  Yikes!

 

Honestly, we have been blessed in that Ayden Jane handles these things really well, the parents we have had in her preschool are amazing and her schools go way above and beyond  Here is how the 'feast' went this year.  Each Kindergarten class was responsible for 1 item.  There are 5 Kindergarten classes and the kids rotated through the rooms to get something from each room.  I texted Ayden Jane's teacher the Friday before to get a clearer picture ... She responded that she had already put a sheet in AJ's backpack that listed each room and what they would be giving the children so I could figure out what Ayden Jane would eat and what she wouldn't.  Sweet!

 

The 5 things were: turkey sandwich (1/2), carrots and ranch, grapes, ham roll-up, trail mix and a pumpkin muffin.  I sent in a small nut snack for the trail mix and a grain free almond muffin for the muffin and Ayden Jane was good with the rest!  (of course she did not eat the bread and saved it for the dogs....)  We also talked about how we would not need an afterschool snack since this was so late in the day.  She was totally cool with that.  It all worked out great!!  She was one cute Indian!

 

The only disappointment this week was that the swim coach called and had to postpone her swim lesson until Friday.  (His son was sick)  Ayden Jane took it well but now has me counting down the days until Friday!  Hopefully the return of the big kids for Thanksgiving Holiday will help distract her!

Swimming

It is winter...  It gets dark too soon...  It is cold... (well, cold for us)

So what is the answer to the lack of opportunity to exercise?  Swimming.  Well, indoor swimming.

I am taking Ayden Jane to the local health club which has a new aquatics director.  I heard he is good so I called to chat with him about options for Ayden Jane.  It is hard to know when to say anything about Ayden Jane's challenges because I want them to treat/push her like they would any kiddo.  I also don't want to scare them off! 

Basically, I told him she has a rare genetic disorder that effects her motor planning and muscle tone.  It means that it will take her a little longer to lay the new motor pathway and that she may not be able to just watch and magically make it happen.  She needs things broken down and help figuring out which muscles to use sometimes.  On the flipside, she will work at it until she gets it!

He was not deterred in the least and thought she sounded awesome.  We decided to go with a one on one lesson to give him a chance to see where she fits.  He has a group that is likely a little behind her in skills and there is a swim team.  (the ultimate goal)  If she is close to having what she needs to join the swim team I will just have him do a few lessons with her until she is ready.

Ayden Jane is THRILLED!!  She told me tonight she wanted to go to bed so that she could wake up tomorrow and only have one more day until she got to swim.

Can't wait until Monday! 

Swagger

There is a boldness and confidence about Ayden Jane.  Sometimes I am in awe of how she approaches everything just knowing that she can do it.  She totally believes in herself and almost doesn't even see the things she can't do.

She played soccer this fall.  Well, she was on a soccer team this fall.  She had her moments where she was right in there but by and large she just runs up and down the field... She does not kick well and timing running and kicking?  Nope.  In fact, she can't even make up her mind which foot to kick with!  So, if you ask her about soccer she will tell you she is awesome.  She will try her best if you ask her to do something and then be proud of her accomplishment.

She is the same with reading.  She is doing a great job and is a pretty average reader.  Ask her and she will tell you that she reads very well and in fact can read anything.  ha.  She recognizes that other kids are better at reading and some not, but she doesn't really care what other kids can do.  It is awesome.

Last night we were at Mckenna's cross country banquet.  The coaches talked about the effort put in and the improvements kids made.  They talked about how, through running, the kids found confidence and a belief in themselves.  Ayden Jane listened intently and asked me how long they had to run fast.  I said about 20 minutes and Ayden Jane grinned.  I know I can do that when I get as big as Mckenna.  I am going to run cross country mom.  Yep.  Swagger.

The flipside is Mckenna.  She is beautiful, athletic, smart, musical, artistic and a middle school kiddo.  She lacks swagger.  She approaches things unsure of whether or not she can do them.  She is so talented she should have loads of swagger, but it is just not there.  She ran cross country this fall and when she started she honestly could not complete a mile running.  She worked at it (holding back of course) and was thrilled when she finished her first race.  Her time?  30 min....  As the season went on she continued to improve but still always held back.  In her final race she was chatting and making a friend. lol.  We are so proud of her season ending time of 25:34 and look forward to her gaining a bit of swagger over the coming years.

Mckenna is an awesome kid and I often wonder if some of her lack of confidence comes from Ayden Jane.  Maybe it comes from the attention she did not get when she was little because we had to pour time into Ayden Jane.  Maybe realizing that there are things that mom's and dad's can't fix was too much for her.  Maybe having two amazing older siblings she doesn't think she can live up to plays in as well.  Who knows.  What I do know is that I see the beginnings of swagger.  Just glimpses here and there and I am hoping and praying for Mckenna to attack life with the same confidence and swagger that Ayden Jane does.  Heck, Mckenna has all the talent to back it up!