Vacation Bible School

Andrew attended Vacation Bible School at his preschool this entire week.  He had a great time, but had a rough start the first day.  Every morning all of the kids met in the chapel before breaking into their smaller groups.  Andrew thought it was much too loud and didn't care for all of the chaos.  So Andrew, along with some other little boys and girls started the rest of their days out in a play room - that made all the difference for Andrew!!  He had a great time and LOVED his leader and learning all about Jesus.  They made some great crafts and ate creative snacks to go along with the theme each day.  This was his last camp of the summer and he can't wait for preschool to start!!

 

Andrew sporting the sun visor he made :)

 

Trying to get his camp shirt - SonSurf Beach Bash VBS!!

Chicken Nuggets & French Fries

Nathan has been receiving OT working just on feeding every Monday night since May 14th.  Well, all of his HARD work is starting to pay off.  Nathan ate three chicken nuggets and a handful of french fries tonight!!  This may not seem like a lot, but for Nathan to actually pick up a nugget, bring it to his mouth, take a bite, chew it all up and swallow it without choking, gagging and puking is a HUGE DEAL!!  And, granted this took a good hour and many verbal cues, but we could not be more excited!!  We are looking forward to LOTS of chewables and saying good-bye to pureeing and grinding ALL of his meals!!  Way to go, Nathan!!  We are so PROUD of you!!

Lake of the Ozarks

This weekend we headed to the Lake of the Ozarks with the boys with the ENTIRE Lake Crew as we like to call ourselves :)  This includes four families that I have grown up with spending lots of summer weekends at the Lake.  It's been awhile since Steve and I have been to the Lake and it was a first for the boys.  They both absolutely LOVED it and had the time of their lives!!  Bear with all of the pictures, but what a FUN weekend!!  A special THANKS to the Becker Family for their hospitality and hosting our family for the weekend - it was PERFECT!!

Friday

Nathan all smiles on the boat :)

Uncle Todd and Andrew.

Little Miss Mary!!

Daddy, Andrew and PaPa on the Flying Couch - by far Andrew's FAVORITE!!

HUGE wave!!

Daddy and his boys!!

Mommy, Andrew and Uncle Todd - Andrew would have stayed on the Flying Couch ALL day!!

Andrew getting AIR!!

Saturday

Andrew and Uncle Todd on the jet ski first thing in the morning (just after 7am, still in pj's!!)

Andrew - still waking up pretty sure :)

Nathan watching all the action from the dock in his pj's.

PaPa and Andrew.

Another boat ride - Andrew in a captain chair.

Saturday evening ALL of the families got together at the Schneider's lake house for a BBQ.  Here are some group shots of the Lake Crew generations :) 

Third generation - from top, left to right...Abbie, Grant, Daniel, Jimmy, Cameron, Charlie, Nicholas, Nathan, Andrew and Mary.

Second generation - same order...Matt, Steve, Steve, Eric, Todd, Mark, Kim, Jamie, Linda, Laura, Katie, Nicole and Beckey.

First generation - same order...Maureen, Tom, Wally, Gloria, Tom, Sue, Mike and Sue.

Sunday 

The Vehige Family on the Flying Couch!!  Within a few minutes of the ride Andrew asks, "When can Nathan get off so we can go super fast over huge waves?"  He really could not get enough of the Flying Couch!!

Daddy, Andrew and Mommy going super fast!!

Nathan sound asleep on PaPa :)

After lunch we packed up to head home.  We were sad to leave, but knew it had to come to an end.  What a wonderful weekend!!

Andrew asleep within minutes of leaving the Lake.

Nathan out for the count :)

TASK Camp

This week Andrew enjoyed camp put on by Team Activities for Special Kids at CBC High School.  He was with some familiar friends from t-ball and had a great time with all of the activities planned for the week :)  Some of his favorites included riding horses, bowling, watching a soda bottle blow-up (what little boy wouldn't like seeing that?!?!) and building a sand castle.  Each day the children are rotated through five different activity sessions including gym/kids in motion, dance/theatre, science/technology, arts/crafts and cooking/lunch hour.  Today was Andrew's last day (a day early) because we are heading to the Lake of the Ozarks for the weekend.

Yet another camp shirt eight sizes too big :)

Ice Cream Truck

And what a way to celebrate another great time at camp, but with a popsicle from the ice cream man!!  I love that he made his rounds right before dinner, but how can you say no to an excited little boy!?!?

Making his choice - such decisions!!

Getting his Watermelon popsicle :)

YUM!!  Pink and Green Watermelon Popsicle!!

Parents of Special Needs Children Are...

A friend of mine shared these blurps with me and they seem to help keep me going - especially on extra challenging days!!

 

A GREAT Top Ten List

 Top Ten Requests of Caregivers of Children/People with Disabilities:

(1) We need you to bring it up. Ask us our stories. It’s OK to ask questions. Most parents of children with disabilities would prefer that others ask them about their child directly, rather than avoiding the topic. A smile or friendly “Hello!” is an easy icebreaker.

(2) We need our kids to have friends. We want you to invite our kids over for play dates. If your child wants to have a play date with my kid or invite him or her to a birthday party, encourage it. Call the other parent and simply say, “How can we make this work?”

(3) We need you to share your concerns. If you are concerned about something regarding my child, by all means, tell me about it. I may not have an answer for you, but I sure will appreciate a conversation about my kid. But we don’t always need your advice. Feel free to talk to us about a new therapy or diet you’ve heard about. Just be aware that we’ve probably already heard of it/tried it.

(4) We need you to make an effort. Effort goes a long way. Educate yourself about my child’s disability. For instance, learning simple signs so that you can better communicate with a child who is deaf (and uses sign language) would be appreciated.

(5) We need you to prepare your kids to hang out with our kids. If you know you will be spending time with my child who has a disability, talk to your child about it beforehand. Talk about behaviors, and ways your child can play with my child. Need ideas? Ask!

(6) We need you to be considerate. Consider the age of the child with special needs. If it is a new baby or a younger kid, I may not be ready to talk about this parenting path I have found myself on. But that doesn’t mean I won’t ever want to talk about it. Follow my lead. I’ll let you know.

(7) We need your tangible help. Offer to bring over a meal, or help at a doctor’s visit. I’d love it if you hung out with my kids with special needs one afternoon so that I could take my other kids to a matinee.

(8) We need you to treat us like other friends, too. Talk about other things with me besides my child with special needs. Believe it or not, I may just want to gossip about Angelina and Brad and their globe trotting kids.

(9) We need validation. Don’t dismiss my concerns by saying “oh, my typical child does that”, or my favorite “well, then my kid must have a disability too, because he/she does XYZ also”. When I open up about a struggle, I want validation, not to be blown off.

(10) We need invitations. Don’t assume I’m too busy. Ask me out to eat or to a movie. I may not be able to get away as easily as other friends who don’t have kids with special needs, but I’ll go if I can, and if I can’t, your invitation will make my day. And ask me again!

Variety Adventure Camp

This week Andrew spent every day with a new adventure at one of Variety's summer camps.  The theme of this week's camp is "Journey to the Olympics."  They had so many activities planned for the kids - gym, swimming, art, music, martial arts, dance, ice skating, baseball, stories, circus & clown, talent show, cooking...the list just goes on!!  Andrew had a BLAST!!  His individual counselor was perfect and Andrew warmed up to her in no time flat.  He couldn't wait for each day of camp and now wants to go to camp all of the time - good thing he has two more camps this summer!!

Andrew & Caroline :)

School Placement Meeting

This morning Steve and I met with two area coordinator's for Ladue Early Childhood Center - one for Special Education and one for Hearing Impairment, along with his preschool teacher and current teacher of the deaf.  We had requested that we meet again in order to discuss Nathan's placement in a hearing impaired classroom this coming school year. 

It was decided to move Nathan from Parkway to Ladue in order to hopefully get ALL of his needs properly met.  This meeting was only to discuss school placement and we did not discuss Nathan's actual IEP nor which type of classroom he will be in, however being at Ladue, Nathan will have everything under one roof.  Unfortunately this means we have yet another meeting before school starts to look forward to :)  We will have another all-inclusive IEP meeting for Nathan.  This will entail his current teachers, therapists and coordinators from Parkway along with all of the new teachers, therapists and coordinators from Ladue to hash out all of Nathan's individual education needs. 

Steve and I are standing firm with our opinion that Nathan needs to be in a hearing impaired classroom.  We will be prepared for the meeting and hope for the best outcome.  We are fortunate that these two districts are wonderful and are working to get Nathan everything he needs.  It is just a very LONG and SLOW process!! 

7-Eleven!!

Who doesn't love July 11th and FREE slurpees from 7-Eleven!?!?

Hawaiian Punch Slurpee!!