I almost forgot about this place! :)
Ok, down to business....
Drew is doing exceptionally well at school. He seems ready for kindergarten (and has no choice, really!) for this coming fall. His current teacher has him pegged at science and art as his fortes and I really knew that. He will do ANY art "creation" every day and comes up with the greatest pictures! As for science, he is really into gardening and has a sunflower, tomato plant, and herbs he's tending. GO GREEN THUMB!
His favorite outdoor activity is bike riding and he can go for up to 3 miles now! We're going to put him in either soccer or baseball at a summer camp this year.
Also, 3 weeks ago he was running into the kitchen with socks on and slipped, causing him to fall on his face and KNOCKED HIS FRONT TOOTH OUT!!! I FREAKED internally and couldn't believe I'd turn into the tooth fairy that soon! ;) The dentist said he was fine and it might take a bit longer for the permanent tooth to come in since it didn't come out the au natural way. Poor baby! He does love his new look and especially "the way the air comes out and the new way I talk." So cute! Can't believe our "baby" is turning 6 in a few months!
He is a great big brother - all in all, they play pretty well together and a day wouldn't be complete without a few sibling tiffs, but that's what I'm for...the ref! He's very helpful around the house and LOVES to go to any store with me. He recently was involved in a grand prix race for his church youth group and Grandpa so kindly shaped his block of wood into a race car and painted it oh-so-Grandpa-ly with TLC and hand delivered it for him just in time. At the race, he came in 3rd place out of 4 but won an award for "best paint job"!!!!!!!
Princess Olivia ~ She is such a feminine girlie girl it's the greatest! Growing taller yet still petite, she is doing very well. Still working on potty training though she volunteers to go at least twice a day. It's a work in progress and we figure she'll "get it" eventually. It's a hard concept with her developmental delays. She loves school and her main issue is auditory processing....you ask a question and she parrots you because it's not processed so she spits it right back out. Sometimes frustrating since things are VERY concrete and present - if she can't see it, it's not applicable. Her speech pathologist at school recommends reading simple books to her and asking hypothetical questions -- where is the elephant hiding? do you see where she went? Anything "outside the box" is where we're headed now. She is SUPER outgoing and will greet anyone with a head with a "Hi guys! How are you?" :) Her new thing is bowing while saying, "My pleasure!" haha Her manners are terrific and she's learning to take turns and share with Alex. Yesterday, she initiated a "picnic" in her room with Alex sipping tea! She is the sweetest!
Alex - AKA I'm not turning 2, I'm turning 5. He is truly not the typical almost 2 yr old. He is doing whatever Livvy and Drew are doing. Period. If they are running a race, so is he. If they are singing and marching so is he. He is generally a happy camper, good eater/sleeper, and loooooooves his Mommy. His vocabulary is through the roof (in my mind at least..we'll see at his 2 yr appt) and his comprehension is astounding. He is into animals and doing puzzles. He does have a lisp which is so cute in my opinion so we're subtly working on curbing that to our best ability with techniques from our dear friend and Livvy's speech pathologist, Lisa. He is a big boy and such a joy to have in our family.
As for our music business, things are steady with students with nothing new yet. Hopefully in the summer, we'll be able to pick up some more. We currently have ~60 between Kenny and I Monday through Saturday. It's a load of fun, a lot of prep work, and rewarding to see them progress all at the same time. Wouldn't change it for the world! Our website will be going live really soon which we're excited about! We'd put some thought into accepting special-needs children seeing as Livvy is one of "those" that isn't mainstream, but not extreme either. That grey area is hard to come by when you want extracurricular activities for children. So far we have 3 of these special children! They are so different, challenging, and enjoyable. I did some heavy research online, read several books, and met with a few therapists for ideas in implementing structure like this. Their parents really seem thankful and can already see progress with their kids...even the smallest challenge of attention is a HUGE leap for these students. They are all so unique and we are proud to be able to help them in understanding and appreciating music in their world.
Well, I think that's about it for now - I've bookmarked this blog so I don't lose focus on my journaling. I'll be posting pictures soon!
