School Days

Summer is unofficially over when school starts, and this school year brought us a kindergartner and a preschooler. Andrew started kindergarten at Holy Rosary. While this is his third year at Holy Rosary, this is the first year he has to wear a uniform. I was a little worried because he has a severe aversion to collared shirts, but I was pleasantly surprised. No fussing. I guess he resigned himself to the inevitable. I have really enjoyed the uniform, as we have no more arguments in the morning about what to wear. I'm sure it's only a fraction of the drama that mothers of girls have to deal with. However, it was bad enough that uniforms were a welcome change in our house.

Andrew was very excited about kindergarten for another reason - they don't have to take naps. Andrew has not taken a nap in about a year now but was still required to lay down on his mat during nap time. This results in a bored child who most likely disturbs everyone else who is trying to sleep! He's loving the new schedule. Also, kindergartners get to eat lunch in the cafeteria, which makes him feel like a big kid. He buys is lunch sometimes (on good lunch days: corn dogs are his favorite, pizza, or chicken nuggets are acceptable as well) and usually buys milk. The kids can pick white milk or chocolate milk. Trying to convince a 5 year old not to get chocolate milk every day feels like a waste of time! However, I am very impressed with him on the days he gets the white milk instead. I know it's a tough choice for him, because chocolate milk is one of his favorites.

Noah started school at Sea Isle. They have a great preschool for special needs, with lots of resources for hearing impaired kids and speech therapy. While Noah is not hearing impaired, he does need some extra help with speech therapy, so this should be a great fit for him. I was worried about him, because he's the littlest fish in a big pond now! Of course, he had no trouble making the transition. Even on the first day, there was no clinging - he made himself at home and barely thought to wave goodbye to me. I think he will enjoy himself and learn lots.

The start of a new school year also brings another season of soccer. Andrew has really come a long way from last year. Of course, last year he had a caste on his arm for most of the season, and I think he really held back because of it. Now, he's much more willing to get into the action and run after the ball with his teammates. 

Noah has also come a long way - in the spectator department. We can actually stay for the whole game without leaving early - such progress! Of course it helps that the weather has been great, so we are not baking out there in 90+ temps. Maybe this guy will be ready to join the team one day soon...

It's officially fall, and we have an action packed rest of the year ahead of us. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, which means it's time to Step Up for Down Syndrome. The annual walk will be held on the 20th of this month, at the Botanic Gardens, as usual. It's a great time, and we encourage everyone to come out to support Noah and others with Down syndrome.  If you are interested in learning more, check out Noah's page here.

Summer Celebration

In late July, we made a trip to the Mangrum compound in Rosemark, TN to celebrate Nana's birthday. It was a beautiful day, and the great weather was perfect for exploring Greg and Cassie's massive yard. The kids had a great time running and chasing each other, and the adults enjoyed some cold beverages and good conversation. And of course there was cake.

Andrew's favorite thing was Tyler's SUV. It was a hit until the kids wore out the battery. After that, it was a broken record of the same question: "is it charged up yet?" The answer, to his dismay, was always no.

Apparently when it's your birthday, they make you cut your own cake. I guess that's so you can decide who gets a big piece and who gets a small piece. Definitely a position of power.

Andrew and Noah made birthday cards for Nana. And Andrew painted a picture for her. He was very proud to show it off. I would say that his artistic type is definitely abstract. Or whatever it takes to cover the entire paper with paint. If asked, he will probably say this is a picture of the beach. 

Since so many of us were gathered together, it was a great time to get some family photos...

Happy Birthday Nana! We had a great time celebrating with you.

Independence Day and Blueberries

We celebrated the Fourth of July at the annual Central Gardens Independence Day Parade. The neighborhood kids decorate their bicycles, wagons, and strollers. The parade lasts a block or two and then everyone enjoys watermelon, hotdogs, and snowcones. The firemen brought a firetruck for the kids to explore, and the hose cooled everyone down.

Later on, we went to pick blueberries at the Nesbit Blueberry Plantation. Noah started off determined, but it didn't last. About two seconds after I took this picture, he tripped and fell. He was fine physically, but his attitude never fully recovered...

Andrew took to blueberry picking like he does to every job - it was serious business. He really wanted to fill up his entire bucket, even if it meant picking blueberries out of my bucket. I didn't mind.

Noah picked a few blueberries, and that was enough for him. He's starting to lose it right about now...

   

Andrew's haul, sweet and delicious...

T Ball

Andrew played T ball this summer. I'm a little behind on this one: T ball started around the same time school let out in May, and here is it August, and a new school year is only a few weeks away. That's about how it was with T ball. We missed some of the practices and games, due to vacation, and forgot to bring the camera to most of the games. To be honest, I didn't see many of them myself...if Noah made it through half the game, I considered it a success. Overall, Andrew enjoyed it. The first practice was great. The kids had no idea what to do. When told to run to first base, they got to the base and kept on running...not around the bases, but just straight past the base, to the fence. Every kid did the same thing. The coach might disagree, but I thought it was hysterical.

After a few practices and games, the kids got the general idea and it looked a little more organized. 

This picture sums up T Ball perfectly: 

Taylor put in some time as assistance coach. (I think for T ball to be a success, your coach-player ratio needs to be 1:1! )

Andrew says that soccer is still his favorite, but he had fun playing T ball. It was a nice way to start the summer.