Sam's Summer

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by. As some of you that follow our family blog know we had a fabulous vacation in Delaware. Came home to a fire in our home. We lived in a hotel for three weeks while the house was being fixed and cleaned. We are getting settled into the house again and we have spent hours organizing, recleaning and shopping for the house.

Sam has had a great summer. He is for the most part accident free. The summer after being potty training has proven challenging for all of our kids. They get so busy playing that they just don't want to come inside to pee. Well, Sam solved this problem by peeing on our trees. I am the crazy mom yelling out the window "DON'T PEE ON THE TREE!" Sam thinks he is so funny for doing this.

Sam loves to ride his bike, catch bugs, jump on the trampoline and swim. We took a break from therapy this summer again, and I couldn't be happier with Sam getting the chance to just be a regular kid. One nice thing that has happened this summer is that Sam has gotten some individual finger isolation on his left hand. At church they sing lots of songs with hand movements, and this has helped him a TON with using his fingers. We still have a LONG way to go, but he really has made improvements.

The summer has not been without struggles. Sam LOVES to swim but he does not use his left hand/arm to paddle. Thankfully Sam's left leg is so minimally affected that he kicks both legs great, but he will not (unless prompted) use his left arm/hand to swim. He is all over the pool in his life jacket and will even jump into the pool without us helping him or catching him. Sam is in the stage where he wants to do everything by himself. SO we don't wear shoes a lot of the time and when we do have shoes on they are most likely backwards and of course that is how they were supposed to be put on. The only thing he wants us to do these days for him is pulling down his pants so he can go to the bathroom. For some reason he needs help with this because he is still "so little". Yes, we pee all by ourselves when we are peeing on a tree. Sam has been struggling more with supination, I actually don't think he is doing worse or has lost any range of motion. It is just becoming more noticeable as he gets older and is trying to do more big boy things. Just last night he was holding his flashlight with his right hand and didn't want to hold it with his left hand so he was trying to use his left hand to open the door. I couldn't figure out why he was crying in his room for us to open the door for him. Washing his hands is another area where supinating is hard for him. I think that supination will be something that he will work on for many years. It does not come easily for him.

All in all he is doing really well. In September Samuel will go to head start. We are super excited for him to have this experience. We go for a screening on the 25th. I am hoping that we find out what therapy services they have to offer him. I know that they have OT/PT there and I hope that he qualifies to receive the services. I know in the past they have said to qualify for an IEP he has to have a delay in two areas and since he only has delays in motor function he doesn't qualify. However, they talked about a 504 that he could receive services under if he qualifies. I really hope this is an option for him. No matter what happens with therapy at head start it will be a great help to him. He picked out a backpack and of course it has spiders all over it and he is SO excited to ride the little bus. Poor man had to watch Joseph get on that cute bus everyday and now he gets to go too. Joseph is excited that Sam is coming with him this year and is hoping that they can sit together. They will be in different classes though. Joseph is too protective of Sam and I want Sam to have to defend himself. Even if I am yelling at Sam, Joseph gets upset and just can't handle it. Sam will hit Joseph, bite Joseph and Joseph never will hit him back.

I am always sad when school comes but this year I really do think that it will be nice to get back into a routine. I am sure by October I will be wishing everyone was back home, but right now I think it will be a good change of pace.

This will be my first semester taking on campus classes and full time credits. That will be a new experience for me. Last night Daniel took me around campus to show me where my buildings are located and the fastest way to get to them. He graduated with his MBA from the university that I am going to as well, so he knows the ins and outs. One thing that he never had to deal with was student parking, he had a faculty parking pass during his time there so he was helping me figure out what lot to park in as he made me carry my backpack to practice! Crazy man. As we were walking Lillian said "Mom you don't really look like a college student." I was like "I KNOW! I am old. Don't remind me." She did say I didn't look too old but made me a little more nervous. Daniel said that kids think everyone is old. Lillian was like "NO DAD, mom isn't old but she doesn't look like a college student either." RUDE. Maybe as I am walking around everyone will think I am a grad student not the second semester freshmen that I am. I keep just thinking about the end. I really want to be a nurse. I know I will be good at it. I would never of wanted to be a nurse when I graduated from high school, so being old is good. Life experiences change us. I am so grateful for my husband . I am taking a pre-college algebra class this semester. Basically you have to take the class or test out. When I was registering Daniel thought I should test out. I basically said it has been 12 years since I took a math class I would never pass the test. After I went to get my books I looked at the first page of the algebra textbook and didn't understand one thing on that page. Daniel looked too, now Daniel had to take many college math classes. Luckily, I have only two. He said well I hope you use the math lab on campus for any questions because I can't remember a whole lot. That is just like him though he thinks I can do anything and I really appreciate that about him.