Busy week = long blog post! :)

We've had a busier than usual week, but a great week.

We got out to the park today with some friends which was great! We've only been to the park to play once since Christmas, so it was very overdue!


The kids and I played a fun new game today. I saw this "car parking game" on Pinterest and loved it. You write site words in little "parking spots" and ask your kids to park their car on whatever word you say. Jude loved the game! Selah lost interest really quickly when Jude wouldn't share his beloved cars with her... maybe we should make a "put the pony in the stable" version for her! :)


I know what you're thinking, "that looks so wrong. A baby with a cast." Believe me, I feel it too!
We took Benjamin, our most active kid, to urgent care this evening. Poor guy took a little tumble down a couple carpeted stairs at a friend's house on Monday and fractured his lower right leg. :( He's the first person in our family to wear a cast! Leave it to this little climber! He didn't have any bruising or swelling all week and seemed total fine/normal, but just wouldn't walk or put any weight on his leg this week, and specifically if you touched his shin he would whimper. :( Jude had fallen off a swing when he was younger and we immediately took him in for an x-ray but he ended up being just fine and it just took him a couple days to walk again, so I figured Benjamin was probably in the same boat and he'd start walking again, but as we came to Wednesday this week and he still wouldn't put any weight on it I was getting nervous. Today my friend noticed some swelling in his chubby shin (that I couldn't see until she pointed it out) and suggested I take him in, and I felt so good about calling at that very moment. So I talked to the on call nurse and due to scheduling she suggested I just take him into urgent care. They did an x-ray and sure enough it was fractured and needed a cast. Benjamin did great through it all!
I just love this precious boy! Some of my favorite moments in the day are his cuddles as I rock him. <3
The kids are working on letter "D" this week, and the highlight of the week is their continued growth in reading. Today the kids read 4 BOB books together (#3-#6) all by themselves and it was just so cool to sit and listen to them tell the story. So amazing to me! Honestly, having never taught before and having no clue what I'm doing, ;) I can worry sometimes if I'm doing a good enough job. Thankfully our curriculum tells me exactly what to do and it's well laid out! :) I get so much joy (and relief) :) hearing them read.



Counting...


Jude still has some anxiety with using scissors. He says it's scary and he really fears making a mistake while cutting. We'll continue to work on it! He's making progress! Josh says we should get him a paper cutter. :)

Selah doodling while waiting for the next activity. :) I love her drawings.


Grandpa Mike and Grandma Chris came by this week to visit after Grandpa Mike's doctor appointment and we loved spending time with them! The kids loved sitting on their laps and talking their ears off and showing off their toys. So cute to watch. :) Grandpa Mike is a super brave grandpa - he is going in for a big surgery on Monday! Please keep him in your prayers.

(This photo on the right is a drawing Selah did of our family and extended family... I love the goatee on Papa Wayne. :) Haha!

And lastly, I thought I'd share about Jude's sensory therapy this week. This little world is so new to me that I find myself pretty fascinated by it. I just LOVE going to Jude's sessions and learning all I can from them as I watch him work with Miss M. I love watching the other kids too and talking to other parents in the waiting room. I'm really impressed by the work being done there!

This week Miss M worked with Jude on gross motor skills. They pretended that an airplane had broken down and he needed to get the right tools to the plane and fix it. He climbed carrying his tools and problem solved how to climb from one place to another, and asked for help when needed. At one point Jude decided to pretend that Miss M was a bad pirate and he was going to be Jesus. When he dropped a tool in the pretend water she said, "Well Jesus, you should walk on water to go get that!" And Jude said to her, "Jesus doesn't walk on water." She laughed. I guess Jude doesn't know that story! :)
Jude is very physical and ran and jumped all over the place. She noticed that he has very little fear in certain situations and he LOVES big movements. Jumping off things and going fast are his favorites. But when she tried to get him into a hanging hammock he didn't want anything to do with it. She got in one herself and convinced him to run down the ramp and jump into it. And he did. The hammocks, made of stretchy fabric, are really good for him. It forces him to use all of his muscles to try to climb around in there and get out, and he needs more connectors in his brain between muscles he doesn't use much.
I feel like there's a ton to write and this post is already getting too long, but I'll have a written therapy plan from Miss M next week that I'm looking forward to reading and sharing about, now that she's had two weeks to get to know Jude a bit.
Ok, off to bed. :)
xo,
B