GETTING TO THE END OF SUMMER

We moved our oldest Abigail into her apartment this week.  She will be starting her 2nd year of college!

Stephen toured 3 more colleges this week as he will be a senior in high school this year.

Lydia had her freshman orientation for high school this week.

The boys had their 1st grade open house this week.

Summer is almost over.  School is almost ready to start.  

Here are some photos to capture the end of our summer.

Jonah reading his Bible while Andrew reads his Bible at his desk.  

I don't know why Jonah has headphones and a stethoscope- but he does!

Mom and 3 older kids go out for mini-golf and ice cream.  Super fun!

Sandbox fun

Using Aunt Jane's hot tub when it was too cold to use our pool.

Dad goes on camping trip with the older kids.  Stephen had to leave early for work.

The boys join the campers for a morning at the beach.  

Hmm, why didn't the boys get invited to spend the night in the tent?

Jonah cuddling with Grandpa.  I don't know why Jonah has a diaper (clean) on his head- but he does!

Jonah at his first grade locker.  I am a bad mom and forgot to take a photo of Ben at his locker...

Stephen helping his big sister move into her apartment.

I found this too funny not to post.  

Not saying this is me or anything...

SOMETIMES COMPARING HELPS ME UNDERSTAND MY OWN KIDDOS BETTER

Overall I think the comparison game is one to stay away from.  It usually ends in a feeling of inadequacy or not feeling content with what I have.  This can happen when comparing material possessions, weight and looks,  children, etc.

But sometimes, when dealing with some of the issues related to Down syndrome, its nice to come upon information that I can relate to.  Its encouraging and makes me not feel like I am goofing things up too bad for our 2 little boys.

I have been following this particular mother's blog for a about a year.  I have always had the impression she is a supermom because she does such amazing things for all her kids.  One of her children has Down syndrome and is about the same age as our boys, and I have always felt very defeated when I would read about all the things she works on with her little girl.  My attempts to work on things with our boys looked pretty feeble in comparison.

However, today I read a post of her's that I can really relate to.  The mom talks about some of the struggles her little girl has and some of them I can relate to because they are the same as Jonah's struggles - easily frustrated, easily distracted, bothered by loud noises, potty training....

It was encouraging to read that this mother struggles with some of the same things as I do.   I still think she is a far more impressive advocate and teacher to her little girl, but it made me realize that our kids are sometimes just going to be who they are despite all the things we try.   Of course I am not saying it doesn't pay to help them along, but I don't want us parents to feel the pressure that what we do or don't do will be end of life as we know it.  We can only do so much.  Sometimes our kids will excel in certain areas, sometimes our kids will struggle in certain areas.  

It was nice to read this post today, and it helped me understand my own kiddos better.

Here is the link to the blog post:
some of these things sound familiar

BIG BROTHERS ARE PRETTY COOL!

Our oldest son Stephen had his 1st cross country meet today.  We took Ben along to the meet.  These photos were taken after the race.  I just love how happy Ben is to be by his big brother.  

A little over a year ago, Ben had no idea that he was about to become part of our family.  

Today he stands so proud next to his big brother "E" (what the boys call Stephen).

And because this blog is also our family's scrapbook, I am in putting this video of Stephen here.  He was interviewed by our local newspaper for the Senior Spotlight story.  I thought he did a good job!

DONALD DRIVER VISITS MIRACLE LEAGUE

If you are from Wisconsin or are a Green Bay Packer fan, then the name Donald Driver will most likely mean something to you.  Driver had an incredible football career as a Packer, but probably most inspiring are the things he has done with his time and money off the field.  Through his foundation, he has contributed to many charities and been an inspiration and voice of encouragement to youth all over.  

One of those contributions happened when the Miracle League of the Lakeshore was trying to raise money to build the field 5 years ago.  Donald Driver stepped forward and helped.  

So last night was an amazing experience when he came to visit at the League's All-Star game.  He was able to see the field being used by an amazing group of kids and the volunteers who participate in the Miracle League.  He also drew a large crowd of people to the event which means more awareness for the Miracle League.  

Our boys were able to get pretty close to Donald Driver in the group photo, however, they didn't even realize how cool that was...they are a little young to appreciate his stardom I guess.  

It was a fun night and very refreshing to see a professional athlete use his fame for something so good!  Thank you Donald Driver!

Donald Driver as a Green Bay Packer

Donald arrives on the field

Donald takes a photo with all the players

Here is how close our boys were to Donald in that group photo:  

they are 3 people to the left of Donald.   Both are covering their ears due to the loud noise.

This photo really captures Donald's heart for these kiddos!

Our goofballs

 For more information about Donald Driver, here is the link to his foundation:

Donald Driver Foundation

A WHOLE LOT OF CUTENESS!

Ben learned how to drive this past week.  

Could this be a foreshadowing to when these boys are 16- will Ben be driving Jonah around town?

What's up with Ben's glasses?

One very distracting passenger

Shouldn't the driver's eyes be on the road?

Yeah, that foreshadowing makes me nervous:)

RANDOM SUMMER FUN

Nothing exciting but still cute!

The boys attended Vacation Bible School for a week this summer.  They had so much fun!  I was so proud of their behavior and how they stayed on task for 3 hours each morning.  

They were very good little boys and got to learn about how much God loves them at the same time.  Win-win!

Visit to Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan.  One of my favorite summer activities.  This is the Little House in the Big Woods.  The boys (and Lydia) had so much fun playing in the cabin and the wagon!

There are days when I get annoyed because I am always stepping over these blocks or picking them up to try and make our living room look neat again.  But the amount of playtime the boys have with these blocks makes it worth it.  Everyday they create something new game using these blocks.  

Fun to see their imagination at work and to see them working at something together.

In fact, that is one of the success stories of this summer.  Ben is getting better and better at imaginary play and play in general.  He is using toys more often instead of just throwing them or sitting and stimming.  He still reverts to those behaviors at times but not as much.  

The other huge success with Ben this summer is he is speaking in sentences more often.  Not just words.  This amazes me because he has only been exposed to English for one year, and yet he can now speak in complete sentences.  

Jonah's success stories this summer are I do think he is attempting to "talk" more although it is often only the beginning or ending sound of the word, never a complete word.  But still, progress.

Also, we have made some steps forward in toilet training with Jonah.  I don't think my goal of having him completely trained by the end of the summer is going to be met, but I have to realize that we have made some progress and be happy with that.  It's something I want so badly for him (and us!).  I just don't understand why it isn't completely clicking with him.  Is it an attitude/stubborness issue or does he simply not get the connection completely?  Or a little bit of both?  But again, I need to focus on the positive.  We are way more successful than we were last summer.  Baby steps, right?

And of course, Jonah is the king of imaginary play so what better teacher could Ben have to observe and learn how to be creative?  Go Jonah!

  

THE TALE OF TWO CAPES CONTINUES

Remember the flash cape that Ben brought with him from Lithuania?  Remember Jonah also has a Flash cape?  If you don't know this incredible story, here is the link to it.  It's a good read!

the-tale-of-two-capes.html

Well, the capes are still busy being used by both boys.  Miracle League had a Super Hero theme last week so the boys wore their capes.  

Who would have thought a cape from 5000 miles away would be part of so much fun on a beautiful summer night in Wisconsin?  

I still can't believe sometimes how the Lord brought Ben into our family. 

Jonah up to bat with his cape on.

Now Ben's turn

Ben "flying" into home!

One of my favorite photos of Ben: isn't he adorable?