August 19

The last month of summer!  How did we get here already?  And why does it feel like I am only NOW getting a handle on our schedule and routine?  Oh well.  I'll take what successes I can get before I have to make an entirely new schedule and routine once school starts at the end of the month!

But, for now, I feel like I can safely say we've been nailing our routine.  Park time (when it's cool enough), Boot Camp (which saves Momma's sanity), My Gym keep us busy during the week, Swim Lessons, and learning time.  The weekends are spent out on the lake as a family.  

     

My cool girl, just riding around to our next adventure at the park.  She is so beautiful.

     

My little workout partner at Boot Camp!

Time for lunch at Jason's Deli!  Little Sweetie has been there so often this summer that they are about ready to hire her!

     

Sister and Brother cheering each other on during swimming lessons at Ms. J.  Momma and Daddy were very proud of how well each of them did!

     

Doing great during her learning time lesson!  She loves mazes!

Prepping for boat time!

Although Little Sweetie thinks our boating supplies work just fine in the living room as well!

Happy girl on the lake!

It took awhile, but we convinced her the tube was best used with the boat and not in the living room as a TV watching lounge.  She keeps getting braver and braver riding in it on the lake!

We also filled our time with our awesome babysitters:  We tried to play as much as possible Ms. A before she went back to college and we got to cheer for our Ms. K as she dove in the Olympics!

     

Oh Ms. A!  We are going to miss you so much when you go back to college!

     

Trying to get these two to smile together for a good luck picture for Ms. K was an Olympic level challenge within itself!

We found Ms. K during the Opening Ceremonies!  Go USA!

Ms. K made it to the semifinals!  We are so proud of her for how well she represented our country!

We love you, Ms. K!  Go USA!

And our summer hair battles continue...we had a lot of success with getting her to try to pigtails this month, but although the frequency went up, the duration of the hairstyle did not.  

     

Super Sweetie at least will wear her pigtails!

     

     

     

She?  Sometimes she loves them and admires them!  I wish she would let me do more with her hair!

However, summer is quickly coming to a close.  Big Brother will go back to school, Momma and Little Sweetie will start our new fall routine, and Run Club will start!

     

Some people are worried about their back to school wardrobe; we're just worried about our running clothes wardrobe.  Run Club, we are ready to run fast!

We are going to miss Big Brother when he goes back to school, but we are starting to groom a new friend.  Thanks, Aunt S, for Little Sweetie's new doll!

My two loves of summer...and every day!

Height and Weight

Back up to 31.4 lbs for weight and holding steady at 35.75 in. for height!

Personality

She is still fiercely independent and really loves doing things herself and had even begun to tell us that she "can do it better" than we can.  Love this feisty girl.  Although I don't love it when these feisty moments show up when I have to take her out of the bath but she thinks she shouldn't be done yet.  Sigh.

"But I'm NOT DONE with my bath!"

Developmental Milestones

Sam's fine motor skills are awesome!  She is doing great at drawing things that can be recognized (with a little information) and she loves making things with Plato.  In terms of speech, we are asking "Why" questions, which is way ahead of schedule.  We're very happy with how she is progressing because Momma is dealing with a little guilt about not having her in school yet.  With Big Brother's clinical trial schedule, it just isn't an option right now, but we work with her at home and hope we are doing enough!

She said it is a drawing of "fishes in the ocean."

Play doh time!

Fun Tidbits

After putting Big Brother to bed one night, I came out of his room in order to get Little Sweetie to bed next. However, what greeted me was this sight and a little voice saying, "I packed us a picnic, Momma!"

About three years ago, Big Brother would have also pulled the same tactic to try to stay up a little later. He LOVED playing picnic or restaurant and taking my order was one of his favorite parts of the game. However, three years ago I would have told him, "No, it's time for bed," and cleaned up the picnic and carted him off to bed, thinking that Momma was tired after a long day and that we had plenty of time for future picnics. 

Except we didn't. We had no idea how much time we didn't have. 

Big Brother doesn't play picnic anymore, not like he used to. He doesn't ask to take my order anymore or tell me that everything costs "Five dollars!" Although he is still doing well overall, he doesn't have the attention or language ability that he used to have. Sanfilippo has stolen that. 

So the moral of the story? Little Sweetie went to bed a little late tonight and I ate every bite of that pretend picnic.  

Every. Single. Bite. 

I will never take a picnic for granted again.

Good night, 

LSM

Little Sweetie's Momma

July 19

Summertime fun is in full swing!  Little Sweetie is enjoying her summer, but still is in a bit of a culture shock at having her big brother home all the time!  This sharing toys and attention is for the birds and I think she is counting down the days until school starts back!

Even with all the screams of "that's mine!" I have enjoyed the times when they actually show each other how much they love each other.  I am glad they get to have this time together (although it is wearing Momma out)!

Fun at the pool (with special thanks to Ms. A for making this day possible!  I can't safely take them both to the pool by myself, so her help is so appreciated)!

Though they don't look like it in this picture, it has been fun getting back to Boot Camp with these two cheering me on from the sidelines!

     

     

Watching them play together in our little backyard lagoon makes my heart swell.  I hope she always remembers how much her brother did try to play with her as much as he was able.

Family story time with Daddy.  

And, of course, always a willing WILLPower representative!  Here she is with Little Buddy and their babysitter, Olympic diver Ms. K!  We can't wait to cheer Ms. K on in Rio next month!

But don't worry; she's still getting into plenty of hijinks on her own!

     

Like when she's a super hero cowboy...

...or when she's helping Daddy with building projects...

     

...or when she is having her own personal dance party in a restaurant booth (I thought I was getting  video of this amazing choreography, but only got pictures instead...I was so sad)!

Height and Weight

And she's at 30.8 lbs right now, but at least staying above 30 consistently now.  And still a shorty at just 35.75 inches!

Personality

She is so inquisitive and really wants to know why and how things work or do what they do.  I love these moments because I can how much she loves learning.  I hope that I can continue to instill that quality in her. She also talks about herself so positively, about how brave and strong and fast she is.  All I want is for that self-esteem to last and last.  It's definitely a work in progress to raise girls with this mindset and help them keep it!

Developmental Milestones

Again, she is ahead in so many things in terms of her development, but the one thing I want to comment on now is her emotional maturity.  She knows Bubby is different and she knows that I take him to Minnesota for medicine.  But she also knows that Bubby needs more help and attention from me.  Although she does take advantage of me having to pay attention to Bubby in order to get away with silly antics of her own (like running around a restaurant), I also see her trying to help me.  She knows that she can walk around in a store and that Bubby needs to stay in the stroller, so she offers to look for things or hand them to me.  Around the house, she knows that Bubby often wants his water cup or his Prince Wednesday doll and will take it upon herself to go look for them.  

I hate everything that she has to go through with Sanfilippo.  I want her to have a full and rich sibling relationship and I wish she didn't realize that she needs to grow up a little quicker because of her brother's condition.  But I am very proud of the person that is emerging from these circumstances.  Very proud.  

Fun Tidbits

Remember what I said about adding bedtime rituals in order to delay her bedtime?  Well, now she has added "tell me a story" after her normal book reading portion of the evening.   This usually involves Momma making up a story about a central character that happens to share a little girl's name and her adventures in space, a castle, a forest, etc.  It's funny, but it's funnier still to watch her try to stall dreamland, especially when she needs it (naps during the summer are much shorter thanks to Big Brother being home)!

Good night all, 

LSM

Little Sweetie's Momma