The benefits of being a grownup.

Recently, Sydney has been talking with me about what it's going to be like when she's a grownup. She talks about getting married (usually to Myles), how she is going to have a baby in her tummy, and then she's going to be the mom and I'm going to be the grandma. Her most frequent phrase is, "I get to do whatever I want when I grow up." Ha! At this point I usually mention how adults have a lot of responsibilities and can't do whatever they want, so she should enjoy being a kid right now. But instead, one day I asked her what types of things she is going to do when she grows up. Her response?

"Buy pink yogurt and blue yogurt."

I only buy 'white' (vanilla) yogurt. I didn't realize she was feeling so restricted by her yogurt choices around here! Pretty sure she'll be able to have whatever color of yogurt she wants when she grows up.

Silly girl.

Kindergarten Take Two

Myles had his first day of full-day kindergarten yesterday and it went awesome!

With his late summer birthday and already having some extra challenges, we decided to have Myles do a second year of kindergarten. He was in the 2 1/2 day program last year, and will go 5 full days a week this year.

Myles was thrilled to be back at school yesterday and greeted several of his teachers, paras, and therapists from last year with a giant smile and big hug. His siblings and I walked him to his classroom where he was met by his kindergarten teacher and special ed teacher. It was a hectic hallway with a lot of parents and nervous kindergarteners, but Myles walked with assurance straight to his class. Once in the classroom, he found his name and coat hook on his own, hung up his backpack, and sat down in the circle with the rest of the students. I handed him his talker and gave him a big hug before heading out without any hesitation from Myles. I'm not one to typically cry on something like the first day of school, but I teared up as I looked back at him on my way out the door. He was so confident, so happy, so ready for this year. And I was so proud.

 Myles and his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Collier

I figured he would do well on his first day being that he was so excited to get started, but it was still nice to get this note from one of his paras in his back and forth binder:

And equally as great to get this email from his special ed teacher this morning:

Hi Gilby and Jocelyn -

Just a quick note to let you know that Myles was AMAZING yesterday! He followed the routine, played with his friends, and was an all-around rock star kindergartener! I'm so excited to see how much he's grown and how his language is exploding.

Here's to a great year!
Wendy

Yes, here's to a great year!

Back in the saddle.

After loving horseback riding lessons so much last summer, Myles started back up with weekly sessions last April. Now that school is beginning, we're taking a break, but will definitely be back again. Myles has developed a love of horses and gets so excited on horseback riding day.

 Myles and his riding instructor/occupational therapist, Becca

Movin' Up!

A new school year has begun and Sydney and Ryker started in their new preschool classrooms today!

Friday afternoon, Sydney had her preschool "graduation" and started pre-K today. She really loved her teacher, Miss Katie, in preschool, but already had a great first day today with her new teacher, Miss Elizabeth. She has a lot of little girlfriends in her new class and I'm excited for this upcoming year for her.

And little Ryker, he is just growing up so quickly! He moved up from the littlest class to Jr. Preschool. I have love, love, loved all of the stages with Ryker. Maybe it's because he's our youngest, but I just want to soak up all of his milestones and slow time down with him. He keeps up with his brother and sister well, is still really talkative, and saying multiple word sentences ("I ready for yogurt now" "Myles, stop pushing Sydney!" - that one was funny -). Our easy-going Ryker-Man had a great first day too.

Rockies Clinic

Last Saturday, Gilby and Myles went to a baseball clinic put on by the Colorado Rockies and Special Olympics. Gilby said Myles did well during all of the activities, but struggled a bit transitioning from one to the next. To his credit, it was a really hot, sunny morning, which Myles doesn't always do great with. From the photos, it looks like he had a good time!

All of the kiddos got these great Rockies jerseys!

Swimming Lessons

This summer we completely lucked out with the kids' swimming lessons. We have tried various group classes in the past without much success, so when Gilby suggested we check with one of his co-worker's sons, who is a college swimmer and coaches swim club in the summer, I was all for it. Justin was gracious to do lessons with Sydney and Myles all summer at my parent's neighborhood pool, and the kids really connected with him. Both kids made good progress, and because Sydney also regularly swam at preschool, she especially made huge gains. We were sad to see Justin go back to college!

We've had a fun summer and lots of days at the pool have definitely been part of it!

Special Olympics Sports Camp

Last week Sydney and Myles participated in a Special Olympics Sports Camp through the Young Athletes program. They went each weekday for 2 hours and focused on a different sport each day, with the week culminating with Field Day on Friday. It was a pretty great experience for Sydney and so/so for Myles. He had some really good moments and lost interest at other times, which then lead to behavioral challenges. Overall, I'm glad we did it and am looking forward to many more opportunities through Special Olympics!

Ryker was technically too young for the camp, but still got in on the action. He loves sports!

Grandma came a couple of days too!

Chihuly Exhibit

My mom, Sydney, and I took advantage of a free day at the Denver Botanic Gardens and went to see the Chihuly Exhibit after work last night. My mom had actually already taken Myles while she was watching him during the day, but thought it was so cool that we decided to go back. Dale Chihuly is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement, and the glass sculptures were really beautiful immersed amongst the gardens. It was a fun girls night out!

Preschool Luau

Last Friday morning the kids and I went to the Annual Luau at Sydney and Ryker's preschool. They had bouncy houses, a water slide, free swimming, face painting, and lunch. It was a gorgeous morning after a few days of rain and we had a lot of fun!

 Myles, Ryker with Alia (his teacher), and Sydney

Myles' BirthDAY!

Myles' birthday fell on a Thursday this year, which is typically a work day for me, but I took it off to spend it with just him. We dropped Sydney and Ryker off at preschool first thing in the morning, made a quick stop at the grocery store, and then went to see the movie Planes, Fire and Rescue. I was planning to take Myles to Pirate's Cove, a water park near our house, but the cold, rainy weather squashed those plans. If he can't be busy running around outside, Myles is most likely asking to watch a movie, so going to the theater was a good second choice. Typically on work days Myles attends a summer camp through his elementary school, and coincidentally, his summer camp program was at the same movie we went to. It was fun to have all the leaders and kids wish Myles a happy birthday.

Myles fell asleep on the way home from the movie because he was really tired from getting up super early (before 5!), which is a bit of an issue for us. I was hoping to get him down for a nap once we got home, but of course he fought it and refused to sleep. If I'm being honest, this is the point in the day that I had a bit of a breakdown. I was so tired, it had been raining for two days (I need sunshine!), and Myles was being difficult - even on his own birthday. After we received Myles' diagnosis of Down syndrome, I read a lot. The more information I had, the easier it was for me to process it. In so much of the literature, it talked about the grief process in initially accepting the diagnosis, but then also talked about how, when you least expect it, a wave of fresh emotions may come. I didn't quite get it at the time, but completely understand it now. Every milestone is bittersweet. I'm proud of Myles, how hard he works, and how far he has come, but for me, big events put a spotlight on his delays. I was particularly sad yesterday about his struggles with expressive speech, and some frustrations and subsequent behaviors that we were battling that morning. After some encouraging text messages from Gilby (I'm so grateful for a supportive spouse!), and a good lunch for both of us, Myles and I had a much better afternoon.

 

The rain stopped and the sun came out, so Myles and I walked down to the park - a happy place for both of us. He helped me make his cake, and we went to pick up Ryker and Sydney. All the kiddos played together, we had a family dinner, opened presents, and had cake and ice cream. I let the kids help me decorate the cake, and we decided on his Monsters Inc. guys for the topper. I thought it came out especially cute!

Our boy felt celebrated and loved, and that made for a good day. Happy 6th birthday, sweet Myles. We love you.