tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76869895111151674562024-03-14T14:03:58.056-04:00My Vehicle BoyFor the son who loved transportation and has now moved onto Star Wars vehicles and building crab boats!Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-48990354627842835542011-08-03T14:21:00.002-04:002011-08-03T14:24:37.929-04:00Spring Break 2011<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We went to Walt Disney World for spring break, and I am just now getting around to finishing the album from vacation. Please check it out! </span><br />
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<a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AatWjdm4cuGLxg&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET">Walt Disney World Spring Break 2011</a>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-24301963557613069282011-06-20T09:28:00.000-04:002011-06-20T09:28:04.804-04:00Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went to visit the Museum Center and Riley really enjoyed the Cincinnati History Museum this time. Below is a link to the album that I made for him to remember his visit.</span><br />
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<a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AatWjdm4cuGLsQ&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET">Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal</a>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-59427802512576844622010-12-26T23:35:00.001-05:002010-12-26T23:36:12.698-05:00I Can't Believe It's Almost Been a Year!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I can't believe that it has almost been a year since I have posted to Riley's blog, So much has happened this year that I don't know that I remember it all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We celebrated Riley's seventh birthday in January with family and friends. The Star Wars: The Clone Wars theme party was a hit as well as the LEGO models that I bought as party favors! Toward the end of January we got the results from Riley's Autism Testing, and they found him to be ADHD with a reading disorder. We pondered awhile and then decided in March to put Riley on medication because his reading level was not improving in school. I felt that he may be paying so much attention to behaving that he was not concentrating on learning. I am happy to say that medication has worked for him. His reading level has gone from D/struggling E to instructional level K, which is practically on grade level. Through the use of medication he is now able to sound out words or break them up in to hunks and chunks. He has always enjoyed reading and listening to stories being read, but now finds new pleasure in reading by himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Riley participated in the first grade music program at school and although he was nervous; he stood in the front row and did what he was suppose to do, sing! We also went to see <i>Jack and the Beanstalk</i> at the children's theater, and Riley went with his class to see <i>Charlotte's Web </i>at the high school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Riley graduated as a Tiger Scout in the spring, but decided not to go back to scouting this school year. He is in his second year of Parish School of Religion classes and is preparing for his First Communion in the spring. Over the summer Riley passed level 1 swimming classes and looks forward to taking level 2 next summer. This fall, Riley started wrestling kid's club and seems to enjoy it, but looks forward to taking tai kwon do in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First grade was the first year for play dates. He started going to other children's houses on his own and inviting children to come and play at our house also. At the end of first grade Riley went to his friend's house for his first sleepover!</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">He asked me to chaperone his first grade field trip to the zoo and wanted me to bring his sister so that his classmates could meet her. We went and really enjoyed ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We started our summer by going on vacation to Las Vegas.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We went to Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon as well as the pirate show at Caesars and swimming in the pool! Although our trip was delayed by a day, we all ended up having a great time. In July we went with the grandparents to Chicago. It was a short trip, but we got the chance to see the Legoland Discovery Center, and it was worth it!</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Riley was especially interested in the Titanic Exhibit at COSI and we went to see that together. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We finished up our summer attending library programs, going to swimming lessons and swimming afterward, completing the summer reading program at the public library, and hanging out with friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The start of fall brought second grade and the ability to help Mommy out more and take care of himself. He was able to help me pass out postcards on windshields in a parking lot, build his own LEGO mini models, and learned how to tie his shoes! Riley also started to earn an allowance of $3.00 a week to put away his laundry and toys as well as help out with other chores. Most of the time, Riley uses his allowance every two weeks to buy a Star Wars graphic novel (comic book). He enjoys his collection and likes to take them to school to read during self-selected reading. A limit had to be put on how many Star Wars books he could take to school so that he can expose himself to other topics and genres of reading. Second grade also brought some difficulty in making friends. I think it has passed somewhat, but he has not found his niche with friends who are interested in the same things in which he is interested, namely, Star Wars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In mid-September Riley completed his first 5K. He walked the COMAPC 5K Race for a Pro-State of Mind with me as I pulled his sister along in the wagon. We completed it in about an hour and were the last ones to finish. We also celebrated his sister's 4th birthday this week, and Riley was able to help her put her new sheets on her bed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For Halloween Riley was Jango Fett. This is the third year that Riley has picked out a Star Wars related costume, and although this was by far the most I have spent on a costume, I bought it for him because he plays in them all year, which makes it worth my money! This was the first year that Riley chose to go trick or treating with friends rather than with Mommy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Riley started November with a cold or so I thought. By the first Saturday in November, when he was breathing heavy, it was no ordinary cold. After a trip to the doctor's office and to the emergency room Riley was admitted for two days, and we came home with an asthma action plan. So far, since the episode in November, we have not had any other problems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We stayed at home this Christmas, and our extended family came to us. Santa was very good to Riley and brought him the spinning double-headed light saber that he wanted.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">He also got the Bobo Fett helmet and gun. His grandparents got him more games and accessories for the Wii. Although Riley got mostly toys, he did get a pair of tennis shoes and a sweatshirt!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We look forward to Riley's eighth birthday in a few days to end our year. My, oh my, where does the time go!</span>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-11062299310306634492010-01-08T09:48:00.002-05:002010-01-08T10:14:46.680-05:00Thanksgiving and ChristmasWe went to Maine for Thanksgiving. On the Friday after Thanksgiving it was raining, but we attempted to go and see the lobster boats in Portland anyway. We ended up at the Children's Museum, and they had a replica of a lobster boat for the children to play on. Riley loved it and we had to drag him away. It was perfect for him because he loves the show <em>The Deadliest Catch</em> so much!<br /><br />On Saturday we stopped in Boston to see Riley's godparents and cousins so that we could play LEGO Star Wars on the X-box. Riley was looking forward to this part of the trip for months.<br /><br />For Christmas we spend the holidays at home. We put up the tree the Sunday before Christmas with all the Star Wars ornaments that I have collected and all of Riley's Jack in the Boxes. The collection that I started for Riley's first Christmas ended this year. So, he will have seven Jack in the Boxes for his own tree someday.<br /><br />From Santa Riley got a LEGO CITY Set with the helicopter and fire truck and the heavy rifle blaster from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He also received a Wii from his grandparents and his own LEGO Star Wars game from his godparents. Riley also got the Captain Rex helmet and spent many days after Christmas playing Clone Wars with his dad. The theme of this Christmas for Riley was LEGO and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He was very happy with his gifts.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-72064101179885020452009-10-17T19:45:00.002-04:002009-10-17T20:07:17.977-04:00The End of the SummerIn July we took a family vacation to Boston and Maine. Riley got to ride the T for the first time, and learned how to play the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Wii</span>. It was very fortunate that his cousin is also left-handed and could teach Riley how to hold the control. He became really good at bowling. Riley also enjoyed playing Lego Star Wars on the X-Box. He still talks about going back to Boston to play that game.<br /><br />We also had good times at the beach in Maine and Massachusetts. The beach trips and playing video games were the highlights of our trip for Riley. We also got to meet Riley's uncle at the airport and seeing his uncle in uniform was very cool to Riley.<br /><br />At the end of July the Lego store opened in our town. We went on the first day that it opened and stood in line for three and a half hours to get into the store. Having seen the store in Orlando, I thought that it was going to be a big store, but it is not. It is actually a very small space, but exciting for Riley nonetheless. Riley is really into Star Wars The Clone Wars Lego Sets and bought one that had a spider droid and a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">missile</span> launcher.<br /><br />In August we participated as a family in a 5K run/walk. It was a pretty tough course that we mostly walked and came in second to last. Riley walked the last half lap and did really well.<br /><br />Riley also helped Mommy to set up her classroom. He was a great help getting all the milk crates out of my room and stacking them in the hallway. The stack was five crates long and six crates high when we were done. He stacked them all by himself with some help from a chair. Riley did it quietly and without knocking any over and making a big racket or mess. I was really proud of him.<br /><br />We did end up finishing the Summer Reading Program at the library, and Riley got his backpack. I thought that he was going to use the backpack that we bought from LL Bean on vacation, but he decided that he wanted to use the library one instead.<br /><br />Right before school started we had family friends come to town and bring their boat. Riley and his dad got to go fishing with the other boys, and Riley really had a good time out on the lake. All the boys and men caught one fish all day!Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-3655520860190830832009-07-10T21:39:00.004-04:002009-07-10T21:57:00.909-04:00UpdateRiley has done lots of things since I last posted for him.<br /><br />In May he attended his first birthday party without parents. His friend's dad took him and some of his friends to a college baseball game. Riley was really excited to go and did very well.<br /><br />At the beginning of June Riley finished Kindergaten. He is reading at grade level and did well in all subjects except writing. We are trying to continue to work together on his writing and his reading over the summer. We joined the Summer Reading Program at the library so that we can get a backpack for Riley to use next school year. He is doing very well and we are about a third of the way done, but he enjoys me reading to him rather than reading to me!<br /><br />We also finally got a time slot for physical therapy. We only have it through the end of August, but some time is better than none. We got lucky with the physical therapy because he has never been evaluated for PT, but was somehow put on the waiting list. He did end up qualifying for PT because his age appropriate skills are good, but when he has to slow down and do more complicated steps, he cannot do them.<br /><br />For a summer activity Riley has attended three weeks of gymnastics day camp. He enjoyed the first and the last week because there were a lot of kids that attended those weeks. The middle week, he did not enjoy because there were only four kids including him. His gymnastics skills have greatly improved this year. He is able to do some moves on the trampoline like the seat drop. He was hanging on the bar over the pit and was able to hold on with one hand and switch directions on the bar and put his toes up before dropping into the pit. He is able to do forward and backward rolls and jump over the mat with his hands in cartwheel position.<br /><br />The clothing issue for this summer is Riley would like to wear pants everyday. He likes his uniform of white t-shirt and blue jersey knit pants. He tolerates wearing shorts on most days, but usually puts up some fuss.<br /><br />Riley has a new friend in the neighborhood. He is a boy that is 3 years younger than Riley, but they have a lot in common and play very well together. They both have a crush on the same girl, but have kind of moved away from playing with her to playing together much to my happiness.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-77152574470616114942009-03-25T00:45:00.004-04:002009-03-25T00:53:47.552-04:00Sidewalk ChalkRiley has never really shown an interest in sidewalk chalk. We have had some since last summer and the neighbors have played with it, and Riley has not really ever joined them in writing on the driveway. I have to admit I hate the stuff and never really encouraged its use either.<br /><br />Well, last Sunday, Reese got out the chalk and starting drawing on the driveway. Riley decided that he wanted to help also and started drawing shapes. I let him draw shapes for awhile and then asked him to write a word that he knew. He wrote THE and then can, come, in, etc. He was writing the words, and I was happy to see that he was forming his letters correctly! He then wrote his last name and then wanted to add his first name. He wrote his first name backwards in order to get it in front of his last name that he had already written.<br /><br />I was happy to see Riley show some interest in writing and drawing because it shows that he has a little bit more confidence and success in his ability to write.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-29102427267919413352009-03-14T17:13:00.002-04:002009-03-14T17:19:08.909-04:00First Phone ConversationRiley had his first friend want to talk to him on the phone today. We met J at the indoor carnival at Riley's school earlier. I just got a message left over from last night that they had invited Riley to the movies yesterday. I thought that it was for today, but we made plans to go to another movie tonight. Riley says that J is one of his best friends and after J's dad and I made plans for the boys tonight, J's dad had to call back to say that his son wanted to talk to Riley on the phone.<br /><br />They had a really short phone conversation where Riley was just talking his normal crazy talk. We look forward to tonight when Riley finally gets to go out with a friend. He was just complaining yesterday that no one wanted to play with him. I know that he needs to have friends and wants them to come over, but I have not really had the chance to go and volunteer or get to know any of the parents. We should have fun tonight...Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-28774265437770501712009-02-16T21:20:00.003-05:002009-02-16T21:32:03.441-05:00Parent Teacher ConferenceWe went to Riley's parent teacher conference, and I was pleasantly surprised. He seems to do well in reading and has a great deal of background knowledge about everything, but has a great deal of trouble with writing and the sound he hears in writing.<br /><br />Both of his teacher had stories of background knowledge that only Riley knew as a kindergartner. His morning teacher said that he was the only one who knew what a moat was in a <span style="font-style: italic;">Katy</span> story. His afternoon teacher said that she read a book about the president and at the end there was a picture of the Statue of Liberty, and Riley was the only one who could identify it and tell everyone that it was in New York City. (He has never been to NYC.)<br /><br />His reading level is a level B. He is expected to be at a level C by the end of the school year. He also seems to have a grasp on his sight words. He has 40 to learn this year and another 60 next year. He just got his last set of 10.<br /><br />We discussed Riley's sideways vision issues, and I outlined what I have done with regards to specialists in dealing with this issue. We also talked about the sideways vision of the uncles and some of Riley's generation. I talked about how I had read once that it was a sensory issue; trying to block out too much visual imput.<br /><br />The teachers felt that we should work on Riley's writing and writing the sounds that he hears in words. I believe that it is a good idea and will work on it with him. We are all at a loss as to what else to do and hopefully, IAT will have some new ideas.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-70337799364551515562009-02-07T20:55:00.005-05:002009-02-07T21:14:47.260-05:00OT AgainWe had to stop OT for awhile because Riley started going to school all day. We finally got a new time slot and he goes every other week now.<br /><br />I am starting to see the discrepancies between Riley's abilities and the abilities of the typical kindergartner with regards to fine motor skills. Riley's school just celebrated the 100th day of school and as part of their celebration, they had to color 100 small things on the numbers 1, 0, 0. I use to use this sheet when I taught, and I know what I expected from my students and the way that Riley colored this sheet would not have been acceptable for me as a teacher. We really need to get to work on improving his coloring.<br /><br />I can say that he seems to be doing well with the Handwriting Without Tears program that the OT started with him. He seems to get that system and keeping in the space that it gives. I see his handwriting when he comes home from enrichment and because they use a dot to tell the students where to start, his handwriting is a mess. The fine motor needs to become a priority.<br /><br />I am meeting with his teacher on Monday and I am somewhat anxious to see what she is going to say. I know about the fine motor, the lack of ability to follow directions, and being easily distracted. I know that he has made some improvements because of his oral knowledge, but I do not know if they are going to be enough. He has already been referred to IAT, so I am waiting to see what they are going to say also.<br /><br />I still mostly believe that Riley has mostly sensory issues although the book that I am reading right now says that SPD is not recognized by the DSM, and therefore is usually a secondary diagnosis with a primary diagnosis of Autism, Asberger's, ADD, etc. Maybe I should have Riley evaluated by a clinical psychologist as was suggested at his end of the year IEP conference last year since they knew that Riley still needed services, but was not eligible in the school setting and therefore graduated out. I think I am going to wait until after the IAT meeting to tackle that one.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-81850995204817555732009-01-25T20:11:00.005-05:002009-01-25T20:58:22.302-05:00Riley's Sixth Birthday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsK-NnsYHWkcBrvGRSexh2RApr56YiaJDINZ8pjkEybvtKF59CMEwfILI4Vf7C2dFhDbfx7dykGgOpFqa7-l0pPECKbX-DD-m6OrmQ2nqCx3sOd6fAlc6AOPp_wAbFHkdNQZAA2SvS81A/s1600-h/DSC00646.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295405420039222274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsK-NnsYHWkcBrvGRSexh2RApr56YiaJDINZ8pjkEybvtKF59CMEwfILI4Vf7C2dFhDbfx7dykGgOpFqa7-l0pPECKbX-DD-m6OrmQ2nqCx3sOd6fAlc6AOPp_wAbFHkdNQZAA2SvS81A/s320/DSC00646.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7y-1TXPGypk_SsOzQK82cuH0nHlnr1wvxy-fY1n48slcAk2YYChcka5WNbmQg_SxA76JupJUCN_sD2hQ22ZmajaflIkO1fwWyFhjAV3BNfiUbj_411AEfYNs97w0sg3MqnLuG-5Bun16V/s1600-h/DSC00642.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295405410229978754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7y-1TXPGypk_SsOzQK82cuH0nHlnr1wvxy-fY1n48slcAk2YYChcka5WNbmQg_SxA76JupJUCN_sD2hQ22ZmajaflIkO1fwWyFhjAV3BNfiUbj_411AEfYNs97w0sg3MqnLuG-5Bun16V/s320/DSC00642.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This was originally published as Hawaii Day Seven: Riley's Sixth Birthday on Penny's Next Phase.</div><br /><div>My son got to celebrate his sixth birthday on Maui. We started out the day with breakfast at Kihei Caffe where Riley got his favorites, French toast, bacon, and sausage. I was also impressed because Reese actually ate the same thing. She has not been eating much since we have been here, and her favorites are usually rice and pasta related.</div><br /><div>After breakfast we traveled along the coast to see Kapalua, where the Mercedes Championship is being held the weekend after we leave, Napali, where we saw some whales off the coast, and Ka'anapali, where I believe that one of the Big Breaks was held. We stopped off at Whaler's Village for some shopping, and where Riley got a special birthday gift from his dad, a Hot Wheels Airport. We left Whaler's Village to go to Lahaina to have lunch. Ron and I have fond memories of Lahaina from our honeymoon when we had dinner at the Lahaina Fish Co. right on the ocean. Lahaina was very crowded because there was a cruise ship in port. We ended up eating lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise, which says it is the original one. We ate on the second floor where it was open and you could see out into the ocean. (Earlier in the week, we discovered that the hotel that we stayed at for one night on our honeymoon is on the main strip in Kihei directly down the hill from my sister in law's house.<br /><br />Once lunch was over, the kids had enough car riding and we dropped them off at home. My sister in law ordered a cake for Riley at the Four Seasons Hotel because it was the only bakery she could find that would make a special cake that tasted like mainland cake without having a grocery store cake. She said that most of the bakeries in the area bake a traditional Hawaiian cake that was spongy, and she wanted a homemade cake for her nephew/godson. The cake was absolutely beautiful, tastefully decorated and just right for a six year old at the same time. Riley really enjoyed the cars/trucks that came with the cake and finally being able to open his presents. He now has a complete collection of Thomas the Tank Engine videos as well as a new big wheel and more construction toys. We also had pizza at home for dinner which is what Riley wanted, pepperoni, of course.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-4360100585781904362008-12-29T02:35:00.004-05:002008-12-29T02:43:06.320-05:00What Santa BroughtSanta brought Riley a shooting set. It is cans/bottles on a log. It is pretty cool because it uses infrared technology to shoot the cans/bottles down rather than bullets.<br /><br />Riley also got a pirate ship from Santa. I do not think that this was a big hit for him. The shooting set was more exciting even though it was not the same as the one he saw in the catalog.<br /><br />The other gift that Santa brought was not one that Riley had requested, but one that Mommy and Daddy thought would be entertainment for his flight to Hawaii. He got a <em>Pocket V Tech Smile</em> portable video game. He did end up playing with it on the plane and hopefully, it will be useful at home in the car.<br /><br />Santa also appeared at Auntie Rosanna's in Hawaii. He brought sand toys and <em>Thomas the Tank Engine</em> videos.<br /><br />Riley was really blessed this year at Christmas!Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-47569568854730725332008-12-03T22:25:00.002-05:002008-12-03T22:36:21.990-05:00Public Restroom Follow UpBack in April I had trouble letting Riley go into the men's restroom by himself. My neighbor says that there is a difference between school age children and non school age children, and she felt that once children hit school age, they are able to do certain things by themselves like be left outside for short periods of time.<br /><br />Well, yesterday, Riley and I were at the library. Riley suddenly asked to go to the restroom and I had books that still needed to be checked out and the restroom is outside of the library. I went ahead and told Riley to go by himself, and I would watch him from the door. He went out of the library and into the lobby to the restroom. He can back out and came straight back into the library. I guess there is something to my neighbor's thinking. I guess my feeling was that if he can go to the restroom at school by himself, then he was capable of going into the restroom by himself at the library. I did ask him if he went into the men's room and he said that he did.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-66006934305970074712008-11-22T23:19:00.003-05:002008-11-22T23:23:36.086-05:00Our Buckeye FanI was cooking this morning, and Riley and Reese were watching TV. I left them some brownies and peanut butter buckeyes to eat while I was busy. When we got in the car, I asked Riley if he shared the brownies with Reese and he said yes. I asked him if he ate any of the buckeyes, and his answer was, "I don't like that kind of buckeye; I only like the Buckeyes on the screen (TV sports)".Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-28613591582617214222008-11-14T12:39:00.006-05:002008-11-22T23:18:13.207-05:00The Two Lefties<div>We went to visit Riley's cousin last weekend. Riley was so excited to go and visit him. His cousin was very nice to him, and Riley even stayed the night with his cousin in his room both nights. I heard his cousin read books to Riley and let Riley play with is Lego game on the X-Box. They had a great time, and Riley is really lucky to have cousins to look after him.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271701475917228530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOsFU0yAJbgRW_U8guZAazuwz6OTsCopHhjGgOyiAFjMBFlFtjcYBC0_bEYmgE9lOhutxrbXBgP-i8IBEmZ1aofYnX2XXgnyA-7_l62QfbjJgkGBzTkNc2pDl8S2quaeCYnrUIdgjmGZb/s320/DSC00420.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div>This is Riley and his cousin trying to use their weight against the strength of a shark's jaws. The following is a picture from our lunch at Johnny Rockets, smiley ketchup brings back memories of a ketchup mess on the floor!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271701482000576962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgs1wxq_iZPTMKi-LtsCS9_U8GWnQ21oqYs5kVpeZ76mj1M3QiuqWWff61Xa5W_Ije5azkU87DI6WI5PHaaek8n6J99SDf39S5Hbo6oWcqoBtoFdlpEeSw22Q-DLKQnondg4XKep2bEh9/s320/DSC00432.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-30747184548556721162008-11-04T22:08:00.003-05:002008-11-04T22:20:08.279-05:00ClothingClothing has been a problem this year. Riley has decided that he does not like anything with collars. He wears long sleeve cotton shirts with ease especially those from <em>Land's End.</em> They are a great quality shirt that I do not mind spending the money on because he will wear the shirts in all seasons. I bought pants for Riley that he will not wear because they are not soft. I have found that he likes sweatpants and jersey knit pants that I have found at <em>Sears.</em> Anything else and he complains.<br /><br />Riley spent all summer in tennis shoes or barefooted. He would not wear sandals. Now that the fall is here, he is wearing all of his tennis shoes even those from <em>Stride Ride</em> that he didn't like in the spring; they felt funny.<br /><br />I think that Riley has a tendency to like clothes that are a bit small and tight fitting. He may need that extra sensory input. I was going to give away a jacket that he would originally not wear because it is now too small and suddenly Riley has decided that he likes it and has worn it everyday for the past week. I bought his winter coat a little big and I think that I might have problems this winter with either the bigness or the bulkiness. I did take the lining (fleece jacket) out of the winter coat and that has helped with the bulkiness, but he will probably complain until he grows into the coat.<br /><br />Clothing is something I have chosen not to battle him about. He started to wear short sleeves this fall after wearing long sleeves most of the summer when he should have been wearing short sleeves. I let him wear the short sleeves, and most of the time he chose to wear a sweatshirt jacket over his t-shirt.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-6876808006303546182008-10-30T21:13:00.002-04:002008-10-30T21:22:38.283-04:00Just Like MommyWe have now been in school about two months and the teacher came up to the van last week as I was picking up Riley and asked if she could meet with me to discuss a behavior plan for Riley. I told her we could meet on Monday.<br /><br />At the meeting the teacher said that Riley is a really nice boy, but he had some trouble focusing on what he was suppose to do. She wanted to set up a plan where Riley would be rewarded for completing his afternoon work. He had trouble completing his first assignment of the day; he liked to talk instead of completing his work.<br /><br />I agreed to the behavior plan and gave the teacher some suggestions that the OT had given to us with regards to Riley's writing and coloring like having him use a short pencil and half crayons to strengthen his fingers. I also asked that if Riley is switching hands for her to encourage him to use his left hand because he has been left hand dominant since he was 14 months old.<br /><br />As I was in this meeting, I thought he is just like I was when I was young. I liked to talk and socialize rather than complete my work in school also. In many ways Riley is just like me. He is his mother's son.<br /><br />Well, he was able to stick to the behavior plan for one day. The other two days this week, he did not complete his first assignment. We'll see what he does tomorrow after all the sugar tonight from trick or treat!Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-27602096154259676522008-09-27T11:09:00.007-04:002008-10-30T21:13:14.509-04:00I Kissed A Girl...I kissed a girl and I kind of liked it.<br />I hope my boyfriend don't mind it.<br /><br /><div align="left">These are the lyrics from a Katy Perry song. My son heard this song on the radio and started singing the song. I heard him and told him that it was an adult song and he should not sing it. He kept asking me, "Why Mommy?" "Why, Why, Why?" I could not come up with a better reason than it was not a kid's song. When I got home, I asked my husband to explain to Riley why this was not a good song for him to sing, and my husband could not come up with a better reason than I had. The evening went on and something happened and a light bulb clicked in my head, I had the perfect reason why Riley should not sing this song. I told him it was a girl's song. That did stop him from singing it for awhile, but sometimes he tells me it is stuck in his head.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">During the few days that we were out of school because of the wind storm caused by Hurricane Ike, I was watching my best friend's daughter who is eight. The three of us were in the car together when <em>I Kissed A Girl</em> came on. The girl asked me to turn it up and started to sing along. Riley told her that she should not sing that song because it was an adult song. She told Riley that it was not an adult song, it was a teen or preteen song and she liked it. So, they went back and forth for awhile with me thinking, does it really matter what my five year old, boy or girl, sings? And, eight is not considered preteen in my book!</div>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-87202871193352030062008-09-18T22:06:00.005-04:002008-09-18T22:15:02.038-04:00Pledge of AllegianceAs we were walking out of school today, Riley noticed that the safety patrols were taking the flag down and folding it in front of the school. He asked me why and I told him that the flag could only stay on the flag pole at night when it is lit. He told me that he had a flag in his classroom, and it was on a stick. I asked him if he said the Pledge of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Allegiance in his classroom. He said, Yes. I asked him if he could recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and he recited it for me perfectly except for the word liberty, which I corrected, and he now says properly. I asked Riley who taught him the pledge and he said his teacher. I asked him if his teacher last year did the pledge with him, and he said no. I am so proud that he learned something in the first weeks of school, and this shows that his verbal and auditory skills are his strengths.</span>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-84232778473425728022008-09-17T02:45:00.002-04:002008-09-17T02:57:44.032-04:00KindergartenKindergarten seems to be going well. Riley is excited to go everyday when it comes time to go to school. He likes to see his friends and seems to have a way with the girls although he would prefer to play with boys his age. At night when we talk about school, he tells me he does not like school and that school is boring. In his language, school is boring means that it is hard for him. I think that sometimes when he is asked to do things that are hard for him like writing or possibly even sitting still in his seat, he tends to give up without even trying. Some of his problem is that he is very insecure, somewhat emotional, and a worrier. He worries about everything, but especially if people like him and want to be his friend. I keep trying to reassure him that if a friend does not play with him, it is not because they do not like him anymore, but they may want to play with someone else that day. I try to explain the dynamics of friendship, and that it is a give and take process where sometimes you have to play what your friends want to play. I hope that he eventually trusts the friendships that he makes and know that they will not disappear overnight.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-32209266713888414582008-09-06T14:27:00.006-04:002008-09-06T14:40:19.874-04:00Last Gymnastics Camp<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242977988269327618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MncfIB4BPCjEdfzVAXMCx-ZC06OObRYPvynTHSrYm-r0EU5j30SKkNGQUY3j51lXoyehodtzI_sR3O-X2Q7MAoABa7NHf6eC8WGQTAQKN6Fx1Tyawzow4OrKhI2I6u8pseYmtXjCvtZE/s320/Summer+2008+058(1).JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Riley went to gymnastics camp for two weeks earlier in the summer, and one day came home and said that he was the only one who could not do a cartwheel. I was thinking that he was talking about a real cartwheel with feet in the air and all. I found out during the show on Friday that it was just the placing on his hands on the mat and swinging his legs over the mat. I was really proud of him when we went to his last gymnastics camp, and he attempted to do the cartwheel.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242978926507082978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOrlMU7iLA1IhdpqB0U_XsGm5noWQxQrYHnCbQ_RmRPvtry-cvCtJ6TvPUvT-Nm_Xqa0YfAaBBn-pRiG_Sclv-h6o2q-G_PFjFn1dsh1XgxC4WTszGLb2qTZYLAqY29wjMJH0hlEIRNhK/s320/Summer+2008+041.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>I believe that his favorite part of camp was the cheese pit. He liked to swing on the bar above the pit and drop into it as well as run in the cheese.</div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242978923249279826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEW4-eQjGDwFk1g7L9_by6RqWfXoXRT9YDCgt1i72_IVhzI7e6rFukotlPxZvkRQX9aJo1PQ9Fb8vSGXbL-zTBneXpPdnXryh2yCM__qhLYhoUOVjcCA4tqLNQP-vQduohXMIz_C9TCkgr/s320/Summer+2008+068.jpg" border="0" /></div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div></div>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-1964310670490436212008-08-23T22:44:00.004-04:002008-08-23T23:08:17.034-04:00Amusement ParkRiley enjoyed the water rides more than the land rides. He liked the water playground and the wave pool the most. He also rode on a raft slide with his aunt.<br /><br />We went on the Scooby Doo ride and I thought that Riley might be afraid because even though he likes Scooby Doo, he was not sure about the ride. It was a good ride in that he got so involved in shooting at things that he did not think about the ghosts and being scared.<br /><br />Here are some pictures of Riley driving at the park.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237913538878640674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsSDKrDG1wMzylSoyKk2rZkmH0R7NWHHAERAEMonrTyYYDKNs1V8z_o8DpZWQyM0c-xmff2G3SecX1hmDidwr1tKyQ92P_F-1t6wWXt_NNqwG7tZkrS2VrRuYdpWniJ_Ng2U1TS3KIpep/s320/DSC00188.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237913545373760002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsQTwg-WbvDaHEp36FCxlkM1RnvGFOUBannIFX-V105Ey-UjvCEDG_ZZEN3RSTANy_A2VN5mLaiZdZ7TxJ4J6RJsDsyBa2QkkiMsS0Ax5WfNJ3HtMajsB8ivguowp1m8Izjizs2QhRNE1/s320/DSC00196.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237913554896169410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3SRntja64vkw2_n80MOWp-4t2SzEH6SeaEzvPQhaYAFspw5Zjr6HVjJU8dKmpaUbktO5lspoj4pfAqfGbGn-74DELOqlY71Ee2lKgFC1hs8w4mgjQuVjCBdLSuqq2wchyphenhyphenmH9hZex_hug/s320/DSC00191.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Although he went on most of the land rides, it was so hot the day that we went that Riley was not very interested in the land rides, he just wanted to go back to the water park.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-73036561108632835362008-08-10T01:06:00.007-04:002008-08-10T01:16:56.849-04:00Fishing<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgitbAh4SyPA5ONkZgRau_D9gmUf_BB2d0gPd0_7AtkKEHFYxbsbOkot4Ahp2pA3_LAAi2ggpxfvOLqt52doDGiFnpfebeSxUbTZObJxIHIVXUFuSAL4Y1Up_tbhSVzKGdGBNytLjUo40HC/s1600-h/DSC00119(1).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232752827080138434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgitbAh4SyPA5ONkZgRau_D9gmUf_BB2d0gPd0_7AtkKEHFYxbsbOkot4Ahp2pA3_LAAi2ggpxfvOLqt52doDGiFnpfebeSxUbTZObJxIHIVXUFuSAL4Y1Up_tbhSVzKGdGBNytLjUo40HC/s320/DSC00119(1).JPG" border="0" /></a> We have taken up fishing as a family this summer because Riley really wanted a Rocket Fishing Rod: catch the fishes, not the bushes! His dad did not think that he would catch any fish with the new fishing rod because the bobber was so big, but the first time we really used it, it was the only rod that caught any fish!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49i13N-Wj39uLXZzBhc1fiNa8_o_TVITIWhg8jw77TMcrB4gTUDkGnmbm0rSHNLo8NtY3QjKRD4bfzNFe3TX4YxC9zP6CoboZjZMgT1zwVqbCv-3ZaLVWcWbJXMDm-5dInhnJTFRblBrX/s1600-h/DSC00123(2).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232752830738792786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49i13N-Wj39uLXZzBhc1fiNa8_o_TVITIWhg8jw77TMcrB4gTUDkGnmbm0rSHNLo8NtY3QjKRD4bfzNFe3TX4YxC9zP6CoboZjZMgT1zwVqbCv-3ZaLVWcWbJXMDm-5dInhnJTFRblBrX/s320/DSC00123(2).JPG" border="0" /></a>Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-39664646850291938362008-08-08T15:19:00.004-04:002008-08-09T11:49:42.451-04:00Occupational TherapyWe finally got the call for Riley to start occupational therapy. We started on July 15th and the OT was able to give us some good pointers.<br /><br />The first day we talked about some of the things that had changed since he was evaluated. This OT was honest with me and stated that Sensory Issues were not her specialty, and she was not sure why she was given Riley except that he might not have had a specification on his OT scrip. She was helpful in providing me information and activities for Riley to do, but eventually, we will have to change OTs in order to help Riley more. I was just glad to get off the waiting list. The pointer from this day was to have Riley use a broken crayon to write with so that it would make him use his fingers more and strengthen them. We also talked about the use of obstacle courses and the crab walk to help with the motor planning and development.<br /><br />The second visit the OT tested Riley's grip strength and the strength of his fingers. At the age of six the grip strength is suppose to be 32 lbs. Riley's, at five and a half, is 16 lbs. The OT gave us some putty to work on finger and grip strength. She also gave us some ideas for heavy work activities and proprioceptive activities to work on Riley's awareness of his body position.<br /><br />The last two visits I have not been able to take Riley to. I have had to work. But, from what I have seen from his homework, it seems like she is continuing to work with his fine motor skills and obstacle courses for gross motor skills.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686989511115167456.post-87860912934458031792008-07-01T13:35:00.002-04:002008-07-01T13:39:50.165-04:00Gymnastics CampRiley went to gymnastics camp for two weeks. He had a great time even though he was the only boy and he is not very talented in gymnastics. He remembers the teachers from last year when he went to camp there and from when he took gymnastic lessons. They think that he is very comical because he talks a great deal.<br /><br />The camp has a show every Friday when the children show what they have learned during the week. Riley is usually able to do about half the things that he is taught properly. This past week he would not try to go on the balance beam, I think because they were using the taller one this time.<br /><br />His favorite things are the bars and the cheese pit.Pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07545039837409742384noreply@blogger.com0