Camp Second Chance

Ian and Brett went to Camp Second Chance (in Rutledge, GA) this weekend. This is a camp set up just for transplant kids and their families through CHOA. The theme was Under the Big Top and Ian had a wonderful time. I think the highlight for him was fishing and catching a catfish (about 2lbs) on his first fishing attempt.

There was a carnival, arts and crafts, and other activities lined up. The volunteers there were wonderful and we are hoping that our family will be able to volunteer when Ian is no longer a pediatric patient to pay it forward so to speak. It was a great experience and I feel fairly certain that we'll be going back next year.

Observant

Apparently, Livy has spent a lot of time watching me get ready in the morning as I found her doing the following things.

(She takes after one of her aunts in being fastidious with ear wax removal.) I was not able to get on camera the chapstick application (which said chapstick is now mangled and in the trash) or the toothpaste squeezing (which said toothpaste tube is now 1/4 emptied). I am going to start locking the bathroom when I shower but then I fear what she will find when she is left "alone".....

Sand

Sad to say that we had not been to the beach all summer until yesterday, Labor Day. It wasn't because we didn't try but the weather or illness kept thwarting our plans.

We had great weather yesterday so we decided to brave the crowds and go to IOP beach. The water was arm, sand great for digging, not overly crowded and both kiddos loved the waves and even giggled when they wiped out. We stayed long enough that the incoming tide got our blanket just a bit wet.

No Tears

Ian started Kindergarten today! He did great and no one shed tears today at the drop off; speaking of drop off. It was absolute insanity at the school area today. Cars parked on the road (not kidding) cars parked on the grass, etc. It was worse than the aftermath of 4th of July Fireworks. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Ian will be dropped off in the AM b/c of his prograf medication. Here is Ian outside his school.

Ian placed his things in his cubby and then found his desk. After getting some crayons, he told us that we could go. Alrighty then! And that was that. Ian was in Kindergarten.

The bus was 30 minutes late dropping off this afternoon which wouldn't have been too bad except for the fact it was a downpour for 15 of those minutes and I was trying to keep livy entertained and hold the umbrella. Ian is showing his name tag for a bus rider after he got off the bus today.

The best part of the day Ian told me was "the mouse hunt" which was where they had to act quiet like mice around the school. And then when they got back to their room, a mouse had a left a note and cookies. The teacher, Mrs. Slusser, did a If you Give a Mouse a Cookie story activity. Ian was thrilled to find not one but two (as he excitedly told me), Chicka Chicka Boom Boom books in the reading center of his class room but sad that he has not unearthed a Thomas the Train book. We may be gifting the class a Thomas book or two.

His homework tonight was to draw a picture of his favorite part of the day. Tomorrow's homework is to write his name 2 times, and then Thursday's homework is to sing the ABC's twice. I have to sign his school folder each night. This is good stuff!

To keep Livia and I occupied this morning so we didn't get too sad, we went shopping at Harris Teeter for Super Double Coupons. We did the most awesome I have ever done on couponing! We scored as shown below:

6 Danimals drinking yogurt packs

5 Danino's yogurt packs

3 Activia packs

3 Peter Pan peanut butters

All for the low price of....................

GETTING MONEY BACK!!!!! Harris Teeter PAID ME $0.35 for the above groceries! A very good sort of retail therapy if I do say so.

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga

We bought tickets to take the kids to see the Wiggles in Jacksonville, FL (closest venue to Charleston) as a last summer hurrah before school starts on Tuesday. The concert was Friday.


The concert was wonderful. It lasted over 1.5 hours and the kids were thrilled. I had made headbands of foam in wiggles colors for hte kdis but those only lasted about 5 minutes before being ripped off. The kids had Wiggles T-shirts on too (thanks Lela!) Brett convinced me to spend the extra money to get tickets on the floor rather than the balcony. Livia loved the Ring Master from the start with his hat falling off trick gigling each time he did it. Both kids danced and sang to the songs. We had a sign that said Ian and Livia love the Wiggles and Murrary read it out loud from the stage which was particularly great for Ian. It was a wonderful show and I would recommend it.



We stayed the night in a hotel (this was what Ian said the highlight was but then changed his mind to seeing the Big Red Car up close). We saw a bit of Fernadina Beach/Amelia Island where there is a Kinder Morgan terminal that Brett has been to several times. And then headed home on Saturday afternoon--of course after a stop for chicken nuggets!

Great trip and a wonderful way to say farewell to summer!

Annual Homecoming

Our annual trip to Virginia the first week of August was great! The kids were decent travelers there and back except that on the way home both kiddos were up the entire ride home until 10:30pm!

We had fun with Grandma and Grandpa. Some of the things we did this round were:

"Hampster wheel"

Bouncing balls

Water table

Digging in the garden

Watercolor painting

Golfing

Visiting Friends

The magic drawer (Only Grandpa has the magic words to open the drawer that contains treats inside)

I got to sleep in a few days and get a few naps. As Ian starts school this year, that was our last trip to Virginia for a while and I'm glad we did it even with the wide awake kiddos on the drive home to South Carolina.

Mixed Emotions

This summer Livy has started repeating us and therefore talking in general much more. Her favorite phrase is "oh no, what happened" and I know that when she says that I need to look for a) a container of something small and delicate tipped over b) a page of a book ripped out c) crayon, pen, glue on her or some part of the house. It is great. She also likes to say "Need to go potty? all right". It is very cute that she answers herself.

She is also very clever and resourceful using things to get what she wants, like treats. Another one of her favorite phrases is "I need treat" and then proceeds to try to open the pantry door which now has a childproof handle on it. She likes to climb and below she is using a #10 can to peek into the sink.

Ian started the pool season this summer mostly in the kiddie pool playing with Livia and I. Then we discovered one of hte community pools was almost entirely three feet in depth. He is by no means what I would call a swimmer but his growth has been tremendous. He now can "swim" (aka kick feet and doggie paddle) from one side to the other and he can put his whole face in the water with his goggles on. This is huge! I really want him to jump in by the end of the summer.

We are in our last few weeks of summer before school starts on August 17th. We are going through all the role playing things as our final preparation. This week I am packing his lunch in his lunch sack. We talk about what he should eat first, what to do with food that isn't eaten, and practice eating in 15-20 minutes. Ian has been thrilled with the lunch sack exercise and asks me first thing every morning if I packed his lunch. He'll be helping me pack it once school starts but for now I am keeping it a suprise for him as to what is inside :) This picture is also the last "month day" picture for Ian as nonce he starts school, I'll do his book with his yearly school picture.

I'm proud of all the things the kids have been able to do this summer even with all my mixed emotions.