Rivers Update!

Hello to everyone!   I think our post was due in August...which I sat down to write and then...let's just say days are full and long, even with two hours several days a week to myself! 



Olivia started 3rd grade this fall and seems to be doing well.  She has been recognized as Student of the Month and also for Responsibility.  At the beginning of 2019, she started piano lessons and has been really enjoying them.  This summer and fall she has been doing gymnastics.  Although earlier in the year she did some Tae-kwon-do and swim lessons, so she continues to have a lot of interests.  Olivia researched and requested gerbils.  So, two gerbils joined our family in May.  Snowflake and Ginger.  They are entertaining to watch and tolerate handling well.  As they get older, Ginger seems to be a little more adventurous even jumping out of the bathtub where she was for a "play" break. Olivia had her pet sitting business again this summer and did quite well, watching several neighbor pets and a few family pets too.  This past Sunday, Olivia was blessed in church for acolyting.  She's excited to participate in this way.  Last Monday she had two solos and ensemble solos in her school music program---she did fantastic!  Olivia enjoys playing with the American Girl doll things, LEGOS,  and also any type of pretend!

Kinley started 1st grade this fall.  She is slowest to warm up to change and although she has a very nice teacher and several friends in class, has had times where she just doesn't want to go to school.  Kinley choose to dance again this fall, picking tap/jazz class as her choice.  She tried Hip Hop over the summer and decided it wasn't her favorite.  In the spring she had her second dance recital and really enjoyed performing on stage.  She has also taken gymnastics and swim lessons this year.  This summer Kinley had speech therapy to address her L and R sounds.  She's made progress and the speech therapist that saw her is the one at our school so continues to check in every few weeks.  We may add an IEP for speech, but at this point are trying remediation without.  Not pronouncing your speech sounds correctly makes it a challenge to spell and sound out some words. Kinley enjoys drawing and writing and you can often find her doing one of these things. She was recognized last week for Student of the Month for showing the character traits of Vermillion.  Kinley also enjoys the American Girl dolls and her Lalaloopsies and Shopkins. 

Emily started her first full year of preschool this fall.  She started two days a week in February and spent that time adjusting to a preschool routine and learning some good skills. It also allowed us to do speech the other two days a week.  This fall, Emily goes to school 4 days a week and enjoys it!  She's in a fully blended classroom, taught by a regular education preschool teacher (the ideal inclusion model) and supported by a special education teacher, plus PT, OT, and Speech.  She's grown a lot in the past few months--cognitively, physically.  Two days a week, Emily goes for Speech therapy at Erin is Hope to specifically address her childhood apraxia of speech and work intensely on learning sounds.  Those two days, Emily has just enough time after school for lunch and a car nap before being woken up to work.  Between her and Kinley this summer, we spent 3 days a week visiting a speech therapist.  WHEW!   Emily continues to love music, dancing, playing kitchen, and painting. Emily got her tonsils and adenoids out in June and ear tubes placed.  Hopefully the tonsils and adenoids being removed will solve her sleep apnea--follow up study in December.  Her favorite things are playing with the Barbies/car, music of any kind, and also playing kitchen.

Dan has been hard at work.  He's continued to work for Gray Communications doing app and web development for them.  He's received recognition for streamlining and reducing the need to use outside developers.  To keep him sane, he plays with the Llew Brown Band about 2x/month plus rehearsals. We've had the opportunity to see him play at Botanica and the Zoo. 

I've continued to be primarily at home, although have picked up a few extra work days a month this fall thanks to mom.  Managing all of the appointments, school things, house stuff, and etc can easily fill my time.  I've volunteered in Kinley's class both in Kindergarten and 1st grade.  I've also been doing new parent outreach for the Down Syndrome Society of Wichita--visiting new parents of children with Down syndrome. 

We took a vacation to Minnesota in July and visited with Aunt Lynne at the Lake, plus swung through the Mall of America and Omaha Zoo.  We took a short trip to Tulsa in July with the Johnstons. And spent 20 consecutive days in February with someone sick. 
In July we found out that our church would be closing, so have transitioned to Aldersgate United Methodist Church (main campus) and are finding our place there.  I'm helping with Sunday school rotations, the girls are regular Sunday school attenders again, and we will see how it all works out.

In October we said goodbye to Brisco.  His health had been declining since our return from vacation in July.  At the middle of September, we knew we had limited days with him having deemed him on Doggie Hospice.  He was a big part of our lives and routines and we've definitely missed him.  He'd have been 13 this month.

Our days are full and we enjoy our time together.