Special Olympics

I have to admit that until Emma's teacher told me we would be going to the Special Olympics this year, the idea of Emma ever participating in the event had never crossed my mind. For one thing, she doesn't love crowds. She loves crowds of strangers even less. Not to mention that she's not particularly athletic and is more likely to refuse to participate than not.

But Emma continually surprises me. And yesterday was a surprisingly good day.

Instead of totally withdrawing, Emma participated and truly seemed to have a good time.

The Parade of Athletes was emotional for me. I teared up several times as the athletes marched in, the fans cheered, the law enforcement team ran the flame into the stadium and then several athletes made a final lap with the flame before lighting the torch in the center of the stadium. There was the Special Olympics pledge "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt" and the National Anthem sung by a sweet thing who did it better than I've heard at any professional ball game in a long time, and the games were declared open.

Emma's first event was the 50m dash. They had handed out small plastic bags for the kids to haul all their loot in and Emma categorically refused to let anyone hold the bag for her. So she ran her race with the bag in her hand. And she ran the whole thing.

OK. Toward the end it was more of a meander than a run, but she crossed the finish line. Then she wanted to run it again so she raced her Aunt Jennifer part of the way!

Next came the softball throw. And here's where we dropped the ball. The opening ceremonies had taken far longer than scheduled so everything was running behind. Emma's first event had started 45 minutes late. But her 2nd event did not. And we missed it. I had gone to the van to feed Drew, and everyone else was headed that way but didn't arrive in time. So, we know she threw the ball far and won 3rd place. She was very happy with her medal!

After that, we had some lunch and were planning to head out, but her teachers asked if she could participate in the 4x100 relay event. Another child who had been scheduled to participate had to leave early, and they needed one more runner. We had no idea if Emma would run, would hold the baton, would hand the baton over, etc., but we said "Sure".

We are so glad we stayed.

First off, our competition never showed, so the organizers decided to let us run against four middle school teams, but award the elementary division separately. So, imagine Emma lined up on her arrow in row 1 and four middle school aged boys lined up in rows 2-5. She looked like such a tiny peanut.

Then, when the gun went off, she took off. Except she was the 2nd runner. Brian had to catch her and bring her back so she'd be in position for the baton.

When Miranda rounded the corner, Emma took the baton and took off. Brian was holding her hand some to encourage her to run and to stay somewhat on course, but Emma did things her own way. At some point, she decided to see how the baton worked as a spy glass. She slowed down and held the baton to her eye. We were yelling "Run, Emma" and laughing all at the same time. And so was everyone else.

You have to experience it, but it was such a "safe" place. There was no mean-spiritedness. People laughed because it was funny, because the kids were just having fun and being themselves and because these kids know that the point is to play well, not to win.

So Emma makes it to her handoff and hands the baton off. Caleb takes it but is ready to hand it off to his dad, but his dad gives it back and away he goes.

When he gets to Colby, our anchor runner, things really got interesting.

First, Colby took off without the baton. His buddy grabbed him and got him back to his mom who was holding the baton. He tried again. (Keep in mind, there is an announcer talking through a loudspeaker the whole time, encouraging the kids - the middle schoolers had finished before Emma did). This time, he doesn't just run. He sort of runs/skips and waves his arms in circles as he heads for the finish line. Everyone was laughing, yelling "Go Colby", clapping and  laughing some more. The announcer comes back on and says "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be joyful in the attempt!" as Colby approaches the finish line.

It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Everyone met back at the finish line, laughing so hard our cheeks hurt! The kids were awarded their gold medals we took pictures of our athletes before heading for home.

We had such an amazing day. I was impressed by the camaraderie and friendliness of everyone there and by the respectful attitudes of the high school students who had volunteered as buddies for the day.

Emma and her teacher, Mrs. Irick, walking in the Parade of Athletes

Emma running in the 50 m dash

Emma's bronze medal

Emma waiting on her arrow for the relay race

The Gold Medalist!









Baby Drew is Here

He arrived 6 weeks ago.

I'm behind.

I've been busy!

Andrew Phipps Blackburn arrived on February 24th. He's fabulous. We are all completely smitten. He has a tiny bit of hair and his eyes are blue at the moment, but our pediatrician tells me that can still change. So far, his only health issue is that he has reflux, which means I'm getting to reuse all those burp cloths I had with James . . . and Emma . . . hmmm . . . there might be a pattern here!

Drew seems to be able to just roll with the punches. He's been such a trooper. He hasn't had the luxury of a nice "routine" but he's still eating and sleeping well.

Emma and James are doing a great job as big sister and big brother. They like to "hold" him and if he starts to cry, they run for the pacifiers or come get me with the words "Baby Drew Crying". It is clear they expect me to remedy this situation immediately!

Snaggletooth

Emma's top teeth had been loose for a LONG time. They were barely hanging on and over the course of a few days, Brian was able to pull both of them without upsetting Emma. She loves to show us her smile now! She won't have much of a space for long. Both teeth were already coming in by the time the baby teeth came out!

Teeth minus one!

Teeth minus two!

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I have a confession.

I don't really enjoy field trips. I go on them, but I don't look forward to them.

Because Emma doesn't seem to enjoy them, either.

She's a girl who likes her routine. She's also not particularly fond of crowds. So field trips with 3 other kindergarten classes are usually rather overwhelming.

But I think this one may have been the best yet. The weather was great. The schedule had enough free time that we weren't rushed, but not so much free time that we were bored. We've been here before and Emma is mostly interested in the tractor ride. But this year they had a small petting zoo and Emma enjoyed checking out the animals. She had a nice chat with the pig...she knelt down, looked it in the eye and said "Hi, Pig!" Then she waited. I think she was expecting an answer!



Carrying the pumpkin out of the patch.



Hi Pig!

Scary September

After the birthday party, I have very few pictures for the rest of the month of September. The month took a turn when I had some complications two weekends in a row and pretty much was told to spend most of my time in bed or on the couch.

Emma - reading Clifford, watching Baby Einstein, sitting in a box. :-)

James -  who went through a "who needs pants" phase!

Thankfully, since the scares of September, I've had no further complications and as I write these words the baby is kicking away to remind me to get caught up on the blog because he intends to have a significant presence on here in about four weeks!

James Starts Preschool

"Just one day a week . . . it's just one day."

This was my chant as I took James to his first day of Mom's Morning Out.

He needs it. I need it.

That doesn't mean I have to like it.

Thankfully, he loves it!

James Turns 2

Yes, if you note the date you'll see the awful truth...I'm 6 months behind.

What can I say?

It's been a busy 6 months!

So . . . .

We had a brunch for James' 2nd birthday with family and friends that are family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and godcousins (is that even a real word?). Anyway.

Sandra had broken her ankle and was in a wheelchair, but that didn't stop her from mopping my floors and fixing the tenderloin. Mom was on biscuit duty. Somehow it all got done. The weather was fabulous and after you eat a tenderloin breakfast, do you really need to eat the rest of the day?



Anna, Ashlyn, Ethan & James



Not sure if they planned to match or if Clemson was playing!



James loved all his presents and loved all the attention! Emma loved the party hats - she takes her party hats seriously!

This is what James thought of the First Day of School

Where is my Emma?

First Day of School

I realized the other day that this is our sixth first day of school. Emma started preschool the day after she turned 3 in February of 2006. Then we had K-3, K-4, K-5 and 1st grade.

This year is 1st grade again. We are repeating 1st grade and I am thrilled about it. I don't see any sense in rushing through elementary school! We'll stay as long as we can!

This is also our 4th new school. Hopefully, it will be the last for a while. Nothing would make me happier than for us to stay in one elementary school until they kick us out and send us to middle school! We have quite a few friends who have kids at Bethel and my hope is that they will get to know Emma, and she them, and begin to build some friendships.

My friend Jessica sent me a message today that they had seen Emma on their way in this morning and she had pointed her out to her daughter Caroline. When Caroline got home, she reported that she had seen Emma in the hall and had said Hi to her. I could have cried! I told Jessica to be sure to thank Caroline and to assure her that while Emma may not say Hi back, she does hear it and notice it and appreciate it. I'm hoping this is just the first of many new friends for Emma!

I was doing OK when I dropped her off until it was time for me to head out. Emma gave me this look that, to me, said "I'm trying to be brave . . . but I don't know about this, Mommy." I almost lost it. But, her teacher reported that she had a great first day, she seemed happy as a clam getting off the bus, and has had a good afternoon.

These are the days when having a child who can't - not just is reluctant to - not just that it's like pulling teeth to get the info - but that cannot tell me about her day could drive me insane. Or maybe to order a peppermint mocha (which I totally did a few hours after I dropped her off!).

I would give anything to know what she is thinking, feeling and wondering. Does she understand that school is back in for the year? Does she understand that she's going back tomorrow and the next day and the next? Does she wonder where her teachers from the last two years are and why the classroom is different? Did she enjoy her day? Was everyone nice to her? What was her favorite part of the day? Her least favorite?

These are the questions that I never get answers to. So I take them to One who knows the answers. And I beg Him to communicate with her little heart and ease any anxiety she may be feeling. And to give me wisdom to know things I couldn't otherwise know. To show me when to intervene and to give me the good sense to stay out of the way when she's got it under control (as she usually does!).

It helps me to remember that He loves her more than I do.

And that He is holding her safely in His arms.

Jordan Lake

Emma - she liked the view from
the front of the boat

But she really liked watching
the wake from the back!

We went to Mom and Dad's a few weeks ago and they've got the pontoon boat in working order. So we headed to Jordan Lake - it's about a 30 minutes drive from their house. We were fairly certain Emma would enjoy the boat, but not as sure about James. He was quite displeased about the lifejacket requirements, but he settled after a few minutes (not that he had a choice).

James was out cold!

Emma wanted to go faster - and faster - and faster. Brian commented that she could be on speed boat and it wouldn't be fast enough for her. She liked looking over the back of the boat at the wake.

Taking it easy!

Brian and Emma in the lake

Checking on the shoreline
with Papa.

Swimming with Nana!

James was worn out (we had been traveling for several days before we got to mom and dad's) and he fell sound asleep. He slept through most of our adventure. I don't have any pictures of Jennifer, but she was with us!

RTS Conference 2010

Me & Emma at the Aquarium -
She loved the penguins!

We've been home less than 48 hours. I may never get caught up on the laundry or my sleep.

And it is totally worth it!

We had a great time in Covington/Cincinnati, meeting other RTS families, hearing new ideas on how best to communicate with and advocate for Emma both now, and in the years to come.

Having never met another RTS family in person, this past weekend was a delightful experience. Imagine having never been around anyone who just knows - really knows - and to find yourself surrounded by, oh, a hundred or so families who get it.

Emma and Caden (Tena's little man)

Tena & Me

Typical conversations included questions about diagnosis, school settings, medical issues, speech, toilet training and social interactions. But not once did anyone have to explain a behavior or deal with the look you're used to getting when you tell someone your pint-sized peanut is, in fact, 7 years old. 

There was an instant camaraderie - a sense of family - from the first night. There was no childcare available Friday evening and entire families congregated to hear the opening remarks from the organizers and the address from Mrs. Michigan, Stephanie Hunt, who happens to be an RTS mom herself and a vocal advocate for all children with rare diseases.

Brian, me and Cindy

The room was so loud, it was hard to hear the speakers. Now, this might have been an annoyance to some, but Brian and I kept looking at each other and laughing, because underneath the noise there was an omnipresent hum - the exact same hum that Emma has. It's hard to describe, but if you've heard it, you know what I'm talking about. Imagine lots of RTS sweeties, all humming at the same time in a confined space. It was noisy, but it was fabulous! We didn't realize that Emma's hum was characteristic of RTS, but it must be, because we heard it frequently.

Emma and Natalie (Cindy's little one)

I had a great time putting faces to names. Meeting Tena, Cindy, Kristi, Terri and others who I've "known" for years through the RTS listserve but had never spoken to before this past weekend. Even more fun was meeting their children - Caden, Natalie, Noah, Addie, and others of all ages.

Brian and James on the Duck Boat

Of course, we also enjoyed the Cincinnati area, particularly Newport on the Levee. We went to the Aquarium and had some Graeter's ice cream on Friday - Brian is now officially addicted. On Saturday, we took a Duck Boat ride and Emma & I got completely soaked when the boat hit the water. It didn't bother Emma though - she kept telling us she wanted to go on the "special ride" again. Sandra & I went to lunch on Sunday and had some yummy pizza (and more Graeter's) and then we all took a snooze before heading to the pool.

Emma on the Duck Boat -

Before the Soaking!

Emma and James had a great time swimming while I got to talk to some other RTS moms and Brian got to talk to some RTS dads and the whole pool was overtaken by RTS munchkins! It was fabulous!

Brian and I went back to Newport on the Levee, drove around some of the historic and ritzy houses on the Kentucky side of the river, enjoyed the view and got more Graeter's (Brian did - I didn't!).

Emma and Me on the Duck Boat -
After the Soaking!

Monday morning we went on a tour of the new Dept. of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's. The therapy rooms were enough to make me drool, and I'm not even a therapist. They were huge, open and just cool! We visited the Rubinstein library and toy lending library and got to meet a few people who helped to make the conference a success.

When we left, we headed back to Graeter's (I am not making this up!) to purchase some ice cream which they packed in dry ice - guaranteed to stay frozen for 36 hours. The fine folks at Graeter's sent us to the Mt. Adams Bar & Grill - legal since 1941! - and we had a lovely lunch and headed home.

The kids traveled beautifully and Sandra was a HUGE help! I had expected the weekend to be beneficial and informative. I hadn't expected to have so much fun!

Brian and his new love!