Summer recap

I am going to try this whole blogging thing again. School starts on Monday so I am hoping to get a little time to myself.

This summer has been very very busy. We kicked it off with a family trip to Disney World. We met just about every princess at least once and both girls loved going on rides and dressing up in pretty dresses. Katie was a little young to understand it all but Kiya was in heaven. She can't wait to go back again.

Kiya was in a brace all summer so she got to take swim lessons for the first time. We opted for private lessons since she had zero core muscle strength and we wanted to make sure she wasn't left behind in a bigger group setting. The private lessons were a bit of a hassle as we had a flaky college student and then the aquatics director trying to fill in the gaps. Regardless of the hiccups, Kiya loved the lessons and went from not knowing how to swim or really even hold herself up in the water to being able to swim with her face in the water for half the length of the pool completely unassisted. We are so proud of her. She also spent the summer doing at first weekly and then every other week physical therapy sessions. She is so much stronger and her balance and coordination are vastly improved. We also did mini therapy sessions either in the pool or I turned the living room into a min therapy room. She worked really really hard. She also enjoyed running in the sprinklers, a picnic at Shriner's hospital, the Iowa State fair with her new BFF Paul, boat rides, Cornfest, and oh so much more. Her summer officially ends Sunday as she starts 4k bright and early Monday  morning.

Katie has changed so much in these months of summer. She went from being not a fan of water to enjoying a splash park and little water slide. She is still refusing to potty train but we talk about it and hope someday soon preferably she will get it. Her language has just exploded. She is so expressive and silly and is speaking in small sentences. She points to everything and will tell you what it is. She is learning to count to 10 and is starting to grasp some colors. She loves to read books, play with her Lightening Mcqueen car and give hugs and kisses. She has officially been home for a year now. In the last 6 weeks or so it was like the little wall she had put up to protect herself came crumbling down. She is happy and funny and literally walks with a sass and bounce in her step. She is dancing through life and for awhile she seemed angry and not much for hugs and kisses. Even her hugs are different now. She gives big bear hugs or at least as big as a 2 1/2 year old can give. Katie goes to daycare three days a week and is really thriving. She is making friends and practicing writing her letters. She also enjoyed trips to the park and sometimes when she was in the mood the sprinklers.

As for me I sat back and watched my girls really become each others best friends. Sure they fight sometimes but they really do love being with each other. Katie plays in Kiya's room while I shower and at first I was nervous about this but they do great most of the time. Sometimes they have to work out their issues but they do and then hug. I also shuffled kids from one activity to another. We were in Chicago for a picnic at Shriner's. We went to Iowa to visit friends. Kiya and I went back to Chicago just this week.

The month of September is a busy one. It started with a new cast for Kiya but that is for another post. We have doctors appointments for both girls coming up, our new schedule with school now factored in, a few more baseball games, a football game, friends visiting and more. Whew. I am tired just thinking about it.

No promises I can motivate myself to keep this blog going but I have a lot on my mind.