Halloween

Sophie wanted to be Emma Wiggle for Halloween again this year.  It didn't matter what we suggested she made it quite clear that Emma was the choice.  So, Emma it was!  Sophie's grade is part of the parade at school as well.  Here she is with her nurse and EA.

Lucas was Smurfette.  What can I say, I have a daring boy with a good sense of self and humour!

Zoe was Rapunzel and she came trick or treating with us for the first time.

Lucas went with all his buddies again this year and a couple of the moms tagged along with them, they became the candy haulers as it is all about the quantity for these boys.

Sophie went with all her school friends for the third year, these girls love Sophie to pieces and Sophie was so excited to be out with them all for trick or treating.  They are always sure to bring Sophie some candy from each house.  She can't eat any of it so I get a few snacks ;)  Zoe had a blast with the older girls and they made her feel so welcome.

The best part is it only rained a tiny bit and it was much warmer than last year.  Hurray!

Therapeutic Riding

Sophie had been on a waitlist for a local therapeutic riding place nearby for well over a year.  We had waited three + years before that for her seizures to stabilize so that we could even apply.  We finally got a call in October that they had a spot open up for her.  I used to ride competitively when I was a teenager so I was over the moon that my girl was going to ride horses!  When we arrived Sophie was visibly excited and didn't want to take her eyes off the horses.

Lucas gettting in on the horsey action. lol.

We took her out for an assessment and we were sooooo excited.  Unfortunately that excitement was blown to smitherines pretty quickly.  We got her up on a horse and they expected her to hold her trunk up mostly by herself.  Sophie doesn't have that muscle tone needed to keep herself upright and she was a rag doll without any support.  It went downhill really fast and before I knew it we were being told that she wasn't a candidate for the institute.

I was devastated, we had been excited for this for so very long and it was gone just like that.  I was a mess, crying right there.  Sophie had a cut on her nose from the helmet when they let her head smash on the neck of the horse.  They were obviously not prepared at this facility for someone with such severe CP and it showed right away.

I have a number of friends who have successfully enrolled their children in therapeutic riding/hippotherapy with kids as severe as Sophie or more so.  Once we lick our wounds we will start looking for a new place to try.  In the meantime I have these adorable photos of Sophie in her riding helmet.

This photo was when the OT finally went in to help.  They took her off the horse shortly after as they thought she was in distress.

Closing down this cottage for the last time

Near the end of October Lucas and I closed down the cottage with one of my girlfriends and her son, a good friend of Lucas'.  We had a colllldddd weekend that was a bit stormy but we got it all done.

 
We had to really pack everything up this year and bring it home because we are not going back to the same old cottage next year.  We are reno-ing this cottage to make it more accessible for Sophie and to give us some more space in general.

It has meant a lot of planning but we are excited to see what the new expanded cottage looks like in the spring!  Lucas is very hesitant about changing anything but I think all will be forgiven when we get settled in next year.

It will be so nice for Sophie to have a bedroom instead of having her bed in the living room.  We will also have a shower that is accessible for her for the first time!  It will all be a big change for the better.  We love spending time at the cottage and Jason's mom has made it a special place for all of us to go to together every year.  Come on spring!

Thanksgiving Smiles and Sunshine

Back it up to October again.

Thanksgiving was a little later this year on the weekend of October 12th, so many leaves were down but it was a beautiful day, if not a bit chilly.

We headed out to my mom's for dinner a little early and took a detour to the park we go to each year for Thanksgiving photos.  This year it was just the four of us but I got some great photos.  We rode the little train and the carousel and just had a nice walk while Lucas scootered along up and down the hills.

We have so much to be thankful for. Sophie and Lucas have both been very healthy this fall.  When days are hard or especially tiring I remind myself of that.

Lucas wanted to ride both the carousel and the train and Sophie was quite happy to do the same.  We had the carousel all to our selves.  The train was busy and we had to brake for some Canadian Geese which added some excitement for the kids.

The holiday weekend was over in the blink of an eye as always.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Number 1 fan

Most people who know Sophie know that she is a HUGE Wiggles fan.  It has been her entertainment of choice for over five years now.  Luckily the Wiggles had yet another show nearby that she was able to attend.  It wasn't in our city for the first time but Sophie and her dad made the 1 1/2 hour trip to see them in early October.

Sophie donned her Emma Wiggle outfit that my mom and I made for her last Halloween.  It still fit perfectly and Sophie still looked adorable in it.

Just like many times before Sophie got to meet some of the Wiggles.  They usually come down to her and say hi at some point in the concert.  This time Sophie got to meet Emma!!  She talked to her about her costume and told her how happy she was that she was there to see the concert.

You can tell by these photos at the end of the concert that Sophie was totally exhausted and over stimulated but she had such a great time.  It seemed she had lots of stories to tell us about her evening when she got home as she had tons of vocalizations and was sooo excited.