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!

Special Olympics

In June, just before summer vacation, Sophie was able to be part of the Special Olympics day for the school board.  She had a blast!!!

The volunteers were just amazing and really made it a fun day for all the children that were participating.  What a fabulous group of people!  Sophie's EA was also by her side helping her do her best.

Sophie concentrated and worked really hard at each event.  She was covered in ribbons by the end of the day.

These are just a few of the events she participated in....

Success!!!  Look at all those ribbons and of course the huge grin!

Grade Three

Since I haven't blogged all summer I figured I should at least show a back to school photo.  Sophie is loving grade three and we are getting settled in to the new school year nicely.  Lucas is having a great start as well and he has continued in the gifted itinerant program this year.  He has his first cluster session for grade six this week.

Waiting to have her name called to meet her new teacher!

Choir recital

Sophie once again performed in the choir at school.  They just had their Choir music night and performed songs from Broadway shows.  It was excellent and very entertaining!  I was so proud of my girl up there in front of such a large audience.  She loved the singing as much as us and she was quite happy to sing along in her own way to all the songs whether it was her choirs turn or not!

It is hard to see her in these photos but she is to the far right of the group...

My parents and my niece were able to attend with us so it was a very special evening for Sophie.  Her wonderful EA also took time out of her evening to come and be with Sophie for the recital.  It was so nice to be able to watch my girl be in the choir with all of her friends.

The choir directors have made a real effort to have Sophie even more included this year by having a singing buddy with her all the time.  Her friends love doing this for her and Sophie can watch them and learn from them as well.  A special education music teacher even came to the school to give some suggestions on how to work with Sophie to make it a positive experience for her in choir.  So many good things came from her visit and we know that Sophie benefited from the effort of all involved!

Soccer and Alphie

Sophie received a soccer ball from Santa this year that is pretty awesome.  It talks and sings and is very responsive to the slightest movements.  That Santa sure does know how to pick them.  Sophie is loving playing soccer by kicking the ball off her foot rest and she has a grand time throwing me the ball by rolling it off of her lap.  She loves the interaction of the back and forth and you can tell she is very proud of her ability to move the ball herself.  Her gross motor skills are improving in leaps and bounds.

Sophie is getting a lot of therapy this year and I think it is really paying off.  She has joined a physical literacy program for children with epilepsy/neurological conditions and she is loving it.  Each Saturday she joins a volunteer for three hours along with other children and they have fun being active.  It is a government initiative with the epilepsy support centre and it has been great so far.

We are also lucky enough to have a recreation therapist coming to her school regularly to help improve the inclusion element of Sophie in gym class.  Sophie's EA has taken on the suggestions with much enthusiasm, unfortunately the teacher still doesn't include Sophie in gym class and to this point hasn't really shown any interest in learning ways that Sophie can be included in her class in the future.  Thankfully we have an amazing rec therapist that can teach Sophie's EA so it is the teachers' loss.  Right now they are trying to create an adapted badminton racket.  Awe.Some.

Sophie's fine motor skills are also forever changing and improving.  This is an Alphie robot toy my mom got her for Christmas 2012 and Sophie was not interested and didn't have the dexterity to do anything with it.  Just a year and a bit later and Sophie is fascinated by it and is trying very hard to push the small, fairly difficult buttons all by herself.  I always try to rotate around her toys so that she doesn't get bored and I am glad that I never gave up on this one.  It also is great for literacy and numbers depending on the card you choose.

Valentine's Day sweetness

Sophie is always up for a fun holiday celebration.  She loves opening presents and receiving gifts as much as her brother does.  Valentine's Day is no exception.  Since Sophie does not eat anything by mouth it isn't as easy as buying her some candy or chocolate for this holiday or any other holiday.  There are always alternatives though that are often much better anyway!

Sophie loves Elmo, almost as much as her beloved Wiggles.  So when I found this little Elmo Valentine book I knew it was perfect for my girl.  It also has some touch and feel elements which makes it even better.

Lucas is all about the speed of opening his gifts.  How fast can you get to the candy.

Sophie was happy to give Lucas the Valentine she made for him at school and Lucas thought it was very sweet.  Sophie received Valentine's from all of her school friends, along with many stickers that she can use to make crafts with.  We are so lucky to be surrounded by so much love, not just on Valentine's Day but everyday of the year.

Singing in the choir

For the last two years Sophie has been a part of the primary choir at school.  She goes to choir practice every week and thoroughly enjoys hearing all of her friends singing around her.

On Remembrance Day this year the choirs performed at the assembly for the whole school.  Sophie did a beautiful job and her EA made the assembly a joy for Sophie.  Sophie helped keep the beat with the help of her EA by shaking a maraca type shaker while her friends sang.  She watched out over the crowd and I could tell that she was very proud of herself and was having a grand time.

Sophie being in the choir was not something that I was sure would ever happen and even though she can't sing like the rest of us, she was certainly an important part of the assembly right along side all of her friends and peers.  It was definitely a proud mommy moment.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween, even if the weather was awful, pouring down on us all day and night.  It was much warmer than last year though, which was cold and wet.  The primary grades at the school did the parade around the block in a brief dry spell and all the kids had so much fun showing off their costumes to the neighbourhood.  Sophie loved having her friends all around her, two of them right by her side the whole time throughout the parade.  She is such a lucky girl to have such amazing friends in her class and school.

This year we decided pretty early on what Sophie was going to be for Halloween.  We talked to her about it and asked if she would like to be Emma the yellow Wiggle from the Wiggles.  As some of you may know, Sophie is the number one Wiggles fan on the planet.  She gave us huge smiles whenever we asked her if she would like to dress as Emma so we knew it would be a hit with her.  We are so glad that Emma is a part of the Wiggles group, she brings something new to the show and it just made sense that Sophie would finally be a real live Wiggle, if even for just one day.

To make the day even more awesome, Sophie's EA and nurse came dressed as Wiggles as well!  So Sophie had a whole Wiggles singing group with her, just as it should be!  It really did make my day and I know that it probably meant the world to Sophie.  It was one of those things that didn't maybe seem like such a big deal to others, but to us it just was one more example of how awesome the team that we have with Sophie at school is, that they love her and think about how to make her day great every single day.

Lucas, oh Lucas.  What can I say, he just continues to be his awesome self.  He and his friend decided to be cheerleaders.  And boy did he pull it off.  We lucked out and found a cheerleader skirt at the thrift store and then it became this crazy adventure to find all the other pieces to make the outfit.  We had so much fun and it came out so great.  Dare I say he is a very pretty girl. lol.

He and his friends laughed their way through the night even though it was pouring rain, they sprinted to every house and were on a mission to get as much candy as they possibly could.  He was so excited when he was given a can of root beer, his favourite haul of the whole night.  :)

Making Sophie's costume was more involved but it came out amazing.  We hit up every thrift store and clothing store to find the yellow shirt to no avail, in the end I ended up dyeing one and it came out the perfect colour!  My mom and I found all the tulle and accessories and she sewed them into the perfect Emma Wiggle outfit. 

The day is over in a whirlwind, so much work for one day but so worth it!

Happy Halloween!!