Catch Up

I know all you readers have anxiously been awaiting my next post, checking the blog every day to see if it's been posted yet! (Lol, don't worry, I'm only kidding, I'm not delusional.)

The reason I haven't posted in a while is because I've been busy. I mean really busy! Let me tell you how our week goes... We have T ball practice & a game each week, sports skills class, speech, OT, & dance class. Addy has girl scouts every other week. I've been volunteeering at Addy's school & had to go to a couple girl scout trainings too. Not to mention I am the team captain for Addy's elementary school Walk Now for Autism Speaks team so I have been putting fundraisers together. So yes, like I said, I've been busy!

So let me just catch you up with what's been going on at our house...

Nick & I had our 11 year anniversary on September 15th! We ate dinner at RA Sushi & then went to The Chocolate Bar for dessert. We split this piece of rocky road chocolate cake & boy was it delicious!

Addy performed a few magic tricks for us. Here she is doing that trick where you put a ball under a cup, slide the cups around & then ask which cup the ball is under. Yep, I was able to find the ball. (It might have been a little harder for me if she had cups that were all the same. But shh, don't tell her that, lol.) She also made a few things disappear & pulled a rabbit out of her hat!

 

Alex has been playing with his stuffed animals a lot lately. Here he is snuggled up with some of them watching TV.

I bought some new fall candles. This one smells great!

With the beautiful weather, we've been having playdates at the park. This day, we spent 2 hours at the playground & only left so that we could eat lunch.

 

This guy has also been enjoying the beautiful weather!

 

Addy pretended that she was a princess & said she needed a castle. So I made her one! I took 3 boxes & taped them together & used gray construction paper as blocks. It even had a real working drawbridge.

I've made several door hangers these past couple of weeks. I'm selling them now & have had lots of orders from teachers at Addy's school.

 

Alex had his first t ball game. (And his second & missed his third.) I'll try to do a separate post on his games soon.

Addy & Daddy came & watched Alex play his game.

Addy cracked the screen on the iPad. So mommy got an iPad 3 & Addy now has her own iPad. (She already thought it was her's anyway, lol!)

I love how she fixed her cracked screen! A bandage makes everything better!

 

Look at this mess Alex made. He just wanted a 'little' cinnamon on his marshmallows! (And on the floor & on the stepstool & on the wall!)

Alex didn't want to participate at Sports Skills class again. Until the last about 20 minutes. And then of course, he didn't want to leave afterwards. The plan next week is to just drop him off & leave. Oh... we'll see how that goes, lol!

Addy has been doing great in her dance class! Getting more & more comfortable on the balance beam.

I've been working a lot on not only our team for the walk, but I'm also helping to set up a support group for parents of special needs kids in Sienna.

 There's been a lot of loving on a certain kitty going on in this house!

 

We've been playing outside

 

And playing dress up. (We play dress up a lot!)

Alex was Jake from Jake & the Neverland Pirates

 

and a fireman. Addy would go put Bailey on her dresser & yell for Fireman Alex to come save her kitty. It was so funny!

 

Addy & I had our first girl scout troop meeting.

 

And Nick & I ended these past couple of hectic weeks with a nice relaxing trip to Georgia to go visit some of our best friends.

 

And that's about it. I think you're all caught up with what's been going on in the Strickland household. I'll try not to wait 3 weeks before my next post. (But no guarantees, lol.)

Sports Skills

Last Thrusday, I took Alex to a sports skills class at The Little Gym. The class focuses on several different sports...soccer, football, basketball, baseball & golf i think... each one for a couple of weeks in a row. And it also incorporates some gymnastic activities in the last 30 minutes of the class.

Alex was super excited to go. We got to The Little Gym & he high fived the instructor & took his socks & shoes off. We were waiting for the class before his to finish up & he kept asking "Can I go in now? Can I go in now?" And then when it was time, he went in with the instructor & was ready to play.

And then another little boy showed up. And another. And another.

I was sitting in the observation/waiting room & to me, he looked like he was still doing great. But then the teacher told the boys to all go sit by the wall so she could show them a few soccer kicks. The 3 other boys ran over to the wall but Alex didn't move. He just sat there.

The teacher started talking to him & then he stood up. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on. I thought maybe she was going to have him kick the ball. Until I saw the look on his face. He was holding back the tears.

I opened the door to check on him & the instructor walked him over to me. She said he was so upset that he was literally shaking & as soon as he was in my arms, he broke down & cried.

He said he didn't want to go back in to the class. So I carried him into the room & he sat in my lap against the wall.

As the other boys were kicking soccer balls, one of them rolled over near us. So I grabbed it & let Alex play with it. I got him to kick it & dribble it, but he would only do it right in front of me. He wouldn't get back on the mat.
 

 

The class does 30 minutes of group activities on the big mat & then 30 minutes of 'stations.' The boys went to the first station & Alex was very interested in watching what they were doing, but still didn't want to participate just yet.

 

When they went to the second station, we had to move closer to the boys to be able to see what they were doing. Nicki, the instructor, asked Alex if he wanted to kick his soccer ball to her. He told her "No" but that he would kick it to me.

 

And so at this point, Alex began to participate.

 

He worked on kicking the ball to me & stopping the ball with his foot when I kicked it to him.

 

 

 He crawled on the obstacle course.

 

He did some sommersaults (with assistance.)

 

He hung from the bar.

 

He walked on the balance beam.

 

And he hung on the uneven bars. (The instructor had to raise the bar for him since he's so tall.)

 

He ended up participating for about the last 20 minutes of the class. And during that time, he had a lot of fun. Even though he was "too nervous" (his words) this time, I definitely plan on bringing him back. I think it'll be good for him to be around other little boys his age & to have a little bit of time away from mommy & to find out which sport he likes the best. I think it'll probably take a couple of classes (hopefully not all 40) before he is completely okay with going, but he's already saying he wants to go back. We didn't go this week since he was sick, but you better bet he'll be there next week!