Abby's first preschool experience

The teachers of Santa Ana Unified's (the district I work in) infant/toddler special ed program are friends of mine, and they invited Abigail to participate in their summer school program. It's a parent-participation program, so there was no separation anxiety for Abby. This was her first classroom experience besides Sunday school. She loved it!!

It was two days a week, from 9:30 to noon. Usually, she was so busy and had such a fun time that as soon as she was in her car seat and I started the engine, she fell asleep. It was a great opportunity for Abby to spend time with same-age peers.

There were so many fun toys to play with, and Abby got to do lots of new things. She used play-doh...

...and she used things like paint and colored sand. It was interesting to see her use first a brush, and then her hands to paint a starfish. She didn't seem to mind the sensory experience of the cool, wet paint on her hands. Her mom, of course, is another story. I don't like being sticky and messy, so it's a good thing that she could experience this stuff with Miss Debbie!

There were so many fun toys with "beeps" (buttons for her to push, my little Electronics Diva), and a really cool loft with books and toddler-sized couches. It has clear plastic sides, so the children can see out, and the adults can see in, and it's fun for the children to be up so high!

Abigail loved "Miss Debbie," and especially enjoyed the singing and circle time activities. At the end of the morning sessions, as all the other families left, I often stayed a few minutes to visit and chat with Debbie and Veronica. Abby liked that, because Miss Debbie usually had some sort of yummy snack in her desk, and would let Abby climb up and touch her computer!

Because it's a special ed program, most of the children have disabilities of some sort. There are also a few typical peers (I have some in my own preschool special ed class as well). Abby seemed not to notice anything different about the other children. Because of my career, and also our friends and neighbors who have children with disabilities, both of my girls are pretty comfortable around people who are a little "different."

Now the summer school program is over, but Miss Debbie would like to have Abigail come back in the fall as a typical peer. I will see if the sitters are willing to take her there...

The church picnic

What a fun day! Our church picnic coincides with the big surfing competition in Huntington Beach. We can't park anywhere in downtown during the surf competition, so instead, we meet at Huntington's Central Park and have our annual picnic. It started at 10 in the morning, with singing, and then some visiting missionaries spoke. They are here on furlough from Japan, with their four children. The kids attend public school in Japan, so are bilingual in English and Japanese. Wow!

Sitting at a picnic table instead of engaging in the regular activities in children's church was a challenge for Abigail. Frances worked hard to keep her entertained.
Finally, we ate lunch (Frances kept announcing that she was starving) and then, the games began. The sack race was first, and Frances won by a huge margin. That girl can really jump! She is right in the center of the photo, in mid-air.
There was also a three-legged race, and then an interesting spin on a partnered race: two people had to hold a water balloon between their heads, and try to be the first to make it across the finish line! Frances paired up with her friend Sierra, but their balloon dropped about halfway up the course.
Then, there was the egg toss. For this event, Fran's partner was a teenager. They stayed in the competition as other teams' eggs smashed into gooey messes. That egg hit the ground without breaking several times, so much so that we started to wonder if it was hardboiled! Finally, it broke as Frances caught it. Yuck! But she and her partner tied for first place.

Abigail looked on, and had a great time. She played with other people's cell phones, drank from juice boxes and tiny bottled waters, and even left my side to play with Frances in the bounce house. This was a huge milestone for her, as usually, she wants to be within about 15 feet of me.

She picked up water balloons (and often dropped them, so that they soaked her shoes)and visited with several dogs. We stayed at the picnic until after 3:00. I carried Abby to the car, where she fell asleep in her car seat before I even started the engine!

Play ball!

This summer, Frances wanted to play baseball. I signed her up through the city program, because it was inexpensive and not very competitive. Practice is one night a week, with games on Saturdays. Fran has no experience playing baseball, but the games are only three innings, with each inning limited to three outs or five runs. The team is gradually improving, and last week, although she struck out twice, Frances made some amazing catches. They can only be attributed to Divine Intervention! It was like she had a magnetic glove! This week, Frances hit two singles, and her team won (even though only 3 players showed up, and they had to borrow kids from another team)!

Some of the dads are great with the kids, acting as first base coaches, tossing the ball to the kids before practice starts, giving them pointers. Frances is having a really good time. Abigail... not so much. She sits in the stroller during the games, so that I can watch Fran play!

The Circus is in town!

We went to the circus in mid-July, as has become a tradition, with Fran's best buddy Colby and his family. Here is a picture of the three "big kids": Clayton, age 5, Colby, age 8, and my Frances, age 8. Frances is three months older than Colby, but his parents are really tall!

Before the show starts, you can go down on the arena floor and meet the performers. We got to see an elephant make a painting on an easel!
It was, of course, Abigail's first time at the circus. She sat on my lap, and was so excited at the beginning of the show. She pointed at the horses, zebras and elephants as they paraded around the ring, and shouted, "Horsies! Look, Mama!"

During intermission, I let each girl choose a souvenir. Frances chose a stuffed animal (what a surprise), a horse with purple bridle and reins. We helped Abby to choose an elephant, because she really liked them during the show. During the second half of the show, Abigail had her back to the performance, was fussy and irritated, and kept playing with my face! I think that she was overstimulated, and also tired, as it was naptime. Frances spent the second half naming her horse and creating its story, paying little attention to the circus. Oh well.

Some mornings are better than others...

I had to post this photo! Talk about bed-head...

Our friend Haley pointed out a detail that had escaped my notice:
the bib says "hottie"!

Welcome to your summer!

Those were the words I spoke to Frances a few weeks ago. I haven't planned as many activities this summer as I have in previous years, simply because many of the things we used to do are not suitable for Abigail. Frances has been to the free movies with her friend James and his family, and she will do at least one VBS. We have been swimming quite a few times already, and will probably swim a lot this summer because both girls like it so much. Abigail has a "floaty suit" (but of course I am always right next to her) and a hat (because her hair is still so thin) and Frances is amazing everyone with her fabulous diving skills.



We will be scheduling playdates with friends, and I am hoping that Frances will get to do "big kid" things with friends and family.

Family Camp 2009 (loooong post)

As we have in previous summers, we spent a week on Catalina Island, at Intervarsity Christian Fellowship's Campus By The Sea. It was our first time as a family of three, and I think the biggest challenge was playing "tag team" as the only parent of two children, who have very different needs.

The first afternoon, Frances decided that she was going to take the swim test, which entails swimming out to the dive float, treading water, and then swimming back. If you pass the test, you don't have to wear a life jacket at the waterfront. Thankfully, I managed to get Abigail to sleep so that I could be there to watch Franny. The water was really cold, and it's a rocky beach (not sandy). The dive float is a long way out there, but she managed to pass the test! (By the way, that's her little head, right in the center of the photo.) I wrapped her shivering little body in a towel as she emerged from the water, my poor frozen child. She didn't go in swimming the rest of the week!

Abigail loved the play yard. She and Emily were in the same "class" in the mornings, and played together many afternoons. Emily's brother James is one of Fran's good friends, and we have been going to camp with this family for the past few years.

Frances was able to share some of her favorite camp activities with Abigail. Franny demonstrated how to do "rock bombs" (lugging a big rock out onto the pier, hefting it up to the rail, and shoving it off to see how big a splash you can make), and helped Abigail learn the hand motions for the camp songs.


Because Abigail has to take an afternoon nap (one day she fell asleep at the lunch table), Frances was on her own from about 1:30 to 5 in the afternoon. She had a great time with her freedom! You can't leave camp except by boat, and there are plenty of other children to play with. Most afternoons, she was on the volleyball court playing "jailbreak" with the other kids. Once when Abby woke up a little early, we went to find Frances in her usual spot, and I overheard a child saying, "Pick Frances. She's really good at this game." Some of the parents commented to me that Frances is a nice child. That's what I love to hear. And because camp is so safe, it's nice to let Frances just be her little self, with few constraints on her behavior and activities.

Each year, we make a family banner, using muslin, paints, and incorporating the Bible verse that we are memorizing. Mid-week, I still had not started on our banner, because I was so busy with Abby. So Frances spent time in the craft tent two afternoons, and she made our family banner all by herself. And it is just beautiful. I love it! It includes the verse that we memorized for the week, which is Romans 12:2. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is; His good, pleasing, and perfect will." I don't know what translation it is taken from, but we learned a great song to help us remember it.

On Wednesday, we went into Avalon with James and his family. We had planned on playing miniature golf. but the course was closed for renovations. So we walked around, shopped a little, had pizza for lunch, and then ate ice cream. Abby didn't nap until the boat ride back to camp, at 3 p.m.! She is like Frances was at this age; she doesn't want to miss anything.

After breakfast, there is singing, and then children's devotions. Frances and James were chosen to participate twice, which was very exciting and fun. Paul does all sorts of activities to help the children understand the concepts we are learning about. In the picture, Paul had put "special glasses" on James & Fran and asked them to read a card he was holding. James was sabotaged; the lenses of his glasses were painted black! The kids each got a bag of Skittles for participating. Both children were among the first in camp to memorize the Bible verse for the week, and they got up on stage to recite it. We were all very proud.

This was the first year that Frances has participated in the boat race. On the last full day of camp, individuals or teams can use empty milk cartons, water bottles, plastic bags, sticks, etc. to make a boat. Someone from the team then swims with the boat out to the dive float. When they hear the signal, all participants release their boats. The first few boats to hit the beach win a prize. Frances worked with James, Tessa and Sarah, so they dubbed their boat the "FranJamTesSarah." They didn't win, but they had fun!

Frances and James are like "staff groupies" when we are at camp. They love their "teachers" and even invited them to eat with us at various meals. When we were in Avalon, the kids were thrilled when we ran into some of the camp staff! Frances is planning to work there as soon as she is out of high school.

It was such a blessing to see Abigail enjoying worship so much. Every time there was the opportunity to sing, Abby was trying to do the movements to the songs, or she was bouncing and swaying, frequently with her little hands in the air. It brings tears to my eyes to see my little girls, both born in countries in which they would probably not have heard the gospel, learning to love our Lord and Savior. We can hardly wait to go back next year!