Saturday, June 14, 2014

meet Teanna.

Meet Teanna, Emmett's occupational therapist. She previously worked at Fraser Center and is now with Children's. And man, she knows her stuff! Emmett has had three sessions with her so far, and things are going well! He is growing comfortable with her the more they get to know each other.
working on fine motor skills.
the bean bin. working with textures and how to feel comfortable touching them.
The therapy swing. Emmett was afraid of this at first, but once he rode on it a few times and realized he was safe, he enjoys it. The swing is meant to help the brain engage more in processing the skills needed to ride on the swing, like balance, movement through the air, and depth.
working on oral motor skills by blowing bubbles.
now that Ethnie is done with school, she can come with to therapy. she enjoyed it!
working on oral motor skills while doing therapeutic listening at the same time. this engages all areas of the brain at once. it is an amazing system.
painting with shaving cream and working on touching different textures.
Ethnie was so helpful and learned a lot about the sensory issues Emmett has.
getting silly.
Emmett took a big step when he put the shaving cream on his nose. He immediately wanted it wiped off, but at least he tried it.:)
yay buddy!
once he wanted it off he tried wiping it off his face, which caused smearing all over his face and he began to panic. Teanna cleaned him up and felt it was time to stop the activity.

We feel really good about both of Emmett's therapists and are very hopeful that he will make the progress he needs! The hardest part is accepting the fact that it will not happen overnight, over one month, or even over one year. It needs to happen in baby steps, one moment at a time. I am slowly accepting this fact. I have been praying a lot lately for patience and comfort for myself and for Emmett.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

one week in photos.

With the combination of being busy and gorgeous weather, I am a bit behind on blogging. I guess I'd rather be outside. :) Here are some photos from the past week!
fun at the wading pool

The river his high right now and we found this guy washed up on the walkway along the river downtown. There is a section that is flooded and roped off.

Last weekend was Grand Old Day and we took the kids to the parade in the morning. We had a lot of fun! I didn't get many pictures because we were too busy watching everything. I got marked by a Vulcan and Senator Al Franken came up to me and shook my hand (not sure how I felt about that ;)). We came home with a big bag full of goodies!
Choo Choo Bob himself! So cool.
River Rats
garlic from Pizza Luce
can't remember who this guy was representing, but we got beads!

Ethnie has really enjoyed reading books to Emmett lately. I feel like this is something special she can do with Emmett that he loves and understands.
darlings
we took a walk down Summit Ave and came across this breathtaking flower bush 

On Friday, we were invited to Dream Night at the MN Zoo. This was put on by Children's Hospitals and Gillette Hospital for children with special needs and their immediate family. The majority of the event was after zoo hours so it was more quiet and less crowded. A picnic dinner was provided, free admission to the zoo, animal encounters, and face painting and a stuffed animal for each child. It was such a nice experience for many kids who probably wouldn't normally be able to handle a busy place like the zoo. We had a great time!
Emmett LOVED the water fountains in the plaza. 
yes, he got wet. no, I didn't bring extra clothes. at least he wasn't the only one...
picnic dinner 
so cute
The new big bug exhibit was impressive! They were all robotic.
bees!
real bugs! stag beetle
leaf bug
stick bug
prairie dog
 
snack break
touch tanks
  Thank you Children's Hospital for inviting us to this lovely event! We are so grateful for all you do for our children.

Have a great week!
Daisypath Anniversary tickers