Brags 7/25 - midsummer checkin!

[miranda]

I think technically we're past midsummer, but let's do this. Some good stuff has to be going down out there for our kids. What are your summer plans? Camps? Sports? Trips? Spill it!

[miranda]

Okay yes I'm excited to start. DS is having an awesome summer. Last summer we did summer STEM school, which he hated. I begrudgingly skipped it this summer, but we're doing a morning reading tutor twice a week, and he's in his first organized sport team- soccer. He loves soccer, even though it's sometimes hard for us to watch. He spends too much time yelling at his players and avoiding the ball. He usually plays defense and he always leaves his goalie hanging. But his teammates seem to like him and they give him age-appropriate feedback ("DS, stop talking about that!!!"). He has definitely improved. He comes home soaked with sweat and very proud of himself.

The BEST thing that has happened is that he went to sleep away camp for a week. My heart just bursts thinking about all the fun he had. It's the camp ran by our church. He knew 4 boys attending and they all got to be in the same cabin. When I sent him off on the bus (it's way up north, 5 hours away!) they were all arm in arm and grinning ear to ear. When they came back they were filthy, tired, but so happy, and excited to get together again soon. DS talked nonstop about all the antics they got into (The pants-ing! Girls cabins! Mt. Dew twice a day at the canteen! Meal-time pranks! Staying up until 1AM reading football stats!). Best week ever!


I hope everyone else is finding some fun this summer!

[waverly]

DS has been at the same camp all summer. This is his 3rd year. Besides having issues with one boy who is also an issue at aftercare, he loves it. He is having a fantastic summer. We held off on sleepaway camp because of his fear of the dark etc., but I love your update on your sleep away experience, and I think he will be a go for next summer. He is doing great.

While still not super strong, he has been discharged from PT and OT. He has been playing baseball all summer. Our first experience with sports was basketball in the winter, and our experience was the same as yours. It was painful and cringeworthy to watch. Baseball has been much better. I don't know if it because it's a different sport, more maturity, more strength from PT and OT in the arms or what it is. In basketball he was throwing himself on the floor and flapping his arms (not in a stimming way but in an excited way) and screaming super high pitch, and he seems to be doing better with all of that. There was some trash talking - not allowed and sitting himself down on the field to play with sand a couple of times, but he seems to be over that.

I am hoping with the PT and OT discharge, and the hearing aids gotten, and the sleep apnea tonsil issue sorted a few years ago, and the heart looking good (he does scans every 2 years) and the ear infections finished because the tubes are all out. That maybe this school year might be the year for way less doctor appointments? Of course now I have an issue that requires monthly follow ups, but hoping that is resolved in 3-4 months.


I am actually having a harder time with DD this summer, and DD has pretty much no health issues except viral induces asthma and a couple of moluscum contagium. She just seems to be having a hard time with being 5. Her brain isn't caught up to her emotions with reasoning.  I think I am looking for a cognitive leap that I am not really seeing happening.  I wonder what age that does happen?  I feel like it happened with DS around this time...

[akafred]

This summer has been wonderful! DD and I worked through a phonics reading and spelling workbook, which seemed to have helped some, until I got letters home from camp. But OMG I got letters home from camp! Which means she, too, went to sleep away camp! I didn’t think DH would allow it, and now he’s all nonchalant like he never doubted she could do it . This camp had 3 counselors and 6 girls in her cabin, so it was an amazing ratio. And there are only 4 girls and 4 boys cabins total. It will definitely be “our” summer camp moving forward. She came home with 3 girls’ phone numbers so she liked at least half her cabin. I will call that a win! I heard lots of happy stories and have not heard any that sound like social anxiety or worse. Hooray!

This week is back to her favorite (but sometimes angsty) day camp, and then we are going on our big vacation to Club Med in Dominican Republic. OMG. They have a kids camp that is to die for! The kids do everything the adults do, like sailing lessons, snorkeling, etc, and there is a flying trapeze! A flying trapeze! So Charlotte! So hopefully the language barrier (lots of French kids apparently, since Club Med is French) won’t stand in the way too much.

[funchicken]

We're having a good summer, too. Swim team was great for establishing a regular routine, and the daily swimming seemed good for DD's overall mood.

We've been on vacation for over two weeks, and the kids did great! We went on a road trip to New England to visit friends who we haven't seen in about 5 years. They all have kids around the same age as ours, and DD loved the trip. She was a little anxious at first because this wasn't like our usual vacations where we stay at a big house in some vacation spot with a bunch of extended family for a week. For this trip we spent the first 10 days visiting different friends/places and only stayed for two days at each location. I picked hotels that were in the middle of town, so we could walk to things easily, and we even managed to squeeze in a perfect beach day. Then we visited my inlaws for 5 days. The kids had sooooo much fun!