Madison and Jack spent their day watching Mommy & friends/family play in a softball tournament. Madi did a great job cheering for everyone and playing with her buddy Nate. She also loved playing with Two little puppies, Tia and Cooper. After a day of watching softball, Madison headed to Aunt Nadia and Uncle Marks for a big BBQ. It was a nice, easy going summer day.
Everyone was up bright and early for a busy morning. Madi went to Nana & Papa’s for breakfast while Mommy and Jack went to the chiropractor. Sarah was very happy with Jacks alignment today which was nice to hear. His structure always responds so well with Sarah and he is less tight in spots.
After some adjustments, it was time for a visit to Variety Village. Both Madison and Jack had physio with Stephanie. Madison focused on stretching with some deep squats, working on sitting to standing from the floor and lots of walking! Jack worked on strengthening his right side rotation when on his tummy by trying to reach with his right arm at a toy. Stephanie did lots of neck stretches with him which he never enjoys but they are extremely important. Stephanie also showed Mommy a few more exercises that can be done at home. It was discussed that Jack has to take the priority with physio for the next little while.
Potty training update: Madi is still inconsistent, but this afternoon/evening went great with a few uses of the potty and dry underwear!
This morning Madison took Jack to the zoo for his first visit! He slept through most of it. Madi met up with her friend Charlotte and her Mommy. The girls explored the pandas, monkeys, gorillas, giraffes and the baby rino. They also stopped by the splash pad to cool off. Madi did a great job with her walker at the splash pad but because she was barefoot she has many cuts on her feet from dragging her toes. She decided to try going up a structure to go down a small water slide all by herself. She ended up stopping half way because she was scared so Mommy helped her. Mommy was so proud of Madi for wanting to try.
Later in the day Madison went to see Ryan for a swim. They swam in the bigger pool to start which Madison was so proud of. They worked on walking up and down the ramp, back floats and bobs. They finished with some fun in the fish boat. Madison had a funny smile on her face while she tried running over Ryan with the boat.
Madison and Jack ended their day with dinner and playtime at Nana & Papa’s house and then some fun with Daddy while Mommy had a meeting over Skype to plan for Brazil. Daddy daycare was a success!
Madi and Jack both saw Shannon bright and early this morning for their massages. Both kiddos were a bit of a mess- unbalanced, tight, you name it! Both are also going through growth spurts at the moment which doesn’t help tightness so it was a good day to visit Shannon.
Madison decided to colour while Jack had his turn.
Madi and Jack then went to pick up Sara and Ruby and headed to Grace and Susan’s house for a mini synchro reunion. Everyone caught up over lunch and Susan pinned and helped with some synchro suits for Brazil…25 more days!!
After lunch, it was time to head to Grandview for physio. Today it was for Jack only which is rare. Madi was jealous that she couldn’t “play” with Kate today, only Jack. When they got to Grandview Kate had a little station of toys and colouring set up for Madi to entertain herself so she was happy. After some evaluation it was clear that Jack has re-gressed. Jacks neck has been extremely tight the last few days. He is now 6 months old and Kate is concerned with the lack of improvement. Mommy has been stretching Jack by herself several times during the day to try and lengthen his right side of his neck but now he is too strong and fights the stretch or moves to a different position so Mommy can’t get a deep and long stretch anymore. It was decided that extra appointments will have to be made in 15 minute chunks a few days a week in order to do team stretching with 2 people. The days that appointments are not possible at Grandview, Mommy will have to find helpers to hold Jack down flat while his head can be rotated and neck stretched. His helmet should be ready next week as well.
When Madi and Jack got home from Grandview they went for a visit with Pam and Medford while Mommy did some work for Brazil. Madison played catch with her favourite pink ball with Pam, organized her china cabinet and then decided to pretend to be a clown with a giant pink nose. Jack had an awesome 1.5 hour nap which was a huge success as he is teething badly and hasn’t slept for more then a few hours at night. As you can see in the picture, her “W” sitting battle with Mommy continues.
Madison visited her school this morning for their annual speech assessment. The schools speech pathologist Chris re-assesses each child every summer to pass forward goals and plans to the teachers for September . Madisons vocabulary, receptive and expressive language skills are age appropriate and she was able to demonstrate the majority of her initial sounds. Goals for the year include continued work on projection/volume and clarity of voice.
After her assessment, Madison and Jack headed to Daddy’s office to visit him for lunch.
Later in the day Nana visited to help Mommy with some things around the house and to check out a new dance studio. Mommy contacted a few dance company’s in Pickering about ballet classes for Madi and then decided on The Denise Lester Dance Academy. The goal of the class is to give Madison another opportunity to be social and active with “typical kids” her age to help her prepare for JK next year. Mommy wants Madison to feel confident and free in her own skin to move the way she wants to move. Madi loves music and loves watching people dance, so hopefully ballet will be something she will like. She went on a tour of the studio, met her teacher Suzie and also met a dancer who will be her helper during her classes. She also popped into a big girls hip hop class to watch them dance – she loved it and didn’t want to leave! Mommy was happy to hear about the structure of the class and how they naturally adapt the class when needed and have a flexible approach for what will work for Madison. Pre-Ballet class starts the second week of September. Stay tuned for super cute photos of tutus, ballet slippers and PINK!
When Madi got home she watered her flowers and had a nice visit with Pam who made Madison a beautiful turtle pillow case. Madi loved snuggling with it at bedtime – thank you Pam!
Madi and her buddy Ben had a great morning swimming. It was her first time checking out Bens fav outdoor pool and it was beautiful and quiet. They played with toys, had races and the best part was the pool had a sloped entrance so it was easy to get in and out.
After their swim they shared snacks and checked out the playground. They planned out the themes for each others birthday parties and coordinated Halloween outfits. They are so funny together.
Madison ended her day with a great session with Emily. They did some walking outside, some stretching in the basement and checked out some of her fav books.
Jacks teething is out of control! Watch how angry he is with his block.
Madi’s favourite activity of the day was playing at the park. Now that she is more confident and has figured out how to climb and slide and move in between – she loves going! The more she has been around other ‘typical kids’ the more brave and more risk taking she has done. Today she saw a little girl climbing the outside of the structure and hanging from bars and Madi shouted “I want to do that!” So Madi hanged on the bars for the first time and Mommy was able to let go! It was so much fun and the best long body stretch! When she is at the playground her face always beams with pure joy!
Madison practiced using her new walker outside today. Daddy is going to have to make some adjustments and add weights to the back as Madi was zooming all over the neighbourhood. Mommy couldn’t keep up and thankfully Madi avoided many falls with Mommy’s quick hands. Ultimately Madi is going to use her red flux walker full time. This blue walker that she got from “For the Needy Not the Greedy” is going to help her become more comfortable with the front swivel wheels without worrying about the weight of the flux walker for now.
Madi took several rests to supervise Medford as he was fixing his car.
Jack and Daddy had a low key morning on the couch
Madi was spotted in the Toronto Star this week. They featured an article about the conductive ed camps at March of Dimes this summer. Check out the article online with the date of July 28th in the Greater Toronto section if you want to read more about it.
Madison and Jack had a great sleep-in this morning followed by a yummy breakfast. Everyone then headed to the Butterfly Conservatory! It was beautiful! There were butterflies everywhere! Madison loved watching them fly around, eat from pieces of fruit and see them land on people. When they landed on her, she was not too sure and a little scared so she enjoyed watching them from a far.
Madison and Jack had an amazing time in Niagara Falls! It was nice trying new things, spend time with family and have no doctor or therapy appointments or anywhere to be- just family fun!
Madison was super excited to be in her own big girl bed at the hotel…. So excited that she didn’t get much sleep so she met up with everyone for a late breakfast.
When she was all done her pile of bacon, her & Jack and the crew walked to the boat to see the falls. She loved seeing all the water, all the boats, people going all over the place on zip lines and helicopter’s – but she was not a big fan of the mist and water being sprayed all over her.
After a great time on the boat, everyone headed to the Rainforest Cafe for some lunch. Madison didn’t quite make it – she ended up sleeping in the stroller for about an hour and then woke up to the sounds of an arcade and a thunderstorm in the restaurant.
After lunch- Mommy, Daddy and Madi headed to a local warehouse for a special shopping trip. Madi checked out a place called “For the Needy – Not the Greedy” They are a non- profit organization that collect used medical equipment and assistive mobility devices for both children and adults. Madison found herself a blue walker that she is going to use to practice her walking for the flux walker that she owns. The amazing thing is that the equipment for children is no charge. It is all donated from families who no longer need equipment.
When Madi got back to the hotel it was time to go see the birds at bird kingdom. She was super excited!
It was then time to head to a special dinner that Nana and Papa arranged at the Skylon Tower! The food was amazing and the views were beautiful!
After dinner, Madison headed for a late night swim to help relax her feet and legs that have been acting up lately and very sore.
Madi Moves 