Who needs a sensory clinic . . .

. . . when you can go to Nana and Bapa's house?

Clara sees an OT a few times a month, who has a fabulous sensory clinic. We've missed sessions for a whole month due to her leg as well as other conflicts, but we made do during a recent trip to see grandparents. My mom and dad put up two swings on their screened-in porch for grandkids. (Cool, I know.)

Clara learned about a month ago how to sit on a "big kid" swing. We'd tried several times in the past to have her sit on an open-backed swing, but because of her vestibular sensory issues, she would freak out and get upset. It's amazing--learning about sensory processing disorder, dyspraxia, etc. (things that Clara deals with) makes us appreciate how truly amazing the human body is when it is working properly. Balancing on a swing takes a considerable amount of muscle, brain, and balance, all working in harmony. Anyway, I tried again at the park a few weeks ago, on a whim, and she actually sat on the swing! Since then, she's swung many times and will even let me push her fairly high. We're so proud of her. (Psst--notice anything different in these pics? Clara has two shoes on--hooray!)

This is another skill she's never achieved until this visit (or tried, really) . . . flying like Superman!

Wow--I was impressed that she let me stand her up on the swing. Only for a short period of time, of course, but still.

I set up a chair for her to kick as she swung to work on coordination, control, and balance. It was tricky for her, but she enjoyed it.

We made a pine cone bird feeder to go along with a previous Teach Me Mommy lesson. Clara was more interested in playing in the peanut butter and bird seed (no surprise there), but that's all right. We had some good sensory fun.

An Interview Interlude

This past weekend we were treated by a quick visit from L'Anita (Michael's younger sister), her husband, Erik, and their daughter, Abigail. Despite feeling under the weather (once again, a weird saying--as opposed to "over the weather"?), Abby was seriously such a cutie pie! I couldn't get over her.

Playing play-doh together.

Does Clara seem monstrous in this picture, or is it just me? Abigail has such petite features, and Clara looks like a giant in comparison. (Like Will Ferrell in the movie Elf . . . too funny.)

Michael illuminating the two cousins on the amazing plasticity of homemade play-doh.

We all enjoyed just watching the girls' antics.

We hope that Erik gets in to the program that would be best for their family (so of course we'll be rooting for them to move here). Thanks for the visit, guys! We love you.

Camping in the great outdoors

Last night we went camping. The last time we went camping with Clara, she looked like this:

She was four months old and slept blissfully the entire night. Needless to say, we were somewhat anxious about taking a three-year-old.

Preparing the campsite as darkness falls (isn't that always the way it goes?!).

First shot of the morning. Clara did reasonably well throughout the night, and our sleep, well, it certainly could have been worse. We could have been sleeping on a live volcano, for instance. (Okay, okay, it wasn't that bad.)

The morning reality. (Slept in my makeup 'cuz I forgot to pack face soap--yuck.)

The lake before sunrise.

Thank you for rising, sun. Please warm us. Quickly.

We Mormons don't drink coffee, tea, or alcohol. But we love hot chocolate! This was probably Clara's favorite part of the camp out.

Mr. Bear couldn't stay away from the hard stuff, either.

Mother and daughter freezing our heinies (sp?) off.

Clara roasting a marshmallow. She definitely preferred them un-roasted, though. Craziness!

Michael, demonstrating the sign of the perfectly roasted marshmallow. . . the crispy marshmallow sleeve.

Ahh, the days of being young and crazy . . . and being able to smile after a night of sleeping on the hard ground.

On our hike, we came across a huge fallen tree. It was pretty amazing. Michael and Clara are sitting on the root system.

We had a wonderful time on our camping trip, and Clara was a real trooper. But don't be surprised if you don't hear about any camp outs in the near future--I think this one satisfied us for quite some time.

Halloween through the ages

Happy Halloween from our Clarabear.

Halloween hang-ups

In seasons past, I have looked forward to Halloween with eager anticipation--we even carved a pumpkin when we had no child to enjoy it. Michael, since his childhood, has been a huge Halloween fan, and he even made some of his costumes all by himself. (Wish I could post some of those awesome pics.) I recall the days of walking around my neighborhood and returning home with a pillowcase full of candy (okay, mine was never as full as my big brothers' pillowcases were, which always frustrated me). I mean, what isn't there to love about a day where candy is the specialty of the day?

This year, however, I have been rather unenthusiastic about Halloween. Don't get me wrong--it was fun doing the pumpkin and the table runner, but I just haven't been into it (well, except for the candy corn, which I have managed to eat with abandon). Why? Why must I be the killjoy?

I think there are a variety of causes resulting in my being anti-Halloween this year.

1. I'm annoyed that my metabolism no longer allows me to eat obscene amounts of chocolate in one seating. (Not that that prevents me, mind you.)
2. I am a scaredy-cat. The movie "Ernest Scared Stupid" scared me. No joke. Even as a teenager. And having a child has increased my fears. I want to shield Clara from the rather freaky-looking decor at stores, and even at our ward Halloween party. (I know, I know, "freaky-looking" is very relative. I'm just saying I wish everyone dressed like cute little pumpkins, okay?)
3. The whole costume thing for Clara stressed me out this year, and I realized that I was seriously dreading the idea of having to make/buy/put together costumes for children for the next twenty-odd years of my life.
   
4. Suddenly I found myself questioning, "Why the heck do we celebrate such a bizarre holiday, a holiday some truly see as "the devil's holiday"? I know, I know, it's all fun and games. But some people take things too far.

Anyway, this all goes to say that this year, I'm thrilled that we are going camping tonight and not staying home handing out candy to kids or taking Clara to a few select houses to get candy, the majority of which I will eat.

However, the hilarious twist to all of this is that Clara absolutely loves scary things. She loves being scared. Michael will hide and jump out at her and she screams and then laughs with delight. (If Michael did that to me, I would probably punch him. Okay, maybe not. But I almost did once when he snuck up on me a few years ago outside our shady apartment complex. I was livid.) Clara loves inflatable Frankensteins at stores, ghosts, witches, etc. She is obviously her father's daughter (he also likes scary things, to a point). Michael has been going around for the past few weeks in anticipation of Halloween making ghost sounds and "Bwah ha ha ha" noises. She thinks it's awesome.

Maybe next year I'll have the Halloween spirit again. But only if we have good costumes . . . I'm thinking Harry and Ginny. Eh? Eh?

The Great Pumpkin

We had every intention of going to a pumpkin patch this year to pick a pumpkin, but with Clara's leg and busy weekends, we decided not to. But hey, a store-bought pumpkin is better than no pumpkin at all (isn't that how the saying goes?).

Clara is very sensory-driven: She really likes something if it meets her sensory needs, or she really doesn't like it if it freaks her out. And, as with many other neurologically-based issues, it is not consistent from day to day--one day she might enjoy something that another day she couldn't handle.

When it came to the pumpkin, I was wary of her reaction . . . I knew she'd either love the goop inside or not want to participate at all. I'm learning over time that a gentle introduction to all things new is best. Sometimes that doesn't work, but often it does. And she can't feel any pressure to participate because if she knows that I want her to do it, the powerhouse within her fights back. REVISED NOTE: Some have commented that their kids refused to touch the goop. That would be most kids, I think. But I knew that with Clara's tactile needs, that she'd really like it (more so than other kids), so I wanted her to try it. If that makes any sense.

The beginning. "I don't think I like it," was Clara's initial response as I began working on the pumpkin.

Testing the water.

Really getting into it now.

Yeeha! Victory! She played in the goop for about 15 minutes or so (I knew she'd love it!). She even ate it--Clara has no inhibitions about eating anything, edible or not.

We let Daddy cut the design out when he came home from work/school (whatever residency can be defined as).

I loved playing with my dad's tie, too.

The finished product. Hooray for pumpkins!

A walk in the woods

Besides the fact that this park was scary as all get-out (don't ask me how on earth that phrase can possibly be used in the English language), we enjoyed a walk in a park near our home yesterday afternoon.

Clara was in the backpack most of the time and found great pleasure getting out and walking around, enjoying her freedom.

Running with Daddy.

Apple-Tasting Party

Last night I invited girls from my ward to come over for an apple-tasting party. This is a tradition that my Aunt Carolyn does each year with my extended family out west, and since we've never been able to attend one, I thought I'd get the details from her and do one here. It was a blast.

Apple preparations. I had thirteen varieties of apples: Ambrosia, Aurora, Braeburn, Cameo, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, McIntosh, Red Delicious, and Rome. Clara had a really hard time not getting to take a bite.

The spread (which grew as the night went on)--pumpkin dip, Snickers apple salad, apple-pecan coffee cake, apple juice and cider, apple pie bars, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies . . . all were fabulous and calorie-dense (Mmmm).

Most of the girls and the yummy food. I got my aunt's caramel dip recipe (1 bag caramels, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 T. butter = heaven on earth). Even though the Sterno for the fondue pot was super hot and burned the bottom of the dip (sad!), it was still really yummy. Fortunately I pawned the stuff off on Michael to take to his residency because I can't handle stuff like that around.

Shantelle and Meghann hanging out.

The votes are in.

The winner by far: Honeycrisp! Too bad this particular variety is one of the most expensive. Go figure.

Hooray for fall and its fabulous flavors!

An enjoyable day? . . . yes and no

Yesterday, Clara and I enjoyed some time outside on the front lawn. Snacks, a blanket, and a pillow made it pretty perfect. (Minus the delightful mosquitoes. Clara informed me, "Spider crawling on your head!" (It was a mosquito, fortunately.) C'mon, insects! It's mid-October! Can't you lay off already? Sheesh.) Normally I feel very inhibited doing something like lying on a blanket in front of my street where people could see me, but I couldn't resist the beautiful weather. It was calling to me.

My view while lying down--I love cloudless skies like this one.

Soaking up the breeze and sunshine.

When Michael came home, we got to spend some family time together (an uncommon treat these days with his busy schedule). Clara loves the tree swing that Michael hung in our backyard. She especially loves going super-high. These "underdogs" remind me of my childhood. My dad made me an amazing tree swing, and I absolutely loved it. It was a really long swing, and I loved sitting out on it, having him push me, or just being by myself. (And I'm not talking about when I was a little kid--I think he made the swing for me when I was eleven years old at least.)



In less than idyllic news, Clara had a rough morning at school yesterday. She has been doing very well there, but then I got a call from her special ed teacher, Ms. Darby, telling me of some of Clara's behavior at school that day--nothing too horrific, but lots of "No!" "Go away!" and she hit another little girl and threw a dinosaur. (Okay, I guess "horrific" is relative, isn't it? That's probably very horrific to some of you.) I was mortified but appreciative that she called. Part of the problem was my letting her go when she still had the vestiges of a cold (shame on me!). Another part of the problem is that she is getting so comfortable there that she is testing limits and becoming more defiant (read: showing a few true colors). She also asked me how potty training was going. The conversation went something like this:

DARBY: So, how's potty training going?

ME: Potty training? What's potty training?

DARBY: Well, you know that Clara will have to learn to use the toilet eventually.

ME: Nah. Diapers are working just fine for me.

DARBY: What about when she grows up and starts school?

ME: Hey, they make big-kid sizes, right?

Okay, the conversation went nothing like that. But the reality is, I am seriously dreading the prospect of potty training. Clara is, as Ms. Darby put it, "strong willed" (read: she doesn't do things unless she wants to and it is difficult to make her do them otherwise. Although, in Clara's defense, she is doing much better in this area as she begins to understand privilege withholding, etc.). I am dreading the messes and the frustration, and the absolute lack of confidence I feel in this area (combined with Clara's sensory/focus/coordination/defiance challenges) just makes me not even want to try.

Don't get me wrong, she sits on the potty sometimes. She loves her underwear (NO, I'm not going to use the "p" word!). She likes the idea of going. But she hasn't gotten the whole "pee goes in the potty" thing. I have read books, talked to people, watched DVDs, etc. What it comes down to is my actually doing it. Committing to it. And I don't want to commit to it! More than any other challenge I've experienced in raising Clara, I want someone else to do this for me. So, if anyone is volunteering to come and live with me for a few weeks (or months, as needed) and potty train my daughter, I invite you gladly. I'll even pay you. (In big wet kisses, that is. Or ice cream. Whatever floats your boat.)

Applesauce

Today I made applesauce with Clara. She was very eager to make it for some reason (oh yeah, she'd seen the idea on a blog I was reading), so I decided to go for it. I'd never made applesauce before, and I was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was.

Clara generously offered to sample the apples for freshness and overall deliciousness. They seemed to pass muster. (For a definition of that bizarre idiom, see here.)

Perhaps you've noticed my daughter is wearing her Halloween shirt two weeks before Halloween? Hey, I've got to get as much mileage as I can out of this impulse consignment sale purchase. She's been wearing it since September. Don't be surprised if you see her wearing it to church on Sunday.

All of that orange was really getting to me, so I had to make this shot black and white. We find that occasionally using straws for applesauce, pudding, and Jell-o makes eating so much more fun!