4th of July, Heidi's Birthday, Rowan's Arts & Crafts

Let's see, we left off just before the 4th of July. Char had work that night which meant we couldn't go to Grandma's house for a barbecue. We did have a mini barbecue at our house before Char left for work. That night the kids went to bed at their regular times. 

Then at 9:45 pm the fireworks in the neighborhood began to go off. I was just praying the babies would sleep through it all (which they did). Right by our house the whole street had gathered and everyone was taking turns lighting off their fireworks. I watched for about 15 minutes from the living room window, then went to bed myself. Do I know how to have a good time or what? 

The day before Heidi's birthday she had a cousins' party at Grandma's house. They played in the water, made cupcakes, and had a sleepover. Grandma brought Heidi back home the next morning. 

Char decided to take Heidi on a Daddy / daughter date for her birthday. They went to this nice burger place called Habit. Once full they were off to the movies. They picked the new Spiderman movie, which they both enjoyed. Char and Heidi were laughing when they came home telling me a bit about the movie. Thankfully, Heidi didn't give everything away, because I want to see it (in 3-6 months) and be excited about watching it. 

We also got Heidi her first mountain bike, complete with handbrakes and gears! She got a "cool" helmet because safety. Lastly, we got her a T.A.R.D.I.S poster to hang on the back or front of her bedroom door. She loves her poster. 

In the early evening we remembered we still had cake to eat, I snapped a picture before the candles were put in. As we were eating cake Heidi informed us she knows what she wants for Christmas. She figured it was to late to make a wish for her birthday when she blew out the candles. Heidi wants a wand from Harry Potter, more specifically Hermonie's wand. I'm glad she's really getting into the Harry Potter books / movies. 

We just got Rowan a new PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) book. It has over 200 pictures of objects, feelings, and verbs. We've just expanded his vocabulary options from about dozen items or actions to hundreds. Everyone's working on teaching him to use the words properly and not pick any picture at random. He's doing good and picking up actual words along the way. 

There is a little boy who's about 3, named R, at ABA therapy the same time as Rowan and they often do group therapy together. Almost everyday Rowan goes into the room and asks "Where he go?" R will respond with "R here 'Owan!" The other day, they were playing with the tunnel together and Rowan saw R and said "I see you!" They're adorable to see together. I love the way R says "'Owan!" every morning. 

Every day at ABA therapy they do an arts & crafts project. You'll notice they have a summer / beach theme going lately. 

This is a little beach, with pasta shells and a sand mixture similar to play-doh. Rowan was the most enthused one to participate. He loved playing with the sand. He thoughtfully placed each shell in it's spot.  

Here is a crab that he painted all by himself! The therapist helped to glue the arms, legs and eyes. 

This is his little island. He painted it by himself and did a few cool things while working on this project. While painting it the girls played music from Moana in the background. Rowan heard the music, shouted "Moana!" (Sure he can't say Mom or Dad, but Moana...no troubles there). While he was painting he said the word "Blue". 

Just a few days ago we ran out of yogurt (a huge no-no in this house as it's 1 of Rowan's favorite foods). Which made me do an emergency run to the store with Rowan before his ABA therapy. Normally we don't bring Rowan to the store because the crowds, noise, overhead speakers all make him have meltdowns. Somehow there were no crowds nor calls placed overhead. When the music got to loud, he'd cover his ears. If we saw people he bent down in the cart and stared at the floor. We just ran in to get yogurt but he did amazing!  

Anastasia has overcome her food aversion, she pretty much eats what's put in front of her. I think she'll finally gain some weight. Which is giving her more muscle and pushing Anastasia closer to walking. She cruises, stands, and finger walks really well. Her psychical therapist thinks Anastasia just needs to have more confidence in her abilities.  

Anastasia is becoming quite vocal herself, lately. She likes to say "No way, No way, No way." She says go, just prompt her like Rory, say "Ready? Set?" she'll whisper, "Go!" Lastly, she's learned to say "More".