Flexibility and being easily amused is probably not on the college course guides for prospective Occupational Therapists, but man, those are just two qualities that Joanna possesses. She is a unicorn.
Therapist awesomeness.
OT time with Joanna!
Carolyn is such a sweetheart.
I am working towards better physical health by using the Couch to 5K app on my phone. I just finished week 3 and can now jog for 3 minutes straight. I am pretty proud of this since I couldn’t jog for more than a few steps a month or two ago when I started. The app says I’m supposed to jog 5 minutes straight next week. I think it’s mad. We’ll see how that goes. 🙂
Anna and I walked/jogged a 5K together. She got first place for her age group!
Since we’ve been doing well the last six months, we have wanted to provide respite for family and friends. (That’s like extended babysitting in this context.) I got to watch my sister’s kids a couple times when her baby was born and I’ve got to watch my friend’s son Levi a couple times. It really has been a pleasure each time. Yes, there is more going on in the house, yes, it can be tiring to have more kids, but YES, it is a pleasure and an honor on so many levels to provide respite. One, my kids love having other kids here. Jordan too. Two, I enjoy the extra energy in the house. Three, I can manage the additional energy output, because it’s temporary. Four, I love having respite provided for me and it makes me happy to give back.
Jailbirds.
Levi finally zonked out after a few days of visiting a new house.
Meanwhile, I am using any other motivation and energy to make jam. Yummers.
The plum jam is this color, because of the color of the plums!
MMmmmmm
Blackberry goodness.
There were some relational breakthroughs for Jordan when Levi was over for a week. Jordan struggles to be socially aware and active. The rest of the world moves so much faster than him that he rarely engages with others in meaningful ways. Levi and Jordan, however, are so close to each others speed. They were both modeling and practicing awesome communication behavior with each other. They observed, tried, played, pushed, were puzzled and teased and basically were awesome. They weren’t always enjoying it, but it was so successful, because 90% of the time, they were tolerating and enjoying each other.
This one makes me chuckle. The bowls of soup had just run out. 🙁
Jordan’s new stroller/wheelchair getting put to good use when Levi tagged along to Jordan’s speech appointment last week.
Blackberry and plum jam.
Peaches!
The peach jam turned out runny (learned that overripe peaches have less pectin) but it’s still soooo yummy!
Matchy matchy!
Day 1. Not sure what to do about each other. Trapped in jail for an unknown length of time. Decided to sit on same side of room. (me chuckling)
Awkward beginnings:
Levi tries to engage Jordan:
Jordan engages with Levi!
They were handling this situation pretty well, but I did go in eventually and make Levi let go:
The jumprope
So flexible!
Jordan was happy to hang out like this.
Goodnight sheepies!
Goodnight, little farm.
This is an elephant cabbage we grew.
This is a normal cabbage we grew.
Okay then! I’m off to freeze some cabbage now….