FIVE and THRIVING
This has been a tough year...the fives have been rough. Along with the struggles have been the blessings as well and I definitely don't want to brush over the positives...which there have been many.At age 4 Clara was diagnosed with L2 autism. I will write another post at another time about living with autism however, it confirmed and make life challenging all in the same moment. Girls with autism are highly overlooked and starting at birth, I could feel something was different with Clara. To be clear, I said different, not wrong, not less, not horrible...just different.
To me, knowledge is POWER. Education is the key to all possibilities and having her diagnosed wasn't a badge of shame but a word of understanding. With that diagnosis, I was able to advocate for her the support she needs to be successful in life. She was diagnosed in May 2018 and that took us into her 5s to where we are now.
Clara began her 2nd year at the Early Learning Center in Ms. Lisa Moore's room. She is twice exceptional...meaning she is intelligent and has autism. She struggles with attention and focus and her frustrations in addition to navigating social situations. She loved Ms. Lisa and was continually a rock star every day in class. She is learning compassion and how to help others who struggle more than she does.
Adelyn began her 2nd year at Zion Lutheran Preschool. She reminds me that they are called "Pre-Kinders" so I'd better correct myself here. She is also very intelligent and education, making friends, athletics all come very easily to her. She loved her teachers Mrs. Hooper and Mrs. Knaub and just loved going to school.
With the massive support from my mom (Gramma) the girls were able to grow into such amazing young ladies this year.
Here is a typical schedule for the week:
Monday - Friday
6:00-6:30 pm bed
5:30 am up/dressed
6:00 am arrive at Gramma's for breakfast
6:30 am I leave for work
Mondays: (late nights)
7:00-9:00 am Gramma School
9:00 am OT (Ms. Casey) comes to Gramma' house and works with Clara for an hour
10:30 snack/lunch
12:10 Adelyn gets dropped off at Zion (2 minutes from Gramma's house)
12:30 Clara catches bus to ELC
3:00 I pick Adelyn up from Zion
3:30 We pick Clara up from ELC
4-5:45 ABA/Speech
6:15 home and get ready for bed
Tuesdays:
8:45-9:30 Clara vision therapy
10-12:00 Gramma school
10:30 snack/lunch
12:10 Adelyn school
12:30 Clara bus
2:30-3:30 volunteer at Clara's school
3:00 Adelyn done
4:05 Clara arrives home from bus
Wednesdays: (late nights)
7:00-9:00 am Gramma School
10:30 snack/lunch
12:10 Adelyn gets dropped off at Zion (2 minutes from Gramma's house)
12:30 Clara catches bus to ELC
3:00 I pick Adelyn up from Zion
3:30 We pick Clara up from ELC
4-5:45 ABA/Speech
6:15 home and get ready for bed
Thursdays:
7:00-9:00 Gramma School
10:30 snack/lunch
12:10 Adelyn school
12:30 Clara bus
2:30-3:30 volunteer at Clara's school
3:00 Adelyn done
4:05 Clara arrives home from bus
Fridays:
7:00-9:00 Gramma School
9:30-12:30 Clara ABA therapy
12:10 Adelyn Zion
12:30 pick up Clara
2:00 Pick up Adelyn
Thanks to my mom (Gramma) providing Gramma Daycare, the girls are able to get to the therapies they need and to school on time. I definitely don't tell my mom how much I appreciate her enough.This year the girls have also been doing Jazz/Ballet/Tap on Saturdays through Turning Point Dance Studio and soccer through I9 sports in Snohomish on Sundays. There hasn't been much time to breath and yet we are still thriving. Clara is as tall as I was when I was 7 years old...did I forget to mention she is FIVE?? She is wearing size 10-12; the doctors say that she will be over 6 feet tall if she continues on the path she is on.
Adelyn is wearing 7-8 and is in the 80+ percentile for height. She is also tall for her age yet I can still pick her up. I can't pick up Clara anymore. I am still grieving that reality. She seriously went from my toddler to big girl overnight and no one warned me not to blink. If I could go back in time and just soak in the last time she ran to me and I picked her up I would in a heartbeat. Seriously.
There have been many positives as well. Clara has lost 3 teeth so far and the Tooth Fairy pretty much just hovers over our house waiting for another of Clara's teeth to fall out. Adelyn learned to go down the pole on the play yard by herself and can make a superb chocolate chip cookie, if my expanding tummy has a say in it.
