Allison went up to a birthday party going on at a park and stole a cupcake from off the table. She dropped it on the ground and cried, so they gave her a new one. One of these days this girl won't be able to get by on her charms...
Allison was so excited she could barely contain herself in line!
The kids were naturals! They both climbed up on the horse with no hesitation as if it were something they do everyday.
Sliding at the Bothell YMCA
Allison would get done, say "Wanna go down the slide and say 'whee'!" and then go right back up again.
Tyler made and ate his own "syrup cereal" after painting a 4th of July flag. He'd forgotten the one he'd made at occupational therapy (which his therapist kindly saved for him), so he wanted to make another one as soon as we got home. Tyler making tithing groups with his Sunday school class and Allie sporting her sunglasses.
Swinging at Lake Stickney park! We're wearing jackets because it was only 58 degrees and cloudy on July 1st!
The kids did a summer camp at the Brown's house the first week of July, which gave me some free time to get some cleaning done. The two oldest kids hosted it and planned all sorts of fun activities for them.
Sweet kiddos! I love my morning cuddles.
Allison's tongue hangs out while she runs around the playground, just like a puppy.
Swinging and splashing in the backyard!
And mommy joins in sometimes too.
Tyler wearing daddy's shirt and climbing at the Mill Creek YMCA
We took advantage of the summer school lunch program pretty regularly, though there were exceptions, like Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A. I didn't enjoy it as much this year as we have in previous years because they started it much later than we were used to (12:30pm instead of 11:30am). Usually I'd go to the gym around 9, but then I'd have to find something else to do with them for another hour+ while the kids are saying they're hungry and asking for snack. It also made getting Allison settled down for nap more challenging. I really need her in bed by 1:00pm or there's a good chance she'll be overstimulated. 
The kids got Butterfly and Dragonfly balloons at the Northshore YMCA benefit.
Bounce housin' around!They also played lots of carnival games and got a small prize with each one. We did quite a bit since someone gave us extra tickets.
Allison loved the live 2 man band. She was busy jamming to the music.
The kids did arts and crafts with daddy while I had my face painted with one of the extra tickets.
Fun at home with daddy man!
While I was smimming with the kids at the lake one day Allison said "mommy you're a mermaid! A horsey mermaid!" She also saw a dog swimming in the water and excitedly exclaimed "it's a merpup!"Silver Lake is a great park, but it was challenging this summer since Allison struggled to stay in one area at a time. She wanted to go back and forth between the playground and the lake, which just doesn't work with outfits, shoes, and diaper changes.
Ty's really into making things from our extra boxes these days.
Sometimes we'd visit the museum after getting lunch in the adventure zone at the Everett YMCA.
The Shoreline YMCA also has a sack lunch program in the temporary parking lot. We went there once since it's not too far from the amazing Edmonds City park and splashpark. It was very crowded but that day but still worth going since it was so hot and sunny.At one point Tyler pulled down his pants in the playground and was about to pee on the woodchips. I stopped him just in time. He was screaming that he really had to go, and Allison was running away from me, so I picked him up and put him on the grass and told him to go there since I knew I'd never make it to the bathrooms with both kids. At least he didn't pee in the playground!
The best lunch program we discovered is at Martha Lake Baptist church, and I wish I'd known about it sooner. The lunch itself is just a simple sack lunch, but kids 5-12 can be dropped off at 10 where they participate in physical and educational activities until 1pm. Allison and I would go shopping or play at the nearby Martha Lake park while Tyler had fun. It was like having him at preschool again, and he always really enjoyed himself. He never wanted to leave when I'd come to get him. He really thrives on structure.
Here's Allison playing at North Creek park while Ty was at occupational therapy on Fridays.My girl is a great cuddler!
I took Allison to the park one day while Tyler was at Occupational Therapy and met a mom with a 2 1/2 year old who reminded me a LOT of little Tyler. Not once did she sit down. She was constantly intereracting with and entertaining him, she had to follow him around and physically prevent him from pushing around the other kids, her gentle verbal attempts at behavioral correction were completely useless, and she'd give a LOT of explanation to other parents about how he doesn't know his own strength and doesn't mean to hurt others. It was like looking at myself 2-3 years ago. When he started targeting Allison I told her my 5 year old son was actually at occupational therapy right then for similar issues he'd had at that age and said "I get it." We talked some more, and I asked her if she'd heard about special education preschool, which she hadn't. She'd heard of ADHD and sensory processing issues, both of which she suspects her son has, but she knew her boy was too young for an official evaluation and diagnosis and was clearly feeling like she had no resources to turn to right now. I told her she could contact the special education department of her school district (which I wish I'd done earlier), and that if he qualified for services they could do in home visits even before he's old enough for preschool. She had the same look on her face that I did when someone first told me about it, that look of hope and relief that someone besides you might be able to handle your child and get him to stop hurting other kids. I'm so grateful for everything we've learned, for those who've reached out to us, and for all the resources we've discovered on our journey. It felt great to be able to pay it forward!
Here's Tyler playing with water balloons at the Shoreline summer celebration.
Allison had fun in the bounce house but kept getting upset that she couldn't do a "big jump." She'd been on a trampoline recently and missed being bounced around by bigger people. Bounce houses don't have that same effect.
Cute kids eating popsicles.
They also made sunvisors and Allison loved hers. She wanted to wear it everywhere and take a walk with it.
Tyler made the green one for himself and Oscar made him one too. He was not a fan of Oscar's!
Tyler playing kickball baseball and cute Allison doing the freeze dance.
Here's an interesting chicken piece Oscar found in his dinner.
And more cute pics of my darling little girl!
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