One of our most favorite summer activities has become going to the Drive In. It is a wonderfully nostalgic place that is always full of friendly people and fun times, even if we only make it through the first movie. This last time, in an act of sheer lunacy, we brought both dogs with us. They got TONS of attention and both loved and hated it at the same time. Not sure if we will do that again :) It is a nice pseudo date night for Matt and I. We don't need a babysitter, but Parker usually falls asleep in his car seat by the time the movie starts. So much fun.
Say "Hi" to Emi! I feel so guilty not writing about her sooner! Somewhere in the evolution of this blog, I've forgotten to post about the just-plain-fun things that we are up to. In an effort to revert back to this being our FAMILY blog, meet Emi. We got her on June 30th, in a half-planned, half-whimsical decision. When we first got Chase, who, believe it or not, is now 7.5 years old, we had planned on breeding him. Ha. Welp, life happened, and we are never going to breed him. But, we've always thought that he deserves a friend. He has been put through a lot in his 7 years. He has dealt with 3 moves, long distance, a baby (who rightfully took up a LOT of our attention), and very long work days from us. He has grown into a very loyal, somewhat curmudgeony middle-aged man. He doesn't do a great job with kids, and definitely doesn't do well with other male dogs. I got some nasty looks from a mom in the park the other day when Chase bared teeth at her retriever who wanted to play. Sorry, guys. I so badly want him to be nice, sweet, and cuddly, but that isn't him. I love him anyway. Long story long, we really felt like Chase deserved a playmate. We found a woman in our town who is a dog broker of sorts- she takes a few puppies from a few breeders' litters, and sells them from her home. We saw Emi the morning of the 30th, and thought she was beautiful, but pretty timid. We couldn't decide if we should get another Shiba Inu, or get a teddy bear (fluffy, no shedding, lots of yapping, lots of cuddling). Obviously, you know our choice. She was unnamed for a few days- but we finally decided on Emi, because it Japanese for "blessing." (Shibas are a Japanese breed). Chase pretty much hates us right now :) Emi is energetic (though nothing like Chase when he was a puppy), and her most favorite thing ever is pestering him. His only hope is high spaces that she can't jump to yet. We love her, and despite the pain it is to train a dog, she is worth our effort.
I have to give huge shout outs to Parker's therapy team. Over the last few weeks they have each been especially innovative with Parker in moments of need. My last post mentioned Ms. Deanna, our Speech Therapist, using aquarium tubing to get around Parker's tendency to bite straws. Ms. Vicki, Parker's OT, has been using Therapeutic Listening with us to try and give Parker some additional body stability and awareness. This week, it was Ms. Julie's turn (and her intern, Sarah).
Every other week, we drive about 20 minutes north to Wisconsin for Aqua OT/Aqua Therapy. It is a decent production-- the pool is at a HUGE rec-plex, and getting Parker ready for swimming takes some time. While waiting at the pool this week, Ms. Julie informed us that because of a sanitation incident (aka: toddler poo!), that the pool wouldn't be ready for Parker to swim in until nearly the end of our session. Instead of just sitting and waiting (keeping Parker still while near water- his most favorite thing - and near a wet, slippery floor would've been hell), or cancelling our session, Ms. Julie had us drive over to the small rec-plex lake, and did OT there. That's right. Parker got to do aqua-OT in a lake! How fun! These ladies are responsible for a huge amount of Parker's progress. When I am ready to throw in the towel, or am frustrated with his behavior, they come swooping in with new, great things to try. #thankful.
Unfortunately, due to scheduling issues at Lurie, we had to cut out Parker's ophthalmology evaluation to get his hearing test and tubes done before the end of November. Thankfully, Parker's hearing is normal and the tubes (normal sized this time!) went in wonderfully. I am disappointed we missed the opportunity to get a really close look at Parker's vision, though. I just could not risk waiting until November in case Parker had a hearing issue. Hopefully, they will find another opportunity to do this. What we've learned at this point is that we need to work on clear annunciation when we speak to Parker. He is having trouble distinguishing sounds that differentiate similar words This summer in speech has really been spent on working with a straw and drinking from a cup. Parker still gets the majority of his liquids from bottles, which is getting to be taboo for a 3.5 year old. We are going to schedule a follow-up video swallow study soon to see if/how much progress has been made since last year. We are really hoping to lose the thickening powder we are supposed to use for Parker's liquids from a cup. Our AWESOME speech therapist, Ms. Deanna, came up with an innovative way to get around Parker's tendency to bite straws. We are currently using aquarium tubing to practice blowing bubbles in liquids that either taste super yummy (chocolate milk, which P has never had before), or colorful water. After "accidentally" sucking inward a few times, Parker has figured out how to suck in intentionally. This is HUGE. We are hoping to keep practicing that so that he is able to drink from a straw soon. Look out, Home Depot. We might clear you out of your aquarium tubes!
Parker is learning new words every week, with a major focus on summer time. This child is so obsessed with getting to school! Every night he asks to get his back-pack ("ack-gack") on and will sit in front of any door. It has a clip in the front that he is working on trying himself, and he refuses to remove the back-pack for bed time. I'm pretty sure it is the same size as him! He also LOVES the bus ("suss"), and his driver, Miss Pam. She is such a sweet lady with a hard job! When the bus roles around the corner, I have to be sure to have a firm grip on Parker's hand, because he takes off running! Thankfully, my feelings don't get too hurt but his excitement to get on the bus (and leave), because when the bus rolls around to drop him off, he starts smiling, yelling, and kicking the bus window. We are working hard on getting the beginning sounds of words with him-- repetition, repetition, repetition. Right now, whenever we stress the "B" sound at the beginning of bus, Parker will say "buh-suss." When we stress the "M" sound at the beginning of milk, Parker will say "mmm-gohk." Needless to say, it is a work in progress. I love this boy. Even though it has nothing to do with Matt and I, I'm proud of how happy he is all the time. It is a lesson for all of us to not take life too seriously.
One of our most favorite summer activities has become going to the Drive In. It is a wonderfully nostalgic place that is always full of friendly people and fun times, even if we only make it through the first movie. 
It is a nice pseudo date night for Matt and I. We don't need a babysitter, but Parker usually falls asleep in his car seat by the time the movie starts. So much fun.
