2018 Daddy Child Dance

The girls and their daddy, again, had the privilege of attending an annual dance for fathers and their children who have special needs.  They had a wonderful time and were thankful for the local organization that puts together this dinner and dance each year.  Their generosity extends to providing each child that attends with a personalized gift.  Ella received a gift card to a local art studio where she takes classes with her BF and Emilia was presented with four tickets to see a performance of the Cincinnati Ballet.  What a wonderful opportunity for families like ours!

All In A Day's Work

Home school work, that is. 

Ella and I spend between three and four hours a day between 8:45 am and 1:00 pm, on average, on her home schooling.  A typical day starts with Ella's independent work in math and language arts, followed by instruction in either science or social studies, more math and language arts, read-aloud, and then PE, art, music, and/or health and safety.  We also have a quiet reading time mid-afternoon.  We have already completed over 200 hours for the 2018/19 school year and are nearly a quarter of the way to the 900 required hours.

Yesterday, part of our curriculum looked like this:

Home school can be quite exhausting, at least for me, but the fact that Ella is learning makes it all worth it.

IAC 433 to 435 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 433 which was held on July 5, 2018:

1) French dossier from March 2012 referred a female child aged 1 year and 4 months

2) Canadian dossier from January 2014 referred a female child aged 3 years and 10 months with features in health status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from March 2014 referred two brothers aged 3 years and 3 months & 6 years and 2 months with features in health status and a family history

4) US dossier from October 2017 referred to waiting siblings (#3547 & #3548) with profiles on the MOJ site

5) Italian dossier from May 2018 referred a brother and sister aged 7 years and 7 months & 10 years and 3 months with features in health status

6) Italian dossier from June 2018 referred a male child aged 11 years and 4 months

7) US dossier from June 2018 referred a waiting child (#2515) with a profile on the MOJ site

8) US dossier from July 2018 referred a waiting sibling group (#3396 & #3370) with profiles on the MOJ site

--------------------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 434 which was held on July 19, 2018:

1) French dossier from November 2011 referred a male child aged 3 years and 4 months

2) Spanish dossier from December 2011 referred a female child aged 1 year and 7 months

3) Dutch dossier from March 2012 referred twin sisters aged 3 years and 7 months

4) Italian dossier from December 2013 referred a male child aged 8 years and 3 months

5) Finnish dossier from August 2015 referred sisters aged 7 years & 3 years and 6 months with features in health status and a family history

6) Italian dossier from December 2015 referred a male child aged 10 years and 4 months with features in health status

7) US dossier from January 2017 referred a male child aged 3 years with features in health status and a family history

8) Canadian dossier from May 2018 referred a waiting child (#3612) with a profile on the MOJ site

9) Canadian dossier from July 2018 referred waiting siblings (#3532 & #3533) with profiles on the MOJ site

10) US dossier from July 2018 referred a waiting child (#3495) with a profile on the MOJ site

------------------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 435 which was held on July 26, 2018:

1) Dutch dossier from January 2012 referred a female child aged 2 years and 8 months with features in health status

2) Norwegian dossier from March 2012 referred a male child aged 1 year

3) Dutch dossier from April 2012 referred a male child aged 4 years and 3 months

4) French dossier from November 2013 referred brothers aged 4 years and 3 months & 6 years and 7 months

5) Italian dossier from November 2014 referred a male child aged 1 year and 4 months with features in health status and a family history

6) US dossier from July 2018 referred a waiting child (#3567) with a profile on the MOJ site

7) US dossier from July 2018 referred a waiting child (#3529) with a profile on the MOJ site

Ella's Ten

Earlier this summer we celebrated Ella's tenth birthday, her fourth in our family.  Since double digits are kind of a big deal, Craig and I decided to take Ella out for a special pre-birthday adventure through town, hitting up some of our favorite places. Ella had a clue to solve to figure out our next destination each time we got into the car.  We started with breakfast, followed by a pedicure and haircut, then a stop at Claire's to get her ears pierced, and finally a movie.

The following day we had a party at home with family and friends.  We had splashing and jumping and popcorn and jello and fireworks and a failed campfire.  We had Polaris rides up and down the street, chicken and salad and cake, presents, laughter and lots of hugs.

In the 36 hours that we celebrated Ella's birthday, there was so much unexpected kindness extended to her and to our family which reminded us how loved all of us are.  At our salon, they did not charge for the pedicure giving it to Ella as a gift instead.  One neighbor brought what I would call a bag of beauty for Ella as a present and then another neighbor gave her a manicure on her front porch.  Yet another neighbor who owns a restaurant sent us a plate of freshly baked giant chocolate chip cookies that are served at the restaurant.  Cousins invited to our party came with a load of homegrown vegetables and jars of homemade jam for us.  We're so appreciative of these thoughtful and generous expressions of care for our family.

Happy tenth birthday, Ella-Bobella-Nutella-Stracciatella.

We hope the double digits bring you everything you dream of

and lead you to everything we know you can be.

Second Grade, Here They Come

Today's the first day of second grade for Rex and Emilia.  Emilia was simultaneously excited and nervous and, once again, chose her Santa security hat for extra protection and good mojo.  Rex was pensive about the whole idea and I think would have much rather stayed home with his mama.  Both will do well - they have great teams and interventions in place at school and Rex's in-home therapy staff will continue to work with him here each day, too, so we expect lots of progress across the board.

Good luck and have fun in second grade, 
my not-so-wee-anymore Martinis.  

I love you and I miss you already!

IAC 431 & 432

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 431 held on June 7, 2018:

1) Dutch dossier from January 2012 referred a male child aged 2 years and 1 month

2) US dossier from October 2012 referred a female child aged 2 years and 1 month with features in health status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from April 2014 referred a male child aged 10 years and 3 months

4) Spanish dossier from November 2014 referred a female child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status and a family history

5) Italian dossier from June 2015 referred two sisters aged 7 years and 10 months & 9 years and 4 months

6) Canadian dossier from July 2015 referred a female child aged 6 years with features in health status and a family history

7) Belgian dossier from July 2016 referred a male child aged 7 years and 9 months with features in health status

8) Italian dossier from October 2017 referred a brother and sister aged 5 years and 1 month & 9 years and 1 month with features in health status

9) US dossier from May 2018 referred three waiting siblings (#3572 & #3573 & #3574) with profiles on the MOJ site

--------------------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 432 held on June 19, 2018:

1) Italian dossier from December 2011 referred a female child aged 4 years and 6 months

2) Norwegian dossier from March 2012 referred a female child aged 1 year and 9 months

3) Italian dossier from February 2015 referred a sister and brother aged 6 years and 11 months & 8 years and 10 months

4) US dossier from October 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 7 months with features in health status and a family history

5) US dossier from June 2018 referred a waiting child (#3241) with a profile on the MOJ site

6) US dossier from June 2018 referred a waiting child (#3488) with a profile on the MOJ site

Picture Of The Day

My home is full of princesses, fairies, ballerinas and witches with occasional appearances by penguins, dinosaurs, robots and medical professionals leaning toward drastic procedures.