Wow! The summer is flying by very quickly. We have been very busy here, and before I know it, the fall will be here. Last year was a dud. The weather was pretty bad all summer. I remember only taking her swimming two or three times last year. This year has been awesome! Despite the mega rain the last few weeks, we've actually been very busy outside. Because I have a zoo membership, we go to the zoo about once a week. I know for some that sounds like a lot, but Grace loves it, and it really stimulates her language skills. She knows a lot of the animals, and I really try to get her to talk about what's happening. I remember last summer, she went through another period of language growth. I don't know if it's the increased activities outside that helps, or just the way her body works, but she is doing amazing.

Fourth of July was great. We had friends over on Saturday as well and spent the whole weekend in Indiana with family and friends and pool party! Grace is doing great with the pool. We tried to put her in a suit that has floaties in it, but she didn't like it. We then put her in a regular suit and put her in a floatie ring. She swims like a fish in it! Her favorite thing to do is to stand on the steps of the pool and jump in. The floatie keeps her head above water, and she can swim anywhere she wants in that thing.

We plan to go camping at the end of July, and I am really looking forward to it. We went last year, but I was too obsessed with keeping her bed times. It was miserable to hear her crying in the tent as I attempted to make her go to sleep at a somewhat normal time. This year, I will not make that mistake. I will let her stay up until the other kids go to bed and perhaps it won't be as miserable. I will also be sharing a bed with her this year, as my husband cannot join us. He has a back injury, and sleeping on an air mattress hurts his back too much. Last year, we tried to get her to sleep on the other side of the tent on her own mattress. It would probably work better this year, but since my husband won't be there, why bother trying? This way if she wakes up really early, I can attempt to keep her quiet longer. We'll see.....

I am also going to have her tested by our school district. Our district is more lenient about testing than other areas are. We have very high testing scores, and our elementary school is one of the top schools in Illinois. I think she will qualify for speech and perhaps physical therapy. Don't get me wrong, she's doing a great job catching up, but she is still having problems with some sounds- Like "f" she says like "P" like instead of "fireworks" she says "pireworks" or "bireworks" When a word starts with the "l" sound, she says "m". " I want to sit in your map".

While most districts would say that she wouldn't qualify, our district would probably get her into therapy. If she qualifies, she would be eligible for free preschool. It's worth a shot!

Well, I have the rest of the summer to look forward to. I'll post more as the summer comes to a close.