Antelope Island

We haven't been up to much lately....really enjoying the warm sunny weather outside, but of course I never seem to get out with the camera so no pics yet(putting that on my mental to do list).  Devin absolutely loves his little cozy coup!  He can't drive it yet but he loves just playing in it, opening and closing the door beeping the horn and playing with the key.  He's warming up to the sidewalk and I am definitely making progress in the grass as well.  Elizabeth could play outside all day!  She loves riding her bike and scooter, pushing Lovey and her dolls in the stroller, playing with her balls, and sidewalk chalk and her hula hoop.  She has such a big imagination!  Yesterday we even flew her kite!  Lately I've been taking them on "walks", I pull them in the wagon or sometimes Elizabeth rides her bike or scooter or just pushes her stroller while I push Devin in his cozy coup, and we just wander the neighborhood, though usually we just go in circles around the complex.  It's a win win win!  The walk is good for me, it wears Elizabeth down and it's working with Devin on the movement thing, which the more we do it the longer he lasts without melting down.
Last week Elizabeth's school lesson was on weather!  She really enjoyed this unit!  She loved learning about what makes the weather.  She was particularly intrigued that clouds are made of teeny tiny water droplets, when I told her this she exclaimed, "that's why rain comes from the clouds!"  I love my smart little girl!  I've often said that teaching Elizabeth is so easy because she asks all the right questions....case in point after her rain exclamation she asked me, "mom, how does the water get in the clouds?"  Which led me right into the water cycle, which she by the way thinks is really cool!  Then the next day before I dove into the lesson I asked her if she had any questions like I always do, and she asked me, "mom, why do clouds look different sometimes?"  So into the 3 different kinds of clouds we went.  It was hilarious to hear her try to pronounce their names, but she remembered them amazingly well.  When we were outside later that day she looked up and said, "look mom!  Big white fluffy clouds!  That means good weather!!!"  And just yesterday while we were out in the afternoon she looked up and said, "uh oh, long wispy clouds means the weather is changing huh mom."  So no she doesn't necessarily know the different names of the clouds but she obviously remembered their descriptive qualities and what they mean for the weather, and at 3 and a half!  That's why they call her gifted!  This week's lesson is on taking care of the earth in honor of Earth Day(which was Sunday) now she wants to plant a tree!  I told her we'd plant a flower instead, and she was only slightly disappointed.
Devin had another evaluation this time with an occupational therapist, she discussed her evaluation and previous ones with his pediatrician and they all agreed that he is at high risk for an Autistic Spectrum Disorder, she said they won't officially diagnose him until he's two so that gives us a whole year to bring his severity down in the spectrum.  She also said we won't know the full extent of it until around two either, especially in the social area.  She is going to work with him on his sensory issues(dislike of certain movement, and textures both on his skin and in his mouth) and his meltdowns which she says is caused by the fact that he seems to be unable to process many situations.  Among other little things.  So our little buddy now has therapy pretty much every week sometimes multiple times in a week between physical, speech and occupational therapy.  But she did tell me that he is really lucky because it's very rare to find warning signs so young.  We literally get to mold his mind as he grows, and the younger they are the easier the molding is to do!  Thank goodness he decided not to crawl on time!  I never would have put the clues together on my own.  I must admit I'm a little scared of what his future holds, but I'm far more grateful for the amazing blessing My Heavenly Father as given us in all the wonderful help available to him!
Ok so onto the weekend!  Saturday we packed our bags headed out and made our first stop in Centerville for Tony's sister, Alicia's graduation open house, where we visited with the family.  Then we drove up to my parent's house, loaded our stuff into their Pilot, made a stop at Walmart for some things we needed then drove out to Antelope Island!  We settled in a bit then attempted to put Devin down for a little nap(he ended up not falling asleep, but got some quiet alone time in) meanwhile Tony and I put Elizabeth in her swimsuit(an older one that's getting a bit tight on her so if it got ruined it was no biggie) and went down to the lake.  Can I just say walking in sand is BRUTAL!!  Especially in flip flops!  We played in the lake for a bit then went back to the motorhome.  That night after dinner we went for a little drive around the island and saw some of the wildlife there, Elizabeth loved that!  When we got back we put Devin down for bed and watched "We Bought a Zoo"....GREAT show!!  We even had popcorn with it!  Sunday was a very nice lazy day! But eventually we did have to pack up and head back to my parents house, we spent the rest of the day there and headed home at bedtime.  It was a great weekend and so nice to get away for a bit!