Since September, things have gone relatively well. Ally loves her new school. (For the record, I do too- hers and mine!) She loves her class, being in the same school as her brothers, and ESPECIALLY riding the bus! She has done really well in school, knows all her letters and sounds, and on her fall PALS test she scored at spring levels in almost every category! In a few weeks we will be registering her for KINDERGARTEN!(Gulp!)
One really interesting and special thing we learned early on in the year from her teacher is about her friendship with another student in the class. Ally would often come home and talk about this student (we'll call her Sarah), and we soon figured out that Sarah was in a wheelchair but we didn't know anything else about her really. When I had a phone conference with her teacher she told me more about Sarah- that she was in a wheelchair and had significant delays. However, she said that Ally loved playing with her, and was very good about actually including her in the play (not just playing next to her, but with her). It made me teary- Ally could just as easily been in the same physical situation as Sarah with her Dandy-Walker, and she was befriending her and including her in play. I will say that I have figured out her motivation a bit from something she told me once- Sarah is much more baby-like to her, and Ally LOVES babies. So I think she liked the idea of having to care for her like a baby. But regardless I think it is amazing that she is so considerate of a classmate with special needs. Her teacher said she really needed to be a special education teacher someday. We will see!
In the fall we took our annual trip to the local pumpkin patch. We always have a good time there every year in the corn maze, on the hayride, riding the barrel tractor train, playing in the corn crib, and of course picking out pumpkins. Halloween was not long after this trip and Ally decided to repeat the Care Bear costume from last year since she loved it so much and it still fit! She would crack us up while trick or treating- we went to Russell's parents neighborhood which is pretty quiet and doesn't get really heavy traffic. Some people would just hold out the bowl to the kids and let them pick out their candy. Ally would sometimes take a whole handful, and one time we saw her put her hand back in the bowl multiple times (we counted about 6!). People didn't want to still have candy at the end of the night so they would just let the kids take what they wanted- and she obliged them!
On the tube swing
Sunflowers!
Barrel train over and over...
One group shot on the hayride
Halloween: Care Bear take 2, Jack Skellington, & Harry Potter
I took Ally to see her first musical at the local children's theatre in December. They put on Annie and she very much enjoyed it- though not quite as much as Frog & Toad last summer I think! We will be looking for more theatre opportunities in the future- I love taking all the kids to see shows.
We've had several fun events at the kids school that Ally has gotten to participate in as well. In September the PTA did a color run fundraiser. The kids had a blast running the track and getting covered in color! Last week we also had a family dance at the school. We all got dressed up and Daddy took Ally to McDonalds (Mommy and the boys wanted Subway) and then spent the evening dancing in the school cafeteria. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time. Ally found several friends from her class and spent a lot of time dancing with them (and holding hands and dragging them around the dance floor- that's our Ally!).
Color Run Fun!
Ally is the blur being swung by Ben at the family dance
Thankfully we don't have much else going on. Ally has been in good health and hasn't even had a stomach bug, even when both boys did. She has complained about headaches more often (though not enough to be concerned) and I had to talk with her about being serious about headaches and not just trying to get sympathy because of her shunt. I'm not sure she completely understood but we'll keep talking to her as she gets older. One thing that has really bothered me is the idea of sometime in the future if/when she needs to have her shunt replaced, and being older and more understanding of what might be taking place and that it will be unpleasant, uncomfortable, somewhat painful and maybe scary. When she was a baby we handed her to the doctors and she wasn't the wiser. The older she gets the more aware she will be- I am dreading the day I have to explain about needing surgery for her shunt and what that will entail. However, it is not something I lose sleep over and does not often cross my mind. Ally is a very spunky, healthy little girl who is doing very well.
Speaking of getting older, the next blog post will be super exciting because our Ally girl turns FIVE in just a few weeks! So we will have lots to update on her birthday, parties (yes that's plural), her first t-ball season (she's super excited to get to play this year!), spring break, her dance recital, and summer plans. We love all of you and thanks for keeping updated on our Ally girl!
