This and That

Ok, after the incredibly daunting task of writing the Hangzhou blog, I wanted to write one of just some normal, every day stuff that we've been up to around here.

The kids are almost done with school- Cooper is done on June 15 and Sophie is done on June 22 (well, technically she's done on the 28th but we're pulling her out early to spend more time at home :). 
Cooper seems to be making progress in school with the PECS program, although we have not started implementing it at home yet.
After frying my laminator Ben brought here from the US back in March, Coop's school kindly finished laminating his visual schedule stuff so we have begun the task of assigning everything he does in a day with a visual card cue. The idea is that eventually we can have the cards all lined up and run through the day's events with him at the beginning of the day so he will be able to prepare and anticipate the day without any anxiety. So, this means when he gets up and I change his clothes, I show him the card, get dressed, and read it to him and show it to him several times so eventually he'll know that when he sees this card it means that he's going to get dressed. This repeats with breakfast, sunscreen, shoes on, car to school, lunch, toys, nap, Soph's bus, playground, etc etc. It's a bit overwhelming so we're doing a few key things each day and will slowy add more.
Honestly, we have no idea if we're doing this right or not. There are no classes here to teach me what I'm supposed to be doing for Cooper. I'm simply trusting that God continues to have a plan for me and my little man and so I'll keep trying what I think will help him until someone tells me differently! :)


Here is a picute of our "backyard" (our terrace) in the spring!

On Saturday, May 26th, the Racquet Club held a charity carnival type of thing. There were a ton of kids games and booths where people were selling things.
It was a hot and humid day so the Lawlers and us both had the thought to grab some chairs by the pool before heading out to the fun.
Here are some of the pics from our day-
This cutie pie is Isaac. He'll be 3 in November and he is in the process of becoming quite the swimmer! Just a few months ago he hated the pools and the water but now he's just a little fish! This day he was looking particularly adorable so I just had to capture his cuteness on film. :)

Looking down part of the outdoor pool...

Looking the other direction towards the new condos that are being built. The area closest is the kiddie pool and then the beach area is straight ahead there. Not too shabby... :)

 

Ok, so the first one was to the right, the next was to the left, and this one is straight ahead. It's a little island in the middle of the pool.

Ben trying to put Coop down for a nap at the pool. Cute, but totally unsuccessful. :)

So, instead of napping, Ben, Sophie and Coop went for a swim together.

This is Ben "teaching" Isaac to swim. I love how the Brits do it. :) Don't worry, he had his floaties on, and he loved it. :)

Yes, people, you are seeing it. This is my girl swimming by herself with no help!!

You see the smile on her face, right?

Yeah, that smile was actually a panic-ridden giddyness. Ben had just let her go to prove that she could swim if she really wanted to (she keeps trying to claim she can't). I'm glad to know that if worse came to worse and she fell in, she can easily swim to an edge. However, she was not to happy about us testing her like that. :)

The carnival was a good way to burn some time. We bought some tickets which we could use for games. Of all the fun games and things to do, she wanted her hair colored!

Pink and blue. I have created a punk rocker already!

Her other favorite- fishing. She could have stayed here for a loooong time.

Cooper, on the other hand, could have stayed in the bouncy castle all day and night. He really loves this thing. I'm starting to wonder if I need to get him one for at home... :)

Sophie decided she had had enough fishing and wanted to join her little brother in some bouncing fun. Mia and Isaac joined as well and they had great fun. We had to drag them out!

All in all, a very fun day.


We also received some presents for Coop and Soph from Aunt Jody, Uncle Danny, Grandma and Grandpa Vander Ploeg. Sophie was thrilled her birthday was still being extended!

She received a new Dora activities book that she was thrilled about.

The next present she opened had her collapsing back in joy-

She was so happy to get another Tangled doll- and this one can go swimming with her!!

So, I had to post some pics of the amazing birthday cards that my sister-in-law, Jody made. They were amazing! She so talented.
Ok, so here are the front of the cards- cute by themselves, right?

Turn the cards over and she had made the kids' favorite characters- Dora and Cinderella! Cooper even smiled when I showed his card to him- he totally recognized it as Dora! Loved them!!

Cooper also showed great interest in the presents he got (and for those who don't know, this is really rare!!). This little blankie is super soft and Cooper seriously loves it. He sleeps with it now and constantly hugs it. It's really cute!

His other present was another chewy tube and he's making some really good use out of this! Since I won't let him have pacies he just walks around all afternoon chewing on this.

Great presents, guys! Thanks!!