Swimming like a mermaid

Posted on June 28, 2019 by mommabear0208

This week we’ve been down in South Florida visiting family and friends. We’ve been able to accomplish so much in such little time… like mommy getting to see not one, but THREE of her high school friends. And of course spending as much time with our family as we can. And swimming. And eating. And having dance parties. And swimming some more.

The weather has mostly been sweltering. But it hasn’t stopped this kid from picking up new skills in the water. She is doing all sorts of amazing things independently in the pool. And the ocean (with the courtesy of her swimmies). Here are a few shots from our visit.

Happy summer!

Love,

C & L

Scenes from a beach vacation

Posted on August 23, 2017 by mommabear0208

Holy cow have we been having fun! From the Cape to Shelter Island, Lily and I have been surrounded by laughter and love – from old friends to new.

Here are a few photos which capture some of our adventures. If you want to see more, let me know. As usual, I took too many pictures of this sweet kiddo.

Our first full day in the Cape (with the Bernsteins!) was your typical romantic New England weather: chilly and gray! We spent the day reading books at the beach house and in the library. Hint: the Wellfleet library has an amazing kids section that rivals the old FAO Schwartz on 5th Ave – complete with costumes and stuffed animals.

We also had a lot of fun using the Snapchat filters once all the books were read.

The next day, the clouds parted and we went to the beach. While we didn’t find any mermaids, we did see some seals!

And the following day was more of the same: perfect company, perfect weather and perfect waves! The ocean was too cold for Lily to go in and it was almost too cold for me. But I braved it and jumped in.

The next day, we embarked on the second part of our beach vacation: Shelter Island!! Lily and I had the most fun time riding the Cross Island Ferry on our journey. I think we ran around that big boat at least 3 times. And of course, Lily made a bunch of new friends on the ferry.

We spent a week in total at Shelter (thanks to the Nelsons!!!). The weather was beautiful and the beaches were lovely.

Our first day out there we met up with the Rogers family in New Suffolk to watch the boat races, which has become an annual tradition. This year we had the addition of Elaine, Lily’s SLP and our family friend.

Lily and I took a much needed break from the sun on Friday and met up with Stephen (who came out for the weekend) to ride the carousel in Greenport. We also had the opportunity to see our friends Maren and Ben DeSantis too.

On Saturday and Sunday we hit the beach with the Nelson-Dollar clan. We spent both days searching for mermaids but only found mermaid toenails (i.e. magical looking shells that come in all colors of the rainbow).

And on Monday, Lily and I watched the eclipse, borrowing eclipse sunglasses from our newfound friends. I’m telling you – this kid is super social.

Lily is now on the second part of her vacation – the Poconos with her dad. I’m also on the second part of my time-off – the Sivananda yoga ranch upstate. I’m going to miss my sweetie so much but I’m looking forward to getting some down-time. I’ve got some big decisions to make about Lily and need to process it. Though we had a great trip, her appetite was a big struggle. And even when she was hungry and wanting to eat, it would take upwards of an hour for her to have a meal. It’s not been heartening. But I’m grateful to have had the time to get to learn as much as I can about my kids struggles, and her abilities.

Om Namah Sivaya.

Lily needs time to be Lily

Posted on May 14, 2016 by mommabear0208

Almost daily, that phrase pops into my head – Lily needs time to be Lily. Her very first ABA therapist, Ann, said this when Lily was only 18 months old and it struck me – even then. This kid spends most of her days working – trying to do things that you and I take for granted. Like picking up a fork and putting it to your mouth, walking a straight line, talking. And you know what? Sometimes all the work has to just stop. Lily needs time to do the things she wants. So every day, I try to give her that opportunity. This evening, I took her out to dinner to celebrate the end of a busy week. She chose the restaurant. And then afterwards, she chose where we walked and what we did. Tonight we crashed a jazz concert. Who knew this kid liked jazz??? She won the hearts of everyone in the crowd, including the musicians. She has a way with people. So what else does this kid like to do?