WOW! August, has it really been that long since I have updated here!

Emily is doing fantastic! She is such a intelligent little girl. I know that's what I am supposed to say because I am her mom but seriously she is a smart little girl. She may not be able to communicate all of her needs, all of the time but she can do so many things that other kids at her age cannot! She knows her ABC's, all of them no skipping or missing or forgetting. She has 100% letter recognition, lower and upper cases, meaning I can ask her what a letter is (randomly) and she is able to tell me. She can count to 24 (only skipping 17). She is also pre-reading, which means she tries to sound out words. This is not very common and I think it is due to how her little mind works and copes with the Apraxia. She is a very visual child, thus recognizing letters (and letter sounds). I think that is why she is beginning to pre-read. It is amazing! She is also really coming into her own, she loves to make believe, playing dress-up and barbies. By the way, she says on a regular basis "I'm a barbie girl". She got a massive barbie playhouse for Christmas from Santa (who was very nice this year). So many speech therapy opportunities! I am now considering getting her a speech program developed by a speech therapist who has been studying Apraxia for over 20 years. It's called the Kauffman Kit. It is fairly expensive so I will have to wait a little longer but I think that it is now time to get her on a program. She won a free month of dance lessons! Which just started last week. She is taking a pre-combo class, ballet, tap and tumbling. She has been dancing around the house for the last week and a half! We will see what thinks at the end of the month and possibly keep her in it. I think it would be good for her to continue, it will help her with motor planning that isn't related to speech. She is back at pre-school and absolutely loves it. She has a new teacher this year, Mrs. Albert. She is always talking about "my teacher Albert".

We are now officially Gluten-Free! I think it has been about 5 months. It has been a fantastic decision for our entire family. Emily's GI issues are not completely resolved but they are much better. Not only Emily is having success but so is Cameron, Hunter and Mommy! Most of our digestive issues are similar and we are all having great success in our own ways. Going GF is not a easy process, especially for 7 year olds who love peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. We have learned how to make GF pizza and the kids have fallen in love with broccoli-cheese soup (the ONLY way I can get them to eat broccoli. I now have a few GF cookbooks and I am making homemade snacks (which Matt is in love with and addicted to).

Well, I think that gets us up-to-date for the most part. One of my goals this year is to try and write at least once a week in each of the kids blogs. We love sharing what is going on with us!