We've done it! Our first week in team III has successfully been completed. As it always seems to happen, the anticipation and anxiety about the change was far greater than the change itself. Moving into team III meant full days (9-3) and no more napping at home). They do have a short 'rest' time on cots at school, but his teachers Patti and Carol have said that the kids aren't napping. They are optimistic that they might nap once the novelty wears off, but for now Isaac is coming home fairly tired. He makes it till about dinner time and then is exhausted. If there is a positive he is going to bed an hour earlier and getting up an hour later, and seems to still want to nap on weekends.
The new schedule has really changed my day and the chunks of time I have to work. I am going to begin having our babysitter pick up Isaac three times a week so that I can get a little extra work done, and we are going to start doing activities together in the afternoon (gymnastics, karate, and basketball).
This change seems good. He seems ready, and now that it is here I think it is exciting and positive. It makes the time that I do get to spend with him more focused and appreciated, and weekends have become all that more delicious.
We have been visiting the ride on stables for a little while now, and it has become a highlight of both coco and my week. It is located on topanga canyon at the 118 freeway which is an area surrounded by huge boulders creating mountains and valleys that are breathtaking. Our little venture to this area every week brings us out of the familiar valley scenery and into a very different world. Horses are calming. There is something about being around them that helps me to slow my pace down. Of course you never want to spook a horse, so this in itself asks you to be conscious of your surrounding, but there is something more to it than that. The horses are magnificent, huge and steady, and demand respect and a confident calm. I am so ever grateful to the horses Coco rides every week. They have changed her stride in so many ways, and given us so much back. The relationship Coco has with Fancy, and the other horses she rides is one of mutual understanding and love. She has learned to mount and dismount the horses. She plays with their manes and pats them firmly. She lights up when her horse arrives, and spends the next half hour with a smile on her face.At this point Joanne and her team (there are three people to a horse and child) are working with Coco on stabilizing and strengthening her core. She rides the horsies forward, sideways, and backwards. She weaves in and out of tall obstacles, and reaches for toys that are presented to her. The horse goes up and down steps and moves slowly and more quickly depending on what Joanne wants to work on. She has even started riding some of the trails in the back of the property that offer small hills and turns. I can speak for Coco in saying that we are both feel lucky to have had this experience. Regardless of her delay this is an activity we both enjoy and both grow and learn from. Connection to nature and animals is such an important and special early gift, I am so pleased Coco has been blessed with the opportunity to gain life experience through the eyes of her horse, Fancy.
