Camping, School, and so much more!

It's been a busy month! I'm going to try to hit the high points....

Camping - Cade had a blast! He tried some new things, like going tubing down a small river and swimming in the waves of Lake Michigan. The most notable experience for Cade, in regards to our purposes here, was at night around the camp fire. One of our family "traditions" is to go on a "lion hunt" at night around the camp fire. This involved a story teller taking everyone through obstacles (with motions) while looking for a pretend lion. This year, the kids wanted to do their own versions of the lion hunt, which then turned into telling "spooky stories". Cade fully participated in the "lion hunts", which was a first for him. He then also participated in making up both his own lion hunt and spooky story. His stories were relatively well-sequenced and if he got stuck, we would simply ask a question that seemed to fit his story, and he answered the question to get back on track with his story. All of this felt almost amazing to us. It was such a big step in terms of independent thinking and social participation.

School - Cade has started kindergarten and is really loving it. We usually are able to ask some "who, what, where, when, why, how" questions, and get pretty good information about his day. Often, he is volunteering information about his day because he's actually enjoying telling us about it. The papers that he's bringing home are also showing progress. He is completely coloring pictures, using multiple colors, and staying in the lines. He's following directions to complete his "assignments", like "circle the pictures of the words that start with the letter R". Both his fine motor skills and time on task are definitely improving. Of course, Cade's favorite class is gym - which he has twice a week. We always hear fun stories about the games he gets to play there.

Church - Cade has moved up at church to the elementary class. Since we go to a small church, the kids in his class are K-5th grade. We weren't sure how he'd do with such a wide age range, but he's been doing great. He's able to tell me about the "big idea" each week, and usually can relate the important parts of his story. He's getting into singing the songs from Seed Family Worship. The other night he helped me tuck in his sisters at bedtime. He insisted the he sing "Take Heart" to them in place of the usual bedtime song. It was cute and heart warming :)

Swimming - Cade started swimming lessons last Tuesday. He did very well in going into an entirely new environment and adapting quickly. He listened to his teacher, waited his turn to jump into the water each time, and tried some more new things. He even jumped off the diving board! And while all of this was so wonderful, it was even better to hear him talk about it later and how proud he was of himself for trying new things even though, he said, "I was just a little bit scared." It's exciting to see him step up to new challenges and move forward, even while being a little scared.

So, that's where we're at. We are thinking that in the next few weeks to a month, we may be adding full fat dairy back into Cade's diet. We'll keep updated with whether or not we do, and how it all goes!

Proud mom,
Becky