And on the Fourth Day She Smiles

I didn’t really check out how well the other two and three year old children were separating from their parents, but let’s just say I didn’t hear any crying except from my child. It wasn’t a loud obnoxious tantrum, just a general sobbing upset. She clung to “friend”, but knew that it was useless to try and Velcro herself to my leg. She was whisked away with tears in her eyes…again.

I figured out why the tickling thing was a big enough deal for Sophia’s buddy to mention the previous day. The head of the camp who is also Sophia’s advocate (person who is supposed to ensure that we’re happy with the services we receive and that we’re informed of everything available to us) came up to me and showed me Sophia’s camp photo. I wasn’t supposed to receive it until the next day but she gave it to me as proof that Sophia does smile while at camp. I’m sure there were some smiles but I’m also fairly certain that she had to be tickled for the photo. How much you want to bet this mom knows her kid?

The snack for this day was a waffle face with apple slices to form a mouth and mini-marshmallow teeth. Sophia likes apple and I used to slice them for her and remove the skin when she was younger, then we moved up to merely slicing it. Now however she won’t touch an apple unless it’s whole. For the waffle face eyes, they used raisins and for a nose, they used half of one of those hotdog things you see in baby food jars. The other half of the hotdog thing was halved again to make the ears. Dried spaghetti was poked into the top of the waffle for some hair. It was cute and overall a better snack than the one from the day before. I’m still not impressed, but at least she’s eating in front of other kids.

Sophia’s buddy said that Sophia still wouldn’t talk in front of her but that the speech therapist was there and Sophia signed for her. I didn’t ask which speech therapist it was, so it could have been the one Sophia is already familiar with, It could have been the one who was assigned to us and used to come to our house.

Thursday:
Today…
I made a…Necklace
I ate a…Waffle and raisins (nothing she hasn’t had at home, except that at home the waffles are made from scratch of course and not Eggo Waffles…I’m just sayin’)
I liked…playing in the field

My day was… (in this part of the form the buddy circles one of three choices: fabulous, good, ok) Sophia’s buddy circled fabulous.

Under comments she wrote, “Still no talking! Although she’s doing great at camp! Signs please and more!”

necklace Sophia made at camp

This was the first time that Sophia seemed genuinely happy after camp. I asked her if she had a good day and she answered with an excited, “Yes!” and a big smile.

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Cookies Made to Look Like a Burger are still Cookies

The third day of camp we arrived right on time for sign in and at the time Sophia’s buddy came up to us I was squatting trying to convince Sophia to put “friend” in her backpack and to give me back the house keys she was playing with in the car. Sophia saw her buddy and moved around behind me, away from her buddy, and tried to cling to my back. She didn’t cry and she didn’t retain all the Velcro qualities of the previous day, but she still didn’t want to separate from me on her own.

After she was whisked away, I went through the daily paperwork which indicates, who signed the child in, who will sign them out, and that the child doesn’t have any allergies to the food items that will be offered at snack time. I realize that fresh foods are more difficult to keep and because of that, the cost can add up, but I’m still very disappointed in what will be served today.

They made a mini-burger with Nilla Wafer cookies for buns, half an Oreo cookie for the meat patty, and I’m guessing half the white filling. The filling was colored with red and green food coloring for the ketchup and lettuce. On the side were chips that looked very similar to shoe- string potatoes used to represent fries. The only healthy part of the snack was the other side, which were slices of ham that had cream cheese spread on them. The ham and cheese are rolled and sliced for bite-sized ham and cheese swirls. I guess I should just be happy Sophia is in an environment where she can see other kids her age eating these things. It’s just that it would be nice if those things were more like, oh I don’t know, strawberries, carrots, peas, or hell even a real mini-hamburger would be nice.

When I picked up Sophia her buddy told me that Sophia really liked the playground a lot, especially the slide. I already knew that but it’s nice that she had fun with someone other than mommy at the park and that it was clearly visible to her buddy. Last year for Sophia’s second birthday not-a-nanny came to visit. I told her Sophia really likes swimming and runs to the locker room when we arrive and invited her to come with us. After Sophia’s class she asked, “Does Sophia really like it?” We may not see not-a-nanny very often but she knows Sophia well and she couldn’t tell. Yes, she likes it. She’s not protesting and occasionally she’ll smile briefly. That’s about the most I get from her. Sophia and I took a break from her swim classes from about February to June this year. Sophia wanted to play at the park instead and I didn’t want to push swim class to the point of making her hate it, so we took a break. She loves swimming again and now I think it shows a more. She actually participates in class a little more.

Sophia’s buddy also told me that Sophia is very ticklish. Again, yeah, something I know. If a parent with a ticklish kid and doesn’t know it, uummm wow. They’re probably the sort of parent that needs the advice I was receiving from the therapists. Like, “You need to sit on the floor and play with her.” No shit, really?

I asked Sophia’s buddy if Sophia talked at all in the last three days and she told me that she herself hadn’t heard her say anything but that Sophia talked to the occupational therapist that runs one of the classes we attend. I wasn’t surprised at all. That therapist is Sophia’s favorite, but much like her enjoyment of swimming, it’s hard for anyone to tell.

Wednesday:
Today…
I made a…Pencil Critter
I ate a…Cookies (all she ate was the sugar, what a shock)
I liked…Playground

My day was… (in this part of the form the buddy circles one of three choices: fabulous, good, ok) Sophia’s buddy circled fabulous.

Under comments she wrote, “Sophia had lots of fun at the playground today! She loves the slide! Also becoming more comfortable every day!”

pencil critter

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