© 2002-2004, The Purdys

Therapy/school break

We have some darling pictures of Haley and her friends (Sarah, Madelyn, Holden and Parker) from the last day of their therapeutic playgroup at Kindering Center on July 23. Click here to see those pictures! We had so much fun learning and playing with our friends every week. We're going to miss seeing them.

Haley now has no therapy/school until early September. We're already missing our normal schedule. She's currently scheduled for an afternoon class starting Sept 7 but we are trying to get that changed because she's finally down to one afternoon nap a day. We're hoping for a morning placement and a few sessions of extra physical therapy each month this fall. She's making great progress but has had a lot of balance problems this summer. She'll probably still have individual speech therapy, too. We're excited to work with her new teachers and therapists!

Sticky summer!

We're having a hotter than usual summer here. UGH! But we have enjoyed some beautiful days and evenings, too. We saw Love's Labor's Lost during our community's "Shakespeare in the Park" a few weeks ago (we missed Julius Caesar the week before because Haley was sick). We had a wonderful picnic that kept Haley occupied during the first 45 minutes but then she wouldn't sit still any longer. We let her play on the lawn in the back while we tried to follow the action. It was great! Going to "Shakespeare in the Park" is one of our favorite summer traditions.

We saw the Blue Angels over Lake Washington again this summer as part of SeaFair. Haley wasn't impressed! The jets were so loud. It was too much stimulation; she ended up in my lap with her blanket over her head and was asleep almost immediately. She reacted the same way to the fireworks in Portland. Jason and Kelsee enjoyed the air show, especially with a sleeping child!

We also recently went to the zoo and to the aquarium in Seattle. Haley's too little to enjoy it much, but she liked the gorillas at the zoo and the seals at the aquarium. We're planning to go back to the zoo in a few weeks. It's Jason's favorite place to visit…

We've had a lot of quiet days at home. Kelsee and Haley sometimes venture out to the park and the library, but most days they're reading books, singing songs, watching Dora and Blues Clues and playing with a few select toys (Haley's more interested in getting into things than playing with toys) while they try to stay cool. Kelsee made playdough and Haley has enjoyed playing with that. Oh, and coloring. She LOVES to color. Unfortunately, she decided to be an artist in her books, on some of her toys, on the front of the stove and on our leather couch! Needless to say, she's only getting crayons when she's in her high chair now!

Upcoming events

Since Kourtney's moving back to Kentucky next month we are going on one last trip to Oregon this summer. Savannah turns three on Aug 22nd so we hope to be spending the weekend with them celebrating her birthday and saying goodbye. Aside from Savannah's birthday party, we're all planning to go to Seaside or Cannon Beach for a day. It will be fun! We're sad about their move, yet excited for them.

We're thinking of going camping in British Columbia for Labor Day. No set plans but it's nice knowing we can go to Canada if we want to now that we have a birth certificate for Miss Haley.

Haley doesn't have any medical appointments until late September: her 2-year checkup with her pediatrician, Dr Heigel; her 6-month neurosurgery checkup with Dr. Avellino; and her 6-month neurodevelopmental checkup with Dr Walker. We're excited to see how she's doing from a medical viewpoint. We think she's doing great!

And of course, Haley turns TWO in six weeks, so we're starting to think of a birthday celebration. Our "baby" is growing up so fast!