Chopsticks!

We went to Hannah's favorite Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate the end of bike camp. She surprised us and actually got a few bites in with her sticks!

She had a good last day at bike camp. We did end up with a smaller bike, which she can ride 80% independently (that means I/we still need to run next to her all the time, to step in when she needs help on the other 20%). Hopefully by next year she'll be able to move up to her larger bike, but for now, she can manage this one pretty well.

She hasn't given up on her goal to ride her bike--she still asks every evening if we can go for a bike ride. It is much easier to chase her on the smaller bike! Of course, we're limited by how not-in-shape we are, so we don't get very far. James and I are tag-teaming her. We also pretend that we need her to practice braking so we can catch our breath!

Next up: Tooth pulled on Tuesday. Not going to be that much fun, but it won't be that bad either. I already have the Versed. Maybe I should take it instead of Nan! I think it might be more fun that way. At least for me.

One bike, two bike, pink bike, blue bike

Quick post:

Hannah dreaded going to bike camp on Thursday. I dreaded going to bike camp on Thursday. She was sure she was going to crash. I was sure she was going to crash. She was slated to ride outside in the parking lot. 94 degrees and 90% humidity. Sunshine.

My plan for her to survive:

Give her Rescue Remedy (homeopathic remedy for stress or injury--emotional or bodily).

See if the director of the camp would let her ride a smaller bike (a big no-no with Lose the Training Wheels-LTTW).

Wear protective gear.

Drink lots of ice water.

What happened:

Hannah happily took her "Bravery medicine". The previous night, the director had discussed Hannah with some top LTTW recreational therapists and their idea was the same as mine. Yay! Hannah warmed up (so to speak...the gym is air conditioned) on the smaller 20" LTTW bike. She really liked it. She kept saying, "It's not so bad! It's not so bad!" The director is a mechanical engineer, so he monitored her movements and reactions on the small bike.

We went outside to try her big bike one more time (the gym had more kids/riders in it). I rode a bike in front of her, so she could chase me. She did okay, but still couldn't keep her speed up to ride steadily. We tried a few other variations, with me running her bike, her volunteer running in front of her, etc. Everyone was so hot!

After 20 minutes we went back inside. James planned to come for the last 30 minutes to give Hannah a morale boost, so we were just getting cooled down when he came.

Back on the small bike, Hannah did great. She barely needed any re-direction (the handle on the back of the bike can be touched lightly to straighten out). And the clincher was that she started telling jokes to the "audience" as she passed the bleachers. We hadn't heard a joke in 2 days!

Now we're in the market for a smaller bike. With forward pedals and high handlebars (doesn't exist, except at LTTW). And this time, no 75% discount. We'll keep her bigger bike until she's a stronger rider.

I am really happy that she didn't quit! So is she! We still will have to work daily to perfect her skills, but I'm feeling like it's manageable.

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One post, two post, red post, blue post

I'm sorry I've been AWOL for a while! We've had a whirlwind of revolving houseguests and activities that have kept me from getting much of anything done other than wash sheets, cook and drive around.

Here is the run down of the successes of the past 10 days or so:

IEP Mediation: I went to Macey's mediation and pretty much kicked butt. It took a lot of arguing, but finally, after a few calls to the VA State DOE to clarify the law regarding age of compulsory schooling, Macey will be able to attend an extra year of inclusive preschool at her local elementary school. The school system was trying to force her into Kindergarten and she is just plain not ready for that. (Background story: Macey was adopted from Ukraine almost two years ago and is doing her best to catch-up, but it's hard when you have Down syndrome and significant hearing loss.)

Chris and High School Graduation: My parents came to visit over the weekend and we took the opportunity to finally celebrate Christian's graduation. A delicious (and I mean DELICIOUS) meal at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was lots of fun. The graduation included a lovely presentation of a crayon-made diploma, a song, and no wild dancing. Toasts, humorous stories and huge desserts filled out the evening.

AnnaJoy: A newly minted American, AnnaJoy was recently adopted by dear friends of ours. They have been living in China for several years and have come home to finalize AnnaJoy's adoption and have some respite from their work in China. They traveled from Oklahoma to visit, and we were all thrilled to meet this spunky three-year old!

Chris and College: He has his roommate information, and is in one of his first choice dorms! We went to the campus last week and ironed out some things at the Registrar's office, and now he is officially an academic Junior (though still a social Freshman). Now the shopping begins! Only three weeks before launch!!

And a run down of the not-so-successes of the past 10 days:

Bike Camp Take 2: Soon after we returned from the Charlotte Lose The Training Wheels camp, we realized that there was going to be a session of the same camp here in Richmond. I signed her up after realizing that she still needed some "tweaking" with her balance and awareness of her surroundings. The first two days were great, but today she crashed a few times and is now not wanting anything to do with her bike or camp. I am wiped out from running and cajoling. She is SO close to becoming an independent rider, but she's scared to maintain the speed she needs to balance well, so she ends up fishtailing and loses control. The "professional opinion" is that if she cannot maintain a fast enough speed, she will not be able to ride independently. We'll try again tomorrow, with elbow and knee pads to help cushion the pavement. After that, we'll have to make a decision about whether to keep trying, or give her a different option for riding. We're not quitting. Through tears, Hannah says, "Bike riders never give up."

(If you missed the first version of bike camp, click here)

2, 548 shards of glass: A microburst storm lifted up our glass patio table and smashed it over our deck. Now we have to pick up all the pieces to save gentle paws. I've heard that a shopvac might help the clean up! I was wishing that glass was magnetic.

$5853.00: Cost of Hannah's orthodontics. This doesn't include the oral surgery she is having on Tuesday. We do love the doctor, but were hoping that an office without all the Playstations and computers would have been less expensive than the swanky Hug-o-rama office.

Still waiting: Kate has not heard much from the Peace Corps. Everything is fine, but it sure would be nice to know what kind of timeline to anticipate, and what preparations need to be made.

We've had no real disasters or disappointments, just regular ol' life, coming in above the regular speed limit.

Learning to Ride a Bike

What a busy and fun time we had! Every time we head to Charlotte I have high hopes of getting to visit with every one of my friends...but it never works out that way! I think I just need to move back there. But, wait. Then I'd miss my friends here. I guess I need a second home or something!

Below is the short video version of bike camp, but I plan on writing up a long and boring description of exactly how it all worked, since several people are interested in specific details. And you know I'm really good at specific details. Enough to bore you away from the blog. So I'll put a disclaimer on that post so you can skip it entirely. I promise not to reveal anything that would be interesting to the casual reader!

The only thing you need to know about Lose the Training Wheels is that the bikes that they use are modified by having a cylinder where the rear wheel would be. There is a hierarchy of eight cylinders, each one being more tapered towards the ends, to provide more tilting of the bike. The gradual change in angles gives the rider the opportunity to practice balancing with less risk of toppling over. The last two cylinders are engineered to match the way a regular bicycle wheel works, so the rider can then transition to a regular bike.

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Lose the Training Wheels now requires riders with Down syndrome to be at least 11 years old. I have to say I agree with them. Their success rate has increased dramatically since they started the age requirement. I know several kids who are younger who are successful independent bike riders, but they are a small minority.

If you child is too big for a bike with training wheels, you might want to look at Fat Wheels. They turn any bike into a "quad" bike and are much cheaper than a Trike.

Hannah will need to practice every day for a while before she is a completely independent rider. She needs to be more aware of her surroundings, get better with steering, touch up her balance, and learn to use her brakes more "gently". Our goals for Hannah were for her to have fun and gain skills. Those were accomplished, plus she only has some polishing up before she'll be hitting the bike trails!