Back to school for the Bigs

I don't want anyone to think I have forgotten about my big kids Shelby and Robbie since I don't post as many pictures of them.  Let's just say they aren't as willing participants to have their pictures taken and they sure are home a lot less than the little guys.

Shelby is back at Akron this fall and in the marching band.  She took a full course load over the summer and she should be a junior by the end of this semester.  She also held down 2 summer jobs, one at the farm market and one as a job coach.  She is beginning her education classes and continues to work at the farm market through Falł Fest.  She has been a huge help with Matt and Grace.  It must be pretty awesome to have an older sister who his 15 years older than you.  Shelby has bought ballon animal and face painting kits to play with them.  She always welcomes them to hang out in her room, too. 

Robbie has been keeping me busy buying new clothes, he has grown over 6 inches in a short period of time.  He is now as tall as Jeff.  People have asked him if he is driving, so it's funny to tell them he is just an 8th grader.  He is back playing football again this fall.  He is playing both offense and defense. He has had some great plays already.   Robbie attended football conditioning throughout the summer, so it wasn't such a killer to start back for football camp in August.  He and Jeff have entered their favorite time of year - the start of college football and sports center coverage of college football.  We are also really proud of how much he is willing to help out around the house.  Robbie and Jeff have taken down several dead trees in the 90 degree heat and he has started to learn how to drive the tractor.  He and I have also worked together to get the camper hooked up to the car by ourselves.  I only back up the car to the camper (with the help of a backup camera) and Robbie does all the rest.  

 

Knees Please

When warmer weather started, I soon figured out we would have to keep Grace's knees covered.  She was falling all the time and had a skinned knee that wouldn't heal.  I later found out that people with spina bifida take longer to heal since they have reduced circulation/feeling.  We also found out we would always have to check her for cuts and scraps on her legs and feet because she might not know she had them and they could get out of hand.  So I soon invested in some knees pads for when she was playing on asphalt and a dozen pairs of capri leggings to wear that would cover her knees.  

Unfortunately there were several pairs of shorts she never got to wear because it just wasn't practical.  A lot of times she just wore dresses because it was easier to pair the leggings with.  Not a lot of people in China wear shorts so it took Grace a little while to realize that her knees could be uncovered.  I started catching her pulling up her leggings to show her knees and she would tell me she looked like RoRo (who wears shorts 349 days a year).  So earlier this week, she found this skort in her bottom drawer and asked to wear it.  I took the chance and since she is falling a little less - surprise, her knees remained intact all day. I can't say I am brave enough to continue to let her keep her knees uncovered, but she was excited to keep showing us her knees that day.

 A lot of her leggings have now seen better days, most have become so torn up I just threw them away.  I am really looking forward to it being jeans season. Earlier this summer I saw a posting for little girls clothing on Mom's resale Facebook page that said like "enough items to clothe a 3T army...".  I jumped at it.   Thankfully, this lot of clothing I bought had 30 pairs of pants and jeans.  There aren't many people who need 30 pairs of girls 3T pants, but I know one little girl who will put them to very good use/abuse.