Week 8 was nothing too remarkable. Back to daily routines and only one cookie booth. Upcoming events had me feeling sort of "blah" this week and I think the images reflect that. But I had a couple of ideas for upcoming Jecca Lynn Photography sessions so I have those promos to look forward to!

50/365:  Hello Coffee Maker

As much as we LOVED our time in Big Bear, the one thing our little cabin room was missing was a coffee maker. I brought instant coffee packets and there was a microwave, but if you are a coffee drinker you know that is NOT the same thing. It was so good to get home to my coffee maker!

51/365:  Playing in the Foyer

When she wants to play with a bouncy rubber ball, she goes into the foyer, shuts the barn door leading the the living room, and bounces to her heart's content. There are high ceilings, nothing breakable, and it is in a different room from where momma works.

52/365:  Math Book

She found a math book at the library written by Danica McKellar (yes; Winnie from The Wonder Years!). She LOVES this book.

I hate math. But I love her. So I play the math games and encourage her to soak it all in.

53/365:  Jump for Heart

Her elementary school had a jump rope fundraiser so she has been feverishly practicing in the backyard. For the longest time, she couldn't get the whole-body coordination down, but suddenly on this day she was jump-roping like a pro!

54/365:  Starbucks Cookie Booth

We signed up for a cookie booth at one of the local Starbucks on this day. It was the BEST booth location yet. There was a courtyard which gave us plenty of space to set up and room for the girls to dance around. Plenty of restaurants and shops meant plenty of customers, but not an overwhelming amount.

Oh, and there was coffee (and kids hot chocolate)!

55/365:  Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Sundays are actually pretty busy for us. Chris comes home from work and goes right to sleep.

Lollipop gets put out in her doghouse (she gets lonely and bored when left alone inside and has been known to shred doors and baseboards).

Aly and I go to church then swing by Wendy's to grab lunch on the way home. We wake Chris up and he takes her to social group therapy for a couple of hours while I get some chores done to prepare for the week.

Lollipop lays on the couch, roams the backyard, and comes to me for the occasional head pat.

When they get home we finally relax together and have dinner. This shot was taken after the girls got up from the couch (notice the dust floating in the air) and Lollipop watched as Aly skipped away to have her dinner.

56/365:  Tough Day

We have a chart that her ABA therapists introduced to help her with certain behaviors called a "Self and Match". At the end of each day, Aly rates herself on certain behaviors with a smiley or frowny face and then we do the same and she gets extra points if our answers match hers. It's a good way to not only encourage socially acceptable behaviors, but also to make her more aware of her own actions.

A couple of behaviors have been an issue in her classroom, so we have asked her teacher to help us rate her at the end of the school day. On this particular day, Aly's Self and Match chart was not in her backpack when she went to retrieve it for her chat with the teacher. She became upset because this disrupted her routine. But she cheered up with the promise of ice cream with sprinkles and a cherry.