Starting out July with a BANG...

My Luke has a speech delay. Thanks to my cousin Ann, two years ago I demanded from my pediatrician that we needed to get Luke help with his speech. While Luke was being evaluated for his speech the therapist noticed something more and asked if the Occupational Therapist could also evaluate him. It was then we discovered he also has a Sensory Processing Disorder. For past two years he has been seeing both an Occupational Therapist and a Speech Pathologist. At the beginning of summer his OT released him so we think he has that under control. He does not receive speech therapy during the summer but I found out through a friend that the local college UNC-G has a two week summer program that not only helps children, it teaches the family how to help their child and gives the graduate students a chance to learn and perfect what they have learned in school.

They require one family member attend so they can go home and continue to help their child. Me and my mother went every day. They started everyday with an outside activity.
They learned letters and the sounds they make during a parachute activity.

Luke made a lot of new friends. Danielle was one of them.

Without being prompted everyday at snack time Luke would move a chair out of the way so Danielle could get to the table easily. Sometimes he would help push her wheel chair down the hall. He would grin from ear to ear when he did that.

This was the best two weeks for him and myself!

Every year the girl's daycare has a 4th of July parade. Everyone dresses in red, white, and blue. They gather at the front of the church and then march around the block. I tried to sneak over to take pictures but they saw me so I joined in the parade.

I believe all the people made them uneasy so they held hands.

Lilly even gave Rosemary a hug, I think to let her know everything was OK.

At he end their class marched back to the classroom.

I was glad I was able to join in. What a great way to start the holiday!

On the 4th we had several friends over for a cookout.
The weather was nice and so was the company!

My friend Melinda and her family came. Aren't they cute with their matching outfits, she made the matching shirts and Molly's dress.

Night finally came....

And the sparklers came out. This year I bought wood sparklers and I do have to say I think I like the metal ones better.

Shane made sure everyone knew the do's and don'ts of sparklers and then helped everyone get started.

All the boys had a good time.

Our neighbors always set off 'real' fireworks and we got to see them while playing in the yard with the sparklers.

It was a great weekend with good friends, food, and family!