Of the three children, Misty Jesse and Justin, which one do you think would be the first to independently swim with the dolphins? If you guessed Jesse or Justin you were wrong. Misty surprised us all by being the first to swim without assistance with the dolphins several times. This has been a great confidence booster for her. She just grabs hold of the dorsal fin and off they go. She was also doing dolphin pushes today. A dolphin push is when you lay on your back and keep your legs straight with your feet out. The dolphin then will push the bottom of your feet with their nose propelling you through the water. Misty loves it. However, she says she doesn't like it when they jump because they splash her in the face. In class we worked on "r" sounds, fine motor skills and following direction. The therapist also gave me a web site called Handwriting without Tears to check into for Misty. As our day was winding down today Misty was concerned because Squirt loves her so much that on Friday when we leave Squirt and Lotus are going to be so sad and miss us. "What will they do without me here?" I think she means what will she do without them because she is going to be sad.

When we drove up today Justin said, "I don't want to go swimming with the dolphins." We encouraged him to go up and see Eli, his therapist, and see what he said. Eli saw Justin and said, "Alright buddy today we are going to get in the water and stay in the water okay." Justin looked up at him hugged him and said okay. He still wouldn't let go of Eli but he stayed in the water and played with the dolphins the entire time. They practiced going out deeper and deeper into the pool. Justin did well and even swam with the dolphins while holding onto Eli. Eli is very patient with Justin and in a very quiet way makes Justin stretch his boundaries.

Jesse was ready to get in but still wanted to hold on to Jack, his therapist. By the end of the session though Jesse took his first independent swim for just a short distance. And he smiled frequently during the session today. The smiles came easier and more willingly. When he is in the water he is better at making eye contact as well. It is interesting to watch him before hand with the interns and therapist. He rarely makes eye contact with them and his body is often turned away from them though he seems to be listening to them. But, as soon as he is in the water his eyes become focused on Jack and he is attentive with both his mind and body on the dolphins. Jesse got kisses from both of his dolphins at the same time today. He thought it was so funny he wanted Mommy to get two also. He laughed and laughed and said, "Ha Ha Ha...we got salty lips again today." You know what, I am starting to like these dolphin kisses something about them just makes me feel good...maybe it is the sound of the children's laughter that seems to accompany them?

We also participated in Music Therapy led by Jack. He showed us several techniques to help the children with focus including using a keyboard and songs. He suggested we make up some songs of our own for our family. Gene has several suggestions like...Born to be Wild or the theme to Hitchcock's Birds. I don't think that is exactly what they team had in mind. The therapy team is also looking for ways to help us with making meal time less stressful for us with Justin.

Deana, the owner, and I met for a little while as well. She suggested we contact the college to see if there is a special ed student or psychology student or two that might be able to come to our house a couple days a week to work with and be with the kids to give us some breaks and assistance. She shared several other ideas as well. They are trying so hard to help us. It is nice to know they understand.

One last thing before I go tonight, I was trying to get Justin and Jesse to settle down and get ready for bed. Justin was not following directions and was jumping around. I got stern with him and he immediately came over and began kissing on me (this is his modus operadi these days). I stopped him and said that didn't help I was upset with him and it didn't make me feel good for him to just come over and start kissing me when I was frustrated and upset. Jesse stopped and looked at me with a quizzical look and said, "Isn't that what you do when we feel bad you kiss on us and make us feel better." He is right and Justin was right, it does make me feel better. Hugs and kisses are good for the mind, body and soul. Give somebody you love an extra kiss and hug today! It will make both of you feel better!