Grabbing Attention

To add to our collection, we got a new therapist today.

Meet Dee.

She is (don't worry, I can hardly pronounce it myself) a

habilitative therapist.

In short, she works with kids who have some... ahem,

behavioral issues.

 Since Kean has been isolated for so long, he has virtually

no social skills when it comes to being around other children.

He's hit a few of the poor kids at his little therapy school on Friday

(all special needs kids) and he doesn't like anyone in his space.

So to get him ready for Kindergarten, we thought we'd better

get something going.

Today, Dee spent two hours with our family.

 We even drove around all packed into our car so she could

get a front seat view of Kean:

a. getting bored.

b.  pulling (incredibly hard) on Reese's hair because she sits right next to him.

Let's just say we failed our first go at her advice.

She is pretty sure he is seeking attention-- good, bad or mad.

He likes to see mom, dad and his sisters get all animated (whether praising

or yelling no at him).

Of course, when he yanked on Reese's hair, she reacted quite loudly.

We have a lot of practice ahead:  ignoring him and then redirecting him.

Wish us luck!!

 On the very, very bright side, we got our plane ticket itinerary

for Kean's Make A Wish trip to Orlando.

Ironically, Kean is the only one in this house not beside himself with excitement.

We spent way too much time today on the Give Kids the World website.

GKTW is where we get to stay for his Wish week.

Years and years ago, a girl's dying wish was to go to Disney World.

While the hotel and resort made the arrangements to accommodate her

medical needs, she passed away.

Evidently, a number of the resort owners in Florida got together

and said never again.  They pooled resources to create GKTW--

a magical place for children with life threatening diseases to

go for their wishes.

There is so much to tell-- but here's a very few highlights:

we'll get to stay in a bungalow like this one.

 GKTW provides all kinds of meal options for the families...

including this ice cream shop that is basically open 24/7.

Can you say Rocky Road for breakfast?

 They have rides, shows, parties every night for the kids.

Reese is particularly excited about the Mermaid Academy.

They give you VIP passes to Disney World, Universal Studios,

Sea World, Lego Land, Gator Land, etc. etc. etc.

The characters from the theme parks come over to GKTW

in the mornings so the children don't have to deal with the crowds in the parks.

And they even have someone tuck you in at night (if you want).

In fact, every video we watched or page we read only

made us more excited.

For example, we learned they give you a parting package of gifts--

including an "amusement park passport" that lets each of us go

free for one year to several parks around the country:

from the San Diego Zoo to Lego Land, Six Flags

to Lagoon.

It's gonna be crazy fun-- and we think Kean will

totally love riding the rides over and over and over again.