Halloween

For the first time, Hollis actually enjoyed Halloween. She was interested in going around the neighborhood (3 houses) and being able to pick out a treat and put it in a bag. And, of course, the whole walking outside at night is pretty cool. These pictures are from her school party and one of their class therapy dog Isaac, who clearly is up for anything.

Good day for a hike

We all went for a little hike at the Ispwich River Audubon reservation today. Hollis managed to get about a 1/4 mile in before she tired out, so we took it slow on the way back up the hill. In the end, it involved a bit of carrying her, no easy feat at 70 pounds!

Way too much fun!

Hollis went to Newburyport this weekend and played on the jungle gym in town, shopped in a toy store, and strolled along the docks, looking at all the boats lolling around. She made a dash for the Harbormaster's gangway, because clearly, she is master of the harbor, but we managed to wrestle her away before she caused too much mischief. We had a very difficult time getting her away from the water (no surprise), and had to strap her into her stroller and run full speed back to the car so she couldn't make a break for it. Once she sets her mind to something, it is hard to change it.

A medley for your enjoyment

Hollis has a great memory for songs, and can even sing along with songs she's not really familiar with - she just has that musical ear. This always amazes me, because she only has a vocabulary of about six words, but she has a musical dictionary in the hundreds! Of course, she's no Ella Fitzgerald, but she carries a tune and can "scat" just like her!

Whirly girl

We went to the Topsfield Fair today, as we do every October, and this was the first time Hollis really could enjoy almost everything there! For some reason, she really likes chickens, so we visited the poultry shed, where she made friends with a Bantam chicken and a sort of Lilliputian duck called a "Gray Call". After this, she had fried dough and a corn dog, and loved both. In past years, she had been either on the ketogenic or low glycemic index diet for her seizures, or was not eating due to her meds, so this was her opportunity to try the treats served up at carnivals all over the U.S.

Even after eating these deliciously starch-laden greasy things, she was up for a good twist on the Tilt-a-whirl. Dad and Hollis went on first, and she screamed with delight the whole time, until the ride ended and she signed "more" desperately. Mom took the next trip, and it seemed like I ended up with the whirliest of the cars: I walked off very dizzy and feeling car sick. Hollis, ever the adventurer, still wanted more, but we thought we'd better cool it on the "pukey" rides for one go, and Dad took her on a kiddie roller coaster. She loved that one too, and screamed as it went down its dinky little hill and around its tiny curves. When she got off, we thought we might have her take it easy for a minute, but alas, the Tilt-a-whirl was in sight, so she took off for that. Dad took her again (thank you!), and they spun madly around and around. She could have kept it up all day, but parents' tolerance for the dizzy rides is a bit more limited than an eight year old's.

Role Reversal

Hollis was pushing Katie around today, literally. She didn't want to ride her trike, so she thought it might be fun to make Katie ride it. Then she put Katie in her stroller and pushed her around in that for awhile too, laughing hysterically the whole time. Hollis is about 4 inches shy of Katie's height, and when she gets there, we're going to be in trouble! At the rate she's going, she'll be pushing around Mom and Dad (at 5'10"and 6'3") in just a couple years!

The Doggy

It's been a little longer than I'd like between my posts, but my hard drive died and I was waiting for the replacement part. I fixed it and we're back in business! A couple of weeks ago Katie brought over her new boxer puppy, Romy, to play with Hollis. Hollis loves her school's therapy dog, Isaac, an old yellow lab, and we have 2 cats that she loves to chase around. I should also add that around this time last year, I tried to get a puppy for Hollis and she was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. I thought she might have changed her opinion since the surgery, since she has seemed a bit more tolerant of stimuli, but apparently, she reserves the same opinion regarding puppies as she always had: a little too much when close, but OK when far away. See picture below for reference:

Hollis has been "helping" with this post. She is sitting on my lap while I'm typing, adding some of her own thoughts including "abnm" and "3nmee;". She also stole my coffee, and chugged some down. A picture of the evidence follows. A glimpse of the rare Mom bird, with wet hair even - stunning! ; )