Please Help Support Peyton at the 2013 Abilities United Aquathon!

As I mentioned in my last post, Peyton is now attending the Milestones Preschool at Abilities United in Palo Alto. Abilities United is a not-for-profit agency that was founded in 1963 to help individuals (from birth to adulthood) with physical, neurological, developmental delays/disabilities.

In 1978, Abilities United launched an Aquathon to raise funds for the agency. This is an annual event where approximately 500 swimmers, volunteers, and supporters of all abilities, swim in this fun, continuous swim relay to raise funds for Abilities United services provided to individuals with developmental and physical disabilities. The swimmers enjoy competitive and noncompetitive heats. There are corporate teams, individual teams, family teams, and even Abilities United program teams. Click here to read more about the Aquathon.

This year, James and Peyton will be swimming as part of the Children's Developmental Services (CDS) team! The CDS department oversees the operations of four programs:

- Early Intervention (for ages 0-3)
- Milestones Preschool (morning preschool and afternoon Pre-K programs)
- Therapy Clinic (Speech, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Socialization)
- After-School Socialization program

These programs help hundreds of families each year and I'm lucky to say that we are one of those families!

Peyton's autism has been a blessing of sorts for our family as it has led us to meet so many wonderful people, families, and organizations that work to help families in the areas with all our needs. The staff at Abilities United is amazing. They are so committed to the vision of the agency and to help the families; they truly have become part of our family!

Swimming in the Aquathon is our way of showing our tremendous gratitude towards Abilities United while having fun in the pool and raising funds for the agency.

Are you in the area? Join us in the pool on Sunday, September 8th!

when
Sunday, September 8, 2013, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

where
Nyquist Aquatic Center - West Valley College
14000 Fruitvale Avenue
Saratoga, CA 95070

registration
$20 registration fee


Or, if you're unable to join us, then please consider supporting Peyton in our fundraising! I've committed to raise $1,000 this year. For every $1,000 raised by a swimmer, that swimmer will be automatically entered to win an iPad! Should we happen to win the iPad, we would donate it to be used in the classroom (currently, one of the teachers brings in her own iPad to use in class).

Click here to visit Peyton's page to make an online donation, or leave a comment if you prefer to write a check and I will send you instructions. All gifts are 100% tax deductible and if your company has a matching program, that would be wonderful too!

Thank you so much for your support everyone!

Children's Discovery Museum's Play Your Way

The Children's Discovery Museum (CDM) in San Jose held a private "Play Your Way" event for autistic kids opening their doors after hours for families to come and visit the museum.

Peyton and I have been to the CDM once before, on a play date with friends of ours and their two kids. James wasn't able to come then so he was excited to see the museum tonight.

Enjoy these shots taken during our time there!

Riding the fire truck:

 

 Tobogganing indoors!

Mammoth remains have been found in the San Jose area so there's a large display on mammoths.

Just how heavy was a mammoth?

It turns out one mammoth weighed as much as a car, bus and group of people put together!

Learning more about the mammoth:

They have a wall puzzle where you have to piece together the bones of a mammoth.

We headed upstairs to a special room they have with all sorts of fun interactive learning centers.

There's a small train that loops around the exterior of the CDM in the adjoining park. Of course, we had to ride in it. Peyton chose to ride in the back as it was the only orange car. Peyton's favorite color is orange so we always find ourselves selecting orange things....

It was a wonderful evening and we look forward to going back to the CDM!

"Fixing" the Vacuum Cleaner

A couple weeks ago, James wanted to fix our vacuum cleaner (it was working intermittenly and he thought the switch was loose). Peyton wanted to "help".



James handed Peyton a screwdriver to see what he would do with it.



Look at that!



"Let's see if we can pry it off".




"Maybe a smaller screwdriver".



"Let's try over here".

"This is fun, Daddy!"

James eventually got it open and found the problem. But, Peyton really seemed to enjoy helping. Looks like I'll have two "fix-it" guys in a few years. :-)

Drinking Water from a Glass

Peyton has become really interested in what James and I eat and drink and often requires a taste. He loves to drink water from a glass (with James' help).







Mmm, tasty!!

A Morning at the Mall (Meeting Curious George!)

Last Saturday, Pottery Barn Kids was holding a special event where you could meet Curious George. As Peyton adores the PBS show, James and I thought it would be fun to take him to see him in person.

We got there a little early (PBK is at Stanford Shopping Center), so I took Peyton for a little walk while James stood in line and took pictures (what a great Dad!).



Peyton caught sight of something...



...and decided he wanted to walk! (Yes, he's outgrown this outfit; we're moving on to 18 month clothes now).



James and Peyton got to meet Curious George!

Stanford has these metallic statues situated around the property. Peyton really took to the installation of two men with a dog.

Oh, did I mention that Peyton LOVES dogs? We were at a friend's birthday party last month and Peyton spent quite a while chasing their poor dog, Skyler, around the yard, with his arms held out and screaming "doggy, doggy, doggy"! He was more calm with the metallic dog.

And it wouldn't be complete if he didn't also touch the other man.

Luckily, there's a Gymboree not to far from these statues, so we finished off the morning doing a little shopping. :-)

Swim Class with Dad (New School)

James' parents flew out from Pittsburgh at the beginning of the month to spend 8 days with us. James was able to take the day off on their first full day in town which finally gave him the opportunity to go to Peyton's new swim school and participate in the class!



They certainly had some fun before the class started.





When it was time for the class to start, they got in the pool and met the substitute teacher for the week.



Peyton enjoyed showing Daddy how he "swims".

The substitute added a new element to the class - sliding into the pool! Peyton loves sliding.

Peyton's favorite activity in swim class is the toy swim (he grabs a toy from the ledge, then "swims" it to the teacher and throws it in her bucket).

For the past month, Peyton has started to play when he's supposed to crawl across the mat... Though he's not supposed to do this, it sure is funny to watch!

More Swimming

James took the day off so that he could take Peyton to swim class.

They had a ton of fun in the pool!



Peyton even started kicking for James!



So much fun with Dad!



Hi Mom!

Peyton is Crawling!!

We had a big weekend!

Peyton reached two milestones - he can sit up by himself AND he can crawl! It took a few days to figure out what would be best to tempt him with to get him to crawl for the camera (remote control, iPhone, etc), but the thing that got him to crawl the furthest was James' work badge. He loves to pull on it (and chew on it).

Enjoy!

It's been more difficult to get him to sit up for the camera. I'll keep trying!

Are you Ready for Some Football??

It's James' most favorite time of the year - the beginning of football season!!

After watching opening night on Thursday where the Steelers beat the Titans 13-10 (yay!), James was super excited for today's first full day of games.

Even though we didn't get to watch the Colts game at 10 am PT/1 pm ET, James and Peyton were dressed for their team.





James followed the game online and was happy with the Colts' two touchdowns. First, by Joseph Addai, and then a touchdown pass from Peyton Manning (#18) to Reggie Wayne.

TOUCHDOWN!

The Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 14-12. Not the best win, but a win is a win.

:-)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

James has really enjoyed these first 6 weeks of fatherhood. He's a very proud papa and loves spending time with his "Little Man". The two have become extremely close over the first six weeks!



This is James' first picture with Peyton - taken at the hospital the morning of Peyton's birth.

The two enjoy taking naps together.

Peyton is so in love with James always looking at him with fascination.

The fascination continues!

For Father's Day, I bought James two onesies for Peyton to wear during football season. I had to buy two as he'll grow out of the 3-6 month one before the end of the season. I assume Peyton's Aunt Tracey will keep Peyton dressed in Steeler-gear, so I went with Colts-gear considering that's for whom his namesake plays.

Happy Dad!

Go Colts!!

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Peyton's grandpa Oscar loves spending time with his first grandchild.

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Other Dads to celebrate:

My cousin Darlene welcomed her first baby on Tuesday, May 26th. Manuel Cruz Minjarez was 7 pounds, 3.5 ounces and was 20 inches long. Like Peyton, Manuelito was born with a full head of beautiful black hair.

Happy Father's Day Felix! You have two beautiful boys!

James' brother Matthew welcomed his first baby Elisabeth Joy Stafford on Monday, June 8th. Lisa weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 18 inches long. Following suit, Lisa was born with a full head of hair as well - a beautiful auburn red.

Congrats Matthew - Happy First Father's Day!