2012 Polar Plunge

Team RTS - Reaching the Stars had another successful dip into frozen Lake Monona benefiting Special Olympics Wisconsin. Each year our team grows in size. I hope that it continues to grow in the future. Thank you so much to those who donated! We greatly appreciate your support!

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Team RTS





FREEZIN FOR A REASON

Happy 5th Birthday Max!

I'm FIVE!



Keep rockin' on!


Jam Session

Let's Play Ball!

Since Max likes to watch hours of Brewers on TV. . .

And check out his batting form in the mirror. . .

We decided to sign Max up for T-ball! We knew Max would need some extra help at his games and mentioned to his Early Childhood teacher that we were looking for a "buddy". She happened to be free and was happy to help Max out. And Max was excited to get to spend time with Marsha over the summer.


We made it to four out of the six games. Each week Max learned a little more about the game and what he was suppose to do.

By the end of the season, he would sit and wait for his name to be called before he would get up and head for the tee. And Marsha didn't need to help out. The first week she had to sit next to him to make sure he sat and didn't get up and run on to the field.

I enjoyed seeing Max get pats on the head by the other kids. . .

and high fives after the game. . .


Max at bat!


Ava played coach pitch after Max's games.


And she loved her coach.

Polar Plunge 2011

One Saturday, we took the Polar Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics Wisconsin. Team RTS raised over $7,000 to help athletes with cognitive disabilities REACH THE STARS while participating in the Special Olympics. Thanks to all who made donations and came to watch this great event. We appreciate your generosity.

Team RTS

It is great having support from friends and family.

Pre-jump group shot.

Getting lined up. . .

We are ready for. . .

The PLUNGE!

Freezin' for a Reason . . .

Max and his Music

Max loves listening to music on his IPad. I wish he would enjoy communicating on it as much!

Christmas Eve Day

We had a great Christmas Eve hanging out with just the four of us. John usually has to work on Christmas Eve, but since Christmas fell on a Saturday he was able to have off. It wasn't too cold out and we just got some fresh show, so we decided to try taking Max sledding. And he enjoyed it! There are not too many things Max is overly excited about doing. He is a very cautious little boy. It was nice to see him have fun. He liked being pulled in the sled more then going down the hill. And if the sled sat still for too long he would sign "more". And Ava loves sledding! It was nice to have something the four of us could do together instead of one of us staying with Max and the other going off with Ava.






After sledding, Ava and John made a batch of cookies for Santa. We previously made cut out cookies, but they happened to disappear somehow.

New Bed

Last night we put together Max's new bed! He was so excited to see his new bed in his room. And bedtime went a lot better than expected! He didn't nap all day, which helped. He settled himself down and went right to bed and slept through the night. I was worried that he would wake up and start wandering around the house. His head was at the foot of the bed when I checked on him in the middle of the night. He never once fell out! I am interested to see if tonight goes as well. He doesn't nap during the week and is ready to go to bed at bedtime. So I do think the bed will work well for him. And I think that he is really proud of his Big Boy Bed!

(Ignore the pink sheets. He will be getting sheets for Christmas.)