We had a very, very fun week with Nanny (my mom) and Great Gran (her mom) this week. They arrived Wednesday and didn't leave until today.
We played, shopped and just basically played with the kiddos. We all had a great time...
We will miss them... but hope they will come back soon!
A very entertaining moment during their trip:
My mom accidentally scraped Audrey with her fingernail - Audrey was laying on her and my mom's fingernail got the back of her shirt (not even any skin). I should also mention Audrey was beyond tired at this point...
Anyway, Audrey is hysterically crying, like she's been mauled. She comes and lays down with me, calms down, and my mom comes in and apologizes to Audrey. She also asks, "Audrey, you're not mad at Nanny, are you?"
Audrey replies, "No, Nanny, I'm not mad at you. Just a little upset."
As my mom and I are cracking up, Audrey rolls over and goes to sleep.
She is a piece of work, that one ;)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
School Updates
We are trucking along...
Audrey is doing well at school. We are having some issues with letters (especially baby letters - lowercase), but she is improving quickly. She loves school, and her behavior is very good :) They have a system where their behavior starts in the "Sky", and behavior problems cause them to go down... into the "Clouds", "Town" and "Ground". Audrey has been in the sky every day... And if you're in the sky every day for a week, you get to choose a prize on Friday afternoon. She returns home every Friday SO excited to show me what she earned!
JT is doing fantastic. He is doing well adjusting to the routines, and they haven't had any problems aside from a little crying the first day (though not much) and a boo-boo on his eye.
He started riding in the transportation vehicle. It's a really nice Jeep (?), and Miss Julie is the driver. Possibly the SWEETEST lady ever. So precious. So he rides every afternoon... The Hubs takes him on the way to work in the morning. It also gives Audrey and I some time alone that's peaceful and quiet, which is nice!
Everything else is going great, too... Audrey has her first cheer thing tomorrow... I'm interested to see exactly how this works out. But exciting for her anyway :)
That's all for now... Good stuff!
Audrey is doing well at school. We are having some issues with letters (especially baby letters - lowercase), but she is improving quickly. She loves school, and her behavior is very good :) They have a system where their behavior starts in the "Sky", and behavior problems cause them to go down... into the "Clouds", "Town" and "Ground". Audrey has been in the sky every day... And if you're in the sky every day for a week, you get to choose a prize on Friday afternoon. She returns home every Friday SO excited to show me what she earned!
JT is doing fantastic. He is doing well adjusting to the routines, and they haven't had any problems aside from a little crying the first day (though not much) and a boo-boo on his eye.
He started riding in the transportation vehicle. It's a really nice Jeep (?), and Miss Julie is the driver. Possibly the SWEETEST lady ever. So precious. So he rides every afternoon... The Hubs takes him on the way to work in the morning. It also gives Audrey and I some time alone that's peaceful and quiet, which is nice!
Everything else is going great, too... Audrey has her first cheer thing tomorrow... I'm interested to see exactly how this works out. But exciting for her anyway :)
That's all for now... Good stuff!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Audrey's New Friends - Update
Okay, so Mersher and Hornhead are not correct (surprise!).
Her friends are Mercer and Jorge (there's also a Jose, so I can't be sure which one she thought was Hornhead...).
She's got a new friend every day now... Which is adorable. And most have easy names.
:)
Her friends are Mercer and Jorge (there's also a Jose, so I can't be sure which one she thought was Hornhead...).
She's got a new friend every day now... Which is adorable. And most have easy names.
:)
Monday, September 14, 2009
JT's First Day!!!
I have the pics, but they're on my phone... I'll try to upload and post them soon.
I didn't get much (read: any) feedback from his teachers... I'm hoping to get more tomorrow. All they said was "he had a pretty good day". Mmmmkay. So, pretty good meaning good, or pretty good meaning kinda bad? I know he cried for a bit, and she said he calmed down and played, and it wasn't more than they would expect... But they work with all autistic kids. What is the norm there for crying?
Ugh.
So, tomorrow morning I'll be asking around... Hopefully it was an uneventful day :)
Audrey had her first i9 cheerleading practice tonight... She got her uniform, pom poms and hair ribbons. They also gave her ribbons to put in her hair. Needless to say she's on cloud 9.
Anyway, I'm off to bed. Super tired, and gotta get up early to pack lunches and dress babies.
Be back soon...
I didn't get much (read: any) feedback from his teachers... I'm hoping to get more tomorrow. All they said was "he had a pretty good day". Mmmmkay. So, pretty good meaning good, or pretty good meaning kinda bad? I know he cried for a bit, and she said he calmed down and played, and it wasn't more than they would expect... But they work with all autistic kids. What is the norm there for crying?
Ugh.
So, tomorrow morning I'll be asking around... Hopefully it was an uneventful day :)
Audrey had her first i9 cheerleading practice tonight... She got her uniform, pom poms and hair ribbons. They also gave her ribbons to put in her hair. Needless to say she's on cloud 9.
Anyway, I'm off to bed. Super tired, and gotta get up early to pack lunches and dress babies.
Be back soon...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
iPhone - ShapeBuilder App
I would have never guessed JT would understand electronics. And until his recent referral meeting, I thought he had a delay in fine motor (ps - he is age appropriate now :) ).
So, when he took the phone from Audrey as she was playing the ShapeBuilder app, I was shocked to hear Audrey say, "Good job, JT! You did it ALL BY YOURSELF!"
The ShapeBuilder app has an outline of the picture (ie a rooster, guitar, any letter, etc) and an outline of the piece shape. Some of them have ten pieces! The pieces are all different colors and weird shapes. You have to drag the piece into the right spot, and it makes a sound that indicates it's in the right place. It takes a good deal of finger (single finger) pressure/pointing to get it to move and into its spot. Once it's done, the image becomes the real thing, with all the detail, and it'll say something (identifies, then animal noise or noise the shape makes).
JT LOVES it. He plays it ALL THE TIME. He'll play it for 30 minutes sometimes, going from shape to shape.
Pretty cool stuff!!!
So, when he took the phone from Audrey as she was playing the ShapeBuilder app, I was shocked to hear Audrey say, "Good job, JT! You did it ALL BY YOURSELF!"
The ShapeBuilder app has an outline of the picture (ie a rooster, guitar, any letter, etc) and an outline of the piece shape. Some of them have ten pieces! The pieces are all different colors and weird shapes. You have to drag the piece into the right spot, and it makes a sound that indicates it's in the right place. It takes a good deal of finger (single finger) pressure/pointing to get it to move and into its spot. Once it's done, the image becomes the real thing, with all the detail, and it'll say something (identifies, then animal noise or noise the shape makes).
JT LOVES it. He plays it ALL THE TIME. He'll play it for 30 minutes sometimes, going from shape to shape.
Pretty cool stuff!!!
School
We found out that JT will be going to Cary Elementary School!
Cary Elementary has been around a LOOOOONG time. The lot was set aside for the school in 1869, and the school opened in 1879. More about the history is on their history page.
That is so cool to me! We live on the East Coast now, which means things have been around a little longer than those in the mid-south (Arkansas and Tennessee). My mind just can't imagine something being around (and still in use) since 1879! That's 130 years old!!!
So, cool history. He'll be there from 8:20am - 3pm every day. Hopefully his teacher is as sweet as JT's teacher from his old schools. We have been blessed so far, and I'm sure we will continue to be. Our little boy is a sweet one, that's for sure ;)
He's starting 9/14. A week from Monday...
He'll be using the transportation... I'm thinking to get him used to it, I'm going to drive him the first few days, and let them bring him home. That way he knows them, and 'gets' what's going on. I think trying to put him in the transportation (it's a 'cab' made for special needs kids - contracted out) FROM our house would be a big mistake, as he wouldn't know them, and would feel like I was just shipping him off. I'm very big on making sure JT knows we love him, and that he can count on us. I feel like this is the best way to help him deal with riding with someone else.
Anyway, very exciting!!! And a pretty darn cool school, too :)
Cary Elementary has been around a LOOOOONG time. The lot was set aside for the school in 1869, and the school opened in 1879. More about the history is on their history page.
That is so cool to me! We live on the East Coast now, which means things have been around a little longer than those in the mid-south (Arkansas and Tennessee). My mind just can't imagine something being around (and still in use) since 1879! That's 130 years old!!!
So, cool history. He'll be there from 8:20am - 3pm every day. Hopefully his teacher is as sweet as JT's teacher from his old schools. We have been blessed so far, and I'm sure we will continue to be. Our little boy is a sweet one, that's for sure ;)
He's starting 9/14. A week from Monday...
He'll be using the transportation... I'm thinking to get him used to it, I'm going to drive him the first few days, and let them bring him home. That way he knows them, and 'gets' what's going on. I think trying to put him in the transportation (it's a 'cab' made for special needs kids - contracted out) FROM our house would be a big mistake, as he wouldn't know them, and would feel like I was just shipping him off. I'm very big on making sure JT knows we love him, and that he can count on us. I feel like this is the best way to help him deal with riding with someone else.
Anyway, very exciting!!! And a pretty darn cool school, too :)
Audrey's New Friends
Audrey has made some friends at school. We love to hear about all her school friends, especially since she's started learning their names. Let me tell you - this is absolutely hysterical...
One friend she calls 'Mersher'. I'm not sure if his name is really Mersher or if it's Marshall.
We find this name fairly humorous.
The second friend is the one that is so friggin funny.
She told us his name is 'Hornhead'. OMG, we just about DIED laughing. Then, as I started to get onto her, thinking she was making fun of someone, she explained very seriously that she doesn't make fun of her friends, even if their name is funny. That he REALLY is called Hornhead.
After some thinking, we think maybe his name is Jorge (hispanic? Hor-hey).
I dunno. But if some kids' parents REALLY named him Hornhead I feel REALLY bad for him. Cause not all kids are as sweet as Audrey...
One friend she calls 'Mersher'. I'm not sure if his name is really Mersher or if it's Marshall.
We find this name fairly humorous.
The second friend is the one that is so friggin funny.
She told us his name is 'Hornhead'. OMG, we just about DIED laughing. Then, as I started to get onto her, thinking she was making fun of someone, she explained very seriously that she doesn't make fun of her friends, even if their name is funny. That he REALLY is called Hornhead.
After some thinking, we think maybe his name is Jorge (hispanic? Hor-hey).
I dunno. But if some kids' parents REALLY named him Hornhead I feel REALLY bad for him. Cause not all kids are as sweet as Audrey...
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Starting in NC
We had JT's referral meeting today... He is going into the full-day AU (autism) program here in NC. They use TEACCH instead of ABA... but it sounds like little man will enjoy it - it's very structured, both physically and schedule-wise.
He will likely start next week. We find out sometime within a week what school he'll be at.
He is still making huge progress. He knows what a potty is for now - although he doesn't want to use it for that purpose :P If I talk about the potty, he says 'peepee'... Super cute... so I have high hopes he will lose the diaper in the future!
He is calling me momma - which is another big step for him. He calls Audrey 'ceecee' (I can't figure out whether that's Cie as in Audrey or Sissy. Either way, she knows who he's talking to (and so does he!). He calls his kitty Beezy (beebee). He's been using TONS of words - mostly repeating, but also identifying (and when he uses them spontaneously, he uses them correctly).
He is LOVING Max & Ruby. He laughs so hard at Max - he's always messing with his sister. Just like JT!
Our new house also has a small enclosed backyard with a big deck. The gates latch and have locks high up where the kids can't reach. I lock the upper lock and watch through the windows. He is outside all the time (I caught him out there in the rain - he LOVES the feel of raindrops and being wet... Cute, but he had to come in which he did NOT like). I have a baby pool set up, and he plays with his boat in the water... Super cute!
We are going to go through some big changes soon... Hoping he adjusts as well as he has been. I also hope he loves school like he did before - he was SO happy at Fairview.
He will likely start next week. We find out sometime within a week what school he'll be at.
He is still making huge progress. He knows what a potty is for now - although he doesn't want to use it for that purpose :P If I talk about the potty, he says 'peepee'... Super cute... so I have high hopes he will lose the diaper in the future!
He is calling me momma - which is another big step for him. He calls Audrey 'ceecee' (I can't figure out whether that's Cie as in Audrey or Sissy. Either way, she knows who he's talking to (and so does he!). He calls his kitty Beezy (beebee). He's been using TONS of words - mostly repeating, but also identifying (and when he uses them spontaneously, he uses them correctly).
He is LOVING Max & Ruby. He laughs so hard at Max - he's always messing with his sister. Just like JT!
Our new house also has a small enclosed backyard with a big deck. The gates latch and have locks high up where the kids can't reach. I lock the upper lock and watch through the windows. He is outside all the time (I caught him out there in the rain - he LOVES the feel of raindrops and being wet... Cute, but he had to come in which he did NOT like). I have a baby pool set up, and he plays with his boat in the water... Super cute!
We are going to go through some big changes soon... Hoping he adjusts as well as he has been. I also hope he loves school like he did before - he was SO happy at Fairview.
School Funny!
Just had to share real quick...
Audrey came home from school the first day she went, and I was asking her all about it.
She told me about her friends, lunchtime and rest time... Then she says, "my teacher is pretty tough."
I was kind of confused (she's a REALLY nice lady, and it was her first day of K, hardly 'tough'). I asked her what she meant by tough.
"She's always telling me what to do, mom."
LOL - yeah... That's what teachers DO.
Audrey came home from school the first day she went, and I was asking her all about it.
She told me about her friends, lunchtime and rest time... Then she says, "my teacher is pretty tough."
I was kind of confused (she's a REALLY nice lady, and it was her first day of K, hardly 'tough'). I asked her what she meant by tough.
"She's always telling me what to do, mom."
LOL - yeah... That's what teachers DO.
Cheer Change and School
When I asked my mommy to be a cheerleader, I wanted to cheer for a team. I liked the first cheerleading place, but I didn't really cheer FOR anything.
Mommy found a cool cheerleader place. I still get a beautiful cheerleader outfit. I get to cheer at little kid football games. I'm excited to cheer for a team. I wish I was a Razorback cheerleader.
I love school! I can't wait to go and play with my friends, and I don't really miss my mommy. I am glad to see my brother - he misses me during the day when I'm gone.
I don't like my rest time. I have to lay down on the floor while other kids sleep.
My teacher is Mrs. Lawson. She's nice.
I have lots of friends. We all play together after lunch.
I get to ride a big school bus. It's very bumpy, but it's fun!
Mommy found a cool cheerleader place. I still get a beautiful cheerleader outfit. I get to cheer at little kid football games. I'm excited to cheer for a team. I wish I was a Razorback cheerleader.
I love school! I can't wait to go and play with my friends, and I don't really miss my mommy. I am glad to see my brother - he misses me during the day when I'm gone.
I don't like my rest time. I have to lay down on the floor while other kids sleep.
My teacher is Mrs. Lawson. She's nice.
I have lots of friends. We all play together after lunch.
I get to ride a big school bus. It's very bumpy, but it's fun!
Change in Plans!
Well, the cheerleading has been changed... Audrey is going to cheer for i9 Sports. It wasn't that we didn't LOVE the old place... She just wanted to cheer for a team - and this will let her do that. If she doesn't like it, oh well. If she DOES - we will consider signing her up for the other Cheer team after the season is over. MUCH better plan :) The added bonus is that it's local kids, so she might also meet some friends (as we might as well!). She cheers for the peewee football team (tell me that's not friggin cute as heck) and gets a uniform (just like before). It should be loads of fun...
JT's referral meeting went well today. We should be hearing back within a week, and we'll know what school he's going to, and all the details. They do recommend he enters a full-day program (AU) for autistic children... and I trust them. He loves structure... So as much as I will miss having him around, I want him to reach his full potential - and be happy :) So... we'll do it.
Audrey's riding the school bus! She rode it home yesterday, and rode it to school this morning. Quite the little social butterfly. I'm happy to report that her first day behavior sticker was in the "SKY" - which is the best they can get (there's four categories, ranging from sky to ground... I'm sure we'll have to deal with the lower ones a few times... All kids get a little ornery).
The Hubs LOVES his new store. The store is doing well under his watch, too. He's amazing with that stuff... People love him, he 'gets' retail, and just is an amazing manager in general. So proud :)
Progress - we're doing it. Almost settled, almost in a routine. And all of us are happy in our new home... Nothing better!
JT's referral meeting went well today. We should be hearing back within a week, and we'll know what school he's going to, and all the details. They do recommend he enters a full-day program (AU) for autistic children... and I trust them. He loves structure... So as much as I will miss having him around, I want him to reach his full potential - and be happy :) So... we'll do it.
Audrey's riding the school bus! She rode it home yesterday, and rode it to school this morning. Quite the little social butterfly. I'm happy to report that her first day behavior sticker was in the "SKY" - which is the best they can get (there's four categories, ranging from sky to ground... I'm sure we'll have to deal with the lower ones a few times... All kids get a little ornery).
The Hubs LOVES his new store. The store is doing well under his watch, too. He's amazing with that stuff... People love him, he 'gets' retail, and just is an amazing manager in general. So proud :)
Progress - we're doing it. Almost settled, almost in a routine. And all of us are happy in our new home... Nothing better!
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