Today was Mr N's second day of playgroup, he did great! He was the first kid there and was a title curious when I dropped him off. When he started following me back out of the building I just said "your friends will be here in a few minutes, you can go ahead and play" he replied "okay" turned around and followed the therapists into the classroom.
I'm still astonished by his progress, no tantrums or meltdowns, he can reason and understand with very little effort, and he has no qualms about being dropped off at "school". When I returned to pick him up I inquired about longer and more frequent sessions. Starting next week they will start taking him to the preschool across the street to integrate him into bigger group activities. I have no doubt that he'll do great.
I'm still blown away by where he is now versus where he was a year ago, nine months ago and even six months ago. Not only his eagerness to go to "school" but his ability to function in so many social areas.
Saturday we went to the lake but it was raining so we returned home after an hour. On our way home we stopped at a sporting goods store and the Walmart. As we were walking towards the checkout in Walmart Daddy turned to me and said "I can't believe we can go to the store and not have a meltdown from him". Just a few months ago we would dread shopping and avoid taking him as much as possible.
My heart soars as my baby grows in so many ways. His speech continues to improve weekly adding words to his vocabulary and improving his pronunciation Today he said dinosaur for the first time and it was super clear and discernible. I'm so proud of my little guy, the next year will certainly show us more progress than we imagined.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Sick day
Yesterday the inevitable happened, E woke up sick with a sore throat and slight fever, very slight fever. I got her dressed and ready for school but she wouldn't eat. I had plans with my SIL to go shopping so Daddy said he'd keep an eye on her and take her to school if she started feeling better.
Mr N and I headed towards Costco with my SIL and nephews and nieces, once we arrived I saw that I'd missed a call from Daddy so I checked in with him, sadly E had been puking and wouldn't eat or drink anything. Since Costco is 2.5 hours from home we decided to get our shopping done since we were already there. This was Mr N's first trip to a Costco in well over a year, I was nervous, anxious and fearful. As well as equipped with his iPad, new cars, old cars, my phone and his cousins. To say he did great would be an understatement, my little man did a tremendous job at staying calm, being polite and courteous, and behaving. He played with his iPad for a while then shared it with his cousins, held onto his strawberries for a while then chose some Nilla wafers to hold. I'm still in shock by how much progress my baby has made.
On our return trip Daddy called again to say E had a few sips to drink but nothing to eat and couldn't hold down the ibuprofen he gave her. When we got home we did some cuddling, I showed her the books I bought her and she asked for something to eat. My little miss still has a fever but she was feeling better by bedtime last night and hasn't puked all day today. Hopefully she is well enough to attend school tomorrow.
Mr N and I headed towards Costco with my SIL and nephews and nieces, once we arrived I saw that I'd missed a call from Daddy so I checked in with him, sadly E had been puking and wouldn't eat or drink anything. Since Costco is 2.5 hours from home we decided to get our shopping done since we were already there. This was Mr N's first trip to a Costco in well over a year, I was nervous, anxious and fearful. As well as equipped with his iPad, new cars, old cars, my phone and his cousins. To say he did great would be an understatement, my little man did a tremendous job at staying calm, being polite and courteous, and behaving. He played with his iPad for a while then shared it with his cousins, held onto his strawberries for a while then chose some Nilla wafers to hold. I'm still in shock by how much progress my baby has made.
On our return trip Daddy called again to say E had a few sips to drink but nothing to eat and couldn't hold down the ibuprofen he gave her. When we got home we did some cuddling, I showed her the books I bought her and she asked for something to eat. My little miss still has a fever but she was feeling better by bedtime last night and hasn't puked all day today. Hopefully she is well enough to attend school tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Play Group
Today was Mr N's first day of play group, there are two other children in session with him. Having the children together helps improve social skills and learn team working skills. Due to past experiences at the development center they suggested we leave the door open from the playground to the classroom so that when we arrived Mr N could play outside then move inside when he was ready. However, Daddy and I have found that Mr N has matured enough that we thought that he would be okay with starting in the classroom.
Sure enough, I took Mr N into the classroom without any issues, I asked the therapists if they wanted me to stay or leave, they said I should go. So for the second time in recent weeks I left one of my children behind while I walked away in tears. Mr N was excited to start "school" as sissy has been calling it, she got him all pumped up by telling him how awesome school was and telling him he'd have a great time. She was right, he loved it so much that it took me a good 15 minutes to convince him to leave even using a bribe.
His playgroup includes the speech therapist, occupational therapist and early childhood development teacher so that they can all work together with the children. I'm not sure of the diagnosis of the other two children, but they both appeared to be high functioning, speaking, and had good gross motor skills. One of our concerns about playgroup was that Mr N would be exposed to lower functioning children with more severe issues and then pick up bad habits.
E started school a couple of weeks ago, she could not be happier. She loves school, loves to learn, and loves to be a big girl. She is determined to be the smartest kid in the class, not a bad goal if you ask me. I volunteer in her classroom twice a week to help out with math stations, the class is divided into 3 groups while the classroom has 3 stations set up for the groups to rotate between. Each group spends 15 minutes at each station, I assist at the diamond station. The kids seem to really enjoy doing the different stations, although there are a few kids who do not want to participate or feel they are exempt from doing the task assigned.
The first day I volunteered I left the school in total shock and wondering how on earth the teacher ever survived a full day with those kiddos. The second time was a little less chaotic, maybe since it was Monday the kids were still wore out from the weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing the progress that all of the kids make throughout the school year, the range of development between them varies greatly. Some breeze through a task and master it immediately, others never seem to grasp what it is they are supposed to be doing.
We are looking forward to seeing the growth in both of our kids this coming year and have high hopes that they both will make great strides forward.
Sure enough, I took Mr N into the classroom without any issues, I asked the therapists if they wanted me to stay or leave, they said I should go. So for the second time in recent weeks I left one of my children behind while I walked away in tears. Mr N was excited to start "school" as sissy has been calling it, she got him all pumped up by telling him how awesome school was and telling him he'd have a great time. She was right, he loved it so much that it took me a good 15 minutes to convince him to leave even using a bribe.
His playgroup includes the speech therapist, occupational therapist and early childhood development teacher so that they can all work together with the children. I'm not sure of the diagnosis of the other two children, but they both appeared to be high functioning, speaking, and had good gross motor skills. One of our concerns about playgroup was that Mr N would be exposed to lower functioning children with more severe issues and then pick up bad habits.
E started school a couple of weeks ago, she could not be happier. She loves school, loves to learn, and loves to be a big girl. She is determined to be the smartest kid in the class, not a bad goal if you ask me. I volunteer in her classroom twice a week to help out with math stations, the class is divided into 3 groups while the classroom has 3 stations set up for the groups to rotate between. Each group spends 15 minutes at each station, I assist at the diamond station. The kids seem to really enjoy doing the different stations, although there are a few kids who do not want to participate or feel they are exempt from doing the task assigned.
The first day I volunteered I left the school in total shock and wondering how on earth the teacher ever survived a full day with those kiddos. The second time was a little less chaotic, maybe since it was Monday the kids were still wore out from the weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing the progress that all of the kids make throughout the school year, the range of development between them varies greatly. Some breeze through a task and master it immediately, others never seem to grasp what it is they are supposed to be doing.
We are looking forward to seeing the growth in both of our kids this coming year and have high hopes that they both will make great strides forward.
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