Spring Break 2015

Ohmygoodness I cannot even tell you how much we needed spring break to get here this year!  We were so blessed to have good weather for most of our time off and enjoyed the time outside!

We spent a lot of time just playing at home and cleaning...all needed activities, but we also ventured out!  We had a great Zoo day with Brian's buddies Ryland and Brexton and then a great park day with Shannon and her girls!  Friday Daddy was off so we headed to the museum!  We ended up buying a pass, so we left at lunch and went back for more! 

Best buddies!

Always has to have the face painted!

Girlfriends!

Roar!

They do this naturally.  I love it!

Start of Spring

A few weeks ago we took advantage of the first warm weekend day and headed up to Alt Park with the kids and their bikes.  We love this park!  There are lots of gardens surrounded by pathways where the kids can ride and there's a fort (??)...some sort of structure that the kids love to explore.  You can see pretty far from the top and they love the view.  There were people everywhere and dogs too!  We met a friendly doberman and his mama while checking out one of the park war memorials...Brian read everything these days!  The kids asked if the dog was a boy or a girl and the mama said he was a boy.  He was super sweet and friendly and reminded me of the dogs my Aunt and Great Uncle used to keep.  Brian asked if the dog had any babies and the mama said he didn't.  Brian said, "well in my dog book, it says that if a boy dog meets a girl dog..."  As he trailed off I interjected, "okay, that's enough visiting for today!  Tell the nice lady thank you for letting us pet her dog."  That reading is going to get us into trouble!

A Little Brian Update

I have been meaning to do a Brian update for awhile, and life just kept going and I haven't gotten to it!  Brian's three year re-eval for his IEP occurred early in March and based on the reports that came home prior, I was pretty sure he was going to be released from special education services except for speech.  I was right!  He no longer qualifies under developmental delay or hearing loss!  He is on track with his peers.  The meeting was unbelievable!  It was so much fun to sit there are hear such amazing things about our son!  He has worked so hard and it's just remarkable to hear about the strides he has made.  Sometimes when you are on the inside and see the day to day, it's harder to see just how big the strides are.  The school psychologist, who is just awesome, has very little interaction with Brian but sees him for testing when we have meetings like this.  She hadn't really been around him since he was THREE and she was just in awe when she shared a side by side comparison of him then and now.  She said that it's rare to see students disqualify under developmental delay this early...it's usually not until they are 8 or 9! 

The hearing loss disqualification threw me for a loop for a second, but as I assumed, this just meant we would be transitioning Brian to a 504 plan to ensure he continues to get what he needs in that area (FM system, preferential seating and a plethora of other great things...thanks Norma!).  His 504 was completed just last week!  It took some work to get it where I wanted it, but I think it's pretty great now.  

He still requires speech therapy, but to be down to 11 sounds...articulation, from where we were?  Nothing short of a miracle!  Currently we are on a break from private speech and plan to resume in the summer.  He is also still seeing our private OT every other week, but I see that ending very soon.  Brian has FINALLY decided to hold a pencil correctly.  That's really it with him, it has to be his decision.  I truly feel like the speech sounds will come along as well, but it will have to be on his terms and when he's ready.

His recent report card was fantastic as well.  He continues to excel in all academic areas and even though I worry about his behavior, he seems to hold his own at school.  He's LOUD, he's silly and he rarely stops moving, but apparently that's okay in first grade.   We're so blessed that he's smart and enjoys learning.  He reads A LOT and his expression is just hysterical to listen to!  You'd think he'd had a teacher reading to him his whole life...hehe :)

We have taken steps to move him to the local Catholic school in the fall.  He will be in SECOND grade which means he will make his First Communion.  He began taking religious education classes in January so he would be caught up by fall.  Happily he loves the classes and the content, which has been fun! 

Did I mention that I am SO PROUD of Brian!?  He has accomplished so much this year and in his lifetime. 

Here is his first grade school picture.  I love that sweet smile!

Grandparents

Our kids are lucky to spend special moments with their grandparents and I wanted to share a few special moments from the past few months. 

Winter brings cinnamon bread.  Nana starts baking in late November/early December and keeps on rolling until somewhere around February.  Lilah LOVES "helping."  Mom says she's really got the routine down, but I'm pretty sure the process would be easier with out the "help."  Since Lilah gets offended when she isn't asked to help, Mom tried to include her as much as possible this winter. 

In March we visited Nanny for her birthday.  The kids, especially Brian, struggle with visiting Nanny sometimes.  She's really old and not with it, so it can be scary.  This particular visit though, the kids were champs.  I know it means a lot to Shawn for the kids to know her and hopefully someday they will understand just how big of an influence she had on their Dad.

Also in March, the preschool celebrated Grandfriends Day.  We don't do the traditional Grandparents Day in September at the preschool.  We choose to wait until Lent.  Fr. Jeff does an awesome Stations of the Cross prayer service with our kids where they fill bag with rocks as they walk the Stations to represent the weight of the cross. 

We also don't just celebrate grandparents, but grandFRIENDS.  I know all about growing up without grandparents near by so we try to make sure everyone is included. 

This year Lilah is actually IN the preschool and she was so excited to share her special day with Pappy!  She practiced her song and prayer until she had them perfected.  She picked the perfect dress.  It was so sweet to watch her run into his arms yelling, "Pappy!" when he arrived.  You could certainly pick her out during the performance...one of the loudest...big surprise.  Lilah has had the benefit of walking the Stations several times over the years so she looked really smart shouting out all the answers as they made the circle around the church!  Pappy was a real trooper.  He even let her paint his hand for their craft! 

Dance Observation Night

Oh my goodness you guys!  Dance observation night was quite possibly the cutest thing ever.  Little Miss got to show off her moves and her recital number  and she was so excited!  That girl can move!  And she LOVES the mirror....and the camera...that may be my fault.  You should've heard her when her Daddy arrived to catch some of the action.  And when she announced to me that she was going to be able to wear my "EYE LASHES" (eye shadow) for her recital.  Squeal!!  This girl kills me.  I love her to pieces.