Class #2

My current mood:

Joshua's second socialization class was on Tuesday. We got there about 5 minutes early. We have had tons of rain lately, and he was fascinated by it. Ms. G. came out and told me and the other mom that Ms. Amy, her assistant, had her baby 6 weeks early so she wouldn't be finishing out the sessions with the kids. She then introduced her new assistant, Ms. N.

I went to the window and told Josh it was time to put his snack in the snack basket and go see Ms. G. He loves that woman to death, but instead of running to her office, he fell to the gound crying and saying he didn't want to go see Ms. G. He had a total meltdown, and nothing I did could calm him down. He finally agreed to go into the office, but he screamed all the way there. Ms. G. shut the main office door and her door, and you could still hear him crying. Patrick, another boy in the class, has sensory issues involving hearing, so I felt horrible that he was probably about ready to have his own meltdown because of Josh's noise. It was so embarrasing, but Mrs. G. handled it like the pro she is. Turns out, the reason he was so upset was because of last week's talking stick! She thinks he remembered the change in routine from last week because he mentioned it during his crying, and that is what caused the whole thing.

When they came out after the session, she told us all that the kids did really well. She said they all three come in looking at the floor and ceiling and eye contact isn't so hot, but by the end of the 45 minutes they all do great. LOL I mentioned to her about how he has improved noticably at home and how he acted in the elevator last week. She thought that was great and said he is improving and to just keep encouraging him at home. :)

She was laughing when telling me about the next part of the session. Each week they have snack time. We each bring a snack and drink for our child, and apparently she munches on something as well. This week, Joshua had 3 chocolate chip cookies for his snack. She said he gulped those suckers down and then looked at her cereal that she was eating and said "I can help you eat your snack". Silly boy! LOL

So, overall, I guess she is finally seeing some improvements. Yay! I know I am, so that's the important thing, right? :)

A Milestone for Joshua

My current mood is:

Joshua put together his very first puzzle today! It was a Thomas puzzle with 12 pieces, and he acted as though he had been doing them for years. It boggles my mind still. There were no questions, no frustrations....he simply matched the colors and put them together! I am so proud of him. Now I am going to have to go puzzle shopping for some new puzzles that he will enjoy. :)

Went to the gym tonight. I am really enjoying it. Afterwards we went to the hospital to visit my cousin, Lacey. She had a tubal pregnancy and is having an extremely difficult recovery. Hopefully things will improve with ehr recovery and she will be able to return home soon. I know her little girls miss her. :) So, get better Lacey, and if you are reading, know I'm here whenever you want to talk....I mean it!

Return to Socialization Classes

My current mood:

Yesterday began series 2 of Joshua's socialization classes. Ms. G. didn't say a whole lot about how they did. She said Josh did good, he got a sticker for each activity, so I guess that should be enough. *shrug* She mentioned that they were introduced to the talking stick....whoever is holding it gets to take a turn talking, then they pass it to another person and it is then their turn to talk. That's all she said about it. We left, and as we were walking onto the elevator, there was an older gentelman standing in there. We walked on and out of nowhere, Joshua looked him stright in the eyes and said "Hi! My name is Joshua!" And he never shut up. LOL For those who have never heard Joshua speak, he has a VERY booming voice. So, for three floors he spoke. As we were getting off, the gentleman laughed and said he has two volumes - on and off. LOL We had to giggle about it.

We checked out and headed to the van. I asked questions, trying to find out anything I could about their 45 minute session. I got no real answers. I continued my questioning on the way to pick up the other kids. I finally asked him what color the stick was. He told me it was grey. That surprised me because most grey things he labels as silver. Then, out of the blue, he told me, "I don't like the talking stick". LOL Silly boy doesn't like having to be quiet and listen. ;)

So, I see progress again. Unfortunately, Ms. G made no mention of the excellent eye contact he has been displaying for me and others lately. She also made no mention of spontaneous conversation, and of course she missed him in the elevator. I don't know if she didn't think to mention it or if he doesn't show any progress when in her office or what.

I also found out yesterday that I will be babysitting again. This time it will be for one of Silas' co-workers. She has a 7 year old boy and has asked me to watch him during the month of July. I figure it will be nice for the boys to have someone new to play with, especially Jacob. And maybe it will help Joshua a bit as well. :) I hope he gets along with my kids. Keeping my fingers crossed on that! I think it will be a little easier than having another baby to watch. I say this, but I am sure that the boys together will find ways to be a handful. ;)

Therapy Evaluations

My current mood:

We finally have Joshua's OT and Speech therapy evaluations set up. I have been trying to get these things set up since we got his diagnosis in February. Unfortunately, due to the peds office being in complete shambles since that time, the referral was faxed to the wrong phone number and was a difficult thing to get accomplished. However, now it is done! Woohoo! I feel a sense of relief. :) Both are set for mid-July. I'm hoping they will go well and that his progress will really take off from that point on.

Here's the dress!

Yay! Well, it is a little too big, but that's ok. ;)

Not much to report

My current mood:

There hasn't been a whole lot going on here. Cassidy had her 2 year check-up yesterday. She is 26.5 lbs (50th%) , possibly 35 1/2 inches (60th%), and her head circumference is in the 25th% - which is also probably wrong. Her growth has been amazingly consistent and she has been in the same percentiles every time she has gone in. The head circumference most likely is actually in the 50th%. I have yet to figure out why they can't get a good reading on her. We had to bring her to a neurologist when she was younger and they would always schedule her for a week after her ped appts. They always had her in the 50th% while the peds had her in the 25th%. Regardless, it's consistent and that is all that matters. :)

Joshua is sick. He has been having a fever on and off and he now is having tummy issues. He also has started sounding hoarse and is coughing. I am hoping it is just a virus that will run its course soon, but we may be making a trip to the peds in the next day or so.

I managed to sew my first outfit tonight. I'll have to try it on one of the girls tomorrow to see if it actually fits. I'm excited! If it does fit and they happen to cooperate for the camera, I will be sure to post some pictures. :)

Jacob's 6 year appointment

My current mood:

My little Jacob is growing up. He has always been terrified of doctors since his hospital stay and spinal tap at about 18 months old. Even regualr check-ups terrify him - last year he freaked out when the nurse took out a thermometer because he thought she was giving him a shot. That woman literally fell on the ground because she was laughing so hard at the dramatics he pulled. We haven't had an appointment since October for him, so I was nervous about how he would react there this time. He was an angel! Not a single tear! Such a big boy! I guess it helps that he knew he didn't need any shots. Dr. V. was so happy with how the appointment went that she hugged him three times, gave him a lollipop AND a sticker. :D She said he is the hardest patient she has ever had to try to crack. Leave it to one of my munchkins to be difficult. *lol*

Everything checked out fine. Dr. V. is a little concerned about his growth. He is in the 25th percentile just like last year, so he is growing height wise. Weight however is a different issue. He eats well (except for fruits - he still refuses to eat them even when disguised), butyet he has only gained one pound in the past 12 months. So, we now are supplementing his diet with Carnation Instant Breakfast once a day to see if it helps him to gain a little bit. We will go back in around November to see how it is working. I did ask if it could simply be genetics because Jacob is built exactly like his father....skinny as can be! She said that could very well be all it is, but she still thinks one pound in a year is too little. If this doesn't work, I'm not sure what the next step would be. I'm not going to worry extensively about it. Hopefully the supplement to his diet will be enough.

We will be going down to the lake tomorrow and the kids are really looking forward to it. My parents rented a cabin and we will spend the day with them. Should be fun! That's all for now...I'll update again soon!

Elena update

My current mood:

Elena finally had her 9 month check-up yesterday. We met the newest ped in the practice. She is extremely nice and very thorough. You can definitely tell she's new though. *lol* Anyway, my "little" baby is now 24 lbs, 4 oz and in the 95th%. Her head circumference has gone from the 75th% to the 85th%. Height we are unsure about...either they measured her wrong this time or the last because they have her as shrinking. She's doing great! She's right on track on most things and a little ahead of the game in others. She didn't cry at all during the exam. She did cry a little bit halfway through her one shot, but she immediately stopped once I picked her up. She's such a big girl. :)

In other news, my cousin's husband, Emmett, passed away unexpectedly last night. We just saw him at Meemaw's funeral, and it is so hard to believe he is gone. We weren't overly close, but he always was extremely nice and welcoming anytime we saw him. He came up to my two brothers after Meemaw's burial and told them he knew how hard it was for them to be pall bearers, but he was proud of them and knew what an honor it was regardless of the difficulty. His oldest son and my brother went to high school together and got to be good friends. It's been a rough couple of months for my mom's side of the family.