Christmas 2014
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Initial ABA appt 10/30/12
Took V to her initial ABA appt. I like them immediately because I went with one therapist and V went with another. I do not like to talk about Vs issues in front of her. She is fully aware of her weaknesses and is embarrassed to talking about them. Will I talk about them in front of her if need be, yes, but most of the time it's not necessary. I have asked people in the past if we can talk separately and they look at me like I'm nuts. So I very much appreciated the fact that they had some to hang out with her, and she didn't just sit in the waiting room. I like talking about V to people that understand her problems, have solutions, and I can tell they aren't judging her or me. And they aren't emotional. :-) I have very high hopes with this treatment and therapy for V. Also, they have a social group that meets at the center every Monday. Super exciting! I asked her if she wants to go, she said, "for sure!" So we are going to try it, and I think it's going to be worth the 30 minute drive once a week. So there ya go! And here we gooooo!!!!!!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
October 27, 2012
Matt has been gone for almost 3 weeks, only 23 to go. Really, who knows how long. No one that's who. One of the crazy things about the Air Force. You'd think after 65 years, they would know how long they need airman other places, even if those places are only 2 states away. Okay, rants done, thanks for listening.
Things have been going since Matt left. Same schedule and routine. But he is sorely missed. He used to bathe M every night. I think that the 30 minutes before bed is when he is missed most by Micah.... and myself. I love that Micah is so verbal and that he can tell me his wants, needs, feelings and hurts. But, I'm pretty sure that a fairy dies every time he says, "I miss daddy."
Micah is obsessed with Angry Birds and Bad Piggies. We are going to be taking a couple of days break for the iPad. He performed a wonderful fit while on Skype with Meme and Pots this morning, and I was the idiot Mom who just smiled and laughed. No more being an idiot for me. (don't quote me on that.) So I think iPad is going to be sick for awhile. Luckily, he has a hands on Angry Birds toy that we can play and a new Angry Birds Space coloring book, that is his night time book of choice.
One of my favorite things to do is watch him watch and interact with older kids. He was doing that at the park today, and I love it. It makes him brave to try new things at the play ground. (He is like his Momma, not a dare devil at all.) I feel like we are always on the go lately, but I know he gets a lot out of play dates. Poor kid can't spend all his time with me. He is finally gotten over his fear of the child care at the gym. He waves and says bye and plays for an hour while I work out. It is wonderful.
Victoria is doing amazing in school. I'm so excited to see the progress she will make by the end of the year. So on her IEP (individualized education program?) it says that she will go from a 1.8 to a 2.8 in math. (1st number is grade, second number is the month, so 1st grade 8th month) At her parent teacher conference, her teacher told me she is doing beginning 3rd grade work, which is a review of 2nd grade work. This is so exciting! She started reading a chapter book series "Warriors" a couple of months ago, and I feel like these books are quickly progressing her reading abilities. She LOVES them. Needless to say I'm very excited.
On Tuesday, we have our initial meeting for her ABA (applied behavior analysis). This is what she was doing the last 2 months in Washington that was AMAZING!! My prayer is that she has a therapist that is capable and Victoria likes.
Thats all for now, my computer is dying.
Things have been going since Matt left. Same schedule and routine. But he is sorely missed. He used to bathe M every night. I think that the 30 minutes before bed is when he is missed most by Micah.... and myself. I love that Micah is so verbal and that he can tell me his wants, needs, feelings and hurts. But, I'm pretty sure that a fairy dies every time he says, "I miss daddy."
Micah is obsessed with Angry Birds and Bad Piggies. We are going to be taking a couple of days break for the iPad. He performed a wonderful fit while on Skype with Meme and Pots this morning, and I was the idiot Mom who just smiled and laughed. No more being an idiot for me. (don't quote me on that.) So I think iPad is going to be sick for awhile. Luckily, he has a hands on Angry Birds toy that we can play and a new Angry Birds Space coloring book, that is his night time book of choice.
One of my favorite things to do is watch him watch and interact with older kids. He was doing that at the park today, and I love it. It makes him brave to try new things at the play ground. (He is like his Momma, not a dare devil at all.) I feel like we are always on the go lately, but I know he gets a lot out of play dates. Poor kid can't spend all his time with me. He is finally gotten over his fear of the child care at the gym. He waves and says bye and plays for an hour while I work out. It is wonderful.
Victoria is doing amazing in school. I'm so excited to see the progress she will make by the end of the year. So on her IEP (individualized education program?) it says that she will go from a 1.8 to a 2.8 in math. (1st number is grade, second number is the month, so 1st grade 8th month) At her parent teacher conference, her teacher told me she is doing beginning 3rd grade work, which is a review of 2nd grade work. This is so exciting! She started reading a chapter book series "Warriors" a couple of months ago, and I feel like these books are quickly progressing her reading abilities. She LOVES them. Needless to say I'm very excited.
On Tuesday, we have our initial meeting for her ABA (applied behavior analysis). This is what she was doing the last 2 months in Washington that was AMAZING!! My prayer is that she has a therapist that is capable and Victoria likes.
Thats all for now, my computer is dying.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Is it Monday yet....?
Confession: I have always judged parents who do not like being around their children. So let me begin this post by saying, I love being around Victoria and Micah. They both crack me up. Matt and I call them the Tweedles. Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum. In Alice in Wonderland, these two characters were silly, they broke up the monotony, and they kept you on your toes.
Now that I've said that, this week has been one of the longest in a long time. Matt left Sunday and Victoria has been on Fall break all week. We did crafts, went out to lunch, hit the book store and the library and experienced a VERY southern pumpkin patch. Micah spent a day on the couch with a fever. And all I heard all day, "Momma, want to snuggle with me?" Um, of course I do.
I'm exhausted. I enjoy it when Victoria is in school. I don't have to worry about her for 8 hours a day, because with her, you honestly never know what mood she is going to be in or what is going to set her off. Yesterday, she was a little off. I figured out why at 9 pm, she didn't take her medicine in the morning. Considering she didn't take her medicine, she did really well. But it could have been a much better day, had she taken her medicine. Today, we went to the library. It seems that every time we go they don't have or can't find a book that she finds through a search on the computer. She spends 50% of the time we are there looking at the library catalog online. Last time she got upset, and I can't remember all of the details, but it wasn't pretty. Today, they couldn't find one of their books that said "Checked in." She was a mess. We talked about it on the way home. We talked about being flexible. And I told her that she's not being punished, but I'm not taking her back to the library until we can make sure that she can handle going. (This is going to be something we discuss with her therapist, whenever they call back....) We then talked about how to focus on the good things. (Very Pollyanna of me, I know) Long story short, I need her back in her ABA soon. They are working on scheduling her, or that's what I've been told.
For those of you lucky few who have met Victoria, you probably know that she loves to tell funny quotes from cartoons. And you usually know one is coming, because she will start giggling out of the blue. Then she says, "Know what's funny." Today on the way to the library she started giggling, and I was about to tell her to hold on, because I was pulling into the base's gate, but Micah said, "What's funny, Sister?" Victoria started to tell him, and then said, never mind. And said, "Katie, know what's funny?" I said, "No, but your brother wants to know." And I'm pretty sure I told her it wasn't very nice that she didn't finish telling him, when he wanted to know. So she told Micah the quote. And the last part of the quote was (crap, I can't remember, so I'll use xxxxx.) So the last part of the quote was xxxxx. Then she said, "Isn't that funny Micah?" Micah repeated, xxxx. And she said, "Yeah, isn't that funny?" then we heard crickets. (I promise this story is very funny and sweet in my head.)
Oh Micah Bear. My goal this week was for him to learn about the letter A. We did a little bit here and there. But like most of my plans, it didn't work out, but other things did. (I guess I better do a little planning next time.) He knows his left from his right after this week, and he knows that a Stop sign is an octagon and it's where cars stop. So I'm going to consider this week a success.
Now that I've said that, this week has been one of the longest in a long time. Matt left Sunday and Victoria has been on Fall break all week. We did crafts, went out to lunch, hit the book store and the library and experienced a VERY southern pumpkin patch. Micah spent a day on the couch with a fever. And all I heard all day, "Momma, want to snuggle with me?" Um, of course I do.
I'm exhausted. I enjoy it when Victoria is in school. I don't have to worry about her for 8 hours a day, because with her, you honestly never know what mood she is going to be in or what is going to set her off. Yesterday, she was a little off. I figured out why at 9 pm, she didn't take her medicine in the morning. Considering she didn't take her medicine, she did really well. But it could have been a much better day, had she taken her medicine. Today, we went to the library. It seems that every time we go they don't have or can't find a book that she finds through a search on the computer. She spends 50% of the time we are there looking at the library catalog online. Last time she got upset, and I can't remember all of the details, but it wasn't pretty. Today, they couldn't find one of their books that said "Checked in." She was a mess. We talked about it on the way home. We talked about being flexible. And I told her that she's not being punished, but I'm not taking her back to the library until we can make sure that she can handle going. (This is going to be something we discuss with her therapist, whenever they call back....) We then talked about how to focus on the good things. (Very Pollyanna of me, I know) Long story short, I need her back in her ABA soon. They are working on scheduling her, or that's what I've been told.
For those of you lucky few who have met Victoria, you probably know that she loves to tell funny quotes from cartoons. And you usually know one is coming, because she will start giggling out of the blue. Then she says, "Know what's funny." Today on the way to the library she started giggling, and I was about to tell her to hold on, because I was pulling into the base's gate, but Micah said, "What's funny, Sister?" Victoria started to tell him, and then said, never mind. And said, "Katie, know what's funny?" I said, "No, but your brother wants to know." And I'm pretty sure I told her it wasn't very nice that she didn't finish telling him, when he wanted to know. So she told Micah the quote. And the last part of the quote was (crap, I can't remember, so I'll use xxxxx.) So the last part of the quote was xxxxx. Then she said, "Isn't that funny Micah?" Micah repeated, xxxx. And she said, "Yeah, isn't that funny?" then we heard crickets. (I promise this story is very funny and sweet in my head.)
Oh Micah Bear. My goal this week was for him to learn about the letter A. We did a little bit here and there. But like most of my plans, it didn't work out, but other things did. (I guess I better do a little planning next time.) He knows his left from his right after this week, and he knows that a Stop sign is an octagon and it's where cars stop. So I'm going to consider this week a success.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
10/7/12 ~ 5 months and counting
It is only 10:30 am, and it feels like I've had a 18 hour day. Before church this morning, the kids and I said goodbye to Matt for at least 5 months. I know, I know, he's only going to Texas. But he's not here and that's what matters to me. I'm excited that we will be able to Skype every night, and I can call him if I need him. I also like the fact that we had less than a week to say goodbye, usually we have to drag it out for a couple of months. I like this better, because I doesn't seem real and will take awhile to sink in. And by then I'll be too busy to be upset. :)
We had a couple of churches to choose from when we moved here. There was one 10 minutes away and one 25 minutes away. The one that is 25 minutes away is where Micah is going to go to school in a couple of years. We visited both churches and lets just say the one closest to our house had an average age was just a little bit high. So we became members of the one a bit further away, and I could not be happier. Turns out there is a special needs Sunday School class for Victoria. Victoria went for the first time today. One of the teachers is the Kindergarten teachers at the school and has her Masters in Special Education. She said V did great and she said it was a pleasure teaching Victoria because she has so much passion for learning about Jesus and the bible. (As if my day wasn't emotional enough, it was beautiful to hear.) I took Micah to Sunday School also. There were 11 kids in his room and they had a story, craft, coloring page, singing and a prayer. I stayed with Micah to get him used to it. But it was so fast paced I think in a couple of weeks, he'll be able to go by himself. It was a wonderful day at church today. I love having the confirmation that this IS the church that we need to be at.
Victoria is doing well in school. She has had a couple nights of math homework which totally overwhelms her. I have learned that she is good at Math and has a lot of good problem solving strategies for solving problems, but I think that she gets overwhelmed with the amount of problems. So I think this is something that I will talk with her teacher about. It seems that she has a lot of one on one instruction at school, which is a good thing. I do not think she is enjoying being mainstreamed for science, PE and lunch, but I am not at all about to pull her out of it. I think it's good for her to learn that sometimes teachers can't focus 100% of their attention on her. Plus, it's only been a month, so I'm hoping that she learns to enjoy her time there.
On Friday, she had a Special Olympics event at a park. I was unaware of the fact that it was a Special Olympics event, since her permission slip said that her class was going to the park to play bocce ball. I am going to let the teacher know that I would like to know about these events so that I can meet them there.
I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in the next couple of months. There is some organizing around the house that I want to do, swim lessons for V, lots of play groups for Micah, and some serious gym time for myself.
We had a couple of churches to choose from when we moved here. There was one 10 minutes away and one 25 minutes away. The one that is 25 minutes away is where Micah is going to go to school in a couple of years. We visited both churches and lets just say the one closest to our house had an average age was just a little bit high. So we became members of the one a bit further away, and I could not be happier. Turns out there is a special needs Sunday School class for Victoria. Victoria went for the first time today. One of the teachers is the Kindergarten teachers at the school and has her Masters in Special Education. She said V did great and she said it was a pleasure teaching Victoria because she has so much passion for learning about Jesus and the bible. (As if my day wasn't emotional enough, it was beautiful to hear.) I took Micah to Sunday School also. There were 11 kids in his room and they had a story, craft, coloring page, singing and a prayer. I stayed with Micah to get him used to it. But it was so fast paced I think in a couple of weeks, he'll be able to go by himself. It was a wonderful day at church today. I love having the confirmation that this IS the church that we need to be at.
Victoria is doing well in school. She has had a couple nights of math homework which totally overwhelms her. I have learned that she is good at Math and has a lot of good problem solving strategies for solving problems, but I think that she gets overwhelmed with the amount of problems. So I think this is something that I will talk with her teacher about. It seems that she has a lot of one on one instruction at school, which is a good thing. I do not think she is enjoying being mainstreamed for science, PE and lunch, but I am not at all about to pull her out of it. I think it's good for her to learn that sometimes teachers can't focus 100% of their attention on her. Plus, it's only been a month, so I'm hoping that she learns to enjoy her time there.
On Friday, she had a Special Olympics event at a park. I was unaware of the fact that it was a Special Olympics event, since her permission slip said that her class was going to the park to play bocce ball. I am going to let the teacher know that I would like to know about these events so that I can meet them there.
I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in the next couple of months. There is some organizing around the house that I want to do, swim lessons for V, lots of play groups for Micah, and some serious gym time for myself.
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