We are thankful for .....

This year we are thankfull for alot of things , I thought I would post some of the things the kids came home from school with ..... prepare to giggle !

Peyton is thankful for.....
" My friends because they play with me ."
"My freedom because I am free from Jell ." [ you should see the illustrations ! ]
"School because I have Teacher "
"I love my friends they Play with me "
"I am a ideein { Indian} my dad is one too "
"I love Ham '
" I love my Buthr his nams Zach too"
"I love my mom and I like my dad "
"I love my sisdr too She is in Prospeck . I love hr too."
"I love the wrld { world}
" Dear Mom thank you for giving me medsin whi I am sick . Love Peyton "

Zach is thankful for ....
Mirrors
Jumping
Playing
Mommy
His teachers at school wrote these items down since when they asked him what he was thankful for he was licking the table and trying to eat the paper they were writing on .

Mommy and Daddy are thankful for ....
Our health [ minus the mental side ... sanity is fleeting in parenthood ... ]
Family
Having a job in this crazy economy
DDi Vantage and all of their wonderful people and services !
Usdb , and Molly Mooseman .... she is the best !
Weekends

We hope that your Thanksgiving is a great one !

Pictures from Zach's school party .

This is the keepsake photo that they hand out at all of the DDI Vantage events . Zach was in the process of getting down and running away and Madi as snow white looks more like the Queen Of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland ..... " Off with their heads !!!! " .

Happy Halloween !

After school on Halloween we went outside to pick up the yard toys a bit . I did not want a law suit from a trick or treat er because they had tripped over any of the toys that were part of the great toy migration . We always have toys that belong outside, inside and toys that belong inside, outside .... I am pretty sure this phenomenon is linked to the disappearance of socks in our house , Moulder and Sculley will not return my calls to help me confirm my suspicion .... BUT the truth IS out there ! Anyway back to my subject at hand , the kids were playing while i was picking up the yard and Zach found the leaf piles under the oak tree . He really liked the sound the leaves made when he ran through them , eventually Peyton and Keily got in on the leaf action . They played out there for quite a while . They had a lot of fun , Zach kept trying to lay down in the leaves like Peyton , but as soon as one would touch his neck he had to sit up .

Zach was a Pirate for Halloween , and Peyton was Silvermist the fairy [ from the new Tinkerbell movie ] . Zach REALLY enjoyed trick or treating ! He was running from house to house trying , saying " Keily wait !" , " My turn to knock " , " Follow Sissy " [ repeating what everyone around him was saying ] . Grandpa Wolf dressed up as a Pirate too , he and Zach would take turns saying " I'm a Pirate !" , " No , I'm a Pirate !" ... it was a fun night . Peyton finally got over her shyness and knocked on doors and said trick or treat loud enough for people to hear her .

Zach started his new class at USDB , on Halloween too . That unfortunately was not a success , he cried the whole time , so much so that he threw up on his Pirate costume ..... Poor kid . He really does not do well with changes in his schedule . We will try again next week . We also had Zach's evaluation with Granite school District this week . They officially labeled him as Educationally Autistic . This label as much as the Stigma is still bothering me , will contribute to him getting the services he needs and that was the goal in the evaluations . So he will most likely be going to the Autistic preschool class , but that is not set in stone yet .

Lonnie FINALLY got hired !

We have been waiting for months for Lonnie to be hired on full time with Burton Lumber . His supervisor has finally sealed the deal with the HR department , and was even able to back date his hiring by a few weeks so that the health insurance would start a bit sooner [ although we still have to wait 90 days ] . Unfortunately he did have to take a pay cut to secure full time employment .... which I think is just a sign of the times . So we are now looking for part time work for either one of us, to replace the lost income . We feel very blessed that he now has a career with a good company , and hope that as the economy improves so will his pay .

Winter is coming !

This is a picture of both the swing and hanging bar , obviously we would only use one at a time. This is Lonnie's genius mounting system, very versatile !

With winter coming and a VERY active little boy on our hands , we had decided to construct a large motor / sensory area for Zach . Lonnie is so great when it comes to building and designing stuff that he was able to make this swing that is very similar to the one at Zach's school , with only my verbal instruction [ in woman- ese / aka = man - jibberish ] and a picture from the Internet . He also made a hanging bar , and we are looking into a hammock swing of some sort .... sounds like an excuse to make a trip to Ikea !And perhaps a small plastic slide . So far it has worked wonders for Zach to get his wiggles out , and has reduced aggression some .

In other news Zach has been moved up yet again in school . He will be starting in November in the Play and Learn class at DDI Vantage . This new class is structured more like a "regular" preschool and is an "inclusive " classroom , which just means it is for kids of mixed abilities . Although I am very excited for him to be advancing so well , I am nervous to see how he will do in a more "mainstream " peer group and environment. It is however a necessary evil , he is getting older and will be going to preschool at Peyton's school after Christmas break .... so this will help us decide what type of classroom will suite him best when he "transitions" to big boy school.

Peyton's last T ball game is tonight , and the weather is going to be COLD ! I am going to try to remember to get pictures of her playing ...[ Sorry Julie , I keep forgetting . I am so busy coaching I have missed alot of her playing ] Or maybe just a picture of her in her Jerzee , because honestly why does a girl play sports but for the cute outfit !?

Zach's new favorite song .

These are the lyric's from a song that is on the ending credits of the "new " Charlotte's web dvd .
Zach & Madilyn can sing the entire song ! Sadly when Zach sings it you can not understand what he is saying , but can identify the melody .

A place in the Sun
Originally performed by Stevie Wonder

Like a long lonely stream
I keep runnin' towards a dream
Like a branch on a tree
I keep reachin' to be free
movin' on , movin' on

'Cause there's a place in the sun
Where there's hope for everyone
Where my poor restless heart's gotta run
There's a place in the sun
And before my life is done
Got to find me a place in the sun

Like an old dusty road
I get weary from the load
movin' on , movin' on
Like this tired troubled earth
I've been rollin' since my birth
Movin' on , movin' on

'Cause there's a place in the sun
Where there's hope for everyone .
Where my poor restless heart's gotta run
And before my life is done
got to find me a place in the sun

When times are bad
and your feeling sad
Always remember that ,
There's a place in the sun
where there's hope for everyone.

Dry Sensory Play

Beans


Wheat

Today being Tuesday , is my "light " day as far as the schedule is concerned . I always try to get in a few sensory activities on tuesdays . We have wheat , beans, rolled oats , flax seeds , flour that we play with on a regular basis . Today is was wheat and beans . Zach really enjoys the beans and he will touch them and play with little hesitation . However, the wheat because it has a smaller hull , tends to more of a sensory challenge for him so you see alot of "tools" in the bin to hopefully encourage him to touch . The sensations proved to be too much for him today , he got OVER stimulated and became aggressive so that was the end of that .

Zach will be starting in a preschool class at USDB [ Utah school for the deaf and blind ] on Fridays . This will hopefully expand his functional vocabulary , whether through sign or speech . He will also be able to choose the communication method that is most comfortable for him to use . The class is for kids between 2 1/2 and 3 , with mild to profound hearing loss . We are very excited for him to have the chance to explore different peer groups .

Peyton is still is T ball and having fun building sand castles while she is supposed to be catching the balls . Lonnie and I have had a ball as the coaches , we have a great team .