Zach and Xander , and the foiled escape .

" Grab my hand " .... This is the point I had to put down the camera and be the mom , since Zach actually got a hold of the blanket . He also got in with Xander twice , trying to nap with him . I didnt get pictures of that for obvious reasons . " Come on baby I hold " Says Zach

Zach and Xander having tummy time , Zach also had his baby doll on the blanket but I moved it since it is not the cleanest toy in my house .

I have been watching Xander on Tuesdays and Zach just LOVES Xander . I had put him in the play pen to take a nap and Zach decided to get one of his cube chairs and help Xander escape . They also enjoyed tummy time together . It was too cute . Zach just really didnt like the idea of his buddy being in a cage . probably some kind of cardinal sin in the toddler world .

SNOW!!!!!

So this year we had a VERY white Christmas . Zach and Peyton LOVE playing in the snow . And this year Mom bought me snow boots[ thank you ] so I can go out with them now . They will go out get exhausted and soaked , come inside and change mittens and go out again . Peyton really likes to play with the icicles and eat snow . Zach will sit in one spot and just pick up handfuls of snow and shift it back and forth , he will make the occasional snow angel too .

Lonnie and Peyton built a snow hill in the side yard for sledding and with over 2 feet of snow they were able to make a really big one !

Finger Painting

Some how I took these pics with the intent of posting them and my camera phone must have swallowed them ... So here are a few pics of the kids doing a " wet sensory activity " , which actually led to a bath for Zach so he had 2 "wet" experiences in one day . On a normal day I schedule sensory activities for mid morning . I start getting my supplies gathered after breakfast but before I take Peyton to school . This was the day that changed that routine , Peyton all of a sudden came down with a stomach ache as soon as she saw the paints . So we compromised ... I told her we would wait till she got home to paint and she made her stomach ache magically disappear ! Kids are really powerful people . ... when they want to be . Girls in particular .

Good Bye to DDI ....

Today we say good bye to all the great people at DDI Vantage . Zach will be going to the district preschool after the Christmas break . I just wanted to take a moment to express my eternal gratitude to everyone at DDI . When I think back over the last 10 months and all the progress he has made as a result of this amazing program I get emotional . It has been a really busy and sometimes stressful road , but I wouldn't change a minute of it . I turned to DDI for help when I felt like I had tried all the tricks in my tool box and nothing was changing . I now feel like I have a tool box full of tricks and resources to move forward with great success ! Thank you to all ....

Heather , Christy , Molly , Jamie , Megan , Karen , Chrissy , Shea , Nichole .... You have all been so helpful , You have given me my little boy back and for that I can never say thank you enough!

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 .