SORRY .

It has been a while since I wrote an update , so this morning seemed like the best time to do it .
We have had a bunch of triumphs and a few tribulations over the last few months . I will start with Peyton . She has changed classes and is now loving her new teacher . Peyton is in tutoring 2 mornings a week and that seems to have helped with her confidence levels .Her teacher says she is a day dreamer .... NOT my kid ! She is probably dreaming of shoes knowing her . Lonnie has signed up to be Peyton's T-ball coach again this season , although I beleive at this age they call it Coach pitch . Peyton is counting the days till her birthday and her party the following Saturday , which happens to be the day of her first T-ball game .. so that should be a fun filled busy day . SOOO April 18th at our house FREE cake ! Time it TBA . We baught a bounce house castle and huge water slide for her party , hopefully it isnt snowing ! IT is spring isnt it ?

So on to Zach , he has been in Preschool for a few months now and he is loving it ! His teacher's name is Miss Jenni ... which he can say , but it sounds like he is channelling Forrest Gump .His aide's name is Miss Tiffany and he really likes her , he calls her all the time on his pretend cell phone . . Zach was FINALLY approved for SSI so he is officially disabled in the State's eyes and with that he now gets Medicaid ... and thank goodness for it becuase he needs to have a very expensive surgery soon . We go in to see the Neuro Surgeon on April 20th for a consultation , and more than likely he will be in for surgery before the end of May . I will try to update here as I get information . His language skills are still hovering around 70 ish words that I can understand , it turns out much less that others can understand . With his Medicaid I can now get him back into therapy that he needs to help him along his path , and they will pay for diapers ! And hopefully a new bigger stroller , his was only made to hold up to 30 lbs and 30 inches ... he is obviously much bigger than that .

Lonnie is now a foreman at Burton Lumber and also still does some design work in the office for them . I have recently started online courses to become an Occupations Therapy Aide and then I hope to go to the community college to be an Certefied Occupationa Therapy Assistant .

That is all for now I have to get Peyton to school .

Zach's first day of preschool.....

Today was the long awaited first day of preschool . I was so nervous that he was going to cry and scream .He has been kind of sick this week , with a double ear infection and a nasty cough . I almost didn't send him to school , but am glad I did . Because exactly the opposite happened , as soon as the teacher opened the class doors he nearly knocked them over running in the class . He was very happy to be back to class , he hung up his back pack gave me a hug [at my request] and went off to play . When I picked him up he had had a great day ... no crying and he used all his signs and words just like I hoped he would . His teachers said he was a great example for the other kids to follow and a great addition to the class ! On the down side his best friend Natalia did not end up being in his class like we had originally thought , although I am not sure he even noticed .My anxiety and trepidation about the district preschool program is greatly reduced .

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 !