Thursday, August 27, 2009

No Tears

Even after the morning woes Zach had a great day at school.......

I am happy to say he had NO crying AT ALL today while at school YIPPEE!!!! That makes me feel so good! Especially after the morning we had with him.

Now if only we could have his afternoons at home go more smoothly, but I guess that is going to take some adjusting.

Morning Woes

Yesterday was the start of the Morning Woes......as Zach did not want to go to school. He did end up going and his day went okay. He however didn't participate in circle time, instead he cried. That is okay this was day 3 of school and the first time he did not participate. I believe there will be more days like that in the ,after all can you tell me anyone who hasn't had an off day in their life.

This mornings woe was major crying and not being able to communicate verbally - this always happens lately when his SPD is kicking in. He was able to get out basically that he had no intention of going to school and wanted to stay home. That was followed by "Mommy doh ool?" I reminded him that this was his time to have fun with his teachers and new friends.........this was when the crying really became worse.

Daddy came to the rescue and took Zach to change his diaper and put on his shoes. As they were in Zach's room the bus passed the house, when Zach saw the bus he exclaimed "da bus! da bus! dime do doh"

He walked onto the bus all by himself with a big smile! It was nice to see and even better to hear the aid and driver say how nice it is that he is always so happy ---- HAHAHA if they had only been in our house 5 minutes earlier to witness the Zach we see so often.

Morning Woes.......I'm sure there will be plenty -- nothing that a good, hot cup of coffee won't fix!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Happy To Report

Zach Napping @ School

Things are going smoothly around here!


Zach is adjusting well to school - he is good for them and a crab apple when he gets home. I guess that is a plus for his teachers. He has gotten on the bus the past 3 mornings with little to no fussing. I think his favorite part of the morning is waving to the bus as it drives down our court to turn around and pick him up. We had a couple glitches with the bus being late 3 times - but I'm happy to report it was on time this morning.


I am happy to report --- as far as while he is at school his teachers and nurses report he is doing great! He has had a couple of moments, but what kid doesn't. I'm so happy he is transitioning better then I thought he would, just goes to show I should give him a little more credit.


Zach even had his first homework assignment. He has helped to answer the questions, now I'm just trying to get him to decorate the pages for me.....he wants nothing to do with coloring on them. We have until Monday to hand it in.


I was able to go to school yesterday to pick him up....that will be our normal Tuesday afternoon since he still must go to therapy for ST and OT. I volunteered to be photo mom for his class, I took my camera and got some cute pics of the kids sleeping. I'm so happy to report Zach naps without being confined in a playpen!!!! I thought for sure this would be a challenge. He has had a hard time around nap time but Mrs. M has been wonderful and rocks him then lays him on his mat --- he falls asleep there YIPPEE!!!!!!


I'm also happy to report........Zoe is having the time of her life so far! She LOVES 1st grade, even the homework ;-)


All in all I'm Happy To Report --- Life is good and the struggles are well worth it!!!!!!!

Monday, August 24, 2009

First Day of 1st Grade

see my big bag...it is for all my homework
Happy to be going back to school

Mom I'm ready!

My baby girl no longer wants to be my baby as she reminded me today getting ready for school "Mom I am not a baby anymore, I am in 1st grade now!"

First Day of School: Zach

the bus the driver and aid seem so sweet and caring

Zach on the bus: his seat is the first seat right behind the bus driver

waiting

I'm ready now

More waiting: my bag is as big as me!
Today is Zach's very first day of school. Many of you who keep up with me know that Zach is starting ESE Pre-K through our public school system. He will be 3 in September but because of his social delays they decided to start him on the first day of school in hopes he will do better this way.
Zach's day started very early --- 6:15am. He asked me to open his blinds so he could see outside and told me "Mommy not morning yet?!?! It dark outdare" I told him he will be able to see the sun rise while he was getting his feed. As the sun was coming out he said to me "dee Mommy dare da dun, it is morning now" He did good waking so early.

We waited and waited for the bus......it was running late, but finally did show up. Zach was such
a brave big boy. I carried him onto the bus (the steps are as tall as his legs) and the aid put him in his seat. What a brave big boy he was - no tears were shed and he didn't seem to be shutting down as I was stepping off the bus.

I can't wait to hear how the rest of his first day at school went - I was so proud of him this morning!!!!!
My baby is growing up!!!!!!!!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Quick Zachary Update

We have some positive news and some very unsure of what is happening news.........

Drum Roll Please...................................................



Zachary has graduated out of PT just in time to start school! When he started his journey with Ms. Patty he was 2 weeks shy of turning 2 years old. His Gross Motor skills were at a one year old level. He graduated at 2 years 11 months old (one month before his 3rd birthday) -- JUST 1 year in PT........................ and his gross motor skills were at a 3 year 5 month level! This is HUGE news!!!!

He still has hypotonia, some issues with walking, and some new regressing issues with catching a ball. I was told to keep an eye on him and if anything becomes more of a concern he needs to come back. His PT also really would like him checked by his orthopedic doc and his neurologist just to be sure there is nothing more going on with him. She thought for now it was okay to discharge him into the care of the schools.

His OT has been working on visual tracking because of his poor eye contact. As she has been doing that we are noticing more visual issues occurring. He becomes very agitated and shuts down, blinks, or rubs his eyes. If he has been doing a lot of work with tracking he will come home and nap ----- LOOOOOOOOOOOONG naps upwards of 5+ hours, with me needing to wake him.

Ms Jerry is unsure if this is happening because of poor eyesight or because of his SPD.
I have set him up with his ophthalmologist for September 25th but I am hoping for a cancellation to get him in sooner..........the longer this is going on the worse he is becoming. Today, for example he seemed like he was on total overload after doing some visual work with a computer, he started shutting down, drooling, licking his hand, not being able to verbalize what was happening, crying to the point of not breathing. It took his SLP to pick him up, remove him from the situation by putting him in a little tent area and turning off the lights in the room. It was awful to see..........not only was I concerned, Ms Kristin was worried, and I could see a frightened look on Zoe's face as she watched what was happening around her.

I have to say it has been a while since I have cried at therapy......today wore me out, I cried I couldn't hold back --- watching Zach struggle is so hard to do at times......no parent should have to watch their child go threw the struggles we have seen. Please don't get me wrong....Zachary has come a very long way and I am so very thankful for the progress he has made but all that progress doesn't stop the worry of regression, the worry of further progress. I think today was worse for me because of getting him ready for school -- so much going on right now, so many emotions and worries.

Zach starts school on Monday --- I'm sure I'll be blogging then with pics too ;-)

Getting Things Together

Today is Thursday which of course you all know means tomorrow is Friday.
Friday for us is Meet The Teacher day for both of the kids.

Zoe is excited she already knows where her classroom is because it is across from where her kindergarten class was. She thinks she knows the teacher and says she knew twins who had her last year. So far we only know of one other child who is in the class with her. She has been separated from all of her friends this year, but is looking forward to meeting new ones. Zoe and I have been checking out her teachers website - it is GREAT, she seems so together and organized. She already has up homework and test dates. Zoe loves it and has been going over everything --- she is already for her first test September 4th.

Zach, well, I'm not 100% he is really grasping what is about to happen. He already knows his teacher, so no worries there. Although he will also have 2 other teachers in the room he will have to get to know. Right now the class has 10 children in it and hopefully 1 more will be coming soon -- I say this because it is my friends daughter and I think it will be good for the kids and us moms. The children will be a large challenge for him. We took his school supplies on Tuesday up to his room so he could see it with just the teacher and no children. We meet the nurses that day too and I got to go over all his medical information with them. I finally got the bus schedule for Zachary.....he will be on the bus for 35 minutes each way. Monday we are jumping into everything........bus, school..........it will be a huge transition day for Zach.

Fingers crossed all goes as planned. I think things are coming together okay right now.

Monday, August 17, 2009

In One Week......

In one week my baby girl will be in first grade.
In one week my little boy will be starting school and in the ESE Pre-K.
In one week I will be putting both my kids onto the bus with a kiss and a hug.
In one week the buses will leave and I will have tears.
In one week they will be away from me for a full day.
In one week they will be away from each other in different schools.
In one week my hope is they will be having fun.
In one week my house will be quiet.
In one week I may just need to sit by the pool and relax, take a deep breath and breathe knowing...................
In one week I will be kid free during the day time.
What will I do with all this time that is fast approaching me in one week?!?!?

Thursday, August 6, 2009

17 Days Until ESE Pre-K Starts

This week was spent going to some doctors appointments (allergist, pediatrician) to get paperwork ready for school and of course therapy -- as usual.

When Zach turns 3 his EI services are over and we will officially have to figure out how to keep him in therapy. Not only will we have to figure out payment - what insurance doesn't cover, but also time and keeping him with the same wonderful therapists. Their afternoons are already pretty much full - so I'm praying this works out for him. I'm pretty sure I have it all figured out....but as life has proven before you just never know.

Zachary starts school in only 17 more days.

I have been busy getting his school supplies ready, and some new clothes. I've also been very busy trying to explain to him what is going to happen - from being in the classroom to attempting to ride the bus, to the fact he MUST wear shoes, and meet new friends, to the fact Mommy won't be there.

Transitions are very hard for Zach and I'm not sure what he is really comprehending out of this. I'm scared at how the first week or two is going to play out for him. I'm excited at the same time to have him hopefully surprise me and do better then I think he will with the transition.

This is all new to him and new to me sending my "almost" 3 year old to school. Having to explain has not been very easy, partly because I'm not sure what to say and partly because I'm not sure what he is getting out of what I am saying.

I guess in 17 more days we will see if I did a good job explaining this all to him.