Hello everyone !!!

Hi everybody...I know, it's been awhile since my last post and I do apologize for that. It has been non-stop craziness around here. Lots of Early Intervention, colds, allergies, Doctor appointments, and so on. I've also been trying to squeeze in some work on the weekends for a little extra money. We had Ryan's IEP meeting and it went okay. Not great, not horrible...just okay. He did get a full day program, but will start off the school year with NO integrated classroom time.. Ryan will be spending the entire day in a DS (Developmental Support) room. We will meet with the school 2 weeks after the school year starts to discuss whether he is ready at that point for any integrated class time. Then we'll meet again at 4 weeks. After that, I will either meet with or call his teacher every week to see if he is ready. We DO NOT want even 1 week going by that Ryan is ready to be in an integrated classroom and he is not in one...at least for part of the day. Ryan also did not receive as much speech therapy as John and I (and also the EI folks) would liked to have seen. He also will not be getting any pull out OT services to start off the year. Ryan has not even started school yet, and I just feel like we are facing an uphill battle. It looks like we are going to have to fight tooth and nail to get him that services that he so desperately needs. It makes me feel so helpless and angry. Why does it have to be this way ? I don't get it folks...I really don't. Anyways, talking about this gets me all worked up, so I'm going to change the subject.

Ryan continues to make progress with EI and BB (Building Blocks). Most of the time, he's much better about being able to communicate his wants and needs. However, we have been seeing more self stimulatory behavior (mostly hand flapping and humming) from him. As a parent, this is truly heartbreaking to see. He'll get into this "zone" with the hand flapping and humming and is in his own little world. He can be re-directed at times, but it requires some effort. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little...it just depends on his mood.

On a positive note, we recently purchased a nice swing set for Ryan and Natalie. They both LOVE IT and love being outside in general. Ryan really enjoys climbing up the ladder and going down the slide. Both Ryan and Natalie enjoy the swings also. Ryan is just so happy when he is outside and on the swing set. It brings John and myself a great deal of joy to see him as happy as he is when he is playing on it. He seems to smile, laugh, communicate, and interact so much more during these times. He actually cries and has a fit when it's time to go inside. Ryan also loves animals, especially dogs and rabbits. This is another instance where we see his communication skills really increase. We have been really trying to maximize his outdoor time and exposure to animals, as we feel that this is of great benefit to him. One of our favorite family activities is to take Ryan and Natalie here. Best of all, it's free...unless, of course, you wind up adopting a pet !!!

Natalie is doing well and continues to be, well...Natalie. She is as chatty and noisy as ever. Her favorite word is "Hi" and her favorite thing to do is to wave as she is saying it. She also loves to say "yeah" and clap while she is saying it. She is crawling, preferring to use the commando (army style) of crawling. She is trying to stand on her own and will hang on to things when someone assists her in standing up. Natalie is a very social little girl who is always smiling and laughing. She's eating mostly regular food now, and we are just trying to use up the last of the baby food.

So that's what has been going on around here. I'll try to post some updated pictures of the kids and the new swing set in the next couple of days. Hugs and kisses to all !!!