Happy Valentine's Day!

First off I want to tell everyone Happy Valentine's Day! It has been way too long since I last updated Noah's blog, but things have been rather unusual around here. Noah's daddy and I have both been hosptitalized with health issues amongst other things that have been keeping us on our toes. Our computer was also down for a time which made it hard to blog. But I am back now and hope to blog regularly about my little munchkin!

Surgery
There is so much to catch up on that I am not sure where to start. First Noah had surgery back on November 8th. It was nothing major and he did really well. He is completely recovered and back to his old self. He will be going in for dental surgery sometime in April, so we'll see how that goes.

IEP
We had Noah's latest IEP meeting during the first week of December. It was pretty much what we expected. Noah still receives OT, PT and ST. The only major difference from his last IEP is that his aide is only part-time now instead of full-time. I guess that is a good change, but I'm not really sure. I was really concerned when the director first approached me about it, but she assured me that if Noah needed her the aide would be there for him. We agrreed to the new set up and so far things are going along. I won't say things are going well, but they are going okay.

Potty-Training
Noah is officially potty-trained since last summer! I am so happy and proud of him. He just did it on his own. We gave up trying to pressue him and he just sort of started going on the potty. I know how hard it can be to potty-train our kids, so I am very thankful that Noah is potty-trained at 5.

This Crazy Life

Life has really gotten the best of me lately. Needless to say I have been terribly neglectful in visiting other's blogs and even more neglectful in updating my own blog. There has been so much going on that I don't even know where to start.

Noah's daddy was admitted to the hospital on Nov. 29th. He has an autoimmune disease, and he let things get a little out of hand. He was able to come home on Dec. 6th, which was also Noah's 4th birthday.

Noah finally turns 4!!

Unfortunately, our neighbor's house caught fire and burned down on the same day. Luckily, she was at work and her beloved dog made it out fine. Unfortunately, her three beloved cats did not. So we did not have much of a birthday celebration. Noah opened his presents and took a treat to school for his friends, but other than that it was pretty much a blah kind of day.

Now that he is 4, Noah thinks he is a big boy and we have taken full advantage of the situation to really push the potty training  issue. It's still hit and miss, but it is slowly improving.

He got his Wii!
Unfortunately, he's having some trouble figuring it out and hasn't touched it much since he opened it!

Our town also suffered a real tragedy on December 9th. I live in a fairly small town with a population of about 13,000. Everyone either knows or knows of everyone else. An acquaintance that I graduated from hight school with lost 3 of her children in a house fire. Our whole community was really rocked by the loss of three little ones. They were only 7, 6, and 3 years old. Today was the funeral and the whole community is still in mourning. 

Today was also Noah's last day of school until after the holidays and they had the Christmas party and program. This was really fun. Noah had a really good time. He actually participated in the program. This was no easy accomplishment. After the program was finished his aide let me know how close Noah came to sitting out in the hall during the program. Apparently he was having some problems during the rehearsal earlier. Thankfully, he worked through his sensory stuff with his aide and was able to participate. Here's a little video. Sorry about the quality, but my camera isn't the greatest when you zoom in.

He really had fun. And did I mention how much I love his aide this year? She is great with him!



After the program we went back to the classroom to do a craft and see a special visitor. Noah is finally "getting" the whole Santa thing this year.

He even sat on Santa's lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas. I can't believe how much he has grown over the last year.

Noah also had his annual IEP while Dave was in the hospital, but that's a whole other post! 

Halloween Rewind

I sound like a scratched record when I say that things have been crazy busy around here! I've been stressing over Noah's upcoming IEP and spending way too much time analyzing every piece of information that I have to prepare. I'm not sure why I am stressing this one so much, but I am. Anyways, we had a wonderful Halloween this year. We went trick or treating three times and I think Noah actually said, "trick or treat" exactly once. LOL I also helped out in his classroom during their Halloween party. Here are a few pictures from Halloween week.



This is Noah at our city's Mardi Gras parade. Noah likes parade for about the first 10 minutes, then he is ready to go home.



Classroom Halloween party! He had a blast!

Noah loved his cupcake and was the first one to finish!

The class planted "magic seeds" the day before and went outside to see if they grew. Noah was slightly taken aback when he realized that the pumpkins were not in the exact location that they planted the seeds in. It took some fancy footwork by his aide and I to convince him that the seeds must have gotten blown by the wind to a different spot. (Have I ever mentioned that my kid is a perfectionist that forgets nothing?)

The seeds were originally planted where Noah is.

I found a magic pumpkin!!

Then they decorated their pumpkins.

Getting ready for Trick or Treat!

Trick or Treating!

Noah Story: I had a blast helping out in his classroom! I was blessed to witness one of the many milestones this year. After the pumpkin hunt and snack, Noah's teacher decided that the kids needed to release some energy. She played some music and had the kids stand up and dance. Noah joined in! Now for those that don't know, last year Noah would not have been able to handle this. He would have needed headphones or even had to leave the room. And there was no way he would have participated with his peers. This year he is actively participating! And no headphones! I am so proud of him. Here's a video. It's a little long, but it sure is cute!

(((editor's note: I can't seem to get the video loaded yet, but I will try again tomorrow!)))

The Pick-Up

My watch reads 2:23 as I pull into the half-empty parking lot of the local County Board of Developmental Disabilities. I’m early. I brace myself and, holding my breath, head into the building. Pick-ups are always nerve wracking. As I pass the office, the secretary calls out, “Hi Michelle!” I smile and return her greeting. She must sense my anxiety because she looks at me and says, “I didn’t hear anything today.” I heave a huge sigh of relief. “That’s great,” I say (and looking up silently whisper “Thank you”).

I make my way into the area that houses the classrooms and play areas. As I enter the play center, I am greeted by the sight of 14 little ones lined up in a neat little row dressed in their cute little hats and coats. They have just come in from playing outside and are waiting their turn at the drinking fountain. A quick glimpse tells me that, yes, this is Noah’s class. I scan the heads of the little ones, looking for that unmistakable red Lightning McQueen hat that Noah wears to school EVERY day, but I can’t seem to find it…..at first.

My eyes come to rest on Noah’s aide. She turns to her right, and there off to the side of the group, is my sweet little boy. I feel tears start to well up. He is standing alone, halfway into the speech therapist’s office,. He is staring fixatedly at the fluorescent light in the ceiling. He doesn’t even seem to notice that I have entered the room, but his little “friends” have. Almost in unison, cries of “Noah! Your mommy’s here! Noah!” rise up from the line of 3-year-olds. Still Noah doesn’t seem to notice. Finally, his aide kneels down and touches Noah on the shoulder. She speaks to him and after a few seconds he looks up. “Mama! You’re here!” he cries and comes running to me. I pick him up and squeeze him for all that I am worth. He pulls away, looks at me with those beautiful eyes and says, “I need to go home.” As new tears spring to my eyes, I reply “Okay, Noni. We’re going home.”