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.

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!)))

One Week

I love this picture, although it makes him look so grown up! Where is my little munchkin?



It's been exactly one week since Noah's surgery. Thankfully, he has recovered quite nicely. The first day was a little rough and we spent the whole first day watching Pixar movies. I think he watched Wall-E at least four times! The first night we lovingly refer to as, "The Night from Hades". Medicine was refused, medicine was forced, medicine came right back up. Yuck! After that first day and night, he seemed to improve quickly. He was eating mashed potatoes and playing video games by the second day. This weekend he played some with the girls next door and we had a playdate yesterday with one of his friends from Early Intervention. He hasn't really complained too much. He did say he was sick today and when I asked him if his throat hurt, he said yes. I gave him some pain medicine and he has done fine since.

Mama, on the other hand, is going a little crazy. :)

I am really looking forward to his returning to school next Monday. I love Noah to pieces, but I am really close to reaching my breaking point. I think I am due for a few hours away from my munchkin. I know that I am truly blessed that Noah is as verbal and high functioning as he is, but sometimes the incessant chatter and repetitiveness is overwhelming. He's also developed some vocal stims, mainly when he is playing video games. And I am so sick of Transformers I could just scream. I swear if Noah askes me to "make Bumblebee a robot" or "make Optimus Prime a truck" one more time, I'm leaving home! LOL

Of course, I kid (sort of). Actually, he's been really good considering all that he has gone through. He's been a little whinier than normal and more picky when it comes to eating, but he's really done well. I think that I am just out of practice. I am not used to having him 24/7 since he started school. I guess this is good practice for this summer, as I have major doubts that the district will offer summer services.

Speaking of this summer, Noah's dad and I are trying to find some activities for Noah to be involved in. His OT thinks that Noah would benefit from some social activities. I am all for social activities. The only problem is finding some that are geared toward three-year-olds. All the YMCA activities are for four years and up. I'm sure we will do story time at the local library and probably Families in the Park if it is offered. Our support group is planning some trips to the zoo and things like that. So we have a few ideas, but nothing really scheduled. Anybody have any other ideas?

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.”

Whining

Noah's sleeping. The house is quiet. I should be napping with him. The last two weeks have been a roller coaster ride. Up, down, around. In, out, and back again. Do I sound bitter, or what? And it really hasn't been that bad. It's just.....been.

Noah had two REALLY good weeks at school. We had two reports. Minor things really. Last week, he got the "quiet as a mouse" award. Huh? My kid? Big surprise there. On Thursday, less than 20 minutes after dropping him off at school, we got a call from the school nurse. "Noah has a fever of 100.2 and he's really whiny. He just wants to be held and rocked. Could you come get him?" She also went on to tell us how good he is about taking his medicine for her at lunch (he takes 3 meds at lunch). She said that if she is late getting there, he is waiting on her. Pretty cute, but pretty sad too. When I picked him up, he was grabbing his throat and saying his mouth hurt. He ran a fever of about 102 Thursday and Friday. On Friday night, his fever hit 104. Needless to say, we ended up in the ER. He has tonsillitis. Wonderful. He is doing better now. No fever yesterday or today. I'm just worried about all the antibiotics he has been on lately. Poor kid.

He has been on hiatus from PT and OT the last two weeks. Apparently he hit his limit of OT/PT visits for the year. His new year doesn't start until April 29th. I think we have everything worked out and he should be able to start back on Tuesday. It has been so sad to go to his speech appointments because we have to drive past his OT and PT building and Noah always cries and says, "I wanna go see Noelle. I want Noelle." He really loves his OT. He's even been asking about Miss Laurie, his PT. Can't wait to see his reaction when he sees Noelle again.

I know being sick and the change in routine and not feeling well is really getting to him. He is so cranky and irritable. He's been crying way more than usual and has been more aggressive toward himself and others. He's back to hitting himself or the dog or me when he is upset. He's also back to head-butting and head banging. I was so sure we had seen the last of those. I just want things to get back to our normal. I just want my little guy to be the happy kid I am used to having around.

We had a support group meeting on Monday. It was nice. I love those people. They are like a second family to me. This journey would be so much harder without the wonderful people that I have met online and through the support group, Thanks for being here.

Random Stuff

First I want to say thank you for all the wonderful advice on the toilet training topic. You are all great!

Noah has had an awesome week. His therapy sessions went better than I had expected. He even reached a few milestones.

Physical Therapy
Noah had PT last Tuesday and his therapist, Miss Laurie, finally got Noah to jump. With both feet off the ground at the same time! We all cheered (even Noah). He was so pleased with himself.

Occupational Therapy
On Friday we saw Noelle, his OT. I, once again, brought up the issue with him not walking outside when there is snow on the ground. She was already prepared. She and Noah took their shoes off and stuck their feet in bins of different things (rice, corn, beans). Noah actually seemed to enjoy it. Then, Noelle covered the floor in shaving cream and they walked in that. Noah LOVED this. I was really surprised because he is normally a neat freak. Then, she brought in a HUGE bin of snow from outside. Noah was a little hesitant, but eventually they made snowballs and snowmen. Finally, we all went outside and played in the snow! Noah actually didn't seem to mind it much. At least he didn't ask to be carried. So far, so good. (He does still want carried into school, but I think that is more of a separation issue.)

Speech Therapy
Noah saw Miss Emily on Friday, too. He did really well. We are still working on sequencing and wh-questions. Noah did something that surprised us, though. At the end of his sessions, Noah always wants to play with the bubbles (sound familiar?) and usually he gets rather upset when he has to put them away. Miss Emily always gives him a warning and says, "one more time and then we are all done". When she was done instead of crying, Noah looked at her and said, "We're all done. Time to go. " Neither of us could believe it! I was so proud of him!

School
School was closed all last week (and most of the week before) because of the snow, so I was kind of nervous about how he would handle going back after over a two-week hiatus. I shouldn't have worried. He did cry when I dropped him off Monday and had to be carried into his classroom, but when I picked him up his aide and teacher both said that he had a great day. On the way home, I was looking through his valentines with him and asking him, "do you like E? Do you play with N?" things like that. When I asked him, "Do you play with K?" Noah looked at me and said, "He beat Noah. He beat my back. He said sorry." Oh My!! This about floored me. Normally, Noah doesn't share anything about school. I can't believe how far he has come.

Yesterday was even better. When I picked him up his teacher told me that he had the best day so far! He even asked to go potty and used the toilet like everyone else. (He made somewhat of a mess, but who cares!) Everyone was so excited for him! He has went two days without any behavior reports being sent home. I think that's a record for him!

I was really worried when he first started that so many hours at school would be too much (he goes 5 1/2 hrs a day, 4 days a week), but he seems to be really thriving and making huge gains there. I miss him when he is at school, but I guess I have to do what is best for him. He just seems so little!

So, as you can see, this has been a really good week. Can't wait to see what the next week brings!