Official Press Release!

LONG FAMILY CO. ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECT

Started in a small apartment in Norwood, MA the Long-Ryer partnership officially began.  Working hard to complete their first project the Long-Ryer Wedding (2011) it took 2 years for them to truly bring their vision to life.  It was a shock to everyone when they announced their first expansion soon afterwards.  The expansion Player 3 was announced to the media in August of 2011.  This was quickly followed by the expansion Homeowners and the eventual release of Player 3 to the public on March 3rd 2012, later dubbed Grayson. 

For a while now there has been some speculation of the companies next project, but often the releases of smaller dlc's (or downloadable content) such as New Job, Maternity Leave and New Career seemed to take the focus of the company's main goal of yet another fully released expansion pack.  This year at E3, the largest gaming conference it was a shock to fans when the Long Co. had announced they would be attending as well as presenting.

Fans and members of the media alike all gathered around expecting to see yet another list of updates with no real definition.  Imagine their surprise when the company's creators welcomed them with opened arms and showed them the newest addition to their already full gaming schedule.  

Ladies and Gentlemen we here at the Long Family are pleased to announce our newest expansion, schedule for release January 2016.......PLAYER 4! 

For those of you unsure of what this means.....scroll down!!!!

 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
*No really I swear it's worth it!!*
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V
 |
V

Grayson is gonna be a big brother and we are all so excited to share it with you all!!

Drive-ins, school and potty training

We've had a busy few weeks, we took Grayson to his first drive ins.  We also broke in the cargo space in my new car which I gotta say it's living up to its name.  We all had a wonderful time!  For those of you in the Metro West area in MA you all have to go to the Mendon drive in.  I have been to a lot of drive ins in my time and this is by far some of the best food I've ever had.  The fried dough had Wally and I wanting to drive back so I could walk down to the concession stand and we could take it home!

Grayson handing out in the trunk.  Yes that is the mattress from his bed.  He made it through the minions and promptly passed out during intermission.

Gray and Wally hanging out when we first got there.  While Gray appreciated us bringing him his own chair he preferred stealing our chairs instead.


Grayson has completed week 2 of school.  He seems to be loving it, though sadly we haven't been getting a lot of feed back from the school program itself.  His new ABA is wonderful (though I haven't had a chance to meet her) but everyone else says she is great.  He will continue with BEACON through the summer despite them having some insurance issues which basically means they just found out that Wally got a new job and with it new insurance.  Now that we have solved that problem, he will have 2 ABA sessions every Monday and one on Fridays, as well as school in the morning on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and ABA in the afternoon.  I know it seems busy but the language and the words are all coming along and it's clearly proving to be working.

Potty training has been an adventure for all those involved.  We've had some really big set backs recently (a stomach bug about a week ago put everything on hold).  He was having a really hard time at the beginning of the week but I am super super happy to say that Grayson has gone since Thursday without a single pee accident and only 1 bm accident!!! This is the best that he has done, he's starting to request the potty when he needs it and he is staying dry over 2 hours at a time.  I think we might finally have reached a solid point in this whole adventure.

Otherwise not much else is going on.  A few small adjustments are keeping us one our toes, this week we will have to start introducing different food options for Grayson to start taking for lunch come September.  As most schools are we are peanut free so I am having to begin the process of trying almond butter to hopefully find something he will enjoy.  We will also be trying out different lunch meats and a few other options.  Otherwise he will have an abundance of snack for lunch due to his list of preferences.

I hope the summer is treating you all well! Thanks for reading.

Sometimes things just slip away.

We've had a busy few months lately, my apologies as always for leaving everyone in the lurch.  Grayson has made it through his last day of school, which ended June 23rd.  He wasn't really ready for it to end though, as the next morning we had a melt down at the door way when he discovered he didn't need his backpack.  He will start the summer session this week, which runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:30-11:30.  The bus will again be picking him up at daycare and taking him in.  I know he loves his time at daycare, but I can tell he's missing his time at school and learning.

Wally and I are still doing the classic same old same old.   I had last week off from school, we run all year round so we get one week off at the end of June/beginning of July (to symbolize our end of the school year) and then another week in August to kick off the end of summer session and head into the fall school year.  We are going to be adding some more students, training some new teachers and sadly losing a few as well.  It's going to be a lot of transitions for us at school, but I'm excited to experience them all.  Wally is still loving his job and rocking it as well.  His office is wonderful to him and he is always busy which is a great thing. 

Grayson got to hang out with his cousins this weekend in New York and it's always wonderful to see them all together.  Him and Logan spent some time in the pool at my dad's house, Grayson has turned into a total fish thanks to his swim lessons and he gets stronger everytime he's in the pool.  Wally and I got to take him to the outdoor center near us today for a little bit and he loved it, especially since he's now able to touch the ground in the middle pool so this means more time in the big pool. 

The summer will only be getting more and more exciting as it goes on, especially with our wonderful little man who is so eager to do anything and everything.   Lots of updates are sure to come as we have some other big plans going on in the house and elsewhere.  I'll keep you all up to date.  For now I want to introduce you all to my new pretty car we got.  It was decided that maybe 162,000 miles is a few miles too many for a mitsubishi lancer and we had to trade my old girl in for this lovely lady.  I was worried at first but it has been a very easy and pleasant transition.  The second picture is my handsome little man test driving a Suburu STI...he appears to have very good taste. :)

See you all soon!!! 

We are all mothers...

I'm not entirely sure when it happened.  I'm not sure when the Internet became our greatest weapon.  I don't know if it's mothers or women as a whole that have done this to ourselves or if it's just a weakness of mankind.  What I do know is that we have one of the greatest jobs in the world and if we don't start supporting one another we will be tearing each other down before it begins.

I am a working mother.  There I said it.  Not like you didn't all know, but just in case.  I tried the stay at home mom thing.  I can't do it.  I put on 30 lbs of the lost baby weight that breastfeeding took away, I got bored cleaning my house and staring at a sleeping baby.  I wanted to learn, to create, to GO BACK TO WORK!  That being said I have lots of friends who are stay at home mom's.   Some of them do daycare (our wonderful daycare was created because she's a stay at home mom).  Some of them just absorb themselves into their children.  I love them for their ability to do it.  I wish I could.

Now I'm about to say something that will truly blow your mind.  We are all good mothers!

OK take a step back from that. 

As a working mom it is all too often that you are made to feel like you are missing out, you don't love your child enough and you can't handle "raising" them so you give them to someone else.  I love my daycare lady but I'm pretty sure she isn't the one that has been sitting up reading multiple reports about my child, learning the ins and outs of IEP's and what my son deserves.  I'm sure if she should ever need to though she will.    That being said, all to often stay at home mom's are asked what they do all day.  How do they contribute to the house? When will they return to work just so the rest of us stop feeling bad?   Have you looked at the cost of daycare for just 1 child?  Have you ever really looked at it? Daycare is seriously stupid expensive!  Now Grayson has never been in anything but in home daycares.  The price tends to be cheaper, he tends to get more attention despite his calm, relaxed personality and he's never lost in the sea of other louder children.

But this is not a rant on daycares.  This is a rant on us, as mother's.   We are all GOOD MOTHERS!

I was recently on a potty training post for Baby Center.  It was one of their infamous lists of things you could do to make potty training easier.  I didn't agree with at least 2 of them, but that's only because they don't apply to my child. As I'm scrolling through the comments I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  Mom's from all over the country, fighting about the fact that some 4 years olds still aren't potty trained.  Talking down to mom's who are struggling along with their child through potty training.  Schooling working mom's on not being enough of a mom to be able to make it happen faster. 

I think it's great if you are able to get your child to potty train by the age of 2.  For the record though, this isn't a race.  You will not get an award for your child being able to pee on a potty before mine.  I mean I'll probably give you a good old fashioned pat on the back because my child wasn't ready and diapers are seriously expensive.  But no college is gonna look at our children and say "Let's go with little Johnny, his mother potty trained him early!"  As you all know Grayson is still potty training.  We are getting close, he's starting to go #2 more frequently on the potty.  We are spending less time doing dirty laundry from daycare.  It's going well. 

Until you walk in another mom's shoes, don't take the joy out of the hurdles she's overcome!  We are ALL GOOD MOTHERS!

My last and final rant is about this latest obsession with C-sections.  The whole if you had a C-section you just aren't mom enough.  Ok ....seriously??? Did you have a baby?  Did you adopt a baby and give it a loving home?  Are you taking the best possible care of that baby and helping it grow, teaching it all you can about being a loving, gentle human being?  Congratulations!  YOU ARE A MOM! Whew. I'm glad we cleared that up.  I would hate for someone to think that because I go an epidural at 2 inches, due to the fact that I was vomiting every contraction during my 12 hour labor would make me less of a mom.  I would hate that someone would think my friend with back problems who had to go through 2 c-sections for her beautiful son and daughter without even being given the option to push wasn't a mom.   I would hate for that woman down the hall, screaming in pain the morning before my son was born who really wanted a natural birth wasn't a mom.

We ARE ALL GOOD MOTHERS!!

This Mother's Day, after you've called your mom and hugged your kids, please just try something.  Instead of looking on the Internet and seeing a post by another mom and thinking, wow she really is doing it wrong, or man I'm so glad I don't live her life.  Take two seconds and just let that mom know you are there.  You are supporting her in this crazy adventure called motherhood.  You think she's doing it right.  Let's try and make Mother's day about supporting each other and stop tearing each other down.   Let's be be honest, we're aren't going to change the world, but in reality we are shaping it.  With that I wish you all a wonderful, blessed Mother's day, and please just remember...

WE ARE ALL GOOD MOTHERS!

Star of the Week

Our little man was Star of the Week, which while it seems like something super cool for him it ends up being a way for the school to get supplies from parents.  But regardless, it was our little man's turn.   I had already arranged to have a half day from work on Friday due to his extended evaluation follow up so I just made it work out double duty and I was able to come in an observe him in his class, read a story to them all and get to see my little man in action. 

Let me just say I am one proud momma! Grayson is doing unbelievably in his class.  The first thing I got to watch was them all getting ready to go to the playground, being the Star of the week allows him to be the first to go out to the playground and he gets to pick his partner as well.  He very clearly chose his friend Abby and off him and this adorable little brunette skipped to the door.  He was super excited for me to be there and I think it limited a lot of his activities on the playground.  But he was climbing up structures I didn't know he knew how to.  He engaged with his peers, was eager to play with them. 

From there we headed into centers and I got to watch him play a game with his peers and the speech teacher.  He was very engaged with her and the game (a Snakes version of Chutes and Ladders).  He loved rolling this big fuzzy dice  across the floor and I am finally understanding where the phrases "I got it!" and " I did it!" have come from.  From there we headed to another center in which they read a book about mom's and while I think he enjoyed the book it seemed to just make him sleepy, at one point his head was on the table.  The third center they drew pictures and told why they love their mom's.   Grayson definitely was trying to tell his teacher something but neither of us were really able to understand what exactly was coming out of his mouth. 
                                                                                                            (Grayson & Thermaputty)
After centers it was time for his IEP meeting.  This might be the first time my little man has actually gotten sad about me leaving him somewhere.  We had some clingy hugs and lots of requests for "Up!"  but he realized it was snack time and was able to move on.

The meeting went fabulously.  This was to go over the new OT assessment and to go over the further observation from the BCBA. First we had an update from his preschool teacher and his speech teacher, both of who agreed he is doing fantastic.  They have already changed one of his goals on his IEP to focus on his attention to activities versus worrying about his ability to follow the routine and sit for table tasks with a group.  Based on the small observation I had, I completely agreed with them.

The OT believes that he has some really strong fine motor skills and that a lot of them are developing.  She did specifically mention his lack of ability with scissors but also followed it up with a how often do we really introduce 3 year olds to scissors.   She will be adding a 30 minute pull out to his IEP every week.  The BCBA had a lot more information to share.  She quickly reaffirmed what she had stated in the previous IEP meeting, that she wants him there all day.   She wants to begin to do morning sessions with some discreet trial training and to also expand it into some appropriate play, generalizing of all skills and more peer interaction. 

What does this mean for Grayson??  Well starting August 31st (or around there) he will be a full time preschool student.  He will be picked up on the bus around 8:30 arriving to school for 9.  He will then have 3 hours of ABA work followed by lunch and then followed by 2.5 hours in his preschool classroom settings with his peers.  At which point he will promptly return to daycare and fall asleep until we pick him up (I expect we will be keeping naps for quite a while with this schedule now).  It has also been decided that Grayson will be in the summer program which lasts for 1 month from July 7th-August 7th.   He will have preschool class 9-12 and then will follow it up with ABA and that will be 3 days a week.

After a fabulous meeting we then returned to his classroom, where I received a truly wonderful greeting from my little man and we began circle time.  The star got to pick a song to sing, and I finally understood why he keeps running around the house singing sticky sticky bubblegum.   Then I got to read his favorite book Pigs Make Me Sneeze by Mo Williams (seriously if you haven't read these books yet I highly recommend them).  The kids loved it, the teachers enjoyed it, and Grayson was really excited I was there.  Then we took his poster with all his pictures around circle and let all the kids pick their favorite one.  It was an absolutely wonderful       day.  I am so proud of my little guy and the little person he's becoming.

Today, Wally took him to get his hair cut and Grayson not only wore the smock (something that's normally a very big fight) he actually sat through the whole hair cut with no tears and let her use the cutters!!!   As I'm sure you can see from the photos below it was much needed.

In other news, Mother's day is tomorrow.  We are going to the local Animal Shelter and visiting with some baby kittens.  It has been about 8 months since our beautiful girl Sakura passed away.   Her older sister Sashimi has been overly lonely lately and we think it might be time to bring in a new friend.  Wally is really enjoying his job, he's doing very well and working super hard making us all very proud of him.  He will be off to Chicago for the week of the 17th.  I will be taking my first dip into the pool as a working single mom and frankly I'm not looking forward to it.  Thankfully, we have Wally's parents near by if I do get into a jam and my job is very flexible in regards to my afternoon hours so I will be home early most of the days that week.

We will have a mother's day special post early tomorrow, I've been working on it for a while and I plan to share it with you all bright and early.  Have a wonderful weekend!

            Grayson Before                                                                                            Grayson After
                                                           

We survived...sort of

Well our first full week full of changes and adjustments has occured.   It has been a long, grueling frazzling week but we have some how survived.  Wally is loving his job, despite the super early wake up and the longish train ride.  He's been rocking it though, and I'm so proud of him and this new adventure.

Grayson as always, has handled everything we have thrown at him.   He started a new daycare on Monday, I cried walking back to the car, he made me chase him to say goodbye because he was already too busy for me.  He had his first bus ride from daycare to school.  I wish I could provide some feedback from that but he's not really sharing those details yet. 

We have had some bumps in the road, specifically regarding his transportation.  Grayson has ABA every morning 8:30-11:30.   His bus was scheduled for pickup at 11:50 for drop off to school at 12:05.  The plan was that the drop off bus for the AM preschool session, would drop off everyone and then would scoop up Grayson (and only Grayson) on the way back to the school.  From what we have managed to put together, this is not occurring.  Based on some daycare provided accounts, they are arriving at approximately 11:35-11:40.  There have been words provided by the monitor on the bus who picks up my child saying things to the effect of don't make us wait, or late or delay us.  The bus has had children still on it when picking him up, meaning that they are taking him to drop off other children.

After a very stressful, tearful conversation with the woman who runs transportation for the school I discovered she's just as upset about this situation as I am (you know minus the tears).    My son is doing so well with his words, but this is one of the few times I wish he had more words.  I want to know what this monitor person says to him while he's on the bus.   I want to know how long he's sitting on the bus before he can go into preschool.  I want to know how many kids are on the bus when they pick him up and how many of them he has to sit through them getting dropped off.

My son will always handle everything better then me.  I have come to terms with this. I am sure that this bus ride is super exciting for him, I'm sure he flaps and flaps his little arms off as he drives through the town of Medway.  I am sure he cries out "truck, car, red, tree" and a bunch of other words to describe the items he sees on the way.  However, I am willing to bet this not so nice lady isn't looking back at him and smiling, that's she's not replying to him with friendly tones and pointing out other items in the surrounding.  I'm also willing to bet that she's probably not providing him any feedback at all.

This is probably a really unfair assessment to make.  I am absolutely willing to admit I am judging this woman based on a few interactions she has had with my completely wonderful daycare person who I am totally biased towards.  It's entirely possible that this woman is just unable to express herself properly to adults but is fantastic when it comes to children.  I am just taking a guess that all of that is unlikely.  Sadly, this is the life I lead.  The life where anyone my child comes in contact to I have to fear how they are going to react to his size, to his lack of words, his flapping, his occasional shyness and discomfort with loud noises. 

Thankfully, we have received a very promising update.  Things will be changed, attitudes hopefully adjusted and we should all have a much easier Monday.  I hope to have a much different report tomorrow afternoon after Wally picks him up from daycare. 

Special events this week: Grayson is star of the week for his class.  We are making a poster for him to share with all his friends and I will be going in on Friday to read a book during circle and hopefully share in quite a bit of the actual class time before going into the IEP meeting.  Photos will be provided, though limited due to the other students in the class.   Have a great week everyone!

Off and Running

What a crazy time it has been in the Long house!!!

First the big news......(drum roll please)  Wally has a new job!!!!   He has been hired by the wonderful people at Harbor Capital Investments as the IT guy in their Boston satalite office.  It's a very big job for him with a lot of opportunities to turn it into a full fledged adult type career.  We are all very excited for him. 

In the process of this, we have had to find a place for Grayson to spend his time while not in preschool.  We had a wonderful woman who you have all heard about and sadly she has moved on to her own new wonderful adventure.  We are so lucky that he will be joining an in home preschool/daycare setting just a few blocks away. Grayson has been loving the preschool experience at school and we really want to continue to encourage that social interaction as much as possible and since he couldn't return to his last spot this one seemed like the next best thing. 

Grayson's follow up to his IEP, which is mostly to discuss the extend evaluation period since he joined school has been scheduled.  It is currently scheduled for May 8th at 1pm.  Sadly, due to Wally's new gig I will be heading into this one solo.  It's a little frightening but I'm sure they will have nothing but wonderful information to share. 

Grayson has had an entire day today without any accidents!!!! He has requested (or just ran) to the bathroom when he needed it.  We are very excited about this and he was treated to some delicious ice cream as a reward for being such a big boy.   We got to spend our last week with everyone at home together this week, I did a few hours in the morning for one of my students but other then that there has been lots of family time.  In the process we have made some big changes around the house and those of you that have been there should be ready for a whole new look coming to the Long house very soon!

Everyone is very eager to return to a more normalized schedule, even though the new schedule will turn all of our lives upside for a bit.  We are so incredibly thankful to you all for the love and support you have given us through this time and we are so ready for all the adventures up ahead.  Have a great week!!

Potty Training Adventures

As I have mentioned quite a few times in recent posts we are currently in the process of potty training Grayson.  We have been using an ABA/parenting method of setting a timer and having him go at specific intervals. We aren't using pull ups unless travel requires it and all in all he's been doing really good.  That being said, we have certainly had our ups and downs.

I know that there are a lot of different methods, I know that some people believe in waiting till the child is ready. Grayson has been waking up dry from naps and bedtime for quite a while now.   Some believe in letting the child run freely naked and letting them figure it out (sorry but my finances don't allow me new living room furniture or carpets).  I am a firm believer in I'm his mom, Wally is his dad and if we say this is what we're doing this is what we're doing.

Currently Grayson is up to 50 minute intervals, no accidents in school unless they have been poops and is working on asking to go.  It's a totally different experience trying to potty train someone who in all reality, doesn't make independent requests.  Grayson is getting good at asking for things, but if you give him a choice between two words he still always repeats the last option.  So while shopping or running errands we like to take him to the bathroom as soon as we get into the store, and then keep a timer running while we're there so no one loses track of the real task at hand.

Have you ever really listened to the sounds of a public bathroom?  I don't mean the guy in the next stall.  I mean the automatic flusher, the automatic hand dryer, the echo from the walls etc.  Public bathrooms are TERRIBLE! Now try taking a sensory child, who has issues with loud noises into a public bathroom and explain to him that as much as I don't really think you need to flush the small amount of pee you managed to produce, we don't have a choice.  Yes we have to wash your hands, but we can't dry them because the trauma of the actual dryer will be worse then you having wet hands for the next 20 minutes.  No I can not make the 3 girls who are playing around with the toilet in the next stall stop flushing because you are having a total breakdown while I hold your ears.

Grayson all in all is really good with noises, especially since he's started school and has gotten used to bigger groups of kids.  However, this is the one place in the world that he really stands out.  I have learned that as soon as we tell him it's time for the potty he will run through a store saying "No Flush" until we reach the bathroom, until we leave the bathroom and probably 10 minutes after.  I know that there are people in the store who think I'm gross because he will walk to a sink and say "No wash" and I don't force him to wash his hands (we use sanitizer when we get to the cart) because he's too traumatized by the 9 different flushes and hand dryers that were going.

What happened to paper towel dispensers?? Toilets that you flush yourselves?  I'm not saying I want the world to cater to my child but...it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world would it?  In reality, I am aware of why these new items have been created.  I know that automatic flushers use less water, I know that hand dryers produce less trash.  I also know if I want Grayson to function in these spaces we need to start looking into headphones for him to wear that will help block out the sounds.  That doesn't mean that I don't cheer when I find a store with a 1 toilet bathroom option, or a family bathroom that I can lock the rest of the world out of.

At the end of the day, I know this is something we have to work on with him.  I know this is a part of his life now.  It doesn't mean that I won't get really excited when I see that family bathroom sign.

Happy Easter

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter (if that's the holiday you celebrate).  We spent our Easter with my in laws.   Saturday we spent the day running errands and then dying eggs.  Grayson loved it.  He just kept wanting to pick out different colors and eggs.  They came out fantastic and he's super proud as you can see below.

Sunday we were all up bright and early to go to church.  Grayson was looking very dapper in his little 3 piece ensemble .  (Thanks Noni)  After the service the kids all went on an easter egg hunt in the church.  We of course still have some snow hanging around and it was just easier for them to stay in doors.  Though you will notice that Grayson is now rocking his dino boots.  We changed him just in case.  

School is going very well for him.  We got a report back from his teacher this week that he is starting to really interact with his peers.  He has started using their names when interacting with them and is coming out of his shell quite a bit.   Wally said that there is one little boy who likes to call his name while they are waiting to go into school and have Grayson chase him.  They apparently will play this game the entire time they are waiting and my guess is that it continues onto the playground.  It makes my heart happy to know my little man is starting to develop friendships. 

Our Wally update isn't very exciting.  He had his fourth interview on Monday, references have been requested and called.   We are now just waiting on their final decision.   Keep those fingers crossed for us!!! 

As a side note. If anyone was interested in our thirty-one fundraiser, not only is it still going on but Michelle our rep has increased the amount that will be donated to the cause for this weekend only!! Visit the link below and share with others.  Have a great week!

http://www.mythirtyone.com/.../Party/EventDetail/8061057

Light it up blue!

Happy April 2nd one and all!

As I am sure most of you are aware April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day, and the official kick off of Autism Awarness month.  It's the perfect time of year to let someone you love with Autism know that you are there for them  or to learn a little more about it. 

The Long Family was all decked out in their blue today.  We also got a blue lightbulb for our outdoor light which will be used all month long to show we support the community.  

   

Grayson is making some amazing progress lately.  Potty training is still an occasional battle, but we have mad it almost a full week sleeping in our undies during nap time with no accidents! We bought pull ups to use at daycare, hopefully we won't need them for long.  The teacher is very impressed with his progress even after such a short time.  She said he is finally starting to come out of his shell and really make attempts to interact with the other kids.  He really wants to be involved, Wally tells me how every day there are multiple kids who make an effort to say hi or bye to him.  

We are up to 4 word phrases!!! 4 words almost everyone will understand too which is just as important.   His words are becoming clearer now, he's making more attempts at new words and is super proud when they come out as planned.  Tonight he was playing with his Lego duplo book and blocks set he got from his birthday (thanks Liz and Ian and girls) and we realized he is starting to read.  He has always been a boy who was super into letters and loved spelling his name.  But tonight, he was actually using his finger to follow along and was actually trying to read some (I'm sure memorized) phrases on his own.   

   

We are blessed by this little boy in our house every day.   I have included a few photos below of some of the wonderful support pictures we've gotten.  I also added a link to a wonderful article I thought you would all enjoy.  

Please feel free to share any images of your and your family lighting it up blue! 

                Grayson's cousins Logan and Carter

    Racheal and Tommy both showing their support from NY!

http://kerrymagro.com/68-things-to-know-about-autism-for-autism-awareness-month/

Beach Day

Hi Everyone!!

Sorry for the delay, I really wanted to get into this on Wednesday, but unfortunately work has been crazy and things around here are just as busy.  Wally had 2 follow up interviews this week with the third being postponed for the future.  He has already scheduled round 3 for Monday at 1!! Fingers crossed boys and girls this could be the big one!

I have obviously been working, trying to keep up with things.  We had hoped to have some good news in regards to baby news, but apparently it appears March was not our month.  We are back to square one.  A little heartbroken after this one, especially as it seemed to really be working.  It's a little harder with the fact that we are now officially out 2015 baby range.  We are moving into 2016 due dates from here on out.  It's a tough pill to swallow that our little man will be a mere breath from his 4th birthday before we might provide him a sibling.  But thank you all for your thoughts.

Grayson as always, is a rock star.  He is doing awesome in school.  We are starting to hear 3 & 4 word phrases now.  Words are getting clearer and we're all starting to understand him a lot better which is helping with every one's frustration.  It's also bringing out his wonderful three year old personality which is quickly diving head first into those terrible 3's we've heard so much about.  Demands are now more frequent, tantrums more consistent and often we are just trying to find a compromise that doesn't make us feel terrible but isn't letting him get away with murder.

We have revamped our potty training.  We are hard core into it now (cause you know we weren't before lol).  Data is still being taken, he's up to 50 minutes again with a timer.  We have started using the ipad as a reinforcer which is not only something he really wants but it's severely limiting his time with it.  So far it seems to be working, the ipad doesn't travel with us, so he's not earning it outside of the house.  However, after a very busy day of crazy errands he managed to stay completely dry, no accidents and then take a 2+ hour nap in undies (a first) without any issues either.

We had a meeting with a new daycare person, unfortunately (for us) the woman we had met with back in December has very quickly filled all of her spots in the time it has taken for Wally to finally get a company to figure out how to function in Boston when it snows.  While we were worried about starting over, thankfully our search has been very short and the new woman is wonderful.  She has a little boy of her own Logan, who is 8 months.  Grayson and him became very fast friends during our meeting on Friday.  Which while wonderful to see just makes me want to bring another baby into the house all that much sooner.

Friday at school Grayson had beach day.  The kids all put bathing suits and other summer attire on over their normal clothes, they brought in beach towels and spread them out for snack and circle time. (Thanks Tracy, Steve and Annabelle for the bathing suit!) There are some wonderful photos I am hoping to get from the teacher soon but for now here is our little man getting ready to head out.  Wally is completely in love with this shirt given to Grayson for Christmas (Thanks Amy & Luke).

Thank you all for being so patient and supportive.  I'm sure there will be lots more to update you all on soon. 

Weekend Update

We've had a kind of crazy weekend so far, so I apologize this is going to be a short post.  I have just a few things I want to talk about. Updates for Grayson will continue on Wednesdays and I will do more "adult" topics on Saturdays.

Yesterday Wally and I left Grayson with Grampy and Uma for the night and drove to my home in NY to watch one of my closest friends get married.  The wedding was truly wonderful! I can't describe how happy I am for Steve and Jeremy, seeing them walk down the aisle together hand in hand brought tears to my eyes.  I love weddings, knowing that the people in my life have found that special someone who brings them joy and love like Wally does for me every day just makes me emotional.


Grayson successfully had no accidents at Uma and Grampys last night!!!!  This is a huge jump from his last sleep over where they completed 4 loads of baby underware laundry.  He of course was fine while we were away (better then me as always) and was more excited to continue watching Frozen when we arrived to pick him up then to actually greet us.

In an unrelated topic, I am apart of a wonderful Relay for Life team.  The team was created by my friend Nicole who has been doing this since I think she was Grayson's age (or at least very close).  We haven't been able to take part the last few years but I'm really excited to be rejoining and hopefully raising money for a good cause.  That being said I would like to share with you all some links and fundraisers.  If you are interested in making a donation or ordering something feel free to reach out and we can make that happen!!!

First is my Thirty one party which just opened yesterday! http://www.mythirtyone.com/568301/shop/Party/EventDetail/8061057

I love love love this company!! Seriously, if I didn't already have WAY too much going on I would sell this stuff.  I love their products, from purses to organizational products and now JEWERLY! They are a great company, they make wonderful things and I really hope you take a look. Items can be sent directly to you, I don't even need to know!  

This next one is our Relay shirts, they come in t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts and a recent addition of hoodies! I can't wait to get one myself.  These you will need to contact me directly for, we are doing rolling orders on them and I believe will be taking orders right through the Relay event itself! Feel free to leave a message here, or you can email me directly at klong618@gmail.com.

Thanks so much everyone for all your support.  If you could all keep Wally in your thoughts this coming week, he has 3 second interviews coming up.  We are very hopeful that things are finally starting to turn around for us.

See you all on Wednesday!

Weekly School Update

It's been a few weeks since Grayson started preschool, and I've been getting requests for updates.  A quick side note, you may notice some changes going on with the blog over the next few days.  We are trying to streamline the design, possibly get some sponser ads to go along with it and overall make it a bigger part of our lives and hopefully yours.  I hope you will all click on the follow button, so you can receive direct emails about when the blog updates.  We would also love to start hearing from you all so please comment here directly! Tell us what you want to know, give some love, or talk back to us.  I would love to know what you guys want to talk about.  So please SHARE!

Grayson in a word is FANTASTIC!  He of course, brought home his first cold on the first week, and we have all been passing that around the house.  He comes home every day exhausted so I am taking that as a very good sign.  We have gotten some amazing artwork to hang on our fridge, including him practicing writing his name.  If you receive a card or something in the mail with a pencil outline and some scribbles on top its because we are continuing the practice at home.  Currently, he hasn't chosen which hand he's writing with though the teacher thinks he might be leaning to the left (fingers crossed!).

ABA has returned!!! This is a huge deal for everyone.  I love my job but one of the things I have said from the beginning of returning to the field is that I do not want to do ABA with my own kid.  He is a wonderful bright little boy, and I will do anything he needs me to, I will carry over any of their practices I need to.  I however, will not cross the line from mom to ABA.

Grayson has been waiting for their return with baited breath.  Ms. Amanda returned last Wednesday and he promptly ran over to his chair, pulled out a schedule and was ready to go!  The programs are all changing due to his new preschool abilities/needs and he is already fighting the power.  Shockingly (ok he's my kid so not so shocking) he is incredibly stubborn.  So while we have been accepting him saying "help" and then providing it, we are now requiring full sentences (ex: I need help).  Needless to say, he is holding his ground and help is still all they are getting.  They will wear him down, I know they will.

Potty training had a bit of a hiccup this past weekend.  We have continued following the ABA method, which was working like a champ.  Every 50 mins a timer goes off, we take him to the potty, he consistantly pees and we reset the timer.  Unfortunately, we attended a family birthday party on Sunday and after 3 bm accidents, we ended up back in a diaper.  A diaper which I might add stayed dry...THE ENTIRE PARTY.  We continued sitting him on the potty, he continued going on the potty but by that time the clean undies were gone and we were just trying to make it through till we got home.

Today as Wally was explaining our pooping situation to Amanda's BCBA wouldn't you know Grayson not only independently asked for the potty but he then pooped! Apparently when we start ratting him out is when he plays along.  He has only had 1 accident at school and that was his first week (::knocking on everything wooden I can find::). 

His words are increasing, they are becoming clearer and he's putting more of them together.  He pays attention to what we are doing, instead of just playing in the corner with his toys.  He actually interrupted us hugging so he could get in on the hugs! The changes are amazing, I am so excited for this to continue and to see what happens over the next few months, considering how much has changed during the last few weeks.

One final story of my fantastic little man.  Him and I went out shopping on Saturday to try and find me some new shoes for a wedding this weekend. We get to the store and we instantly travel to the bathroom, on the way there he is waving and saying "Hi" to every person in his path (thankfully at 9:30 on a Saturday morning, there aren't too many people).  We come out of the bathroom and there is a little girl, no more then 6 on her way in.  He looks her in the eye and say "Hi" and holds out his hand for a high five.  He has always been more willing to greet adults then he has been with other kids.  This moment just really showed me how much he is growing and how well he really is doing.  We are so proud and can't wait to see what other adventures he gets into.

Here's our little man, ready to go to school on St. Patrick's day. 

Questions Answered...(Post 2)

Well as promised here we go.  This post is simply made to help share our story and bring some awareness.

Perhaps, I should begin this by saying, at the age of 16 I was "diagnosed" polycystic ovary syndrome.  I was then placed on birth control for the purpose of helping to regulate my cycles.  At this time, no tests were run, the diagnosis was simply based on my own information I provided. I was on birth control until 3 months prior to our wedding.  We had a lengthy discussion with my doctor about the risks, the likelihood of us getting pregnant etc.  She also was going based on my previous diagnosis from my original doctor.  Based on this information, she looked at us and said

"It will take you no less then 6 months to get pregnant, you should expect it to possibly take more then a year."

Needless to say, Grayson was a surprise baby in every sense of the word.   We were told a year. It took us less then 3 months. 


Fast forward to November 2013.  Yes, the same November where the questions started flying.  Wally and I decided prior to our Thanksgiving visit, that we would start trying.  I once again came off of birth control, we knew it still might take us a few months, but after Grayson, we assumed 3-6 months. Suddenly, it's April 2014.  We are sitting in an office, with a kind friendly doctor who is giving us all the information we need for our newly diagnosed son.  Something I'm pretty sure you are all familiar with at this point.  We still weren't pregnant, and frankly, we stopped trying. 

(Disclaimer: I will be as informative as I can be without over sharing, however some details may make some people, males especially uncomfortable.  I understand if you wish to stop reading here.)

At this point in April, we were at 6 months.  I had only had 3 cycles at most.  While my cycles were lasting 60 plus days at some points, shockingly this was the shortest they had ever been.  During a visit to my doctor, we again had a lengthy discussion.  She mentioned us doing some blood work to see what information we could confirm from it.  She also suggested that perhaps we attempt going back on birth control for another few months in the hopes that it would provide my body the jump start it needed. 

We were fresh off a diagnosis of Autism for our son, I had a job interview at my now current job that while it went fantastic, I ended up crying through half of it sharing the tale of his diagnosis.  I knew then it wasn't the time for us.  So we took a few months off.  I received a call a few days later from my doctor.  She stated that while my blood work all came back clear, there was a problem.  Turns out, none of my blood work confirmed the PCOS (polycystic ovary) that I had been diagnosed with all those years ago.  All of my blood work in fact simply confirmed that I was a completely healthy, totally normal functioning 30 year old. We should be able to get pregnant without a problem once we were off the birth control.

I stayed on the birth control for 2 months.  We made a decision for me to come back off of it again in July.  I can't possibly tell you how many times I have taken an at home pregnancy test, because I still had an irregular cycle (40+ days).  At one point, I got to experience the joys of what I now know is called a false positive.  YES these do happen.  You take a test, it gives you 2 lines, you dance around your living room.  You get a blood test, you have an evil nurse on the phone tell you SORRY you're not pregnant crazy girl, try again.  You take another test at home and you get one line.

We continued this cycle through October of 2014.  One of the things they don't tell you is, no one will help you before you hit the 1 year mark.  Especially if you have already conceived one child of your own naturally.  You are forced to find your own way.  I was determined to not spend my mornings taking ovulation tests, acting like crazy women do in all the movies, demanding my husband get home because my temps are "perfect for baby making."  (I promise you will see the irony in this later).  The 3rd week of October, something wasn't right.  I ran upstairs from our basement took a look at Wally and instantly ran to the bathroom to throw up.  This happened a few times randomly.  I was actually following a solid (though longer) pattern and come to find out was a week late.  I took a test, negative. Yet, everything I knew about myself told me I was pregnant.

I should mention, I didn't test positive with Grayson until I was 7 weeks along.  I also am one of those lucky girls that just doesn't produce HCG (the hormone pregnancy tests look for) for at home test to pick it up right away.  I planned on waiting another week, testing again and seeing how it went.  I made it 4 more days.  I then experienced the worst cramping pains I had ever gone through (I am not a cramping kind of person).  I contacted the dr, she confirmed I had a miscarriage.  I was at most 6 weeks and up until now I believe 2 people are even aware of it.   While I was devastated at first, it gave me the push I and the doctor needed.  She referred me that day to a fertility specialist.

Let me just say, we have a wonderful woman who is our fertility doctor.  She has been through it all with us.  We have had a battery of tests run (yes both Wally and I).  There has been blood work, ultrasounds, a very long scary named x-ray procedure (which was actually really cool) as well as a few others.  This process took over 3 months.  Finally on January of this year, we sat down and we go over all of my results.  She looks me dead in the eyes and says

"You have what we call unexplained secondary infertility"

Yup, you read that right.  Unexplained.  It means that they have no more of a clue then we do of why we are currently able to have another baby.  Wally's tests are good, my tests are good and yet....No baby.  She started listing off these options that we have, things like IUI, IVF and other handy little acronyms are suddenly thrown at me and none of them are involving my husband and I, just being my husband and I.  I let her finish her whole explanation and say

"Can you just give us a pill to help?" 

I know, that sounds ridiculous.  But honestly, everything I had read never mentioned me jumping into a step that didn't involve us trying a fertility medication first. I wanted us to have more time to try.  I wanted us to have another chance without 4 doctors, a nurse, 3 receptionists and 13 lab guys all involved.   She understood (again she's wonderful).  She placed me on Femara (Letrozole) told me to take it days 2-6 and to partner it up with ovulation tests(see I told you).  We started our first Femara treatment the next day (it just happened that my visit with her synced up perfectly with my cycle).  But I didn't just take Femara, I added a Basel thermometer, I started tracking every symptom.  I took ovulation tests every morning from day 9 through day 18.  I wake up every morning (EVERY) at 5:30 and without even opening my eyes stick a thermometer in my mouth.  I have gotten so good at this, that the beeping of the thermometer being done is what wakes me back up to put it down.

We did everything right. We timed everything perfectly. We are still not pregnant. 

But, I had a 30 day cycle for the first day of my life.  I see that as a huge achievement. 

We are on our 2nd round of femara.  I'm about to start the process of what is known in the TTC (trying to conceive) world as the two week wait.  It's basically a mind numbing process in which you can not find out your pregnant for 2 weeks, because it takes your body that long to decide if everything is working as it should, if everything has implanted where it should and if a baby will happen. 

We have 4 cycles of Femara.  If it doesn't happen then, we have no choice but IVF.  I'm hoping Femara wins.  But I know quite a few women who have personally not had any choice but IVF.  I know a few that have required multiple rounds.  If that's what it takes for me to expand my family then it's what I will do. 

I am sharing our story, because I know when we started how hard it was to try to explain.  It's something we are going through as a family.  It's something a lot of other woman are going through as well.  I am providing a link below.  It has a wealth of information on it.   But the specific article it links you to is something I found very important.  Even if someone isn't sharing their story with you, this might be a good thing to keep in mind. 

http://www.resolve.org/national-infertility-awareness-week/25-things-to-say-and-not-to-say.html

If anything, I hope this let's others know they are not alone.  They don't have to be in silence.  Thank you all for reading.  We will return with a normal Grayson update next week! I have lots of school news to share.
 

Questions Asked (Part 1)

As I had mentioned in my last post the next few posts are going to be more parent related then Grayson related.  This next topic in particular will highlight a topic not often talked about, which I felt needed a little attention.

As a woman, all too often, it is decided that people in our lives are free to ask any question they deem within their business.  While more often then not these questions are proposed by other women, most recently I have realized how a simple question can bring someone a great deal of heart ache. 

I have this memory, of my dad's mom, before she really had gotten to sick from the alzheimer's that ended up taking her away from us.  We were all in my Aunt's kitchen, all 4 of the cousins were home at the same time (a truly amazing event).  My cousin Becky and I were standing at the Island talking with Grummy when out of the blue she turns to me.  Looks me dead in the eye and says
"So, when are you finally getting married?" 

This memory still makes me smile, firstly because I can still see Becky's face over Grummy's shoulder laughing hysterically that the youngest one of the group was getting the toughest questioning. Secondly, because as much as it seemed like such a  trick question, my grandmother was as serious as can be.  I believe I was about 25 at the time.  Wally and I had just started dating so marriage wasn't even close to in the picture.  I stumbled through some response, still continuously pointing at my cousin as a "Hey, why aren't you asking her, she's older!"  But Grummy just smiled and we moved on to a different topic. 


Obviously, Wally and I ended up married, something I still think my grandmother was aware of and that she was just making sure I knew it would happen.  The day of our wedding, as we walked around our reception hall greeting everyone, and thanking them for coming.  I was asked no less then 3 times when we would start having kids.  Now, we got married at 28, while older then our parents generation, still quite young for ours.   People are getting married in their 30s all the time.  No rush right? 

Of course, upon our return from our 12 day Mediterranean Cruise approximately 2 weeks later, we discovered we had brought home an extra souvenir (a stowaway if you would).  Our surprise baby would be due March 14th (of course surprising us again by arriving 11 days early).  Upon official announcement to all of the family that we were expecting we were promptly asked "Were you pregnant during the wedding?  Was this planned? etc etc etc" 

The answer to both is NO, but thanks for being so curious.

Fast forward to November 2013. Grayson and I have just traveled on plane from MA to Washington D.C (technically right out side it in VA).  I have worked all day at the bakery, helping crazy people get their holiday pies etc.  For those who have never flown on the day before Thanksgiving, DON'T.  GO EARLY! Travel is a mess, and despite Grayson being one of the greatest travelers around, at 9:30 pm even he gets fussy.  We finally arrive at Wally's Aunt and Uncles house.  The bags are dropped, Grayson is inspecting the new surroundings and one of the first questions I am asked is

"Are you guys going to have anymore?" 

After this flight with an anxious, cranky toddler every part of me says NO.  But I know that's not true.  I also know from stories my mom has told me, that people don't necessarily understand the idea of a one child family.  Or at least they don't understand making the choice of having only one child.

"Yes we're hoping eventually."
"Well you know he's almost 2, do you want them close in age?"

At this point, some wonderful person in Wally's family has handed me a beer.  I'm not sure who it is I just know I desperately want to hug them.  I also don't know who decided that 2.5 years apart is the best age difference.  Who decided that 1 year isn't enough and 3-4 might be too many?  Was there some type of math class that I missed in College that would explain this concept to me? 

"Yes we would love to have them close in age but at this point we're just trying to figure things out, hopefully plan a little better for the next one."  (Remember the one that we were asked if he was planned in the first place.)

Thankfully, around this point there is a comment made by one of the men in the room (I believe the same one that brought me the beer).  Some thing to the point of "Do you want them to let you know once they start trying? Should they call you when they think conception has actually occurred?  Laughs are had by all and we move on.

 The question of us having a second child is something that multiple people have asked, they have asked not knowing our situation.  Some have never asked and I have just told them anyways.  Others I haven't been sure how to approach it.  There are women every where who are being asked questions right now that they aren't sure how to answer.  These aren't always questions they should have to answer.  Just because you can ask it doesn't always mean you should.  To those who have waited till this moment, thank you.  Thank you for letting us answer it without asking.  Of course.  Your going to have to wait till next week to finally get the answer.

He's always handled everything better then me.

So here we are, on the evening of my little man's birthday.  Wally is putting him to bed after our wonderful birthday song singing just before they headed up stairs.  His party was a smashing success, despite my multiple doubts and questioning of my own abilities. 

His elmo mini cupcake cake (comprised of 50+ mini cupcakes) was both beautiful, delicious and family friendly.  Grayson enjoyed the party, specifically playing on the bed with his cousins, friends and of course Grampy!  His least favorite moments were when I attempted to get him to open up the presents and when we had him blow out a candle on a single cupcake while Elmo continued to sit on the table. 

We received the IEP in the mail on Thursday, but thanks to party prep we didn't get around to opening it until Sunday at almost 10pm.  In fairness, the release of House of Cards season 3 on Netflix also delayed the process. We were ready to sign, accept and provide it to the school, until we started reading and realized there was no mention of the ABA hours that were discussed during the meeting itself.  This of course, sends us into panic mode as we were less then 48 hours from his start of preschool and the IEP was less then perfect. 

Thankfully, a quick call on Monday to the Special Education Director calmed our nerves and solved the problem.   While I knew that we had agreed to arrange for BEACON to continue to provide services to Grayson during the extended evaluation, we had always said we wanted the school to take over in providing those hours.  The school in turn is using the extended evaluation, in order to determine how these hours will be best spent for Grayson.  While I might believe that 3 hours in discreet trials is how Grayson learns best, in reality, none of us have actually seen him in a learning environment that is designed to cater to his many delays.  The extended evaluation is made to test out just that. 

The reason ABA wasn't included on the actual IEP itself is because they don't want to write that they will be providing it in one manner, only to find out he needs an entirely different type of learning.  She kindly offered us two options, 1: we sign that we accept the IEP as written with the understanding that we will have an amendment to it later after the extended eval, or 2: we accept the preschool hours and simply reject the remainder of the IEP as the ABA has not been included and this will allow for everyone to return to the table and for the ABA to be added.   We went with choice 2.  I do not believe that the school district wouldn't provide us the services that were discussed and promised but at the same time, a loop hole is a loop hole and why give one when you don't have to.

With all that completed, our little man, packed his backpack (ok we did) put his big boy undies on (he will kill me later for this) and headed to school. 

 Here he is so proud and ready to go.

 

Not too excited about his snow pants, boots, coat, mittens and hat. 

 Finding his hook for his backpack. He has the one with the snail on it.

Upon pick up, he could barely keep his eyes open and was promptly asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

His report from his teacher said he had a wonderful day, though during one part he did just simply place his head down from sheer exhaustion.  He received a birthday crown and book from the teacher.  He also managed to stay completely dry through all of school!!  

I however, shed more tears then he even thought of.  At one point, I gave them my child and in return they gave me a stack of paperwork.  The trade was certainly not equal.  But I know this is what's best for him and am excited to see what the next few months bring. 

Our follow up meeting for the IEP will be scheduled no later then May 5th.  Though we would like to have it a little sooner then that.  I will have a few off topic blog posts coming up.  They will deal with some more parent issue type situations then anything.  But as always I hope you share and enjoy.  

Happy Birthday Grayson!

Do you wanna?

Well despite my best efforts, Grayson has discovered Frozen.  While he did sit through the first half of the movie during our vacation at Sandy, it was really the bag of popcorn in his lap that held his attention.   So imagine our surprise when 2 nights ago he did this!

 

(If you are unable to view this on your ipad/iphone please click here: http://youtu.be/GTEdvPTOh_E)

Apparently, because the youtube app on my phone is connected to the youtube app on the ipad and one of my students is reinforced for potty training using the video of Do you wanna build a snowman, Grayson while in his constant search for Mario Drive (see as Mario Kart) discovered this in the most recently watched.   Now, don't think we're just handing the child an ipad and sending him on his way, but sometimes it's late, its dinner time and playing a video game isn't exactly the most possible thing at the time.  We typically pick out a few youtube videos for him to watch at his little table while we attempt to keep our kitchen from burning down.

Hope you all enjoy!  We are all hunkered down for the next 24 hours thanks to another foot of snow.  Stay warm and Happy Valentines Day!

IEP Follow up

Whew!  Well let me just say, there was a lot of excitement for a pretty routine meeting.  We went in strong though, a full showing of our BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) from Beacon, the BE (Behavioral Educator) and our Speech Pathologist from Criterion all in attendance with us.  Everyone was friendly and cordial, though I felt some icy looks from the Special Education Director but let's be honest.  Her and I will probably never be friends, at the end of the day it's her job to be the bad guy and up until now, she'd been succeeding.

Everyone went around the table introduced themselves, I was quickly outed as clearly being an educator and I was TOTALLY ok with that.  The team from Medway went around the table, each reviewing their reports and going over their personal observations.  I had received all 4 reports in advance on Friday and was well prepared for what they contained.  It was nice to hear the observations come from the people themselves, everyone enjoyed working with him.  "He's adorable and sweet," was expressed from multiple people.   Then we got down to the nitty gritty.  What does he qualify for. 

Hands shaking, breath ragged, I prepared myself for the moment that was coming.  The evil flow chart which had been described as my Berlin Wall between me and getting Grayson the services he needed.  As the Special Education Director starts the process, I try not to sweat, quickly we jump over hurdles one and two (does he have a diagnosis and does it affect his learning). Those are the easiest ones, then we come to the next two regarding his learning abilities as well as if there would be a known delay without schooling.  These are the ones that terrified me, Grayson is smart.  He showed above average intelligence in his academic skills (and you thought I just said he was brilliant cause I'm his mom).  Also, Grayson has never been in school, his current ABA data doesn't show any regression even with all these snow days, and that week vacation from August.   But just as quickly as my fears came to the top, they were gone as she announced, "We are aware that Grayson is smart but it is assumed most of what he has learned is from his time with ABA and as he's not in school we don't know what would happen if he wasn't continued in that environment.  We definitely see a need for him and he qualifies for half day preschool."

On top of this the BCBA of Medway has recommended that he receives 15 hours a week of ABA services provided by the school.  The speech pathologist will be seeing him in a small group pull out session twice a week for 30 mins each.  This is where things get complicated.  The school began to ask if we had gotten approval for BEACON to continue to do in home sessions after he was 3 covered under health insurance.  I had delayed this point as I frankly feel that it would be better for Grayson if he were to get everything provided by the school directly. 

The only fear there is that we're doing a "partial" IEP, they want more time to evaluate him.  It turns out it's very difficult to assess a child during 1 random time of the day when you have never laid on him before (no way REALLY?).  They want to include an OT assessment as they hadn't previously completed one for him before. Something is also telling me that while the BCBA is ready and willing to provide these services, the preschool may not exactly have the staff that would be required for htis plan. We for now have agreed upon allowing them to further evaluate him while he attends the preschool.   We will be keeping BEACON for the short term until we can all meet further and really assess his needs and how he is handling the preschool, with the plans that he will soon move into a full day plan. 

His ABA will take place in the morning and then he will go directly into his preschool class 12-2:30 every afternoon.  His naps (which will most definitely be needed) can then take place like they do most days at around 3 pm.  We will meet again, no sooner then 4 weeks after he has started preschool and no later then 8 weeks after.  At that time we will also be able to further our discussion for summer program.

So there you have it everyone.  As of March 3rd, Grayson will officially be a preschooler!! He will take the bus every day but that one, as that will be the one day I take off and drive him to school and pick him up.  I will also probably cry the entire 2.5 hours he is gone.    We are just beginning the process of switching BEACON over to insurance, I'm trying to make that process as quick and easy as possible so that we can prevent him having any gap in the services.  I want him used to that schedule well before the school makes it official. 

Thank you all so much for your support and kind words (which as a side note are always welcome directly on the blog).  I hope to hear from you all soon!

IEP Pending

Today is the day!  At 1 p.m. despite the 2 hour delay and the snow day yesterday, we will all be gathering at the McGovern School and getting ready to find out what they are offering us for services.  I have reviewed all 5 reports, gone through them, organized them in a new ARC notebook (LOVE)  and am ready to see what they are offering.

It's difficult to say what we are heading into, while some reports were very upfront about their recommendations "15 hours ABA a week, speech, and at least half day integrated preschool".  Others were very vague, "picture icons should be placed around the home for Grayson to use for additional help to communicate"   This meeting could be headed in any direction, we have our plans in place.  Our wants and desires are clear in our mind and nothing will be signed without us taking time as a family and seeing what we feel works best for him. 

Thank you to everyone for your kind words and support. This has been an incredibly rough month and a half.  We have a lot going on both good and bad, these assessments have been incredibly stressful for me, especially as I haven't met any of the people who will be sitting on the other side of the table. Wally has been an incredible support for both of us, I am so glad he was home (despite the cause) because I know every step has been handled the way I would of wanted to do it myself. 

We are surrounded by amazing friends and family, some of which have to listen to our dramas all the time while having their own going on.  Thank you to those who help to bring out the best in my child by just being in his life.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers today as we head into the fray, and remember we do it all for this little man.

**Special thank you to Colleen Dolan Photography, who always brings the most wonderful joy from my special little guy.  http://www.colleendolanphoto.com/**

My baby is gonna be 3!

Grayson's birthday is coming up on March 3rd, I've been taking some time out of my normal scrapbooking time to get his birthday invites together.  This year we are doing Elmo as our theme, inspired by the little man himself.  He loves this stuffed elmo Wally's parents got him and it goes everywhere with him.  Every year I have made his invites with the assistance of my Cricut expression 2.  This christmas though, my hubby and parents all got together and upgraded me to the new Cricut explore!!

It has been a bit of a learning curve with this machine as everything is online based and there are lots and lots of new features to work with and figure out.  I have still managed to utilize my growing scrapbooking skills and created 14 of these little guys to pop out of his invites.

How adorable are these little guys?  I mean I know it's Elmo but I am totally in love with how crisp they cut and how simple they were to put together.  I'm just waiting on some last minute information from Wally's parents who usually let us host the party at their house because it tends to be easier with the amount of kids and people that come.   But here is a little sneak peek of the final product before they get written in and mailed (hopefully by this weekend). 

I know the blog can get pretty serious sometimes.  I want to share the good and the bad with you all, and we're really excited about our little man's birthday and seeing what this new year brings us.  I'll be sharing some other party planning details as they happen or as I test out new ideas.   I'm hoping for a test cupcake run this weekend, though the colors will be a little more red white and blue (GO PATS!).