Orange Soda Trick?

So one of my facebook friends just posted about this. It sounds genius and I don't want to forget it! So I am posting it here so I can come back for it when the time comes. Plus my family can remind me about it if I forget. They give them Orange Soda. It acts as diuretic for kids that hold it. It basically makes them go every 30 min. But they take them every 15. They use underwear so they feel the pee and poop if they have an accident. She said she has been using the method for 20 years and it works like a charm. I have to send 6 pairs of sweet pants in with the 6 pairs of underware and she told me be prepared to do a lot of laundry LOL.

Snow....

It snowed today. Outside and in Cooper's room.

I knew when I put this beanbag chair in Cooper's room that this was a good possibility. Sigh....

Cuteness!

Here is Quinn's school picture for this year. He is such a cutie :)

Poor Cooper, he never seems to get a day off! Even though there was no school today he still had ABA therapy. He has a new therapist who is working out well, but only here until January. After that he better be getting yet another new therapist, I am so glad Cooper doesn't have issues with new people! Anyway, he really likes this therapist and is a lot less whiney with her than he was with his last one. He was saying lots of great things today for her and is breezing through the new folder tasks that he just got. I also showed her his Handwriting Without Tears wood letter set and suggested she do that with him. He has pretty much mastered that so I am going to have to figure out the next step.

Tonight he wanted to do it just for fun so I was working on it with him. I was trying to get him to ask for "more letters" between each letter. So I asked "What do you want Cooper?" and Cooper simply replied "D". I was confused at first but it was obvious, he had just done "C" so he wanted "D"! It was so cute and super smart, but I still made him say "more letters" :) Then to mix it up a little I was asking him to identify what the little picture on each letter card was. "G" had "gumballs" which he has no idea what they are, so he looked at it for a minute and then said "bubbles". Close enough for me. Then we got to "J" and the picture was of "jeans" so I asked him what it was, thinking to myself "what a stupid choice for J", and he said "pants". Well, he was very right, they were pants; and I was really impressed because that just proves that he isn't just regurgitating what he is taught, he really understands this stuff!!

Quinn had nothing to do today so he decided it would be fun to hit the button on our "Lucky Ducks" game over and over. In case you aren't familiar with that game it makes a lovely loud quacking sound when you push the button :) Oh well, I guess it is better than dumping crackers out onto the floor. He is such a good boy though, no matter how devilish he acts :)

My Silly Kids :)

I bought Cooper this robe because he loves his fleece from Old Navy so much.

He was thrilled!

And here is one of Quinn being a goofball. He loves sitting at the table and playing/snacking.

A Very Special TV Show

It seems TLC is finally getting their act together, (maybe they have been busy with the whole Jon & Kate thing?) they put up a wonderful clip of "Truth be Told: I have a Child with Special Needs" that stars the amazing Miss Kennedy! You must go watch it and stay tuned for updates on when the entire show will air, I for one cannot wait! :)

http://health.discovery.com/videos/i-have-a-child-with-special-needs-truth-be-told-webis.html

Being sick has been great for Cooper! He has been talking up a storm for days now :) Today I was doing something important on my computer and he was trying to climb on my back so I told him to "wait", he thought that was funny and starting saying "wait" over and over as he continued to climb on me. Then later I was tickling him and I always say "tickle, tickle", but today when I stopped he looked up at me and said "tickle"! Since the kids are both not feeling great we were watching lots of videos today. Cooper was watching Baby Signing Times and they were singing about Grandmas. He got all excited and said "Donna"! Which is awesome because one of his many grandmas is named Donna. And then he was reading one of Quinn's library books about Halloween and not being too gentle with it. I decided to give him his other Halloween book to try and distract him. He was super excited to have not one but two Halloween books and he started saying something in a very sing-songy manner. I listed very closely and realized he was actually saying "Trick or Treat"! Wow, that one really blew me away :)

Quinn seems to be feeling much better today. He ate well and was back to getting into everything. He did start falling apart near bedtime but maybe he was just tired.

Sick...

The boys are both sick! Quinn is much worse off than Cooper at this point, but I suppose that could change any minute. Last night the boys both quickly became sick. Cooper fell asleep on the sofa (sitting up) at 3pm and didn't wake up until 6. Even then he wasn't really awake, he just sat at the table during dinner and didn't eat anything. Everytime I asked him if he was all done he would say "all done" and then not go anywhere. When I realized he was still sitting there after dinner was over I made Matt go carry him over to the sofa to cuddle...he didn't move the rest of the night. Quinn was just very whiney last night and not very hungry. We gave them both some Motrin and put them to bed.

I had already decided no school today. When I went in to get Cooper around 10 am he was just laying there on his bed looking sad. As I got him dressed he started saying something over and over, like he was asking a question. Turns out he was saying "Quinn"! I think he was asking where Quinn was because usually he watches him get on the bus every morning and today he slept through it. After some breakfast, some gatorade, and an ice pop Cooper was almost back to his usual self. Quinn on the other hand slept until 3 pm and even then I had to work a little to wake him up. He definately had a fever and was a total mess, but I forced him to eat some applesauce spiked with Motrin and drink a lot of gatorade. He was very excited to see his banana but he couldn't seem to eat it. It seemed like it hurt him and he got mad and threw it on the floor. Poor Baby! I put him on the sofa in front of the Wiggles and he was happy. He kept trying to stand up and dance but obviously it was too much for him and he would sit back down. Then after about 30 minutes his fever must have broken because he took off running around like nothing was wrong at all! Weird.

So we are surviving (for now anyway), there is no school on Friday so everyone is taking Thursday off to get healthy for the next week. Bye Bye, perfect attendence...

Tonight Cooper was playing with his cash register on the sofa. Two of the coins rolled away and he immediately jumped up and said "Uh-oh, uh-oh!" It was great and soooo cute! Then later on Matt and I were downstairs taking care of Quinn and Cooper came into the playroom and looked at Matt and said "Daddy!" He is really starting to say some stuff without any prompting, it is so exciting!

Quinn bit his tongue tonight, poor baby. He has such sharp teeth that it is extremely painful and bloody when he does it. He looked like a little vampire with blood pouring out of his mouth, but he recovered pretty quickly. He has been really tired today, I hope he is alright. He brought home a certificate of excellence from school today...for perfect attendence! Can you believe it??? Considering his mother is the queen of bad attendence that is quite a feat! I guess we have been lucky with illness and sleeping, plus I just try really hard to send him everyday because he loves it so darn much.

Halloween!

Every morning while Cooper and I wait for the bus this nice Asian couple walks by and says hello. Cooper likes them and usually gives them a smile. Today he was too busy running up and down the sidewalk. The husband turned to his wife, pointed to Cooper and said something in their native tounge. She laughed and apparently agreed. I am going to assume that they were comparing Cooper to some great athlete or superhero and hopefully not making fun of him. It was a little strange though....

Tommorow the boys have their Halloween festivities at school. Quinn is having a presentation from the library followed by a costume parade. Cooper is going to be going from classroom to classroom to practice trick or treating :) I hate sending them to school in their costumes because I worry they will mess them up before the big night. Oh well, at least this time I have time to wash them if needed.

Grandpop Bill took Cooper to the playground this weekend. Cooper was a real gentleman and shared his swing with this cute little girl :)

Cooper Talking

Here is a video of Cooper during his private speech session today. He did great and said tons of words!!

I know, I never update my blog anymore!

Today I took Cooper on his field trip, as you can see from the pictures below. We got on the bus at his school and for some reason he insisted that we sit towards the back of the bus instead of in front which would have made more sense. I was thinking that maybe it was because that is where he sits on the bus everyday, but I wasn't sure. Well, it turns out we were on the wrong bus so we had to get off and get on another bus. Bingo! Cooper pulled me right to the same exact seat on the new bus. Obviously that is where Cooper sits. We sat there on the ride home too, what a goofball! :)

The boys had horseback riding therapy today and they both did great! Cooper actually waved hello to his therapist and said lots of words for her today. Quinn apparently was riding much better today and when he got off the horse he gave his therapist a big hug! He also ate a cookie when we got there (after trying to steal Cooper's), that is a big deal...maybe he is finally developing a sweet tooth.

We are having issues with our ABA scheduling, I am not a happy camper about that. Yesterday the therapist didn't show up or call and I had told Cooper she was coming. When I looked at the clock and realized she wasn't coming I also realized that Cooper had gone to sit at the table and was anxiously awaiting her arrival, poor baby. She did come today and he was super excited to see her. She is dropping a lot of hours so he should be getting one or two new therapists, I hope he likes them too.

Two of the aides in Quinn's class are out with the flu (one is his personal aide), I sure home he doesn't catch it too!!

Pumpkin Farm, Cooper's Turn!

Cooper wondering why Mommy is on the bus with him.

Oh no, she brought the camera....

Halfway through the trip Cooper just started cracking up. It was so cute!

On the farm.

Checking out the animals.

Waiting for the hay ride to start, he found a piece of hay to play with.

Cooper wasn't too sure about the hay ride, but I think he enjoyed it a little.

Excited to see so many pumkins!

Trying to choose the right one.

Whoa, these are heavy!

This is the one mommy, will you carry it for me?

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

On the hay ride.

Quinn loved playing with the hay.

He wasn't too sure about the prickly pumpkin though.

Quinn's class.

Quinn and his friend Natalie climbing on the pumpkins.

Natalie posing for a picture with Quinn.

Quinn finally looking at the camera!!

Quinn at School

Quinn with his aide during circle time. They had to switch him to this chair with a board on the bottom because he wore all the non-skid off the bottom of his other chair! :)

He was the calendar helper today.

Not thrilled to be working on OT.

Quinn was completely exhausted when he got home from school. I rubbed his feet like I always do but this time he was snoring before I was done :)

A peek at Quinn's class.

Visiting Friends

As soon as we got to my parents house Quinn found the fuzzy dice and a ray of sunshine to play in.

Cooper found his letters.

And Portia found Christine!

Cooper at School

Sharing!

Not too sure about touching the inside of a pumpkin.

This is his favorite thing to do at school, play with the magnetic letters.