Yes, it has been a long time. I had my wisdom teeth removed and it hurt...bad....still does :(

Today I went to watch Cooper's class which I haven't done in a while. He was great! The first thing I noticed was he was sitting all alone in the corner reading a book being ignored by all the teachers. I was really unhappy about that until I realized what he was doing. He had this little book that had pictures of shapes/objects in it. As he turned each page he would dig into the bucket sitting next to him and pull out a matching object. For example he turned to a flag and pulled out a little American Flag, etc. He would pull it out, hold it up and get a really big smile, then put it back and turn to the next page. It was just so cute, he doesn't need any stinking teachers...he was doing the lesson all on his own. No other kid in his class has the concentration to do something like that without the teacher prompting them.

Other things he did today, he imitated the signs for me, book, and circle. Everytime the teacher said to the group "if you want a turn do this ____" (then she did some movement), he imitated her. I was really impressed with him today.

Then he fell asleep on the way to his last day at the Shafer Center for ABA. He was cranky when we got there so I tried to distract him with a toy phone that they had while we were waiting. I figured he would like it because it had numbers (0-9) on it. I started asking him to show me the numbers and of course he did it perfectly. He looked a little bored so I asked him to show me 18. I really wasn't sure he could do it but without hesitating he pushed the 1 then the 8! Yeah, he got all the numbers right 10-20 that way too. That is just amazing, he is too smart.

Sailor Boys

Quinn driving the boat!

Cooper sitting with Grandpop and watching the water.

Nice boat, Grandpop!

This was the position Cooper felt most comfortable in on the boat. He is such a goofball!

Considering exploring the rest of the boat.

Cooper on the bowsprit with Grandpop Bill, so happy that he decided to move :)

Quinn climbing on the boat.

He really enjoyed standing at the lifelines and looking out on the water.

I forgot to mention that the doctor thinks Quinn's two tiny front teeth are dead! What!! We need to go to the dentist so don't let me forget. Ugg.

Both my boys totally knocked my socks off today!

First, Quinn was at horseback riding and his new horse, Twister, has a little GI problem. That horse poops every time Quinn is on him and for some reason he can't walk and poop at the same time (aren't horses supposed to do that?). So Twister stops walking and none of the therapists do anything but wait for the horse to finish going. Quinn decides to take things into his own hands and reaches forward and grabs the "go" card and hands it to the therapist with absolutely no prompting! Just two weeks ago he couldn't do it at all without hand over hand and last week he was just starting to do it with tons of prompting. Thankfully Twister was just about done and the therapist made a big deal about Quinn doing it himself and then they started walking again. He did it a few more times all by himself again too, good job Quinn!

When we go home from riding Cooper insisted on having a chocolate bar. I was exhausted so I sat down and handed him a little piece at a time (you don't want to hand Cooper a whole chocolate bar). When it was all done he came back for more and I told him it was all gone. He wanted to check out the wrapper to be sure so I handed it to him. Then I said (jokingly) "Go put this in the trash for me." He took the wrapper and ran off towards the kitchen, I really didn't expect him to throw it out. We haven't been working on that at all and our trash can is in a hidden pull out cabinet. Well, Cooper shocked me by going right to the trash can, pulling it open, placing the wrapper in it, and then closing it! I didn't even think Cooper knew the word "trash", but he didn't hesitate once the whole time! That is definately a skill we will be practicing a lot from now on, no more leaving wrappers all over the place :)

Quinn also had his 5 year old check up today. Everything was fine. He is 50th percentile in both height and weight on the typical chart! At least he is typical at something! He got one shot and didn't even cry. He is such a good boy.

A picture from the birthday party we went to last weekend. Cooper was the last one at the table because he insisted on picking all the icing off his cake with his fingers. Someone snapped this picture of him in icing heaven.

I took Cooper for ice cream between schools today. He is such a good boy! Somehow between last week and today he figured out how to lick the cone instead of biting. This is good because when he bites the soft ice cream it gets all over his face and he doesn't like that. Hmmm, maybe Grandma Jan taught him? He is such a sweetheart. Today he said "doggy" and then he said "wait" again (he said it yesterday too). I think that is his new favorite word...I guess maybe I use it too often. He was also really into doing his puzzles tonight. After he finished each one he had me put it back on top of the TV and get him another one, it was cute. I guess he didn't want his brother messing with them :)

Today was Quinn's last day of school. I would be really excited about this if Cooper didn't still have a month of school left, to be followed immediately by another month of Quinn's summer school. Kids with special needs don't get summers off, which means neither do their mommies! Tommorow Quinn has a doctors appointment, his five year old check up, and then horseback riding. Wednesdays are tough I tell you!

Glasses and a haircut!

Haircut by Mommy. Glasses by Specs4Us.

Once we got the glasses on with the strap he was very happy and kept them on for at least an hour without messing with them at all!

Cooper's Class

This is a photo of Cooper's class, aren't they the cutest!

Cooper had a really good day today! This morning I was packing his lunch and he saw me take out a bag of his favortie cheese crackers. He decided he just couldn't wait for snacktime and had to have some for breakfast too. I wasn't going to give in, but he pulled me over to the box and said very clearly "eat"! He did it again tonight for the same crackers!

Also, during circle time at school the teacher was singing a song and she paused (as usual) before saying the last word to allow any student who might feel like chiming in to say it. Well, Cooper said it! No prompting or anything, he just popped out with "play"! The teacher said it was so clear and perfect she couldn't believe it, Cooper never talks during circle time!

Then we went to the playground between schools and it was really hot. There was absolutely no shade around the swings, which is where Cooper always insists we stay. There was a nice shady bench right by the slide and I was standing there wistfully thinking how if Cooper were a different child I might be able to sit on that bench and watch him play, now wouldn't that be nice? Well, I told Cooper that I really wanted to go sit on the bench and he could go slide and then we could come back and swing later. To my surprise when I got him down from the swing he didn't cry or anything, he just started running towards the slide all on his own! So, after thanking god, I followed him and sat on that shady bench for almost 10 minutes watching him play on the slide! Seriously, it was like a miracle! Then my sweet baby came over and sat down next to me on the bench and cuddled. It was pretty awesome :)

Quinn didn't have as great a day. He was a little tired and cranky during horseback riding and then after dinner I gave him a haircut. He really did not enjoy the haircut but it was quick and basically painless for all of us. I think I did a much better job on it this time, he looks really cute. His glasses are also ready to be picked up so we are planning on getting them on Friday. I will try to get a picture with the new haircut and new glasses this weekend. Tommorow is Quinn's IEP, I am not anticipating any issues but you never know....

This morning instead of watching Cooper's class I went to visit Quinn's class. Of course I pick the morning that Cooper does something big! Well, big for Cooper anyway. During circle time Cooper is very shy and reserved, he only participates when he has to. Today he really wanted his turn with the parashute so when the teacher said "If you want a turn do this" and she patted her knees; Cooper did it! This was the first time he ever did anything like that in a group setting and with no prompting. It took five months for him to finally do it, but at least he did it :)

I went to see Quinn's class for two reasons. Of course to check on Quinn, but also to see how good a fit it would be for Cooper next year. The environment in that classroom is just so positive and supportive compared to the other classes I saw. Everyone there is happy, the teacher, the aides, and the students. They play outside everyday unless there is bad weather, which is important for Cooper. I have made my decision and that is the class I want Cooper in next year. I am going to try and get the IEP to state he should also spend 5 hours a week in the inclusive classroom that will have mainly typical 3 year olds in it. Even if we can't get it in the IEP yet, the teacher promised she will work with me on it. So he will be about 8 hours special ed and 5 hours regular ed and I think that might be really good for him.

Quinn wasn't too excited to see me when I got there, but his teacher was! Quinn's aide was out sick today so they really needed the extra help. I am not sure I did so well, I didn't pay close enough attention and he ate some sand and also colored his mouth green with a marker. Oh well. He seemed to have a fun day, they played outside in the water table and he really liked that. The teacher makes all the kids take their shirts off and put on their "painting shirts" for water play. That meant there were all these little kids running around in adult sized t-shirts, it was so cute! At least Quinn is tall enough that he wasn't tripping over his, he is almost a full head taller than all the other kids. That makes sense since he is 5 and most of them are 3, but Cooper is going to be just as tall if not taller next year. It is clear that Quinn needs more than he can get at his current school, being there today also made me feel better about our decision to switch schools next year.

After that I went and picked Cooper up (Quinn had to take the bus home). That is where I found out they fired one of the aides in his class. It is probably for the best because it was obvious she wasn't living up to their very strict standards. They have the most amazing teachers at KKI and now I understand why, they don't mess around! It was a beautiful day so we went to the playground between schools. Cooper was so excited to be there because it had been a while. He went right to his swing and I started pushing him. I push him from the front so I can work with him on stuff and also so I can see his great smile. I was pushing him and this teenage girl came up behind him and started pushing him from behind! I was really surprised at first but then I realized that she was "special". There was actually a whole group of teens with developmental disabilities there today! I guess she was drawn to me and Cooper because we are special too :) I actually really appreciated the help because it isn't as easy to push from the front. Cooper thought is was great! She got bored and went off to gossip with her friends and another boy came over and asked if he could push Cooper. I said yes, of course, but his teacher came over and told him he wasn't allowed to :( At least he asked!

Anyway, as I was pushing Cooper I was thinking how he had imitated in class so I told him to pat his knees. He did it! So I told him to clap and he did that too (kinda, he just puts his hands together). So I told him to put his arms up and he did that also! He was an imitating rockstar today! I was really proud of him.