Quinn did great again at horseback riding! He is really starting to get it! He is getting so good at handing the PEC to "go" that he might be ready to add "stop". He loves riding the horse and I don't know much about horseback riding, but his form looks good to me. He must be a natural :) He especially likes it when they put his feet in the stirrups so he can stand up a little...I think it is called posting. He just likes it because it is even more bouncy that way. Cooper goes for his evaluation for riding on June 17th and then he is going to start going regularly too. The woman who runs the center told me that the Autistic kids just can't resist talking to the horses...I hope she is right!

I made one last ditch effort today and called Social Security to try and get help for the kids financially. Nope, we make too much money..even when you factor in two kids with disabilities. More bad news, I was supposed to go look at the afternoon class for Cooper but the teacher had her baby so there will be a substitute...I knew I shouldn't have waited! And Cooper's infants and toddlers teacher is going to be on vacation when they scheduled his next IEP....she was going to be the only friendly face there!!!

Good news, Matt fixed the ice maker....it's a freaking miracle!

This morning I watched Cooper's class, from what I saw he did pretty well. He was verbalizing more than usual and in a really good mood. He was so glad to be back at school after the long break that he went right in and gave his teacher a big hug :) I also spent some time on my cell phone with the insurance company this morning. That didn't go too well. Apparently they got the pre-determination but they said it takes "at least" 30 days to get a response...which means it could take even longer! We need to know by June 15 for him to get in the summer program at KKI, so that isn't too likely to happen :(

Since it was pouring all day we went to Baskin Robbins instead of the playground. Cooper remembered that this is where they have ice cream so he was really happy when we walked in. We went up to order and I had to let go of Cooper's hand so I could pay. The next thing I know the man behind me in line starts laughing. I turn around and there is Cooper, holding this man's hand and standing there like he belonged to him! Luckily it was a nice man who found it amusing (if not a little weird) that this little boy came up to him and grabbed his hand. Cooper is really big on holding someones hand when we are out, I guess since mine was no longer available he found one that was. I see lots of working on boundries in our future.

Today was a pretty good day!

This morning Cooper and I had our in-center meeting at KKI with Kerry. Kerry tells me how to play with Cooper the "right way". Whatever helps I guess :) Cooper loves it because he loves Kerry and we get to go to one of the Achievements classrooms downstairs, which he also loves. The best thing is that he verbalizes like crazy whenever we go down there. Today I was showing him how to pull the screws out of the toy workbench and I was saying "pull" (because that is what Kerry taught me to do), and he pops out with a perfect "pull" in response! Wow! Kerry heard it too so I am not nuts.

Then I took Quinn to horseback riding this afternoon and he had a great time. Apparently they have a nice riding path through the woods that they like to use when it is sunny. Quinn really enjoyed it, he even got to ride through a stream! When Cooper starts there I will have to warn them, because he will totally jump off the horse and into the stream. He also did an excellent job of handing the "go" PEC to his therapist each time to make the horse go. He has never really gotten it before but today he was an expert! When the lesson was over she untied the holder from the horse and gave the whole thing to him. She said "give it to Mommy" and instead of handing me the whole thing (or ignoring her which is more likely), he pulled the "go" off and handed it to me. It was so cute and awefully smart :)

The best thing that happened today is that it looks like our insurace will start paying for diapers! They will pay 70% for as many as we need for Quinn (good thing Cooper wears the same size). This is really great and will save us sooo much money! We spend a fortune around here on diapers :(

Cooper's new favorite number is eighteen and it totally cracks me up! He is always running around the house saying "18, 18, 18!" He sounds just like I did when I was a teenager :) I want to get it on video so I can show him when he is 17, for some reason I think he is going to be looking forward to his independence at that point. He also really likes the number sixteen, yup I looked forward to that one too. Yesterday he was having trouble saying it though, it would come out either as a plain "six" or a strange "sheesh". I tried to help him figure out the pronounciation last night and today he finally got it! It isn't as good as 18 but it is close, sounds like "six.....teen", he leaves a cute little pause in the middle :)

Quinn had a great day! He got picked up at school by Grandpa Don and then they went out to lunch at Burger King and then to the playground. He was in a fantastic mood when he got home. And Grandpa Don said that if it is nice out tommorow they can do it all over again! This morning I brought Quinn downstairs and got his morning banana. I put it on the table in front of him while I helped him into his highchair and he looked right at it and said "eat"! Good Job Quinny!

The kids are going back to school tommorow whether they are healthy enough or not! I think they are healthy enought though. Cooper is doing much better and I think Quinn has been on antibiotics long enough now.

I got the most annoying email on one of my "typical kid" listserves. It was someone recommending the tutor they had just hired for their child....their 4 year old child! No, this child was not showing delays. From the sound of it the mom just wanted her to learn enough to be smarter than all the other kindergarteners come fall. Give me a break! I wish I had the luxury of being obnoxious enough to do something like that. All our "tutors" are still focusing on the most basic basics. Ugg, just uggg.

The kids are both sick. I took Quinn to the doctor today and he has an ear infection, the first since he got tubes! Cooper just seems to have a really runny nose and is coughing a bit. I am not feeling so hot myself. So we are all taking one more day off to get better. The good news is that Quinn has been in a great mood even though he is sick, and Cooper is handling it better than expected. When he woke up from his really long nap today he came downstairs, curled up on the sofa, and pointed to the TV. Message recieved :)

Quinn said "eat" today, at least I think he did. He actually said it a bunch of times today all appropriately because there was food involved each time. I am not sure if I can believe it or not, but it sure seemed like the real thing. Maybe all that expensive speech therapy is finally starting to kick in! He has also been in an exceptionally good mood today, especially considering he is as sick as a dog :)