Sleeping

I love the places and positions I find Owen asleep.  He refuses to lie down and nap at regular nap time.  He just keeps going and going until he collapses with exhaustion.  His very favorite spot to sleep is in the big chair in our bedroom.  When I can tell that he needs to sleep, but doesn't want to stop long enough to let it happen, I convince him to come to my chair and turn on one of his favorite cartoons (Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Doc McStuffins, or Special Agent Oso).  Once I get him there, he is usually out within minutes.  Here are some pictures of just a few of the times that the sleeping powers of the chair have overcome him.

Regression

Aaron has been in therapy for his Sensory Processing Disorder for over a year now.  In January we had a meeting with his school to see if he qualified for an IEP, which would qualify him to leave the classroom for special help.  He has had a 504 in place this whole year, which allows for certain accommodations to be made for him in a classroom setting.  He has special scissors, a stretchy band across the front legs of his chair to kick against, a cushy seat on his chair to let him wiggle a bit, and other allowances when he is doing written work.  His teacher thought he would benefit greatly from one-on-one help with writing, so she asked to have him tested for an IEP. 

When we went in for the meeting, they went over all the test results with us.  He was just below average in everything, but was just high enough that he didn't qualify.  They assured us that it was a good thing that he didn't qualify, that it meant that he was doing well.  One of the tests they did was one his OT had done with him when she diagnosed him over a year ago.  At that time he had tested with a very low score (I think it was around a 12).  It meant he had the fine motor skills of a 2 year old at the time.  When testing for the IEP, he had scored an 86--a tremendous improvement--putting him in the average category for his age.  It was eye opening for me.  His progress has been so slow, that I haven't really seen it.  But, seeing those test scores made me realize just how much therapy has been helping him.

But, this last month Aaron was taken huge steps backwards.  He's regressing, and I don't know what to do to help him.  His OT was worried about his regression also, and suggested we start doing two sessions a week (back to back, so he's there for 2 hours instead of just one).  Therapy is so expensive ($160 an hour), so I hated to double up on sessions, but agreed because I knew Aaron needed it.

Sensory kids have a really hard time with change--even the changing seasons can throw them off.  I'm sure the impending birth of his little sister (even though he's really excited about it), is a tough change for him to process.  He's probably scared of how things will change around here, and he doesn't know how to deal with it. 

I've seen behaviors in him lately that I haven't seen in a year.  He has been holding his hands in fists again.  This is something sensory kids do to protect their palms (which are a sensitive part of the body) from unwanted touch.  And when he gets overwhelmed or there is just too much going on around him, he plugs his ears to block out the sounds.  It is so frustrating for me to see these behaviors coming back.  He has been extra weepy, he cries at everything.  I wish I could help him, but I'm doing everything I can already.  I'm just hoping that once Kate gets here, and we get into a new routine, that he'll come back around.  I know it's going to take time for everyone to adjust to a new baby, but I'm hoping we can get things back to "normal" again as soon as possible, for Aaron's sake.

Girly Little Things

I have a friend who makes hats.  This week she mailed me this adorable hat for Kate and a cute diaper/wet wipe clutch.  I am so excited to have a little head to put this hat on!  Two more weeks!

Easter Sunday

The kids woke up Easter morning excited to come down and see their baskets.  They waited at the top of the stairs till everyone was ready.  Owen (who had slept in our chair), did not want to wake up, so we let him stay asleep.

The kids were all very excited about the things that had been left for them in the night.  Savannah got a perplexus ball, Josh got a game called "Brain Quest", Sara got some construction paper, a puzzle book, and a skip-it, Aaron got a Disney Kinect game and a writing tablet, Nate got sidewalk chalk and a grabber, and Owen got a big dump truck for the sand box.

Finally the commotion woke up Owen.  He was hesitant to come out...

But, once he come out and saw his new truck, he was happy.

Then we turned the kids loose to hunt for eggs.

And we gathered up all the candy into bowls.  We have enough to last us till Christmas. 

Then we got ready and headed to church, where we were reminded of the real reason we celebrate Easter.  What a wonderful day.

Egg Hunt at Grandma's

Saturday we went to Scott's parent's house and had dinner and an Easter Egg hunt with the other cousins.  Everyone had a great time, and we'll all be eating candy for weeks.

Spring Break

Last week the kids were out of school for Spring Break.  It's too close to my due date to travel, so we stayed home and just enjoyed not having a schedule.  We'd stay up late each night to watch a movie and eat popcorn, and we enjoyed sleeping in each morning.  The kids played with friends, and enjoyed playing outside in the sun. 

On Friday, Scott took work off so we could go to the zoo as a family.  Unfortunately, every other family in the area had the same idea, and the zoo was packed.  We only made it through half the zoo before we decided we were done with the crowds.

We got the kids treats on the way home from the zoo.  That evening Scott took the older 5 kids to Jump Time (I stayed home with Owen).  It was a place Savannah had been wanting to go for a while now, and we decided Spring Break called for a special treat.  All the kids came home just raving about how fun it was.

Spring Break went by way too fast, and we are all now counting down the days till summer vacation.

I Love this Kid!