Updates

I haven't posted a general update on everyone for a long time, so here goes!

SYDNEY
The girl is flying along in ABA therapy. They said cognitively she seems quite bright and they are having to develop new goals for her earlier than they had anticipated. So that's all good! We are working a lot on her "manding" - requesting what she wants. We are making her use full sentences when manding and are trying to get her to vary the words she used. She got a little stuck on saying "I me want" and so we are trying to use other carrier phrases for now ("can I have?") and we're hoping she'll just drop it after a bit. She still is not really using conversational language with us, but she is talking a LOT more and she is commenting on everything around her ("I hear fire truck!" "Mama brown circle eyes" and, the other night when the sun was setting she pointed with big eyes and said, "PINK clouds!!!").

Preschool is two mornings a week and I'm not sure right now if I'm going to keep her in or not. We're giving it a little more time, but so far I feel like they are mostly babying her and she's probably getting reinforced more for bad behavior than anything else.

Food is still a major challenge, she is picky as ever. Right now her favorite foods are oatmeal, peanut butter, popcorn, noodles, freeze dried strawberries, sliced apples, z-bars, cereal, yogurt, and cheese. That's almost her entire food list!

She has started getting very scared of things...me leaving, a scary toy at the store, a commercial on tv. She often hides behind our recliner and peeks her head out to see if everything is okay. She'll run down the hall in the middle of the night, calling "Mama!! Mama!! Where ARE you?" so pitifully. Then she has this breathless "MAMA!!!" when she sees me. I think she'd be talking about monsters in the dark if she could.

NATALIE
I just had her first parent-teacher conference for kindergarten. She is doing very well academically and her teacher says she is "a joy" to have in class. She has gotten a happy-face "success ticket" every single day this year so for (good behavior) and so tonight she and I are having a sleep over in the living room to celebrate. She is starting to read and is SO, so excited about it. She tries to find her sight words anyplace she can, and I often here her yell out "THE!!!! I saw THE!!!" Only she says it like "duh" - she still has her little lisp!

She's had a lot of drama to get through with the other kids in kindergarten, since she isn't really used to playing with kids at her developmental level. It is all working out but she has had some tears and misunderstandings, and it is definitely going to be a year of learning for her, socially. We are hoping to have two of her new friends over for playdates this coming week!

JACOB
Whew, we've been busy with him! His agression is, for the most part, MUCH better. He still has his moments and I've got two big bites on my right arm today, but overall it is a huge improvement from the spring. He is in an inclusion 1st grade classroom which has 14 students, 7 of which are are special needs (mostly on the spectrum, I think). The classroom has 3 aides, plus we currently have his home program aides going as well. We have had a disagreement with the district over that issue and are currently working it out through a variety of meetings and IEPs. I can't say much about it here since it's an ongoing issue, but he could certainly use your prayers.

Jacob is in the accelerated reader program in his classroom (even among typical peers), although I don't think he comprehends much of what he reads yet. He is struggling with math, but it looks like the lightbulb is finally going off for addition and it is starting to make more sense. I was worried that he was getting too frustrated and so it is a relief to see him starting to "get" it.

In addition to his time at school, he gets 10 hours a week of ABA at home, focusing on functional skills...getting dressed on his own (he still puts things on backwards all the time, and has to be prompted a lot through the process or you'll find him 10 minutes later with his pants still around his ankles), using the bathroom (although he's been potty trained for years, there are other issues like cleanliness, washing his hands and not just standing there for 10 minutes with them in the water, etc), making his own snacks, getting items from other rooms of the house, etc. We are really happy with his new therapy company!

He still is in love with cars and enjoys watching them whenever he gets the chance. He likes to label the color, make, and model. He'll visit the Porsche or Honda websites and watch their online videos with a grin on his face, and he also likes car videos on youtube. A new interest that has been budding is in animals...he has never noticed them much before and all of a sudden he is. He often works to hear animal noises, and it's something you'll hear him saying under his breath oftentimes. He has not been able to use "absurdities" in the past but he has starting saying things like "Frog says mooo...NOOOOOOO!" and cracking up. It is great to see!

He is growing like crazy and weighs 64 lbs now. AND his bottom left front tooth is very wiggly loose! ;)

THE GROWNUPS
Chris and I are pretty much the same! I'm trying to think of anything particularly new...Chris is working hard on his Master's degree so he is busy most of the time, either with his regular work or with homework. He is up a lot during the night to get it all done. I'm just trying to hold down the fort while he's working hard to move us forward.

We are all happy to see the fall here and looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and the petting zoo at the pumpkin farm!