Results

Today, we received the results from Little Buddy's assessment.  He is advanced in "academic development" (letters, numbers, shapes, colors, states, etc) but approximately a year delayed in all other areas (including social, attention, language, fine motor). And in gross motor he's showing an adjusted age of 2.5. His delays are enough that he technically fits on the autism spectrum too. ADHD is possible, but attention issues could also be due immaturity due to mental age (he'll be specifically reassessed for that in one year).  We will be hounding our school district to get him in the special education pre-k class to help close the gap as well starting private therapy for OT, PT, and speech.

We are still processing the information.  We were expecting delays and possibly ADHD, but autism spectrum disorder caught us off guard (granted, it's non-specific in his case and on the mild end of the spectrum).  It's mostly based on his lack of sophistication in language, which affects his social interaction, so there is the hope that with time and therapy, he can catch up to his peers.  In any case, he's still our perfect little boy and we are so proud of him and will always be his advocates in getting him whatever help he needs so that he can lead a happy healthy life.

Good night, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

Fun in Phoenix!

This weekend we were excited to fly into Phoenix to visit Uncle J, Aunt S, and cousin T in Surprise, AZ.  It was there first time meeting Little Sweetie and, therefore, the first time to get all the cousins together.  Although it was a quick trip, it was a wonderful visit!

Our welcoming party at the airport!

After we arrived, we went to Uncle J and Aunt S's house to play with their puppies and eat some lunch.  Then we headed to lots of fun at the Phoenix Children's Museum!

     

Little Buddy loved the cool climbing structure at the entrance of the Museum!  Daddy had to go chase him through it a couple of times.

   

Little Sweetie had great fun playing blocks with her brother and cousin, and then found some adventures all of her own!

   

The grocery store, hot dog cart, and ice cream stand were some of Little Buddy's favorite attractions!

Some sibling pencil race car action!

Family fun at the Phoenix Children's Museum!

We finished the day with dinner and then settled into our hotel.  Lots of fun sleeping with two kids in one hotel room...ha!  And both kids ignored the time change and woke up at 4 AM Arizona time, mistaking it for the 6 AM Texas time they are used to!  Daddy and I were pretty tired, but were still excited to start the day with some swim time with the family!

After swimming, cousin T went home for his nap and we took Little Buddy and Little Sweetie to a local park.  They had a great time and wore themselves out for their own naps.  Which was good, because they needed their energy for our next activity...checking out Chase Field and a Diamaondbacks game!  

Brother was beyond excited for the baseball game.  Upon seeing the stadium, he turned to us and said, "Oh wow!"

     

Lots of baseball fun with the kiddos!

I even got to introduce the kids to one of my dear friends from childhood, Ms. A!

After the game, we head to a nice dinner at Yardhouse, where the kids did way better than we expected and we got some good pictures.  I was sad to leave the next day!

Little Sweetie and Cousin T, great dining companions!

The three cousins!  Ten months, 4 years, and 20 months.  Love them!

     

Obligatory sibling kiss and hug pictures.  Love my not-so-little brother and so glad I got to spend time with him and his family!

I'm so happy we got to have this time with my brother's family and hope it isn't long before we get to spend time with them again!

Good night,

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

August 11

Another very busy month with my little man!  One of the big hits of this month was Little Buddy creating his own circus.  A deal to attend for the low admission price of four gold coins, I was lucky enough to get a lifetime pass to watch all the acts!

Welcome to the greatest show on earth!  Our featured acts include...

     

...lots of animals jumping through a flaming hoop, the same animals doing flips on command, and a tight rope walking exhibition for which only red yarn (not the purple I offered) would work at the rope.  Cracks me up!

We did have a bump in the road when Little Buddy had a 12 hour stomach bug of some kind.  Thankfully, it passed quickly with only a few incidents and lots of tiredness, but I hate seeing him looking so sad and lethargic.  However, he didn't mind all day cartoons to make him rest!

     

So much Daniel Tiger!

     

Somebody needs his rest...

     

...but at least Momma and Daddy got some snuggles!

Although I did find out that it is hard to keep my kiddos apart when one is sick!  Thankfully, Little Sister didn't catch it.  

I guess some good did come out of the sickness for Little Buddy, though.  He's been a big fan of the Disney store and Mickey lately (thanks to his Sorcerer's Apprentice book) and has earned a Sorcerer Mickey as well as a matching sorcerer hat as potty prizes.

The two sorcerers!

However, he hadn't known about the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show on the Disney Channel.  Once I introduced him to that while he was sick in order to give him some variety while he rested on the couch, he became obsessed!

     

Feeling better and watching Mickey, followed by more Daniel, followed by more Mickey.  

And as always, he continues to be an awesome big brother to his little sister!

     

Bad angle, but he was feeding sister in this picture!  My little helper.

 

Love this boy!

Height and Weight

Little Buddy weighed in at 54 lbs and stood tall at 44 3/8 in.  Thankfully, he seems to be slowing down a bit in the growth department (although we have to go up both a shorts size and a shoe size since May).

Personality

Lately, he has been very emotional and tantrum-prone, which has been throwing me off a bit.  Breakdowns over putting on pants or getting in his carseat...so much fun!  But it's just another stage of life, of asserting his independence.  Otherwise, he's still very happy.  A bit easily distracted, maybe, but very happy and loving.  

Developmental Milestones

Well, we had his assessment and it went well in that it was an accurate representation of how he behaves daily.  We will get the results in two weeks, but I think there will definitely be mention of borderline motor skill and attention issues.  Hoping that all that is needed is some extra help in OT and PT to make sure he's caught up for kindergarten.  His mental acuity seemed fine...he knows his stuff!  Thankfully, our homeschool lessons seem to be helping him stay on task in his learning development.

Uncles, unicorns, underwear...must be a lesson on letter U!

We also had another great dentist appointment...no cavities!  Although he still hates laying on his back (no movie can entice him to enjoy it), the appointment went well.

The swag his dentist office gives away is pretty amazing...I wish my dentist gave me so much great stuff!

Fun Tidbits

We've been having a lot of fun doing more "big kid" playtime and games, including more actual Lego time (as opposed to Duplos, but it's been hard keeping them out of reach of Little Sister) and several great rounds of tic-tac-toe!

     

We also had a lot of fun with Aunt S while Daddy was out of town.  She came over for movie night and was introduced to the awesomeness that is The Lego Movie!

Everything is awesome!

Until next month, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma