Another busy month as we settle into our fall routine! It's actually been very nice schedule. We normally get up at 6:45 AM and proceed to get ready for the day. Once we're fed, dressed, and brushed, Little Buddy gets to pick a TV show (currently, his favorite is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) to watch while I feed sister. After sister is done, we head out the door. Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays tend to be workout and park days. On Tuesdays we go for story time with Ms. J and C and on Fridays it's My Gym. We then grab lunch and head home for naps. Little Buddy boggles his peers' minds by still napping from about 1-3 PM each day. Once he wakes up, we do our "learning time" and get dinner ready for when Daddy comes home. After dinner, it's playtime with Daddy and baths before getting ready for bed. Of course, there are always some changes with weather and therapy appointments, but so far, the schedule itself has gone really well and helps keep me sane!
Starting our day at breakfast with Sister!
Sometimes, we have to do errands instead of a workout. On this particular day, Little Buddy was so excited about taking Dundee to Build-A-Bear to get him a Halloween costume that he ran, tripped, and hit his head. However, he was more concerned about Dundee's head than his own and insisted the koala bear get the ice pack. His loyalty to Dundee was forgotten, however, when we completed our other errand of picking out a potty prize at the Disney Store. Donald Duck now holds the coveted "favorite toy" spot in Little Buddy's heart.
Sorry, Dundee. Some days you're the favorite, some days you get thrown to Sister. You'll be on the upswing again some day soon, I'm sure.
A kiss for Aunt S's baby belly after lunch one day (can't wait for Baby P to arrive!)
Prairie Dawn testing out our Tinker Toy moon rover during our science learning time.
All of our activities are a lot of fun, but I think my one of my favorites has been our "Terrific Tuesdays" with Ms. J and C. Little Buddy really likes story time and the associated activities!
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Dancing at story time!
Little Buddy and C getting their color on!
Running through the book maze after the library!
My silly bear after another story day!
Story time with C is more than just fun, it's also very good for Little Buddy to have one-on-one playdates to help him work on his language and co-playing skills. My friends have been awesome about helping us with this aspect of his treatment and I can't thank them enough (especially when Little Buddy suckers them into being his playmates too).
Ms. L and baby J reading a book "just one more time" to Little Buddy
Mr. C, a friend from MC, quickly became one of Little Buddy's favorite playmates after a visit up to watch some football.
Height and Weight
Currently
45 in. and 56 lbs. We did finally get him some new longer pants, but still need to go in to get him new shoes for the winter. I think he's gone up three sizes since spring!
Personality
Still very sweet and happy, though still having trouble with transitions. He's also starting to get concerned about "privacy" and has begun to tell us to shut the bathroom door when he is on the potty because "I need my privacy please." Maybe now he'll start giving me some privacy? Maybe? Ha!
Developmental Milestones
Improvements are going strong and, I'm happy to say, we are thisclose to finally getting his services started! He had his evaluation with the school district two weeks ago and, by the skin of his teeth, qualified for both speech therapy and the PPCD program. Really, it was the best case scenario as he scored just enough to qualify but not enough to be a severe case yet. Although the school psychologist was more concerned about the possible ADHD as opposed to the ASD and suggested medication (something we, along with our child psychologist, don't really want to consider until he's at least 5 and has completed some therapy), the evaluation went really well, and they think Little Buddy is an excellent candidate for the kindergarten prep program and should have full inclusion in the regular classroom very quickly. We are just waiting on our confirmation hearing where hopefully the committee will accept all the recommendations.
He has also had his in-home occupational and speech therapy evaluations, and will be starting those services within the week! Occupational therapy did note delays, and were especially concerned with his tight hips (limited flexibility could definitely be contributing to delayed gross motor skills) and his weak core (which can contribute to attention issues because he is too busy moving around to stabilize himself to focus on what is going on around him). For speech, he needs to continue to work on his language complexity and his conversational back-and-forth, which we have been noting improvements in anyway, so hopefully we will see continued growth in those areas.
Fun Tidbits
We celebrated Little Sister's birthday a bit early, and Little Buddy was eager to get in on the fun, especially when Sister seemed unsure about her birthday cake. We also got to enjoy a great visit from Mimi and Pop-Pop!
Giving Sister a demonstration of what to do with cake.
I am so blessed.
Thanks for coming Mimi and Pop-Pop!
Have a good night,
LBM
Little Buddy's Momma
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