Cutest little Indian ever

Last week Avery had her Thanksgiving feast at school. She chose to be an Indian. She was very excited and even wanted me to braid her hair to look more authentic. I was lucky enough be able to volunteer because Kirk had that day off. Sometimes his ever changing schedule really comes in handy!

DEVIN

Before I get started, this is Devin's preschool picture. So cute, huh?! I thought it was about time I finally wrote about what we now know for sure. Since Devin was 14 months there has always been a big question mark over his head with all the professionals - is he PDD NOS or just delayed? About 3 weeks or so ago he was finally diagnosed as having PDD NOS meaning Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. See this link if you want to read the signs that go along with this disorder -

http://ucf-card.org/uploads/factsheets/1187875130_eng.pdf (copy and paste this if you want to follow the link. I don't know how to do it the right way)

It has been described as basically being a mild form of Autism, although it is it's own diagnosis. Although, it was difficult to hear and we had hoped he wouldn't have it, we pretty much knew already and have now settled in with the label. After receiving ABA therapy (Applied Behavioral Analysis) for a year and then not qualifying for any more services his stimming, unable to wait for things and like behaviors really came about. In other areas he has really improved, though. Being in a typical preschool with children his own age and being around peer models has really been great for him and helped a lot. His language has really exploded since being in that environment and we are understanding him more. He still struggles with ritualistic type behaviors (I.E. opening and closing doors) and lack of pretend play among a few other things, but he's coming along. We are waiting for the official report from the assessment and for his speech assessment in December and then we will be going back to the school district to fight it out to get him more services. He really is doing well and has come a very long way. We are very grateful for his progress and all the help he got early on to get him to where he is today. It is now time to move into the next phase and be his advocates to help him go even further. Wish us luck!

AGW 2008

Our all girl weekend in Vegas was this past weekend. We were a bit smaller in numbers this year, but still had a great time! Every year my cousins, their kids, my aunt and my mom and sister and I all meet in Vegas for a fun-filled weekend of catching up. They come from as far away as Georgia and as near as St. George, UT. I look forward to this weekend the moment the current one is over. This year my wonderful cousin Janey couldn't make it at the last minute because she got sick. Gosh, we missed you Janey! It just wasn't the same. I can't tell you how much we talked about you (in a good way - ha!). We stayed at The Orlean's this time and had rooms pretty close to each other. I always get asked what all we do, but it's not about Vegas. It's about spending time with our family, so we mostly hang out in the room or go eat somewhere. And we normally are having so much fun in our rooms laughing that no one has a hard time finding where we're at. We really do have a great time! So, here's what we did. Friday we hung out in our room pretty much the whole day besides going out to get dinner. Saturday my sister and I went down to the hot tub for a bit before Linda and crew arrived and we all ate a Subway for lunch. Then my sister, mom and I went shopping for a bit. That night we all met up again for dinner at the mexican restaurant in the hotel. Sunday we met up at the buffet for brunch, hung out and went to the hot tub again and then rented Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 in Linda's room. Cute movie. I really want to read the series. Monday we said our goodbye's and half the gang went to the strip to go look at a bunch of chocolate fountains and my sis, mom and I took our time getting ready, checked out and went to the M&M store and MGM to check out the lion exhibit (the picture was taken from under. It's a glass tube like thing so you can get under them) before taking my sister to the airport. A relaxing and low key weekend, but a great time!

Visit to Santa

Last night I heard that Santa arrived at the mall. Can you believe it? Thanksgiving isn't even for another 2 weeks. Next year he'll probably get here on Halloween. Anyway, Kirk had to work today so I took the kids over to see him. I love going early because there isn't a wait and then I'm done and can enjoy the season. Outside there was a train ride that we went on too...in 90 something degree weather. There's just something wrong with going to see Santa and riding a train decorated for Christmas in shorts! :-)

Sad news

It is with great sadness that I post this entry. My dear friend, Lou Roah, has passed away at the age of 91. Lou has been in my life from the day I was born. He was at every family gathering we had and was as close to an uncle as you can get. He died of heart failure overnight. He always had such a zest for life. We shared a lot of stories about our travels to different places in the world. He always had a smile on his face and was a very warm person. I will dearly miss him. He will always hold a special place in my heart!