So, the first week of school is over and Marshall absolutely loved it. It was like he never even left. He was upset Thursday afternoon when I picked him up for therapy, he kept looking at Ms. Boykin, hoping that she would let him stay. I hate to see him upset when he has to leave school, but it is so comforting to know that he truly enjoys his time there.

He rode the bus home on Friday, which is kind of his treat at the end of the week, and he enjoyed it as usual. Marshall works so hard during the week, that Mark and I feel like he deserves something fun on Fridays. He again cried when I got him off of the bus. At this point, I'm thinking there is probably someone watching and wondering why every time I pick my kid up he cries?

Jordan is doing good in her new classroom, but change is definitely hard. Mark and I are both trying to be patient with the new teachers and allow them time to get to know J and learn what her needs are. This definitely is not an easy thing to do, but it is necessary. We have a meeting with everyone on Thursday to discuss seating and expectations in the classroom, so hopefully it will go great.

It's such a hard thing for any parent to watch their children grow up. Sometimes I think it is much harder for parents like Mark and I for the fact that our children require help from so many people to participate in activities, eat their meals, & get from one place to the other, just to name a few. Marshall and Jordan are doing so well in all of their therapies that we are so excited for what the future holds. May this new transition in all of our lives be a smooth and gentle one and M and J learn lots of new things this year.

Fun times outside

Marshall has been wanting to go outside so much lately, so every time we open the front door he scoots straight toward it. We've been letting him go out the door a couple of times and he will go straight for the stairs so I just hold onto the back of his shirt and he scoots down those stairs as fast as he can and off he goes. He loves scooting on the sidewalk and driveway, but actually went in the grass and turned around and looked at me like, hmmmm this feels different, and then off he went. He is so fast these days that I can't turn away from him or he will be into something that he isn't supposed to be. I'm so glad that day is finally here, but he is wearing me out with all of his energy and will power.

Marshall started back to school on Wednesday, thankfully with the same teacher. He didn't sleep the night before, I think he was trying to get every last minute out of his summer that he could. Mark and I both took Marshall to school yesterday morning and he walked in and it was like he never left. He immediately smiled and was so happy and his teachers were too cute. They were wearing cowboy hats, bandannas, and badges. They had a saddle set up by the classroom for the boys to take their picture on and they all had wanted posters hanging up on the bulletin board outside the classroom. It was so cute. Marshall definitely knew where he was and was excited to be back. I don't think he missed us one bit, which is the way I like it. He loves his friends and teachers so much that it's great to see him excited about going to school. He had a great first day and made sure to show them all of the things he is doing now. I think he pulled up on everything possible. What a great way to start off the school year. WANTED!!!

We were so lucky to meet him!!

It has been such an amazing experience to travel around the world with my children and get the opportunity to meet amazing families that have children with special needs. Although we are not all the same and neither are our children, we do have something in common and that is the will and determination to never give up on our kids. We were very lucky last summer to spend time in Canada where we met a lot of fantastic people. Today, I got word that a little boy that attended the camp with Marshall passed away. At first, I thought that my eyes were reading the screen wrong, then I realized that they weren't and I wasn't even sure how to react? We celebrated this child's 8th birthday with him last summer at camp, and now he's gone. I have come to realize that with the friends that we make along this journey in life, we will lose some along the way. How lucky we were to be able to meet this strong, courageous young boy and to meet his mother and grandmother. Karlene, may peace be with you and your family during this difficult time. Aaron was an amazing little boy and we were so lucky to meet him!!

Watching her favorite

Jordan sitting on her bench like a big girl. Of course the only reason that she tolerated it was because I let her watch Spongebob Squarepants while she sat. Sometimes it takes manipulation to get her or Marshall to do what they need and can do. She has been working so hard at this sitting thing and her intensive program is over with her physical therapist, so she now goes back to three days a week of PT. Hopefully, we will continue to see great progress although we will be losing two hours a week. Jordan can do this, she just has to want to do it.

My, what big eyes you have!

Jordan had her annual eye appointment today at Children's. She has been doing great with her glasses, so it was more of a follow up appointment. The doctor wanted to dilate her eyes, so we had to get the yucky drops put in her eyes, which she definitely did not like, and wait in the waiting room for about 20 minutes. This is a picture of her in my arms sitting in the waiting room, waiting for her eyes to dilate. She is such a sweet girl. The doctor checked her eyes and said everything looked good. He said something that I had not heard, even though I have two children with seizures? He said he was glad to see her nerves/veins in the back of her eyes weren't swollen because when seizures are present, they sometimes cause swelling and create changes in a person's vision. It was definitely interesting to know, since Marshall and Jordan BOTH have seizures. So, everything checked out good, we will go back in 6 months for a follow up.

Trip to Children's

It's back to our usual trips to Children's hospital. The kids had dentists appointments this week and both were schedule for dental surgery on September 10th. They both have a few teeth that the dentist wants to fill and they want to be able to get a good set of x-rays of their teeth. It is usually easier to do it all at one time, so they will go through ambulatory surgery and Dr. Koonce will put them to sleep, get their x-rays, clean/repair their teeth and be all done.

I had to take Marshall on Tuesday by myself and he was completely fine until we got into the waiting room and he began crying, luckily there weren't any other patients in the room. Thankfully, another family showed up and there was a nice little boy that came and played beside Marshall, which quickly got him out of his crying mood. He started laughing and he laughed so hard that he tooted. He is so silly!! I was just so glad that little boy was there to entertain him. Then on Wednesday, Jordan had an appointment and we had to take both kids because we had no sitter and amazingly once we walked in the waiting room, Marshall was all smiles. I guess he knew that he wasn't there to see the dentist, sister was.