Ainsleigh's 5th & Brycen's 3rd Birthdays

Brycen's Birthday Cake

Finding Nemo

Ainsleigh's Birthday Cake
Scooby Doo

No, the charcoal was not a gift!! ; )


Hurry up, Daddy!!!! I want cake!!

Aiden (our nephew) & Brycen

The kids had a GREAT party!!!! The party was at Scott's house, my older brother. Brent's parents and our niece, Scarlett, drove up for the party!! It was SO awesome to get to see all of our nieces and nephew together (we have two nieces: Scarlett and Kaelyn, one nephew: Aiden). My parents were there, and obviously the host/hostess: Scott and Sherie (my sister in law). Ainsleigh got a little overwhelmed just before opening presents. Needless to say, opening presents was a little bit of a disaster (Brent and I pretty much had to open everything ourselves). They got lots of fun things and they really enjoyed them the next day when everything was much more calm. My brother cooked steaks on the grill (YUM!!!!) and everyone had a really good time!!!

Brycen's 1st Day Pics

Too early, wake up call is at 6am He's looking good and ready to go!

Brycen & Ainsleigh

Look how little his backpack is!!!

Out front of his school

Sorry this took me so long to post, but here they are!!! Brycen is doing SO WELL!!!! He is making awesome progress, almost on a daily basis!!!! : ) Today he tore off a paper towel all by himself without fussing, he got soap and washed his hands without fussing, and he actually LOOKED at his PECS cards for the FIRST TIME EVER!!!!!!! : ) He is doing wonderfully and we couldn't be more excited, thrilled, humbled!!!! I'll post more on his progress later, thank you to everyone who is praying for him!!!!! You're part of his progress too!!! : )

Brycen has started school!!

Brycen started school last Friday!!! I am still in shock that this time has already arrived!! We had his ARD meeting with the ISD last Tuesday, and it went very well! I did not have to fight for services for him, and his teacher is really wonderful!! They wanted him to start on Wednesday of last week, but I said no. We had multiple therapy appointments already scheduled and honestly, I wasn't ready! : } He did start on Friday and he did GREAT!!! It was picture day (can't wait to get those and share them!), and they had a little Valentine's Party too!! This week he has gone everyday and he is transitioning VERY well!!! Much, much better than I expected him to! We are having a little issue with our good bye in the morning so the teacher and I are creating a plan on how to best transition him into school without lots of crying (and without riding the bus). Hopefully it works, I'll keep you posted!! I really do not want him riding the bus! Anyway, they have been using a weighted vest to help him regulate himself and calm down, and it is working GREAT!!! We are looking into getting one for him at home! He tantrums a little when he gets home (really bad yesterday but I think it was because he was REALLY tired), but after some brushing and deep pressure he seems to relax and calm down. The teacher and I communicate through a daily log so she can let me know how he is doing, what they are trying with him, and I can incorporate those things at home as well. They are using pull ups with him, and he is getting more used to them each day. He is verbalizing and really enjoys the Baby Bumble Bee DVD's the teacher has (we are looking into getting him some of these, but they are expensive). Anyway, I will post a picture later of him and his first day of school!!! I am very excited about how this is going and will keep you all posted on how he is doing!!! Love you all! : )

Our upcoming week

This is going to be a VERY busy week for me (busier than usual!)! This is Brycen's last week of therapy with ECI, so ALL of his therapists (he has about 6 of them) are scheduling their last visits for this week, we have a meeting with the school district to transition Brycen into school on his 3rd birthday (he'll be 3 on the 16th!!!!!), and Ainsleigh's school is having a Valentine's Day Party!! Please say a little prayer that everything goes well with the school district, and that Brycen will transition as smoothly as possible into his class. Oh.. I almost forgot. On top of all of that, we are trying to get everything ready for the kids birthday party which is coming up (Ainsleigh will be 5 on the 24th, gotta love February birthdays, haha!) on the 21st. Let's not even discuss celebrating Valentine's Day or Brent and I's 7th Anniversary this month too!! I am SO looking forward to March.... haha!! : )

We made it through : )

Today was a GREAT day!!! We were actually able to stay for the entire church service (class at 9am, and service at 10:30am)!!!! Brycen did AWESOME!! No meltdowns, no crying, no hitting... He has come such a LONG way and we are SO proud of him!! He was definitely tired and ready to go when we picked him up, but he did it!! We have been attending Heritage for several months now, but only until the last month have I been able to leave his class so that I could attend service. After first service, we had to leave because Brycen's morning class usually consisted of 5 other toddlers and 3 teachers, but the later morning class consists of about 15 toddlers besides Brycen (too much for him). The teachers said he did very well, even sat at the table for a little while with the other children : )

Ainsleigh LOVES her class and was SO thrilled to get to stay the whole time!!! She is such a GREAT big sister!! She has been very understanding with Brycen and has not complained at having to leave her class earlier than the other children. It was SO WONDERFUL to get to reward her for HER efforts today!!! I wish I had a picture to post but unfortunately as soon as we left the church building Brycen had a meltdown (hahaha!!)... he really was ready to go!!!!

Ainsleigh's Latest Updates

Being a parent is never easy, especially when there wasn't a chapter in the manual for a child like Ainsleigh, haha!! : ) Her teachers reported to us that her behaviors in school have progressed (she isn't flapping, head banging, or getting out of her seat to walk in circles as much anymore), she is socializing with the other children more, and talking more (don't know if they are happy about that one, haha)!! WONDERFUL news for us!!

However, there are still some issues we are all concerned about. The teachers report that she knows the tasks she is supposed to do, even tells the teachers exactly what she is supposed to do yet she cannot do them. She is not being willful or stubborn, but literally is physically unable to do what they want of her (i.e. cutting paper, writing her letters/numbers, etc.). She still has oddities with her socializing with other children, cannot eat her lunch, and if the teachers change the routine she has a hard time. I dread every Tuesday and Thursday now!! As soon as I have to tell her that it is time to get ready for school, the tears come... the begging not to go... the emotional tidal wave... I have resorted to bribing her to go to school so that I will not have to "make" her go. It breaks my heart when I pick her up and she bursts into tears, wanting to leave school immediately! It is not that she does not have a good time at school, she does!! She likes singing, coloring, making crafts, playing with her "friends", but there is something.... Hopefully we'll have some answers soon! We are taking her to a neuropsychologist to help us figure out what is going on with Ainsleigh, and what we can do to help her. Hopefully, we'll get some answers!

Brycen's Latest Accomplishments

It never ceases to amaze me at just how powerful music can be! Thanks to Yo Gabba Gabba songs, Brycen is now trying to imitate the lyrics he hears!! He doesn't actually say the words yet, but we are close! The other day Yo Gabba Gabba did a song on "High 5's" and Brycen can now give "High 5's"!!!!!!! This is truly an amazing thing!!!

Brycen is now jumping for the first time, he is riding on his ride-on toys appropriately, we played with his little laptop and I would point to the letters he had to identify for the game, and he would press the correct button!!! As if that alone wasn't amazing enough, he then started pressing the correct buttons on his own!!!!!! AMAZING!!! We are ecstatic!!!! I am SO proud of him!!!!