B turns 3!!

Our little B turned 3. It's so hard to believe that she is already three years old. I always remind myself to try to treasure every moment because it goes by so fast but then I don't really do it. It flies by. I feel like she was just a baby, learning to roll over and in a blink of any eye she has become a sassy 3 year old.

My 3 year old:
Favorite food: Sushi (chicken roll and edamame) and hot dogs. Brennan is a picky eater. She is hesitant to try new foods and judges everything by what it looks like...if it's not pretty she won't eat it! She likes carrots and cucumbers and most fruit so she eats that several times a day. This area is definitely a work in progress.

Favorite toy: She loves her dolls, princesses, and crafty stuff (coloring, play doh, stickers, stamps) but she absolutely loves playing with the Magna Tiles with her big brother.

Best buddy: "Conn" (short for Conner!), Cassidy, Lexi and Kendall. She loves playing with her friends at school, ballet and her other class.

When she grows up: She still wants to be a princess and she told me that I am the queen. She loves playing Doc McStuffins so maybe she will be a nurse like me or even a doctor some day! Or, maybe she will actually be a princess!

Favorite Disney Character: Sleeping Beauty (because she is the pink one...never seen the movie!), Doc McStuffins

Other favorite characters: Strawberry Shortcake and friends, Pinkalicious

Favorite color: PINK, and purple and blue and rainbow (the blue and rainbow are because that is what Conner always says and she wants to be just like her big brother!)

Favorite TV shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and more recently, Dora and Bubble Guppies

Favorite Songs: Do You Want to Build a Snowman? (from Frozen), Girl on Fire, Anything sung by Minnie Mouse!

We are going to the pediatrician in a few weeks so I will get B's current weight and height. I know she is over 30 lbs but not sure exactly.

 celebrating her birthday at school

so proud to be holding the kiddish cup!

Our girl can be so sweet and snuggly, but she is also SO sassy. She has some killer temper tantrums about little stuff and I'm hoping we will get through this phase quickly. It is no fun. She talks and talks and has says really funny things. We love hearing her little voice. She goes back and forth throughout the day on which parent she wants to be with. Sometimes all she wants is me and sometimes all she wants is her dad. At bedtime, she uses it as a game to stay up longer. B gave up her naps a few months ago. She still is tired in the day, but when she naps, she can't sleep at night. Sometimes she will take a quick nap in the car, but mostly she is done. I miss the time in the afternoon when I could get some stuff done, but B has become a good date in the afternoons. We have a lot more time to be together and she is a GREAT helper. She loves to help grocery shop and put stuff away, she cleans up her toys (sometimes) and likes to help with laundry and cook. She makes us crazy a few times a day, but makes us smile about 100 times more! She loves to do everything "all by myself" and has figured out how to do so many things on her own through her stubbornness.

Brennan hates loud noises and is scared of new situations and people. She can be very shy, although she has gotten a little better recently. She takes a little less time to warm up than she used to. She is terrified of anything that might have a fire...like restaurants where there is a fireplace or a flame of any kind. She covers her ears when something is too loud and is especially afraid of toilets flushing. Not sure if this has anything to do with her complete resistance to going to the potty but it is so frustrating. She is dry when she wakes up in the morning but refuses to go in the potty. I'm trying not to push it because I want her to be ready but we are definitely tired of diapers and I know that physically she is ready.

School is going well and she has made some nice friends. She has learned her colors and is learning letters this year. We are looking forward to seeing how she progresses in the next year. She is still taking a dance class one day a week and another class on Thursdays. She loves both so we will probably keep those up. She wants to learn gymnastics and loves swimming so maybe over the summer we will try some of those things out.

We celebrated B's birthday all weekend and she felt very special and was very grateful to all the people who helped her celebrate and gave her such wonderful gifts.

B is a beautiful child that brings so much to our lives. She is a great addition to our family and a great best friend for her brother. They love each other so much. Although she has reached a challenging age, she is fun and wonderful and we love her so much. Happy 3rd Birthday little B!!

ADHD and Kindergarten

Conner has been in school for a few months now. We are still getting in to the routine of things and Conner is still so tired when the day is done. His schedule is so busy at the beginning of the week that it is a relief when Thursday rolls around and we are finally winding down a little.

Let me first say that Conner's school has been AMAZING so far. They have done so much more for him than I ever imagined. The staff is great and loves him and takes care of him. It's not perfect and some days are better than others but for now, he is in a good place. His teacher is absolutely the best. I don't really know the other two teachers, but I feel like Mrs. D is just a wonderful person, teacher and the best possible teacher for Conner to have. That has made this transition to elementary school so much easier.

Conner now gets OT and Speech at school 2 times a week each. He started getting Adaptive P.E. and loves going to that once a week. He goes with 2 older kids and he loves the extra attention and physical activity indoors (he doesn't love being cold on the playground and it's during recess). He is also going to the Resource Room when necessary. We think he is getting Social Work services to help him deal with the situation that arises when other kids can't understand him. He gets very upset when you can't understand what he is saying and he needs some tools to deal with that. So, he is very well taken care of. There is a special education paraprofessional that visits his room during the day and will sit with him when she can to help him one on one. She is shared between all the kindergarten rooms, so I'm not sure how much he works with her. The staff is wonderful and we have been so pleased.

The biggest issue for Conner is that there are 25 (used to be 26 and I'm assuming they will go back to 26 by January) kids in his class and one teacher. He has significant ADHD and it has been very hard for him to stay focused at school. I'm not sure there is a solution to this problem. If you combine this problem with cerebral palsy and Conner's difficulty with using his hands (writing/cutting/etc.), it makes things a little more challenging. He also does not seem to be connecting with the kids in his class. He is so friendly and social but the kids don't seem that receptive to him. All I want for him is to make friends and to be happy. The staff love him. I wish the other kids would give him a chance.

We visited a new neurologist in September after having a terrible experience with our old neurologist. We tried to get Conner in to a U of M neurologist and he still does have an appointment scheduled for June 2014 (I made the appointment in July 2013) but we are thrilled with the doctor that we found. The first order of business for him was weaning Conner off the seizure medication he was on all summer. The doctor said that there are 2 reasons he should not be on this particular medicine. First, he has never had a visible seizure so we should not be treating an EEG. The medicine he was on was doing nothing for him. The second reason to take him off, was that this particular seizure medicine exacerbates ADHD symptoms. So the whole reason we were at a neurologist in the first place was for ADHD and the doctor gave us a medicine that makes it worse. I feel horrible that we even started the medicine in the first place. It took a month to wean him off. We noticed a difference as we lowered the dose.

We also have tried three medications for ADHD. I was so resistant to trying anything but it became very apparent once school started that it was very necessary. The neurologist wasn't sure anything would work and his hope is that Conner will eventually outgrow some of his impulsivity but he felt like we had to try in order for Conner to be successful in school. The first two medications we tried, both stimulants, were a disaster. The first caused rage (and Conner gave himself a black eye the one day we gave it to him) and the second medicine caused crying, mood swings and uncontrolled tongue movements. I was feeling very disappointed and was losing hope. I emailed our new neurologist, who is so fantastic and emails me back so quickly, and he said we should try a non-stimulant. I was hesitant. We started the third medicine on a Friday. The doctor said it could take a week or more to notice anything. We dealt with some side effects - sleepiness and diarrhea, but I felt like it was working and we stuck it out to see if those symptoms would get better and they did. We are noticing HUGE differences at school and at therapy. His teachers and therapists are also noticing a difference in his stuttering, which although it is still severe, he is having less tension in his neck when he speaks.  For once, we feel hopeful. We feel like Conner has a chance at school to learn and succeed. These issues we deal with are so stressful and to have something help is such a relief. We are hoping it stays this way.

These things may not seem like a big deal. But as parents, we are so tired. We are so tired of all these things that Conner has to continue to go through on a daily basis. School and learning and making friends is a big deal to a Kindergartener and we pray every day that he is happy and enjoying his life.

We are all looking forward to the holiday break so we can spend some time together. We really miss Conner when he is gone all day and look forward to our Starbucks dates, movies and time to play together.

 Running with a teacher (another K teacher, not his!)

 Running with his awesome principal!

Forest Fun Run 2013

Brennan update

B started preschool in September again. She is doing the 2 year old class again (she doesn't turn 3 until March so this was the most appropriate place for her). There are 11 kids and 3 teachers in her class. She is one of the oldest kids in the class. She is enjoying it and is learning a lot. She is talking a ton these days and all those initial worries about her speech are pretty much gone. She has a few weird speech things but Conner's speech therapist wasn't worried when we talked about it. Anyway, she loves going to school. I think her favorite part of the day is Arts and Crafts. She is very crafty, especially compared to Conner. She also likes music, stories, cooking, etc. She has made some friends and she is well behaved at school. Going to school is great for her and we love hearing everything she has to tell us at the end of the day.

school picture - 2's

Brennan also takes a dance class and to say she loves it is an understatement. There are 5 little girls in her class and her teacher is fantastic. Brennan talks about her teacher all week and practices her moves. I loves watching her in her little tutu!

Princess day (Halloween) at dance

She also takes a class at the gym and is loving that too. She has changed so much in a year. Last year, she was so shy she wouldn't go near anyone and now she goes willingly to all of these activities. It helps that she knows her teachers and is very familiar with everything but she is getting so grown up!). Her class at the gym is a little playtime and a little bit of preschool type activities (songs, books, bubbles, art, play). She loves it.

A few weeks ago, she started swimming lessons as well. She loves this too. She has gone 3 or 4 times and has already started putting her head in and doing big scoops, pushing off the wall and jumping off the side of the pool.

At home, B is a little drama queen. This morning, she HAD to wear tights. She HAD to have her hair in braids (which I am not that good at doing!). She is particular about what she wears, likes to wear dresses, only will wear her pink tutu to dance, likes her hair a certain way, likes to wear a bandaid and stickers to bed. She is tiring! But also so sweet.

She is a picky eater and a little difficult at night to get to sleep. Her favorite foods are Chobani yogurt (every day), Kraft Mac and Cheese, plain noodles, and hot dogs. Gross. She will eat broccoli and almost all fruits and if we go to sushi, she likes edamame, California rolls and Miso soup. We just wish she would try a few more foods. We have tried a little to give up nap time because she has been having trouble falling asleep at night. But she is so tired in the day that she is still sleeping for about 1-2 hours. If her bedtime gets much later, we will have to try again to give up her nap.

Brennan, overall, is doing so great and we love her so much. She is such a great buddy to Conner and even though they sometimes don't share and they get a little crazy, I'm so glad they have each other.

Kindergarten!!

Conner started Kindergarten last week. We never thought the day would come. We are so proud of how far Conner has come.

Let me back up...2 days before school started, Conner lost his first tooth. He was a little freaked out when it was loose, but was really excited when it was out. He was more excited to have the tooth fairy leave him a surprise at the foot of his bed (we can't do under the pillow because Conner is a crazy sleeper!). The Turtle was protecting his tooth for him until the tooth fairy came to get it! 

So Conner started school after Labor Day. He was excited to go... I asked if he was nervous and he said "NO". We were more nervous than he was. We met with his teacher and saw his classroom a few weeks before school started just so Conner would know what to expect. The first day of school came and Conner did great.

For a parent, walking your child in to a class with 25 other kids is a little nerve-wracking. It's hard to believe that one teacher can teach all those kids at all the different levels that they are at. But she is an excellent teacher and has tons of years of experience so she is definitely the right teacher for us. She is very kind, yet firm.

After the first few days, I found out Conner was telling the teachers that he couldn't write his name. So we went home and wrote it and brought it back to school. Now they know he can do it, so now he's doing it. The next day they told me that Conner said he couldn't identify any letters or letter sounds. He can do that too. So the following day, they took him in a quiet room and redid the testing and he showed them that he knew everything. There is a lot of distraction in the room and a lot of noise, so hopefully they will be able to continue to work with him on this. They have suggested headphones for him for some of this work, but I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Conner was totally hooked up with services from the first day of school. I am so grateful for all the people at preschool that helped us get him situated in Kindergarten. He is getting speech and OT both twice a week and hopefully he will start getting Adaptive P.E. He also gets Resource Room 30 minutes a day which is just 30 minutes when he gets some individual attention to work on whatever the class is working on but with one on one assistance. He will also start getting some Social Work too to just help him deal with the times when kids can't understand him or when he gets too close to people (Conner has NO boundaries!). We have been so happy with everything so far and the transition has been WAY better than we expected...not perfect, but very good! The staff at Conner's school has been 100% amazing. Every person we have come in contact with has been great, from the principal, teacher, paraprofessionals, janitors and lunch ladies. I am thankful that we are where we are this year.

We are trying to get Conner all situated in everything else too. He is so tired after school so we don't want to do too much, but we are continuing private OT, PT and Speech (at least for now). And Conner still wants to do Friendship Circle but we had to switch nights...he will now go on Mondays with the boy volunteers (first time we have been with boy volunteers...he likes the girls, so we will see how this goes!). It's hard for me because I liked the social time with friends on Tuesdays, but it's what we have to do at the moment for Conner.

So Kindergarten is under way. And it's going well. Conner is exhausted most of the time but he is listening (most of the time) and doing his work (most of the time). I am so so so proud of him. He is an amazing, wonderful, feisty little guy!

Tree Climbing -

Conner gets to do some really cool stuff. This was the 2nd year that we participated in a tree climbing event hosted by Dance Marathon at U of M and Mott Children's Pediatric Rehab. The college kids that we have met through Dance Marathon are the best. Conner absolutely LOVES them and when a few of them graduate this year, we are really going to miss them. So here are a few pictures I got from the day. Brennan is still a little too small to climb but she enjoyed the swings and hanging out outside. 

 Conner is so strong and a superstar. I love how happy he is and I love that he has these amazing opportunities.