3rd Birthday Party

Today we had a little celebration for Dylan's 3rd birthday.  It was perfect.  Short and sweet with just family and a few of his little friends.  Hailey told me that Dylan said he wanted a teddy bear party so that was just what he had.  The kids made Build-a-Bears, ate mac and cheese (Dyl's favorite), celebrated with homemade cupcakes and had a great time.  Dylan was all smiles all day.  It was the perfect party for our little man.  

This is what they started with: an empty teddy, stuffing, clothes, shoes and birthday accessories, and...

 ...this was the end result.  So very cute.

All the kiddos with their build-a-bears.

All in all it was a fantastic day.  Thanks to everyone for Dylan's birthday wishes.

Happy 3rd Birthday Dylan!

I have been thinking about this post for a while and now that I sit down at the computer the words don't seem to flow.  I can't quite seem to put into words all the thoughts and feelings I have.  I can't believe how much you have grown and changed.  You have accomplished more in these three years than the doctors ever thought you would.  My sweet little Dylan, you are AMAZING and we all love you so much!  Happy 3rd Birthday!

IEP Success

Dylan's IEP went off without a hitch.  It was refreshing to go into a meeting and hear about all the things that Dylan can do, not the things he can't.  I heard over and over that he was just a delight for them to assess and was as cute as can be with his sweet, happy and easy going personality.  I think it really helped that we were all on the same page with regards to Dylan's needs and goals. 

The recommendation from the school district is for him to attend a special needs school that has a M.O.V.E. program.  The MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education) program is great because the school has standers, walkers, gait trainers, etc... and all of the teachers are MOVE trained.  So, throughout the school day Dylan will be placed in a gait trainer/walker to work on his mobility be it in the classroom or out on the playground, they will also work on his other gross motor skills such as pulling to stand, crawling, etc...  They also have a Speech therapist, PT and OT at the school that come and work with all the children.  It really seemed like the best place for him, developmentally and socially.  He would be placed in the orthopedic class for children that are working on crawling and walking.  There is a 2:1 student/teacher ratio so I think that he would be well cared for.  Now we just need to decide when we want him to start.   I still can barely get my mind around the fact that he will be turning 3! 

Tomorrow is the IEP!

Tomorrow is Dylan's IEP.  An IEP or individualized education plan establishes which special services a child needs and how those needs will be met in the school system.  I toured two schools last week however, upon meeting with the coordinator at the first school she told me that they were recommending that Dylan be placed in a school that has a full time nurse which only gives us one option.  Wait, did I hear you correctly MS. Coordinator/Facilitator, ONE OPTION!?  Then we were told that this first school only had a nurse on Wednesdays so he couldn't go here anyways.   WHAT?!  Wait a minute, Dylan does not require nursing care, he is not on medication, he does not have a feeding tube, he does not have epilepsy, why would he need a full time nurse?  She wouldn't tell me, only that we would talk about it at the IEP.  ARGHHHHH!!!   I already feel defensive.  I feel as though I am going to have to put on my mommy armor and go into battle.  Maybe it won't be that bad?  I am going to try to go into the meeting tomorrow with a smile and come out the same way.  

Ok, so before I get myself all worked up about tomorrow I am just going to post some random cute pics of the kids from the last week.  I will post after the meeting with the outcome.  Send me some good prayers. :)

I love this, he just loves his big sis and wants to be where ever she is.

Peek a boo!

Dylan's gait trainer finally came, it only took SIX months!  Thanks again to everyone who participated in the fundraiser over the summer so that we were able to get this for him.

 Working on some spoon feeding, before this pic he was actually getting the food in his mouth using his spoon.  He still would rather just make a mess.

 Our little goof-ball

Our little animal lover.  Dylan always finds his way over to any furry friend, this is Cowboy, my mom's dog.

 Waiting for the PT to come and going through the mail, I think this one is a bill by the look on his face.

 Dylan, always the perfect patient.

 Lukey got his first haircut this week.  This is before...

  ...and after, thanks Auntie Kerri!