All Aboard the Santa Express!

Aiden had an absolute blast on the Santa Express! He got to ride first class (thanks Mimi), meet Santa, talk to the conductor and sing Christmas carols.

It was a great day had by all!!

It's a christmas miracle!!

 Last week Aiden had his exit evaluation from first steps. At three years we can no longer access services through first steps and would need to set up private therapy if it was needed.

I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew he had made a ton of progress but I just wasn’t sure how he would do during the eval with someone he didn’t know. Well it turns out he isn’t shy and mastered everything she asked him to do. She was blown away at the progress he had made in 22 months. As it turns out Aiden met right at cut off in most areas which means he is doing things right along beside peers his own age. This made me so happy to see. When he started at 14 months his scores were in the negatives. He wasn’t doing things his peers were able to do. He wasn’t able to walk or talk. He couldn’t string beads or hold a crayon. He had absolutely no form of communication other then crying and grunting. It was very frustrating for all parties involved. We were told multiple diagnoses that turned out to be wrong. We were told he may never walk or talk and wouldn’t be star athlete. (Aiden proved them wrong!!)

I was determined to not take no for an answer. He began PT, OT and speech 3-4 days a week.  I went part time at my job so that I could assure he got the services he needed. He worked so hard. We all worked so hard. Our family and sitter were amazing through this entire process and we couldn’t have done it without them. Now everyday wasn’t easy. Most days weren’t easy. There were a lot of tears and a lot of struggles at first. He went through three speech therapists and two physical therapists.  

Early intervention is KEY and I am so proud of myself for noticing that he wasn’t meeting the milestones I thought he should even though our pediatrician kept saying “every kid develops at a different age”.

On Monday, his speech therapist called me in tears. I started to get really worried. Then the best news EVER came out of her mouth. She was so happy she was crying. She told me she had completed his speech eval last week at school and wanted to review the results with me.  She explained to me the test she gave him and that once he got 5 questions wrong that is where she has to stop and that tells her where he is with expressive and receptive language. She said that in 7 years she had not had a kid go as far as Aiden did on this test at his age. He scored 3 years 6 months for expressive and 3 years 9 months for receptive. I couldn’t believe he scored above age level. I was so happy and proud of him. Come to find out he wouldn’t even qualify for services anymore. He meets goal!! So Sunday was his last therapy session. It was bitter sweet. We LOVE his speech therapist and we were a little sad we weren’t going to see her a couple times a week. Good thing she lives down the street from my mom HAHA!

Aiden can now run, walk, jump and climb. He can color and string beads. He can throw a ball and catch a ball. He can sing and dance and carry on a conversation with you. He is using three and some four word phrases. He can tell me what he wants Santa to bring him and what he wants to eat for dinner. He has an amazing imagination.  He can dress himself and brush his own teeth. The sky is the limit and we will continue to push and work hard.

So I write this not only to update my family and friends on Aiden’s progress but to also encourage others to not be afraid of therapy. There is such a stigma about therapy and I just hate that. I truly believe in early intervention and feel Aiden would not be where he is today without the services we received.  

I love you to the moon and back Aiden!! Mommy and daddy are so proud of you!!

My favorite little people

This age is so much fun! Here are some of my favorite moments with my two favorite little people! 

Eating goldfish on the kitchen table is just so much more fun! 

Riding the Santa express (more on this in another post) 

Throwing an all out tantrum because I wouldn't let her climb into the dish washer. (This is my favorite moment because it was just too funny) 

Why we have hundreds of toys is beyond me. Keys are her favorite right now. Not the toy keys either. 

Bob sitting in marshmallows. (This is actually the most creative I've done with Bob) I'm actually excited for him to go back to the North Pole. He's been fun but I think he will visit us next year on December 15th and not the 1st!! 

Playing at Mimi's 

Although this is a terrible picture our christmas card turned out so cute! 

Weekend wrap up!

This weekend wasn't as busy as last but we still had fun!  Friday Aunt GiGi got home so we went to dinner and then came home and made hot chocolate and watched Polar Express!

Saturday we went to my dads for breakfast with our cousins from Alabama. It was a lot of fun but I didn't get a single picture. Ryan and I also got to go shopping and out to dinner ALONE that night!!

Aiden was supposed to spend the night with MiMi but spiked a fever and decided that it would be best to spend the night at home. By the time we got back he was a pitiful little dude. He didn't sleep well and coughed all night. He started breathing funny so Ryan took him on down to Kosairs. To no surprise he has croup. They gave him a dose of steroid and sent him home. We are now doing breathing treatments which he absolutely hates. Praying for a quick recovery. I'm not sure how much more I can take!

Sunday I had planned on taking the kids Christmas pictures before church. Since Aiden was sick he stayed home. Ava wasn't so thrilled herself!

 

This was Thursday. As you can see Ava LOVES having her picture made!

 

Matching PJ's

Because playing in a laundry basket is more fun then all the toys we have in our house

 

 

My little book worm!

I also made teacher gifts! 

Until next weekend! 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas is in full swing at the Carriss household. I love this time of year and also love dressing my little's up in holiday attire!

This year I didn't put up a big tree. As much as I hated not to I figured with Ava starting to walk and our house being so small it was just best. I actually kind of like my little table top tree!

One thing my mom started when we were little is getting us Christmas PJ's. She always saved them for us to open on Christmas Eve night but I go on and let the kids wear them early. I absolutely adore them!

We have already been to see Santa twice. Aiden doesn't mind him, Ava isn't so sure about him.

 

 

This is our Santa pictures over the last couple of years!

Another favorite thing to do is attend our town's annual Christmas parade! Aiden had a blast this year!

 

 

One of my all time favorite things about the holidays is our annual girls Christmas party! It is so much fun and I'm so glad we have kept this tradition going over the last 15+ years.

 

 

Other traditions we have are going to the horse park to look at Christmas lights and drinking hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies (our favorites this year is Polar Express and The Grinch).

 

New things we are trying this year is the Elf (see previous post) and going on a train ride in Bardstown. This whole elf thing is wearing me out. I forget most nights to move the darn thing which leaves us rushing in the morning and usually throwing it in a different spot. I had such high hopes for this little tradition but it's just not working out as planned!

 

 

Update on Aiden

I haven't really had an update on Aiden in a while but this weekend a video popped up on my timehop (an app that will show you what you post on Instagram and Facebook one year ago that day). It was Aiden trying really hard to say the word "momma". It really made me realize how far he has come in just one year. He has made so much progress it is really unbelievable and I contribute his progress to early intervention. Last year he was just learning to walk and had a vocabulary of just a couple of words. He  was receiving PT once a week, OT once a week and speech twice a week. His only form of communication was mostly through signs. We had a lot of frustrations due to his inability to communicate what he wanted. Most days were rough and ended in meltdowns (both me and him). 

Today Aiden is almost three years old. He has been discharged from PT and just had his last OT session last week. He can run, jump, walk and climb.  He has a large vocabulary (so large I haven't been keeping count). He can tell you what he wants and what he doesn't want. He can ask questions and carry on a conversation. He can name his friends and family members and tell you want he did at school that day. He can even count to 10 and name his colors. 

Having Ms. Becca (his OT) leave Tuesday was bitter sweet. I'm  so glad that he has met his goals but really sad we won't see her anymore. She's been in our home once a week for almost two years. She was someone who I trusted and could talk to and lean on to answer questions not only for aiden but also for Ava. 

In a couple of weeks (when he turns three) Aiden will be aging out of first steps which means he will no longer receive services in our home and will have to get private speech therapy. This will be very hard on me and him.  He receives speech therapy twice a week so Mrs. Ann is with us a lot.  I've had people say "oh but won't you enjoy not having someone in your house three times a week" but the truth is therapy has become such the norm for us. It's a lot but it's something I've grown used to. I like having somone to ask questions to and who will give me things to work on. I'm really worried once we don't receive home services anymore I won't work as hard with him. 

One thing I'm excited about is his exit evaluation. I'm anxious to see where he is compared to other kids his age. Ms. Ann thinks he may not need speech beyond the age of three so we will see. Prayers for good results and that he corporates that day. It's long and he sometimes gets frustrated and gives up which doesn't give accurate results. 

Until then we will keep pushing along! I'll update everyone when I get his results! 

Elf on the Shelf

Tuesday our Elf came to visit. This is our first year with Elf so when Aiden woke up we read the book and he opened his gift. To my surprise he is really buying into this whole thing. When I asked him what he wanted to name him, he first said Kami. We thought that may be a little confusing so he chose the name Bob. 

 

 

 

Elf Bob brought PJ's!

 

Adien really thinks he has magical powers. He even ate all his dinner that night. For those who know us this is a big deal. Aiden never wants to eat dinner, ever!

 

Here is what Bob has been up to this week!

 

 

I really wish I was creative had the energy to come up with really cool things for Bob to do. I think it is such a cute idea and see so many cute things on blogs, pinterest and Facebook. Maybe one day!