Therapy = back in session - or maybe not

Jacob started back to therapy this morning. And will continue every Monday morning until school is out, or so we thought...

His OT - Mrs. Harris has remained with us this year. I'm glad. I'm not sure he would have handled that change very well.

We do have a new speech therapist though. Her name is Mrs. V. We met her this morning. Jacob did very well with her. He talked and he played. And she said THE best thing ever, "If I were evaluating him as a 3 year old, I would NOT recommend him for services." She said he has significantly improved over Mrs. Honche's reports from last year.

I knew Jacob's speech had improved over the summer. I was very curious if he'd need therapy this year. Mrs V. did say that he does still have trouble with the "L" but they don't work with that until 1st grade!

Over the next few weeks, Mrs V is going to reevaluate Jacob and see exactly where he does stand and possibly think about a preschool for him.

OT with Mrs. Harris went just as well. She says that typically speech therapy and OT go hand in hand - they don't typically do one without the other. She is also going to do some testing in the next few weeks but, it's likely Jacob will test out of OT as well!

The sensory processing disorder is still there. It has its peaks and valleys. Some days, we don't notice it. Some days it glares at you from every ounce of his 47 lbs.! We've noticed that it mostly appears when he's scared, nervous, or uncertain. I think Jeremy and I have really learned what triggers it, what will cause the issues, and how to deter or evade. As he's growing up, the severity is going down. THANK YOU, LORD!

They have to reevaluate to close his case however, we're confident that won't be a problem.

I can't even begin to tell you how proud/ecstatic/relieved I am. I went from having a child that was almost a year behind all of the other kids his age to normal - in FOUR months! I was concerned that he'd have to be in therapy all through school. I was worried for him. And now, it's just gone. It's all gone.

Visit to Uncle Gorilla's

A few months ago, Jacob and I were talking about brothers and sisters and family. I had said, "Chris, Hannah, Nick, and Nevaeh are your brothers and sisters. Aunt Cindy, Aunt Karen, Aunt Gloria and Uncle David are my sisters and brother."

Jacob says, "I wanna go see Uncle Rilla!" I'm not sure how David translates into Gorilla but, hey, he's 3!

Friday night, we went for a visit.

This is their dog, Daisy. She loves to play.

My sister-in-law (my brother's wife) had one huge rose in bloom. I couldn't resist!


"Come on, throw my ball!"

"Wait, Daisy. Wait!"

"Give!"

That's my brother, in the red and his daughter, Brooke (she's 13) in the blue.

And we walked down the road a little bit and saw some horses, a donkey, some fuzz footed chickens, a kitty, and these turkeys sitting on the fence.

Uncle David also gave Jacob a new hat - with a pumper truck on it!!

Thanks Uncle Dave, Aunt Jenny, Brooke and Daisy! We had a lot of fun!

Happy late Birthday, Random Thoughts

Wow, that snuck right up on me! Time flies! I was working on a series of future posts and I realized that my blog had a birthday!

When I started this blog, a little over 2 years ago (August 9, 2007), I never thought I'd make it this far!

I wondered:

Will I have enough to say?

Will anyone read?

Will I continue it?

Will I get more comfortable in my writing?

Will people be angry for what I write?

Will I be misunderstood?

My posts need titles? I hate titles!

My answer to most of those questions, was a resounding, yes. And the titles, I still struggle.

I also found a few things that I didn't expect.

New friends.

A new way to converse with an old friend.

More understanding than I ever imagined.

New insight/memories of my family. I love when my sister's tell me, "I read (something) on your blog and I had to tell you..."

A conversation starter.

Self confidence. Self assurance. Self reliance.

Empowerment.

I certainly see an improvement. I hope the next year, continues to get better. I hope to write more about Jacob as he grows and the adventure (aka - psychosis) that he brings to the game. I'm thankful to have you here with me (even those of you that only I know are here).

As a reminder - you can comment anonymously here and that can be done without another user name and password for you to remember. If you feel like it, you can also sign up to have us emailed to you when we do post.

Thanks for reading!

Allegan County Fair 2009

Jacob rode all by himself on a couple of rides this year. He's in the last truck on your left.

And the train - doesn't he just look like a natural? And the carnie's belly, well, that's just a plus for you!

He got to pet a baby bunny.

And "baaaa!" at some sheep. He was really excited to see a cow pee but, I didn't take any pictures. I seem to recall him saying, "That's alotta pee!".

And the tractor pulls - this guy wasn't the winner of the modified farm style but, his picture had the best smoke!

Jacob with his "ears on" eating popcorn.

'After Hours' - the winner of the truck pulls.

And the winner of the modified tractors. (Notice the white in the botton corner? Yeah, that old dude's head is in every. single. one. of my pictures!)

Of course, the Ferris wheel at night. We rode earlier. Jacob loved it - I thought I was gonna hurl. Have I mentioned - I HATE heights! And they stopped us at the TOP! Twice!

We didn't get our tradional picture with George on the Allegan Fire District truck - matter of fact we didn't see any of the 'fighter-fighters' until the tractor pulls and they were all in gear and on the track in case of an emergency. We did see plenty of Sheriff's reserves - Jacob got a sticker. We got a high-five from Mel and the Allegan City Police. Jacob got to sit in the police's golf cart AND he got to go in the ambulance. I had the camera and was waiting for them to come back from the bathroom so, I didn't get pictures of ANY of it! We also got to see the Sheriff's mounted patrol on our way home! Oooh! Their horses are beau-ti-ful!

Making Changes - Confessions Week 2

I bought a pig shaped scrubbie holder for my kitchen sink and a bag of candy corn. My scrubbie holder was too small - the scrubbie didn't fit and I would almost die for candy corn.

I bought coffee from work once this week.

I also bought lunch at work. I forgot my soup bowl at home - you can't cook soup in styrofoam!

I bought the cupcake decorations for Jacob's birthday. I'm making the cupcakes myself. I just bought the little picks, like the bakery uses - for $2.50. Think of what I'll save vs. a bakery cake!

I also bought a water fountain for our cats - Brady (my cat) has crystals in his urine. He got violently ill from the meds from the vet. I was recommended a fountain as they make the cats want drink more and a cat that drinks more keeps his system flushed - thus eliminating the crystals. Then lets hope he goes back to the litter box and NOT MY BASEMENT FLOOR!

Jeremy's parents came to see Jacob and we ordered pizza.

I bought some fabric in Marshall to start a summer quilt for my bed. The one we have now is tearing at a lot around the middle, the seams and the edges are torn and fraying - also it's a queen and our bed is a king. It's also...pink. I think I spent around $50 including our dinner that whole day.

I mistakenly paid an extra $100 on our mortgage that I didn't intend to do. Funny thing being - by doing that, my budget isn't really affected....

I did buy a Birthday gift for Jacob that was on my list - only I had intended to pay for it with a reward certificate but, I got such a great deal to buy it outright - that I did! From $39.99 marked down to $19.99 and $5 to ship.

$68 at the fair this week.

Have I told you how HARD this is to do??

And you're probably thinking that I'm really sucking at this 'not shopping' thing. But really, just by forcing myself to tell you where I've failed, has really made a difference. I'll pick up something extra, in a store and I'll say to myself, "You know, if you buy that, you're going to have to confess another failure. Is this thing really worth telling the internet about?" and I put it down. Most times.

Honestly, compared to last week's list, I think I've improved.

Touring

Most of my up coming posts are going to be pictures. If I don't get started now, I'll be behind before I begin!

I'm sharing my visit to Marshall. Actually, I'm sharing with you my Christmas gift from my sister. Granted, it was a little early but, I have to say, this was one of my best Christmas gifts ever! I really enjoyed spending that time with Karen and I hope we can do this again next year. Thank you, Karen.

I couldn't take pictures inside ANY of the homes but, I did have fun outside!

We didn't tour this home. I couldn't resist the little orange roadster.


On the porch of home #3.


Walking back for lunch.


Karen and I really liked the garden at this house. It wasn't on the tour either.

Inside the church where we enjoyed the salad smorgasbord. I said this before and I'll say it again - I love salads prepared by fine Christian women. Note to self: Arrive earlier next year. :)

I'm glad it all worked out that Cindy could come to meet Karen and I. We had lunch together and went on to the quilt show. I have a quilt in my living room that the three of us did together. I do like quilts - I don't have the time for them that I'd like to have...I also have a little BIG helper. I did find some fabric that I fell in love with to start a new quilt for my bed (my other is torn and shaggy) and I've begun collecting. It's going to take me a long time to collect fabric for a king sized quilt!

I did put more pics on Flickr - you can get to them by following the link in the photo section to your left.

We're going to the Allegan County Fair tonight - more pictures to come!

A day in Marshall...

I'm really looking forward to this weekend!

My sister, Karen (#2) is coming down with her dog, Louie. Jacob loves Louie (and he's not allergic to him)...and we're always glad to have my sister too. ;)

To the point, Karen and I are going to Marshall on Saturday. We're going to do the Tour of Homes, a church's Salad Smorgasbord luncheon, and meeting our sister, Cindy (#1) for the quilt show. Maybe, just maybe, I can talk them into finishing up at the Chocolate Cook-Off!?! There is also an art fair, a farmer's market and a bunch of other events. Karen and Cindy have gone to this before - I have not. And, I'm very excited to go with them.

I remember once, when I was a kid. Cindy and Ron, Karen and Mike, and some other people (don't remember who) were all going together to watch fireworks for July 4. I remember thinking then - when I grow up, I'll be able to go and do fun stuff with them too. I wasn't angry, hurt, or even jealous at the time - I just remember looking forward to being able to go with them as a grown up.

I'm planning to take my Nikon and see what I can see. I've learned a few things about my camera in the past week (I got a Nikon D60 for Dummies book). And I am anxious to try them out! Wish me luck!

Also, a huge plus here...Jacob is staying home with his Daddy-O (as he calls Jeremy) and then going with G & G 'Fif' for the afternoon. So, I (me, Gail, mommy), actually get to go somewhere, on a weekend WITHOUT my child. And THAT. Never happens!

Hopefully, I'll have some good pictures for you next week!