15. Have I mentioned how much my girl loves music class? Look at her- sitting nowhere near me- having a blast!!
16. Fur Real Kitty, "Lulu". Yep- this is Violet's Christmas present. So ridiculous, but she loved it in the store, and she really never loves any toys. She adores animals, but is usually afraid of mechanical, battery-operated ones. I think she might actually think she's getting a real cat. JOY!
17. clean toddlers + kisses = big time JOY!!!
18. vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy sheets! Yeah!! I had to change Ollie's Thomas the Tank Engine sheet off of his bed today and the only other set of twin sheets we own (now that we're out of the crib mattress!!) is this pair- which used to be mine as a little girl! Made me happy. I also have a matching sleeping bag for future sleepovers. hee hee.
19. A moment today. I took the kids to the mall- a quick trip, just to pick up a few things. Piled them in the stroller which they haven't done in a while. I'm sure we are a sight at the mall- our big double-wide stroller, Oliver still in his Spiderman slippers, Violet refusing to take off her mittens or hat yet still guzzling her baba...suddenly Violet scream-sings out, "RUDOLPH THE RED -NOSED REINDEER!". One second passed and Ollie answered, "HAD A VERY SHINY NOSE!".
Reader, they sang the whole song, at the top of their lungs, taking turns with each line of music. Crazy bliss.
20. my follow-up from yesterday. I don't want to make this too wordy, but I also want to really make clear just what a blessing this was.
If I had to name the top five most difficult things about having a child with special needs, one of the things included would be the IEP meeting and all that comes with it.
IEP means Individualized Education Program. It's something I'd never knew existed before Violet. It's updated every year, more often if needed, and can include any and all members of your child's team (you as parents, therapists, case manager, etc.).
The difficulty comes here, for me, in twofold:
1. as autism is the one diagnosis that presents itself differently in every child, there are no clear-cut means of treatment; every child is unique in his or her needs.
2. as much as I am fighting for the best for my child, it's the county's job to spend as little as possible. Bottom line.
We've been working on Violet's IEP since she turned 3 in June. We have ABA providers for her that aren't covered by our county; they'd prefer to use their own therapists. Ben and I decided to fight to keep our providers and this has been ongoing. We were told to expect, in this order: 2 meetings, mediation, due process and then court, if needed. We were ready for this, and ready to fight; we felt that strongly.
We had our first meeting the week before Thanksgiving, and it was civil, but no one seemed ready to budge. We talked about dates for the next meeting.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, we got an e-mail yesterday.
They're letting us KEEP our ABA. And paying for it. No more meetings, no money out of our pocket, no need for Mama to put on her boxing gloves.
Best. Christmas. Gift. EVER.
