Mr. Independent

Thomas' first trip from school on the bus


Starting to get himself undressed


Darn it Mom...why did you put two shirts on me?


He laid his shirt out on the ground to make sure he was putting it on correctly


Last button through the hole ~ Whew ~ he's such a big boy:-)

Thomas had a big day Tuesday...he took the school bus home! I've been dropping him off picking him up since his 1st day ~ I think he's been ready for awhile to take the bus (hmmm..I wonder who wasn't ready? lol). I didn't realize it would be such a big ordeal to get him signed up for the bus..with Jonathan I make a phone call and the next day he's riding the bus. With Thomas there were some phone calls, some paperwork and of course, appending the IEP. His teacher (whom I'm so appreciative of) was a huge help so it went smoothly and it took less than a week.
All weekend we talked about how he was going to take bus home...he would tell pretty much anyone who would listen that he was "bigger, bigger, bigger and he was going to be taking the school bus home". The big day arrived and he was home around 11:30am ~ with a HUGE smile on his face. He LOVED it!!!
Wednesday came and he was disappointed that I was taking him home (I was volunteering at the library). Once we got home he told me he was going to put his pajamas on. I reminded him that we hadn't even ate lunch yet but he didn't care. He wanted to show me what a big boy he was and that he could change himself. He had done it Tuesday night after dinner...he came out of his room with his pajama bottoms on sideways, his turtleneck still on and his pajama shirt on backwards but it didn't matter...we all made such a big deal about what a big boy he was and how proud we were of him. I love living through these accomplishments with Thomas ~ we had such an awesome time going through them with Jonathan ~ its nice to do it one more time!
So I sat down on the floor in his room and he went to work. It was a struggle to get his shirts off (and he did yell at me for putting two shirts on him) but he got the shirts and his pants. He decided to wear Curious George yesterday..the shirt is a button up shirt. He did it all himself. Thinking about that moment brings a tear to m eye....I was so proud of Thomas and he was sooooo proud of himself. The smile and look of greatness he had on his face was priceless! UGH...I have to find my camera!!!!
He wants to start getting himself dressed in the morning ~ so tomorrow I'll be getting him up a few minutes early so he can do it all himself!!!

We've been pretty busy

Thomas getting ready to bake Christmas cookies in his apron that his teacher gave him for Christmas.
Thomas continues to amaze me everyday. We've already had to append his IEP a few times...the goals that were made last Spring have been accomplished and than some! YEAH THOMAS!!! BTW...Thomas LOVES school. He has made so many friends and his teachers and the staff are awesome!!! I spoke with his teacher a few weeks ago and she recommended a mainstream preschool for next year. She said he is doing so well this year and adjusted very nicely that she believes he would do just fine in a mainstream setting. We go back in for our annual IEP review in a few months...i'm not looking forward to it!
We had a very nice Christmas. The boys received too many gifts but they
"needed" every single one. Thomas would open a gift and say "Ahh..thanks Santa..I really needed_(whatever he had just opened)_." My sister in law came up from South Carolina and the boys spent everyday with her ~ they loved it (and so did I) lol! We spent alot of time with friends and family ~ laughing and having good times! I just took our Christmas decorations down last week...as I took down our artificial tree Thomas stood in the middle of the living room and sang "Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...I'm going to miss you" (over and over again..with different verses at times)lol

My Grandma was diagnosed with cancer this past year ~ her dr recommended surgery but she declined. She told us she was "ready to go" (btw..she is 85 but she acts like she is 60). She had an app. with a new oncologist who kind of "put it right out there"..without surgery she had 2-6mths to live. That scared the bejeezers out of Baba (what we call her) and she changed her mind and she had the surgery on December 3rd at University Hospital. She was in the hospital for a week than she was sent home...let me tell you those were a sketchy couple of weeks. Her recovery was very slow and she couldnt be left alone AT ALL! Its been a month now and she is doing better...she goes back in for scans on feb 8th...keeping my fingers crossed that all the cancer was taken out.
With the holidays behind us we're back to our same old routine (except for today...today was a snow day). Thomas goes back in for a Mapping on January 21st...I dont think there will be many changes but i am going to bring up the fact that he has been asking "what did you say" more these last few weeks. I'm not sure if its his age (and he's just not paying attention) or if he needs to be fine tuned and tweeked a bit. I checked both processors and they sound fine. Dr. Murray will definitly figure out if there is a problem!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season and has a very Happy New Year!