Christopher goes to Kindergarten!

Christopher started Kindergarten on Wednesday September 5, 2012! He is going to Poplar Bridge Elementary and his teacher is Mrs. Meinhardt. He is going half-day every day in the afternoons and is riding the bus to and from school. He rides home on the bus with Sydney. His first day went well minus a few small glitches. The first small glitch was the fact that Christopher stepped in some dog poo just minutes before his bus was due to arrive. He then proceeded to get upset and get it on his hands! He and I quickly ran to the house cleaned his shoes and hands and checked his clothes over to make sure there was nothing. We got back out to the bus stop to find Noah had it on his shoes also and got it on his pants. Brad and I worked furiously to clean him up and wash our own hands yet again. Thanks to whatever neighbor of ours that chose not to clean up after their dog, they almost made us miss getting pictures of our boy on his special day!
The second glitch was the fact that Christopher's bus was 25 minutes late to pick him up. We put him on the bus and then drove to Poplar Bridge to watch him walk in to school. School is supposed to start at 12:35 and 12:35 came and went and still no bus. There were several parents standing there waiting for their kids not just Brad and I. Pretty soon 1:00 comes and goes, still no bus. Then it was 1:15 and still no bus. Around 1:30 the bus finally pulls up to the school! Chris was the first one off and boy was he thrilled to see us! A little sweaty and disheveled, but otherwise good. We introduced him to his para and his special education teachers that will be working with him as they were there waiting for him to get off of the bus.
Boy was I happy to see him when he arrived off of the bus in one piece! Sending him to Kindergarten was a very big deal, especially because we went sure before school began if he would be able to be mainstreamed in a regular class. There had been talk that he might have to go to a more specialized Kindergarten for students with Autism, but at the end of last year, his Preschool teacher, who is an Autism specialist and the rest of his IEP team decided that he could go to his home school, Poplar Bridge.

We are so very thankful to all of the people who helped Christopher get to this milestone. I don't know or remember all of the names so please do not be offended if I do not mention you, we are still extremely grateful!

Chrisenda Hasenbank: Christopher's first speech therapist who helped him find his voice! You helped him so very much and we think you are amazing!
Gaye Lynn Sarff: Christopher's first preschool teacher, who had amazing patience and understanding for Christopher and compassion for parents who were going through a challenging time hearing that their son had autism. Thank you Gaye Lynn for all you did for Chris!!
Kristine Smallfield: Christopher's second preschool teacher/autism specialist. Thank you for your never ending patience with Christopher and helping him to achieve so many of his IEP goals. He wouldn't be where he is today without you.
All of the other occupational therapists, speech therapists, adaptive phy ed teachers, and paras who have worked with Christopher, thank you for being there for him and helping him along the way. You have all been a very important part of his journey to get here!

My sister, Sara who as an OT has been a huge resource and support to us on this journey. Thank you for giving me tools to help Christopher eat and all of the other resources. I don't know what we would do without you! Thank you for all that you do for Chris and for us.

My mom, Betty for being there and giving her support whenever we needed it. It means the world to us. Thank you for all that you do for Chris and for us.

Brad's sister, Michelle for always being there and supporting us whenever we need someone to talk to or bounce ideas off of. It means a lot to us that we have you in our corner! Thank you for all that you have done for Christopher and us.

Here are some photos from his first day of Kindergarten!

Thanks to everyone who has been here for us on our journey! We are all so happy to have you in our lives!

Love,

Stacey, Brad, Sydney, Christopher, and Noah

Family Update, Spring 2012

Well, the winter sure flew by! It is hard to believe that Spring is here (though the temperatures this week seem more winter like!) Here's what we have been up to all winter.....

Brad has been BUSY going to school! He has a tough course load this semester and is taking 11 credits. I know some out there may not think that is much, but it is when you are trying to balance working 40+ hours a week, a wife, and kids. It sure doesn't leave him any spare time that is for sure. I know that he gets frustrated, and he struggles, but he is doing so well! Just when he finishes one week's worth of homework, he has a whole new pile to tackle. I know there have been plenty of times when he has asked himself why he is doing this. I went through the same thing when I was in school. I am so proud of you Brad! Keep up the good work!!! :-)

Sydney is doing great in 1st Grade! She had a great report card last term and loves going to school so much! She loves to read, do math problems, draw, write stories, and create things. Last month she and Brad designed a leprechaun trap together for school. They had a lot of fun doing it. I will try to figure out how to post a video of the project! It's so much fun to listen to her read stories to her brothers! :-) She is looking forward to playing soccer in the summer and hopefully we will finally get her in to the karate class that she has been interested in. 

Christopher is doing so well at preschool. Yesterday he surprised me by writing his first and last name! I knew he had his first name down but I hadn't seen the last name yet, so it was a nice surprise. He has also been reading books on his own. He does so well with sounding out words. His favorite books to read are Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, Green Eggs and Ham, and The Cat in the Hat. We are SO proud of him! Hard to believe he will be 5 in a couple of weeks!

Noah is doing great. His speech therapy is going well. We are having so much fun being able to communicate with him! :-) He loves reading books, drawing, and playing with his siblings. He and Christopher are best of friends at times and at each other's throats at other times. They are pretty cute together! So hard to believe that our baby will be 3 in a month! 

I have been keeping busy too! Work is pretty busy right now and busy is good! We are getting ready to go through the accredidation process again, so that is extra busy and a little stressful at times, especially with 12 babies, some of them brand new! :-)   I am also pleased to announce that my company has honored me with a Teacher of Distinction award. The awards banquet is this Thursday night. Thanks Jeff and Jeanne for agreeing to watch the kids so I am able to go! I was quite shocked as well as honored when I heard that I was receiving this honor. I love being a teacher to those babies. They make it easy! There aren't too many jobs out there where you get to rock babies to sleep, play with them, and snuggle with them. Thank you to those of you who have left your children in my care. I have loved each and every one of them! 

Until next time...

Love,

Stacey, Brad, Sydney, Christopher, and Noah

Fraser Walk for Autism

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you know, our family has committed to walking in the Fraser Walk for Autism this Saturday, April 14. Fraser helps so many families out there, especially families affected by Autism, much like our own. We decided that this would be a wonderful experience for our family, and that it would teach our children the important lesson of helping others. We are pleased to have reached our fundraising goal for the walk plus some! Thank you so much to all of who have supported Team Christopher! It means so much to all of us. We will post photos from the event sometime in the near future.

Stacey, Brad, Sydney, Christopher, and Noah