Eli started school after Thanksgiving break

His first day Tony took him and the teachers

were at the door to greet him and when they 

got inside he took one of their hands and

ran to his room and didn't look back. Every time

we drop him off he is happy to be there and

 that makes me feel really happy that he

enjoys it. His teacher is really sweet and

very attentive to him which I appreciate

since we are all new to this. He has already 

had his first field trip which was insane and 

I have decided that I officially hate field trips.

Hopefully we won't have anymore this year. :)

I can't believe that it is almost Christmas, this

year has gone so, so fast. It has been a good

 one though. Collectively I got to spend about a month

at my Mom and Dads, my sister came to visit. 

Sophie and Eli are in amazing schools. We put 

our house on the market so we can be free and 

open to see where God leads us. This next March 

will be 8 years of marriage for Tony and I, God

has given me an amazing husband. Tony is finishing

up his masters (4 more weeks). We got to spend 

time at the beach and I have watched God bring

healing to my Mom and Dad and father in law.

I look forward to a new year and new challenges

and new joys and hopefully new beginnings. 

Thanks Aunt Jana

Today was AWESOME, Eli did really well being in a room for 2 hours with all the testing, which I guess to him is playing. Tony and I got asked a slew of questions everything from what he eats, how he sleeps, plays, interacts, does he like this, do that.... so that when they write up his profile and his IEP (individualized education plan) they can refer to the testing and our information we gave them. They said that they were encouraged by the way he does communicate because when you don't talk any little thing you do (grunt, point, push away, cover ears) is a way of communicating and they said he does that well. We were really excited to hear that cause when you live with someone who doesn't speak it can be totally frustrating and in that state you sometimes miss things they do and the bigger picture of WHAT they are attempting to do.

Tony and I were under the impression that Eli had to be tested and evaluated before they could decide if he would be accepted into the program but today they told us that he is def. accepted and he will be starting school after Thanksgiving break. Thank you Lord, this is a great next step for him to learn beyond the therapy he has been getting, we couldn't be more excited. 

What we had the most fun watching was how Eli totally gravitated to the teachers we met with, people he had never met and he was crawling up in their laps, making eye contact and playing with them. For him that is amazing because he doesn't do that, but it made me feel good to know that he knew they understood him and he got that. LOVE IT. :)

Jana and Katie came to visit, it was so fun to have them here. It was a fast weekend so we packed in the fun. We took the kids to Aldridge Gardens for pictures and to look at the scarecrows in the park, we spent some time at the science museum, we went to watch Sophie in her first cheerleading experience at the football game, dinners, driving all over town, coffee in the mornings, wishing it were cold but it was HOT and HUMID yuck, fighting over toys, hugs, kisses, lots and lots of snacks, enchilladas for breakfast and a couple of fun projects. Katie introduced Sophie to the world of Webkinz and now she is an addict. I miss my sister all the time but I am so glad her and Katie got to come. And you always get a night of laughing till you can't breathe when Jana and Tony are involved. Love you Jana

Thursday we have our next meeting with Eli's school. They are doing evaluations with him to see where he is with his development. The therapist he has now has been amazing and has loaded us down with so much reading on the rights of someone who needs special education. I have a whole new level of respect for parents that go through this...( I guess that is me now)it is a full time job figuring out what is best for your child and how to protect them, make sure they are getting the best education, training, therapy. Learning all the ins and outs of ADAP, IEE, IEP,IDEA, ESY, AAA, LEA, (learning what all those mean and if and how they apply to Eli) federal law, state law, school policies. All the while just looking at my beautiful little boy and really at my core hoping he gets a teacher that will love him and protect him and that he will respond to that and soak up everything she has to teach him. 

On the 20th he tuns 3, I can't believe he is already that big and I am excited to see where he will be in 3 more years as he is getting ready to start "regular" school...I can not bathe that little man in enough prayers and Tony and I are ALWAYS thankful for your prayers for him also

Today was our first meeting with The Burkett School for Eli. We basically went in and turned in forms and info for the school to establish residency for us and then we went over questions Tony and I had about the school and what we could expect from them. All the teachers there have their masters in the areas that they teach and the class rooms were cute (and PACKED) because they had different "stations" set up around the room. The kids have pictures of their schedules so lets say Eli gets there in the morning he has his name up and his first picture would be a toy, that means it would be play time. The next might be a picture of a potty and that means it is potty time, a picture of food would be lunch etc... If the kids don't speak it is a way to communicate with them what is expected out of them. It is a very small school, it has one long hallway with around 5-6 classrooms and then they also have what they need for the different therapy he will be getting. 

Our next meeting is November 5 and that is when they will be evaluating Eli, but the lady we met with today said just by looking at his info he will qualify for the school....HOOORAY. Then on the 19th of November we will go back for a parent, teacher meeting and go over all the info and set up an education plan for him so that he will get the best and most effective education while he is there. The lady we met with today said they are aggressive in communication with the kids and pushing them to go to the next step. That is exciting for us because with the therapy he has been getting we feel like it is at a point where we need a "next step" for him to progress. He will go 2 days a week from 8 until 2:30. That is a big day for him but I think he will adjust  quickly. 

On a fun note, Jana and Katie will be here in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to see them :) I will post pics and the fun stuff we did while she was here

Thanks for all the prayers for our sweet little man! 

meeting #1

So we have a date for our first meeting at the school we are trying to get Eli into. September 24th at 10:45. This is just the first initial paper work, getting to know Eli meeting. His case worker (she is awesome) from Early Intervention is going with us and she will also be informing them of evaluations that they have done with Eli and helping us in the whole process of getting him accepted into the school. Seems like a long time to wait, but gives us more time for prayer. I am really excited about the whole thing, I feel like since we pulled Eli out of Mothers Day Out that his chatter has def become more of us hearing some words trying to be said, and his super crazy melt downs have also eased up, he will let us distract and help him now and that is a HUGE relief. So I think the school will just help him reinforce what he is trying so hard to do.