My big sister Tori's school year and how she has grown up..

Tori's Kindergarten year 2007-08

Happy Mother's Day..

Hi everybody! We had a tea party today at school and Miss Cathy invited Grandma to come with me. What a wonderful time for all. It was a wonderful way to honor Mothers Day for all the "mommy's" or in my case "grandma."



I want to wish all the Angel Mommy's and Grandmothers a very Happy Mother's Day from me to you. xoxoxoxo

Still chatting...

Grandma was so disappointed that I wasn't calling her nana yet...so this morning when Daddy took us to pick up Tori I said na-na twice! She heard it the first time and said she did not just say nana did she? Everyone nodded yes! Then I sat there loving on her and said it a second time. Ha Ha! Now she is feeling pretty darn special with this said and who knows what will come next? I said ma-ma too this weekend to a family friend. I know she is not my ma-ma, but she sure does lots of mommy things for me. And she said she would rather spend 24 hours with me than with any other person! She says I am all about having fun and such a easy one to be around.


The girls want to do this or that or want something all the time. Me I am content being me! Besides I will dance till the stars come in if someone will let me. I am definately a dancing queen. I love music and shaking my booty about. And I can twirl too. My versions of play are much less complicated than the other girls.



And of course one of my favorite buddys is still Elmo. He loves to dance too! :-)

I'm back...Let's see if I can catch you up on things!

Well its been a long couple of weeks. First we had to prepare for my IEP meeting and that was not easy. Much to do to get ready for next school year. The IEP meeting went well but long. I went too but no one planned on me being there for 3 hours plus! Grandma and daddy said I don't have to go next year if I don't want to. :-)

It was decided that I will keep my 1:1 aide for various reasons; safety being the main reason, followed by my need to be overseen as I am still too friendly with others. I just cannot seem to get it that others don't want to be kissed and hugged by an angel all the time! I thought everybody liked my hugs and kisses, but I guess not. :-(

Ms. Cathy is my pre-K teacher and she had such positive things to say about my progress this year. She even told everyone that I understand what they are saying to me and will follow directions. How is that for cool? Poor grandma thought only she, daddy and papa got that part of me. Well.....turns out others do too. So my teacher is going to work on teaching me my colors and shapes this upcoming school year. And I am going to extended school in July for 4 weeks. My goal for the summer school is to focus on interaction with my peers. I guess its not good for me to not know how to play with other children and they want to teach me a little bit about how to do just that. Between you and me, I bet I try kissing and hugging them. After all that is what we angels do best. We give unconditional love to all we meet along life's journey. And we do it so well.

I will be spending more time next year with non-disabled peers at school. Something my daddy and grandma really wanted for me. What they did not know is Ms. Cathy was already borrowing kids from another class to spend time with me. LOL That will teach them not to ask me things!
Oh yeah, I am going to start focusing more on my communication skills too. I use a big mac button but it sounds like we may be advancing me towards a ACC device. You know I got a really nice Talk & Speak sent to me by Emily & Tyler. And my school has the board maker program so they can adapt it to specific pictures that interest me day to day. Just one more neat thing happening in 2008-09 school year. (I told you I was going to be busy).

This week was my 2 month neurology appointment. All was well with me and no seizures since January, so I don't have to go back for 6 whole months! How is that for good news? And other than a wee bit of the sniffles I have been quite healthy. Grandma is just sure it is all the supplements she has me taking. I just thinks its good fortune and the fact that I love to eat fruit and veggies like I do. If its green I like it. Broccoli, spinach, green beans and peas. They are all high on my list of yummy foods.

Did I mention that I am a carb junkie too? Well I am! I love pancakes, waffles, bread/rolls, oatmeal, pasta (no red sauces) and dairy. Yoplait kids yogurt (banana) is one of my daily staples. I also like when grandma and daddy take vanilla yogurt and add chopped fruit. Mmmm ...

OH MY GOODNESS! I almost forgot to tell you. Not only have I mastered using a fork and spoon to eat, I am now using straw cups. How is that for progress? Geesh, the things I have learned in the past few months. I know I should be exhausted with all the work I have put into these milestones but I'm not. I love learning new things. I really do. I think I take after my big sister Tori, as she is really really smart and doing awesome in school. Her teacher sends home such wonderful notes about her. I have to try to stay with her on learning cause we sisters are after all very competitive little females. LOL

Here is my new cup from Grandma in celebration of my latest success!

My biggest and best new milestone is calling my daddy by name. I have it down pat now...Da da rolls off my tongue so easily now and my daddy just lights up when I call him by name. (I do know how to win his heart).

Well for now I have to go as grandma is really busy helping out a friend of hers. She is extremely ill from what I overheard and grandma and a few close friends have been taking turns staying with her. As a matter of fact Tori went to keep papa company tonight so he would not be all by himself. That's my big sister for you! She keeps papa company and gets a wee break from her little sisters hugs and kisses. But she knows I will save her bunches of kisses for tomorrow. I always do.......

Angel hugs and sloppy kisses to all,

IEP week is over and all went well...

IEP week has come and gone and all is well. Grandma and daddy worried themselves for nothing. My teacher Miss Cathy gets me too! She sees that I understand what everyone is saying to me and that I do respond to directives. How cool is that? I will post later this week and fill everyone in on things...grandma and I have a full week ahead of us right now so this has to be short and sweet. (Like me).

My IEP Map for Success for 2008-09 (draft)

Hi Everybody! Grandma prepared a "map for success" powerpoint to share with my school during my upcoming IEP meeting. Below is a link that should take you there to see it.

Wish us luck...as with so many others I too have dreams for the best education available. :-)

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dhb3tp3x_0c9c3g3h5

Playing catch up on my posting... :-)

Well if it is not enough for me to be such a busy little angel, now grandma too is running about helping care for a dear friend of hers. I think she and I have that in common, like to be busy and running about. :-)

Spring break was nice, but I was ready to go back to school. Lots for me to learn as of yet and I don't want to fall behind on things that I have accomplished. My IEP meeting is coming up and I am working with grandma on sharing the things I like to do, what motivates me and a few of my body signals and what the mean when you see them. Grandma is hoping it will assist in others understanding me easier if they know what certain actions mean like when I want a drink or am hungry. I tend to get dehydrated and my cheeks get really pink if I am not consuming enough fluids. Most don't know that my body temp is out of whack so we are hoping to share that with them at school.

I caught a cold again at the end of Spring break. Geesh! I guess I cannot complain as that has been about the worse for me this winter unlike others. It must be all those supplements I am taking. Daddy and grandma give me lots of healthy things to make certain I stay healthy. And since I love veggies and fruits so much we all think that my eating is assisting in keeping illnesses away. So everyone do eat your fruit and veggies like me! They are very good for you, honest. :-)

I just outgrew my shoes again and we had a difficult time finding shoes narrow enough for my long slender feet. Finally grandma bought a pair and had her friend alter the straps a bit so that I could wear them. It seems everything that she found that was fairly narrow had velcro straps and they all tend to be too stretchy for me. So her friend cut the straps shorter and sewed them back together for me. Pretty cool huh?

Oh yeah, I got my report care too and have mastered almost ALL my goals for this year. Yippee! That means new stuff is coming for me to learn. How cool is this? My reports seem to get better and better all the time like my big sisters. I think we are competing with one another now. LOL

Well I have to get ready to go to Aunt J's house. She is our daycare provider and is really a sweetheart. She does lots of things with Tori and I when we are there. We ever have tea parties! Aunt Sherry hooked us up with a wonderful care giver and we are so fortunate to have her.

Have an angel of a day!