meet penelope cruze...

...the newest addition to our family.

My ole' Saturn Vue finally bit the dust, therefore, Avery and I made this purchase over the weekend.

I've never made a purchase like this and my nerves were shot after signing all of the paperwork.

However, it was an exciting time in my life and now Avery and I are in a safe vehicle that cranks when I turn the key. :-)

avery rides the school bus

After being highly disappointed yesterday that he wasn't able to ride the school bus to Mrs. Sharlee's house from school, Mr. Avery finally got to ride the bus today. Y'all, this child has been asking to ride a school bus for months now. Every time we'd see one, he'd asked to ride. When he found out he was going to start "big school", as he calls it, the first question was whether or not he was going to get to ride the bus. I'm so happy that his wish finally came true today.

 

 

first day

I dropped Avery off at school today.

It's was a strange feeling to drop him off at the same school I went to kindergarten and first grade at.

It still looks the same as I remember.

Everything miniatured sized.

Avery did well.

No tears.

A few looks of confusion, but all and all not bad.

I held up well too.

No tears from me either.

I'm happy for my baby.

I'm glad there is a great special needs school in our area.

Sweet, baby, boy is going to do miraculous things in his life.

I cannot wait to witness my baby accomplish so much.

He's an amazing little boy who has changed my life.

There is no greater gift than being his mama!

 

 

 

 

 

little chef's

If you've read my blog for long, you know that I love different recipes. I blogged not too long ago about making The Pioneer Woman's pizza dough. It is easy peasy and so yummy too. It only took me 20 minutes tops to make the dough and have everything cleaned up. I like to let my dough set in the fridge for at least two days before trying to use it. When you first make it, it's rather sticky and ooey-gooey. 

As I metioned yesterday, we had 4 yougin's at Chris's house this past weekend. Here they are making their own pizza's. It was an easy project for them all and each one was excited to see how yummy their pizza tasted.

tarzan

I love the imagination of children.

This past weekend we had four little lads at Chris's house. We sent them out to play and a good time they had. They swung from Kudzu vines and picked up leaves to make leaf imprints.

apples and lemons {life is bittersweet}

As I was driving home tonight from school, I started thinking about how bittersweet life can be. Sometimes you take a bite out of life and it's sweet, much like an apple, other times it's like biting into a bitter lemon. Then, occasionally life gives a lovely twist and you take a bite out of an apple and a lemon at the same time. That's how I feel today.

I got a call this morning from Avery's school. About a month ago I started the process of trying to get Avery accepted into the special needs program at one of our county's elementary schools. It's an extensive process of testing and evaluating to get into the program and today I got the call I so desperately have been waiting for. Avery got in.

Of course I'm ecstatic that he qualified. Avery will be getting so much help and as I talked about in my previous post, he's getting the early intervention that is so critical. However, on the other hand, it's hard to accept the fact that my little guy has developmental delays and we are even going down the road of needing a special needs program. I want to scream, "Why my child?" But, I already know the answer. "Why not my child?" Just because he has delays makes him no less and it doesn't change my love for my sweet baby boy. It's just a hard pill to swallow that my little buddy is struggling. No parent wants their child to struggle. It breaks my heart and tears me to pieces inside. I'm doing my best to stay strong for Avery, but it hurts his mama's heart.

So today, my friends, I experienced one of life's bittersweet moments. A time when my heart was overjoyed because my baby is getting the help he needs, but sad that he's having to go down this road. I have no doubt though that my angel baby is going to push forward and succeed in anything he wants to do. He's already come so far in his speech. It's amazing to hear him say new words. No matter what, I love my baby boy and will keep pushing to get him all the help he needs.

Early Intervention

I wish you all could hear Avery talk now. I'll try to get a good video of him soon just to show you how well he's talking. Sweet boy has worked so, so, so hard and has come far in improving his speech. He still has struggles and a lot of words are still hard to interpret, but to hear my sweet baby really talk and communicate absolutely warms my heart.

With that being said, here's my soapbox. EARLY INTERVENTION people! If your child is struggling, has been diagnosed with a speech disorder, autism, or any other delay, early intervention is KEY!!! As soon as I noticed Avery not keeping track with other kids his age a red flag went up. True, not all kids form at the same speed, but when your child isn't talking at all at age 2, there's a problem. There are so many resources out there to help special needs children. I know some parents don't want to believe their child needs extra help because no one wants there child to be "delayed." However, being delayed doesn't mean your child is stupid. It simply means your child may need a little extra help in certain areas. I am a firm believer that the earlier your child can get help the better off he or she will be. So please parents, if you have any concern with your child's development, ask your pediatrician. If your pediatrician says "wait it out" and you feel that something "just isn't right," get a second opinion. Your child is worth it! Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. You're welcome.

Avery continues to go to speech weekly and I meet with the special needs preschool next Friday to hopefully get everything finalized for him to start. Please pray this process goes well. :-)

Fall Wreath

Isn't it cute?