Cafe Pre-K

Javin and his class had Cafe Pre-K where they sang songs for us and served us a snack. Javin participated in circle time until he saw me- which was very confusing for him that I was in his "school world". Once he got past that, he wanted me to sit with him rather than stand with his class and sing. He also tried to get me to pull a toy down for him. Little manipulator! He did do some dancing and singing during the ABC song though!

"I'm with her"

They were so cute with their songs- a few of the kids REALLY got into it!

T

Trying hard to get Javin to engage...

The kiddos served US the snack!! Mrs. McGee giving them instruction.

YES!!

Just a quick note to say that (1.) tonight we had our first time EVER washing Boogie's hair and he did not have a meltdown!! Yes!! He actually put his head back like I've been telling him/attempting to force him to do for the past 3 years and so no water went into his eyes and he was a happy camper (and so was Mama!!). I can't tell you how happy I am for this little victory especially after my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day yesterday (will blog about that tomorrow)! Right now I am just so excited! Okay and  (2.) Javin pooped in the potty a few days ago!! He even told me he had to poop and there was no poop in the pull-up before we got to the toilet!! Double Yes!! Although, he has yet to do it since then....but baby steps, baby steps, right? It's actually a very common problem to have with kids w/ autism- constipation, diarrhea, and up at night!! All the fun stuff, really! So, that's it...like I said, just a quick note...

Sippy Cup Heaven

A few days ago I got rid of all but two sippy cups. Realistically I need two for times of drinks in the car, etc. But I knew that both Javin and I had to be forced to use real cups. He is able to, he just has the problem of when he's finished drinking he forgets to tip the cup back up before pulling it away from his mouth. :) Attached you will see the pictures of his Hot Chocolate Disaster!! Luckily, he has a Mommy that doesn't care too much about messes!

Letters and Words

So along with Javin's Autism diagnosis, he was also diagnosed as having Hyperlexia. Hyperlexia is a precocious ability to read words, far beyond what would be expected at an early age and /or a
fascination with letters or numbers. Javin has had an obsession with letters since he was a year old and at about a year and a half he knew he alphabet. Well now we have realized that Javin can spell and read!! Wow! Only 3 years old and a reading machine!! As far as I know these are the words that he can spell and read:
CAR  PLANE  TRAIN  COW  DOG  CAT  SHEEP  ANT  FROG  BUG (His favortite word!!)  BEAR  DRUM  HORN  GUITAR (I know, right?? Crazy!)  TUBA  BOOK  DUCK  JAVIN  TENT  SLIDE  PIG  SHIP  TREE  BOAT  BED  BIRD  HORSE  BUS  CAKE  BEE
 
So 30 words as far as I know...pretty darn good! Sorry just needed a brag moment!!!

Just added: WATER

Blizzard of 2010 (aka Snowmageddon)

Javin stuck in the snow...Can you see his little head there? Poor guy...we got 55 inches after two back-to-back snowstorms came through...*sigh* I hate snow...

Daddy saved Javin from his little ditch he fell into! Javin just loved the snow, except, of course when it touched his skin...

And then Daddy threw Javin into the snow right after saving him! Javin LOVED it!!

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So it was late at night and Javin took a late nap so he was up late. I was on the laptop playing Farmville on Facebook when I realized that it had been a few minutes since I heard Javin...he was really, really quiet. I thought maybe he went upstairs to go lay with Daddy and this is what I found on the way to go check...

School Days

My big boy started pre-K at Glade Elementary! His first day was January 4. Since Javin has an IEP for special needs, he was able to start as soon as he turned 3 (which was December 28). It was nerve-wracking, not so much that he was going to school but that he was starting right after the holidays, which made planning with the school really aggravating!! So, on the first day, we got up and ready and I had a back-up plan in place with the time to drive Javin to school in case the bus never showed. Well, the bus never showed. I thought it was weird that I never heard from the bus driver, as everyone told me to expect, so I had no idea when the bus would show or if it even would. So, I drove Boogie to school on his first day, which really turned out well in the end because I was able to walk him to his classroom, which I think helped to relieve his anxiety about being in a new place. As soon as we walked in the classroom, he took off and started to play a game with his teacher. I knew he would be fine. Luckily, because of his time with Infants & Toddlers (where he received his therapy for autism), they had him in a classroom setting similiar to pre-K- which DEFINITELY helped his transition! Thank you I&T!! So, on the way out of the school, I stopped and talked to someone in the front office about the bus not coming and she gave me the number to the Department of Transportation. She seemed shocked and suggested I call them to see what was going on. As soon as I got home, I did just that...well...it seemed that what was going on was that the SCHOOL never sent information to them about Javin. Nice. I knew something would go wrong with his birthday so close to a long school hiatus (Christmas/New Years holiday). *Sigh* Luckily, I've learned to be pretty flexible considering I never know how a day will go with the Boogums. So, needless to say, a few phone calls later and we got it all set up and that Thursday was Javin's first bus ride to school! He loves singing Wheels on the Bus, so we sang that and I talked about riding the bus a lot before THE BIG DAY. So, the day comes, the bus comes... Javin seemed a bit wary when the bus pulled up but he was a big boy and climbed right up the bus stairs and then he turned around... When he turned around, he realized that Mommy and Daddy were NOT getting on the bus with him and he immediately threw himself down on the ground and began to cry. It was too cute and funny. The bus aide, got him up and took him to his seat and by the time he was buckled into his seat, he was good to go and not upset anymore. Now it was exciting to look out the bus windows! So proud of Javin! It's been pretty smooth sailing since then and we get reports back everyday on his progress in the classroom and he has been rockin' it and I couldn't be happier!! He seems to show more interest in what the other kids are doing (even if he doesn't participate). He has adjusted to the morning routine in the classroom. We get homework from his speech therapist, which is awesome! I'm just so glad that this is all working out for him and I can even see the improvement at home. His comprehension seems to have improved and he has even started to respond appropriately to things said to him! Smiling from ear to ear over here! I have such hope for him and I love seeing that all the hard work he puts into everyday is showing!! Love you Javin!!