trick-or-treat

He wore the costume! (most of it, anyway. and it had to be over his regular clothes, but I'll take it!!)

At my school's Halloween Carnival:
Carving pumpkins:

He drew the nose himself. :)

iep

Had a meeting at preschool on Tuesday afternoon to put Brecken on an IEP. He'll be on it for two things- speech (to fix his K's, hard C's, and G's- letters that use the back of the tongue) and for a sensory processing disorder. It was a super intereting meeting, an hour and a half long (and B did great playing the whole time!) and soooo many things are falling into place and making sense now! (like how he hates socks, hated footed pj's, the pickiness in clothing, etc.)

Basically, he has the texture sensory issue I had already suspected, but he also has an auditory processing disorder. We didn't see that at home because we don't have a lot of chaos and noise going on. But they are noticing at school that when things get crazy, as preschool tends to do, he shuts down and won't do anything. If anything new happens, he shuts down because it's not in his routine. The OT had a heck of a time getting him tested for motor skills because she had to pull him outside and he wouldn't do anything because that's not what was "supposed" to happen. They said he has a hard time getting his work done because he's always looking around at what's happening in the classroom. They were quick to assure us he wasn't doing it to be naughty (and it's NOT ADD), it's just him self-preserving and being extremely guarded- if he knows what's going on, he won't be surprised- that's why he is making sure everything is "ok" while he's supposed to be working. He is always observing to make sure things will be alright and he won't be surprised.

I asked him last night if he likes it when it's noisy in his class and he said, "No. I can't think!!"

They also said that if it gets too crazy at recess, he leaves the kids and plays with the teachers, because he knows the teachers are safe and there won't be noise and anything unexpected. He just gets very overwhelmed with noise and chaos because his body can't process it right. He also has trouble doing anything that might be uncomfortable to him- like new activities, etc. One day they did an experiment with the class on tastes- salty, sour, sweet, etc. He wouldn't let them put anything on his plate because he was afraid of what it was!

So the OT (who is incredible) is going to do some pull-out work with him on how to deal with new situations, how to deal with noise, things he might think are scary, teaching him how to judge if things are safe, ans working on textures. The speech pathologist is going to work with him on letters. Each of those things will happen twice a week.

It really is making sense though. Since the people that moved in across the street have been there, he refuses to be in his room by himself. That's around the time he said he heard something bad outside. They have loud trucks and loud parties, so we think he heard one of those and his brain then told him it's unsafe. He will literally poop in his pull-up at night, from crying so hard when we try to make him sleep in there. It breaks my heart, and he's not doing it on purpose since he doesn't have a clue it happened. So now we know why- he knows mom an dad's bedroom is safe since we are there, and he thinks his isn't.

And why he won't try new food- he's afraid to try new things.

And why when we go to someone else's house, it takes him a long time to warm up- they said it's him making sure it's safe first.

And why he won't wear socks, or anything that e hasn't tried on and has deemed comfortable first.

It's fascinating to me!! Maybe if the OT can get some good results, B will be willing to go into his room. And he'll branch out on food, even though I think he'll always be a small eater. And hopefully he can deal with noises better! (Poor kid, the teachers said sometimes he stops and covers his ears and cries for his mom. :( )

They ALSO said, which is even more fascinating to me, that there have been studies recently linking kids that have sensory disorders to being in the NICU when they were born! The special ed director for the preschool has a grandson that was born at 30 weeks and was in the NICU for a long time, and his auditory sensory disorder has been linked to his NICU stay. So interesting!

They did say he LOVES shaving cream day where they get to play with the shaving cream on the tables. He loves that at home, too. :) And his teacher from last year that still works with him this year said he is the most kind and caring kid she has had, and is one of her favorite kids she's taught. That made my heart swell a little bit. (OK, a lot. :) )

So there you go- I'll keep you updated as things happen!!

internet

I have a whole lot to say, but this weekend our internet went down and we just TODAY got it fixed! We had to get a new modem from the internet company. And with super hectic schedules all around this week, we were just finally able to meet up with him today. *sigh*. The good news is, our internet works again. The bad news is, my email won't work and emails are being bounced back to their senders. I sat on hold for 10 minutes tonight with the company (who knew they'd be so busy at 9 at night?!) and finally gave up. I'll try again tomorrow.

Anyway, lots of news to share regarding a meeting we had with Brecken's preschool last night, but since it's late at night and I 1)forget things at night and 2)type all sorts of typos at night, I'll leave that post for tomorrow. :)

Until then...

grandma

RITA LOUISE GLEASON


Rita Louise Gleason, 92, an active member of the Chicago Community. Member of the Peace Corps and a Red Cross Volunteer her entire adult life. Beloved wife of the late Walter R. Gleason; loving mother of Rita (Dwight) Stiehl, Ginger (Rich) White, Rich (Karen, nee Smith) and the late Walter (Roberta, nee Blackwell) and Patrick (Sandra, nee Hinzman); dear grandmother of 11; and great-grandmother of seven. Memorial Services at a later date. Info: Nelson Funeral Home, 773-561-5147 or http://www.nelsonfunerals.com/.

Published in Chicago Tribune on October 14, 2010

another angel

My grandma passed away today. I'll write more about it later, but wanted to share something a friend told me this evening that made me tear up again.

"I like to think of grandparents as guardian angels. Now you have one more person working to get Brecken a brother or sister."

I think she's right. Gram, pick us out a great one!

aunt dorothy

Dorothy Louise Yorges




January 5, 1942 – October 6, 2010

Funeral services for Dorothy Louise Yorges, 68, will be held at 10 a.m on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010 at the First Wyoming United Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Curtis Hill officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery. Dorothy died Oct. 6, 2010 surrounded by her loving family at home after a long and courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Memorials may be directed to the South Goshen Presbyterian Church. Visitation will be Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the funeral home and the casket will be closed at the service. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends may send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com.

Dorothy was born Jan. 5, 1942 in Torrington the daughter of Harley and Lydia (Jenkins) Babbitt. She was raised around the LaGrange and Yoder area. She lived a short time in Oregon while she was recovering from severe burns as a child. While she was in high school she met Earl Yorges at a Yoder dance where he danced her off her feet and into his heart. They were married on April 25, 1959 at the Presbyterian Church in Yoder. They lived for five years in the Veteran, Wyoming area and then moved to a farm ten miles west of Yoder where they farmed and ranched until they moved to Torrington in 1986. Dorothy helped run the farm with Earl and they raised four children. She enjoyed raising her family, gardening, sewing, and every aspect of farm and ranch life. She especially loved springtime when all the baby calves were being born, the birds were singing, and the refreshing sight of new life that springtime brings. She also loved late summer when the smell of wheat harvest was in the air and the golden wheat fields were abundant. She devoted her life to God and was active in every aspect of the church and also made it a mission in her life to volunteer at the nursing home until her health denied her that privilege. She filled many pulpits as a lay minister in Wyoming and was a long-time member of the South Goshen Presbyterian Church.

Dorothy is survived by her devoted and loving husband Earl; her children, Marty Yorges, Becky (Richard) Reyes, Lori (Rod) Weyrich, and Vicky (Ed) Stovall; seven grandchildren, Colin (Emily) Yorges and Haley Yorges, Alisa Reyes, Jenna and Shelby Weyrich, and Paige and Bailey Stovall; her brothers Kenneth, Raymond, Leonard, and Harold Babbitt; her sisters Myrtle Brewster and Rosie Dillman; and other family members that loved her very much. She was preceded in death by her parents Harley and Lydia Babbitt; brother Merle Babbitt; an infant brother; and a nephew Jiggs Babbitt.

so i don't forget this conversation...

Brecken to Daddy: Mommy is a princess, so treat her like one.
Daddy: Well tell Mommy that I am the king then.
Brecken: No, I am the king! And Mommy is a princess.
Daddy: So what am I then?
Brecken: The horse. You are the horse.

I had tears, I was laughing so hard!

my 4-year-old

I don't think I've been very good at actually documenting my child as he grows. In talking with my sister-in-law this weekend, I was wondering what size shoe my little guy was wearing when he was my niece's age, and I'm not sure I ever wrote that down! So I stole this from a friend (Thanks, Amy! LOL!) so I can document.


Wearing: 3T. Sometimes the waists are a bit big, but the length is about right. I thought we'd never get into 3T. :) He still wears some 2T shirts that he loves. He is very picky about what he wears- he will only wear sweatpants and basketball shorts (and he has to pick them out) and only has a few certain shirts he will wear. Picky, picky! He wears size 10 shoes, we think- hard to tell when he loves his Crocs so much. :) He's in size 10-11 for those. We are going to need new tennis shoes for this winter.

Eating: Favorite foods are pizza, chips, apples, yogurt, hot dogs, carrots, french fries, goldfish, and pasta. He won't eat meat unless it's a chicken nugget or a hot dog, which let's face it- those two really can't be considered meat. :) He's recently discovered chicken drumsticks though, and those are getting a thumbs up. He loves dipping things in ranch or ketchup. He has always been an eater that eats teeny tiny amounts, but since turning four, his appetite has grown enough to notice. Maybe we're in for a growth spurt??

Speaking of grown spurt: He is currently about 39 inches tall and 31 pounds.

Random Stuff: He loves playing games on the iPad or iPods, and can beat Josh sometimes in Golf on the Wii. He could play real golf every day all day- along with football and basketball. He practices and practices throwing and kicking and gets so excited when he gets better from practicing. He no longer wants to ride in his stroller to the park- he'd much rather get on his bike helmet and ride his bike (with training wheels) instead. *sniff, sniff*, my baby is no longer a baby. :(

Four years old is proving (so far! knock on wood!) to be much easier than three years old. We never had the "Terrible Two's"- it was more like the "Terrible Three's"! Three was rough. So far, however, things have mellowed out a bit since he has turned four. Hopefully it continues. :)

He truly is the love of our lives. I couldn't ask for a better kid.