Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that Kent's grandpa gave us this huge pumpkin he grew! Amazing! I  love fall.

I'm thankful for nice weather last weekend so we could go to the apple orchard. I seriously love this place.  We go a few times every year and they've recently redone their store.  I could spend waaaayy too much money in that place.  This trip, I was lucky to get out of there with just a bag of apples, an apple cider slushy and a couple caramel apples. 

The kids were really thankful for the caramel apples, but I was thankful for the Honeycrisp apples.  So yummy!

I'm thankful that Kent and I are heading to Kansas City this weekend to celebrate our anniversary and watch the Vikings play the Chiefs!

I'm thankful I finally got around to making a gift basket for Kael's teacher.  I had full intentions of making it for him to take on the first day of school, but the longer I waited, the more it seemed to make sense to send an apple gift basket after we visited the apple orchard so Kael could include a fresh picked apple in the basket.

I'm thankful for hot chocolate to keep the kids warm while we watched Kent play flag football.

I'm thankful the "new-ness" of having a baby cousin hasn't worn off.  Brooklyn in 5 months old and the kids still get soooo excited when she comes to our house! How beautiful are these girls?!

I'm thankful for this picture.  Kent and I call it "Dueling Laptops." Kael's doing his Everyday Math games from school and Kylee's doing Starfall. 

Happy Thursday everyone!



Closing the book on Kael's IEP

I spoke with Kael's special ed teacher Friday, and she, along with Kael's regular teacher, are suggesting that he be dismissed from his IEP. 

I immediately talked with Kent about it and showed him the Social Skills Rubric his teachers have used in observing Kael.  We could both clearly see that Kael was exceeding the goals that we, as a team, had set for him last April. Kent's first words were, "Don't you just want to give him a big hug? And celebrate?!" And I do.  I am so proud of Kael for all he has done and how hard he has worked.

So, today I went in and met with the teacher so we could talk a little more about the next step. She looked at me and said, "Laura, this is a huge success.  Kael is doing so well- he's not at all discrepant from his peers socially or academically."  She continued, "It doesn't make sense for us to keep collecting data when Kael is continually meeting his goals."  She paused.  I must read like a book because even though I was hearing what she was saying, I was thinking about something else. "You're worried," she said matter-of-factly. Well, yes. We are switching schools next year (boundary lines are changing due to another elementary school opening) and I am really nervous about sending Kael to 2nd grade with no help, no support system, no reason for me to e-mail the special ed teacher at the new building anytime I feel. Not only that- it's only September! Kael has the whole rest of the year to get through at his current school without his IEP.  "Laura, you can e-mail me anytime you have a concern about anything- I'll still be available and I'll still pop in and see him sometimes.  He just won't have this IEP anymore.  That's really the ultimate goal of this whole process anyways, right? To have him independently go about his day? Well, he's doing that.  And he'll keep doing that."

She was right.  And Kent and I are on board with this whole IEP dismissal thing...but that doesn't mean I'm not going to worry.  Because I still see him forgetting things.  I still see him struggling to stay on task.  But I'm learning that it's all about my lens.  I have held Kael to a very high standard and realize that sometimes I'm too hard on him.  I've been volunteering in his classroom once a week and I've noticed that all the other kids forget things sometimes. I've noticed that all the other kids aren't staying on task all the time. I've noticed that other kids blurt out answers without waiting to be called on.   I've noticed that Kael is more or less one of them. 

Dismissing Kael from his IEP does not make him any more or any less autistic.  It does mean that he's learned to cope when things are difficult and to do what he's expected to do.  And you know what? He's going to be just fine.  Scratch that.  He's going to be great.

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that the fall lineup on TV has returned.  We're loving Parenthood, Sons of Anarchy, and The League.

I'm thankful Kael has learned how to tie his shoes! He sure is growing up. He dilligently practiced twice a day and his hard work paid off!

I'm thankful for plans to go for dinner with some girlfriends tonight.  Even though I love to cook, I don't mind a night off every once in awhile.

I'm thankful the weather is supposed to be a bit nicer this weekend than it was last weekend for sitting out and watching football games and soccer games.

I'm thankful that Kent brought me soup from CJ's yesterday for lunch.  I'm realllly thankful for the 6 brownie bites he also brought me. :) That was a nice surprise.

I'm thankful that Kylee made it all the way to top of this yesterday at Tag Park.  She has gotten so brave!

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I'm thankful for bouquets of "flowers" picked by Kylee. They're prettier and more special than any flowers I've ever bought.

I'm just thankful it's Thursday and the weekend is near. Now I'm off to make some pumpkin bars, so you know I'll be having a good weekend. :) Hope yours is wonderful too!

The kids in my mirror

Tonight Kent tucked Kylee into bed and she started crying.  I started to lay down next to her and I just watched her cry for a couple minutes. Then, at the exact same moment, we each took a deep breath and leaned up on our sides with our heads resting in our hands, looking at each other.  It was so simultaneous it was almost eerie.  She couldn't put into words what was making her cry.  She just felt sad.  I hugged her, explaining that I understood and that I'd be there to listen to her cry whenever she needed me.

Kylee is me.  Really, she is.  I'd love to take credit for those beautiful brown eyes, but that's not what I'm talking about here.  I'm preceeded by generations of Aalbers/Peters with dark brown eyes so that's not really my doing.  However, I can't help but feel mostly responsible for her intense emotions.  She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. 

I see myself so much in Kael too.  He's hard on himself.  Harder than a first grader should be.  He brings home pictures he's drawn at school and says thing like, "Well it's supposed to be a leaf, but I'm not very good at drawing leaves."

I look at them, and I see me. I suppose it's not realistic of me to hope that my kids aquire only my good traits.  But it's really hard to watch some of my not-so-favorite traits play out in their lives.

Soccer fun

I had a post all written up about our little soccer-filled weekend and somehow managed to delete it as I was trying to add pictures.  Grrr.  Oh well, here are the pictures at least. :)

Being goalie was by far his favorite part of the game.

Kylee helped by walking over to Kael and telling him to not drink his whole water bottle so quickly because otherwise he would have to go potty.

Lots of family and friends have asked for the kids's soccer schedules so here it is.

All of Kylee's games are at Northeast Elementary.  All of Kael's games are at the Prairie Ridge Sports Complex, Field 19.  Feel free to come watch anytime!


Saturday, September 24
Kylee 11:00
Kael 3:00

Saturday, October 1
Kylee 10:00
Kael 1:00

Saturday, October 8
Kylee 11:00
Kael 12:00

Saturday, October 15
Kael 9:00
Kylee 10:00

Saturday, October 22
Kylee 10:00
Kael 12:00


After soccer we went to Kael's school's Fall Festival.  It was really well organized and a lot of fun for the kids.  The highlight of my night had to be when Kylee decided she wanted to try the climbing wall.  I wasn't sure if she was big enough but the guy got the harness tightened enough for her to give it a try.  She was doing so well and drawing a bit of a crowd. She went quite a ways up  then decided to let go.  The idea is that when you let go you just drop to the ground.  That's not what happened with Kylee.  She just hung there, floating in the air.  Her weight wasn't enough to bring her back down to the ground.  Finally the guy just jumped up and grabbed her by the shoes and started pulling her back down.  She thought it was awesome!

The above photos are captured from my phone, but I finally got a new camera today! I'm sure I'll spend the rest of the afternoon messing around with it- hope to post some great pictures soon!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for family get togethers. Bonfires are the best!

Kylee is so thankful for s'mores.

Kael was thankful for, what he calls, a Wilderness Walk.

I'm thankful for fun after-school snacks. I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to be but saw it in a magazine, so we made it. A monster maybe?

I'm thankful for apple smiles.

I'm really thankful for the World's Best Apple Dip recipe that we dipped the apples in.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

*Beat all ingredients together and chill.

I'm thankful for treehouse sleepovers. I was a little too scared to sleep out among the bugs, etc. So I told the kids they could sleep out there with Dad. Joke's on me though- once everyone else was tucked in outside, I went to my own bedroom and found a giant spider on the wall. Yuck. I begged and begged for Kent to come in and kill it, but all I got was an, "Are you kidding me?" Lucky for me, the kids didn't last all night out on the treehouse so my knight in shining armor came into save me from the spider.

This picture will mean nothing to anyone else but it's a picture of the new high school they are building pretty close to our house. I'm thankful my kids live in a city full of growth and opportunities.

I'm thankful for this little girl who brightens every day with her smile.

I'm thankful it's chilly enough for soup! Tonight we're having my favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup. Sorry I don't have pictures but trust me, it's wonderful and super easy!

1 tsp. minced garlic

2 cups chicken broth

1 can Mexican diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1 cup Mexican Velveeta

Cooked, diced chicken

2 T cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

*In a large saucepan combine the first 5 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch and water then gradually stir the mixture into the soup.

Add cheese and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook and stir for 2 minutes until soup has thickened.

Birthday!

Today was Kent's birthday. He got home from South Carolina early this afternoon and we had signs and balloons hanging up in the house waiting for him when he got here. We had also decorated the driveway with chalk. (I wish I had pictures to share but I am still in the process of reading some reviews before I decide what new camera to buy....suggestions anyone??)

He spent the day hanging out with me and the kids. He even surprised Kael and picked him up from school! Later his parents came down and we went out for dinner and back here for some DQ Oreo Blizzard Ice Cream Cake.


Following tradition, we tried to celebrate it as much in "Hawkeye Style" as we could. Hawkeye colors on the cake, Hawkeye colored balloons all over the house, black and yellow wrapping paper, and a Hawkeye wall hanging as a gift.

Happy 29th birthday, Kent! This is the 8th birthday I've celebrated with you and every year gets sweeter. We've come a long way, baby and I wouldn't trade what we have for anything else in the world.

Kinnick!

We LOVE football season around here. I was a little excited on Thursday so I whipped up some football cookies.



Kent and I got to Iowa City on Friday night and got to hang out with my BFF and her husband. They live right across from the stadium, so on Saturday morning, Kent wanted to take a walk to "watch Kinnick wake up". We were there at 6:00 AM, folks. We don't mess around!



Kent and his cousin Ben have the same great taste in clothing. :)

I can't believe I didn't get a single picture with Andrea! But I do have a picture of myself with her husband. Andrea I'm so disappointed in us!

Andrea and Brendan, thanks for hosting us! Double thanks for loaning me some rain gear. If anyone saw the game and the crazy rain...you'll be proud to know we lasted until almost the end of the third quarter. Luckily we snapped a few pictures before/between rainstorms but I'm truly impressed with all the super fans who hung in there for the whole game. Go Hawks!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kent's parents gave him an early birthday present- tickets to the Hawkeye game this weekend!

I'm thankful he chose me to go with him. :)

I'm thankful that we could use the tickets as an excuse to go to the mall and stock up on some new Hawkeye gear.

I'm thankful Kent found these hats for the kids. Kael thinks he looks like an Angry Bird.

I'm thankful for the "Live At The Creek" concert series happening right outside of the mall. Dueling pianos outside on a beautiful Sunday evening- it was pretty awesome.

Kent and Kylee were thankful for the Kettle Korn they were selling at the concert. Kael and I were not. I really don't like that stuff. Evidently Kael doesn't either.

I'm thankful for a long weekend ahead. The kids don't have school Monday or Tuesday!