School is here!

We have had such a busy two weeks. From school starting, dentist appointments, speech therapy evaluations, Kindergarten evaluations, and I got really sick right smack in the middle of it all.

I'll start with Reilly starting school on the 23rd. He was so happy to be back in school. Dean took the day off and the four of us all went up together to drop him off. Braedon was confused and brought his backpack along. He tried to put his things away in his old cubby (Reilly has the same teacher Braedon had and in the same room) and assumed we were also dropping him off. Once he discovered he'd be leaving with us, he was okay with it. Reilly had a terrific first day and a wonderful first week. He is working on body parts, verb actions, and undressing and dressing himself. His attending is pretty low (around 20%) but that is rather normal for the start of the year.

On Wednesday, we picked Reilly up from school and headed up to Primary Children's Medical Center for the Pediatric Dentist. It was time for both boys to see a dentist...their first visit. We've put this off and put this off. Finally, we caved. While I filled out the paperwork Dean tried to take the boys for a walk, but that caused problems. Braedon doesn't like to separate the "pack" and began to cry and have an anxiety attack. Just what you want before he sees the Dentist. When they called our names we headed back. The moment Braedon saw the chair he freaked out. He ran and tried to hide in the corner of the room and just kept saying, "Don't touch...Don't touch."

Luckily, this particular dentist office specializes in seeing children with special needs, all types. As a side story, while I was filling out paperwork in the main office, a cute little girl and her mother came in. The little girl was in a wheelchair and was pretty well restrained. I would assume she wasn't able to move...I would be wrong. I was really close to her and I spoke to her for a moment and smiled at her. As I turned back, I felt her chair bump into my leg and when I looked at her, she had a big grin on her face. Her mom and I started laughing really hard and I told her, "I see how it is." There are children of all types that come to see the Dentist.

Anyhoo, back to my story. It finally came down to Dean and I holding Reilly down on the chair first. Dean took his hands and I took his feet. The Dentist forced his mouth open and did a quick check. He was screaming and crying and Dean was trying to calm him down while I was fighting to get Braedon on the chair and restrained. He was screaming and crying as well, and a few more assistants came in to help us out. The Dentist looked in Brae's mouth and then we were done. I held him while he cried and the Dentist gave us the great news. They both have terrific teeth and no cavities! Oh thank heavens!! We did decide that when the time comes that they need work done on their teeth, they both will need to undergo general anesthesia. Basically, they'll require surgery for a cavity. It's how it goes. The Dentist assured us it was normal for them and very safe in the hospital environment. I would bet a lot of people wish they could be put out before a root canal or even a cavity... I'm just glad we only have to do this once every six months.

Thursday, I took Braedon to meet his teacher, Mrs. Ball and get his Kindergarten evaluation done. He did AWESOME!!! He said all his letters, all their sounds, all the numbers, shapes, and colors. He even wrote his name! His teacher and the Special Education Coordinator decided that we will put him in with the typical class and then see what additional help he may need. Originally he was to be placed in the special education class and slowly integrated into the typical class. His teacher used the words: Typical...Average...Good... I'm not used to hearing these words when evaluating my children. I'm used to Delayed, Slow, Behind, Below Average...This was a change. I was so excited! I know he'll have his troubles, but the words Typical...Average...Good were used to describe my son!!! You have NO IDEA what that means to me! It means EVERYTHING!!!

We still have an uphill battle to help Braedon with his receptive language skills, but I'm up for it. The day before I was completely sad after his speech evaluation was done. The words Really Behind were used more then once. I know he's behind and I know he'll have struggles, but to hear it over and over and over and over starts to wear on you.

Braedon starts school on Monday and I can now say I'm more excited then nervous. In fact, I'm thrilled. I think he'll do great. There are 23 children in his class, which I think is a great number. Keep your fingers crossed...