Say Ahhhhhh

On January 19th, Gus was off for the day to celebrate MLK Jr's birthday. We started our morning by heading to Children's Dental Zone for dentist appointments for both Gus and Hugh. Gus went back in July for his first visit. It was a nightmare-- he was screaming and refused to let them do anything more than count his teeth (he even had to be moved to a private room).

This time, we went to a brand new location (they have a building that just opened that they designed specifically for their practice). I think it was a combination of a new building, more than enough time between the last visit and this one, and some time to mature, and it was a smashing success.

The boys were excited before we even entered the building. They have a tunnel for kids and they can crawl through the tunnel in the foyer to get into the office.

 

There's a foyer to enter before you enter the practice-- this is where the tunnel is

Once we were inside and checked in, the boys explored. They found the movie room, the game area, and their favorite of all, the slide.

 

Movie Room

 

For real. Their dentists' office has a slide!!

After too short of time playing, it was time to head back. The hygentist showed us around and then took us to the open bay area. Because Gus flipped out last time, we weren't sure how he'd do this visit, so they had a private room ready if he needed it. Thankfully, he did not. He was hooked as soon as he saw the tv in the ceiling and they turned on Paw Patrol for him. :-)

 

The wall of prizes

 

"Paw Patrol? On the ceiling?!?!"

Gus put the headphones on, watched his show, and the hygentist went to work. It was so quick and so easy!! As soon as Gus was done, it was Hugh's turn. He had been watching Gus, so he just did what Gus did. They took Gus back for x-rays and then he came back and wanted to hold Hugh's hand to comfort him during his cleaning.

 

Hugh wanted the headphones too and was excited to watch Paw Patrol :-)

 

One of the x-rays of Gus's teeth

After the hygentist finished cleaning Hugh's teeth, the dentist came over and she checked his mouth, counted his teeth, and then applied some flouride to their teeth.

They each got their coin for the machine of their choice and then earned Bravery Certificates that had a coupon for a free kids meal from Chick-fil-A! So awesome!

Because it was a gorgeous morning, we decided to head to the park for some fun. Our friends were supposed to meet us, but their mom had some unexpected car issues, so we played by ourselves. The boys had a great time together!

They were getting hungry, so we headed to what Gus calls "His City" (Burger King) for lunch. We came home in time for Hugh to nap and Gus and I talked about Dr. King and why he was so important to changing the course of history for our country. He's a bit too young to understand, but I figure we could start small and each year, get more and more detailed. :-)

We are looking forward to the next day off school, President's Day, because Steve will be off that day too and we'll get to do something fun as a family!!

1,200th Post

It's incredible to think that I've written 1,200 blog entries to this blog. Who would have thought someone could have so much to say?!? LOL

Things have been going well around here. We've been really busy now that the weather is getting warmer and we can do more things outside. The boys have been enjoying frequent park playdates and I've enjoyed the stress of chasing around Hugh and trying to keep an eye on Gus as the same time.

A few weeks ago, my MOMS Club chapter was asked to come to Great Play for a free trial class. Gus was supposed to be home, because it was a teacher work day, but due to the snow in January and February, they made it a make-up day. So I went with Hugh and thought he'd enjoy himself, but unfortunately, he was over-stimulated and did not have fun. They offered us an amazing deal, and I decided to get a membership for Gus.

He's gone to class three times now and it's so wonderful for him. It meets all his sensory needs and he loves going. The instructors know about his SPD and speech issues and they work with him to focus and listen and are very patient with him when it comes to talking.

 They bring out toys/activities for Hugh to play with while Gus is in class :-)

The plan is to keep Gus in classes through August and then I'd like to enroll Hugh once Gus starts school. I'm thinking we may keep Gus enrolled in an after school class, but we'll see how he does with the full-day schedule.

Speaking of school... we don't know what Gus will be doing for next year yet. His preschool teacher and I talked about options for the future for him. We have an IEP in May and we'll have more details at that time, but for now, he's on the list for one of the spots in an inclusion class (special needs kiddos with non-disabled peers). We're crossing our fingers that he gets a spot. I think it'd be an amazing opportunity for him and everything about it seems positive.

Gus's teacher said he's ahead of his peers academically, and in several areas he tested at a typical 5 year old level (he's 3.5) and the rest he tested at 4.5 to late 4. So we're happy with how well he's doing academically, it's the sensory issues that are not getting better. His speech is continuing to improve, but his ability to focus, pay attention, and sit still are all challenges for him. I feel like a lot of it is that he's a boy... but his SPD issues don't help the cause. His teacher is going to look into adding OT to his IEP.

Now that it's warmer, the park has been our go-to place in the afternoon. Gus and Hugh are starting to play together and it warms my heart to see the relationship between them developing. Gus is such a great big brother and he really does adore Hugh. He calls him "Sewy" lol.

We didn't have soccer last Saturday because of the rain on Friday night. Instead, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's with some friends from Gus's class. He had a great time with James, Cameron, and Meera. We have pictures this Saturday, and hopefully it'll go well! Be looking for a blog post with more pictures from soccer!!

Thanks for always reading, and for those of you that've been with me from day one... here's to another 1,200 posts!!!