Fun Pictures

Here are a bunch of random kiddo pictures that I've been wanting to add.

Dallin "hiding" under the table...

Playing peek-a-boo

Kicky Feet - we need to get a video of this on the blog, it's HILARIOUS!

Rootbeer floats on a Sunday afternoon, it's officially summer!

Hanging with Aunt Isha

Cory being grumpy...something about this picture reminds me of Jason on our home video from years ago.

Good times! We've made a lot of fun memories this summer. I can't believe it's gone so fast.

Dallin's 1st Birthday

My little Dallin turned 1 on August 16th (Saturday). He is such a chunk of fun, I swear! We have had all my kids' first birthday parties at my parent's house, so we decided to carry on that tradition.

We had homemade pizza, which Dallin loved. (Pizza is one of his favorites since he was about 6 months old!) He of course made a mess, but that's half the fun, right?

Then, the cake...He wasn't so sure about it at first....

But he sure warmed up to the idea fast!

I know this picture is a bit frightening, but it's so funny, I had to add it!

Hmmmm....did I miss a piece?

We all had a bunch of fun watching him down the giant piece of cake. We were so sad John wasn't able to make it, he was taking his CDL test, and it ran a lot later than expected (the guy testing him was called into an emergency at work, arghh). But YAY, he passed it, so now he is a commercially liscenced driver! Way to go, we're so proud!

Dallin didn't quite get the whole gift-giving concept, but the older boys sure enjoyed teaching him about it.

I can't believe my baby is one! Where did the time go? I guess I was too busy to notice it passing. He is such a darling little guy, so glad to have him. Happy birthday, little one!

Adventures of Cory Tilton

It has been an interesting week and a half since Cory has gone to school. Bryson is quite lonesome without his big brother/best friend/playmate, but he and Dallin are getting along better, so I am glad to see their friendship developing.

Cory has had a challenging time adapting to school, but I had anticipated a difficult adjustment period, so at least I felt more or less ready. The first few days were very had, he was rude on the playground (pushing, calling names, etc.), and hiding under tables during class time. I won't go on and on, but he racked up quite a list of misbehaviors. So, last Friday I met with his teacher, the school psychologist, the school counselor, and the special ed teacher. They all could see that he was not doing these things to be intentionally disruptive or malicious, but that he was getting overwhelmed and acting out. I was glad to see that they saw this about Cory because on first glimpse, it doesn't always appear that way. So, after that first meeting we decided to cut him to half-days, and we made a planner for him so he could see what was coming next in the day. (With him, it's ALL about the routine!!).

So, he did quite a bit better during the day, but was still not willing to go into the classroom first thing in the morning. Then on Tuesday morning we missed the bus, and so we went to another bus stop, but this was not HIS bus stop, so he just refused to get on the bus. I had to drive him to school. This was a change in routine and he did NOT care for it. Ahy yiy yiy! He quite literally would not get out of the car once we got to the school, so I had to drag him out. Of course he was screaming and any time I let go, he would make his way back into the car. I had the other little ones with me, so I physically wasn't able to carry him into school and push a stroller, so I just stood there trying to "reason" with him (ha!). Luckily the school counselor happened to be walking into the building and saw the struggle - not that it was difficult to miss - so she lent a hand. She had to drag Cory into school kicking and screaming, and then once she got to the school, he bolted out the door screaming and running for the parking lot. The poor lady had a bad knee, but was scared of him running in front of a car, so she had to chase him. She barely made it,and had to drag him back. Once he got in the school he did ok. The next day we DIDN'T miss the bus.

A trick I have learned is to have him bring things for his teacher. This helps him want to see his teacher, distract him from the transition that's taking place, and start the day on a positive note. So, since the incident, I have had him bring roses from our garden to his teacher, and it has been working wonderfully, and he is starting to participate more. We met with all the professionals yesterday, and they all agreed he has been improving. They are all impressed with him knowing his numbers, letters, and the sounds of the letters. They also said some very kind things about my parenting techniques, which was nice because so often I feel like my parenting is lacking because of his irrational behavior.

So, we have made it a little bit further in the school year, and no casualties yet. We are seeing progress, though it doesn't come without a tremendous amount of patience from everyone, but it is happening. I love his teacher, she is so perfect for him, and so many of the other people there reach out to him and help him. There is light at the end of the tunnel. His appointments with the behavioral therpaist and the NACD could not come fast enough, though.

Cory's First Day of School

Today was Cory's first day of Kindergarten. He did so fabulous this morning! I couldn't have asked for it to be any better!!!! I am one proud mama!!!

Grandpa Goates came over and gave him the traditional school blessing. Thanks, Dad!

I wasn't sure if he would be willing to ride the bus, but he did it without fussing at all. He rode the bus and I drove to the school. Here is us waiting at the bus stop.

I got there just it time to see him getting off the bus holding a girl's hand! Her name is Sarah and she is in Cory's primary class. Geez Cory, nevermind easing your mom into this whole growing up thing!

They held hands the whole way to the playground. We found Cory's teacher, and he stood in line with the rest of his classmates. I told him I needed to help Sarah find her class, and he hugged her good-bye, not me. And that was it, I checked back on him before I left the school, and he was happily playing with some blocks in his seat.

About 1 I go a call from the school nurse telling me that Cory was having allergies and needed some meds, so I went down to the school to give him the stuff, but he wouldn't take it. I had to chase him around the nurses office for a while, then he decided he wanted to go back to class. I stayed talking to the nurse for a bit, and next thing I knew, I heard a SHREIKING kid running down the hall. I looked, and sure enough, Cory was sprinting down the hall being chased by three teachers.

I had spoken to Cory's teacher previously about Cory's many sensitivities, and the pediatrician's suspicians of Aspergers Syndrome, so at least she knew sort of what was going on. The other two teachers were special ed teachers who happened to be in the hall. Once I got Cory calmed down (which took some doing!), I was able to talk to them. They want to get a psych eval for him, since my appointment with the developmental therapist isn'nt until December. Cory's teacher, Mrs. Potter was very understanding of the situation. She had noticed that several times during the day Cory went alone in the corner to diffuse, but everything is so new that nothing was calming to him. She recommends getting someone who can work one-on-one with him during half the day inside her classroom, that way he can become more familiar with his surroundings and learn how to deal with the stimulations of school. Then she would like to ease him off of that by the end of the year. I feel so blessed with a compassionate and perceptive teacher for my little boy.

So, I consider today a huge success. I think Cory did everything he could until he reached his breaking point, and he still likes school and wants to go back tomorrow. I also was able to work with a fabulous teacher and some wonderful ladies in special ed to create an outline of a plan. I think this might just work! Here's hoping.

And here is what the aftermath looks like:

Dallin is getting bigger

All of a sudden Dallin is looking so big to me. I can see that he is almost one. I can't believe how the time has flown!! It seems to be getting faster with each child. I have some new pictures of him, some of them are blury, but they capture his little personality so I wanted to add them. He has been teething, so he's been kind of clingy, but he is still just so funny. I love watching him grow.

Eating a sucker...

Cuddling with Daddy ("Da da da da")

Slave labor, gotta start 'em when they're young, right? Oh, and Cory had just done his hair for him.

Playing with Bryson. Bryson is getting good at looking after and playing with Dallin. This is not posed, they were doing this so I grabbed a camera!

o

Look who found the wet wipes!!

There have been some really big rains this summer. There have been a couple that have come up onto the porch. We were a little nervous that the water might come inside. Both neighbors had water in their houses, but our little house stood strong. We feel very blessed.

Here are Cory and Bryson watching the storm from the back door.