I. B. Happy!

Sooo, it's official. I have been waiting to see it in writing before I announced it....

They have filled the autism consultant positions and that means that our boy will get IBI! ( Intensive Behavioral Intervention ) And that is exactly what it sounds like...20 hours a week of therapy that is specifically designed to focus on Porter's needs.

It's what we have been waiting for. It feels a bit like Christmas in October!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Firework!

 
Prepare to be touched. This video brought me to tears. And I don't mean the soft, trickle down tears...I mean the sobbing , hold your breath because if you let it out you'll emit a sound that will scare the kids kind.

Tune in Sunday night on The Comedy Network as Jon Stewart hosts " The Night of Too Many Stars". Here is a preview of what you will see..


http://now.msn.com/jodi-dipiazza-an-autistic-girl-who-plays-piano-sings-with-katy-perry




I have heard that song so many times before and have often thought of our boy ....listen to the lyrics.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards,
One blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
6 feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe"

You don't have to feel like a wasted space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe"

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe"

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon


Porter, you ARE my little firework. I love your magnificent colours ...and you will never have to show me what you are worth. I already know. xo

Ruby's Birth Story

So today our little Miss Ruby Two Shoes turns 1 year old! I decided that on this day I would share her birth story. Like I have said before, I hope to be kicking around a long time, but if I have learned anything in this life it is that tomorrow is never guaranteed.  Ruby, when you are older and want to know this story, I want you to be able to hear it, anytime you want....

I'd like to say it was all rainbows and lollipops, but not quite, although when you did finally arrive, it was pure love. No other way to describe it.

First, you came a little early. You were a scheduled C-section ( why you ask??  Your brother weighed 10lbs 6 oz , so I wasn't taking any chances:) and you were supposed to be born Oct 12th. Your actual due date was October 19th, but because you were a C-section they like to schedule the birth one week early so mommies do not go into real labour..hmmm..yeah, that was the plan.

However, you decided that you wanted to come out 2 days early. The night before you came I asked your Daddy to rub my back, you see, you were getting just a little heavy and my lower back was trying it's best to take the weight, but because I was a couple pounds overweight , okay, maybe a few...my back just wasn't holding up very well:) So he gave my back a nice deep massage ( come to find out later, that can induce labour.. OOPS!)  Hours later, you woke me up! It was time for you to make your way into this world ! It was a Monday, October 10th, Thanksgiving Day!

I wasn't prepared, which sounds funny because I had gone into labour with your brother so you would think I would have known what to expect. But you were different. I first felt the contractions around 4 in the morning . I thought I would have plenty of time to shower and pack up my things before we went to the hospital but about half way through the shower, the pain got worse, much worse. You wanted out! Your brother was asleep so we needed to call Auntie Lisa to come watch him while we went to the hospital. (Nana and Pepe were in Moncton because they thought you were coming on Oct. 12 just like we did!) Your Auntie Lisa and cousin Kenzie arrived and we were on our way. I was getting nervous at this point because the contractions felt fierce and close together...YIKES! Don't come yet baby Ruby!

We got to the hospital and I felt some relief that at least you were not going to be born in the Corolla! And I think your Daddy was feeling some relief too:) He is pretty handy, but delivering a baby, I don't know...

Anyway, back to the story. So the nurses hooked me up to the special monitor to make sure this was real labour. It didn't take them long to figure out that this was the real deal! So the next step was waiting for Dr. Farag and the anesthesiologist to arrive and get you out. It felt like days but in reality it was just a few hours and then in an instant, you were here. We knew your name already, Ruby Mae Mary. You were perfectly perfect. Ruby because we LOVED the name and it also happens to be your Grampy Arsenault's birthstone, Mae for Mark and Rae put together and Mae is also your Great Nanny MacNeill's middle name. Mary for both of your grandmothers' middle names AND also your Great Grammy Arsenault's middle name.

You were a big girl, not quite as big as your big brother, but a healthy 9lbs 6oz!

I couldn't stop looking at you. Daddy couldn't either. We loved you nose to toes.

There is a little more to this story, but I think you knew it was your birthday because you wanted to stay up late and now I'm sleepy too. SO let's call this Part 1:)

Happy Birthday sweet girl. You are always loved.

xo

Fun at School!

   So anyone that has been following along might remember that Porter's preschool sends us "learning stories" through email. We LOVE getting them but can't usually share them on the blog because there are other kids in the class and I don't have permission to use their photos....BUT last week we got not one, but TWO stories all about our boy! Sigh..this boy, he fills me up.

I can't seem to write underneath my pictures today, so I will say Happy Thanksgiving right here! Last year on Thanksgiving Day our Miss Ruby was making a mad dash into this world! Yep, this week our girl turns 1!!!

So very much to be thankful for.
:)Rae

Half-time!

Remember when you were a kid and it always seemed that you were waiting for something and the days seem to drag on and on and on and you thought you would NEVER get your driver's license?

What happened to those days?

And can someone PLEASE tell me where September went?

For anyone that doesn't know I decided (at the absolute last minute) to work half days this year.  I am doing Reading Recovery in the mornings and I am finished work by noon! I have been meaning to post my news but this month..seriously..where did it go?

So that means I get to spend my afternoons with Little Miss Ruby Two Shoes! ( her new nickname thanks to my friend Laura ). And when Ruby wakes up from her nap, we go pick up her big brother Porter! We are keeping Porter in preschool for most of the day because he needs preschool. He needs the structure and the social time and the boy LOVES to go! You should see him in the morning when we say it's time to go to school!  He squeals with delight and runs to the door to put his shoes on!

Little Miss Ruby spends her mornings making friends at her new "school".  We feel so fortunate that she is being cared for by someone who just loves her to bits! Thanks for taking such great care of her Jen! Here is a picture of Ruby's new friend Max. Yep, that's right... Max and Ruby! What are the odds? 

Chat soon
Rae :)

Happy Birthday

Today my mom would have turned 63 years old. I hope she is riding horses with my Nan.

Happy Birthday Mom. Love and miss you always.

Beanie xo

(yes, that was my nickname:)

Life2q]'''o[ and Mum Mums

I happened upon this quote recently from Gilda Radner.

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.”

It goes against who I am, but I love this. I'm trying, dear Lord, I'm trying.

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Yesterday while Porter, Ruby and I were waiting in the car I gave Ruby a mum mum to help keep her happy ( anyone not familiar, it is basically a rice cracker for babies). In the absence of anything else, Porter reached out wanting the other half. He finished it in seconds and then I heard it:

"Cacka, cacka."

Thank God I had another one in my purse.

"YES, sweet angel you can have a cacka! "

I wasn't expecting it at all. How delicious it was.

Up until this point, he had never spontaneously requested a cracker before. Sure, if I had him at the table and was dangling one in front of him, he'd say it..but never before just on his own.  From the backseat, without even having it in his visual frame of reference!

Big day.


:) Chat soon, Rae