Be Fair and Share

Dominic has always had a very hard time sharing and actually part of his IEP is working on his social skills. Since Christmas and this new assortment of new toys flowing into the house, he's been getting worse. Every boy type toy in this house he believes is his. No matter if he saw Damien open it for his birthday or Christmas. I'm completely frustrated with him about how he melts down throwing himself on the floor bawling. His Para says he's doing OK with sharing there but you can tell he bites his lip alot of the time and just wants to deck a kid for asking for his toy and having to share.

Tonight was just horrible. It started with a Hotwheel that Damien was playing with that Dominic got for Christmas. He ran up to Damien and snatched it. Then Damien got upset and we told him he couldn't do that (like we always do) and told him to give it back in which he threw it and then threw himself on the floor rolling around screaming and crying. Then Damien kept trying to give it back to him (yeah Damien hates seeing his siblings crying and always trys fixing the situation) and then Dominic just kept screaming and kicking so we sent him to his room.

I just wish this would quit. He going to be 5 in just 2 months. You'd think he would outgrow this stage but he's not. This is like an everyday thing for me and I'm so sick of it.

New Word

"ho ho ho!" (eyes bulging) I couldn't believe it but he was saying this today when I gave him a Santa Mr. Potato Head I bought at Target half off.

January

In January, both boys will be taking some sort of standard Sensory Test. Yesterday when Damien's SLP was here, I had said something about Damien starting to exhibit some of the signs Dominic did when we realized he had SID. She asked what he was doing so I explained about smells making him puke, seeing someone gag making him puke, textures making him puke, disliking certain textures on his hands or touching him, etc. So she definitely wants to get him checked out and she wants Dominic to start in their OT program. I told her I was going to be getting him involved into another center and she really would like me to stick to their free program instead of using our insurance for appointments. So we'll see!

New Word!

"ewwww yuck" That's considered two right?? lol

Ba-Ba

Damien's SLP came over Tuesday right as I came home with Alex and started picking her for head lice so I didn't get to sit in on his therapy. She felt so bad for me at the moment she said she would keep both boys busy with activities so I could get a start on Alex's hair.

Damien is as she thinks "trying" to make words. We're really not getting much new out of him but out of the blue he may just start saying a new sound. He is so good at making sounds of animals. It's just weird that he won't try saying any words. I don't know if he needs to see pictures to SAY a word? You show him a picture of an animal and he'll try sounding like it. If he sees some kind of an action going on like a plate falls on the floor. He'll say "uh oh!!"

His new sound last night was "baa baa" He just kept saying it over and over which was neat because he never has! Dave kept making him say it to me or scream it I should say so I would pick up that it was new. So when she comes next week I'll have another 2 syllable sound to tell her he's making.

There's Just Some Things You Can Tell

I know there are people in my life who think I'm "overacting" or "overrating" the boys problems. I know many other mom's in their own situations feel the same way. Dave's parents are some of the worst when it comes to what we deal with. First they have no idea when they visit once or twice a year. They are one of the firm believers that "Dominic is just a boy" this is "normal" "he's going to grow out of it." I hear this from soooooo many other people. It would be nice if it were true. It does upset me though that so many people believe it's just a "phase." It makes me doubt myself and doubt the Dr's and Teachers who have dealt with him.

There are instances though when we can tell the difference in real and fake with Dominic. This weekend his finger hurt. He made quite the show of it, it was hilarious. He held his pinky up like Dr. Evil all day and would loudly say "oww!" out of the blue. There was the coughing and needing "medicine." These are so typical for little kids to dramatize.

Not typical though: Having things thrown at you when you say no. Having a kid screaming when dressed, having a kid up at 10 pm jumping in bed acting like they took acid, kids only having one color they want of everything, having a kid that won't watch TV unless it's one thing they enjoy, Stacking that one thing in special order, having a kid cry from other kids in the classroom playing because they are too loud, having your kid throw up at the dinner table atleast once or twice a week, having something minimal set your kiddo into a raging fit and ruining their whole day.

How do we get people to understand Special Needs? I almost feel like I need people to come live with me for a week.

"It's Itchy!!!!!"

I bought a sweater for Dominic a month ago that I absolutely love. Dominic hates it. It's really cold right now so I put it on him and he started itching and freaking out saying "it's itchy!" over and over so I pulled it off. I put a long T on and then the Sweater. He was a bit weary but ok in it then. He was still itching his neck though. I hope he lasts 4 hours at school.

DAS~Verbal Apraxia?

Damien's SLP stressed this week that she really thinks he has Verbal Apraxia. We discussed this before but now that he's nearing 2.5 yrs she wonders if that may be part of the problem. We played ball the other day here at the house and she would say "mine!" to have him roll the ball in which he would say "mamma!" then roll it. She'd say "me, my ball, mine!" and he would say "mamma!" and then roll the ball. When I think of it, she has to be right. I've told everyone for years everything is "dis" but I thought it was just the only word he could make but he's been making it ever since he was 10 months. It sounds like for now from her we just keep stimulating his mouth, do more aggressive ST, and praise him for whatever we can get new to come out of his mouth.

Little Clues

I think after experiencing so much with Dominic's issues, I'm picking up signs that Damien is following the same path on alot of the same problems Dominic has had. Either that or I'm just losing my mind. The speech thing by 18 months was pretty apparent. Lately though he's starting to show signs of SID (sensory Intergration Disorder) He has been itching his back raw lately. Cries when he hears loud sounds. He's only prefering a few foods and is extremely picky. He threw up last night as soon as I opened Mia's diaper. He threw up watching Dominic throw up at the dinner table last night and a few times before this. SID sucks y'all. I don't want two kids with it!!! I certainly don't want two kids at the table throwing up by certain tastes/textures we've asked them to try or by one seeing the other puke. (sigh)

SID In Action

I didn't record everything but I caught a few moments on video. This morning Dominic woke up all upset. Everything is itching, sticky, and loud. Usually however the morning starts is how the day will end up. So since he's only been up for a hour already whining about itching, everyone being loud at the table, and washing his hands twice in five minutes because something is sticky, I expect it to be one long day with him. We need to go to the store for Thanksgiving items so I'm alittle worried. Alex and I planned on spending a bunch of time in the kitchen.

This week Damien's Path really pushed the letter M. Damien makes MMM noises when playing with cars. He makes a "mooo" sound too when he sees a car. He won't say any of others but will say "mama!" He does try to say "mop" we think. So she knows he's able to get the letter out.

I'm noticing that Damien is much more out to share then Dominic. Dominic is always trying to steal Linda from Damien at therapy. She'll give him something to share with Damien but he won't but other way around and Damien will share whatever he is given.

Back Pedaling

Tuesday at Gymnastics, I asked the lead instructor about Dominic if he was doing ok in there the past few weeks. She said he has his moments but is doing pretty well. She thinks more repetition in the class and he'll learn to sit still and do as he's told. Not run off, etc. lol While there one of the assistant teachers from his school was there to work out. We talked for a bit and I told her I was able to talk to someone from this new EI center that deals with psychological issues for children. She tells me he is just fine with her and she doesn't think I should really worry about how he is acting. So she has me questioning myself again. Is he normal? Is he "just a boy?" Do ALL boys act like this? She says she's the only teacher out of the 4 that is able to get him to listen, mind and not have outbursts or wailing fits. That to me is not normal. When she's not there his day is down the tubes. I don't like that little changes set him off. It's not right.

I still plan on contacting them though to see what they can help with.

Auditory Bombardment and Making Progress

It was definitely interesting this week with Damien's Speech Path. He got a headset that we are talking directly into a mic which keeps him focused looking at our mouths. She is trying 2 syllable words this week so she gave me a list of words to read to him twice a day along with the oral therapy toys to "wake up" his mouth with sensation. I told her after she had asked me about drooling that all the sudden I noticed that yeah he does drool a lot. She said she has noticed while being here he always has his mouth opened, it's like he doesn't know HOW to close it. Interesting. lol So our homework with the words is hopefully get him to say 2 syllables. On Hot dog after hearing the word about 40 times he did in fact say "ha....."and then did the tongue thrust spit thing to end it. She said that counts as 2 syllables because he tried. When we talk to him, she wants us to clap or tap out the word. For example: Hot- Dog (2 claps) Cow-boy (2 claps) Da-mi-en (3 claps) He caught on quickly though and so did Dominic (who sits in on his therapy for attention lol) that the claps separate parts of the word.

2 New Words Damien can now say... ha (hot) Boo! (said a lot during Halloween)

Auditory Bombardment

Damien took something caled a Hodson Speech Test the other day. Not sure of the results but it will be interesting to see. Next week the Speech Path will start something called auditory bombardment. I believe how this works is she will focus on one sound each week to see if we can get anything other then a vowel sound out of him. Basically drill letter sounds into his little brain if you will. We'll see.

Words at 28 months:
Yes, uh uh, dis, hi, yeah, ha ha, uh oh, mamma, dadda, boo, cheese, whoa,

Good Days, Then The Bad

Dominic has had a pretty decent week. We had Parent Teacher conferences and his teacher believes they just need to figure out all his little quirks. I agree. I think once they find what sets him off, what to keep him from, what zones him, etc. they will have better days. That was how it was at Early Intervention. He's earning behavior bucks when he's good and they are sending home a daily sheet I send with him. They circle a happy or sad face for each day and that is how he earns his buck. The bucks can be then used for something like a hot wheel car or a happy meal, etc.

Bed wetting started happening so frequently (with him sleeping straight through it) that I've recently put him back into pull ups for the time being. I'm good at finding the deals so as long as I can get them cheap I'll just buy them again. I've looked at tons of sites for absorbent cloth pull ups but they are too expensive for one use ($20-30 for 1 pair!) and some sites can't guarantee they can even be used all night so that was a dead end.

Otherwise things have been well. I was about to give up on keeping him in gymnastics but then he did great this week so now I just don't know! I know the involvement in sports and other activities really help but I hate putting others through having to work with him when they first don't understand why he acts the way he does. Most people think he's just spoiled or "hyper."

No Foods, Only Enviromentals

To see if foods have anything to do with Dominic's behavior, we had Dominic allergy tested the other day which was not fun. No food allergies but he was allergic to just about anything enviromental. I had no idea you could be allergic to Coackroaches. He'll never come into those with daddy's profession. LOL!! Again I was referred to Heartsprings so I researched their site online. Oh my! I hope they will take us in and help us!!! Not only do they deal with children on IEP's for speech and other delays they help with behavioral issues as well! Maybe we can finally get some answers figuring out what going on with Dominic. So today I am calling the insurance to find out if it will cover the appointments. I'm also going to call the ENT about getting his tonsils removed since the allergist thinks it needs to be done. We saw an ENT Dr about a year ago and I just couldn't put Dominic through it at that time because I didn't think it was necessary.

Mouth Helpers

I am still at a loss about all this stimulation Damien needs for his mouth to be zapped into working mode. I just don't understand how it works. She says his mouth is just "dead" and needs to be woke up. Anyways now he has his own little oral stimulation box equiped with vibration toys, horns, whistles and teether things. He is eating crunchy crackers (to wake up his mouth)and other things like she'd like but still prefers the smooth foods like the yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce, etc. But she is the SP and I will let her do her job. lol She gave me an oral grocery list of item I could buy and put in his box.

I'm About Two Seconds.....

from calling Dominic's old teacher at his old school and beg her to put him back in her class. Dominic so far this week has been hiding under tables from the teacher, yelling "no!" running from them on the playground when it's time to come in. He's supposed to go to Kindergarten next year. HOW?!?! How is this to work? He is so smart but everything else just holds him back. I don't know what else to do besides call his old teacher. I think he needs to be back in that setting. At gymnastics he didn't get a stamp because he wouldn't listen. They were having a hard time and would have to hold him on their lap to keep him in place but when it came to doing somersaults or trying cartwheels he'd do a great job! He can do things when he wants to but when others want him to do something or NOT to do something he just can't mind. His limbs are always in overdrive. He always has to move, or act up. I am getting to a desperate spot with him again.

Notes for the week came back on Thursday (last day of the week for Dominic) I guess Dominic spent all day Thursday crying at school and then had an episode where he kicked and screamed at his teacher. This is not good. Parent Teacher Conferences are in 2 weeks. I'm sure there's going to be a lot they'll want to discuss.

Too Loud

I don't know what's set Dominic off this week but it hasn't been a good one. Dave tried coaxing him for 20 minutes into his Awana cubbies class last night and then finally brought him to the gym where we were with the bigger kids doing games. BUT when he brought him in and set him down, he was ok for about 5 minutes and then I looked over to see him start wailing, holding his hands on his ears and rocking. I didn't even tell anyone I was leaving and just ran to him, scooped him up and took him out of the gym quickly. I explained to him that I had to help with big kids and he really needed to go to his class. I asked if it was too loud and he said yes. So I decided to help out with Cubbies last night since it was the only way to get him in there. There's about 40 little 3-4 year old and it wasn't too loud for the most part but any shrieks and giggles he'd bury his head into my chest holding his ears. We made it through though and they were happy he stayed. I tried to explain that he was sensitive to sound and since they are all older and never probably heard of it back in the day they looked at me kinda confused and with this pity look. I sent him on the bus this morning in good spirit so I'm hoping he has a good day.

Another Note

Sabrina,

Dominic had a really difficult time today. He did a lot of grunting, yelling, and crying. He didn't like much of anything that we or anyone else did in class today. We tied to encourage him to use words, but he was pretty upset most of the day. Lunch did go well and he gave us a smile. Just wanted to let you know.

I'm so sad! I have no idea why he had a bad day at school and maybe this explains his non- cooperation and crying in gymnastics. (I just found the note before going to bed.) I have noticed lately the rages have been coming around more but I don't have a clue what's making him so angry again. He's been really knocking Damien around and just kicking and going nuts on the floor, flopping around like a fish when something doesn't go his way. This is the 2nd day in a row they've had trouble with him this week.

Intensive Speech Therapy

This is an update from my other blog. Damien's home visit today went well. Not only was Jeanie (developmental therapist) working with him but so was Linda (speech therapist) She worked with Damien when he was about 22 months old at the Early Intervention center and this summer at the summer centerbased speech playgroup I had him in so she's familar with him. I told them if they really wanted to get him talking that they were more than welcome to take him into Dominic's room to play with the train table because he loves playing on it with me or daddy, it gets him really excited so they did that. He probably said "dis, Yes, and uh uh" a few hundred times showing them Thomas trains and scooting them around the track. He had a great time.

Linda realizes that creative and manipulative play are not working because he's not imitating, he's not parroting, he's not jabbering like most kids would TRY to do. So we are going to cut out the developmental therapy because he seems to be doing better on everything else. He will have intensive speech therapy with Linda on Tuesdays around 12:45. Still playing but in a more controlled enviroment (sitting at the kitchen table) So that was that! I can't wait to see how next week goes!

This Blog Is About To Change....

Now with 2 little boys with special needs, I am changing this blog a bit. I plan on posting updates on both boys and more frequently then I have. I plan on digging out the posts on Damien on my other blog and sticking them on here eventually.


Dominic has been in school for about 3 weeks. So far, no notes saying he's going to be expelled (lol) but I have received a few notes from his teacher about things she's been concerned with pertaining to the SID (sensory intergration disorder) issues. I visited the school recently and we talked about it and she's going to be as sensitive as possible and hopefully won't forget before it's too late. lol So far he's burst into tears from a tag on an apron rubbing his neck and when it gets too loud he cries. I begged her to watch anything soft food wise like mashed potatoes or applesauce because he will just gag and throw up and same with strong smells. So she will try her best to avoid anything that will set him off and I gave her a list.

Damien's home visits are going well! He is loving Jeanie. Still no new words though, still the same 8.

Dominic and Damien

Well Monday was Dominic's first day at his new school. This is the school I worked really hard to get him in at our Grade School. It's not a Special Ed setting like before. He LOVES it. We hung out for about 1.5 hrs and watched how the day normally goes there. Dominic had so much fun showing off his little brother. It was cute. There were 5 other parents there and I did feel abit ackward at times. It's hard because you feel like you need to explain how he acts so they aren't automatically thinking, "what in the world is wrong with her kid!??" He was so excited and a bit loud, he would do what he was asked for about 30 seconds and then wanted to go somewhere else and he was making all sorts of laser sounds from Action figures. lol There are a few things though that I plan on writing a letter to his teachers about. I did explain the ADHD/ODD thing already but I haven't said anything about his sensitivity issues. When they put an art apron on him, he flipped out. He started screaming "IT'S SCRATCHING ME, IT'S SCRATCHING ME!" He was really upset. They were loosing the belts and trying to figure out what the problem was. Finally he stopped. I probably ought to make them aware of the sensitivity thing because I'm afraid after seeing a whole row of bongo drums they will pull those out and he'll run out the door crying! lol He hates certain touches, sounds, smells will make him throw up easily, textures on his tongue cause him to gag at EVERYTHING. For 2 years he had Kristi as his teacher and she knew every little unique detail of him so now I'm starting all over so we'll have to do alot of communicating with his teacher the next few months.

Then Damien had his first homevisit today and will have visits every Tuesday at 9 am. It went well and he really clicked with his teacher. I like her too! Very nice lady. She tried getting him to point out animals, they played ball, tired to get him to say anything different then his normal little "dis, uh oh, yeah, and whoa!" She's going to talk to some of the other ladies about his tongue thrust and see what we're going to do. His tongue always comes out when he says his few words. She thinks that it may be more tongue thrust than Verbal Apraxia. So... we'll have to see. Whichever it is, I can already tell he's got a long road of speech therapy ahead of him like his brother. This is much different than Dominic though because Dominic just wasn't talking! Damien says a few words but he's more like Sylvester the Cat when he says "Suffering Sucatash!" That's the best description I can give of Damien. lol

So that's about it! It's weird having one sorta leaving this journey and then entering it again with another little one. I have learned so much through all this. I think Early Childhood Development would be a great field to take up once my kids have entered school. Dominic has came a long way on his speech although he does have a lot of other things on his IEP to work on, he's made SO MUCH progress! I am so proud of him! Damien so far just thinks this is all fun and games! lol Although he cried the first few times being in Speech Playgroup during the summer, he loved it in the end. Today when she arrived this morning you could tell he was thinking, "cool! Someone else wants to play with me!"

I'm really lacking on updating this blog! So I'll try to sum up our summer in a few paragraphs. First, Dominic language has completely exploded like it did last summer! It's amazing how much he says now. He's is almost caught up to his peers I think. He will be going to Alex's Elementary School in the mornings for preschool. He'll be only M-Th though which kinda bites but they're both at the same school which is awesome!

Dominic did a few productive things this summer. He passed swimming lessons, and tried really hard at T-ball although when that sun started blazing during the games he wanted to quit so we'd have to bribe him to keep him out there. One thing he really will have a hard time with after school starts back up is detoxing from websites. lol He's played Starfall, Hotwheels, Cartoon Network, PBS kids all summer long. Usually about 2 hours a day! He's really good at chores and helping out if he gets a reward for doing so.

The biggest change as of lately is he's transitioning from that preschool stage to a young boy. He's facination of Thomas is still there but not as much. He likes bigger boy things like Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Monster Trucks. He's using her bigger words such as ridiculous. He's saying things like "mommy! I told you....." or "you have got to be kidding!" He's just a riot.

This is another long overdue update. Things are going well as they could be with Dominic I guess. We're still not medicating or going to counseling. Our main problem right now is emotions. He is constantly breaking down crying about everything. Constant mood swings. The other day Alex had a dentist appointment and he didn't and the tears started welling up in his eyes. He fell to the floor bawling hysterically in Target last night because we told him he couldn't have something (Thomas Legos) and at home anything that Damien does that really doesn't affect Dominic will put him in tears. Other times he's just the best kid ever! I think the hardest part is explaining why he acts he way he does to new people we meet. I explained to his T-ball coach some of the things to watch out for. In gymnastics last month I saw a friend I hadn't seen forever. His son was in the same class and I explained to him why Dominic wouldn't sit still and why he was acting all goofy and weird while the other kids sat and listened to the teacher. I always feel like I need to tell people why he acts different and that makes me sad.

His aggressiveness is about the same. Dominic and Damien are always taking toys from each other and fighting. Usually he gets really mad and will sit on Damien or push him hard. He hasn't thrown anything in awhile which is great. He still disagrees with me on alot of things. He'll say "I told you NO MOMMY." when I ask him to do something or "I SAID YES!" if I tell him no he can't have a snack right this second. His hitting me has slowed down quite a bit and he'll usually just end up crying in the end about whatever we're disagreeing about.

So far this summer has been going well. We're working on workbooks and a CDRom trying to keep up with school. He is having a hard time writing I believe because he's left handed. I don't know how to teach him how to hold a pencil left handed either.

Damien has started Early Intervention Playgroup and he really enjoys it. Dominic is sad that he can't go since it's at his school. Damien unfortunately is starting to show some of the same "signs" as Dominic did early on so I worry abit that we could be going down the same road with Damien. We'll see though.

Long Overdue Update

Well I haven't updated on here in a bit so I will today! Dominic is doing really good. I had his IEP appointment about a month ago so he'll be able to get into any preschool when we move at a short notice because he has that. He's doing really well at school except for a few issues, alot being social, some cognitive, and speech. His misbehaving at home is about the same. He back talks alot, calls names, and just will do something repeatitively after we tell him no. He is constantly battling it out with Damien on toys and just starting fights out of the blue with Alex which normally end in someone getting hurt. He still is not falling asleep till 9:30-10 after he goes to bed at 8 and I couldn't tell you when the last nap he had was, it's been that long. We still have no answers on why he acts the way he does. I feel like I just don't know anything with him anymore. Some days I feel like he's fine, or then sometimes he's got the ADHD that he was diagnosed with, but then other days I wonder if his teacher is right about PDD's. Then days like last night when he was upset about his shirt tag in his pj's and not wearing a certain pair of shoes that he adores when I think maybe he does have sensory intergration dysfunction. He desperately needs couseling but this small town we live in doesn't provide Child Psychologists specified in these areas. He can get help but I don't think we'll all get the help we need.

So things are going pretty well. He will not do summer school this summer so I plan to get some workbooks and homeschool so we don't forget anything. We want his last year of preschool for 07-08 to be a good one! Thanks for reading!

1st Dentist Appointment!

Thank goodness for Camera phones. LOL Dominic had a great 1st dentist appointment. We found out that even though he's missing a bottom front tooth and only has 3 that it may come in as a permanent and it may not. If it doesn't there's no reason to worry about it because most of the time with just 3 you can't tell anyways according to the dentist. Dave actually has 5 on the bottom so the Dentist joked that maybe dad took Dominic's. His teeth look great and he'll go back in 6 months where we'll attempt to get x-rays. The first 2 four year old visits are usually just meet and greets so they don't scare the kids. Then on the 3rd visit they will TRY to clean his teeth. He gave me some disclosing tablets for the kids (they LOVE those!) and he got a new cool looking toothbrush, kid's mouthwash, floss dinosaur, and toothpaste. Then he picked out a ball out of the toy basket. He told EVERYONE last night about his visit to the funny dentist. Our Dentist thinks he's a comedian. To me he's just a bit strange but the kids adore him.

ADHD and Karate?

I am so sad tonight. We took Dominic to watch the Tae Kwon Do and all he wanted to do was get up and try to go under the chairs or go out the door. He wouldn't sit 2 freakin seconds and watch. It really made me wonder if maybe I should just load him up with meds. Maybe I should just give, screw it ya know? They'd scream "kee yah" and he'd hold his ears and say it was too loud. One of the teachers said maybe I should try back in a year with him but then said if Dad got into it, maybe Dominic would follow. I told Dave he should try and see. Dave did it as a kid so he knows alot of the moves, he can even do the splits!! I bet if he saw Daddy out there, he'd get excited to try. I think it upset Dave too that he wouldn't sit there. I know he wanted the boys to be in martial arts.

Eeeee Yaaaw!!!

This week we will be taking Dominic to watch some Tae Kwon Do by younger kids and see if he's interested in trying to do it. He's already jumping around saying yes. He's excited. Dave did Tae Kwon Do as a kid and has always said the discipline and structure would be great for him. Well I started hearing that martial arts are great for kids with ADHD and researched it. Turns out it is. Here's one article on it. So if this all works out after he sits in a few sessions, Dom will start doing this on Tuesday evenings.

Dominic's Parent Teacher Conference

Dominic is doing extremely well at school. So well that they think he would do great in a more normal preschool setting. He will still be on an IEP but normal preschool. How does this make me feel? Extremely happy! I can't believe it. Little backround. Dominic goes to what is known as EI- Early Intervention. It's a preschool but made up of children with developmental disabilities. Most of the children are there for minor things like Dominic's speech and behavior, but there are some with more indepth complex problems such as blindness, deaf, down syndrome, motor skill problems, Autism, MS, etc. I knew what his school was like as far as classmates and it pleased me because I wanted him to be exposed to being around children that have some disabilities so he understood that they were just like him but in a wheelchair, using a hearing aide, a cane, etc. He's made great bonds with the kids and considers them all his "friends."

Dom's teacher had nothing but praises for me. She said that he's making an effort on everything and his fits are less and less it seems. They are still there but not as bad as they were (hitting teachers, kicking, etc.) Here's a few things he's doing great at.

• On Cognitive-Row counts to 6 then starts skipping #'s
• recognizes all the basic colors except brown and black
• understands basic patterns
• places things in order by size
• recognizes his name in print
• On Language- says his first and last name
• knows gender and age
• speaks in 2-3 word sentences, progress being made on 4-5
• Follows 1 and 2 ste directions
• understands some positional concepts. Up, Down, In and out. On and Off
• Points to Same, different, big, little, more, less, tall, slow, fat, hot, cold
• Self-Help: tries a varity of foods
• can use cup and bowl
• washes and drys hands without help
• can undo zippers, takes off coat, uses toilet with no help
• can nearly point to everything except for wrist, ankle, waist, hips, heel.
• Social Skills: follows the routine
• follows directions
• knows staff and classmates names
• initiates interactions with adults
• pays attention now for 3-5 minutes!!!! That's great!
• Fine Motor: dominant right hand
• can complete a 20 piece puzzle
• builds a tower of 10 blocks
• self portrait with 3 details (arm, stick torso, legs)
• snips paper
• Gross Motor: walks upstairs
• jumps down from things without falling
• balances on one foot
• walks on a balance beam
• throws, catces and kicks a ball
• jumps with 2 feet

Here's what we need to work on though. Social skills are still not all there. He's having a hard time with asking adult permission, sharing, watching and listening, waiting his turn, attempting to solve conflicts with peers, initiateing an activity with others such as "hey let's play with this.."

His language is there but he's still not able to follow 3 part directions yet. Cognitive and Language still need alot of work There are still some positional concepts he doesn't get yet such as between, behind, etc. He can't answer questions yet either which I knew that. He can't hold a pencil without clenching it and still doesn't like to attempt coloring in the lines. It's more or less scribbled. He doesn't recognize letters or numbers yet. Catagories he doesn't understand at all. We'll get there. I expressed my concerns about if we do put him in a new preschool setting that he would fall backwards. She said she would work with the teacher. They would also send a speech therapist to the school to work with him. Overall it went really good and I was pleased!

Spring Break

Dominic's Spring Break is here! He's out till March 19th!!! I might just have to shoot myself pawn him off on my Grandma a few days the next week or so. If not, I may just kill him end up in a nuthouse. I'm sure though, everything will be just fine, 4 kids and all. I'll just have to think of 300 activities a day for the 14 hours he's normally awake. Any ideas?

Update on Progress

So since Dominic has turned 4 now I'll give an update for the Baby Book. lol

As far as I know school is going really good. We have PT Conferences on Thursday. Last I knew, they do timeouts if he misbehaves and they have been able to keep him attention for the most part. He only wanders off occasionally now BUT they always have a teacher sit him on their lap so that probably makes a difference! He loves school though and the other day when it was out, he was really upset telling me he wanted to go.

He is still totally fixed on trains. Everything in his life is Thomas. He lines them up and plays with them. He only wants to wear Thomas underwear, Thomas Shoes, Thomas clothes. He plays with them 24/7. Still 1 year later, I'm making his toaster strudel icing into a train for him to eat.

The freaking out from shirt tags has stopped. Which is good because I want to know what the size of everything is for Damien to wear when it's handed down.

Naptime has been nonexistant since he turned 2 1/2. He's always been on the go since then. He's still up WAY too long. He wakes at 6:30 AM and is up till around 9-9:30. That's a LONG time to me for a kid. If I have a hard time doing it, I can't see how he does it. He's always running around the whole day laughing, giggling and doing all the wrong things. He still never thinks before he acts but then he realizes his mistake a few minutes later and will say sorry.

Outbursts are less it seems. If you remember some of the videos on here of him knocking the crap out of me, they are less but still there especially if you piss him off. He may say something like his school bus is BLUE. You correct him saying it's yellow and he'll tell you your wrong and it's BLUE. Now you can keep trying to correct him but it's best to just drop it because he gets really mad screaming his answer, clenching his fists and finally gets physical. This happens in public and people's eyes bulge and stare. He is always physical with Damien and Alex. I saw him twist Damien by the neck and throw him on the floor the other day for playing with his things. He jumps and beats Alex all the time. This is what the Dr said he'd really prescribe the meds for is the ODD part of his ADHD. To calm him before anyone got hurt. When I came home from the hospital I figured for sure this time I'd have a baby in the ER for some of his tantrums but so far we're ok. I keep a constant eye on her from the boys. Fits in the store are pretty much the same and we have them alot. Sometimes I can put them off by carrying suckers in my purse or a train from home he hasn't played with in awhile. I keep toys in my purse and diaper bag.

Last, his speech is soooo much better. More like a 4 year old now. The boy talks all the time in sentences!!! He's improved so much! We still have letters he can't pronounce and prepositions we are learning but he's getting there!

Spencer The Naughty Diesel

It was a nice day down at Sodor. All the trains were busy taking their loads to and from. Sir Topham Hat asked all the engines to be on their best behavior while he left the station with Toby. They were to listen to Gordon, the wise old engine and do as he said. Gordon was very proud of his new job from Sir Topham Hat and told him, "You can count on me, Sir!" Gordon told a few of the engines their jobs for the day but there are so many engines, there was some miscommunication. Thomas was to pick up passengers at Wellsworth Station but instead Edward, James, Percy, Rusty, Salty, Diesel and Culdee showed up! Oh no! Then there was so much commotion on the tracks, Culdee derailed and fell over on his side. Sir Topham Hat was NOT going to be happy.

Thomas was headed to the Wellsworth Station when he got word that he was to pick up barrels at the dock. Gordon followed him there. "what are you doing Thomas? You're supposed to be picking up the passengers at the station?" "I am?" he replied. "Spencer told me that I was to pick up barrels at the dock!" Gordon grumbled, "No! You are to pick up passengers! Emily is to pick up barrels." Thomas took off quickly to the station.

Just then Emily was spotted by Gordon. Gordon spouted, "where have you been? You need to pick of barrels immediately." "Sorry," Emily replied. Gordon was getting very angry.

Just then Gordon spotted Spencer. "Spencer, why did you tell Thomas to pick up barrels?" asked Gordon. "It was a joke! HAHA!" Laughed Spencer. "Well it's not funny" said Gordon. "I am incharge, Sir Topham Hat said so. You don't do that again!" Gordon said angrily.

When Thomas arrived at the station, it was chaotic. Culdee the purple engine was finally flipped back over and on his way. Everyone else was behind. Finally the passengers were picked up and put on Annie and Clarabel and they were on their way.

Finally, Sir Topham Hat returned with Toby.

"Gordon, the passengers have left and the dock work is all done. Great job." he said. "Thank You, Sir." Gordon said. Spencer, nearby came over and apologized to Sir Topham Hat and Gordon for his dirty trick. "Spencer, you are a naughty little engine." Sir Topham Hat replied. Then he sent all the trains back to the Roundhouse to go to bed.

The End.

Dominic's 4!!!

Ahoy there Me Hearty's!! We had Dominic's 4th Birthday Party at CiCi's Pizza yesterday and it was alot of fun! We love CiCi's! I'm glad they were nice to us since we probably made a huge mess and dirtied a zillion plates.

Dominic with his Treasure Chest Cake

Shiver Me Timbers! Look at the booty in the treasure!

Notice the pirate flags we used to reserve the tables we were using. Arrrrgh!!!!

Dominic and another cheesy grin. He always makes the same face showing off his teeth.
Dave's aunt/uncle on the left. My Mom and stepdad Mike on the right.
Grandpa with a mouthful!
I have no idea what I was staring off at when Dave took this. Mommy helping Dom with his gifts.
This is my sister Mandi.
And a group shot before bedtime.....

Mia before leaving to the party

Well we are trying something now. Finally. It's that Focus Factor for kids. I see NO RESULTS but it's only been about 5 days. Dave seems to think it'll need to work into his system and won't just work instantly like I want it too. He's still laughing and running around like a moron all afternoon. I swear if he could do backflips he would do them over and over. He is still very impulsive. I think that's what I'd like to change the most is his impulsive behavior. I haven't seen any improvement with concentration either. I read nightly to Alex and he won't sit for it. He will for about 1 minute then he's done. Anyways- it was at Walmart for $10, we give him 3 wafers a day since he's not quite to the weight limit for a 4 year old.

Book Shopping

While venturing out for supper with the crew, we stopped by a big music/book store in town. D headed to the Xbox games, I headed to the books. Dominic decided he wanted to come with me which was ok......till we got in the book section. It's like going to the library and he was just off the wall running around the bookshelves, grabbing books looking at them and putting them wherever, and laughing at pictures of baby butts on the covers. I must have asked him 20 times to stay in the area I was but he was just running all over. (sigh) So I didn't get to shop that much. I did find a few books but didn't find the two I was looking for. I did find quite a few for ADHD and I think I may go back and pick up ADHD for Dummies. I did not however find Raising yor Spirited Child or the Out-Of Sync Child. Amazon has an amazing selection of books so I may just go back, look at books, write down the titles and order online since it's cheaper buying used.

It's been awhile. So alot has happened with us around here and it has affected Dominic quite a bit. My first hospital stay from having Mia didn't really phase the kids too much. The 2nd stay though for the pancreatitis though turned him into a mess. He was crying alot, got a bit of an attitude at school, and fits got pretty bad for my parents. I was still so sore when I came home that my grandmother was coming to help. There was one day when she went to get him off the bus. I was there that morning but when he saw my Grandma was there to get him off the bus, he flipped. He came in the house and fell on his knees wailing. I asked him if he thought I was gone again and he said "yes." It was heartbreaking the first week home. The boys were like little monkeys clinging to me. Then Dominic had a major anger thing going on and started being really mean and not listening to me at all. He was so bad I was crying all the time. I even went back to his pediatrician crying and asked him about getting him on the meds. When though he called me about putting him on the meds, I couldn't buck up and do it and I said things were better. They are a bit better but he's still got fits going on at home. He's doing really good at school again.

One major thing that came out of all this was that his teacher sent home all his pull ups saying he's doing a great job and she didn't think he needed them anymore. Ever since then he's been going to school in underwear. He hasn't pooped his pants in atleast a month. It's been AWESOME. He's still having a pee accident maybe once or twice a week but he's been wearing underwear when we go out in public and has never had an accident. I think I can say, we finally have him potty trained completely now, and before he turned 4. Potty training this boy has been one crazy ride. I'm glad it's finally done!

Our next step now as Mia starts growing is to get him to a child psychologist which we are both for. We have insurance for it, we might as well do it. We also are going to try a Homeopathic herbal route with Dominic. It's especially made for children with ADHD. I still haven't purchased it but we've known about it for awhile. Things are just so crazy around here and with me forgetting, it's going to take a major fit or meltdown for me to remember "oh yeah! I need to buy that."

Me Too!

Dom's newest phrase to everything is "Me Too!" He says it about everything from wanting to eat or drink to wanting to leave the house, he says "me too" on everything. He hasn't said me too when I've told him I was giving his brother a bath though. lol

I was really hoping to have Dominic potty trained before little Mia arrived but it doesn't look like we'll be quite at that spot but we're almost there. Dominic never poops his pants anymore which is AWESOME! But he still pees in them. (sigh) It's weird because this was totally opposite of him about 6 months ago when he was crapping himself and never wet. I don't get it but I'd rather change him wet than poopy! When he does poop on the toilet he makes it huge deal screaming "MOMMY I POOPED! I POOPED ON THE TOILET, A BIG ONE! COME LOOK MOMMY!"

Honestly I don't think Dominic gets that we're bringing home a new baby next week. I say I have a baby in my tummy and he says "me too!" patting his belly. When Damien arrived he hated him and completely ignored his brother. He was only 2 and I don't think he understood that he came from my belly. Guess we'll see how it goes. We'll either have more aggression or maybe he'll be completely loving this time around.