School Begins!

I have been dreading the first day of school all summer. Actually, I think I've been dreading this day since Wade was born, knowing that with a disability he would be starting school at the young age of 3. But, my fears were totally in vain, and I even had to eat some words on the second day of school! When we met in May for Wade's ARD/IEP, I decided that he would only attend PPCD 3 out of 5 days. Yes, I was totally keeping my son in a bubble because of MY fears! On Tuesday morning I had to surrender my fears and tell Wade's teacher that he will be attending school four days instead of three. (She had been trying to convince me to send him all five days, and she won!) The only reason he's not going that fifth day is because he has OT/PT on Thursday mornings and speech Thursday afternoons. She was thrilled and even said, "See Wade. I told you she'd change her mind!"

So, needless to say, Wade is completely happy at school. I think it's a wonderful environment, and I feel completely comfortable leaving him there. I was amazed on Monday when we walked by the principal and she said, "Hi Wade." We have not seen this lady since May. I think he is going to make tremendous strides!

First Day of School picture


Riding to school




Saying hi to the teacher


Playing with blocks


Checking out his new friends

All in all, this has been a very positive experience. Wade was worn out on Monday and took a three hour nap. I had to wake him to go to speech. Tuesday he did well also. This morning, I think the busy week is starting to catch up to him. He was very cranky and cried when we got into the classroom. I anticipate a long nap this afternoon!

A Little of This, and A Little of That

Besides me getting used to being a stay at home mom, things have been pretty uneventful around here. Which is a good thing! So, just a few highlights from the past couple of weeks.

A few weeks ago, Jocalyn from Kendall's Hope Blog, sent me request to become a fan of 3E Love on Facebook. I immediately fell in love with the wheelchair heart symbol Stevie is promoting on his page to: "Embrace diversity. Educate your community. Empower each other. Love life." I told Curtis that if I were to ever get a tattoo, that's what I'd get. Little did I know that I would soon be at the tattoo parlor getting my very first tattoo at age 36! That was on 8/8/10. The next Sunday, 8/15/10, Curtis went back and got his tattoo. We got them in honor of Wade getting his very first wheelchair. It's amazing how powerful a symbol can be. In fact, Curtis said it best in a FB post to Stevie: "It's amazing how a symbol can help you embrace something. Our son has CP and is getting a wheelchair, we purchased his first van this week. It was a hard pill to swallow but on the other hand very exciting. Soon he will have freedom beyond his mind. This symbol has really helped me to embrace things and I was proud to get the tattoo to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter for us... It's helped me cope with things and instead of dreading the challenges I embrace them now I am forever thankful. And honored to have this symbol." So, thank you to Jocalyn for sharing this page, and thank you to Stevie and his sister for spreading the love!

My tattoo

Curtis' tattoo

Last Saturday, after much research and discussion, we finally purchased our new van. At one point, it was between a Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota. The Chrysler had the most options, the Honda had the best third row seating, and the Toyota drove the best. However, the Honda was a close second as far as driving the best. The Chrysler was just too heavy. We decided to go with the Honda, then when we got to the van shop, I decided to look into the Toyota again. They didn't have one on the lot, but could get one from Mesquite. It fit the bill and was a little cheaper than the Honda, so we decided to go with it! I'm absolutely thrilled with our decision, and I have absolutely no buyer's remorse--which is really good for me! Even though we don't have the wheelchair yet, this van has already made things so much easier! I can stand in the van and easily move from the front to the back when needed. I don't have many pictures yet, but when we get the wheelchair next Thursday, I'll get some shots.

Wade rolling into the van soon after we bought it!


In honor of Wade starting PPCD, his aunt Jordan sent him a new back pack and a few things to go inside.
 



Included with the back pack was a supply box, pencil, box of crayons and first day of school note. Typical stuff. I texted her and questioned her about the action figures and fishing lure. Her response, "Jenny. Every kid takes toys in their back pack. And the fishing lure is for show and tell." Well of course! What was I thinking??? Wade is so lucky to have such an awesome aunt who loves him so much!

I still can't believe Wade is starting school on Monday!!! Tomorrow evening is "Meet the Teacher." Stay tuned for a full report about the first day!

Highlights From the Week

We had a pretty eventful week in the Jordan household. Last Monday we were honored to be invited to the Grapevine Elks Lodge. Wade's speech therapist at Cook Children's has worked so hard to get funding in order to purchase some iPads for the clinic. The Elks Lodge came through with flying colors, and now Wade and other kiddos have access to the iPad and the communication app, proloquo2go, during therapy. Wade's super speech therapist invited us to go with her and another therapist to the Elks Lodge to express our appreciation for their generosity. Wade was a huge inspiration for Sandra to work so hard to get the iPads. We are so thankful that we have such a wonderful group of therapists at Cook's. We expressed our interest in the iPad, and Sandra took it and ran! It's so helpful that she knows how the iPad works so that we can use ours at home and follow up in therapy. We're able to bounce ideas off of each other and figure out what works best for Wade.

Wade was able to tell the Elk members Monday night "thank you" with his iPad. I heard a woman across the room say, "He's using his head!" I am so thankful that Wade was/is able to show others how innovative people with disabilities can be. Since he can't use his hands well, he uses his favorite modality--his head and mouth!


On Wednesday night, Wade decided he needed to get up at about 2:00AM and stay up until about 4:30AM. Unfortunately, Thursday morning was therapy morning, so I had to wake him up and head off to therapy. Surprisingly, he did really well. Afterward, I couldn't handle the thought of going home and listening to his crankiness that I was sure was going to follow, so we opted to meet some friends at the Fort Worth Zoo. This was Wade's first trip to the zoo, and I think he really enjoyed himself. When we approached an animal he really seemed to like, he would start kicking his legs and smile. We were only there for a couple of hours, but I ended up getting a zoo membership so we can go back anytime.




Friday, we headed out to get Wade a big boy bed!!! I have been mulling it over in my mind for quite a few months, but we just kept putting it off for one reason or another. We opted for a daybed so that it is closed in on three sides. Then, I picked up a bed rail from Babies R Us to attach to the open side. I think it's going to work out really well. Curtis and I put it together Friday night, and the new mattress was delivered on Saturday. Saturday night when I took Wade into his room to show him, his eyes lit up and he grinned so big. When I laid him down on his back, he just giggled and giggled. I took that as a sign that he loved it.
A little bit later our neighbors came over to check it out. Wade's friend Mallie climbed up with him and they had a great time cuddling and laughing together.




On Sunday after church, the same neighbors came over for hamburgers and pool time. Wade and Mallie had a great time splashing around. Later on, after naps, Wade and I headed to their house. This is where I witnessed Wade learning how to play pretend! Mallie was serving us all "tea", and we all pretended to drink. When she held the cup up to Wade's mouth, he shook his head "no" and closed his mouth. We just kept talking about how we were drinking our pretend tea and how good it was. "Yum, yum," I would say. Before too long, Wade was opening his mouth and "drinking" from the cup. It was soooo cute! Of course I didn't have my camera!




All in all, it was a pretty fabulous week. But the real beauty in all of these events is the wonderful people we have in our lives. We are so truly blessed to be working with some of the best therapists around. They all encourage Wade and teach him to overcome his obstacles. And I am so truly thankful that I have friends that include us on outings and play dates. To be honest, sometimes it is difficult to see these kids a little younger than Wade playing and talking. But then I see the smile on his face and glimmer in his eyes and thank God that we have such a network of supportive friends. It makes my heart smile when I hear the other kiddos calling his name and see them get so excited when they see him. These children do not yet know about disabilities and discrimination. Their innocence is beautiful and gives me such hope for the future.