I'm almost done..

Done with what you may ask..


Christmas shopping!!


I have exactly two gifts left to purchase, and then I'm done...with the shopping part.


I do need to finsih quite a few handmade gifts, but a huge load will be off my mind when the actual visitng of stores, or shopping online has finished.


My deadline..before Thanksgiving.


Which is roughly three days away!!


Wish me luck!!

What?

Natalie's new catch phraze is What?, What! What...


She is such a little imp, climbing and getting into everything, yet so cute and sweet.  Here are a few pics Dave snapped of her impish self in the backyard...

Notice how she is just too busy to actually look at the camera...What!


(The adorable outfit is from my friend Melissa's clothing line Knuckleheads (boys) and Hula Mula (girls)

The verdict is in..

Yesterday I had Caleb's Final Speech Review.  We went over test scores, talked about accomplishments and goals and put a plan into action.


Here are some of the details:

• He has excellent gross and fine motor skills, and in some cases was off the chart (super fast at putting puzzles together, even ones with tiny small pieces)
• His verbal, performance and full scale IQ's are right on target (He's a smart little guy)
  
• His social/emotional and adaptive behavior are also right where they should be.
• Then we get to speech and language..

1. He did excellent at interpreting spoken sentences of increasing length and complexity.
2. He didn't do so well at morphology and using appropriate pronouns.
3. He did significantly below average on articulation. (Which was really no surprise, and our main reason for getting the testing.)
4. He has difficulty with several sounds varying on where they are located in the word.  He drops certain sounds in both the initial (beginning), medial (middle) and final (ending) position of a word.
5. He also had difficulty with L, R, and S blends (such as bl, gl, sl, sp, dr, i.e....)
6. His biggest issues are both the S blends, and deletion of the final consanants (i.e. hou for house)

• They also tested him for hearing, vision, and if there are any physical reasons why he would be unable to make certain sounds.  He did great on all these tests, and for the exception of his missing front teeth (which would make s and f sounds more like sh) he is perfectly capable of hearing, and making the needed sounds.

So, Caleb will start Speech Therapy twice a week for 30 min.  Their first goals are:

• /s/ clusters
• Final Consonant Deletions 
• Medial Consonant Deletion
• Velar Fronting /k/ and /g/
  

If he needs more time they might add a day, and another one on one workshop (Language Builders).


We are excited to start work on this, and he is thriving in his preschool environment and he is doing fantastic socially.  Both speech therapists and teachers believe he will be prepared to start Kindergarten next fall.


So there ya have it, lots of words I know, but wanted to share all the nitty gritty details, just in case you wanted to know!!

Halloween

Check out my cuties..



Daniel (Luigi) and Josh (Mario) as the Mario Bros.



Caleb as Ironman



Natalie as a Charger Cheerleader


A few more Trunk 'r Treat Pics


Trick or Treating Halloween night








Oh, What fun we had!!

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we visited the cutest ever ranch, hidden in the tiny town of Yucaipa.  This ranch has been around since the 1800's, and is still a working apple grove that produces over 20 different kinds of apples.  I wanted something rustic, cute, and fun, and we found it!! 

We parked our car near the Colonial House, and then were taken via hayride to the front of the ranch.  We saw the large dining hall, and General Store, and made our way up the hill to the massive pumpkin patches.  The kids ran around forever in rows and rows of pumpkins, and Natalie took several spills (she had to keep up with the boys after all!).  We all picked out our perfect pumpkins and then Daddy wheeled them to the car.



  We did more explooring, and Natalie played with the goats.  She was so fearless and went right to feeding each and every one.



We then feasted on fresh roasted corn, and ribs for lunch, while we were seranaded by a cute folksy band in period costumes.  Afterwards we checked out the cider press, and a few other attractions before leaving with full bellies, and a ginormous 5 pound apple pie.

Fieldtrip

Caleb had his first preschool field trip yesterday.  It was to a local petting zoo donned with a Halloween festivities.   Natalie and I tagged along to get in on the fun.

The kids enjoyed..

 





feeding and petting bunny rabbits and guinea pigs.





riding on horses and ponies.





riding on goats, err.. playing with goats



picking out the perfect pumpkin

I'm Off!!

Tonight, my best friend and I board a plane bound for New York. Just two girls alone in the city without any kids, no plans, and no schedules to keep. I can't wait!!