Wordless Wednesday: Morgan's Giraffe

Piper's School



Here's our Piper on her first day of "school." She was excitedly showing me an airplane in the sky as I was taking pictures. She is attending the "Toddler Class" at the same school Morgan went to one day a week last year. She's one of the youngest in the class as her birthday is right before the school district's cut-off...but we'll be dealing with that more seriously as she gets closer to starting Kindergarten. For now it's nice that she gets her own school day.

I'm most excited because I had a hard time participating in this program with Morgan because I was chasing Piper around the whole time. When the kids are doing their activities the Moms/Parents/Grandparents gather in the lobby area to have our own discussions. It's nice to get to know the other parents and share our experiences and advice. It's also quite different this time because I will be discussing a "typical" child instead of one with special needs, though I'm sure I'll share some of that too. It seems like a good group with many backgrounds to share.

Piper did great! She did not come out of the class once to see me!! (As I'm post-dating this entry, the second class she did come out once at the end, which I loved!). Many Moms were in and out of the class with their kids as well as some of them having a younger child to take care of. I'm enjoying this time...I've earned it! I think Piper remembered Morgan's class and how badly she wanted to be in there. It's so exciting that it's her turn now! We really like this school and the director is really professional as well as nurturing to the kids. We've got Piper signed up there until Kindergarten, so we hope she loves it too!

The Bus

Here's Morgan's bus coming down the road to drop her off at home the first day! Little did we know it would be the beginning of a fiasco that has still not been resolved. We decided at the end of the school year last year that Morgan would take the bus when school started again in September. Her AIM program goes from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm. The pick-up time would be right in the middle of Piper's nap time. I'm not ready to have her give up her nap... so the bus it was! The teachers assured me that the kids love it, so I thought we'd give it a try.

A few days before school started I received calls from the morning and afternoon bus drivers, letting me know when she would be picked up and dropped off each day. I took Morgan to school on her first day, but she was scheduled  for her first bus ride home that afternoon. The morning driver asked me if there was a turnaround on our street, as it is a dead end. I told her there is one between the last two houses on the left side. When our development went in, this turnaround was mandated by the city until it was know whether the street would eventually continue through (to date, the owner will not sell the land). Garbage trucks and delivery vehicles turn around in this spot weekly. I watched as this bus driver turned around with no issues and pulled up in front of our house.

So...when I walked up to meet Morgan the driver said, "Oh no, my "Boss" isn't going to like that." You are going to have to meet us at xxxx and yyyyy cross-streets two blocks away. I questioned this and she said she would have her Boss look at it. Later that day the morning driver called and said she'd talked to the afternoon driver and that the turnaround "was too short," so we'd have to meet her at the spot two blocks away. I then asked for the Boss's phone number, which she gave me. It was late in the afternoon so when no one answered I left a message.

In the meantime, Morgan did okay on the bus her first time. They said she cried some and didn't want to get on, but they assured her they were taking her to "see Mommy" and she eventually got on and did well on the ride home. It was a hot day and she was a little flushed, but seemed to be happy. She mentioned later that she wanted to go on the school bus again, so that was encouraging.

Then next morning the "Boss" called around 7:30 am. He talked about "policy this" and "policy that." I still pushed back saying the turnaround was approved by the city and the garbage trucks and UPS trucks used it frequently with no issues. I then asked, aren't special needs children guaranteed to be picked up at their homes? He then asked if she had a "transportation IEP", which I don't know if this is different that a regular IEP, which she has. Anyway, I asked if there was anyone else we could speak with and he said he'd call back. He called back shortly and said no one else was in the office. To date, we have not had a call back.

With no resolution I had to take Morgan the few blocks away to meet the bus. The driver said she'd be there at 8:25 am and when she called at 8:20, asking where Morgan was I was a little annoyed. Sweet Morgan (with Piper in her stroller) protested all the way down the street saying "I want to go in Mama's car, open the garage!" and "I want Mama to go on the bus too!" I felt just awful, like I was the worst Mom ever putting my three year-old on this bus to school. The driver and bus aide were really sweet, saying they were taking her to school and they'd have a great time!! She seemed to be OK after that. I set her up with her granola bar for the ride. Then I walked Piper home and started crying. I called her teacher just blubbering. She was so sweet and promised to call when Morgan got there. She called about 15 minutes after Morgan arrived and reported that she got off the bus happy and they'd asked her if she liked it and she said "yes." Though...Morgan says yes to a lot of  things that I'm not sure she really means yes. Hmmm. I do think this is an adjustment in routine for her. Once she knows it's part of her school routine she'll be fine with it.

When I went out to pick her up that afternoon (stinking hot, by the way!)... I took Piper's monitor with me which worked almost the whole two blocks. Morgan was very happy to see me when she hopped down the steps and walked home asking for her favorite TV show of the moment. I had also sent some water with her this time, so she seemed less hot and sweaty this time. I asked her a few questions about her day and got more information out of her than I did last year! Good progress! She told me some of the other kids' names, which included a few kids from her class last year... whom I don't think are actually in her class this year, but their classroom is close by. But there were new kids' names too. I asked her what she had for breakfast (cereal) and lunch (pizza). I asked her if she ate the pizza, because she doesn't at home, and she said she "licked" it. Huh? That's a whole other story. At first I thought I didn't hear it right, but found out later that's what actually happened. More on that later...

So, heading into Monday David is going to take over the call to the Boss, and if needed, the Superintendent's office...or whatever we need to do to get this resolved. More soon.

Wordless Wednesday: First Day of School

And not to be outdone by her sister...

Morgan decided to surprise us tonight when we were putting her to bed. I was in Piper's room waiting for her to come in from Morgan's room (as part of the usual routine). David put Morgan in bed and gave her the usual goodnight kisses. I suddenly heard her say to him, "I love you!" I had not heard David say this first, so this came as a surprise. David said he loved her too. Then she said again "I love you too, Daddy!" Awwww!

Then she topped it by telling David she wanted to see me. He asked her if she wanted to go see me or if she wanted me to come to her room. She said right away that she wanted me to come to her. Of course I did. I gave her a big hug goodnight and, like she did with David, she said to me, "I love you!" I told her I loved her too, and she said (again), "I love you too, Mama!" My heart just melted!

Sweetest thing ever!! If I haven't mentioned this, it was all TOTALLY spontaneous! No prompting, nothing. Occasionally she's said she loves us after we say it to her, but she's never said it first. Wow! What a day!

Piper's 2-year Well "Baby" Visit

She's not a baby anymore! We had Piper's 2 year appointment this morning. She did great! She was patient while we waiting for the Dr. She did little dances around the room and was very concerned when she heard a baby crying and kept trying to open the door saying "baby, baby" (so she could go help him/her, I guess).


When the Dr. came in she let him examine her as I stood next to her holding her on the table. He'd look in one ear and she'd say "I did it!", then the next ear, and so forth with the whole exam. She was a little nervous when she had to lie down. She only cried a little when she got her flu shot.

Her stats:

Weight: 26.5 lbs (47-48%)

Height: 33.5 in (39%) - I'm not sure how accurate this is and they have her lie down and make marks on the paper at her head and feet. She was in the 59% six months ago?

Head: 18.8 in (53%)

So really right in the middle and proportional. I was a little concerned about her gross motor skills as she does not walk up stairs on her own (still crawls). Morgan was also able to jump at this age and Piper does not. Actually she thinks she can, but both feet don't come off the floor! The Dr. was not concerned at all. She climbs all over furniture and into her own car seat. He thinks she'll get there soon with the stairs and jumping.

What a relief to have a 2-year appointment with a typically developing child! You have no idea how relieved we are to make it past the critical 18-24 month period...our child psychologist said that some kids who have autism have an "onset" during that time (though Morgan was always delayed, we cannot pinpoint an "onset"). It looks like Piper is doing everything she should be!

Here's a super cute picture Grandpa B took. Please ignore the cracker crumbs...

Happy Birthday Piper!

We can't believe Piper is TWO!!  Here is our sweet Piper getting ready to enjoy her birthday cake! We had such a fun day playing with new toys and just enjoying her. We also had a wedding to go to that day, so it was a busy one! We were able to make it back home for a wonderful strawberry birthday cake baked by Gram B. She loved it! Grampa A called and David put him on speaker. He said "Happy Birthday Piper!" and she said "Happy, I two! Happy, I two!" So cute! Now everything birthday related is called "Happy." Sounds good to us! She had her two year well check next week, so we'll let you know the stats as we have them.

And now to leave you with one of the many faces of Piper!! She makes all kinds of expressions when you pull out the camera. I was lucky to get a semi-nice one (above)!