The Best Birthday

Well, tomorrow it will have been a week since my big 30th Birthday Bash.  I know some of you have seen some pictures and updates on social media, but let me just reiterate:  The Best Birthday Ever!!!

On my actual birthday I got an awesome surprise and found out my sister Ellen, who lives in Wyoming, was already driving down to stay the weekend with me.  What a treat!!  I didn't expect her to come at all because she has had to make the drive so very many times this summer.  It was great having something extra fun on my actual birthday.  Ellen, Cole and the kids and I all ate dinner at BJ's Brewhouse.  Why did I choose there, you ask?  Well, they have the most delicious pizookies (cookies with ice cream on top), and when I signed up for a bunch of birthday freebies a few weeks ago (oh yeah, I plan ahead..lol!) I got an e-mail confirming my free pizookie.  Any other reason needed??  I think not!

It was a fun evening out and we came home and got to finish the evening off watching my brother-in-law Luke's soccer team, the Switchbacks, play a game.  I love that we can stream his games from home.

The following day was also great.  Ellen and I got some shopping done in the morning which is always a fun time.  She also surprised us with delicious French toast that morning and I don't think you can start the day off much better then that!!

Andrea made it to town that afternoon and we started getting things together for the party.  Ellen and I got ready together which was a lot of fun.  And super helpful too because she helped curl my hair while I was able to sit down and relax.  Ahh...so nice not to have to stand!  I had gotten my dress at Ross (surprised?!?) and then I found a super cute crocheted vest to go over it from Charming Charlie.  It was actually remarkable that I felt really happy and good about how I looked.  My awesome neighbor lent me nail polish I love, my curls worked like I wanted them to, I liked my outfit and was comfortable, and my makeup came together pretty well too.  Oooh, and I got to wear my new lipstick (lipsense...another post for another time) and I loved the color and that there was never a need to reapply!  I'm not trying to sound ridiculous right now.  It's just how often does that happen?  That we actually feel great about ourselves on an occasion that we really want to?  I feel like that is typically hard to come by.  Especially when 34 weeks pregnant!!

Shameless selfie after getting ready.  I had to send it to my bestie Ames,

who unfortunately couldn't be there and who is usually always the one to glam me up.

She gave me the thumbs up :)

On our way to the party.  I was trying to get a better picture of my lip color!

Just being silly with Ellen on the drive.  No change there.

But we are ready for a fun night!!!

So what did we end up doing?!?  Drumroll please.....

We had dinner with a group of friends and family on the rooftop of The Boot Grill in downtown Fort Collins.  Then, after dinner, we went downstairs to enjoy their comedy show.

Look at this bad boy!  Instead of buckets of beer they had these, which were

awesome.  Cole thinks they were able to get 8 or 9 beers out of them!  Can't wait to go back
when I'm not pregnant!!

Half of the table.  So fun to celebrate with people I love!!

Look at my awesome friends.  Fanning the pregnant birthday girl since I

am always so flipping hot!!!

 The venue truly couldn't have been better.  I highly recommend it.  I love the food, the atmosphere was great, we had an incredible waitress, and, best of all, we practically had the entire roof to ourselves.  It felt as if we had rented the whole roof top out.  I think there may have been two other tables up there occupied at any given time.

This picture makes my heart smile.  What a blessing to get to share such a

fun celebration with this awesome crew!

Cole getting ready to cut my cake.  They pretty much gave

him a samurai knife!  Yikes!

So excited for my Chantilly cake!

 Have you all tried the Chantilly cake?  If not, you are missing out.  You can get it at Whole Foods and it is the best.cake.ever!!!! Cole knows I always want it for any special occasion.  It was awesome that they let us bring our own cake in, too.  I actually had this cake for the first time at my friends 30th birthday.  Celebrations have never been the same since :)

You know it's awesome when you are celebrating your 30th birthday with friends you have

known for 15-20 years....pretty stinking awesome!  We had a lot of laughs!

So blessed to have met Katie and Laura and had our relationship blossom through our Mom's group

at church.  I am blessed to do life with them and manage this whole mommy thing together!

So blessed my roommate from college came from Denver to celebrate.  She was with me on

my 2st Birthday too so I suppose it is only fitting!  She's making it to all the big ones:)

Katie, the friend who introduced me to the Chantilly cake.  It's all her fault!!!

So fun sharing the nigh with her.

This man helped plan an amazing birthday!!  I am so blessed!

Missing one of my sisters, but so happy to have had these two by my side.  The night

truly wouldn't have been the same without them!

Oh hey there big belly!  I'm pretty sure that line on my belly is

where Cole, trying to be helpful and get catchup for me,

squirted it on my dress.  Haha, typical Cole :)

Laughing with these two is the best!

 At this point everyone headed downstairs because the opening comedians had already started.  Let's just say the place wasn't hopping and we could have probably waited a little longer.  The talent was real slim in the beginning.  To the point of awkward.  But I suppose that made it easier to laugh.  I always laugh when I'm nervous :)  I was a little unsure about the comedy act in itself because you really never know what you are going to get.  But, as I explained in my previous post, my options were limited and this seemed like a great solution.  Who doesn't like laughing with friends?!?  I even watched a clip of the headliner just to ease my fears a bit, and I was happy to see it was pretty decent.  So you can imagine my surprise when we get downstairs and the poster on the wall behind the stage read "sexpot comedy".....uh....oh know!  Andrea had a good old laugh pointing that out to me!  The talent got better and better, and the headliner was actually really funny, but there were definitely some raunchy parts I could have done without!  All in all it was such a fun, memorable evening and I feel blessed so many friends and family took the time to celebrate with me.

So the night itself was awesome, but Andrea and my hubby truly went ALL out to make me feel loved and special.  While at dinner Andrea handed me a wrapped box and explained that loved ones near and far had written sweet cards/memories for me.  Let me tell you, there couldn't have been a better gift.  I didn't read any while we were out, mainly because I picked one up and instantly knew I wouldn't make it through without crying.  I did go home and stay up far too late reading the most amazing letters from so many of my friends and family.  I will treasure these notes forever.  I can't explain how loved and special I felt.  I will definitely be pulling them out on any of my rough days to give my spirit a boost.  I think it is especially meaningful because as a mom sometimes it can feel like the only impact you make is on the little clan within your home (don't get me wrong, that's a wonderful, powerful thing) but it was a great reminder of the impact and love that I have within relationships of all kinds. 

Now that is a lot of love!

If that weren't enough, and it certainly would have been, Cole and Andrea also got together and gave me thirty gifts for my thirtieth birthday.  Cole contributed 8....haha...which I only mention because it is so funny to me that guys find a task like that very daunting.  I'm pretty sure Andrea could have easily whipped out all thirty herself.  They both went above and beyond and I love
every.single.gift!!!

 Look at all that awesomeness?!?  Andrea even put the cutest most creative notes on each of her gifts for me.  Unwrapping each one was so fun.  I love knowing that she knows me so well that it is easy to pick out things I would love.  And she truly knows me well.  So many of the items practically had my name on them.  Coke?...uh yeah, she knows of my unfortunate obsession.  That tribal shirt?  She knows I'm pretty much in love with all things Native American-esque.  USA sunglasses?  I love all things 4th of July and you better believe I'll be rocking them during the Olympics.  She even made me her own crossword puzzle because I told her about my recent addiction.  There is so much more awesomeness in that pile but those are just a few examples!

And Cole?  Well he truly did an awesome job.  One of the gifts was the Chantilly cake...so hello...that was obviously a hit!  And those flowers?!?  So beautiful!  Another one of his gifts that had me laughing was a print off of a ridiculous photo of our friend Father Nathan who contributes to the Catholic Stuff You Should Know podcast.  I'm supposedly going to be getting a shout out one of these days.  What a fun, creative gift!!!

So that's that.  An unforgettable night with unforgettable friends.  I seriously want to thank every one of you who came, participated, called, texted, or sent a gift or letter.  You truly made my day.  I hope I have the opportunity to make each of you feel as special one day.

Oh, and just one last tidbit.  If you are contemplating celebrating your birthday or doing something fun with friends and family, my advice to you is this:  DO IT!  I know it can seem silly making a fuss or making it a priority but I will never regret telling Cole that I wanted to do something special for my 30th Birthday.  Yes, I told him that.  This isn't naturally Cole's thought process.  And that's ok.  That's why he solicited Andrea's help :)  I just know that of course you risk the chance that nobody participates, or it turns out lame, or it feels like a lot of work.  But celebrating life...celebrating friendships...it's so, so worth it.  In the future if ever given the opportunity, for me or for someone else, the answer is always going to be CELEBRATE!!!

 

30th Birthday Celebration Ideas

Tomorrow I turn 30...say what??  Yikes Mgikes!

Not quite sure how that happened, especially since I sill consider myself 24, but somehow tomorrow is the big day.

 

I knew I wanted to do something fun to celebrate my 30th but it is much harder to come up with fun ideas while pregnant and immobile.  So, having spent a lot of time brainstorming, and of course coming up with plenty of ideas for if I could drink or could move my body, I figured I would share some of these gems with all of you in case any of you were feeling stumped.

In no particular order:

*Tubing down the river with friends (pick a safe area, bask in the sun, and bring some beers!)

*Go camping with friends, eat delicious food, bring corn hole, and reminisce by the campfire

*Go to the piano bar in Denver

*Rent a house nearby with a few of your favorite people

*Rent out a swimming pool at night time and pretend to be kids again

*Karaoke bar is always a fun time

*Walk around downtown with a definite stop at The Rio for some yummy margs

*Hike Horsetooth...maybe even make it to the top for the sunrise

*Paddle Boarding at Horsetooth and having a bbq afterwards at the lake

*Rent a boat and spend the day on the lake tubing, cliff jumping, and loving life

*Go country line dancing at the Sundance and dance the night away

*My Handlebars in Fort Collins.  You bicycle around on a car drinking and eating and listening to music with friends and you make stops at different breweries along the way.  Look it up...it's definitely on the bucket list!  (This is actually part of what I wanted to do to celebrate but they were all booked up for the time we needed)

Well, since I can't drink and I can't really move my body, the choices get pretty limited.  But, with a little creativity and lot of chatting with Cole and my sister Andrea, I think we came up with something pretty fun.  Saturday night should be wonderful, mainly because I will get to spend it with some of my closest friends and family.  So, what are we doing?!?

You'll have to wait and find out :)

(And before I hear it from someone else, yes, I know you don't have to drink to have fun.  But it definitely doesn't hurt! lol.  Seriously though, I get out so rarely and have a yummy cocktail with friends that it definitely adds some pizzazz to a special, fun occasion!)

The Hardest Age

I know how everyone always laments about the terrible twos.  Or how they are in the throws of having a threenager.  But is there a clever description for the difficulties that come with a 4 year old?!?

Let me just say that I would take a two or three year old over a four year old any day.  I thought maybe this was just a fluke with my first.  Tavian and I definitely had what I would call a somewhat strained relationship from 4-5 years old.  Did I love him any less?  Of course not!  But I definitely had to work extra hard to keep my cool.  When you are in the throws of it, and when it is your first, it is terrifying when the thoughts come into your head that it will always be this way.  Praise Jesus, it came and went. 

And then Felicity turned 4.....oh man.  I love that girl to death but there is something about this age that just drives me right over the edge.  Is it her fault?  Was it Tavian's fault?  No, not even the slightest.  Which of course makes me feel all the more guilty.  It is most certainly my temperament, personality, and sinful nature that just revolts against the 4 year old behaviors.  Now that this is the second time going through it I think I have figured out just what makes it so hard for me. 

It feels like a super needy age.  Aren't three year olds needy too, you ask?  Yes, they are.  But they are rightfully needy.  I feel like 4 year olds can actually do a lot for themselves and have much more independence, but when convenient they like to act helpless.  And it drives me bananas.  I have higher expectations for a 4 year old.  I think it partially has to do with the fact that they aren't ready to take on the responsibilities of the big kid role, yet they are definitely a big kid.  I think Felicity has a hard time watching Beckett get attention and receive help in areas that she doesn't.  I exasperatedly want her to understand that she got that same help and attention at his age, but now that she can do those things herself, she should.  And this is also the stage where the baby talk starts to resurface.  Oh man..I might as well pull my hair out.  "Talk like a big girl" comes out of my mouth far too often.  And this is more specific to her being a girl, but her sensitivity and drama are off the charts.  The tiniest little inconvenience or discouragement can wage the biggest meltdown.  She cries and we would all swear that she had lost a finger or broken her arm, or was gushing blood.  But not so.  The same cry that warrants immediate attention is used when her water spills on the floor or someone makes a mean face at her.  It kills me!!!!

Just figured I would share these thoughts in case someone else was in the midst of the struggle.  And maybe for you it is a different age.  The good news is this really too shall pass.  I actually think preschool in the fall will help a lot.  It will give Felicity a real sense of having something that is just her own, and I think it is the start of really seeing the perks of living the big kid role.  Hopefully I'm right and we are just around the corner from some big changes.  But seriously, wish me luck.  And say some prayers.  Cause some days I just want to pull my hair out!

Hard to believe drama and sass can come from this sweet thing

How can she drive me so bonkers while at the same time I am so freakin in
love with her??!?  So glad I get to call this girl my own, even during the difficult stages.

Notables with Number 4

Even though every pregnancy is different, this one has definitely stood out as unique for a few reasons.  Good or bad, here are the notables...

* The first trimester was super unusual because for the first time I didn't have any morning sickness.  I was never someone who was throwing up every day but I definitely had quite a bit of nausea with the others three, especially for those first three months.  I kept waiting this time for it to hit me but thankfully it never did.  I didn't even really have many food aversions either.  It was strange.  It actually had me a little but on edge.  It's a hard balance between being thankful you aren't feeling sick, but trying not to worry that something is going wrong.  

* I may not have been sick but I was super tired.  I always get ridiculously tired when I'm pregnant but this seemed even worse.  Let's be real...it's probably harder each time because there is always another kiddo added to the bunch.  haha!  There were a few instances this time around that I even fell asleep randomly while hanging out with Cole at night...all of a sudden I would hear, "Babe, are you asleep?" Woops!

* Another change that definitely progresses with each pregnancy is the quickening pace at which I bust out all my maternity clothes.  First time around I probably didn't even really buy any until 17-20 weeks.  It keeps getting sooner and sooner...this time they came out at 6 weeks when I took the pregnancy test.  Ain't nobody got time for squeezing into small uncomfortable pants and feeling huge!

* That brings me to my next change...in general I show quicker and quicker each time.  This is usually the norm with most women.  But it doesn't make it any more fun!  All the really awesome questions about how I already am showing so much and questions about how far along I am.  It's super fun! (note the sarcasm)

* I also get the very real sense that I'm making a lot of people feel uncomfortable everywhere I go.  I get jaw drops, and stares, and of course the never ending "your hands are full", "how close in age are they", "is this your last", blah, blah, blah.  As much as I may be making others feel uncomfortable, I actually care less now more then ever about what others think.  I'm sorry, does it make you uneasy seeing my huge, stretch marked belly strutting around the swimming pool in my two piece?  Well, that's just too darn bad.  It's what I feel most comfortable in.  And no, I don't mean comfortable in the "I'm a glowing pregnant woman and I'm going to own this body and rock it"....I mean it in the very real sense that the thought of having a wet, clingy, stuck to my stomach swimsuit on makes me want to crawl out of my skin.  Plus they are so expensive.  So I suppose they can get over it or avert their eyes! :)

yup...stretch marks and all.  No shame in my game.
Good thing my hubs thinks I'm beautiful no matter what!

* I can't remember if I have been asked if I was having twins with every pregnancy but definitely the majority.  Felicity may have been the only one that escaped that scrutiny.  As always, I'm just amazed at the expectations that the world has for pregnant women in general.  Um...you know there is a human being inside of me, right?  Plus women carry pregnancies so very differently that there really doesn't need to be expectations for any individual.  Just a few weeks ago I had a funny (?) conversation with a mid-twenties guy that clearly, although I'm sure well intentioned, has no knowledge about women or pregnancy etc.  He started by asking me if I was due any day.  Woah, rule number one, don't say that!  Don't ever say that!  I responded, "You realize that is like a total no no to say to a pregnant woman"...It must not have really sunk in though because when I told him I had 8 weeks left he looked at me in shock and asked, "You're going to get bigger?!?"  Awesome!

Thank goodness for Sundays...I actually get dressed and look somewhat presentable!

*My pelvis has gone to crap again just like last time.  It sucks.  This time I think the extreme pain was kept at bay a little longer, which I'm thankful for, but I'm pretty sure it's down hill from here.  I got my handicap sticker for my car yesterday like I did with Beckett and I'm actually really relieved to have it.  I've also noticed that even though my pelvis feels shattered, I am also experiencing much more pain wrapped around in my sacrum.  Sounds fun, right?!?

See that smile?...it fades soon below when you see how quickly I realize I'm exhausted and must
fall asleep immediately

*This is the first time I am having a baby born around the summer time.  I have two Decembers and a March so this is very different.  The pros of a September delivery, you ask?  -you have the summer to live it up with the fam without the craziness of adding a new born to the mix.  - I think birthday parties from here on out will be really awesome...December and March aren't near as fun when it comes to celebrating while in living in Colorado.  -It tempers my desire to have this pregnancy over already because I don't want to wish the summer away. -By next summer the baby will be big enough to participate and do a lot of fun stuff with us! -The pool is open and it is wonderful getting all the weight off while in the water -I don't have to worry as much about slipping or falling which is a big plus when the aftermath could be absolutely catastrophic for my body  - I also assume/hope that it is less likely for the babe to get a cold first thing in September.  (although with Tave in school I could end up being totally wrong)  The cons?  I feel like that's pretty obvious.  -The hot, hot summer.  So freaking hot.  -I love yummy alcoholic drinks in the summer and there are so many fun occasions to have a cold one...:( -Harder to hide the ever growing, very large belly. -Makes me struggle to want to wish the summer away just so I can be DONE! - Probably the hardest part of a September baby for me is that Tavian will be back in school and gone the entire day!  I know he will want to be soaking in the memories and experiences with his new baby brother and I will want to be sharing that with him.  (I may just pull him for a week...after all, this experience doesn't happen all the time and family is the most important thing to us!)

This is the most accurate portrayal of how I live day to day.  Hubby's boxers, sweaty,
and hair pulled back.  Glamorous, right?

*I'm not quite sure who really participates in the 2nd trimester reprieve, but that has just never been the case for me.  There is never a magic moment where I suddenly don't feel like crap or couldn't collapse from exhaustion at any time.  Nope.  My pregnancy exhaustion and discomfort are with me the whole way through! 

Cole can usually bet on finding me passed out somewhere around the house or yard.  Lol.

*My fibroid also grew larger then it has with my other pregnancies.  Not too significantly, at least not that I know of, but it will be interesting to see what happens if I end up getting another ultrasound before I'm due.  The last was at 20 weeks so there is a good possibility things could have changed since then.  Also, this time around, I can feel my fibroid.  I've been able to since super early on.  And let me tell you, it kills!!!  It is like having a super sore muscle.  Of course it hurts when you rub it, but you also have that constant urge that you want to rub it!  I've had a lot of people feel it along the way...for some reason I feel the need to share it with others! haha

*Cravings this time around?  Let me give you a hint.  I came home the other day from Sprouts with grapes, apples, pears, apples, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, bananas, blackberries....I think that may have been it.  Ha!  Cole was impressed, to say the least.  But fruit just tastes so good to me right now!  And with these intense cravings nothing goes to waste :)  Don't take this as a healthy option.  I still eat plenty of unhealthy foods, and I'm pretty sure my pull towards the fruit is probably for the sugar! lol

I'll end this post with some of our maternity photos.  We are so lucky that my sister Ellen is super talented with her camera and that she was willing to snap a few pictures of us after our huge family photo session.  I think I was 32 weeks at this point!

The 21st Grandchild on our side...pretty awesome!

Can't wait to meet you sweet baby!

Our Kindergarten Journey

A year ago, when Tavian was just finishing preschool, we had no idea the kindergarten journey we were about to embark upon.  He had gone to preschool at Bacon Elementary (our neighborhood school) and we had a great experience there so it seemed logical and easy to register him there for kindergarten.  And so that is what we did.

 

But fast forward a month, and after a lot of discernment and conversation, Cole and I felt like we might be called to enroll Tavian at St. Joseph's Catholic School.  Convenient?  No.  Not at all.  It's expensive.  It's far away.  They didn't offer half day kindergarten which is really what I wanted.  He would be riding the bus which would make his days significantly longer.  Basically there were a lot of reasons that made this the more difficult option. 

 

 

But the pros??  He would get to live out his love for Jesus every single day with other people that love Jesus too.  I mean...what cons can outweigh that?!?  He would being saying prayers in his classroom, going to mass and adoration every week, and being surrounded by wonderful, holy examples.  One of the best parts was Sister Rose Mary, the principal.  I mean it when I say I am a bit obsessed with her.  You will have never met a more beautiful, loving, faithful, joy filled woman in your life.  Her example, especially as leader of the school, was worth so many inconveniences!

 

 

 

So we went ahead with it.  Let me stress that we didn't make this decision lightly.  Cole and I mulled over it again and again.  And it had nothing to do with academics.  We live in a wonderful city with wonderful schools, and even though St. Joseph's has wonderful academic performance, we knew Tavian would get a good education anywhere he went.  We just felt like that faith aspect was so important.  And it is!

 

 

I balled like a baby dropping him off that first day.  I was definitely not ready for him to be gone all day every day.  It broke my heart.  But he liked it and we really had felt called that this was the right decision.  The first few months were pretty good.   There were definitely some hiccups just with getting settled and understanding the rules and routines of it all.  But for the most part it was good.  I worried often about him, especially because it was hard for him to tell me about a lot of his day.  Partly because he is little and it is hard for them to verbalize everything, but I think even more so it was because the days were so long that he truthfully couldn't keep track of it all.

 

 

 

I started to see a change in Tave the week or two leading up to Christmas break.  He was counting down the days until he didn't' have to be at school.  It was hard to know how much of this should be chalked up to adjustment or not.  And I knew he was struggling some academically.  This didn't' surprise me that much because I always have known he doesn't fit in the typical box or mold.  He is a super bright, creative, imaginative kid.  And although he loves diving in to the world of make believe through books, he has never shown much interest in letters and sounds and writing.  But I was worried more because I didn't want anything to affect his self confidence.  I get that kids need school and need to learn, but Cole and I openly admit that we care far more about raising a loving, honest, kind, genuine, responsible, moral little guy then we do about raising an academic genius.  That has just never been as important to us.  Once Christmas break was over Tavian fought going back to school.  He really didn't want to.  He had nothing bad to say about the kids or the teachers but he just said the days were too long and that he wanted to be home with me and play.

 

 

In January I contacted his teacher to see if we could sit down and come up with some solutions for Tavian to start enjoying his time more.  I felt like I was losing the spark in my little guy and I didn't want to let that happen.  When Cole and I sat down with her she told us right off the bat that she thought Tavian should go to kindergarten again next year and that she felt he just needed another year to be ready for the work load and expectations of first grade.  We were pretty shocked.  Not that we wouldn't be willing to do that if it was best for him, but felt it was a little pre-emptive considering it was only January and we hadn't come up with any other plans or changes to improve the situation.

 

Needless to say, Cole and I had a lot to talk about.  And a lot more discernment.  It was a rough time because we wanted what was best for our little guy and truly didn't know what that was.  There was so much we loved about St. Joseph's.  And not having those things at public school was really heartbreaking to me.  But, ultimately, we felt the best thing was to pull Tavian from St. Joseph's and enroll him at Bacon.  It wasn't an easy decision.  The main deciding factor were the long days.  Tavian was getting on the bus at 7:45 and getting off the bus at 3:45.  8 hours was just too long for him.  And with that rigorous schedule the last thing I was going to do when he got home was work on school with him.  He needed time to be a kid.  Having him at Bacon in the half day program meant that he would be done at noon everyday and there would be plenty of time for me to work with him on certain areas that he was struggling with.  And by saving money on tuition we knew we could use that money to invest in getting him some outside help and resources.

 

We visited one last time for the Valentine's Day party so Tavian could say goodbye to his friends and teacher.

Saying goodbye to his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Grigsby

Fast forward another month or two.  I really felt like I needed to get Tavian evaluated just to make sure there wasn't anything standing the way that would make the learning process more difficult.  I truly believe this was mother's intuition led by God.  One of his old preschool teachers from when he was three had become certified to give evaluations and specialized in dyslexia.  I had wondered about dyslexia a few times in the past but truthfully didn't know much about it.  Turns out I knew pretty much nothing.  Much of what I thought I knew wasn't even true...most people believe the  assumptions and not the facts..  Anyway, praise God we had him evaluated.  We found that he is moderately to severely dyslexic.  Well...that explains a lot.  His brain is not going to be able to learn in the traditional way.  At least not until it is retrained to process the information differently.  Starting pretty immediately after the evaluation we started having him tutored with the Orton Gillingham method which is specific to those with dyslexia.  He will continue this tutoring all summer and maybe another year longer, depending on his pace.

 

It has been a long journey.  And a hard one.  Even from the beginning when we were first deciding to try Catholic school.  There have been many, many tears.  I hold this child so close and I just want what is best for him.  I truly praise God for giving me the intuition to have him evaluated.  I praise God that he gave me the humility, despite the sadness and fear involved, to take Tavian out of St. Joseph's.  Knowing about his dyslexia this early on is going to make a huge difference for his future. The evaluator said that most cases aren't found until 2nd grade, and by then it can take three years to get caught up.  I would have been so sad if he went through school thinking he wasn't smart or having lost his confidence through the experience.  Because the truth is that he is so smart.  His brain just processes information differently then the majority of people.  And classrooms are built for the majority.  The good news is that although not specifically for dyslexia, and so who knows how helpful at this time, he has access to more resources through the public school district.  I met with the school a few weeks ago and got a 504 plan all ready for him so that he will have all the accommodations he needs at the start of first grade.

Smiling with Mrs. Kincaid, his kindergarten teacher at Bacon, on the last day of school.

 

I hope it goes without saying that I having nothing bad to say about St. Joseph's.  It just, sadly, wasn't a good fit for Tavian.  For the majority of kids it would be a great place to go to school.  I actually have no doubt that Felicity would thrive there and love it!  Every kid is different and has specific needs and this is the best choice for Tavian for the time being.  Where will he be two years from now?  Who knows?  If I've learned anything it's that I don't know!!!  Maybe I'll homeschool.  Maybe we'll go back to St. Joseph's.  Maybe we'll move and find a different neighborhood school.  As long as it is a good fit for Tavian then I'll be happy!

 

Can you tell I am a proud Momma??  So blessed!