Snow in the kitchen!

We have a snow day again and it's too cold to go play outside......so we brought the snow inside!  Here are some pics of the boys playing in the snow in our kitchen!  They are driving cars and trains through the snow and making me delicious snow soup!

Thanks to Quadmom Jen Murray at 4tunate for this fun idea!! 

SNOW DAY!!!!

Once again it has been forever since I have posted.....but life is just hectic these days!

We had a snow day today and the boys and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!  We played out in the snow, went out to lunch with our family, and cuddled up and watched a movie at home.  It was a perfect surprise vacation day!

In general, the boys are doing beautifully!  They are making great progress in preschool and in all of their therapies.  I am having a tough time wrapping my head around the fact that it is just about time to start planning for Kindergarten.  How in the world can my two little babies be that old already??

Here are some pics from today, outside in the snow.

Riley decided that it was very important to shovel lots of snow into the wagon.

Ross decided that it was very important to throw lots of snow up in the air.

Yes, those are two bubble mowers that I neglected to bring into the garage for the winter.  Wanna bet how well they will work in the spring??

Ross said he was going on a hike across the yard and would be back in a few years.....

Being cute

Ross wearing monster jammies and frog boots.....a perfect combo!

Riley in his robot jammies, and in deep concentration.....watching a kid's documentary on how tractors work.  This is serious business.

Just wanted to check in and let you know that the boys are doing great at their new school!  They have settled into their new routine well, and are doing beautifully!

No major news, but a few people have emailed and asked for pictures, so I took these this weekend.  They certainly aren't the greatest photos....but that's what we are up right now!

Thanks for checking in with us!

Reid's Rockstars!!

I know that you have noticed that unbelieveably adorable curly haired cousin of ours that  shows up in lots of our pictures, right?  That's Reid - my most incredible and amazing nephew!  He is our inspiration as we prepare for our second year of participating in the Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech.  We are honored to walk as members of Reid's Rockstars!  Please consider donating to support Reid's walk team in the 2010 Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech! Or even better, consider walking with us on October 2nd!

Check out our website http://www.apraxia-kids.org/pittsburghwalk/reid for more general walk information...or to join the team and walk with us on October 2nd.   If are not able to walk with us, please consider making a donation to support the cause (if you do so without joining the team, please donate in Reid's name so they'll call his name as a top fundraiser...he'd think that was cool!)

They loved it!!

The boys loved their first day!

  Ross walked in to the classroom this morning which was super crowded (20 kids, all of their parents, teachers, therapists, assorted extra staff....really crowded!) and announced, "Hi, everyone!  Hello, everyone!  Welcome to the Ross and Riley Show!  I am so glad that you all came today!"  It was hilarious and pure Ross.   He is the embodiement of "all the world's a stage." 

Riley promptly got out all of the toy trains and cars, and arranged them all right in the doorway where everyone was trying to walk.  I was happy to see that they were both so relaxed and feeling comfortable and had to laugh.

They came home happy and tired, which is perfect for a first day of school!   I am feeling really good about the classroom and hopeful that it is going to be a great year!

Excited about our first day!

Ready to leave for school!

At our new school!

The day before the First Day of School

Tomorrow is the boys' first day of school, so tonight we had a Back to School party!  They each decorated a "party hat" and wore it during dinner and then had ice cream afterwards!  I had planned to do something more exciting and elaborate, but it was my first day with students and I got home late from work and barely even had time to get that together.  It was still a little fun and silly way to get them excited about going to school tomorrow and it worked!  Ross spent the rest of the evening talking about circle time and school and Riley was trying to decide if he was going to tell me everything fun when he gets home tomorrow or make me guess what happened.

I hope they have a wonderful day!

 

Back to School

The Twincredible Twosome and I have had a wonderful summer!  I have to go back to work tomorrow, so it feels like today is the end of our free and silly time for a while.  As much as I adore my job, and I really, truly do, it is so wonderful to be able to be with my own kiddos all the time.  I love waking up and lounging around with them and not having any schedule to follow.  Oh well, everyone is getting back into the school routine...we'll be back in the swing of things soon!  (Oh...and this fall, the boys are going to start playing SOCCER!!  I know you all can't wait to see those pictures!)

Here are some pics from the past few weeks, so you can all see what fun we've had!

We went to Round Hill Farm and checked out the animals.

We went to Moraine State Park and played in the sun and sand and water!

We went to Kennywood, of course!

And we were just plain old silly at home!  This is Riley deciding to see if he fit in a toy baby doll stroller....he did....

sort of......

And sometimes we had extra fun being silly when Reid came over to play with us!

What have you been up to this summer?  Please leave us a comment and let us know! 

The boys start school next week and I have all kinds of excitement and anxiety about that.  They are going to a new school (although it is the same elementary school that my sister, brother and I all went to!!!) and will have a new teacher this year.  I have heard absolutely fantastic things about the classroom and the teacher and am certain that the boys will do beautifully, but there I am always a bit nervous about any change.  The boys had such an incredible experience with school last year, and I just hope that their success continues. 

Last year, they were in a special ed. setting that was tailored to meet Ross' needs.  Typical kids, including Riley, were included as peer models.  (Even though Riley is considered "typical" he still receives PT and OT at school.  He just doesn't receive specialized academic instruction.)    This year, they are going to be in a regular early childhood classroom and some of Ross' academic instruction will be provided for him by a special ed. teacher who will come into the room.  The entire room won't be tailored for his needs, although the teacher will certainly make accomodations for him.  This time, he is being included, and last year, they were in a "reverse inclusion" program.  He will also receive PT, OT, speech, and vision therapy during school, just like he did last year.     I do think that he is ready and able to handle it, but I worry.  I worry as an autistic support teacher who perhaps knows a bit too much, and of course, I worry as his mommy.  Sigh......

It will be an adventure, that's for sure!