So, we had a pretty good week this week. I missed school on Monday because Safi had to go to the doctor. He said her spots were Roseola and she needed one more day to not be contagious. Since we were both having a day off mom took us for an impromptu park day at the purple slide. Plaza park is the one with the geese. I saw this huge white one and HAD to feed it. Well, that guy was one demanding customer. He ate the treats I had then chased us. Safi tried to let him know that we didn't have any more food and he tasted HER! Luckily he only got her pants, and we all had a good laugh...but we were done with the geese for the day!

Heather, our BIA, has been sick all week so I went to school on my own on Tuesday. It went ok, I'm still getting used to the new kids and there were even more new ones this week. Safi was really uncomfortable because one the kid's baby brother kept invading her space. She told mom she was a little afraid and teacher Susan took her and mom into another room. Teacher Susan is getting all of my levels together for my exit meeting. Come April 23, I'm 3 and I'm outta there. No more Early Intervention! On to big girl school and stuff like that. I hope its not scary.

Safi had a great week at school. Lot's of fun with the classroom circus theme. She got to make a tiger, is learning all of her friends' last names, and even wrote our last name in her tiger art project! Very cool.

It was super hot in the middle of the week so mom pulled out our pool and we got new Spongebob swimsuits. They are so awesome! We also brought out the bounce house and played with the kids next door. Mom did the mid-week drop off for the consignment sale and we got to hang out alone with dad...always a good time! We got to hang out with our friends the Shooks. Sebastian was feeling better and we had a really fun time. On Saturday we got a new gardener, a high school kid a couple of houses down. He has twin sisters that are 10 and they came to play with us while he worked. They're so fun and nice, we just love them. They brought a book for us to read and they helped us do big kid stuff on our swing set. After nap mom and dad made one of our pools into sandbox. Sunday rained and we got to go to the arcade! It was awesome and we got tons of tickets that we traded in for ring pops, lizards, a whoopee cushion, and a ring. I even got to play with a little boy and his big brother. It was kinda scary but kinda cool, too.

Big excitement...mom signed Safi up for special needs AYSO soccer. It starts in August and she's hoping Safi will love it. Maybe I can be a water girl or assistant coach because I'm too young to play. Her team will practice once a week and play 8 Saturday games. If they have enough kids they'll play against each other otherwise they'll play against the regular AYSO teams in 40 minute games. When mom got back from registration she went on the patio and cried...I'm not sure why. Maybe she'll tell you about it next month when she takes over the blog...'cuz we all know she's going to!

So, yeah, next month is Autism Awareness month. April second is World Autism Awareness Day. We want you all to celebrate with us and show your support for the autism community by lighting it up blue. You can read all about the Light it up Blue campaign by clicking on this link:
http://www.lightitupblue.org/Markslist/home.do
If you don't haev time to click the link, make sure you go out and buy some blue light bulbs to put in all of your outside lights on April 2nd so everyone can see that you are our peeps! We keep our's up all month long and it makes the house look so cool!

Well, that's about all we have going on here. Next week is our last week of school before Spring break. Before you know it the Easter bunny will be hopping its way to our house and Safi will be turning 5! Exciting things to come! Have a great week!

Peace
Nixi

We had an interesting week. Mom took Nixi and me to get TB tests, or "T.V tests" as we like to call them. Ok, so it hurt..but we got a treat and a sticker after so it all evened out. We're both T.V. negative! Woohooo!

Nix had school and she continued to struggle with the new kids. On Monday she kind of had it and fell apart at the end of circle time. Mom got the OT's attention and asked her to put on her weighted vest. It helped a lot. So, the next day they put it on her before she even sat down for circle time and it was a lot better. She still needed time to decompress after class, but it was better for her during class.

I had a great week at school! It was really windy so we got to make kites and fly them outside. Mine was yellow and I put Woody stamps on it from Toy Story. It was really cool!

Friday was a funny kind of day. Mom left early in the morning with Nixi and I got to stay home with dad. Nixi had her Regional Center evaluation. It went pretty well. The doctor asked a lot of questions and she gave Nixi a non-verbal intelligence test..Nixi thought that was pretty cool. The doctor says Nixi has Classic Autism, which she was already diagnosed with but its a confirmation that all is in order. Turns out the kid is a smarty! She scored off the chart on her intelligence test, literally. The chart only goes to 150 and she was 150+. The doctor said she was the highest score she'd ever tested...second highest being 130. Now, average is around the 70 range. Yeah, she's a brain. Now if we can just help her to apply that brain of hers! So, it was an ok day...kinda sad that it was confirmed that she for sure has Classic Autism but kinda cool that she's a GENIUS! My little sis is coooool!

A leprechaun came to our house on St. Patrick's Eve and hid a pot with treats in it for us int he living room. When we woke up we got a letter telling us to put on some crowns and look for the leprechaun's hat. We found his pot and it had Wonder Pets stuffed toys for us in it! We had mini cupcakes, dad blew up some helium balloons for us, we ate corned beef and cabbage (ok, so maybe just mom, dad, and Nix ate it), and at night we got shamrock glow sticks. It was a really fun day. Mom was gone for part of shopping at the bi-annual consignment sale. She got us some really cute clothes and TOYS!!! Sunday morning we got to see the toy haul...and it was good. We each got our own brooms, we got a pirate ship, a firehouse, peg art, big magnets for experimenting, beads and buttons for lacing, dinosaurs, rain forest animals in a tree stump...good stuff! I think mom's holding back on us, seeing as though my birthday is right around the corner. Good, I love a little mystery!

So, that's the week in a nutshell. We want to take a minute to send out some love and healing vibes to our friend Sebastian. Sunday night he had to go to the hospital and we're just hoping he's going to be ok. We love you, Sebastian. Also, want to wish grandpa Cummings a very happy birthday on the 23rd. We love you very much and wouldn't mind it a bit if you brought cupcakes up the next time you visit..seeing as though we are unable to help you celebrate this week. Thoughtful, huh? Just looking out for you!

xoxo
Safi

Making new friends everywhere we go...at least Safi is...I still not that into it!

Long week full of excitement...some good, some awful. I had school on Monday and Tuesday. It was really confusing because some of my friends have graduated and aren't there anymore and we got 4 new kids. The first day I just kind of refused to acknowledge that the new kids were there. That worked ok. I was a little off when I got home and even asked mom to wear my big hug before I went to bed. On the ride to school on Tuesday I asked mom, Heather, and Safi to speak quietly because I just wasn't feeling great. I did ok in class, some minor upsets but nothing too horrible. However, the moment I left the class area and hit the hallway I exploded. I couldn't take it anymore and I crumbled into a screaming, crying ball of upset. When we got home mom had to turn off all the lights and put me on the couch with 3 weighted blankets. Heather read to me in a whisper and I asked her to snuggle me. I recuperated by early evening, but it was rough. Safi did a pretty good job of trying to stay quiet and trying to make me smile.

Safi had a great week at school. She had fun ringing in spring with all of her friends and I even got to sit for her spring school picture with her! It was so cool. Safi struggled a bit when the bamboo chair we were sitting in bonked her head, but she recovered nicely and we got a decent shot! Mom went to her IEP and it went ok. The really big IEP is in May. That's when they'll make all of the goals for next year when Safi goes to kindergarten. Mom found out that the school she wants Safi to go to probably wont have a place for her. They had 107 kids register for 110 spots. She'll fight for Safi to get a spot but ultimately spots are reserved for kids living in that area. mom's going to look into filing a hardship. We'll just have to see. mom wont even know what school Safi is going to until June 22. Pretty stressful.

Wednesday evening Safi had to be rushed to urgent care. She was screaming and holding her ear. Doctor said her eardrum was about to rupture! It was the first mom had heard from Safi about her ear. Safi was really brave and got medicine and was feeling better by the next morning. I was a super good helper little sister. Thursday I had to go to the doctor because I had a rumbly cough....bronchitis. I got meds, too. I was very brave also and the doctor said Safi and I were amazing!

Friday night we went to a Mexican seafood restaurant and it was awesome! Safi was feeling the music, quietly clapping and dancing from time to time. I was feeling the food! I sampled off of every one's plates and it was GOOD! Safi's new thing, apparently, is to use the bathroom when we go out to eat, and this night was no exception. It was a great night, great food, and great company...of course! The weekend was nice and warm so we hit the park a few times and played in our bounce house clubhouse out front. An awesome weekend!

This week mom tours my preschool for next year and I have my Regional Center psychological evaluation. Stressful time for mom and dad...as all treatment and services hinge on that evaluation. So, here's to hoping I have a crummy day and the psychologist gets to see me really going for it! Just kidding...sort of?! So, wish me luck and make sure to check back in next week to see how it went!

Peace
Nixi

On a ring pop high, we ushered in a pretty great week.......

To be honest, the week is a bit of blur. We had school, doctor's appointments, park days, Apple Annie's for dinner...a lot of good stuff.

Nixi is still struggling with being happy, but I'm getting a little better at not taking it so personally. I've been doing a great job of trying to talk Nixi through the things that are upsetting her. If she starts to get scared, I tell her "Its funny" or the like. I don't think she trusts me completely, but I think she's heading in that direction.

I had a great week in school. One of the days, Teacher Mel went down the line asking us all what our favorite foods were. I was last and after I told her what my favororite food was...pizza..I asked her what her favorite food was! I waited for her to answer than asked what Teacher Joann's and the speech therapist, Holly's was. That's a really big deal. I was genuinely interested to know! We had a great time playing with the kindergarten class, and just a great week all around!

I went to the doctor because I had a sinus and bronchial infection...AGAIN! Anytime I get a cold it goes to my lungs. I did great at the doctor's office and Nixi and I got lollipops and stickers!

Nixi was the only kid in her class on Monday, and she LOVED it! Nixi alone with a few adults, dream come true! Adults are predictable and more ammeanable to letting kids take the lead and guide interactions...just what Nixi's comfortable with. She had a great time. We were curious to see if she'd still be dysregulated after class, and she was but not as much as when the other kdis are there. It was fun because mom and I had the family room at the center all to ourselves and we were just silly. Tuesday the kids were back and Nix was ok with that. Some of her friends have turned 3 and graduated the class so she doesn't get to see them anymore. I think it kind of bums her out, but she's hanging in there.

We got to go to Apple Annie's for dinner on Thursday and that was awesome. This weekend it was hot so we got to play in the sprinklers and take dad to Riverway Sports Park. It was a great weekend. We took our guinea pigs to the doctor and she said they both look great, and they've started "mweeping" everytime me and Nix and come into the room! That's a really good thing...it means they're happy we're there.

So busy, but good week. This week mom had my IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting and we'll start trying to get ready for the time change. Hope you all have a great week...

xoxo
Safi