SCHOOL RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big week this week...I went to SCHOOL! I mean real deal school, not just hanging out outside with teachers. I hung out with my new classmates, and I stayed for the whole class. It was so awesome! I loved it all, storytime...snack time...but most of all, I just loved being there and being a part of it all! I had so much fun and loved it so much that I got a little overstimulated.

For the rest of the week I've been struggling to come down off of my school high. See, when I get overstimulated its like I'm electric. Unless mom and dad can find some way to "plug me in" so I can release it, I implode. Unfortunately, this time was the most overstimulated I've ever been so mom and dad's usual stuff didn't have much effect. So, I did a lot of crying, some hitting and kicking, and was just generally on a rampage. I'm coming down a little bit, so hopefully school this week will be a little less stimulating and I'll cope a little better.

Nixi and I are still sick so looks like we have to go the doctor. Now, that's never a good time. Mom's optimistic...poor soul. I'm thinking its gonna be like usual, CHAOS! Hopefully they'll be ready for me!

Nixi had a pretty good week, despite being super sick. She got to go to school with me and she thought it was pretty cool, too. This week mom and her are gonna try hanging out outside class to see how that goes. They were in class with me for my first day, and I liked that pretty good. Nixi got to jump on a trampoline and play with the toys and stuff. She's a pretty cool little sister.

Mom and dad are sick, too....so I'm keeping the blog short so I can go take care of 'em.

Have a great week and will talk to you soon.

xoxo
Saf

Us goofing off on the patio today, check out my fabulous articulation!


Dueling horns......and this is when we're sick...imagine when we're 100%!

A Hop, skip, and a Goat..what a week!

Ok, so we've had a heck of a week. Saf is still cycling...pretty typical for kiddos on the spectrum. She cycles, or has a rough patch, about every 3-4months. The last one was in April, so she's pretty much due for it. To complicate things, she's getting a cold. Whenever she's sick and her immune system is compromised she tends to really struggle. Her sensory issues become more acute and her obsessive stuff amps up. She's slowly coming out of it, but mom's afraid the cold will put her right back where she was a week ago. My poor big sis!

We got to go to the therapy center for my Early Intervention, and that was really cool. We love Teacher Lorene and had a great time playing with all of the equipment.

Saf had speech and OT at her new school, but we only made it one session. The other session was missed because Saf didn't want to go, and she was really dysregulated. That's ok, though, because when we went on Friday it was AMAZING! I got to walk around with mom and say "hi" to all of the birds in the aviary...again, and again, and again! Saf met a little girl from one of the ""typical classes" and they totally hit it off. They played on the seesaw, chased after each other, and really had a fun time. Saf loved it, and she was so happy. It was super cool.

Also very exciting, Saf jumped for the very first time ever with both feet off the floor! She did it first with mom, and now she can do it all by herself. She's been working on that for over a year! She's soooooo cool!!!! I try, but I have a ways to go. That's ok, I know she'll help me figure it out.

Dad set up our big play structure in our enclosed patio and we got to hang out in our own little park! He also set up our bouncer so we can bounce, roll, and just have a blast in the living room.

Today we got to go to Bravo Farms and see the animals. That's the place Saf went to for her 3rd birthday. Now, I've slowly been getting comfortable with the animals. At first, I'd shake and scream when I saw them. The next time we went, it was a little better. Today, I am SUPER proud to report, not only did I not shake or scream...I pet the very animal that terrified me the most...the goat! It has huge horns, weird yellow eyes, and crazy hair....but I pet it on top of its head while Saf fed it. I RULE!!! It was just a great ending to a week full of ups and downs. Definitely titled to the scales to more up than down!

Big week ahead full of activities. Saf has her first day of school on Tuesday, I have my well baby visit on Wednesday (I have to get shots!), and mom meets with the nutritionist from Regional center...on top of all of our regular stuff. Busy and full of exciting opportunities. Make sure to check back next week to see how it all went! We'll also have some new video for you, promise!

Last, we'd like to send our friends Jonna and Pablo the most magical and wonderful wishes for an amazing wedding and a life filled with nothing but love, laughter, and ice cream...and maybe a pony! Hey, we're kids, give us a break! And, if you get the pony, can we come over and play with it? Anyways, Happy Wedding Day!!

Peace
Nixi

Are you ready for some football...and school!

Those are pictures of us at Saf's new school. It's so awesome! It looks like a park, and it even has an aviary. There's pigeons, a cockatoo, and some finches! How cool is that?

Saf had her first speech and occupational therapy sessions there this week. It was really exciting, but also really new. With all things new, comes excitement tempered by anxiety and struggle. So, while Saf loves her new digs, she's been super disregulated since we went on Wednesday. We had a long break with no programming so its rough getting back into the swing of things, not to mention the change of locale. The result has been lots of screaming and crying and just overall spilling over of emotions and energy. So, the past several naps and bedtimes have been filled with hours of screaming. As I sit here and type, Saf is screaming at the top of her lungs. She very well may continue to do so until mom and dad go to bed at 11PM. Luckily, I sleep right through it. But it makes us all real sad. Contributing to the chaos is that she is preoccupied with a few items that she would like to play with in bed. That's fine, she can take stuff into to bed to read or play with. The only problem is, she's been asking for the same thing for 2 weeks and mom and dad don't know what it is. She only uses two words to describe it and that's just not enough info. Some nights she'll get distracted and ask for something else...something else described by a few cryptic words that leave mom and dad baffled. Sadly, she can't move on from it and its a viscious cycle..day after day.

Mom and dad figured out the logistics and Saf will have her first day of real-deal, big girl school on the 24th. I think she'll love it...and I'm secretly jealous. Mom and I get to go with her for awhile, so that'll be cool.

This week my programming starts back up, so there's even more changes to come. Saf also starts her ABA consult service. At this point, with Saf going to preschool on Tuesdays, our whole week is booked. I'm not sure how having something everyday is gonna work out. It may be a bit much. We've always had one free day in the week to just take a breather. You know, sometimes the best therapy is a good day at the park and some french fries. I'm just sayin'.......

So, looks like this week is going to be interesting. Make sure to check back next week to see how it all went down!

Peace
Nixi

Fa la la la la la la...Feelin' Groovy!

Ok, so we'll start with Nixi's MRI. It went really well. They gave her some Verced to start off with...."happy juice" as she was heard singing in the exam room...then a general. Everything went without a hitch. Poor kid didn't feel so great after waking up and she threw up some, but she went to bed her regular little self! All in all, a long day for Nix and mom...but much less horrible than they were expecting.

Last week was just a great week. We were still on summer break so we did tons of fun stuff. We hung out in the RV, went to the park, and visited the animals at Bravo Farms twice! We got a new air conditioner and it works great! We capped off a great week with a super fun play day at the park with our friends, the Olsen family. It was perfect weather and we had practically the whole park to ourselves. Can't beat that!

This week we start up services again. I have speech/OT at my new school on Wed and Fri. I'm looking forward to getting back to playing with my Teacher Denise, but am a little anxious about being in a whole new place. We'll ease into it and one I get used to it, it'll be just great. My actual school year starts on the 24th, and mom and dad are figuring out all the logistics to help me get started. It'll be challenging, but I'm always up for a challenge!

So, all in all some good stuff and an exciting week ahead!

xoxo
Saf

Quick check-in from the bride..........

.......ok, so the groom needs a little work...but I SOOO love my new dress up stuff!

Hi all, just a quick check-in to let you know we're doing great. Nixi has her MRI tomorrow and her and mom have to be there super early so everyone's off to bed! Check back on Tuesday to hear a full report on our last week, as well as to see how Nixi's imaging went!

xoxo
Saf

Fancy feet!

Wow! What a crazy week! Our air conditioner broke and we had NO a/c for about 2 days. Now, its over 100 degrees here, so you can just imagine how hot it was in the house. Dad got us swamp coolers to tide us over until we could get the a/c back on. We had super fun with them (see our video below), but they didn't cool worth a darn. Instead, they turned our rooms in a Louisianna swamp! It was scary hot so mom and dad opened all the doors, turned on the whole house fan, and hoped neither of us passed out! Someone came out on Friday and got our a/c working temporarily, until we can get a new one. Thank goodness!

Needless to say, we were all tired and cranky from sleeping in the swamplands! We managed to get some great park days in, though. Saf is totally back in to the fountians, and so am I! I finally came around and have decided the fountains aren't too bad. It's super fun to walk through them holding mom's hand.

I'm doing a GREAT job of walking these days. I can walk all the way from the bedroom out to the living room....and just about anywhere I want. I take breaks and my legs look kinda stiff....but I'm rockin'! My left leg still goes out to the side, but I've figured out how to compensate for it and I can totally book when I want to! If mom says, "run run run", I try my hardest to make tracks with some speed. Saf thinks its super funny, and copies my "running". See, when I walk, and especially when I run, my legs are so stiff that they sorta look like they're both in braces. I need to work on bending my legs and moving my legs in closer together. Either way, I LOVE walking! It's so cool!

Saf had a big girl first...mom painted her toenails! She asked, and mom just did it! Now, Saf's feet and nails have been a sensory "hot spot". Imagine mom's surprise when Saf not only tolerated it, but also requested "mommy, feet assage [massage]?" It was awesome, mom gave her a foot massage while her nails dried and she kicked back and read a board book. It was like a real salon right in our living room. Predictably, later in the day when she was overstimulated and tired she got really upset about the polish and wanted it off. Even more predicatbly, within seconds of dad taking the polish off she was crying and asking for mom to put it back on. Mom did, and it lasted another half day. All these things seem pretty small, but we know just how big it is and how very much Saf had to repress the urge to bolt just so she could have pretty toes. What a trooper!

We're both still on vacation from services, so nothing this week. It's great to have time for things like the park and just hanging out in front of the house in teh RV...but I kinda miss the structure of services. It's a great way for us to know what day of the week it is, when dad will be off for the weekend, etc. Our day is still strucutred as if we had services, that never changes, but when we have services it's a lot easier to figure out where we are in the week.

So, its been a hot and long week, but pretty fun...can't complain.

Peace
Nixi

Swamp coolers are FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!


Look ma, no hands!