Frosting cookies, and sharing the love.............

Let me begin by saying, I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, its just so magical and fun. All of the songs are bouncy, the lights are bright, and the Christmas specials are the best! We're gonna keep celebrating until the New Year. When I go back to school we'll do our "all done" Christmas classroom clean-up. After that, we'll de-Christmas the house. Makes it a ton easier to say see you later to things Nixi and I REALLY love.

So, the week went pretty well. It started off a bit shaky. I've been having a hard time with poop for the past 3 months. I keep holding it in. I go for about 2 weeks before all of the stuff mom and dad give me make it impossible to hold. In the process of this whole deal, my bottom gets sores from little poops escaping here and there. Not the funnest topic to blog about, but necessary. I've been referred to a special pediatric GI doctor for encopresis. The worst problem with holding it is that the colon gets stretched out and enlarged(megacolon) and the nerves in it get dulled, eventually making it hard to know when you have to poop and making you have accidents. I'm already having that problem, so mom and dad are pretty sure I'll need to retrain my bowels. Only problem is IT HURTS, and you aren't gonna be able to convince me a little pain now will save major pain later. Anyways, at the beginning of the week I was having a real hard time holding in my poop so I wasn't all that fun to be around.

Nix and I have both done relatively well with the schedule changes, since we have no services over winter break. We got to see Heather on Wednesday, and that was cool. We also got to meet up with one of my friends from school at the park. His name is Kameron...and when I say his name I always put my head down, eyes up...and swoon. He's dreamy. It was really fun. Hopefully this week more of my buddies from school can make it out. Nixi has had some meltdowns and seems to be having a rough time with being flexible. She has started doing this thing when she really upset, mom calls it the koala. She holds onto mom so tight with her legs that mom doesn't have to support her, she has a death grip. She's also been screaming and crying a lot lately. So much so, that I've started to get really bothered by it. Its really loud and I'm never sure why she's upset, so I ask mom over and over again to make it stop. Mom just tells me Nixi is sad and that she'll be ok. Its rough on everyone, especially poor Nix. Mom says it'll be ok, so it has to be.

We did some crafts, like making playdough and making a Christmas present for dad. We even made a castle out of a HUGE box. It was really cool and we got to decorate it with crayons. Really fun! Super amazingly cool news...on Christmas day I undressed and dressed myself by myself! There was a lot of struggling and a lot of screaming, but I DID IT! Woohoooo!!

This week I have an appointment with a nutritionist at Regional Center. We'll see how that goes. We have Heather on Wednesday, and hopefully some great park days.

We want to say a BIG thank you to everyone for thinking of us this holiday season! We love all the presents...but we love that you love us even more! So, thank you Nana Cummings..Uncle Randy & Aunt Kathy..Grandpa, Weishi & Cate..Uncle Seth, Aunt Cory & Carson..Aunt Becky & Uncle Curt..Grandpa & Grandma Seifert..Aunt Ginny..Great Grandma & Grandpa Cummings. We love you all!!!

So, hoping you all had a wonderful holiday and who knows what the New Year will bring. Magic, I think!

xoxo
Saf

Here's video of some of our favorite gifts......

Thank you, Uncle Randy and Aunt Kathy!


Thank you, Santa!


Thank you, Uncle Seth, Aunt Cory & Cousin Carson!

A Merry Ho, Ho, Ho to you all!

My school Christmas party was AWESOME! It was super special because mom, dad, and Nixi got to go! I was all ready for it, because mom had added them all to the visual schedule. No surprises, I knew everyone was going to school with me. Here's what our visual schedule looks like...this was our schedule this evening;

So, instead of being confused about the day...I was EXCITED! The whole way to school I was happy as can be. I walked in, or ran in, all on my own. I made sure that dad got to see all of the neat stuff we have in class, 'cuz he doesn't get to go to school very often. We did story time, playdough, and then HE came.....SANTA!!! He knew all of our names, even Nixi, and he gave us each a present. I have to say, from a distance, Santa rules. Up close and personal, a little overwhelming. So, how'd mom managed to sneak in that picture of me with Santa? He quietly knelt down behind me and posed without me knowing! Clever. We sang songs and made gingerbread houses. Nixi mostly ate the frosting and I snacked on the decorations, but it was FUN! All in all, what a GREAT day. It was just the best day ever. Make sure to check out the videos.

I also got to give mom and dad the gift I made for them in school;

It was a big surprise, and they LOVED it!


I'm on break from school for the next 3 weeks. Mom made a contact list for all of the parents so us kids can all get together and try to keep some sort of schedule. That's gonna be rough for all of us. Everyone in class is used to doing things a certain way, and a 3 week break is fun, but also disorienting. An added bummer, its raining and should continue to rain throughout the week. Mom's gonna try to figure out something for us all to do...? We'll see.

Nixi got to hang out with her Early Intervention (EI) case manager on Tuesday. She had a great time showing her different things in our house. She's gotten really good at interacting with adults and had a fun time. The EI staff has winter break starting this week...so Nixi is on break, too.

Unfortunately, Nixi is sick again!! Poor kid can't catch a break. She's in good spirits, though, so that's good.

So, not sure how this week will go...but I think mom has some fun crafts planned. Can't wait to see how the week pans out.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! Hoping Santa is good to you and can't wait to fill you in on all the weeks happenings in our next post!

xoxo
Saf

Santa!!!!!!!!!!!


Feliz Navidad!


"Building" gingerbread houses.......

Let Christmakkah begin!

So, for the past few weeks we've all been sick in one way or another. We're all coming out of it now, thank goodness! Despite it all, we've had a couple of great weeks.

We started our Christmas right after Thanksgiving. Last weekend we got two kitchen sets! One Saf's size and one my size! They're so cool. We've been cooking up lots of great stuff and feeding it to anyone, or anything that'll let us!

We've also been doing movies on our projection big screen every night. Saf likes Madagascar a lot. I like Little Mermaid. Its like going to the theater every night! So cool.

Saf's been doing amazing with school. Every school day she's excited and ready to go. She walks in on her own two feet and starts the day with all the other kids, playing with playdough. That's a good thing, 'cuz mom and I have stuff to do!

A week ago last Friday my early intervention teacher came and met with mom and dad. She asked them a bunch of questions (the MCHAT...toddler autism checklist), and based on the results it looks like I should be eligable for autism services. Now, it was not a diagnostic test. The purpose of the MCHAT is to identify kiddos who are at risk for an autism diagnosis. It has a bunch of critical questions that touch on different areas of autism criteria. I failed in all areas. Kind of a bummer, but also a great way to identify specific areas where I could use a little help. So, mom and dad will try to get Regional Center to give me time with Saf's BIA consultant Heather. That's really exciting because I like her A LOT! She's really fun. Usually, I would get services through Bright Future. That's who did Saf's ABA services in the beginning. You remember how that ended? The people who actually worked with Saf were awesome, but the program directors tried to bully mom and dad into upping Saf's hours to 30 a week. If you recall, she wasn't tolerating 10 a week, so that was just crazy. Either way, mom and dad want me to do services with Heather on a consulting basis. They aren't interesting in putting me through the drama of an intensive program, as I'm generally less comfortable with extended interactions than Saf was. If Saf couldn't tolerate an intesive program, I'd probably just crumble. So, I'll hopefully get to see Heather once a week just like Saf. Fingers crossed it won't be too big of a pain to get what I need. You'd think it's be a no-brainer...I've qualified for up to 30 hr a week and mom and dad are asking for an hour and 20 min. You do the math...its a great deal for Regional Center. We'll see.

This week Saf's class has their Christmas party and mom, dad, and I get to go. We're gonna get to do lots of cool holiday stuff and I think Santa's even coming! No way! How awesome is that?????? Saf's been learning some Christmas songs, and she's just lovin' the whole Christmas theme. We're gonna have a great time! Mom will take lots of video! After that, Saf is on break for 3 weeks. I'm sure that'll be a bummer for her...but I'm pretty excited to get to hang with her!

We want to wish our Aunt Cory a belated happy birthday. Her birthday was last week and we heard it was GREAT! We're so glad you had a wonderful day and we love you very much. We want to wish our Nana Cummings a very happy birthday on the 13th. She deserves a great day and a great year...so we're sending major b-day mojo and love her way!

Know Grandpa & Grandma Seifert, and Uncle Randy & Aunt Kathy are weathering quite a snow storm in Minnesota. Stay safe and warm guys...we love you! Everyone else wherever you are...cuddle up and have a great week. Remember to check back in next week to see video from Saf's school Christmas party!!!!

Peace
Nixi

On our first day of Christmas............


Saf warming up for the x-mas party....and watching herself in the viewfinder...


If you listen carefully, you can hear me singing along in the background...

Rain check...........

Mom is SUPER sick and we have to take really good care of her to so no time to blog tonight! Check back Monday December 13th to hear all about our happenings, as well as to get all the details on Saf's upcoming school Christmas party....complete with SANTA!!!!!!!!!

xoxo & Peace
The girls