Gibson's First Day of School!!

Gibson had his very first day of school today. He didn't cry or scream when I dropped him off which was amazing! Even more amazing is that his teacher said that he had a great first day! We are so excited that Gibson is in this class. He has an awesome teacher who is studying different ways to teach Autistic children so we couldn't be any luckier that Gibson is in her class, because the Special Education teachers are not required to take those classes.
I became "that mom" today... I took pictures by the car, all the way inside the school, walking down the hall, and even more in the classroom. I am sure people were thinking "That lady is crazy" but I didn't want to miss out on this BIG FIRST for Gibson. He has a long road ahead in his education, and we are so glad that he will be getting lots of help his first three years in school. 

Here we are in front of the car

 Ready to go inside Mom...

 Pushing Chad in the stroller... this has become a great tool for me to get Gibson into school/MDO without a fight. He LOVES being Mommy's helper, and he enjoys pushing Chad around. Too sweet!!

Walking down the hall to class 

 Checking out the kitchen in his classroom

His chair... Yes I took a picture of it! (hahaha) 

 Chad was worn out... he fell asleep in the car on the way to the school, and stayed asleep through getting in the stroller, going into and out of the school, getting back into the car, driving home, and finally getting into bed. Poor baby was TIRED!!

 Day one down... Many more to go! I cant wait till he can get in the car and tell me all about his day!

Have a wonderful rest of your week everyone!

Lots going on!

There have been so many things going on lately. The biggest thing going on in our lives right now is Gibson getting ready to start school. I will finally be finished with his enrollment tomorrow morning, and then he starts pre-school on Wednesday! We couldn't be happier with his teachers, they are amazing and I can't wait to see their work in Gibson.
We are also working on getting Gibson into some outside therapy for both speech and behavior. The issue lies in the fact that Oklahoma doesn't recognize Autism as a "disability" so it could get pricey once we start outside therapy. At this point though we want to take full advantage of getting him as much therapy as possible before he enters kindergarten. We are very excited about all the changes we are working on and we cant wait to start seeing even more changes in Gibson. He has already made amazing strides in less than a year so we are anxious to see God continue to work and mold him into the person he is meant to be!
Chad is doing great! As always he is smiling 24/7 and laughing all the time. Lately we think he has been teething because he hasn't been sleeping as well as usual, but otherwise he is doing great.
I have been having some pretty bad back pain lately so I plan on checking our insurance coverage for chiropractor visits. I have done this once before and I didn't seem to be having as much pain as I am now. I am hoping that I can get this whole thing figured out because I am getting tired of hurting all the time.

I am really trying to keep the blog updated but it has been crazy lately with everything going on with Gibson, photography sessions and our recent travels. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit but I highly doubt it! I love keeping busy but sometimes I think it would be nice to have a bit of a break.

Testing... Testing...

Oh my goodness! I am in love! I have been trying to figure out an easy way to get my pictures larger for the longest time! So glad I finally figured it out thanks to Rita over at the CoffeeShop blog!!

Gibson's a BIG BOY!!

We converted Gibson's bed into a full size bed today. Gibson was outgrowing his toddler bed so we decided it was time to give him a real big boy bed. He seemed a little confused at first when he walked in his room tonight for bedtime but after a second he climbed in, pulled up the covers and asked for his goodnight kisses and hugs like normal. Here is his big boy bed!! :) He will be getting a new comforter set and possibly some new drapes that don't go all the way to the floor. I will post more pictures when the room is all done! Giving George hugs... he has had him since he was 1 and he sleeps with him every night.
Holding Woody and George.

I checked on him a few minutes ago and he was already sound asleep in the middle of the bed holding Woody and George just like in the picture. Precious!!

Meet the teacher... and the Principal... and...

My little Gibson is getting close to being in Pre-K. As most of you know he is on the Autism spectrum, and with his delays (which are getting better every single day) he qualifies to be in the Pre-K program for children with delays. We met with his teacher, the principal, the school psychologist, and two of the therapists that will be working with him all yesterday afternoon. We got all the paperwork signed, and he had a mini-evaluation. Once we get our IEP (Individual Education Plan) in place sometime next week, he will be able to start Pre-K. I cant believe this day is already upon us. Its a year earlier than most kids so I feel like that's why it has snuck up on us so quickly. I am very excited to see him get into a class where he can learn many new things from an amazing teacher.

We also met with some good family friends who work with children that evaluated Gibson and gave us a long list of resources to contact to get Gibson into some more therapy. We cant wait to get him started in additional therapy, especially since he has made so much progress in just the last 10 months. He is talking so much now that sometimes I just want him to be quiet... actually I don't think I would ever want him to be quiet. He went TOO long without talking. I will keep everyone updated on our progress with school and therapy. Its going to be a long, busy and hopefully educational year for all of us!!

Cruisin' Baby!

We just got back from an AMAZING cruise in the Eastern Carribbean! It was so much fun. My husband Gerod and I cruised for 7 days with my parents who are getting ready to celebrate 29 years of marriage in February.

We ate lunch on Friday at the airport BWW... MMM... Good! FREE drinks Happy Hour at our hotel was GREAT!
Dressed and ready to be picked up by the bus that took us to the port where the ship was located.

After an hour and a half long ride from the hotel to the ship, in a bus without AC *YUCK*, we finally were able to board the ship!

Yeah for ice cold drinks with my Mom!

Picture time with my adorable hubby!

Henna tattoos with my mom... they were supposed to last 2-3 weeks but instead barely lasted a day! I think we were ripped off!! But they were cute while they lasted.

Hanging out with Mom in Nassau!

My wonderful parents... 28 years of marriage! Amazing!

Gerod and I all dressed up for the first Elegant night in our dining room

Hanging out before the comedy hour in the Comedy Lounge aboard the ship

Eating... I think we did this 50% of the time!

Hanging with my Daddy!

Me and my Hubby! ;)

In front of the ship

Hanging out beach side in St. Maarten

Loving the beach with my man!

Ready for our snorkeling excursion in St. Thomas... *pictures of the excursion to be posted later*

In St. Thomas... it was GORGEOUS!!

All dressed up for our Steakhouse dinner aboard the ship.

Another formal night.... hanging out in the theater before the last show of the cruise

We clean up nice!

Going out to the comedy club and the casino for the night.

At the airport on our way home.

We had a blast on the cruise, but after about 5 days we were really missing the boys. We are so glad that we decided to go on this vacation though. We really needed some time alone together without the kids, even though we thought about them constantly and missed them terribly. It was nice to have a break for a short while, and the boys had a blast with their cousins Taylor and Evan and their Aunt Casey and Uncle Rick back in Texas. We wont be taking another long trip away for a while, but Gerod has already been checking out cruise info since we got home. We definitely will do this again before another 5 years passes, but we plan on sticking around home for a long time before we leave the boys for such a long time again. :)

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend while we were gone!

Bath Time Boys!!

The boys LOVE bath time!! They hear the word bath and absolutely freak out and run to their bath room and wait at the door till we let them in. Both of them love to splash, and usually by the end of the bath the room is completely soaked, and so is whoever gives the bath that night. I love that the boys both love their bath time as much as they do.
The other morning I snapped a few pictures of my happy little guys during bath time! Their smiling faces tell just how much fun they are having!
Here is BUG!!! :) Getting bigger and bigger every single day!And Gibson... look at those eyes and big smile! :) Love it!

Lots to be done this week as we are leaving on Thursday to head down to Texas to drop off the boys at Granci and Papaws house and meet my parents to go on our cruise! Gerod and I are so excited to be going on a nice vacation for the first time since our honeymoon. Although we are sad to be leaving the boys for over 7 days we are excited to get some adult time for more than just an hour or two of a date night. :) Cant wait!!