Our new water table and other news...

For Easter, the bunny got the kids a water table filled with goodies. Because the weather was still chilly, we put the water table in the garage. Today, after a long walk, we were hot and sweaty so I got it out. The kids LOVED it! We also left the hose on so they played with that too. Aiden especially loves the hose. He's figured out how to spray it and he gets a little silly because he doesn't always know which way it is spraying. Here are a few pictures from all the fun this afternoon.















Aiden, Madelynn, and Malachi enjoying the watertable together. Imagine that...they were sharing! :)














The boys filling up the water table again. They kept dumping all the water so we needed to fill it up multiple times.














Aiden waiting for Samantha, their cousin, to spray him. He kept lifting his shirt so she could spray his belly.














Aiden and Madelynn getting sprayed by their cousin, Samantha.

Malachi enjoying playing in their new toy. He tried to climb in, but didn't get away with it. :)

Just a short note on Malachi's evaluation today. He did pretty well and we're happy that he'll be getting the services he'll need. He will for sure qualify for speech and occupational therapy along with getting a sensory diet. Many of you are probably wondering what that is. I know a little about it based on working in a school, but I'm going to find our more about this tomorrow from one of the ladies I work with. Her job is to provide these sensory breaks for certain children so she will hopefully help me to understand this a little better. I'll post more on it later. They did also mention that Malachi may not be focusing on objects very well and that his eyes may not be moving and focusing together. Josh and I haven't noticed this, but I'm going to error on the side of caution and make him an eye appointment. Considering everything else he's been through, I don't want to waste any time!

Madelynn's speech evaluation will be on Friday, May 29th. She and Malachi will have the same speech pathologist. That's a bonus! Then on Tuesday, June 2nd, Josh and I will meet with the team that evaluated Malachi and discuss what services he'll get and how often. Then if all goes well, he'll start getting the services the following week. While I don't have any official news and results, I can say that the ladies I talked to today thought the best way for Maddie and Malachi to recieve their services was through an ISD toddler playgroup. It's about an hour and a half long 1-2 times a week. There will be a speech pathologist, ot, and pt there during that time. I also asked about whether or not Aiden could tag along or if I needed to find a sitter and they thought it probably wouldn't be a problem for him to come along. What a relief. Early On and the Young Children's Program through the LISD doesn't usually move this fast, but fortunately, the Lord is on our side and providing these opportunities for the process to move right along. I'm so thankful! They've really been great to us so far in this process. Oh, and I should add that Aiden's Early On evaluation came back great! He's at or above his age level in all areas except speech. He's a tiny bit below but doing playgroup with kids who are his speech level and higher will help him. No services needed and he'll get interactions with other kids when he tags along with his brother and sister.

Overall, I'm trying to stay positive and look for the good things. Someone is finally listening to me and we're heading in the right direction. I hope and pray that my little boy catches up to other kids his age, but regardless I'm proud of who he is and how far he has come. I do ask that you pray for him and our family. I'm struggling right now being on the other side of the process of a special needs child. I'm used to being a teacher and on that side, but it's so different being on the parent side. I pray that some day I'll be able to look at Malachi the same way that I see Aiden and Madelynn. I do hope that day wll come....