Christmas 2008

Here are all the Christmas pics in one place:

Decorating the Tree - Here is our beautiful tree. Gabriel had so much fun decorating and helping this year. He was really into it.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Tree?feat=directlink

Advent Calendar - More pics of Gabe opening the daily boxes for his Advent calendar.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/AdventCalendar?feat=directlink

Visiting Santa - We saw Santa one evening at Phillips Park. Gabriel walked right up and told Santa what he wanted. He didn't want to sit on his lap, just stood by him. He told him he wanted a Star Wars space ship. Soon after, he decided he wanted Wall-E the movie instead and was very upset that he hadn't told Santa that...but it's ok, he still got Wall-E.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Santa?feat=directlink

Head Start party - Gabe's school/daycare has a party for all the families at HeadStart. I finally got to take pictures of Gabe with each of his teachers, Deanna, Teresa and Ymelda. p.s. Gabe took most of these pictures!
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/HeadStartParty2008?feat=directlink

Baking Cookies - We made sugar cookies this year for the first time. Gabe really enjoyed it! We also had his friend Damian over to play and made more cookies.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/BakingCookies?feat=directlink

Christmas Eve - Traditional mexican dinner of tamales, rice and beans. We watched The Polar Express, wrote a note to Santa, put out cookies and milk, hung our stockings and were off to bed.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/ChristmasEve2008?feat=directlink

Christmas Day - Started early - 7am! Opened presents and played!! Then the Foote family (Nick, Amy, Nathan and Kennedy) all came over. We snacked and then had dinner of steaks, potatoes, corn, bread, salad, etc. We played games and just had a fun time together. Cindy tried to keep Kennedy (she's so cute) but Amy insisted on taking her home!
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/ChristmasDay2008?feat=directlink

Misc stuff

Here's some misc stuff with pics:

Aurora Holiday Lights 2008 - lighting of the city Christmas tree, parade and awesome fireworks:
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/AuroraHolidayLights2008?authkey=A9saARrq_jM#

Gabe's new puppy Stitch - not real, from Build-a-Bear:
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Stitch?authkey=2paOtV-_VEE#

Gabe reading the paper - Gabe has spent hours and hours pouring over the ad papers choosing just the right items to ask Santa for (like EVERYTHING, except the girl stuff, in the book!!):
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/GoofyGabe?authkey=mj27uMEj0Pw#

Advent Calendars - I made the box one for Gabe (from a kit). It has 25 drawers and we've put in $1, m&ms, Hershey kisses and more - to help him count til Christmas. The tree and calendar are my mom's. She let me have it last year. I just love it! She hand made everything! This was one of my very favorite things to do each year as a child and I'm so lucky that she gave it to me to share with Gabe - thanks Mom!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/AdventCalendars?authkey=d5LjWre-yec#

Raking leaves - Just a day out raking leaves. Funny that we don't have trees but always have a ton of leaves!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/RakingLeaves1108#

Halloween 2008

Boy am I behind!! Here are pics of Halloween - Gabriel was a police man. And the coolest thing happened while we were trick-or-treating. We saw a police car driving by, so Gabe waved. The police man, yelled that he loved his costume. Gabe was very proud. Then the police man pulled over and got out to talk to him. Gabe asked if he could drive his car and the officer said yes and even let him turn the lights on! Gabe was absolutely thrilled!http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/HalloweenOct08#

Thanksgiving 2008

This is a funny video of Gabriel singing the "Family Song" from a show called "Yo Gabba Gabba". He just spontaneously starting singing it at the dinner table.



Check out the rest of our photos from the day here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Thanksgiving2008?authkey=lMgYXLu3wnY#

Gabriel turns 5!!

Happy 5th Birthday to Gabriel!

What an awesome birthday! First, Grandma and Papa arrived from MI. Then we had a bowling birthday party with some of his classmates (Honesty and Damian). Then we went to the Jelly Belly factory in WI. Then the real birth-day celebration. Lots of pics, enjoy them all!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/GabeS5thBirthdayBowlingPartyOct2008#

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/GabeSNewTruckOct2008#

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/JellyBellyFactoryOct2008#

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/GabeS5thBirthdayOct2008#

Apple Picking

We took Gabriel apple picking and had a great time. He doesn't like to eat apples, but had fun picking them! It was about 85 degrees outside too!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/ApplePickingOct200802#

Calm down blankie

Because of Gabe's sensory issues / autism, he sometimes likes to have "weight" on him. So one of the items that I researched was a weighted blanket. Boy are these expensive! They run about $80 + for 1 blanket. Well I gave a pattern to my mom and wouldn't you know it, in a couple weeks she had one made for half the price! It's a beautiful blanket, made from cute fleece with weighted pellets inside (about 6 lbs. worth). And Gabriel LOVES its. He calls it his calm down blanket because it helps him rest and sleep. What we do without Grandma? Thank you!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/CalmDownBlanket#

Gabe's new room

I can't remember if I posted pics or not but one morning in July/August, the ceiling let loose in Gabriel's bedroom. A huge chunk of the plaster fell from the ceiling. Luckily Gabriel wasn't in there. But he couldn't stay in his room for fear that the ceiling would continue to fall. Guess that's what you get with an old house like ours. So we moved Gabe out of his room and temporaily in ours (since the girls were visiting and there were already 3 of them in that room). Then after the girls left, we moved him into their room until we could do something with his room.

***hear the sounds of superhero music***

Next came my mom, dad, brother Brian, nephew Tyler and dog Remy to help!!! Brian tore down the whole ceiling and put up drywall. Now we all helped, by staying out of his way!!! LOL The transformation in the room is amazing. I can't thank Brian enough, what awesome talent he has! Did I mention that he also fixed a bunch of my light fixtures and taught me how to replace light switches and outlets. What an amazing guy! And my mom and dad helped with everything and pulled my weeds. What more could I ask for??

We finally decided on colors and are taking some time getting it all painted. Sports theme, lighter blue on top, dark blue on bottom, white stripe in the middle. Check out all the pics to see our progress.

Thank you again to my mom, dad, Brian and Tyler!! We love you guys! xoxo

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/GabeSRoom#

All Scrapbook Layouts in one place!

Check back often for new layouts!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/ScrapbookLayouts2008#

IEP Meeting

Just an update on Gabriel. We have finally completed all of his evaluations and testing through the Aurora school district and had our final IEP meeting. We are so very fortunate to work with great people there and we basically got everything we asked for. Gabe qualified for:

* Speech therapy for 45 minutes per week (20-25 individually and 20-25 in a group setting)
* Occupational therapy for 30 minutes per week (with the OT consulting with the teachers/administrators for 60 minues per month)
* Autism consultation services (basically she assists the teachers, administrators and parents with autism related issues and helps with needs he might have in the classroom)

The best news of all is that he will be receiving all of these services at his current preschool/daycare center, Two Rivers Head Start. The center and staff have been so wonderful to us, they love Gabriel and he loves them. We are so pleased to be able to keep him there, where he is happy and still get him some help. He can stay at Head Start until August of next year, and then will have to leave to go to Kindergarten.

The IEP process is completed each year but evaluations and testing are typically only done every 3 years.

We are so proud of Gabriel. We are so blessed to have him.

Thank you all for supporting us.

Tennessee

What a fabulous vacation! We had such a wonderful time in TN - between the swimming, eating, seeing family, sight seeing and relaxing...what more could we ask for!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/TNVacationJuly2008

Lisle Eyes to the Skies

We love the Lisle Eyes to the Skies hot air balloon festival. We discovered it last year and it has quickly become a tradition. The tough part is getting up at 4:15am to get their on time. But this year there were some wind issues and instead of the balloons taking off in front of us, they had to drive several miles away to launch. The great part about that was that they got to land in front of it. It was GREAT and well worth the early wake up call.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/LisleBalloonFest08

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th! We went to the Aurora Independence Day parade and then the local Aurora fireworks. Boy do we love fireworks!! Gabe's favorite part of the parade - the jets overhead! Gabe is also really into using my camera and will steal it whenever possible. You'll notice some pictures are ones he has taken...mostly of his shoes!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/4thOfJuly08

Fireflies!

Several months ago, I registered Roy, Gabriel and I for an outdoor adventure on Fireflies. Basically, it was put on by the local nature center and involved meeting at a local park, learning about fireflies and then catching some. We had a wonderful time and learned alot. Gabriel got his very own "bug-a-lug" to catch them with (and then let them go) and Dad did a great job catching LOTS!! Gabriel is thrilled to see them light up all over our very own backyard.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Fireflies

Father's Day

Here's some pics of how we celebrated Father's Day!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/FathersDay08

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Prairefest08

How we spent our Sunday...

....well it was a HOT one!! We had a bunch of storms, wind and rain come through. So we watched a movie and hung out. After a little nap, the sun came out and the clouds moved away...so we headed outside for a little fun. Gabriel had been asking for a campfire but he fell asleep early on Friday and Saturday nights. Roy got out the Slip-and-Slide and had some fun with Gabriel. I'm not sure who had more fun - Gabe or Roy! LOL We decided for dinner that we'd get the campfire going and roast hot dogs and then have smores. Everything was yummy. It's so nice to have a big backyard and pretend we are camping...and then come inside and sleep in the air conditioning...and leave the bugs outside! Check out the rest of the pictures from today:

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Sunday6808

Gabriel - 6/4/08

Well as many of you know, Gabriel has been going through a lot of evaluations and testing for a number of issues. Back in March, he started OT (occupational therapy) for Sensory Integration issues and is doing well. We've also gone though some additional testing for Autism and Autism related disorders. The verdict from the local school district is that he has PDD-NOS (Pervasive Development Disorder - Not Otherwise Specificed). I call this the "we don't know what's the matter with your kid" label. LOL But it just a form of autism. Luckily it is a high-functioning form and Gabriel is doing great.

We have a couple more evals to go through and the school district will brainstorm and make recommendations on what types of assistive service they can provide for him. That might mean speech therapy, OT, an aide, special accomodations in the classroom, etc. So hopefully we will know more soon.

Just thought I'd give an update.

Mother's Day 2008

We had a great Mother's Day. I got wonderful gifts and super special breakfast and dinner. I was missing my mom and sister but will get to see them soon. It was a rainy, windy day so we decided to go to an LP Art exhibit. It was very cool to see all the album cover art.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/MomSDayAndLPArt

Gabe's Bean Bin

Gabriel is in Occupational Therapy for Sensory Integration Disfunction (SID). And one of the therapy tools they use is a bean bin. It's just like it sounds, a bin full of dried pinto beans. He likes it so much at therapy we decided to make one at home for him to play in. 1 plastic tub and 16 lbs of beans = FUN!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/GabeSBeanBin

Girls Easter Visit

Here are the pics from the Girls Easter week visit.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/GirlsVisitMarch2008

Easter 2008

The girls came and spend Easter and the following week with us. We had a fun time dyeing eggs and having an egg hunt in the yard.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Easter2008

Sullivan Family

My dad's sister's husband recently passed away and my parents went to the funeral in PA. Here are some pictures of my dad with his brother Jim and sisters, Joanne, Margie and Nancy.

Playground

We found an awesome playground that is near our house. It's been great fun!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/PlaygroundPics

Sandbox and Sidewalk Chalk

We've been having such wonderful weather, that last weekend we got out Gabriel's turtle sandbox (thanks Aunt Michelle). He just loves to build sand castles (and then crash them). We also played with sidewalk chalk. Check it out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/SandboxAndSidewalkChalk

Scrapbook Pages

All of you know of my love of scrapbooking. Now if only I could make some money doing it...hmmm. Anyway, here are some of my new pages. I'll try and add more as I can.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/ScrapbookingAlbum

Touch-A-Truck

We took Gabriel to an event where they had firetrucks, school buses, police cars, ambulances, dump trucks, garbage trucks and more. The kids got to climb inside and even honk the horns. He liked it! His favorite was the fire truck!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/TouchATruckDay

Roy's Birthday

Happy 42nd Birthday Roy!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/RoySBirthday

Visiting the Easter Bunny

We took Gabriel to visit the Easter Bunny. He just loved him! Went right on up and high-fived him, waved and gave him lots of hugs. I think it's because he knows that the Easter Bunny will bring him chocolate! LOL

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/VisitingTheEasterBunny

Maple Sugar Fest

Gabe, Roy and I went to the Red Oaks Nature Center for Maple Sugar Fest. We learned all about how maple trees are tapped for sap. We even got to help tap a tree and collect the sap. We tasted it right from the tree - tastes like water! Then we learned how it gets cooked til it's yummy syrup - or syri-up as Gabe calls it. I took a couple of pics.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/MapleSugarFest

Misc. Pics of Gabe

Here's a bunch of misc. pictures of Gabriel from February:

* Watching for the lunar eclipse (beautiful pic of moon by my friend Fran)
* Reading on the couch
* Playing in the snow
* Ice skating on Lake Gloria (that's a big patch of ice in our backyard)
* Playing moon sand and play-doh
* Playing t-ball with Coach Mike
* Going to Chuck E. Cheese
* Dressed up as Mr. Incredible
* Practicing ball in the basement

Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/MiscGabe

Gabes New Bear - Christian

Gabriel made a new friend at Build-a-Bear - Christian (the shamrock bear). He just loves him. We even bought Christian a pair of silky shamrock bear boxers (so cute). Gabriel still adores his first Build-a-Bear, Cocoa. But now Cocoa and Christian are friends.

Check out the other pics of Gabriel and his bears.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/ChristianBAB

The Smith's Visit IL

We were so lucky to have my favorite sister Michelle and her kids, Kaitlyn, Colin and Kyle come for a visit during their mid-winter break. While it was a long drive for Michelle, I think that everyone had a great time. I was so happy to finally have her see our new home and show off the great place we live! We went to the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, downtown Chicago (Millennium Park, Ed Debevics, Hershey Store, and Lego Store). We all had a great time. Enjoy the pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/TheSmithSVisitIL

Auntie Winda

These are pictures of my friend Linda Kaiser from Michigan. I have known Linda since college. We were lucky enough to get tickets to a White Sox game (Gabe's first) and Linda came with us. Gabe can't say his L's very well - she he calls her Winda.

Christmas 2007

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/Christmas2007

Ice Skating with the Smiths

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/IceSkatingLaserTag

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2008!! Here are some pics from New Years in MI.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gabesmom1003/NewYears0708