Friday, March 20, 2009

SAWYER CAN READ!!!!


That's right, even though our son is non-verbal autistic, he can read!! Last Friday, during his speech class, the teacher accidentally dropped a flashcard on the floor. The flashcard landed on the floor with the word side up. Sawyer looked down at the card, which said ARM, and pointed to his arm while making a vocal approximation of the word arm. This is very exciting news to know that our 4 year old can sight read some words.

Saxton is doing really good after his tonsillectomy. I think the pain killers were a hit with him since he hardly ever complained about his throat hurting. He was out of school for almost two weeks and finally went back yesterday. All of his friends and teachers were very happy to see him return to class and he loved being there too.

We have been hearing nothing but good things from Saffi's school. Last week, a teacher said that she was helping other students in the class with their math homework and she was raising her hand to answer questions. Her English language is improving remarkably well, too. She has been speaking more and more clearer as the days go by. It is amazing to watch her speech develop at such a fast pace. You go girl!! It's been two months since her last breakdown at school, let cross our fingers that that was the last one.


Saffi has also been doing a lot of wonderful things while at home. When she gets home from school, she immediately does her homework and helps get the table ready for dinner. Both her and Saxton try to fight over who gets to wipe down the table. So I usually end up being the moderator and asking one to wipe the table and one to wipe the chairs. That makes them both very happy to see their accomplishment and I can not lie, me too.
Have a great week.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Saxton's Surgery

Saxton and mom are on their way down to the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia to have Saxton's tonsils removed. To give you an idea, his tonsils are the size of a shooter's marble. They are huge!! We will keep you informed on his progress.

As for the rest of the family, everyone is doing great. Saffi is settling in very nicely. We where having one to two meltdowns a day fro a while there, but over the last two months, we have had only three. It is really nice to see her smiling everyday when she wakes up and comes down the stairs, now. She is a very beautiful little girl. Also, over the last month, she has had two fillings, one tooth removal and one cap. But, she is not done. We go next week for her last two fillings, then we are all done (hopefully) for the next six months.

Sawyer is continuing to progress with program at school. He is now making approximations of several words and letters. He is also writing the letters F, S and O. This is a tremendous progress from even six months ago when he wasn't saying anything.

Well, we have been really busy (our common excuse), but I have been taking pictures. I need to find out why those videos of Saxton and Saffi are not working. It's annoying. Any suggestions?

Congratulations to our friends Chip and Holly who have been waiting three very long years to meet their daughter. Today, they got to hold her for the first time. Here's to you Chip and Holly!! (I am holding my coffee mug up because it's too early to drink a beer).

Pictures of Saffi, Sawyer and Saxton: