Christmas

Where did December go?

Christmas Eve in California

December is over and I have so much to blog about and right now not enough time. Quick synopsis I continue to be cancer free but I have a couple of nodes that are being watched so I am still on three month check ups and six month scans. My autoimmune issues are flaring up but nothing I can't control. I continue to love volunteering at Eoin's school and have taken on the huge task of coordinating the schools silent auction.

Andy has now worked at Apple for one year. He loves the work and is being challenged which he loves. He continues to be an amazingly supportive and loving husband and Dad.

December for Eoin has seen many changes particularly at school. Eoin continued to have a hard time at school because of his Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). His school and the school district are being incredible and after hours of meetings we have all settled on a plan. His school day has been shortened to three hours and he has a full time aide for two of those hours. A behavioral plan has been implemented with a reward system that Eoin responds to. He now has increased time with the Occupational Therapist, School Psychologist and the Speech and Language Therapist who teaches him social skills.

Exploring the giant redwoods in Big Basin.

Over the coming weeks I will blog more about the different aspects of SPD and the programs and skills we are using to help Eoin but for now it is time to enjoy two weeks of family time and to celebrate Christmas.

Why open adoption is amazing!

We are asked over and over why we chose open adoption. Well this photo tells you why.

We were honored to be invited to share a very special day with Eoin's birth family. Eoin's birth uncle Joshua was  marring the wonderful Lindsay. Joshua and Lindsay came into our lives about a year ago. They have been so welcoming of us into their family. As a couple they are not only in love with each other but also set Eoin a courageous example of what determination, dedication and love can achieve.

So in answer to the question of why open adoption? Because open adoption allows Eoin to have many more role models in his life and more people to love him. Open Adoption allows our son to know and tell his birth story and to have an on going relationship with his birth family who love and adore him.

Tom the Turkey

Here is Eoin giving a short presentation to his class about how Tom the Turkey can hide in the hay wagon and then not get eaten on Thanksgiving Day. Eoin reports that it was meant to be a team project but no-one wanted to be on his team. Luckily his amazing and supportive teacher Ms Dowd came to the rescue and created a team with him. Notice the purple post-it  - Eoin's teacher wrote his reasoning for hiding Tom on it for him to copy and he then stuck it on the poster because he figured "why write it again when it has already been done?"

First teeth gone

This weekend saw Eoin loose his two bottom teeth. The first one fell out in his sleep and the second one while he was playing. Both times he did not notice. The tooth fairy has delivered two gold shiny one dollar coins.

Eoin had shark teeth so his two new teeth are up already but they are quite a bit further back. Hopefully his tongue will push them forward.

School Photo 2013/2014

 

Hmmm not the most flattering photo! It seems that Eoin was trying to tell the photographer that the flash was hurting his eyes.

Soap experiement

Here are a couple of fun videos of Eoin microwaving a bar of soap. Enjoy

Fun science afternoon

Eoin turned into quite the presenter this afternoon while enjoying a little science. Stay tuned for another post on what happens when you microwave a bar of soap. Oh an if you want to make the Oobleck goo I used 2 cups of cornstarch and 1 cup water. After this video I added a little more water and it became even more fun.

Project Cornerstone

I am Special because.... shields made by a Grade 2 class.

I have recently had the honor of joining the Project Cornerstone team at Eoin's school - Stocklmeir. Each month we get to go into a classroom and read a wonderful book and then do an activity based on the book. I have been paired with a Grade 2 class of 21 eager learners. Project Cornerstone is a project run by the YMCA that aims to help all children and teens in Silicon Valley feel valued, respected and known.

The specific part of this project that we are engaged in is the The Asset Building Champions (ABC)  in which adults volunteer at schools reading specially selected books and leading activities that help teach valuable lessons.

This months book was Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell.
Molly Lou Melon may be tiny, clumsy, buck-toothed, and with a voice "like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor," but she doesn't mind. Her grandmother has utmost confidence in her, and tells her at every turn to believe in herself. "Sing out clear and strong and the world will cry tears of joy," Grandma says. But Molly Lou's self-assurance is put to the test when she moves to a new town, away from her friends and beloved grandmother. During her first week of school, Ronald Durkin taunts Molly Lou Melon in the dull-witted but sharp-edged manner of career bullies, calling her "shrimpo" and "bucky-toothed beaver." Our heroine barely flinches as she systematically sets out to prove herself, and Ronald Durkin ends up feeling pretty foolish - borrowed from Amazon.com


I read the book to the kids who sat attentively at my feet. We talked about what certain things meant like to be fumble fingered. Then we talked about what it might mean to 'stand tall". We discussed how Molly Lou's grandma was her cheerleader and we talked about who might be in their individual cheer leading squad - teachers, parents, me, coaches etc.

For our activity after the story I chose to ask the kids to make shields. I asked the kids to write three things that made them  special and helped them "stand tall". Once they had added three things we as a class brainstormed for each kid to find a fourth thing they could add. You could visibly see the kids start to 'stand tall' one they heard their friends give them a compliment.

I asked the kids to remember their shields should they ever be teased or bullied. Remembering their shields and what makes them special will hopefully remind them that they are all amazing and unique. They have the choice whether to engage and escalate a negative situation or they can choose to remember to be positive and to "stand tall" and lead by example.

One little boy brought the whole lesson home for me when he quietly took me aside and related this story "Miss Saran  I have been teased 55 no 54 times as one person apologized. Next time it happens I am going to remember my shield and that I am special. Do you think it would be ok for me to share my shield with friends in my after school care?"

What more can I say? This is an amazing and awesome project that I hope more and more schools will adopt.

Tales of Logic

Eoin designing his Grecian Urn. Note sensory toy is close at hand.

These last two weeks have been interesting for Eoin at school.

There are three tales of logic that stand out.

1. Eoin is in one toilet stall and a little girl is in the next one (mixed bathroom). The little girl puts her coat on the ground and Eoin reaches under the stall to get it. He then tries to flush the jacket down the toilet!!!
When asked why he would do such a thing he replied - "when you flush the toilet it swirls like a washing machine. The little girls jacket was dirty from being on the floor so I wanted to see if I could wash it and be helpful.

2. The kids are coming out of their classroom at the end of the day. A couple stopped and told me that Eoin had cut his pants. So here comes Eoin with one leg of his jeans torn wide open top to bottom (brand new jeans too!). I asked him what in the world had happened. "Well I cut a small hole and then I ripped it". Why? Well he was hot and the jeans were slim leg and he couldn't roll them up.

Eoin's VIP poster for school

And finally -
Homework one evening was to draw a bar graph of your family's favorite apples e.g. golden delicious. Eoin sat very well and drew his bar graph along with the pictures of the apples. Mommy's favorite apple was an IPad, Daddy's was an IPhone and Eoin's was an IPod.


We can't wait to see what this week brings!

Castle Rock adventures

We had a wonderful hike this morning up through the forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Our half way point was Castle Rock. We kept it a surprise for Eoin and when he discovered the caves he eagerly started exploring.

The caves and rocks are a tafoni formation. Weird stone pockets create caves and cool rock formations.

Eoin loved this place so much that he has asked to go back again tomorrow!

 

Six Year Stats

Eoin's six year check up went really well. Perfect hearing and perfect sight. He is 4 ft 5 inches tall (1.36metres) and 62 lbs (29 kg). His weight hasn't moved in the last six months and he is only a couple of pounds heavier than last year but he continues to shoot up.

Eoin is off the chart for a 6 year old. To put his height into perspective if Eoin was a 10 year old he would be at exactly 50th percentile. His predicted height at the age of 18 is 6 foot 8 to 6 foot 10.

Eoin is wearing size 8 tops and size 10 pants (with adjustable waist bands!). Shoe size is 3.5 to a 4.

Favorite activities are basketball, soccer and lego. Favorite foods are pepperoni pizza, pasta, hotdogs and pancakes.

Kindergarten is going ok(ish). We had a great start but the last two weeks have been rough. Eoin is bored at school and wants to stay at home and explore and learn his way. We worked out that he was trying to figure out how naughty he had to be to be sent home. Well once everyone told him that was not going to happen and we drew him a diagram of how his day looks things have settled down again. We are blessed with an awesome teacher and support staff who all adore Eoin and want to help him be the best he can be.

Family Hike

Last weekend we went for a family hike through the Pescadero Marsh preserve and along Pescadero Beach.
It was the perfect 3 mile length with so much to explore. There are hundreds of birds to spot, caves to explore, drift wood houses, rivers and trees to climb.

Eoin had a wonderful time and declared - "I love nature."
Daddy Gator and Mommy Gator chased him along little paths and apart from one other family on the trail we had the place to ourselves.

So much fun we are going to go on another hike this weekend.

Birthday Present Opening

Lego Birthday Party

Yesterday saw us celebrate Eoin's sixth birthday with a Lego themed party. We had 12 of his new friends from school come over for some Lego themed games and food.

Eoin and I made marshmallow Lego head pops as well as chocolate Lego men and blocks. I worked on a Lego birthday cake (lemon cake with raspberry filling). We had Lego everywhere!

We played Lego toss, pin the mustache on the Lego man, chopstick Lego races and the best was the design and race your own Lego car.

A great celebration ended with a visit from Eoin's birthmom Amy, where she was able to read Eoin his good night story (which right now is a kids encyclopaedia!).

 

Firefighter in the making

Eoin had a lot of fun at the recent Sunnyvale Firehouse Pancake Breakfast.

Cheerleader Writing

Eoin demonstrating how his teacher uses cheer leading to teach the kids where letters are placed on lined paper.

Mad Hatter

Eoin had a lot of fun when he came upon these foam hats/wigs recently. He really wanted the pink one to go with his Super Hero costume. Now to just think up of a name that combines bubble gum pink hair with a superhero cape, belt and wrist bands!

 

Shower Craziness

Eoin has been bunged up with a yucky cold the last couple of days but the highlight of the day comes when he gets to have a steamy shower and make Mommy and Daddy laugh like crazy with his silly faces.

Homework

Eoin's homework calendar and journal came home today. While homework is not compulsory nor checked in kindergarten the kids are encouraged to complete each task on the calendar and then write and draw about it. And so tonight Eoin sang 'Rise and Shine' (and welcome to school today) for us. Then we sat down together and helped him write his story. While Eoin was drawing his picture he demonstrated how much of a perfectionist he is. He erased and re-drew everyone's hands five times because they were either too big, too small or just not round enough!

 

Smycke clock

On a recent visit to Ikea I picked up a little clock project for Eoin. The SMYCKE clock is so much fun. You can design and build it anyway you want and if you get bored you can just change it up again.

Eoin needed to work on his fine motor skills so this was a good way to practice those and practice staying focused.

Eoin is very proud of his finished clock but without the aid of numbers its not too practical for learning to tell the time. Either way though this was an awesome little project and I plan on grabbing some more as birthday gifts for Eoin's buddies.