Second school screenings

We had told Owen that he was going to school today and he was going to get to play games…so he was VERY excited!

I didn’t realize (and they didn’t forewarn me) that I wouldn’t be in the room when they were doing the screenings…which is fine (I mean, I won’t always be there!), but it did come as a surprise. They said they would be screening four areas (socialization, fine motor skills, and I forget what else). It only took about 45 minutes and then we were on our way. We won’t find out any results until our April 30th meeting…so stay tuned.

Hearing and vision screening

Today was our first appointment at the school to get Owen’s hearing and vision screened. We were there early, so they had us wait in a nice room where Owen immediately found the cars…and tipped them. 🙂

*On a sidenote, the couch and loveseat was the same exact furniture my mom used to have, just in a slightly different color.

Before the testing even started, they were impressed with him putting the toys away like I asked. 🙂

First up was hearing. Of course he had no problems pointing to the correct pictures on a chart (fire truck, ice cream, basketball, etc.). With the headphone testing, he was supposed to drop the plastic bird in the bucket when he heard the tweet, but he didn’t quite understand…but his eyes would light up and he’d smile so the audiologist knew he was hearing it. 🙂

Then it was over to the nurse where she did a few basic vision tests: naming colors of blocks as she set them out, pointing to a tiny dot on a piece of paper, and following a tiny puff ball as it dropped from her fingers. He did great with everything, and the nurse concluded that his eyesight is 20/30 and 20/40 which she said was average for his age (but the tests didn’t seem very scientific to me though).

I guess this WAS just a screening, and if they noticed anything REALLY off they’d schedule actual testing (which the same goes for Friday’s clinic). But everyone seemed happy with the results…so I guess that’s good.

BEACH!

Going to the beach doesn’t have quite the same meaning as it used to (laying out in the sun) but the new definition (watching Owen play) is just a different kind of fun!

C’mon, gramma! (He outgrew his 4T swim outfits so we jumped to a 6T.)

beach

He still doesn’t like the sand, even with more closed-toed shoes. He immediately started requesting “Shoes off!”

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Our postponed Easter!

Tom hid the eggs outside so they were ready once Owen got up. Here he is, super excited and ready to go!

And off hunting for eggs!

The spoils—chocolate, candy, coins, and Cars cars… (This part doesn’t seem to be quite as exciting to him as finding the eggs—he still needs practice.)

Gramma Jean got Owen his own little baby doll to play with! He doesn’t like it as much as he loves his cars (of course), but he will pick it up and play with it and feed it. 🙂

The Easter Bunny got Owen a few more Cars-themed things, too… Presenting Miles Axelrod (his newest favorite)…

And Crabby (who he also loves, but is only in the movie for a few minutes)…

Just a note about the blog…

I try to always post things in order (which is why I often get behind) but I sometimes miss something I meant to post… so the best thing for you to do is always scroll down just a bit to see if there’s something you might have missed. For instance, I had already posted about something that happened on 4/13 but just today (4/22) realized I had some posts that belonged on 4/12 so if you didn’t scroll down, you might miss them. It doesn’t happen all the time, but in case it does, a quick scroll will show it to you!

Developmental Pediatrician’s Report

I just got done reading the Developmental Pediatrician’s report/conclusion/findings on Owen…and…it’s depressing. I know it could be SO much worse, but the medical-speak (and length of some sections) is just scary. And I know a lot of the report was just my answers to the questionnaires they had me fill out, but put it all together and it seems so much worse.

Also, I know the doc can only describe what he saw during those two hours we were there, but to hear him describe Owen’s facial expressions as “BLAND, NOT EXPRESSIVE, NOT COMMUNICATIVE” just kills me…because I don’t see him like that at all…but obviously a professional did.

But then there’s good stuff like a picture vocab test he took rated him at an age equivalent of 6yrs 4mo. and another vocab test was 4yr 7mo.

I seriously have to just keep reminding myself that it could be SO much worse…and whatever the professional findings ARE will allow us to get him the help he needs.

Pear surprise!

We had given Owen pear with his dinner, but after he ate, he saw the remainder of the pear on the counter, grabbed it, and started eating it! I’d tried to get him to eat it like that before, but he never did (he likes it cut up). Of course, he only ate a few bites and tried to eat the core…but it’s a start!

It was bound to happen…

Well, it was bound to happen…Owen left some cars in a store and I didn’t realize it until we were home. Of course, they were the more expensive Cars cars. Ugh. So do I waste a trip back after his nap and HOPE I can find them somewhere in Big Lots…or do I just forget about it and hopes he learns a lesson?

I explained they’re gone because he left them in a store and I wasn’t sure if he’d get them back…and I don’t quite think he got it. He just kept repeating either “Grem and Acer at the store” or “Grem and Acer gone.”

It just kills me because he loves them so much (and I actually have a duplicate of one I could give him from the Easter Bunny (we haven’t celebrated Easter yet)) but I want him to learn a lesson. But I’m not sure he’s quite old enough to learn that lesson. And I’m pissed because I normally keep a very close eye on the toys he carries with him, but I didn’t even notice him taking those into the store.

3:45pm

We have a lucky little boy… He happened to take a short nap today so we were on the road back to Big Lots by 3:30. We retraced our steps and as soon as we got to the first toy aisle, he went RIGHT to them, pushing aside some other boxes to retrieve both cars. THE STINKER! Of course he was happy to have them back (as was I) but of course he didn’t fully grasp how lucky he was. And then proceeded to cry and whine because I wouldn’t buy him a new car.

KIDS!

Playing with cars!

I stopped at the Developmental Pediatrician’s office to see if they had some of my original paperwork—which, long story short they didn’t, but they said they’d send me a copy of the report (which I hadn’t gotten yet). Well, in the building is a big play room (that I’m sure they use for therapy) and the door is open so Owen can see all the toys…so we went in to play for about a half hour. Of course, he went straight for the cars. 🙂

Social Security Card Mommy Fail

Yes, it’s my fault for not keeping better track of Owen’s SS card, but seriously, the list of Identity Documents to get a new card? Owen has none of them:

We can accept only certain documents as proof of your child’s identity. An acceptable document must show your child’s name, date of birth and preferably a recent photograph. A birth certificate is not a form of ID it is only used to establish a Social Security number. Your child must be present unless the picture ID also shows your child’s biographical information (i.e., age, date of birth, or parents’ names). As proof of identity, Social Security must see one of the following:

Health Insurance or Medicaid card (issued within the last four years)
School identification card (current year)
Certified school record or transcript (current year)
Certified copy of a medical record
U.S. passport (not expired)
U.S. military dependent identification card (not expired)
Certificate of Naturalization
Certificate of U.S. Citizenship
Final adoption decree issued by the court
Certified child care facility or pre-school record (current year)
Religious record (cradle roll, naming certificate, bris certificate, baptismal record, Amish or Mennonite bishop’s letter)
Life insurance policy
U.S. driver’s license
State-issued non-driver identification card
U.S. Indian Tribal card (Social Security has to approve as an acceptable ID)

He uses OUR ID card for anything military (they don’t need one until they’re 10). He has a medical card, but it doesn’t list his birthday or a picture (do ANY medical cards have pictures?). I guess the only thing on that list is a certified copy of a medical record…and I don’t even really know what that means (though I eventually got what I hope passes for that).

Now I have to send off all his info plus our passports and wait 10-14 days to get a replacement card.

Ugh.

WIPE OFF!!

Someone was playing in the kitchen and came running out saying “Wipe off! Wipe off!” This is what I saw:

Then I went into the kitchen and saw he had pulled the tomatoes off the counter and they were all over the floor. It took me a day or so before I finally noticed and (cleaned) all the tomato seeds from floor to ceiling…

Good shot!

Owen likes to walk down to the golf course and sometimes play on the “big hill” right off the putting green and first tee. There are often golfers there, so I’m teaching him to say “Good shot!” and clap when golfers tee off. They love it. Once in awhile, they even toss him a ball!