Little Things Mean A Lot

Grant had swim therapy today. It was the first time he has had swim therapy since he has started school. Since it is during school, I have to go check him out so we can go to swim therapy. As I was loading the kids back into the car after checking him out, one of his new aids approached me.

Let me back up for just a minute. This year is new. New teacher, new aids, new school, new classroom, etc. From what I have been able to gather, everyone is really nice, but no one compares to our old school family. I really miss them! They were more than Grant's teacher, aid, therapists, etc. They were/are our friends! They were like your long lost childhood friend that you can talk to for ever and ever! The environment was always very comfortable and inviting. I always knew that Grant was in good hands and that he was loved and cared for. While I know Grant is cared for at the new school, I have wondered if they have the same love for him that his preschool family did.

Fast forward back to today...one of the aids, Miss Jeanie, approached me with tears in her eyes and told me "her" story. She told me that at the end of last year she was laid off from her position at the high school working with the special needs kids with major behavioral problems because of budget cuts. She had spent several years working in that position and had really come to love the kids and was quite devastated that she was laid off. When she received the news that she would still have a job, but would be moving schools and age groups she was happy to have a job, but still upset about having to leave her kids. Her first day was also Grant's first day. They both were in a new school with new faces and a new completely new environment. They both cried together and laughed together and made a special bond. She told me how Grant saved her! She said she didn't think she would have been able to make it through this huge transition without him. She told me how she LOVED him! She said since then they do everything together. She helps him with his school work, she plays with him, she works with him on his therapy, etc. All the time having fun!

Oh how wonderful it was to have my worries put to rest! My boy is loved and cared for! I know he's not hard to love, but I still worry about him. Today I have learned that even though the classrooms and personalities are completely different, the end result is still the same. We will continue to love and miss our preschool family, but hope to increase the bonds with our new school family. I am grateful for those people that donate their lives to work with our special kids. It truly takes a special person to work with them and have a passion for it. I think Grant and Jeanie saved each other! Thank you Jeanie for sharing your sweet, heart felt story with me. It really meant a lot!

Taking Steps

Since Grant's Baclofen Pump was put in, it has been recommended to increase his physical therapy. We started going to the Pediatric Physical Therapy Clinic in Orem a couple weeks ago. There are a few things we are hoping to achieve by increasing his PT.

* Strengthen his trunk/neck.
* Increase his range of motion in arms and legs.

* Prevent/postpone any further surgeries. (Tendon Releases)

* Loosen his muscles/tendons so he is not so tight and looking like a human chair.

On our second visit, Grant's PT, Ben, suggested we try a walker. Grant has never been in one of these before. I was a little nervous...I guess to be more accurate, I didn't want to get my hopes up just to have a huge let down or put too large of an expectation on him just to have him fail. While I think it would be great for him to have more physical abilities, I have come to terms that it is not likely or necessary for him to walk. And I'm OK with that! His mission in life is not for him to be able to move mountains....he's already done that in the pre-existence. That is why he lucky enough to not have to go through the trials that the rest of us do here on this earth. With that said, I went along with the big idea Ben had of trying out the walker. And to my surprise, HE DID IT!!! Of course it wasn't perfect, but he did it. At first it was kind of a bunny hop motion, but pretty soon he started doing reciprocating movements with his feet. Across the therapy room back and forth he went. We gave him fruit snacks to reward him for his hard work, but after the first fruit snack he just kept going as to say, "I don't need a fruit snack as a reward, being independent is reward enough!" What a stud! All the time with a big smile and lots of giggles! He was just plain giddy with excitement of being such a big boy. Ben was impressed, I was more than impressed! Who would have known...well Grant probably did. Oh the things I wish he could tell me!
Since he did so well, we have decided to try to get one for him here at home. We have been fighting with insurance for 3 years now to get him a stander. We just keep getting denial after denial. We are hoping that the insurance will approve this one a little easier than the stander. Who knows what he'll be able to do when he gets stronger and has more practice. I think the independence will make him happier and more content as well. Until then, we will continue to go to his PT appointments and work with him here at home and school. And hopefully we can meet and exceed the goals we have.

End of Summer

Why is it that even though school starts, it doesn't seem like summer is really over until Labor Day? The weather is already starting to change, and we can see the leaves in the mountains changing. We even have a few leaves in our yard starting to change colors. :( I'm not ready to let go of summer, but it is quickly leaving. So we knew we needed to fit in as much fun as we could during the last week of summer.

There is a park in Spanish Fork that we have been watching being built all summer long. We have driven past it at least once a week all summer to see if it was open yet. And finally it opened the weekend before Labor Day. (Why is it that they wait until summer is basically over to open up such an awesome park???) We took a day after school and went over with Holly and Dillon. They have a splash pad and a huge playground! The kids started in the fountains and then moved over to the playground. It was amazing to me the difference in Hallie from the first time we went to a splash pad to this time. She was much more adventurous this time and loved exploring the fountains.




One of the biggest reasons we were so excited for this park to open was because of the bucket swings! They are the same ones that they had at Morgan's Wonderland in TX which are great for kiddos like our Granty. One disappointment we found was there are no seat belts to these swings like at MW, so we had to really watch that Grant wouldn't slip out. Hopefully they'll add these at some point. Since it's a new park, there were lines for these new cool swings. So every time we would get the kids off to let another kid have a turn, Grant would keep saying "more, more, more"! He loved it and didn't ever want to leave!

The swings are even good for adults that act like children :)

We will be spending a lot of time here next summer!

Over Labor Day weekend we went up Hobble Creek Canyon with some friends and family. Saturday night we met Dee and Dave up there for dinner. They took up their trailer and set up a tent for us to use. We had a yummy dinner and Mikkele and Dee made us some yummy apple and cherry turnovers in the dutch oven for dessert. We came back home that night because my family was in town visiting and would be leaving the next morning.
We went back up Sunday morning and visited with Dee and Dave again before they had to head home to get ready for work the next day. They were kind enough to leave their trailer and tent up there for us to use. That night we had the rest of the Gallier family come up for dinner as well as our friends, the Walker's. We enjoyed some sloppy joes, hot dogs, and of course some smores!





That night, Jeremy, Grant, Hallie, and I slept in the trailer and Ryan, Mikkele, Kamrin, Dillon, and Connor slept in the tent. Or I guess I should say attempted to sleep in the tent. It was so cold that night! (We found out later that the state had record lows set that night.) By 4:30 a.m. Ryan and all the kids were out by the campfire trying to stay warm. It was a long night, but we had a lot of fun. Mikkele keeps asking when we are going again!


Hallie had a great time playing in anything that she could get dirty with...which was just about everything! She was covered from head to toe in dirt when we got home. But she was a happy content baby!

Here's some other random pictures from throughout the summer that I haven't included in any other blog posts:

The annual Utah County Fair demolition derby.

Jessie and Adam "Joe Dirt" came with us this year.

Mikkele and I went on a mommy/daughter date to dinner and some putt putt.

Jeremy and I went on a last minute date to the Dave Matthews concert.

Good bye summer! We will miss you!!!

Back to School

School started for Mikkele on Monday, August 23rd. She is in the 5th grade this year. I can't believe I have a child old enough for 5th grade!!! She had mixed feelings about starting school, but has now claimed that it is the best school year ever!

Mikkele and her teacher Miss Sonne.

Grant started Kindergarten the next day, August 24th. This year is a lot of new beginnings for him. He is at a new school. He has a new teacher, Ms. Ellinger, and aids. He has a new bus driver and tech. But the newest adventure of all is that it is ALL day long!!! He gets on the bus at 7:20 and doesn't get home until almost 4:00! That's 8 1/2 hours people!!! He has done pretty good adjusting to the new schedule and has only shed a few tears. He's a little fussy when he comes home in the afternoon, but it's a huge adjustment from what he was doing before. I think it will get easier and easier as the weeks and months continue as well. He was still kind of half asleep when the bus pulled up the first day and not too sure what to think.

Chris his new bus tech strapping him in for the ride.

I didn't follow him to the school like a good mom probably should. I knew if he knew that I was there that he would have a rough separation. I snuck into the classroom a couple days later and got a couple shots of singing time. And he never knew I was even there :)

And what am I doing to occupy my time with only Hallie at home you ask???

Lots of playing.
Lots of lunch dates.
A little cleaning.
Lots of playing.
A little organizing.
And more playing! :)
I really should get more serious on the cleaning/organizing stuff!

Pinewood Derby

Our ward had the 2nd annual Pinewood Derby. (last year's derby) Mikkele decided to make a surf board shaped car this year and painted it with peace signs and paint splatters. It turned out really cute and very her. She ended up taking 5th place this year out of 14 kids. Not too shabby. She also went home with the award for most artistic car and received a pink trophy! What a fun tradition this has become with the primary kids in the ward.

Her car took 2nd most heats. In this picture Alanna's skateboard car beat her.