College Bound

On Tuesday this week some of us got together to say goodbye to Morgan and wish her luck. Grandma and Grandpa Bebow enjoyed the time with everyone
Scott, Gunner, Uncle Paul and Grandma Sheaffer enjoying some great food and conversation.

Tara, Logan and Aunt Janet was there to tell Morgan good luck.

As we were finishing packing the van before we left on Thursday, the wind chimes on the front porch started to ring. It was if Grandpa Sheaffer was telling Morgan he was thinking of her and Good Luck. What a send off for her. It gave us chills.
This Morgan after we unloaded her stuff at Capital. ( Actually some ROTC guys had the van unloaded even before I had Noah out of the car. They then carried all up to Morgan's room.) She wasn't to thrilled with me wanting to take pictures. Get used to it girl.... there will be plenty more.

She is all moved in..... now she needs some decorations to make it feel more like home.

The cookie Meredith's Mom got for them.

Morgan and Meredith

Morgan was so excited to get a awesome room mate.

Morgan is living in the Saylor Ackerman Hall

A rally to get the kids excited about the new year.

Are we at Hogwarts? I thought this was Capital University.

All the freshman going through the gates to start their new adventure at Capital U

Morgan and Meredith making their pass through the gates.

Good Luck Morgan, we are so proud of you.

You are going to do great things.

Love Your Family

Will Noah be able to use a I-Pad as a communication device?

I usually make Noah food right before I feed it to him. That way he is eating the same things we are. On Saturday we went to the zoo. So, on Friday we had to make his lunch and supper to take with us. I've been really wondering if Noah would be able to use the new I-Pad as a communication device. So I made up some pictures for Noah to choose what he wanted to pack for his lunch and supper for the zoo.

I had him chose between carrots and mixed veg tables. As you can see in this picture he is choosing carrots.
To make sure he wanted carrots I asked him and he clearly said yes. I had him choose his sandwiches, fruit and whether he wanted juice or milk as well.

Here he is pouring in the carrots.

When he was all done choosing and adding he was ready to blend it all up.

I really think with some more practice with him showing what his answer is by touching it, he'll be ready to use the I-Pad. I'm so excited!!!!! A whole new world will open up for him.

The Best of Both Worlds

I finally got a phone call from the Shelby School system and was able to sit down and discuss what we can both do to help Noah. Noah will be receiving in home instruction 2 days a week by Mrs P. (hopefully.... she hasn't been asked yet) On Monday and Wednesdays he will be going to school for music with his friends for 45mins. He will be getting his therapies at home as well. I think we got the best of both worlds.

He can stay home and be home schooled in a less stressful environment, be able to spend time with his friends a couple times a week, get his therapies( I was looking at trying to schedule some outside therapy) and still get time with Mrs. P.

I told Noah what was going to happen next week (school starts next Tuesday in Shelby) and he seemed pretty excited about it. I need to find some good things for Noah and I to work on.

Any ideas?

Noah goes to the fair

We took Noah to the Richland County Fair the other day. He always enjoys seeing all the animals. Sometimes I even hear him trying to make the animal sounds.

He got to pet a horse.... He wasn't real sure about it. I don't think he liked the "air" coming out of its nose. Noah kept wrinkling up his nose every time the horse would do it.
He really liked the bunnies. Emily said, Noah needed a bunny to take home. I'm not real sure about that. I guess he needs to ask his Daddy.

What I want for Noah......

Last spring Noah and I visited his new school he would start in the fall. With great anticipation of wonderful things in store for Noah. He got a tour of the school and he met his new teacher Mrs. P. He also got to meet his new friends that would be in his class.
I've been talking to Noah all summer about what to expect in the fall when he went back to school. Then this last Thursday everything changed.........
I got a call from the school district. The teacher we've been wanting for Noah couldn't be his teacher because of some licensing issues. To say were devastated would be a understatement.
I was asked to make a list of things I was wanting for Noah. This is what I gave them:
A calm, relaxing atmosphere: less stressful = healthier Noah
A teacher change for Noah (6yrs with any teacher is enough)
Mrs. M didn't really "know" Noah well enough (even after 6yrs)to read his cues correctly. That appeared to frustrate Noah, which led to stress, which led to him ending up sick.
His way of answering "yes" is a quick long blink. She would wait until he would blink (if he doesn't blink right away, the answer is "no"), and then say "I thought so" or mark his answer wrong. Everyone needs to blink sooner or later.
On Monday at the pool party we talked to Mrs. P for quite some time. She was very excited to find a way for Noah to learn. Her ideas on age-appropriate things was spot-on to what I've been wanting for Noah. The last several years I feel Noah's learning has become stagnant. We were looking forward to Noah having a new teacher with fresh ideas. We were seeing some real possibilities for Noah to grow and learn in a new relaxed, less stressful atmosphere.
i hated watching Noah instantly getting stressed out taking him to school. Even this past Monday at the picnic , he started with his heavy breathing when he saw Mrs. M. I told it would be okay. This was a picnic with all of his friends and that he would be able to have a new teacher , Mrs. P, when school started. In fact, I've been telling Noah all summer about what's going to happen when he goes back to school. I'm afraid of what will happen when I tell him differently.
It breaks my heart to watch Noah be so happy and healthy during the summer, and then sound so "gunky" during the school year. Its so bad his pulmonologist wants to put a camera up Noah's nose and down his throat to see how he deals with secretions. The problem is that the gunky sound is how he tries to deal with his stress and not him struggling or having trouble swallowing his saliva correctly.
In all of this , I'm just trying to relieve some of Noah's stress.

Mrs. M had a heart of gold. But, she just wasn't a good match for Noah. I believe I'm going to try and home school Noah. What would you do?

Check out this website

I don't know how to do this the "easy" way but, its too cool not to share.
www.showerchair.biz/shower-chair-users-stories-of-inspiration-and-beauty/noah's-first-shower-chair/. Maybe more people will be able to learn about Noah and his story. Every little contact helps.

Its finally here!!!!!!!!

We got Noah's shower chair today. I tried taking a picture when he was smiling. But, all I got was a blurry picture because, he was kicking and making happy noises. I can' wait until later when I have time to give him a shower in it. It'll definitely help with my back. No more waiting for someone to help me and don't have to carry him in and out of the shower.

Noah has had a summer cold for about a 1 1/2 weeks now. I took him the the doctor last week to make sure it was just a cold. He weighed 57.6lbs. That just blows my mind. Its so cute looking at his little belly. I'm glad he is finally gaining weight but, its making extra hard to pick him up and just love on him.