Evie the Extraordinary and Her Mommy: The Journey As We Go

Guys. I had a huge breakthrough today. I actually did something the feeding therapist told us to do at home.  She had suggested putting food on Evie's tray to help her feel comfortable with finger foods around her, but to actually remember to do that and implement it is another story (along with all the other therapists' suggestions for various parts of her body). This Labor Day weekend, I found myself with time to focus on her eating with the intent of being creative.  We started lunch time with a canister of star puffs. I told her I was putting 10 stars on her tray, and because she loves counting, she actually watched me do it. Then we proceeded to eat her pureed mac and cheese while singing the Hokey Pokey.  (If you want to know alternative body parts to sing to entertain yourself during the 20th verse, I'm happy to share.)   It doesn't sound like much, but Evie didn't cry or throw her star puffs, and was willing to touch them and put them back in the canister....

Today was the big day--the IEP meeting.  I've been primed to dread this day for years--pretty much once my baby was born and I started joining special needs' forums online and heard about this mysterious IEP when your child turns 3.  I hope that I can share our experience to help someone, knowing that every child's experience is different, and every town is different.  I will say that we have had a wonderfully smooth and informative experience! Here is a timeline of how things went down for Evie's entrance to preschool. 1.  6 months before she turned 2, we started hearing scary phrases like "when she turns 3" and "IEP" and "transition planning meeting." 2. Transition planning meeting : Evie's entire EI team congregated in our living room and talked about her skills and goals.  In my mind, this is probably when I made the transition from "coddle-the-NICU-baby" to "treat-my-daughter-like-a-big-girl." 3.  In the l...