just passing through

Goodbye preschool - hello Kindergarten!
Last Thursday, we enjoyed Owen's preschool graduation; it was a cute little program and he actually played it cool for the most part. His teacher had warned me that he had been a real clown during practice, making all the kids crack up at various points. I believe her exact words were, "you are bringing a video camera, right?"
So, the little boy with the endless amount of energy, imagination, and humor gets a few months off before the bright lights of Kindergarten. For us, as it is with Cassidy's education, it's up to us to pay as much attention to his education as we do with Grant's. There is no IEP to keep us on track, no regular team meetings, no outside therapies. Whew.

Goodbye schoolboy - hello citizen!
Immediately after Owen's program, we raced home to get Grant ready for his big day at City Hall. A few weeks back, the city had assigned local fire hydrants for painting by the two schools in the immediate area. Grant's class was chosen to be responsible for one of the hydrants; they all had a great time painting it a variety of colors. Most exciting of all, his teacher asked if Grant (and 1 other boy from the class) would help represent the class when the classes would be honored at the City Council meeting for their civic service.
He's pretty easy to pick out in this picture; he's the one looking straight at the camera as if to say, "what are you guys doing to me here?" He did pretty good for being in a completely foreign situation and we escaped out of there before he got too noisy. I definitely got a little teary-eyed seeing our big boy up there.

Goodbye 6th grade - hello Junior High!
With the buzz of the previous night's festivities still fresh, the next morning was Cassidy's graduation from 6th grade. We have been so fortunate to have so many good teachers through the elementary school years. I think she will be remembered by many as the girl who got along with everybody, and especially for her tender heart to the special needs kids. In 3rd and 4th grade, she would play with those kids at recess and got other kids to enjoy doing that as well - she's an incredible kid.
Can it really be that she's heading into 7th grade? Can it really be that I am SO not ready for that?


Goodbye sleep - hello fundraiser!
After a full day of 6th grade girls partying at our house after graduation and then a few hours of sleep, it was time for the 2007 Walk Now. We've participated for 5 years now. It's great to have family come out and support you, and it's humbling to have so many people donate to a worthy cause through our team. However, given that Cure Autism Now has become part of Autism Speaks, and given the many concerns over what/how Autism Speaks is focusing on, we'll probably be raising money for a different organization next year. Any suggestions?



Goodbye lost boy - hello Grant!
This has to be one of the best pictures of Grant we've captured since this all began. It is just truly amazing to look back and see how far he's come, how hard he has fought to learn, and realize what progress he has made. He's no longer "lost", while we may have short periods where he's "somewhere else", he is really enjoying life and our family. Although his communication is slowly progressing, it is definitely progressing nonetheless. Just in the past week, he has asked for me when I wasn't there (daddy?), he has used a compound word (shower door), and tonight he "gave directions" to me by using his finger to draw a path in the air to show me what he wanted me to do. There is a very long way to go, but in a race with no defined markers, he's definitely going in the right direction.