It's come to this...

My monster has made such a mess out of my house, that we've resorted to making his room look like this:

Just kidding :-)

In June we decided to take apart Nate's full sized bed and put bunk beds in his room.  He loves being up high, and we thought that a little change in his room might be fun for him.  When my brother was a kid, my dad built these amazing bunk beds for him.  Fortunately, they were still sitting in my parents' basement and were still in great shape.  Matt and I went out, got Nate 2 mattresses, and up went the bunks! 

Nate was really excited about them, and being up so high in is room.  He loves looking out the window and sleeping on the top bunk.  Evan also loves hanging out on the top bunk.  For the first few weeks, they would spend time up there with books and toys and I was actually able to get some things done around the house!

Here's what Nate's room looks like with his new bunks

A HUGE thank you to my dad for building such great beds for my brother, to Nick for letting us put his beds in Nate's room, and to my mom who had the brilliant idea to put the bunks in Nate's room :-)

Birthday Presents

For Nate's 7th birthday we took him on a train ride through the Cuyahoga Valley.  We sprung for the first class Emerson Car which has a glass domed ceiling.  What an amazing ride for Nate's birthday!  The entire trip was about 3 hours, and he sat for almost the entire thing.  We brought snacks, books and the iPad to keep him occupied, and it turned out that we didn't need most of the stuff we brought.  He wanted some juice and snacks, but for the most part he sat and looked out the window the entire ride.  Matt and I couldn't believe how GOOD he was.  We actually felt like a "normal" family doing a "normal" thing.  Thanks Nate for surprising us with your good behavior :-)

Outside of the train

Looking up the stairs to the Emerson domed car

SOOOO happy!

Nate had such a great birthday this year.  He not only went on an amazing train ride through the valley, he got a trampoline!  Now, if you know Nate, you know that a trampoline is the PERFECT gift for him.  He bounces off the walls on a regular basis, and now he can jump to his heart's content anytime he wants.  The first time he saw the trampoline, his face lit up and he started giggling with excitement.  He immediately asked (in his own words) if he could go on.  He jumped and jumped and jumped some more.  We have had so much fun on the trampoline this summer. 

First Grade!

So, I'm sorry there were no blog posts or updates the summer (like I promised).  By the end of each night, I was completely and utterly exhausted.  We had such a busy summer and Nate was out of control for most of it.  I'll be sure to post some pictures and updates from Nate's summer soon!

Today was the first day of school.  I have been looking forward to this day since the last day of kindergarten.  No joke.  For the past week, we've been talking to Nate about going back to school and everyone that he is going to see.  When we mentioned names like Mr. Frederick, and Mr. E, he always smiled and looked super excited.  He loves those guys so much, and they treat him so well.  Last year I couldn't have asked for better people in his academic life, especially since it was his first year at a new school. 

Things have changed a bit for the current school year, and I would be lying if I said I was happy about it.  On Thursday the 16th, I got a bomb dropped on me.  I was taken by such surprise, that I didn't even know what to say.  At our beginning of the year PTA meeting, I was talking to Nate's principal.  He mentioned that there was a new intervention specialist hired into the building, and that Nate would be working with her instead of Mr. Frederick.  How I felt--shocked, confused, disappointed, depressed, irritated.  I went home to tell Matt the news, and we were both dumbfounded.  Last year, Nate advanced so much, why would they want to change that dynamic?  I'm sure that the new teacher is awesome and a great person, I'm just so confused as to why there was a change. It just makes me really sad since Nate thinks so highly of Mr. Frederick.  I guess we'll just have to see what the year brings...

Anyways- Nate was super ridiculously excited to go back to school.  This morning he got up at 7:45 and wolfed down his breakfast.  He was waiting in the bathroom for me to brush his teeth and fix his hair.  As soon as his shoes were on, he grabbed his backpack and paced around the house waiting for me to give the OK to go out to the bus stop.  I'm so glad that he loves school so much.

We went to open house this evening, and being in a first grade classroom made me so nervous for Nate.  He's sooooo different from other kids, and sooner than later, they are going to start realizing his differences.  I hope that they're accepting of him and don't make fun of the fact that he doesn't talk and has a harder time with things than typical kids.  

Nate had an awesome year in kindergarten, and I really hope that this year goes just as smoothly and he has just as many academic accomplishments.