It seems as though no time has passed at all since he was a tiny little newborn, but at the same time, it sometimes feels like decades. I supposed that's just the way of things, though.
So what have we been up to lately? Well, we've had another meeting of Team Stephen, and we've increased his time in the general education classroom, to equal half days. In addition to the group learning time he's been spending in the class, we are adding in literacy centers 3 days a week (starting at one, working up to 3), as well as PE, art, and music. After seeing how much Stephen has matured and blossomed over the last month, we are very excited to see how he does with this additional time with his typical peers. His beloved special education teacher, Mr. G., said that Stephen has a buddy in the Kindergarten class who has taken it upon himself to be Stephen's "helper" when he sees that he needs it. With friends like that, I think Stephen will continue to do well.
Pa came to visit before Thanksgiving, and we had a good time together. He was only here for a short time, but hopefully we'll be able to see him again soon!
Stephen continues to enjoy swimming, and his latest accomplishment is the ability to float on his back without any assistance. He is able to get himself into a floating position now, as well.
We went to see Santa last weekend, and saw a "Caring" Santa as part of a program designed for special needs individuals to see Santa in a less stressful environment. This was really good for Stephen, because we were able to make an appointment, and he didn't have to wait in line and get upset about that. Stephen was even able to use his talker to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas (legos and books, FYI).
So we've had a great couple of months out here. Stephen's growth these last few weeks has been nothing short of amazing, and we are all just so happy.
