Goodbye 2008

We had a good year! Lizzy started first grade, and loves it! She plays the violin, does tap and ballet, skates, and became a brownie. Frankie turned 2 and got potty trained and moved up to the big boy class as EI.
We had a wonderful Christmas and are snowed in for New Year's eve! Lots of snacks for
tonight! : )
Cute story from Christmas; we woke up and opened gifts from Santa and then had breakfast. While we were eating. Frankie said, "Where is Santa?" We kept telling him that Santa was coming, so he thought that he would be there for breakfast. : )
Lizzy didn't believe in Santa this year, but she is playing along for Frankie.

Potty Update!!!

Frankie is now officially wearing big boy underwear!!! He loves his Cars ones, although we are still on the lookout for Curious George ones. He goes to the potty, no problem and keeps his underwear dry. He goes out in them all the time now. It really only took a few days and he trained himself. We did a sticker reward system. Now we just have to get him consistent with number 2!
So it is quite exciting and the whole family gets excited with him! Lizzy was the one who made him a potty sticker chart.

Christmas Activities

We have been busy with many Christmas activities. The other night we went to the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA for their Zoolights celebration. We usually go before Christmas, but it was much less crowded after, which was nice. The night was also quite warm, we didn't even need hats and gloves. The zoo is covered with lights, Frankie liked touching them. : ) It is like walking in a wnter wonderland. There are some animals on exhibit, including reindeer. There are a few small kiddie rides and a section with a mini trian village, storybook character display, etc. The kids really enjoy it every year!
There is also a great lights display in Millis, MA. You can drive your car through the owner's property, quite large. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get through, stopping to look at everything. The weekends can get quite busy, the weeknights are better.
We also went, last week, to the Bass Pro Shop, in Patriot Place, Foxboro. We had been there before the holidays and it was fun for the kids to see animal statues, an aquarum, climb on the boats, etc. But for Chrstmas, they had a Santa's Wonderland, complete with Santa, crafts, decorations, etc. The kids got to see Santa and the picture was free!
I am hoping, this weekend, we can still make it to Edaville's Festival of lights. We have been to the park in the summer/fall, but the lights diaplay sounds very beautiful and fun for the kids! I will let you know if we go.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful day with family and friends!
I plan to be posting more! There seems to be a lot going on right now. I will be posting soon.

Initial IEP Process Meeting

We had a meeting about beginning Frankie's IEP process. His EI teacher and TVI were there, so that was great for me. So I understand more about the process. The sad news for me was that his TVI will not be following him when he gets into preschool! Both of his teachers have been with him since he was 5 months old, and I will really miss them. I really want to keep in touch and get together!

Potty

Frankie told me he had to go potty for the first time the other day!!! We had dropped Lizzy off at her violin lesson, and were walking down the hall of the school. He said he needed to go and we went in and he did. That was the first time he had told me and went. So we had banana bread that night for a special treat. : ) He hasn't told me again, but he is consistently getting better.

"Tea House"

I took the kids to the Dunbar Tea Room in Sandwich, MA, on Cape Cod, this past Tuesday, since Lizzy had off from school! We have been going for about 1o years now, and refer to it as the "Tea House". It is a small restaurant with a great menu that serves afternoon tea; tea, scones, sandwiches, desserts. It is delicious!! Lizzy and I, of course, love it. Frankie has been when he was younger, but I wasn't sure how he would sit through it. So I brought some new Curious George coloring sheets, stickers and big crayons. He was entertained while we waited for our food to arrive. Lizzy and I had tea, served in mini tea pots with a cloth warmer, and a strainer to put on top of your cup while you pour. She got the afternoon tea; scones with jam and cream, finger sandwiches and small desserts. I got the Cumberland crumpet melt, a crumpet with chicken salad, cranberries and melted cheese. : ) Frankie ate a bit of scone and some fruit and yogurt. It was a great lunch and Frankie did well.
We then drove to a boardwalk that goes out to the ocean. We walked on it to see a great view of the beach and ocean. It was a great day, we all had so much fun!

Kidtoon Films

Frankie saw his first movie over the summer, with Lizzy and Daddy. They went to see a Thomas the Train movie, as part of the Kidtoon Films program. This program is at many theaters across the country, that have G rated movies for kids for $3.50, every Saturday and Sunday (or Sunday and Tuesday, now, in MA). I hope to go again this Tuesday to see a Barbie Christmas movie. Check it out, it's a good rainy day activity, too.

My Election Thoughts; as Pertaining to Frankie

I voted for life in this election, something that is very important to me. I have always been pro-life and I have felt strongly about it. But now, having a special needs child, it is even more of an issue for me. To think that someone would abort a baby because it has albinism, really makes me sick. Because of this, I needed to vote for life.
So needless to say, I am a little sad from election day. I feel that the unborn will be treated with less respect than before. This makes me sad, and it is hard to explain about having a child with special needs, but it makes it even sadder.
I do hope that one day unborn children will be treated with more respect. And that people of difference in general are treated fairly.

1 2 3 and A B C

Frankie counted to 10 today and said all his ABC's! Now we need to work on colors and shapes. The shapes are coming, but colors are hard. I'm not sure if people with albinism have more of a chance of color blindness? I don't think so.

Some other things that made me happy today:
Lizzy playing her violin
Chicken rice bake
Frankie playing with his friend
Reading together