Fall is Here!

Fall has been so much fun for us. Nolan went on a field trip to the fire station with his school. Jeff went with his class. They got to tour the station and sit inside the fire truck. He also joined them on a trip to Blake's Apple Orchard. Nolan had fun riding the "train", picking his own pumpkin, picking his own apples and playing with his friends. We had many Halloween celebrations. First, we went with the Wyckoffs to Greenfield Village. Nolan just wanted to walk like usual. He wasn't real interested in collecting candy. It was decorated really nicely and the boys had fun. Nolan dressed up and trick or treated at therapy, then came to visit mommy at work. The next day, he had a Halloween party at school and then went to the potluck at Jeff's office. On Saturday, we went to the Zoo Boo. Again, Nolan was mostly interested in walking, not collecting candy so much. He dressed as a Detroit Tiger. Surprise, surprise.

Earlier that day, Jeff had his championship game for the flag football team he coaches. When we got to the field, Nolan ran a half mile around the track without stopping! This is the kid that we weren't sure if he'd ever walk. I just couldn't believe it. He was so happy running. I was for sure he would tire, but he didn't. I made him stop after a half mile.

For November, we have been focusing on preparing the house to put it on the market. We thought it was in decent shape, but many things go unnoticed until you really evaluate.

Nolan continues to go to gymnastics. He likes it for the most part. He does prefer to do his own thing; however, lately he has been following the coach and the group. His favorite is the trampoline for sure. At his last physiatry appointment, the doctor noticed a remarkable difference in his trunk strength. The only thing we can attribute to is gymnastics. Gymnastics has had a two-fold purpose for us and it seems to be serving Nolan well.

Nolan has been out of therapy for three months and will return at the beginning of December three days a week, one day of OT and two days of PT. He will continue his ST at his old clinic to make it four days. We hope to have him graduated by Spring when his SLT has her baby. Our goal is for him to start preschool at the therapy clinic for three semesters to fully prepare him for either mainstream preschool or go straight to kindergarten.

We are looking forward to being home for Thanksgiving. We will have to finish up the house and hopefully get the pictures taken for the listing. We will probably go to Maggiano's for dinner again.

Nolan's language is growing by the day. The concepts he understands and the words he knows surprise me everyday. He is such a joy to be around and just plain fun. Our newest adventure is learning how to play Memory. Nolan can easily beat me without me letting him. Saturday night, he left the living room and went into his bedroom. We noticed it was very quiet which usually means trouble. I peeked in and he was sitting at his table and had his Memory cards all laid out and was studying them. It was so cute. We continue to try to find things to challenge him daily, which is a challenge for us! I think that after Christmas, we will try phonics and reading/spelling.