I can't believe how long it has been since my last post! No news is good news. So where to begin with the update...
John is now walking!!! He is selective and only walks when he wants. He is really fast scooting, so he would prefer to scoot, but we are working on him. He is doing so well in our new house. He can get anywhere in the house. He has a few words now. Hat, and hi. He is also mimicking noises, which is a great. John is starting preschool on October 19th! The town we live in has a wonderful special ed program. We have already met with his "TEAM" and I have a really great feeling about them. Things are really going well for us here. Our neighbors are wonderful, it is quiet, and very dog friendly. It sure has been nice to get our own place, our belongings back, and settle down. Sienna is doing wonderful. She started Kindergarten inwhich she loves. She is making more friends than I can keep up with. She has a new boyfriend, (but still claims that Blake is her Crested Butte boyfriend!) She is playing soccer, and doing ballet. The little girl upstairs is 2 months younger than her, and they have become best friends. It could not have worked out better for us here. I am fortunately still working at the shelter. Due to my previous employment here, I was able to use "Seniority" and avoid layoffs! I also qualify for ed pay, so I am applying to go to grad school to receive my MSW! I am sending off the application this week. The school I am applying to has a pt program which allows me to continue working. Since John is going to school 5x a week, I figured I should take advantage of this opportunity. I have a lot of down time at work that I will be able to do homework.
Johnny is getting busy at work which is good. He has been doing a great job as Mr. Mom.
So again everything is going well here. I cannot access my blog at work, which is why I am not updating much. I will try to do better. I will also try to post some pics. I hope you all are doing well, and thank you again for your continued support!

Well, we are getting ready to move! We are allowed in the apartment to paint and clean, so we have been over there the last couple of days. The neighbors above us have a little girl one month younger than Sienna, and they get along already. Little John is so excited there. He can scoot, and walk (with his walker) around the whole place. He scooted so much the last couple of days he has a sore on his ankle. He is still doing good. We haven't been to any doctor appointments lately, but we will begin another round of them started at the end of August. Last week his therapist made him a picture book of his favorite toys, the car, stroller, bike cart, me, Johnny, Sienna, etc. He absolutely loves it. He gets so excited to pick out which toy he wants to play with. I guess the other day while I was at work he was looking at my picture saying ma ma. So I am not writing much on the blog these days, but I will continue to keep you all updated. I am happy that there isn't much going on. Like I said we will start going to the doctor a bunch after August, so I am sure I will be on more. Hope you all are well. We will be moving the next couple of weeks, so I will be busy.

Well, we are moving into our own place. We signed a lease last week on an apartment in Belmont. We get to move in Aug 1! Belmont is the town I was waiting tables at, and I have loved it ever since. I found some movers that will move our stuff from CB and bring it to us so that we do not have to deal with going back and getting it. We are ready to get our belongings out of storage, and settle down in a place. One reason I picked Belmont is because the schools are some of the best in the state. It will be good for Sienna, as well as for little John. They have excellent special ed programs. He is still going to get to go to preschool this October, and will transition from Cambridge to Belmont in time for his birthday. So exciting I can hardly wait. The apartment is big and open, and everything is on the first floor, so John will have the freedom to move around as he would like to. So that is our exciting news. Work is still going great for me. I am a little nervous about budget cuts and layoffs. I am sure I am not the only one. Hope you all are doing well.

We had a great time at the walk for Children's Hospital. Thank you all so for your support, as it made me feel as I am giving back for all they have done for us. We raised over $1200! It was our first fundraiser like this, and we can't wait to do it again next year!

John is doing well. He is trying to sing, and talk, as well as dance, and sign. I can't even believe everything he is doing. He even started taking some bites of pudding the other day off of my finger. So again I just can't even express all that he is doing. We did meet with our genetic doctor. We all decided that he would not benefit from a FG diagnosis. He did mention that he is mildly mentally retarded, which is not the first time I have heard it, but it is very hard to take in. So I have been processing that one for the last 2 weeks. We decided not to get him diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as the doctors are not convinced that this is a good diagnosis for him. We were able to get diagnosed with PDD which stands for pervasive developmental disorder. John definitely falls in this criteria, and this diagnosis will get him the extra services that we have been trying to get him. He is just as happy as can be, and we absolutely love him the way he is. I still think he is perfect, although he is getting so heavy to carry around!

Sienna is graduating on Thursday from preschool. She is very excited, and will then start her summer camps to keep her busy, as well as free up some time for John's therapy and doctors.

I absolutely love my job. It is perfect for me. There is alot of down time, so I decided to apply to get my MSW. I am planning on starting in January. The state will pay for this program, and I have been wanting to do this for the last 5 years. I am almost done with my application which isn't due until October! It is only part time, so it will take me 4 years unstead of 2. I just don't think full time school is a possibility at this time. I am sure I am forgetting some more. Here are a bunch of pictures! Enjoy!!

We had a wonderful vacation in Texas. My family has almost recovered from the Hurricane damage. It was very interesting to see the damage of the storm 6 months later. I would have hated to see what it looked like when the storm hit. Little John had an excellent time. Other than pulling his gtube out of his stomach for the first time, we did good. He was in the water almost the whole time, and had a great time. We went boating, to the beach, to the pool, and to a water park in which he sat in a kid tube (with an adult and a lifejacket) and floated around the lazy river all day long. Sienna wants to move there so that we can swim everyday. I am trying to explain that it was a vacation, and we just can't play like that everyday.
I started my new job yesterday, and I think it will be the perfect job for me for a long time. Everyone that I work with has been there for many years, and they still love it there.
So we are doing well. The vacation was just what we needed, and we were lucky enough to see so many different family members. I can't wait until our next vacation! I will get some pics posted soon.

Where to begin... Obviously from the pictures, Sienna had her dance recital! She did such a great job, and loved being on stage performing. She took it very seriously, and I am so proud of her. We are already talking about next years recital! The picture of John is at the Children's museum flying an airplane. He continues to do so well. Right now he is being evaluated for preschool. So on top of all his other therapy appointments, we are meeting with another round of people to transition him into a special needs preschool. We have decided to seek a diagnosis for John. Like we haven't already been doing that. We are looking to get him diagnosed with "autism spectrum disorder". This would benefit him in which he would qualify for a very intensive therapy program. He is not your typical autistic child, but we can put him on the wide range of the spectrum, and like I said before I don't want him labeled unless it is going to help him, and this will help him.

I am so excited to be celebrating my retirement as a waitress this Saturday! I am really going to miss the new friends I have made at the new restaurant, but can always stay in touch with them. I start my new job on June 2nd. After putting in my notice, and getting a start date with DCF, I realized I had a little over a week in between jobs. So we are squeeking in a trip to Texas to visit my family. I have not seen my meme in a year and a half, which is the longest I have ever been without meme time! Sienna has been asking to see her grammy and papa as well. John, well he doesn't care, but I am sure he will have fun. I will try to get the video of Sienna's recital on utube soon.

Hope all is well.