Here's Johnny!

The horse that is..

Johnny is Owen's Hippotherapy horse. I think it's time to update how fabulous Owen's doing at his weekly Hippotherapy session. First off, Special Strides is just a fantastic place that I am so happy that I found out about. You can read more about them here at www.specialstrides.com. I think that this has become the highlight of Owen's week. He gets so happy when he gets there and literally now just takes his therapist by the hand and is ready to go. We've even mastered wearing a helmet, which I personally think is the cutest thing ever!
These photos are from 2 weeks ago when it was very muddy and they had an indoor session. Owen was a little bit distracted because Daddy was there but he still managed to get some great shots. Back to Owen, he's just rocking therapy. He's riding backwards like a champ, they have him doing high fives, peek a boo and clapping along to songs all while riding along with other therapy tactics. They even are able to cover his eyes so he can find his center of balance. They are even able to ask him if he's centered and he'll straighten himself right out. All reports from the staff are that he's made SUCH improvement with listening during his sessions, he's always in the moment, happy, and so vocal. They all feel that he's sooo close to talking, it's just a matter of when. Which I'd just like to add- Not soon enough! They actually said that he's one of those kids that proves that Hippotherapy is so important to a delayed child. Below are bunch of photos from the session that show how the short man is the Big Man on a horse!

I apologize for the red eye, I can't fix them in Blogger.. Also if you would like to see any bigger for those that don't know, just click on the photo!

Also big news-- Owen's got his "personal assistant" at school. Basically, his one to one aide to really push Mr. Lazy Pants to do better. I'm really happy about it, and I guess calling the school a few times to complain helped get her a bit sooner. :) Her name is Miss Penny and she's blond and he's smitten. He's spent the last 3 days attempting to flirt his way out of work. This should probably last this week, and the early part of next week. If I know my son, he'll attempt kissing her tomorrow or Monday and when that doesn't work he'll just throw in the towel.

Tired and Talking...

The boy had a day of overstimulation, consumption of way too many snacks, and was temporarily traumatized by Build a Bear for some reason and tonight when going to bed in a fit of anger said "ELMO"!

So, I'm going to call today a good day, we had another word. :)

The 4am Bandit

Don't you wish you looked this cute getting up at 4am and staying awake for 12 hours without a nap?

A Tumble, A Sprinkle and A Toss!

Owen loves to rough play. Throw him around, give him a piggyback ride, tight hugs and all is well in Owenland. I've been working on teaching him to do a tumblesault for, I don't know... forever. :) I usually bring him in the bedroom, put him in the position and just flip him over. And Over. And Over. Well, it worked, because he finally did it, and I as usual, missed it. I was in the shower washing off the stink from going to the gym, and he just decided he was going to do it for Daddy. Rich being awesome though, grabbed the camera and got action shots!

Then, we had a sprinkling of pee on the potty at school! This is huge! He's been sitting on the potty for a bit now, loves to flush, and really loves to rip his diaper off with poop in it so we're all anxious for the potty days to be here! He apparently didn't think a thing about it and was nonplussed about the fuss they made about him doing the deed. Hopefully, peepee days are here!

We've also achieved playing with our Bean Bag Toss. Santa brought us one that we set up during the first Snowmaggedon of 2010 and we've been playing with it but with not too much success. I don't know if he just didn't give a crap or finally got it, but now we're a bean bag tossing champ with much success!

The Dentist!

Owen went to the dentist today, and he did
FANTASTIC!

We took him to Kidzdent in Old Bridge. I had heard great things about their practice and they lived up to my expectations. www.kidzdent.com is where you can go to find out more about their practice. I loved that they had a Special Needs Center that caters to children on the Autism Spectrum.

First off, Owen LOVED the waiting room! It was a big playground and he made himself at home as shown...

We only waited about 10 minutes and we were called by the hygenist, Karina. She took us right back to the room and Owen climbed right into the chair and started playing in the mirror and holding his car up! Shocked, would be to put it mildly but really, really happy about it.

Then, she got started and he was a champ. She showed him all the instruments, including Mr. Tickly the toothbrush and Mr. Drinky and he was fine. He only cried a tiny bit at the end when she brushed his teeth with the regular toothbrush that he gets at home all the time. Go Figure.

His teeth are healthy, clean and no cavities to be seen! His teeth are crowded so the dentist said we should prepare for braces.. Oh Joy.

Then, at the end, he got to pick his prize, but didn't have an interest so we gave him a sticker. He was, as usual, awesome.

This post is brought to you today by the number Four and The USPS

We've had a few more words. First up-- The number Four. Or Fou-ah as Owen called it. He yelled it out when we were climbing stairs. I guess the constant counting up and down has been sinking in a bit...

Then, he said HI! Our neighbor was outside and we were chatting. He bent down to say Hi to Owen and he replied back. It was so cute and I could have cried.

He also went to an assembly at school about the Post Office and apparently loved it. This just cracks me up!

Chasing, Following Directions, and some WORDS!

We've been busy, and it's a good thing.

First up-- Chase! We've begun chasing. We run and he follows and when we say "uh oh, are you going to get Mommy, or Daddy?" He laughs and runs faster. It's adorable, appropriate and a good workout.

Following Directions-- We're doing REALLY well with this. He understands SO much. Go to the bathtub, let's change your diaper, time to go bye bye. He's just following so much, it's sometimes like having a different kid.

WORDS-- We're hearing a lot of different sounds, babbling, jabbering and occasionally some words. They are really mushy, but since we are always on the lookout for them, we tend to pick up on them where other people may not. For example- Every time we go up and down the stairs, we count. We've heard a mushy seven, eight, and two all on different days. We've had some semi-consistent Bye Bye which is "Buh Buh". Tonight, during his nightly "i want a cookie, i don't care that i have brushed my teeth" fit Rich and I both heard him say "I want it". We were both in other rooms and we both said "Did he say that?" We're also hearing a consistency in his babble. He's saying a lot of the same things, like he's trying to say something. It's exciting, but frustrated at times because he really wants to communicate and we're all so ready for him to break through..

Last but not least-- POTTY TRAINING!

Yup, we're in the beginning stages. Owen has always been happy to sit in poop and pee. Never bothered him at all. We've had a few cases of diapers being ripped off immediately after poop and pee, being led by the hand requesting a diaper change and he's wanting privacy when doing his business. So, we've been sitting him on the potty and he's having fun. Flushing the toilet is just Comedy Gold in his book but nothing has been done, yet. They've also started the Toilet Readiness Program at school with him. He's sitting on the potty there as well and wearing Pull Ups. He's feeling like a big boy and loving it, but still hasn't done anything at school either. I'm sure he'll go on the Potty at school first. So, we're starting the gentle push. We'll see what happens...