Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, sweet friends! I'm hoping you've all had a fabulous week full of personal successes & abundant happiness! It's been a busy, chaotic week in our household as we adjusted to a new routine to include Brooke's pre-school. I blame our new, active schedule (and too much homework!) for my lack of blogging. I'll aim to accomplish a few extra posts next week, but I'm admittedly struggling to find available time to write. After my regretted absence from the blogging world, I'm excited to be back for Friday Favorites. Like always, I'll be linking up with the lovely Andrea, Narci, & Erika. I encourage you to check our their terrific blogs sometime!

Like I previously mentioned, this week was Brooke's first week of preschool! She's returning to the same school that she (& Mason) attended previously- it's a specialized Special Needs class that focuses on the specific needs surrounding Autism. While she'll be in the same class as last year, she has a new teacher! I was anxious to see how Brooke responded to an unfamiliar teacher, but I've received encouraging reports that it's been a successful transition! She's been increasingly verbal inside the classroom as the week progresses, and there's reportedly been ample amounts of smiles & laughter from my sweet girl! Seeing Brooke blossom as she begins school has been my favorite!

Waking up early for school is not Brooke's favorite! 

A fun comparison of (a very grumpy) Brooke from last year's & this week's 1st day of school 

A few favorite photos from Brooke's first week of school!

A car-nap was Brooke's favorite after-school activity on Wednesday afternoon

  Hanging out with this crazy kid while Big Brother & Sister are at school has been one of my favorite things to do this week! I'm so grateful for the time I have to spend with my littlest love; I know its these special, little memories that we make during the mornings that will last us a lifetime. I make an effort to do something memorable each week & strive to spoil Miss Emmy with all of my attention while we're together- I don't want to look back on my life & realize that I wasted the precious time I had with my last baby by living in a state of perpetual distraction. 

Eating ice-cream at ChickFilA is Emmy's favorite!

It may seem minimal to the majority of you, but I'm so proud to see Emmy feeding herself! Self-feeding isn't a skill that has necessarily come easily to Mason & Brooke, but Emmy is clearly successful at the task, especially when it involves yummy ice-cream! When you've dealt with special needs/ developmental delays, you consider (even seemingly insignificant) "normal" development as exciting & triumphant!

I delivered donuts (from our favorite: The Donut Haus) this week to PK & his team at work. My handsome dude has been enthusiastically operating in his new role as a manager for a few weeks, and is undoubtedly thriving! I'm remarkably proud of my man, and I'm enjoying seeing him perform so positively as a leader. 

(It should also be noted how embarrassed he was to take this picture for me!)

Thanks for reading along! Have an incredible weekend (:

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Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites: Back to School Edition

 

Happy Friday!  My initial goal was to have this post published much earlier this morning, but I'm still attempting to find a balance between being a mom/ wife/ student/ blogger. Unfortunately, when I get excessively busy, the only thing I can responsibly procrastinate is this blog. As we eventually settle into our new school schedule, I'm sure I'll find a more effective routine that is more conducive to blogging! It's technically Friday (for just a few hours) as I sit down to write this post, so I'll still label this post as my Friday Favorites & I'll link up with the lovely Andrea, Narci, & Erika.

This week was a big week for the Moellman family: PK & I started our college courses on Monday, and Mason began kindergarten on Wednesday! To commemorate this special season of our family's life, we made sure to enjoy a variety of our favorite things throughout the week!

On Sunday afternoon, we dropped off Emmy at Gigi's house & took our big kids to the local indoor pool; Mason & Brooke positively adore swimming & playing in the water! We enjoyed floating along together in the lazy river, and Mason was thrilled to slide down the water-slide countless amounts of times!

  Experiencing this boy's joy as he plummeted down the water-slide was my favorite!

Tuesday afternoon we piled into the car & traveled to one of our family's favorite places: Jumpin'! (an indoor inflatable play area). Whenever we've come here in the past, challenging chaos has inevitably ensued while attempting to chase our 3 crazy enthusiastic kids around. However, this visit included 3 joyfully ecstatic children who behaved wonderfully! Copious amounts of fun were had by everyone involved, including Mom & Dad.   

After spending the beginning half of the week excitedly celebrating his upcoming adventure, Mason finally started kindergarten on Wednesday morning! I experienced a multitude of mixed emotions as I prepared to leave my handsome boy for his first day of school: anticipation, sadness, joy, satisfaction, and even gratification. It hasn't been an easy journey to get where we are today, but we did it! Mason has triumphantly overcome a myriad of challenging obstacles throughout the past 5 years, and I'm confident he is capable of infinite successes as he embarks on this new adventure.

I discovered this poem on Pinterest & felt like it summed up my thoughts & reflections perfectly!

Here a few of my favorite pictures from Mason's first week of kindergarten!

He looked SO handsome!

Before school, I took Mason on a breakfast date to his favorite donut place: Lamars! This kid loves donut holes! 

Walking in to his new school & sweetly sitting at his desk!

Day 2!

Mason will be attending an autism-centered class; there are several kids of different ages, all with autism, in his class. As he continues to learn & progress, he has the opportunity to spend increasing amounts of time integrating with the "standard" kindergarten class. So far, he's done appropriately well acclimating to his new environment & sufficiently communicating with his teachers !

While Mason was actively enjoying his first week of kindergarten, we were occupied getting Brooke (our favorite middle daughter!) prepared for preschool! We attended a Meet the Teacher event at her school, had a meeting with her new teacher in our home, and did plenty of shopping for new school clothes!

Brooke enjoying her favorite puzzle at the Meet the Teacher function at her pre-school

She may have an adequate amount of new outfits for the new school year! Shopping for my beautiful girl is my favorite!

Although I'm sure most of my lovely readers wont have the opportunity to browse this post until Saturday, thanks for reading along & perusing my Friday Favorites! Have a marvelous weekend, friends!

Just for fun, as we celebrate Mason's kindergarten kickoff, here's a flashback to my first day of kindergarten! My hair was AWFUL, but I was already a fabulous poser! (;

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Friday Favorites: Back to School Edition

What's Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm hoping the first half of your week has gone by smoothly & blissfully. Today I'll be joining a few of my fellow (fabulous) bloggers, Mel, Shay, & Shaeffer, for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. It's a fun, refreshing method for me to share with my readers what various things our family has been up to recently!

What We're Eating This Week: 

 I'd love to post some elaborate meal plan full of healthy, delectable cuisine, but that's simply not how our family operates! Instead, we'll probably enjoy a few nights of grilling and devour several savory frozen meals (; Luckily, our lovely city hosts several Food Truck rally's each month. These events are fun opportunities to sample unique, tasty creations from local food trucks. Our favorites have included lobster rolls, waffles, fajita tacos, BBQ nachos, and elk sausage! 

Enjoying the Food Truck Rally on Tuesday evening

As far as my kiddos go, autism often goes hand in hand with food aversions. Children with autism are significantly more likely to have mealtime challenges such as extremely narrow food selections, ritualistic eating behaviors, and meal-related tantrums. We struggle with Mason & Brooke's awfully limited diet on a daily basis. Thankfully, we've found a few things they're willing to eat that have a decent nutritional value, but they routinely eat the same things each day.  However, Emmy enjoys eating whatever is put in front of her! She typically eats whatever anyone else is dining on, and doesn't require a singular, separate meal to be prepared for her.

What I'm Reminiscing About:

My sweet boy, Mason Cole!  This handsome kid started kindergarten this morning! I'm SO proud of the little man he is becoming. He's accomplished so many remarkable things over the last few years, despite facing significant challenges & frustrating obstacles. He's been perfectly adorable since the day he was born, and I'm thrilled to continue to watch him grow and progress now that he's entered the exciting world of elementary school! 

What I'm Loving:

 Now that school is starting for Mason & Brooke, I'll have more alone time with this precious angel! Of course I miss my big kids while they're gone, but I'm so grateful to have my cherished time to spend one-on-one with Miss Emmy. Sending Mason off to kindergarten is a distinct reminder that time with my babies is limited, so I'm eager to spend it making sweet memories in the mornings with my beautiful girl! I want to use these moments to remind myself how fleeting this season truly is. We are blessed, mommas, to get to raise these little hearts!

What We've Been Up To:

With summer break coming to a close, we made sure to spend an abundance of time enjoying our kiddos as they engaged in their most beloved activity: joyfully playing at the park!

We've also been actively preparing for Mason to start kindergarten! We excitedly attended Meet the Teacher night, participated in the kindergarten picnic (Emmy enjoyed the watermelon!), and have been reading through numerous Back to School themed stories.

What I'm Dreading:

Now that school has started for myself (I'm returning to college!) and Mason, I'm not thrilled at the prospect of extensive amount of homework! I'm also not overly fond of waking up early to get everyone ready for school! 

What I'm Watching/ Reading:

Regrettably, PK & I have NO time to actually sit down & read. The only stories I've read recently are those involving racoons & Clifford the Big Red Dog! 

 

It's also challenging for us to find time to enjoy television shows. It regularly takes us 4-5 hours to simply finish a 1-hour program! But when we do find the opportunity, here are a few of our favorites:

What I'm Doing this Weekend:

Does Friday count as the weekend? Let's pretend it does. I'm SO excited to be attending my first MOPs meeting on Friday morning. I always look forward to any opportunity to fellowship with other mothers; It's such a extraordinary occasion to (hopefully) be inspired by the friendship & knowledge of a new, diverse group of moms!

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:
I am anxiously anticipating our vacation next month! PK & I are celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary in October. To commemorate the special occasion, we're traveling  to our favorite destination: the beach! We'll be headed to Santa Monica, CA to visit Venice Beach Boardwalk & Six Flags Magic Mountain. I'm SO blessed to be married to such a selfless, responsible, affectionate guy & I can hardly wait to spend 3 lovely days together by the ocean!

 The last time we visited the beach in June 2012

Thanks SO much for reading along today! May the remainder of your week be blessed with God's abundant love!

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What's Up Wednesday

Tuesday's Top 3: Kindergarten Edition

*I apologize for some of the formatting on this post being off. I attempted to write this post on my phone, and it ended up messing up some of the fonts/ picture settings, and now I'm unable to edit it*

Happy Tuesday, friends! Today I'll be continuing with my Tuesday's Top 3 theme and sharing 3 things that our family has been doing to prepare ourselves for Mason's 1st day of kindergarten (which happens to be tomorrow!!). 

Mason Cole:

You're a risk taker & mess maker. 

You're a confident doer of exciting things, and your curious brain craves action & novelty. 

You're an observant seeker of adventure, and your endlessly moving, playing & exploring. 

& you're going to rock kindergarten!

As we embark on this new, exciting journey, I can't help but ask myself, "How did we get here?!" Mason came as an unexpected surprise when I was only 19. Being young & naive, I had no idea where our journey together would lead us & what obstacles we would encounter along the way. We've faced unexpected challenges as a result of Mason's autism, but we've also been abundantly blessed by his remarkable victories. Over the last 5 years, we've been exhausted, and fed up, and overwhelmed, and overjoyed. And now we're here; we've made it! While I'm nervously anxious to hand over my sweet boy to his (entirely capable) teachers, I'm SO excited & eager to see what achievements Mason will undoubtably accomplish this year! 

Here are 3 things we've been doing to help ensure that Mason's transition into kindergarten will be successful! 

1) Books!

A couple of weeks ago, we took Mason to Barnes & Noble to pick out some new books that centered around the theme of "kindergarten" & "Back to School". We found several options and decided to have an impromptu story time! We enjoyed reading through a few stories, and then selected a few more to take home and read throughout the next couple of weeks, prior to school starting. 

I absolutely love any opportunity to read to my kids, and consciously make an effort to instill in them the same adoration for reading that PK & I both possess.

Our Back to School book haul!

Reading with Daddy 

2) Potty Training 

Potty training any child is difficult, but potty training a child on the autism spectrum can be particularly trying. Our little ones like their routines and are usually resistant to change. Additionally, they often have sensory issues & ritualized/ repetitive behaviors which make it difficult to transition from their diapers to the potty (which is a new, unfamiliar place, with different sights, sounds, & feels to process). Furthermore, kiddos with limited expressive language capacity aren’t able to easily tell us when they need to use the bathroom. However, PK & I made it a centralized goal to attempt to have Mason potty trained before kindergarten. While he's not entirely there, we've made significant progress! It will take consistent, continual effort, but Mason has the necessary skills, so we'll continue to encourage him to conquer this goal and eliminate diapers from our routine! 

3) Shopping!

Throughout the summer, I'd been anxiously awaiting to take Mason school-supply shopping! Apparently I'm a total nerd, but this has always been an activity I thoroughly enjoy! And this year presented a unique opportunity: to purchase our supplies together! (I'm taking a few college courses, too) I'm not sure Mason enjoyed this step of kindergarten preparation as much as I did, but he sure did look handsome trying out his new backpack! 

And, of course, it was necessary to make sure my little dude had an abundance of cute clothes to wear once school starts! 

Uncle Aidan may have started a new Nike obsession for the little man ;)

We've done what we can to prepare my favorite little dude for the exciting adventure of kindergarten! Now it's his turn; it's time for Mason to learn & create, to be challenged, and to explore & ultimately discover lots of new, exciting things!  

Like many aspects of parenthood, I'm approaching this unfamiliar experience with faith that God will allow for a smooth, peaceful transition. I know that He will protect Mason, and ensure that my remarkable little boy will thrive as he embarks on this new beginning! Here is my prayer over my son, and any of your children who may be starting school: 

"Lord, I put my child in your hands as he enters this new world of learning & growing through education. I pray for focus & diligence to be his guide and confidence to be his foundation. Lead us as we navigate this journey; we ask for your wisdom every step of the way. Thank you for the gift of education. We trust you to lead our way. Amen!" 

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Tuesday's Top 3: Kindergarten Edition

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, ya'll! Hope everyone had a fabulous week. Like always, I'll be joining up with the sweet & lovely Andrea, Erika, and Narcy today for Friday Favorites.

 This handsome stud's new job & schedule are certainly favorites this week!

This week was uniquely different for our family as we transitioned into PK'S new job (the promotion I talked about here... he was hired for the position on the spot!). Previously, his schedule included working Friday- Monday; his days off were during the week. With this promotion, he'll be working a more traditional schedule: Monday- Friday. I'm thrilled at the prospect of finally having the opportunity to participate in weekend activities with my whole family! Without PK's help, I'm not normally able to attend any special occasions that occur during the weekend. Having kids with special needs means I can't simply show up to an event without added assistance; it's not easy (or necessarily safe) for me to attempt to take them out in public without an extra hand to lend support. Disappointingly, we miss a great deal of entertaining events because they're scheduled during the weekend while PK is at work. I'm absolutely delighted that this incredibly beneficial opportunity for PK's career has been additionally favorable for our family's schedule, as well. #WinWin

PK's promotion to Manager meant I got do one of my favorite things: go shopping for my man!

Brooke's new & improved sleeping habits are favorites this week, too!

If you know my family personally, you're probably aware that Brooke's sleep schedule is one of the more difficult struggles we've faced with Brooke as a result of her Autism. Unfortunately, sleep problems are very common in children with autism; basically her little brain simply can't shut off- it's too stimulated, even at night. Sleep is such a critical component of health, and insufficient sleep significantly impacts Brooke's daytime behaviors, making her challenging behaviors even worse. When Emmy was born, Brooke's sleeping patterns began to regress & steadily worsened. A temporary solution was to allow her to sleep in our bed, but that ultimately failed, as well. My poor girl wouldn't typically fall asleep until 2 AM or later, and would be absolutely miserable when I attempted to wake her up each morning. We conclusively determined to follow the advice of a fellow autism-mom & emptied out her room entirely, leaving only her bed & blankets- no lights, no toys & nothing else to stimulate her brain. We also accepted the notion that medication could be a beneficial option & began administering Melatonin a couple of hours prior to her bedtime. I'm pleased to announce that for the past several nights, Miss Brooke has been asleep before midnight & has slept through the night in her own room. Praise the Lord! 

Meeting Mason's kindergarten teacher & seeing his new classroom was a 

fun favorite this week!

On Thursday evening, I had the opportunity to attend a Meet the Teacher night at Mason's new school. He'll be starting kindergarten next week, and this was an important step of the process I'd been looking forward to. Mason will be attending an Autism-centered class at his new elementary school, but he'll also have occasions each day where he'll integrate with the standard classroom. Thursday night's event was a chance for me to meet the teacher of the standard class he'll be assimilating with: Ms Hayes. It's so inspiring to meet one of the impressive ladies responsible for facilitating the thinking, engaging the mind, listening to the questions, and supporting the struggles of my little man, and ultimately cultivating the dreams I have for him as he enters the exciting world of kindergarten! But as I admired his name-tag on the table, I realized that while this is certainly a sign of a significant beginning for my sweet, handsome man, it's also a graduation of sorts for me! I survived. Being Mason's mom was so full of unexpected challenges & victories, but I'm so proud of the journey that we've walked through together during the last 5 years. I've watched as my heart grew outside of my body, and now I'm preparing myself to leave my little prince in this new environment, and I'm ready to watch him thrive! 

To end this Friday's blog post on a silly, happy note: Miss Emmy Kate's favorite activity at the dinner table is to dip her food! And if what she's dipping into happens to be some yummy queso? All the better! I took this photo while we were out to dinner (celebrating PK's new promotion), and when I subsequently found this meme on Erika's blog, I immediately knew it would go along perfectly with our silly, queso-loving, chip-dipper! The Moellman family supremely enjoys our Mexican food!

Thanks for reading along, friends! Have a lovely weekend & "may your Friday sparkle!"

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Friday Favorites