Thankful

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Gabe is doing well in 3rd grade. We are working through some behavior issues though. He likes to be silly, say no, and run away from difficult things. Days are never really bad, but it is rare that he gets stars for every task he completes at school. However, the past 2 days, he has earned all of his stars and had great days. He was so proud of himself. We are continuing to work on Gabe talking more to his peers. We got in touch with a fluency specialist. She performed an assessment on Gabe and it was fascinating. She counted number of stutters or delays per syllable. He scored significant enough to qualify for services. He tends to stutter or have trouble planning out his words when he is having conversations versus when it is scripted (reading a book). We start this specific therapy next week. I am so hopeful. Gabe wants to interact more with peers and hopefully this will give him the tools to be more confident and conversational. He has so much in his head he wants to share...he just needs to get it all out. He has such wonderful classmates and friends who show him patience and understanding and just love him to pieces. Gabe also started a dance class called Remarkable Movements at Dance Expressions Theatre. It's PT disguised as dance. He loves it. He loves checking himself out in the mirror...it's hilarious. Alyssa is rocking 1st grade...I never had a doubt that she would. she was student of the month for November. She loves swimming, gymnastics, all things sparkly, magic tricks, jokes, and science experiments. She is so fun. She just turned 7. I love my kids and how they are growing and who they are becoming. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for: - my family - my friends who don't judge me when it takes days for me to call them back - parents/Grandparents who come to the rescue - a profession that challenges me, exhausts me, inspires me, and gives back to me in so many ways - my health - my family's health - my marriage (11 years strong) - my local Down syndrome community who "gets it" and offers wonderful resources and advice - all of you Justin says he is thankful b/c he has gotten everything he has ever wanted...great kids, great family, a great wife, and a company I built. Alyssa wants me to add that she is thankful for family, shelter, donuts, pets, community helpers, and TV Gabe says he is thankful for "you".