8 Years!

This year we celebrated our 8 year anniversary! 3 kids and 6 moves all in 8 years. So much has been packed into so few years, but it sure has gone fast!

Dave surprised me by tying a note to some balloons, attaching them to a kite string, and then left them on the doorstep. He taught Jett how to ding dong ditch, and had him ring the doorbell for me to find the balloons. The note attached to the string said, "Please reel in the string to find your message in the clouds. Love David." It was really windy out, so the balloons were all over the place, but I finally reeled them in to find my next note.

Apart from some other mushy stuff, the note said, "I know you already know what we're doing for our anniversary but never officially asked you out. So here it goes...in celebration of our anniversary, will you do me the great honor of accompanying me to a special Sundance 4 Winds massage treatment, followed by a delicious meal at the foundry grill this Friday?"

Of course I said yes!

So Friday we got a few sitters and drove up Provo Canyon for our AMAZING massages and an INCREDIBLE dinner (everything at Sundance is the best of the best). We shared a Cesar salad and some wonderful mushroom soup to start out with, Dave ordered the pork and I got ribeye. For dessert, Dave got pumpkin cheesecake and I got the creme brulee. Best meal ever. Best husband ever.

By the way...

I still love this guy more than anything.

To The Special Needs Parents:

So I found this in my posts that I hadn't published yet, and I thought I'd finally put it out there although it was written in 2011. So, here it is:

"It's been almost 18 months since our special needs journey began, and to put it bluntly, I'm still clueless. I'm clueless because, let's face it, once we figure out what works and what doesn't, the kiddos change it up on us and we get to start from scratch.

Whether you're a veteran special needs parent or new, you already know that there are days you hate it. And it's okay! You can hate it sometimes! You are allowed to not enjoy the hours of meltdowns, the inevitable digressions, the frustration of it all! It sucks! But you also know that despite how hard it can be, those times where the tornado calms and the sun comes out, are that much brighter.

I've always thought that special needs parents are the luckiest of parents. Now, before you object, just listen: because of all the work we do to get our children to do just one tiny thing, say, make eye contact, when those events occur, we are ecstatic. We have to tell the world! We are grateful for every little sign of development and progress! Every little step is a miracle and because of that, our lives are filled with them. Hence, my claim that we are the luckiest of parents.

Tonight as I was laying in my son's bed after reading books, he said the prayer and gave me a big kiss goodnight. I laid next to him as I waited for him to fall asleep and thought about the past year. Only recently has he started to say his own prayers and it fills me with such joy. He LOVES to say prayers, he LOVES to talk about Jesus, and I can only imagine that he of all people has the most beautiful relationship with our Heavenly Father. As I let my thoughts wander, I wondered to myself when Cruise will say the words, "I love you, Mommy." Every time I tell him I love him, he gives me a big kiss. So until the words come, I know that that kiss means, "I love you, Mommy."

The Rest of April

Jett's Speech
Six months ago, I took Jett to get evaluated for his speech. He has a lisp, speech impediment, and has trouble with a lot of sounds. Six months ago, despite the fact that he was clearly behind, the speech therapist from the district said he was still "too young to tell". So we had to do it all over again a few weeks ago and of course, he made zero progress and FINALLY qualified for services, just in time for school to end. So he won't have any services all summer long. I might just send him to a private therapist so he can make some good progress. Yesterday I went to his IEP with the speech therapist from the nearby school and set up services for next school year, so at least that is taken care of. Oy vey.

Mr. Harris
In March, the other parents and I nominated Cruise's teacher, John Jay Harris, for the Huntsman Award for Excellence in Education. They choose 10 teachers state-wide every year, and the award comes with $10,000. We found out last month that Mr. Harris won! And he was the only special ed teacher to receive it was well. The entire 1st grade, Harris' family, Mrs. Huntsman, and all of us parents surprised him in the library last month to tell him he won and I just absolutely loved his reaction. I am so so grateful for Mr. Harris and all he does, not just for my kid, but all the other kids he's worked with all these years. He is by far one of the best teachers in the state, and now he was the award to prove it.

Here is the recommendation I wrote for him:

I, Emily Ybarra, support the nomination of John Jay Harris for the Huntsman Award for Excellence. My son, Cruise, is currently in Mr. Harris’ autism small group class at Eaglecrest Elementary. From day one I have been beyond impressed with Mr. Harris’ knowledge, talent, and   love for each of his students. He accepts each child as they are but holds high, yet reasonable expectations for each student. One thing I remember him saying at the beginning of the year was that autism is a reason, not an excuse. From this alone I knew that Mr. Harris was going to be an incredible teacher. He continues to update himself on latest research and teaching methods that will benefit his students and classroom. He is incredibly easy to work with and communicates with the parents at least once a week. He goes above and beyond the IEP, taking special interest in each student and their development in all faucets. He gets his students involved and participating in activities that their typically developing peers are doing. Mr. Harris loves each of his students and wants the best for all of them. At Thanksgiving this past year, he sent an e-mail to the parents telling them what he was thankful for about each child. Having a teacher see my child how I see him, is something every special needs parent hopes for. Mr. Harris has the remarkable ability to see each child and know who they are, despite disability. In fact, Mr. Harris doesn’t see disability, he sees ability and room for improvement, and with this positive outlook and perspective, as a parent I am comforted knowing my son is in his classroom  every day. Please consider John Jay Harris for this esteeming award, as I know that he is more than deserving. 

Jett's Swimming Lessons
Last month Jett got to take swimming lessons! He's waited so long!!! He wanted to take them last year while I was pregnant, but Lehi lessons were ALWAYS full and I was always so tired. So I signed him up for lessons at the American Fork pool a few months ago, which always seem to be available. He absolutely loved it and passed the class with flying colors!

Cute Pictures

Cruise's Field Trip to the Aquarium

This past week I got to go with Cruise, his class, and the rest of the 1st grade to the new aquarium in Draper. It just opened a couple weeks ago but it is still missing quite a few fish and animals. However, there were still plenty to see and things to do. I was in charge of Cruise and another kid from a different class. Luckily I only had to keep and eye on two kids because it was a little crazy with so many 1st graders running around.

Petting a turtle shell.

 Cruise's favorite things were the sting rays.

Cruise checking out a blowfish.

A GIANT lobster that looked absolutely delicious.

 One of the most impressive things at the aquarium was the giant shark tank. You walk through a tunnel and the tank is all around you. There were sharks, giant sting rays, sea turtles, and a bunch of species of fish. It was beautiful! I could've sat and watched them all day, but Cruise had to keep going.

We bumped into Cruise's girlfriend, Claire, who upon meeting me immediately cupped her hand to my ear and whispered, "He's completely in love with me." I laughed out loud and replied, "I know." But after a few minutes of observation, I could tell she was pretty infatuated with him as well. And he let her get away with things that he won't tolerate from anyone else. Like, for example, she took his hat and wore it around. I can't even get away with that! He must really love that girl. 

Cruise petting a gecko.

 My favorite part were the river otters. They were so adorable! They're like swimming doggies. I left really wanting a pet otter.

After leaving the aquarium, we all went to a park and ate lunch in the freezing wind. Luckily there were a lot of other moms from the class that I got to chat with to keep my mind off the fact that I couldn't feel my hands or my sandaled feet. 

Cruise had a blast, I had a blast, and it was all free! Field trips rock!