Bode's Kindergarten Graduation!

I can't believe Kindergarten is over and Bode is starting 1st grade (he has started)!

We had the best year! Bode had an amazing teacher that he loved so much. Mrs. Becky was fabulous and so were all of her helpers. Besides the bus incident, we couldn't have asked for better.

Bode did awesome at Graduation. He actually wore his cap, this is a first! He looked like one cute kid in it. They all got to pick a song to sing and Bode participated in all of the songs, which is pretty awesome too, he usually won't do this for a crowd.

Each child was given an award, Bode was given the Show and Tell Award. Bode loved to bring Show and Tell, not just on Fridays, but everyday! He brought something to school everyday. His teachers were so great to let him bring things, he didn't even take it out of his backpack, he just wanted to bring it and leave it in his backpack.

Bode and Mrs. Becky! Love that smile, so cute!

This is Bode and a student helper

Bode and Mrs. Danielle, she was so awesome too!

Off to 1st grade we go! Thanks for a great year!

Buzz is back!

Our little Buzz Light Year is back in full force! A while ago Bode found the Buzz Light Year costume that I thought I had hid or gotten rid of. This time it barely even fit over his shoulders, and it doesn't look very comfortable if you ask me. I guess that didn't bother him, he wore it all day long until he started digging in the dirt and mixed the dirt with the water and then sat in it. After that, he looked like a Buzz Light Year that had an accident, it didn't look so great and I think we said bye, bye to the Buzz Light Year Costume forever!

Bus

Okay, this is story that I have contemplated posting about, it is one that has ripped me apart and made me so frustrated, sad, angry, angry and angry! But, I am hoping one day, it may be a story we will laugh about, probably not for a long time, but hopefully. It happened over 2 months ago and I am finally to the point where I don't start to tear up, or start to shake when telling it. But I need to remember it (not like I am going to forget it, but just in case).

So here it is....

Back in September when Bode started Kindergarten, we were excited for him to start a new adventure. With that excitement came nervousness and everything that comes with your child starting a new school year. Bode does not do well with changes, he actually does awful with changes, so I know this was going to be a BIG adjustment for him. We were excited to know that he would be in a class with a wonderful teacher (she is amazing, he has always had wonderful teachers). That made the transition a little easier. With the classroom being new, there is also a new bus to ride on. The first couple days were very traumatic for Bode. There was a little boy that screamed the whole bus ride that really freaked Bode out, he did not want to get on the bus. And when he got on the bus, he moved himself clear to the back of the bus so he did not have to sit by this little boy. There alone made me feel bad about putting him on the bus, but I had to. Bode will be riding the bus for a LONG time and he needed to get use to it. Well the little boys crying shortened a little more each day. Finally Bode was finally getting use to going on the bus. Relief.

Well, the next week Bode got on the bus at his regular time. Off he went to school. Time passes and passes...the door bell rings, (3 hours after Bode left for school) it was Bode and his bus driver. Hummm...I thought, I asked "Why is Bode home, was it short day, did something happen?" The bus driver responded "No, the school called and wanted me to swing by and bring Bode home." Hummmm...weird, but okay. Bode comes in and of course I call the school to find out what is going on. The school answers, I say, "I am just wondering why Bode is home from school, was it short day, or something happen?" They responded, "Bode? Bode hasn't been to school all day, we have him down as an absent." Me: "What?" tears start coming, I am really freaked out at this point. ME: "Well where has he been?" So at that point the school called transportation trying to figure out what happened. No answer, finally they called me back and we discussed what had happened. I am really not going to go into detail of the conversations we had the next day or so, the transportation ended up working things out with us and there really is no reason to get into that. But to answer a few questions that may arise, here are a few answers.

Where was Bode for the 3 hours that he was on the bus:

Bode got picked up from our house, he is first. The bus driver then made the rounds and picked up all the kids. The driver drives to the school. All the kids get out of the bus. Bode stays on. Bus driver does not walk the bus therefore he does not see Bode on the bus. I am not sure if Bode had fallen asleep or what, but Bode did not get of the bus. The driver then says that he went to the transportation garage, ate lunch and read. The time came for the drivers next pickup and that is when he/she realizes that Bode is still on the bus. The driver freaks out, brings Bode home, makes up a story and leaves.

Was Bode alone on the bus for some of that time?

We are not sure, but we are guaranteeing that he was. Bode probably did fall asleep for the first 45 minutes, but for the next 2 hours 15 minutes he had to have been awake. And if he was awake, the bus driver would have noticed him. But since he was alone on the bus, nobody noticed him. This leads to so many more what if's, that we just can't even go there....we are so glad that he is safe.

Is Bode okay?

Well, besides the traumatizing effect of being on a bus for 3 hours, he is okay. We feel very strong that it was a BIG mistake and the driver did not handle the situation like they should have. Bode seemed fine when he got home, just a little dirty from all of the dust on the bus and everything checked out okay at the doctor. The fact that he did not want to get on that bus for at least 2 weeks was a little difficult. I felt as if I shouldn't be sending him on the bus again. But again, he will be riding the bus for a long time and it is something we have to get use to.

What happened to the driver?

I am not sure, I know that he/she is still driving. I was running about 1 1/2 months ago and there was a bus pulled over to the side of the road (6:15 am) and I looked up and it was the driver. My heart started pounding and I felt all the emotions that I felt on that day. This was the first time I had see the driver since this all happened. So yes, I believe they still have a job, which I am glad for. I don't want anyone loosing their job during these times, but I sure hope that he/she is not driving special needs kids that cannot communicate.

Did he get a new bus driver?

YES! That is the one request we had. We did get a new bus driver and they are amazing! We love them and we love the driver that brings him home. I feel very comfortable putting my son on the bus with them. He is now to the point where he loves (well most of the time) to get on the bus and go to school. Happy times!

So that is my crazy story, not one that I enjoyed one bit! But like I said before, we know Bode was okay and it could have been much worse, so we are grateful for that. The things that Bode puts us through and the experiences we have with him I guess they make us stronger people. The long nights, the early mornings, the making quesadilla after quesadilla, the taking him to the potty, the screaming, the stubbornness, the language barrier, the messes, etc, etc...don't even match to the huge smile, the giggles, the dancing, the loves, the kisses, the snuggling, the "No's", the sweet little hands, the singing, the playing and all the joys he brings to our family. There are days, probably at least one or two a week, that I just say..."Do I have to do it, I can't do it today!" And then he will do that little something that tells me it is all worth it!

Bode turns 6!

A couple weeks ago, we celebrated Bode's 6th birthday...6! Holy cow! I can't believe he is 6!

I have never had a birthday party for Bode with friends, etc...I never thought he would like it or didn't understand that when you have a birthday you have a big party with all of your friends. Or maybe it is that he really didn't have anyone that he would want to invite to a party. Well the last year he really started liking his cousins, Coop's friends, basically older kids. He loved to be with them and play with them. And he was getting a little better with kids his age as well.

I decided that I was going to throw him his very first friend birthday party! Well because he had never had a party before, I went a little overboard and invited about 20 something kids, yes 20 something. Almost half of them were cousins and then a few were Coop's friends, and then some of the friends that are his age. I really wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, Bode doesn't really like crowds too much, and this was going to be a crowd.

I decided that we would do a Toy Story party, Bode loves Buzz and Woody!

We made the invitations that Bode absolutely loved! He carried it around for a couple days and he hand delivered each one (the walking distance ones).

If you notice on the bottom of the invitation, there is a disclaimer...I was trying to be silly, but I guess a little serious too. I wanted Bode to have all the attention, and I thought this may keep him in the room for a little longer than 20 minutes...it worked, kind of. :)

The kids arrived and Bode was having a blast with all of them downstairs. More and more came and he was still pretty good. We started to play games and he did pretty good, until he decided, "Whatever...I am going to my room and watching my own movie all by myself..it is my birthday, I will do what I want top." And that is what happened. Bode marched himself upstairs and turned on a movie and chilled. I think the thought of coming downstairs was a little terrifying at this point.

The party took place at Pizza Planet, so were were going to have pizza. Try feeding 23 hungry kids pizza...well it is possible if you have some help. Thanks Mom, Collin, Stacy and Hollie...I could have not done it without you! The kiddos were fabulous and Bode ate his yummy pizza upstairs in front of his TV, just how he likes it. :)

After dinner we did presents, I thought this would get Bode to come downstairs. I sure did.

Everyone was so excited to give him their present and we was so excited to open all of them. I was so great with each present, so happy! He received so many nice things!

After the presents we did a pinata (sp??) he loved that too. Too bad that we weren't even able to get through all the kids with it not breaking, that was with only one swing per kid.

After that we came up and did cupcakes, we sang Happy Birthday to Bode, he blew out the candles and then he was outta there!

The party turned out pretty great I think, Bode was pretty good for most of it and I think he did have a pretty good time.

We are so lucky to be surrounded by so many neat people that treat Bode so well. He is like any other kid to them. I think it was my little niece Emma that told her mom, "We are so lucky to have Bode as our cousin, it is so awesome!" (something to that extent) They accept him just like he is. Drew another cousin loves Bode and loves to play with Bode. One time my sister Hollie was tending and she was talking to Bode and asking him a question, and Drew told her "Mom, Bode doesn't talk." Like duh, mom...he isn't going to answer you. I love it, he knows he isn't going to talk but that is okay. The other day I was watching him and I caught him talking to Bode saying, "Bode, can you say patience?" Not sure where patience came from but he kept repeating it hoping that Bode would respond, an me also hoping that Bode would respond. :)

But thank you to all of you that make our little Bode's life better by being a part of it and accepting him and just being his friend. We are so grateful and he is too.

Happy 6th Birthday Bode boy! We love you!

Goodbye Buzz & Power Rangers....Hello....

Buzz and the Power Rangers are history...The Hulk is here!

Bode's latest fascination is the Hulk, and of course he has a costume that does not fit him. So flattering.

He is just so stinkin cute that I really don't care that front rides up giving him you know what (Mat I won't say it....) and the back gives him a huge melvin. He loves it and I love it too.

Hulk has the dinosaur! Watch out Dino!

Cooper you better watch out too!

I love this pic...here is Hulk in the background going for his prey...:)

Practicing some moves

More moves.

Wax on, wax off...

Cute girl.

Back shot!

Hulk we love you! You crack us up. :)

Bode starts Kindergarten!

It is that time, Bode is in Kindergarten, wowsers! He hasn't been to school since June so I wasn't sure how he was going to take it. The first day wasn't too bad putting him on the bus, he got on okay and did pretty well for his first day.

Waiting for the bus, not quite sure what is going on.

Bode sees the bus!

Bye, bye Bode!

Bode made it home, it was a nice short day and his teachers said he did great!

If this isn't the old man smile, I don't know what is...:)

Go Buzz! The backpack Bode picked out all by himself.

Well the first day was great! The next two weeks were a roller coaster for Bode. The second day not so great for Bode. I guess there was a little boy on the bus that screamed the whole time, this made it really hard for Bode. It made him super nervous, he wasn't sure what was going on and he was in tears when he got off on the bus at school. He puckered up and had a great day. The next day he would not even get on the bus, he was so nervous. I had to drive him to school and he was doing great until he saw the same little boy and he wanted nothing to do with his class. Each day got a little better, it wasn't so traumatizing every time he had to get on the bus, by Friday he was doing pretty good. but not for long....The next week he had an experience that still breaks my heart and it will for a while, and I am not to sure if I even want to explain that now, so I won't, maybe later.

We hope that it will get better and better for Bode that he may enjoy like he once did. I know he loves school, he has awesome teachers (we have always been blessed with Bode's teacher, they all have been so great!).

Keep it up Bode, you are doing great and it will get better! Pretty soon you will rock that Kindergarten class, just like you did your preschool class!

Little Genius

We have a little genius on our hands, well I think he is a genius. A couple months ago Bode was given a new Primary teacher who is simply AMAZING! We love her and Bode LOVES her too!

Well she brought him this dinosaur puzzle to put together during their class time (she has come up with tons of things for them to do while she tries to get Bode to actually like going to church, it has worked!) She let him take it home, which was a bad idea because it is now trashed and pieces are missing, but anyway he will put the whole thing together himself! It is a 48 piece puzzle, that can kind of be tricky for a 5 year old, and let me remind you, he does have Down Syndrome, which is even more amazing. Well in the meantime she has brought more puzzles that he can put together in a whiz and our friends the Olson's brought him over one that is another dinosaur one that is actually pretty hard, (Collin can't put it together) and after a couple of times of working at it diligently, he completed it and completed it over and over again!

I love the puzzles because he will sit on the floor and put them together and just stay busy. Whenever he is done he seems to take them apart and throw pieces under the couches and where ever he wants to hide them, so we are missing a few pieces time and again, but he loves it and I love it! Pretty smart kiddo!

Goodbye Buzz!

You may remember this costume....

Well let's say "We will see you Buzz, and hello Power Rangers!"

He is doing his fighting moves and I do think this fits a little better. :)

Future basketball star!

Need I say more.