I Love Dirt!!

This is quite a face. If you take his glasses off you'll see where they were!

Pure joy! Not many thigs make him happier than getting REALLY dirty.

His favorite part of playing in the dirt? Watching it fly as he tosses it in the air of course.

Our cat often joins Kane as he plays. They really enjoy each other.

One of Kane's favorite things to do in the summer evenings is to find a spot of loose dirt and feel it, dig in it and watch it fly. It makes him really happy, and keeps him busy for a long time.

King Kane

I dont't know how many of you got to meet the newest member of the royal family. He lives at our house and his name is King Kane! About a month ago Brian returned from a mission trip. On his way home he had a stop in Sweden for a few days. He brought many gift for us. Chocolate, which was yummy, tea, shirts, and these really cute hooded towels for Kane and Karlie. She can be a princess and Kane of course is a King. He tried it on, thought it was cool, then went on playing. About an hour later he comes out of his room saying, "I'm King Kane!" We look up and start laughing. This was awesome. I couldn't get me camera fast enough. This is sooo Kane. He loves wearing the "groucho marx" glasses and playing with the cool light up sword he got at Six Flags from his PaPa,, and he was really proud of the new look he had put together, and I still laugh when I see the picture. By the way, King Kane is still making occasional appearances around here.

I'm Back!!!

Well everyone, after a much longer that intended break, I'm back to blogland. I have had a fun summer with the kids and now school has started, much to Kane's displeasure. Really, he is doing fine with school. The adjustment back to the school routine was much easier this year than last year. His teachers this year are great!! He seems to enjoy school ok, but his favorite day is Monday because he gets to swim and he loves to swim. All that said, he would rather stay home and play and watch TV and get dirty. AHH, the lazy days of summer. They are fun, but they can't last forever!! I miss the kids when they are gone at school. I miss the freedom of not having to be back by pick up time, but grocery shopping is a lot easier by myself!

Well now that school has started we will see what kind of challenges it bring for Kane and also what fun. I'll keep you posted!

You Gotta Friend in Me

Well, I am finally back in blog land. We had a very busy last week of school, and yesterday we all got a special treat, Kane sang at the Variety Show at his school. He is a good singer, yet he only sing what he wants, when he wants. But we have discovered that he will sing nearly anything if you put a microphone in his hand. He did great! Here is a little video of his performance. The quality isn't the best, it was my first time using this camera, sorry. Enjoy!

Bless You!

Well, we have had a fun spring break and have really enjoyed our time off from school. Every night Kane said, "What are we doing in the morning?" I would always tell him what was on the agenda and he would always say "no school!" He was really happy for the break.

Well spring has sprung, except that it's now snowing today, and with that comes pollen and with pollen comes me sneezing a lot. This week I was doing some cleaning, the windows were open the kids were playing outside, and I began to sneeze. I couldn't hear, I was vaccuming, but Kurstie(my oldest daughter) said that every time I sneezed Kane said, "Bless You". I thought this was really sweet and kind of funny. You see Kane likes it when people sneeze. He thinks it is funny. He has since he was a baby. When he was little and fussing in the car I would ask Kurstie to pretend to sneeze, and he would stop crying and start laughing. He laughs anytime he hears someone sneeze, even on TV, at Wal Mart, school, wherever. The kids at school even know this and pretend sneeze to make him laugh. He has even learned to fake sneeze, and it sounds real. He has only recently begun to "bless" our sneezes. Even from upstairs he will say "bless you". He is just really terribly sweet and so much fun to have around.

Pants On the Ground

I worked at school today and when Kane's para brings him to me he has on these ugly faded black gym shorts over his pants. I look at him and he looks down. He knows he is in trouble. He knows I am not going to like the answer to. "Kane, what happened to your pants?" You see this has happened before. Like just last Friday before. When I took the boys I work with to Special Olympics practice, he was there too. He was not wearing the same pants I had put him in that morning, instead he was wearing some really awesome shorts that fit him perfectly. His para said that he had gotten a small rip in his pants earlier in the day. She thought nothing of this and took him outside for recess. Well I knew where this was going. You see Kane can not leave a hole alone. He MUST rip it into a bigger hole. If a paper or page has a small rip in it he MUST finish it and rip it all the way. He has ripped many books, video case covers, magazines,ect. This has recently reached to his clothes. It began with socks, went to pajamas, and now has reached his pants.

Friday the hole was in the leg of his pants. He ripped it into this huge gaping hole, there was no salvaging the pants, they had to go straight to the trash! So when I asked him what happened today, I knew it. He ripped another pair. This time right in the seat of his pants. Again it started as a small little hole. Mrs. Briley had seen it, but she didn't think he had noticed. But next thing she know he stood up from the computer and he had another gaping hole in the seat of his pants. Whe she asked him what his mom would say about it, he said, " I'm in touble."

Here's the thing, he knows he shouldn't do it. He knows he is not supposed to rip things. He knows he will get in trouble but he CAN NOT seem to help himself. I can not leave him alone with Library books, and now he has ruined two pairs of pants (that still fit by the way). I am not quite sure what to do. He has been disciplined for this very thing, many times and many ways.

When Brian came home, he had a talk with him again. He explained to him that I can fix a small hole, if he will just tell me and not rip it We'll see if this helps and if he will come to us before ripping his pants. I fear next time we might find his "pants on the ground" and the waistband left around his waist.

Paraprofessionals... They make a diiference

After a little hiatus, to sunny California, I'm back. I had a great time visiting my sister and am back in mommy mode. I was told by his para today that he missed me and said that he wanted me a few times while I was away. Speaking of paras, can I just say Kane has an awesome one. Paraprofessionals are a huge part of what makes a child with special needs school expereince a positive or negative one. While in school Kane has had some really good ones. None of them were bad, but some just get him better than others. The one he has right now, she gets him. She know how to make work seem like a game. She is patient, yet tough. She protects him, and she loves him. The best paras really love the child enough to be tough when needed and also knows when to ease up a bit. The job is not an easy one. There are many challenges. You must be patient, pesistent, and positive. This job does not pay well in dollars, but is abundant is other rewards. There is nothing more awesome than seeing a child succeed at something that they have struggled with. You see after seeing how influential paras have been in Kane's life, I became one for this school year. It has been fun, I've learned a lot. I respect Kane's paras even more than before. I hope to be able to take even more from this last year and apply it to my life as a parent. Gabby Briley, if you ever read this, THANK YOU! You have made a huge difference in Kane's life and mine.