Turning Six, Starting First Grade, and Riding the Bus

Our lazy summer is over!

Christian is back at school and just started the 1st grade on Monday. More on that in a second.

FIRST, I have to announce that someone turned SIX YEARS OLD last Friday!

Whenever Christian's birthday comes around I try to think outside of the box a little. I don't really like traditional birthday parties for him because he doesn't really get the full enjoyment out of them like we do. We had one birthday party for him a few years ago where we did all sensory stuff with some of his buddies and that was really cool but I can't repeat that every year! 

Of course, I did make him a cake and have family over on his actual birthday. Because everybody needs cake on their birthday. EVERYBODY. 

So this year I decided we should go on a staycation. Because we live in a very hot place, all of the local resorts and hotels offer really low rates for the summer because nobody in their right mind would consider visiting here during the hottest months of the year.

I also wanted Christian to be able to sit in warm water. Even though it is really hot here, all of the pools are still cool. Obviously, so it's refreshing. But Christian doesn't like it. He stiffens right up and gets goosebumps everywhere. So I booked a place that had several hot tubs.

And it was so nice! I'm so glad we did it. As soon as I took him into the hot tub he melted. He just loved it! It was the perfect birthday celebration. It even rained while we were in the hot tub and he didn't even care. He was in la la land.

After the birthday staycation had come to an end it was time to get ready for school! It wasn't going to be such a transition because his kindergarten teacher moved up to first grade with him and so did a lot of his classmates that already knew him. Last year I decided to make a "Meet Christian" booklet to read to the kids on the first day of school. I wanted to let the kids know about him, what he likes, his wheelchair, his g-tube. Nothing fancy, but I didn't want the kids to be afraid of him. This was his book from last year.

There were a few other pages that told the kids his favorite colors, his favorite toys, and about how he eats through his tube and tastes with his mouth. 

This year I made a new booklet all updated for 1st grade.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product but his aid read it to his classroom.

Aaaaand, Christian is now....TAKING THE BUS TO SCHOOL AND BACK!

I feel like he's so independent now.

Yeah, so that was a big step.

It has gone well, though. His teacher texts me a picture of him when he gets there so I know he made it okay. He seems unfazed by all of it. Like he's an old pro.

And all of this - the birthday, the staycation, starting school, and riding the bus - it all happened within the last week!

No complaints, though. Just excited for Christian because he loves being around other kids and I know he's happy seeing his aid and his old buddies.

Here's to a happy school year!