While we are grateful for the parents and individuals with disabilities that came before us who secured Nate the right to a free and appropriate education and a school-based learning program that accommodates and responds to Nate’s individual needs, we have a long way to go in creating true equality and opportunity for those with disabilities, autism and otherwise.  I could go on about job creation, care after the age of 21, and the like but today I need to talk about something that should be a given right in any first-world country: health insurance.  We get health insurance coverage through Chad’s full-time job, which covers me, Chad, and Nate.  And it’s good coverage — Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, in fact.  When we call new doctors (who always respond to “Are you accepting new patients?” with “What insurance do you have?”), there’s a bit of an ooooh and aaaah when we tell them we have Anthem and their appointment book opens wide for our family.

You’ve likely seen the blurbs on television, in newspapers, or on Facebook about autism insurance reform.  Autism Speaks has really championed the issue, working on a state-by-state basis to cause employers’ insurance plans to cover autism-related services for their employees.  There’s often big press releases touting the passage of autism insurance reform legislation, which has now in thirty-two states.  Connecticut passed its autism insurance reform law in June 2009 and it went into effect on January 1, 2010, the exact date of Nate’s entry into the Birth to Three system.

Everything I’ve said so far is great, right?  We have insurance coverage — and it’s Anthem!  Connecticut passed an autism insurance reform law — and it went into effect right when Nate was diagnosed!  What’s this woman got to complain about?  I’ll tell you.  It’s a little something called self-insured plans and ERISA.

Did you just say what the what?  Because that’s exactly what Chad and I said when this whole incredible mess started unfolding.  I’m going to try to explain this simply — because this is kind of complicated yet really important.   Self-insured (also known as self-funded) insurance plans are used by a significant number of large corporations and municipalities.  This type of insurance allows corporations to pay claims out-of-pocket as they are incurred rather than paying a fixed per-employee premium to an insurance company, ultimately saving them money.  In many cases, like ours, the employer hires an insurance company (e.g. Anthem) to administer the paperwork and give employees access to a particular network of doctors, which makes the employee oblivious to the behind-the-scenes operation of their insurance plan.

Self-funded insurance plans are governed on a Federal level by the United States Department of Labor and The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which exempts employers who utilize these insurance plans from complying with state regulation.  This is the important part, people.  This means the Connecticut Autism Insurance Reform Act and all of its benefits don’t apply to our policy.  Because there’s no requirement to comply, Chad’s employer (and many, many, many others) simply don’t provide coverage for autism-related services.  How many employers are we talking here?  The Department of Labor’s Annual Report, issued in March 2013, said that 19,800 employers, representing 30 million participants, utilized self-insured group health plans.  Autism Speaks’ ERISA Tool Kit cites the self-insured companies that offer autism benefits.  The total count?  Sixty two – and Autism Speaks’ publication doesn’t detail what the provided benefits are and if they’re competitive with any given state’s autism insurance reform acts.

So what would the benefits be?  The Connecticut Autism Insurance Reform Act provides up to $50,000 per year in behavioral therapy for individuals under the age of 9 who are autistic.  (Benefits change by age and end when you’re 15, which is a whole other issue.)  This covers behavioral therapy (ABA); physical, speech, and occupational therapy; and psychiatric and psychological services. Here’s what we get through our health plan that apply to Nate’s particular needs: 50 physical, speech, and/or occupational therapy visits (total) per year, which is a benefit offered to all plan participants regardless of diagnosis or need.  And that’s it folks.  That’s it.

With no autism insurance coverage, what does Nate have?  He has awesome school-based therapists, who he works with for thirty hours a week and provide him with applied behavior analysis, daily speech therapy, weekly occupational therapy (30 minute sessions), and monthly physical therapy (30 minute sessions). Using our existing insurance benefits, Nate also sees a private occupational therapist and physical therapist for a total of two hours per week; our insurance covers fifty of the visits for one therapist and we pay $80 per 45 minutes for the other.  Nate is growing and improving and getting stronger — but we know we could get there much faster if we had additional support at home.  One of the quirky things about autism is the lack of ability to generalize skills.  To have an ABA therapist or BCBA at home to help Nate transfer in-school lessons to the home environment and address home-specific behavioral issues, our boy would really thrive.  But this additional therapy is financially out of reach.  So I try to pick up as much as I can from Nate’s teachers and therapists and implement what I can at home.  

So how did Chad and I become so well versed in this particular topic?  You better sit down for this one.  Through administrative issues that aren’t appropriate to discuss here, Anthem began sending our family Explanation of Benefit statements after he graduated out of the program with denied claims for Nate’s Birth to Three services .  There were lots of denied claims — with four zeros behind the large lead number.  And that’s when the multiple conversations with Anthem began…and when we learned we are on a self-insured plan and that my husband’s employer only provides $3,250 of Birth to Three service payments per year…and when we learned that first and second grievance review panels are unsympathetic to the cause.  (We’ve now appealed to the highest panels and no further appeal can be made.)  While we believe we have things resolved with Nate’s Birth to Three provider, it still keeps us up at night.  Because this could financially devastate us in an instant — us and many other families who are simply trying to provide the best care for a family member in need.

Some programs have been implemented on a state level; Connecticut has two autism insurance programs for those that aren’t covered by the insurance reform.  The first is Medicaid; we make too much money to qualify.  The second is a program housed at the Department of Developmental Services in the Division of Autism Services at the State of Connecticut.  A Medicaid waiver program (meaning they only look at Nate’s income instead of our family’s income), it would provide Nate with $60,000 of services per year.  This program is open to Connecticut residents ages three and older.  Though we have applied and been accepted to the program, Nate’s application is now on a gigantic wait list.  The program only has 76 slots; all are taken.  The program administrator could not even ballpark how many years Nate will wait as slots only become available when someone moves out of state or dies.

Today I sent letters to President Obama, Connecticut’s U.S. Senators, and our district’s U.S. Representative explaining this pickle — because the change has to be made on the Federal level in order for any states to see a change — and I hope the letters are actually read.  If you’re so moved, I hope you’ll bring this issue to the attention of your senators and representatives, too, because this affects anyone whose employer utilizes a self-funded insurance plan — that’s most large corporations and city governments.  And hopefully some change will be made that will require these large employers, the ones who could afford the expense the most, to provide health insurance benefits to those on the autism spectrum soon.

This time, in addition to the guest assistance pass (see our June 2012 post for details), we also received a wheelchair pass for Nate’s stroller.  Nate weighs 35 pounds and that’s a lot to hold while waiting in line for attractions that don’t utilize the guest assistance pass, particularly Nate’s favorite ride ever, It’s a Small World.  With the wheelchair pass, we stood in a special line where Nate could remain in his stroller.  When it was our turn, we parked the stroller at the exit and hopped right into the ride.  (And, in case you’re wondering, for those who were unable to exit their wheelchairs, they had accommodations for those folks, too!) Nate could also remain in his stroller for special attractions like The Hall of Presidents in the Magic Kingdom.  On our last trip, we tried this one but Nate freaked out at the giant crowd waiting to get inside the auditorium and we had to leave.  This time, we were whisked away to a special entrance and parked in a wider width aisle that gave us more personal space from other patrons.  Which led to this magical discovery: Nate will watch a show.  Watch a show.  He happily sat in his stroller or curled up in our laps and enjoyed the quiet action, which has rekindled hope that Nate might be able to attend (more than the preview portion of) a sensory friendly film showing at the cinema.

When we go to Disney World, Chad and I are always reminded that Nate is great at being a kid.  At age 3, Nate’s life is consumed with 32 hours of therapy a week, basically a full-time job.  As he approached four, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate what every toddler should do — play, eat, laugh, and enjoy life.  No better place to do that than at Disney World.

Many kids on the autism spectrum have sensory processing issues and difficulty with specific textures, which can affect their ability to eat and swallow.  We are grateful that Nate is a champion eater; in fact, his teachers get a kick out of how much he will eat!  Though he does have some food texture issues (cooked tomatoes and tomato sauce are no-gos), Nate has a pretty adventurous palate.  For example, one of his favorite foods is hummus!  We always buy the Disney Dining Plan, which allows us to order pretty much whatever we want without worry about the price.  This often means Chad and I order foods that we don’t normally eat at home and, on this trip, Nate demonstrated a spontaneous willingness to try some new things.  Turns out Nate can’t get enough of polenta.  And, like me, Nate’s in love with the Greek cheese bechamel sauce on the pastitsio at Cat Cora’s Kouzzina.  We were also there during the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival and each country had a pop-up restaurant inspired by its garden.  Nate devoured a potato pancake from Bauernmarkt in the German pavilion.  Nate also got his fair share of favorite foods including Mickey Mouse pancakes, muffins, hummus, and a million and one apples.

Disney World also has professional photographers who will take your picture at all of the iconic spots.  Each time we go, we try to get a family portrait, which really shows us how much Nate has grown!  We also decided to get Nate’s silhouette cut each time we visit. The two below are twenty months apart (September 2011 and May 2013); we were totally surprised to see such a difference!

Usually these breaks from routine bring about big developmental milestones but, this time, we went a bit backward.  It’s been about three weeks since we returned and we haven’t had a win on the potty — at school or at home.  Nate has only slept through the night once — with or without melatonin.  On the other hand, he rejoined the school routine seamlessly, which surprised us all.

Of all the pictures we took (700 and counting), this is my favorite one.  When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom on our first day there, we hopped onto the People Mover, one of Nate’s very favorite rides, and he spontaneously began to sign his version of “happy.”  We’re already planning our next trip — date to be determined but it will be some time in 2014, maybe when Chad gets his master’s degree from Yale.  Until then, we’re trying to hang on to the Disney magic in our every day lives!

I love the items that Susie picked out for two reasons.  First, they’re things that weren’t even on my radar.  While some items address the particular needs of kids on the autism spectrum, they’re all accessible and fun for kids of any ability.  Second, these purchases demonstrate the expense of equipment and items that best serve kids with special needs.  Susie spent $175 and that got five new items for her classroom–five very useful items that will be used for many years but, regardless, $175 doesn’t fill a basket with the things that are most effective.

For her first round of purchases, Susie focused on mainly sensory items for our kids.

Nate does not like the Octocap.

Octocap by Abilitations Integrations ($36.01)

The Octocap is a lightly weighted, tightly fitting hat, shaped like an octopus, that provides sensory input to our kids.  The tots can pull on the eight tentacles to provide additional pressure and sensory input to their heads.  Plus, it looks wicked awesome.  Nate was not a fan of this purchase (as you can tell by the photo) but his friends Matthew and Jolly love it.  Score one for Susie!

I’m pretty sure this is Nate….

Body Sock (size small) by FlagHouse Joint Co. Motion ($34.99)

Body socks help kids develop an awareness of the space around them through balance and resistance.  They can also have a calming effect as it gives kids with their own personal space and reduces the sight sense.  Body socks are made from stretchy lycra and are semi-transparent so the user can see shapes and shadows outside of the sock while maintaining a cocoon-like environment.  Nate is also not a fan of this one (in fact, Susie thinks Nate freaked out because Matthew was coming toward him in it!) but it is greatly enjoyed by many of Nate’s friends.

Sensory Stepping Stones (6 per set) by Guidecraft USA ($42.68)

For his birthday, we got Nate a set of brightly colored plastic spots to use in obstacle courses and to help him have a target when he’s in a jumping mood.  However these are way cooler.  Each stepping stone has a different texture — ridged rubber, smooth cork, flat plastic, etc.  The kids take off their shoes and practice walking in an order from spot to spot and get sensory input while doing it.  Ms. Julianne reports that Nate’s favorite one is the cork – he stops and stands there, wiggling his toes on the surface.  They’ve got little rubber feet so they don’t slip and slide on the floor.

Ruff’s House Teaching Tactile Set by Learning Resources ($21.04)

This one is so stinking cute and I want to get one for Nate!  It’s a wee little dog house and inside the cloth-covered door are dog bones of different textures.  Kids reach in and try to feel for the bone that matches the other one in their hand.  The teachers said Nate loved this game and happily reached into the unknown space (something he’s not been willing to do with us at trips to kids’ museums etc.), find a bone, pull it out, and match it up to the ones in front of him. (As you can see, Nate had already enjoyed the stepping stones because his shoes, socks, and braces are piled up in the upper left hand corner of the photo!)

Sing & Read with Greg & Steve ($38.39)

This variety pack includes twelve Greg & Steve books that transform children’s songs into stories and an accompanying CD.  (One of the books/songs is entitled I Like Potatoes, a title that makes me giggle to no end.)  Nate’s therapists really know how to rock out a circle time; even though many of their kids are nonverbal, they still find unique and creative ways to include the kids in the reading of a story — from dance movements to turn taking with a felt board.  Susie reports that the kids love these stories so we’re glad she could expand the classroom library!

It is hard for me to believe that I’m a mama to a four-year-old boy.  Seems like just yesterday, Nater Tater was a wide-eyed tot swinging in a swing. Now he runs and jumps and does things that amaze us every single day.  Now, great fans of Nate, I don’t want you to fear.  Just because Nate asked for birthday wishes to give to his teachers (and you all so generously responded) doesn’t mean that Nate didn’t get presents himself!  We were sure to shower Nate with gifts to make sure he knows how special he is!  Chad, Pete, and I got Nate a few gems including a hopscotch rug for our living room!

Nate’s been learning to balance on one foot and how to jump (and land on two feet instead of his bum!) and move forward in physical therapy, so we thought this was the perfect gift to help build upon those skills.  We can also use the rug as a matching game, matching number tiles to each hopscotch square, and a counting game, putting the right number of items in each spot.  Nate also scored what is apparently called “Pin Art.”

Do you remember this from your childhood?  Chad had one and I remember playing with it at a friend’s house.  It’s hundreds of flat pins (no pokey parts here) that take the shape of whatever’s pressed into it.  Nate hasn’t caught on the the “pressing” part but, rather, enjoys making sure that each and every pin is perfectly flat against the surface.

Finally, at Ms. Susie’s suggestion, Nate got Melissa and Doug farm blocks.  A few weeks ago, Susie sent home this picture of Nate.

Chad and I thought it was a cute picture until we read Susie’s note in Nate’s journal.  Turns out, Nate did nearly all of this himself.  Himself.  Look at the picture again.  Everything’s appropriately placed!  The roof is on the building.  The animals are standing and inside of the fence.  The silo?  Upright with the cap on top.  This picture is nothing short of a miracle.  If Nate likes farm blocks, farm blocks he shall have!

Many relatives sent generous gifts to Nate’s birthday wish and some, like Aunt Nan, Super Grandpa, and Mam, sent money to Nate, which we’ll put toward an outdoor trampoline, which is desperately needed to help Nate get some sensory input.  But the biggest gift that Nate got in the mail was this gem from Aunt Patty, Uncle Blaine, and Nate’s cousin Mac:

Nate has two goals in life: to ring the bell at Trader Joe’s and to be able to ride a tricycle. We have two tricycles for Nate, both of which we scored at garage sales and neither of which is exactly right for Nate’s needs.  But this one?  It’s perfect for a four-year-old guy! Nate instantly knew what it was when we opened the box and he helped Chad assemble the bike quickly.

So far, Nate can only go backwards but he is working on the gross motor planning skills needed to make the bike go forward with his physical therapist.  Soon he’ll be speed racing all around town on his tricked out trike!

Because it’s our favorite kind of cake and it’s so reasonably priced, Nate scored a ten-pound chocolate cake from Costco for our three-person party, which we shared with our neighbors who were happy to help out!  The birthday boy enjoyed his fair share of the cake, too!

Thanks again to all of you who made Nate’s birthday such a joyous event and allowed us to give good fortune to others in honor of our boy’s life and hard work!  Next week, I promise to share our adventures at Disney World and lessons learned — we gained some great insight into the park that we never knew before!

Many of you were extremely generous, giving $4 for each member of your family (including pets!).  Gift cards ranged from $4 to $50 from people we know and people we don’t.  More importantly, the messages that you wrote with each gift card were really awesome–from thanking Ms. Susie for her awesome work with kids on the spectrum to cheering Nate on in our big world.  All told, $560 in Amazon.com gift cards were made in honor of Nate’s 4th Birthday Wish.  Five hundred and sixty dollars. With a total that large, we felt we needed to share it with Ms. Mollie, who helps kids of all abilities (neurotypical and not) with speech delays or communication disorders.  Like Ms. Susie, Ms. Mollie needs to engage her very young students, who she sees on varying schedules (she sees Nate five times a week), with magnetic activities through which they learn and grow.  So, we decided to give $200 to Ms. Mollie and the rest to Ms. Susie.  The best part?  It was a complete surprise to Ms. Mollie!

We printed out the gift cards and put them in envelopes for Ms. Mollie (left) and Ms. Susie (right) that said Birthday Wishes for Ms. Susie and Ms. Mollie from Nate.  Needless to say, they’re over the moon — completely over the moon — and a bit awestruck that a bunch of folks they don’t know would so generously support the work that they do every day with Nate and many other kids over the years.  The gift was given with one caveat – it must be used for things above and beyond their daily needs.  The fun things.  The things they wanted to get but couldn’t.  The things they know would engage Jolly or Matthew or Abby best, and will be used for the generations after them, but they didn’t have it in the classroom.  That stuff.  In short, you all dropped Santa Claus on Nate’s teachers in the middle of May.  And it’s an awesome feeling.

Ms. Mollie and Ms. Susie have agreed to let me share the items that they purchase with these gift cards.  For those of you with kids on the autism spectrum, it will be a great resource to see what these therapists think are the best things out there.  And for those of you with no connection to autism except for Nate, it will open your eyes to the expense of adaptive toys and products that are needed for our kids.  Susie anticipates using some of the money now and some at the start of the school year (Nate will be with Susie in pre-K for another year! Holla!), so her list might come in two stages.

I’ll write a post this week about Nate and his week long birthday celebration at Disney World (which was amazing!) but I really wanted to write this post today — because we know our lives are better because of these two teachers and the others who support their work — Ms. Mechelle, Ms. Julianne, and Ms. Sandy.  And you all made it possible for us to surprise the heck out of them on Nate’s fourth birthday.  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your amazing generosity in honor of our little guy and the therapists that work with him every day.

We will give a full report of our Disney trip when we return, as some pretty magical things have happened here.  But for now, I leave you with these photos of Nate eating his way through the Parks — and boy!  Does Nate ever love to eat!

First Dole Whip of the season – at Aloha Isle in the Magic Kingdom.

Nate stole Chad’s Oreo gelato — at Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland.

Checking out his roule au fromage (cheese roll — with garlic!) – in Paris at Epcot.

Me, Nate, and Funnel Cake – in (where else!?!) America at Epcot.

Nate has always had a love for art of all media — paint, clay, sculpting, you name it, he wants to get his hands on it.  The love has carried over to the school setting; Ms. Susie reports that Nate is one of the most enthusiastic in the class when an art project is on the roster for the day.  Many of the art projects have goals greater than artistic expression like exercising fine and/or gross motor skills, planning/sorting, etc.  Every week, Nate’s folder is brimming with art projects that he’s completed or workbook sheets that helped him practice drawing lines or snipping with scissors.  Chad and I always review each piece of paper with Nate and praise him for a job well done but, since we aren’t the classroom, we don’t really know how much Nate did himself and how much assistance was provided by a therapist.

Two days ago, this came home in Nate’s folder.  Nice, right?  We were impressed with how close each thing came to fitting within the allotted space.  In fact, a little too impressed.  I mean, he’s three.  Someone must have helped Nate.  That day, Nate’s journal didn’t make it in his backpack so Susie emailed me at night to say there were two videos on Nate’s iPad and she wrote a little explanation about them.  One of the videos was of Nate assembling the above artwork.  After Nate went to bed, Chad and I sat down to watch the video.  In short, we were in awe.

To many of you who have interacted with neurotypical kids, this video will be nothing special but, for us, it represents things we’ve never seen Nate accomplish before.  First off, Nate’s sitting at a table, attending to an activity in a very appropriate way–in the way you wish every child would attend to a task.  Nate is so careful and thoughtful with the selection of each paper piece, the use of the glue stick, and the placement of each item.  Incredibly thoughtful.  And it’s a really long task (the video is more than three minutes long), which requires him to sustain concentration and focus.  Then he realizes the task isn’t done until he puts the cap back on the glue stick, so he patiently waits for Ms. Susie, who’s filming the video, to realize this, which she does, and he fully completes his assignment.

I’m pretty sure I can hear Nate’s Birth to Three therapists (all fans of Nater Tater’s blog, of course!) cheering at this film because it’s jaw dropping.  And we couldn’t be prouder because it’s such a clear demonstration of how Nate is thriving in school and taking to new things well.  Granted, this is Nate’s performance after being a full year in Ms. Susie’s room; I’m sure it wasn’t this graceful at the start of his time there.  However, it shows how far Nate has come in a relatively short amount of time — and now we plan to add mosaic-shaped paper and a glue stick to our restaurant bag to entertain Nate as we wait!

On May 20, in just a few short weeks, our Nater Tater is going to be four.  FOUR!  We are astonished at how quickly time has passed yet increasingly proud of all the things our sweet boy is learning and accomplishing every day.  Though he might not be meeting the milestones compiled on the all-mighty milestone list, Nate is forging his own path with mastery of new and amazing things.  Can he spell his name?  You bet!  Can he jump in place and forward? Yesserie!  Can he point to what he needs? YES, HE CAN! And can he kiss you on the lips when asked?  Proud to say yes to that one!  In short, our son is brilliant.  And though many people tell us that it’s due to good parenting (we feel like we’re floundering every day, folks – it’s all a front!), we can tell you that we would be nothing if not for Nate’s amazing therapists, which entered his life when he was eighteen months old.

It is hard to believe that, last year at this time, Nate had yet to start public school. He had begun to transition into Ms. Susie’s room, all the while working very hard with the beautiful women above (Ms. Marilyn is missing!), who helped get him ready to beginpre-school.  We were nervous about how Nate would accept his new environment and new therapists/teachers but it turns out we had nothing to worry about.

In Ms. Susie’s room, Nate has blossomed and thrived.  With the help of many teachers, including Ms. Mechelle, Ms. Sandy, and Ms. Julianne, Nate loves school.  He walks to his classroom each day, getting more and more excited as we get closer to the door.  When we arrive, he greets them all with hugs (though sometimes it’s a wrestle to get one teacher to give him up to the other teacher for a snuggle).  He unzips his jacket, hangs it up, puts his lunch box in his cubby, unpacks his backpack, says “see ya!” to me, and sits at the table to start his morning activities.  Along with Ms. Mollie, his speech therapist, and Ms. Jen, his school-based occupational therapist, at age three Nate works (and I do mean works) thirty hours a week with these women–and every opportunity is taken to learn, even during meals.  They have advanced my son’s social skills and individual learning goals all while managing three other boys and two girls who are autistic.  I often struggle to manage one child on the spectrum.  They manage six daily–with grace and style.  And they manage to accomplish a ridiculous amount with each and every one of these kids.

In short, these women do God’s work.  And they do all of this within the budgetary constraints of the public education system, which cannot recognize the expense of materials and resources our kids need.  For these children, learning is done through engagement–magnetic engagement with toys or food or art.  And engagement fades so new items must be introduced to keep them compelled to learn and grow.  And Nate’s teachers often buy things to engage our children out of their own pockets.  So, we are asking Nate’s greatest fans for a gift in honor of Nate’s fourth birthday–a $4 gift card to Amazon.com, which we will gather and give to Ms. Susie to use as she best sees fit for our kids.

Why $4?  Well, first because Nate’s turning four.  Second, it’s a reasonable amount–most of us spend that daily on a cup of coffee or a snack at a shop.  And third, because small gifts in large amounts can make a really big difference.  And why Amazon.com gift cards?  Well, some of you loyal Nate fans are friends and family–but we have been blessed to have gathered a following of Nate fans who we have never met.  While we trust that Nate’s fans are all awesome people (you are!), there are some looney toons out there and we don’t want to compromise our safety or Nate’s by revealing our last name, home address, or Nate’s school name.  So that you know we actually relayed the gift cards from our e-mail account to Ms. Susie, we’ll post a picture of her joy and rapture when she receives them!

If you would like to participate in Nate’s birthday wish, click here to be taken to the Amazon.com electronic gift card page.  Under Amount, choose “Set My Own” and enter $4 (or more, if you’re so inclined!).  The Recipient Email is nateisgreatblog@gmail.com.  Then click purchase and it’s on its way!

In the past few weeks, Nate has learned a new sign–Thank You (though he does the “thank” part and forgets to throw it to “you.”)–and he also says it!  Ok, it’s an approximation and it comes out as “ah boom!” but it’s pretty awesome.  So, in advance for your generosity, Nate signs and says thank you — and we do, too!

P.S. I have discovered that the gift cards sent to me come through Amazon.com – so there’s no way to email you all back to thank you for your generosity!  We’re doing thank you shout outs on Nate’s Facebook page – so make sure to fan him to hear us cheer for you!  

I mean, come on!  What kid wouldn’t immediately see their parent and say, “I SAW DUCKS TODAY! AND I COULD TOUCH THE DUCKS! AND THEY LIVE IN MS. DAWN’S ROOM!  JUST LIVE THERE! I SAW A DUCK!!!” So when I saw this printout in Nate’s folder, I made a big deal out of it.  Clearly in the pictures, Nate was taken aback by the animals (he has a hard time around most animals, as they’re unpredictable in behavior) so I asked instead if Ms. Julianne (pictured – one of his most favorite therapists!) took him to meet some ducks.  I asked if they made noise or waddled and if he and his friends touched the duck.  Clearly, Nate doesn’t respond but he does cheer sometimes with a “YEA!” and I strongly suspect that there are answers to my questions scrolling through his head.  When Chad got home, we took the duck picture off the fridge and Nate showed it to Dad.  Then Dad made a big deal about ducks living in Ms. Dawn’s room, too.

I think it’s pretty rad (yeah, I said it — but isn’t it the perfect use of the word?) that Nate’s school has such a system that allows us to share in our child’s day. Even though he can’t tell us about it, Nate and I can still have a pretty robust conversation about the fun things he did and learned.  Yup.  Totally rad.

As part of my genealogy hobby, I started looking at our own baby pictures and also came across some striking similarities.  For instance, here’s Chad and Nate, both at two months old.

The similarity between Chad and Nate continues as both grew older.

And then there’s me and Nate at eighteen months old.  (I was a blondie for a while as a tot.  Then it all fell out and came in dark brown.)

As I get the time to scan in more pictures of me, Chad, and other relatives, I plan to keep these comparisons going because Nate really is a good blend of both of our genes.  Not to mention, these photos crack me up….