Spirit Week at MPC & Fall Festival in Naperville

This week was "Spirit Week" at Theo's school. Every day they had to wear something specific and on Friday they had a dance party!

We've been working on having Theo wear a mask for when we come across situations where there are no exemptions. It's been hard, but he's doing better.

On Monday, September 20th, it was "Football Jersey" day at school. I tried to get a picture of Theo before school, but he was NOT in the mood.

Nor was he in the mood after school....

[Theo with his teacher, teacher assistant, and aid at school]

But when dad came home Theo was REALLY into taking pictures! Go figure!

And look what popped up on my camera from THREE years ago! They are too cute! GO PACK GO!

On Tuesday, September 21st, it was "Hawaiian Shirt" day aka "Harry Potter Goes to Hawaii" day!

Theo has been working really hard on his sensory assignments. He was very into making noise with the beads and bells.

Josh set up camp in the basement, so he could have a quiet place to study (and work).

Wednesday, September 22nd, was "Farmer Shirt" day. I think we nailed it!

Thursday, September 23rd, was "Minooka Blue" day. I dressed Theo in all blue and he blended in nicely with his blue wheelchair!

On Friday, September 24th, Theo had PT and then he had to "Dress Sharp" for the dance party at school.

His teachers said he had a great time at the party and was dancing a lot!

On Saturday, September 25th, we drove to Naperville to attend the "Fall Festival" at the Naperville Farmers Market. It was such a gorgeous day and we bought a lot of fun stuff!

I was really looking forward to getting more avocado toast from Mima's. They also had this amazing caramel apple toast, so we ended up getting one of each! The caramel apple toast had caramelized apples, marscapon cheese, caramel drizzle, and a pinch of flaked sea salt on a delicious piece of toast. 

[Raise your hand if you want a bite of the most amazing avocado toast!]

I could not get over how good this toast is! I NEED more please!

We also bought some fresh local honey and honey comb.

And a kit to brew some elderberry syrup.

After we got home, Josh decided he wanted to take the spare tire carrier off of the back of his Rubicon. Of course, it ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated, but he got the job done.

** Flash Back! This picture was taken exactly nine years ago! Nine years ago Josh was promoted to operator. It's crazy to think about how far he has come since then!**

Family Dentist & The Potato Festival

I bought two more gymnastic mats, so almost our entire family room is covered. BUT Theo still finds a way to avoid them!

On Tuesday, September 14th, we all went to the dentist together. We all did pretty well. Josh had no new cavities, I need to have one of my sealants redone, and Theo's teeth look great so far!

After the dentist we walked across the street to the park, so Theo could swing.

Josh signed up to take the Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) class and test (there are three of them). If he passes all of the test he will get another certification that will give him more opportunities. This test is no joke and has a high fail rate. Josh decided to do an online course and then he will go to Georgia for a week to attend an in-person class.

[One of Theo's daily reports. He does love to dance!]

[Being so super strong!]

On Friday, September 17th, Josh went to Chicago for his Global Entry interview. He passed and should be getting his card in the mail very soon!

On Saturday, September 18th, the three of us went to the "Inaugural Channahon Community Potato Festival," which took place at the local park. They had a car show, music, and food trucks. We arrived at 5:00 PM and planned on getting some dinner from the food trucks, but they were 95% sold out! I guess they didn't anticipate how many people would be attending the festival. We walked through the car show (Josh loves cars) and then headed to Chipotle to get some dinner.

Severe Weather and 20th Anniversary of 9-11

We had quite an adventure during this holiday week! 

Theo didn't have school on Monday (September 6th), so we spent the day playing at home with dad, who also had the day off!

On Tuesday, September 7th, Theo had OT in the morning and then went to school that afternoon. We were warned that we could get some "severe storms" in the afternoon, but they would be fast moving and shouldn't linger. They were right about that!

[Theo working hard at school with PT]

At about 3:00 PM it started to rain and within minutes it was coming down so hard that I couldn't see our backyard fence. I stared getting warnings on my phone and I could hear the tornado siren blaring in the distance, so I went into the basement.

We lost power and it was very dark in the basement, but I was safe. The wind was blowing hard and the rain was really coming down. The house was shaking from the thunder and the lightning was happening so quickly and was so bright that I could tell it was right on top of the house.

The phones were down at the school, but I knew Theo was safe. After the worse part was over I grabbed my book and waited by the window for his bus to show up. I then got a call from the school nurse who told me that Theo was safe, but the buses were having a hard time getting to the school because of all the downed trees and power lines. She asked me if I wanted to come get him. I told her that our power was out and I couldn't get the car out of the garage. Josh was on his way home, so we could go get Theo after he got home. She said that was fine and she would keep Theo safe and entertained at the school while we waited for Josh to get home. 

I called Josh to tell him what was going on and he told me a bunch of roads were closed, so he was having a hard time getting home. I decided to try the garage door and it turns out we have a battery backup! The door opened and I called the nurse and told her that I was going to come pick up Theo. It usually takes me seven minutes to get to Theo's school, but it took 25 minutes because of all the road closures. There were multiple downed power lines, trampolines in trees, debris in the roads, closed roads, and downed trees everywhere. Theo's school is in an old neighborhood with some really old large trees. Many of them were lying in the street, but I was able to navigate around them and I finally arrived at Theo's school. I parked and started walking to the front door when Theo's pickup bus driver pulled up in his little bus. I asked her what she was doing there and she said she was so worried about Theo and she heard they couldn't get a hold of his drop off driver, so she came to the school to make sure he made it home safely! FOR REALS! How sweet is that?! At the same time Theo's aid and principal came walking out of the school with Theo. I honestly wasn't worried. I knew Theo was safe and that he would be well taken care of until I picked him up. 

Thank you so much to the staff at Theo's school who kept him happy and safe during the storm! 

We didn't know how long the power would be out, but since the storm came through it was much cooler and we knew we would be fine for one night without power. We got out our 100-hour-candles (thanks mom!) and Josh and I went into the basement to find some games. We played a couple rounds of Rummikub and then we put Theo to bed. At 9:30 PM I got a text from our power company saying they were STILL evaluating the outage and didn't know when power would be restored. A few minutes later the power came back on! YAY!

The next day on the news they reported a tornado had touched down just north of us. They also said that the evaluators would be out in our area that day looking at damage and they would determine if there was a tornado that touched down in our neighborhood (some locals swore there was one). Regardless if it was actually a tornado, there was still plenty of damage. I'm so glad that no one was hurt and hopefully they can get all the trees and debris cleaned up quickly!

If Theo wants to go to Disney World, he will have to wear a mask. We are working on it, but he's not a fan.

[Work in progress!]

Theo has figured out how to get his toys out of the baskets. He enjoys taking ALL of his toys out and creating a mess!

["Yes, mom, I need all of these toys!"]

Theo is a "sensory seeking" kid, so he likes to squeeze into tight spaces. He can be quite silly sometimes!

[Sitting up big and strong at OT]

[Getting on the bus with his glasses and face mask on]

September 11, 2021 was the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. I loved all the tributes and the out pouring of love and support for all the victims and their families. 

[Can't wait!]