But! Before I skip too far ahead here, let's get to this week's five. (Sorry in advance -- this post is long!)
ONE.
A new speech class.
We've been working for the past couple months to transition Mason into the school district for his services. ABA is fully covered by our insurance so we're not really looking to move that, but mostly his speech services and potentially preschool. We submitted the paperwork to enter the school district before school ended last school year and finally had our assessments and evaluations in September/October/November. I plan to do a whole post on all the details and how it went soon, so I'm not going to go in to too much detail now, but the main result of the whole thing is that he is too high functioning to qualify for the school district preschool, but he did qualify for speech services. A meeting, a week off for Thanksgiving, and another week or so later, and Mason started speech services through the school district on Tuesday. Best parts? For one, it's free and two, he gets group speech again, which I think he will benefit greatly from. Oh and three! He ROCKED it.
TWO.
Glasses!
As a part of the intake assessment to the school district, Mason had to do a hearing and vision test. He passed the hearing test just fine, but the vision test came back saying "refer". So I contacted his pediatrician and she submitted to the insurance to get us an authorization to go to a pediatric ophthalmologist. The appointment was schedule for this past Tuesday. I normally like for Seth to go with me to appointments, just so we can both be on the same page at the same time, but he had meetings at work, so I was on my own. I knew taking him to speech would be something I could handle, but I DID NOT have high hopes for the ophthalmologist and had really hoped Seth could have been there. Boy could I not have been more wrong. We arrived, checked in, and waited a few minutes to be called back. We went back in to the room to wait for the doctor and I asked if Mason wanted to sit in the big boy chair and wait and he said no. I didn't push it and we played with the toys they had in there. A few minutes later, the doctor comes in and asks Mason to sit in the chair. I knew he wouldn't go on his own, so I sat with him. He did really well reading most of the letters on the screen that she asked him too, but got a little squirmy towards the end. I think he wasn't quite sure what was going to happen and just wanted to get out of there. Based on how he answered the questions, I think the doctor thought he'd for sure need glasses, but they dilated his eyes just to be sure (I knew about this when I made the appointment). THIS is when Mason lost his sh*t. And rightfully so. The doctor warned me that the drops were going to burn and I knew he wouldn't willingly lay down, so together we held his arms down and she put the drops in. He cried for a couple minutes, but then was actually ok. We waited 45 minutes for his eyes to dilate by playing with toys in the waiting room and watching Finding Nemo. The time went by surprisingly fast. We went back in to the room, Mason sat on my lap, and the doctor finished the exam. His eyes aren't bad at all, but he is slightly near sighted (can't see far) and needs glasses. She gave me a couple recommendations on good glasses shops where the people are good with kids and one stood out to me - the one her family goes to. So, off we went. We took a minor pit stop to the mall to pick out some Christmas ornaments (I get yearly ones so we had to get this years) as a small break away from doctors and sitting still, and then we were on our way.
Let me tell you. THIS LADY WAS AMAZING. She made Mason feel so at home that he actually put the glasses on by himself. I literally just sat there in shock as he admired himself in the mirror. I mean, can't you tell how proud he is of himself in that photo above? Goodness, where did my baby go? He has been replaced with a full on BIG KID. Long story short, we tried on a few different pairs, and I ultimately decided on the ones that can withstand full destruction and have the least chance of breaking. We ordered them and they will be in in about a week. So if you see pictures of Mason without glasses for the next week or so, don't be confused :)
THREE.
Foodie for a Year [a Holiday Dessert]
I completely missed not only posting about but also making our last foodie of the year recipe. I'm super bummed on this one because our last recipe was for dessert and I LOVE dessert. So, since I didn't have time to make a new recipe, I thought I'd share a couple of oldies but goodies. I made both of these the past couple years and brought them to Christmas for dessert and everyone LOVES them. Seriously they are so easy to make, make great last minute desserts, and store well in the fridge for days (if you have enough left over to need to refrigerate!)
White Chocolate Oreo Peppermint Bark -- recipe here or pin here
Grasshopper Mint Chocolate Bark -- recipe here or pin here
They are both seriously so good. You will not be disappointed!
To see everyone else's recipes in the foodie for a year link up, click here.
FOUR.
Stocking Stuffer Exchange.
Whitney, Jess, and Amy hosted a stocking stuffer exchange and I was super excited to participate. I've never done anything quite like this and was excited to try to come up with some goodies for my partner that would be small enough to fit in a stocking and fit the budget. I was paired with Brittany over at Just Another Day in Paradise and she picked out the most perfect gifts for me! We exchanged a few ideas via email before we went shopping for each other, but then we were pretty much on our own to pick things out. Brittany did great! The candle smells amazing, I got to pick up another one of my favorite holiday drinks - the Chestnut Praline Latte - and I got to eat a few M&Ms before Mason found me and promptly stole the container from me and finished them. lol. Thank you thank you thank you Brittany!!! I loved it all!
To find out what I got her, click here.
To see the other participants in the stocking stuffer exchange, click here.
FIVE.
Mommy and Me Book Exchange.
For once, I'm finally on top of an exchange :) Today is our Secret Santa Mommy and Me book exchange reveal day! My Secret Santa happened to be one of the other hosts of this exchange, Ashley from Everything's Hunky Dorey! Ashley, Wyatt, and Stella picked out THE most perfect books for Mason and I. They were more than generous and I was so, so excited to see the package from them arrive on my doorstep a few days ago!
First up was a book for me -- The Magnolia Story! This book has been on my wish list ever since I heard about it because, like everyone else, I too love Joanna Gaines. I'm so happy that Fixer Upper is back for another season! Ashley really hit the nail on the head with this one. Now I just need to find some time to read it!
Second were books (yes books!) for Mason. I truly only expected one book, but like I said, they were more than generous, and sent Mason two books. He was seriously over the moon to get to open some presents early and was super excited to see Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes and Mo Willems' Waiting is Not Easy. Mason LOVES Pete the Cat and we don't have any Mo Willems books so these were both PERFECT. We read them both over and over as soon as we opened them.
Thank you so, SO much Ashley, Wyatt, and Stella! We love our books!
Mason and I were partnered with Jamie and her sweet girls and got to play Santa for them. To find out what I got them, click here.
Whew. That's it for today. I think I'm finally caught up and should be back on track next week! Hope everyone has a great weekend! And don't forget to link up with us below if you participated in the book exchange also!
![Foodie for a Year [www.chasinmasonblog.com]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8tQrfS6hdhX9p5IUtLohFr7qXSo-HTtDVcHwZ7HlWK1leRbYVTNfJ2wT4St3nuS0y90SzV8djjosEZZ_9HvgWM2uRDCu3ioKDI2co2CpuSJkDapv1FQ_i4cdgEMOBNXW0S0Z2RSYitSX/s1600/FFAY+Main+w+pics2.JPG "Foodie for a Year [www.chasinmasonblog.com]")
