Around Here...

We've been taking full advantage of our last month of summer! Joey's summer camp has ended so he & I have been playing a lot, running errands, taking naps and having play-dates...and eating lots of fro-yo! I have to say, it's been nice...soaking it all in! The Mr. and I have also been spending more quality time together; which I absolutely love since he's been working longer days. Our bi-weekly date nights have continued -- eating good din-din's, hitting the driving range & catching neat flicks -- and tonight, we're rocking it out with Mr. Huey Lewis & the News!! Oh yea, I'm a total 80's fan!! 

Have a great weekend, Friends!! Thanks for dropping in...

Love how he plays with just about anything... These are coin wraps! 

I {heart} our Summer...so far!

Lots and lots of good things happening in our household and lots more to look forward to this Summer. Here's a quick peek into our little family of three of our Summer so far...

This was taken on Father's Day! He's getting so big!

D + I caught up with SJEats! Our new favorite thing to do is eating at these gourmet 'roach-coaches'!!

Weekend Photos

The best part of the weekend is knowing Joey has a love for strawberry-jam sandwiches! We just recently found out he's allergic to peanut butter...so jam sandwiches it is! We took a short road trip to see his Grandma in So. Cal and couldn't help myself in taking photos of this face! Gotta love the jam & bread crumbs!! 

Man, this kiddo has come a long way! Part of his feeding therapy includes combining two different types of textures: the dry from the bread and the sticky from the jam! Two extreme textures which we love that he loves!

On the way back home, we decided to drive up the 101! We stopped by one of D's favorite restaurants he used to go to as a child on family road trips! Oh yeah, the infamous Split Pea Soup -- at the original Andersen's in Buellton! Can you guess what Joey ordered?  

You guessed it!

...later that evening, D made some homemade pizza for all three of us along with our favorite drinks!

To the left we have New Castle for D, in the middle is Joey's thermos filled with milk and there's mine (good to take the edge off) Southern Comfort & 7...Cheers to more weekends like this!

"Think Happy. Be Happy."

Earlier this month, I ran into this saying "Think Happy. Be Happy." in a blog (forget which one) I read and it's simple...and it stuck! I also read somewhere about your "inner smile"...To smile all day and see how you feel. Going back to a moment when you felt truly happy & content...and bring that feeling into your entire body and then use this same smile to smile at yourself...then share this smile with others & you will be surprised how simple this changes your mind (mood) and that of those around you. Crazy, yes? But surprisingly, true!

So...I'm sharing my smiles this past month with you!! Little things that make me happy.

These were "just because" flowers! ...I love them, especially because of the delivery boy!!!

A new big deal around here!! He LOVES books!! They've actually replaced toys for the moment! Reading time before bedtime & reading just because really makes us super happy!!

Ellen DeGeneres has been my favorite talk show host for the longest time. I used to watch her old talk show years ago!! There is something about her personality that instantly makes me smile...and of course, dance!

Yes, he doesn't have the most happiest look on his face, ha-ha! But what makes me happy is that he has kept his promise by working from home more!

This is MONUMENTAL!! Look at that concentration...Man, gives me goosebumps, serious goosebumps! He has come a long way...and everyday, I am thankful for our blessings & his accomplishments. (TBP (to be posted): Mainstream preschool/Kindergarten update))

Here, he is making Valentines for his classmates! This is a first!!! Gotta love it...He is so good! He made these "one eyed monster" faces to put on the hearts...Too damn cute!!!

Oh yeah!! Love how you can read his name here. We've been using this method from "Handwriting Without Tears" developed by an occupational therapist...so far so good!

They had a little Valentine's party at his school! I brought some yummy Kara's Cupcakes and Joey handed out his cards. In this photo, they were lining up to go to the Gross Motor Room to shake off all that sugar in their systems...Love how Joey's right in the middle of it all!

Here he is in our hallway. I have to say, this hallway is one of the best elements of this house. We used to play fetch with our doggie in this hallway or hide-n-seek. Now, Joey uses it as "his street" to "drive his bike"...too funny!

And this is at the end of the hallway. This room has undergone so many changes...this one is a keeper! Love-Love-Love being in this room of mine!

Today, I'm going to see my Bunco (yes, the dice game) girlfriends for breakfast and later this evening, D & I are hosting a little dinner party for D's company peeps! Joey is going to have a play-date with Maya here at the house too; they too, will have their own little dinner party at the kiddie table! :) I'll have to post photos after the party...D is the cook for the night & of course, I was his sous chef! Last night, we started prepping for the party -- homemade pasta, meatballs, tiramisu (it's better when you make it the night before) -- taking out all the serving platters, drinking glasses...just makes me smile! Can't wait to hangout with some good friends and of course, eat some really good food!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

New Beginnings...

A lot of really good stuff going on in the Setti household. Joey has surprised us with so many milestones this month. Dave and I are amazed with such progress he has made within the past 2 months. He's been using a lot of 5 to 6 word combinations...requesting, sharing thoughts, negotiating (gets this from his Daddy)...it's mind-boggling with this fast pace he's on. Two weeks ago during his speech therapy session, he finally ate ("crunch, crunch, swallow...into to your belly") table food...it was a Cheeto but that's huge! He is now confident in eating Gerber Yogurt Melts. Typically, he would only lick to get the taste -- now he's at the point where you hand him one and it's "all gone" in seconds into his happy belly. We are building his "chewing stamina" for when it comes time to eat meat...slowly but surely it is going to happen! Everyone on "Team Joey" is very excited for what is to come for this little guy! He's definitely a hard-worker...

Another huge thing is his willingness to be independent. Something we've just started getting used to. We never showed him the process for brushing his teeth. We used to just brush his teeth for him in the changing room. I just set up his bathroom the other day and just by observing us when we brush our teeth...he did the same thing once I put the stool up against the vanity. It's totally cool...I'm loving every second of this...he just gets it!

I love how he is showing me how he's brushing his teeth!

Days have been very busy. Seems busier than usual. We've been dealing with a lot of new transitions and patterns and schedules in the past weeks that is getting harder and harder to blog, reply to e-mails and to scrapbook. This week, I made it a point to do something creative.  I wanted to see how fast I could create something before being "redirected" by my little man. I used my Studio Calico kits for both layouts...I had fun while it lasted. :) 

"Want Joey's Computer" + Ice Cream!

...is what Joey says when he wants to play with "our" computers. So I gave him my laptop (the one I haven't used since converting to Apple) to play with. The first thing he does is puts it on the floor and lays on his belly...it's so darn cute! I love these moments!

BIG NEWS! The kiddo loves ice cream. This is something he would always refuse to "try". Everytime we get a chance to offer him ice cream, it would result in a meltdown because he doesn't want to try it, his therapists tried it in session - no luck...and Holy-Batman, out of no where I'm eating ice cream and he wants some? Huh? So, I handed it over and quickly grabbed the camera. I didn't care for aperture, I didn't care for lighting...I just wanted evidence! LOL!