Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Massachusetts Early Intervention Consortium.
http://www.maeic.net/index.html

I was invited by our local EI and Regional Consultation Program, who funded the two day conference, meals and hotel stay.
It was another great learning experience, the best of which was spending a few days with some amazing super moms (and dads!)
There we’re probably 40 families in attendance, some of whom also presented at different workshops. The consortium provided a special family dinner, family hospitality room, and leadership project meeting, allowing the parents to get to know each other….and of course some of us parents also found our way to the bar at the end of the night!
It was amazing to be able to talk so freely and concisely, without having to explain every little thing. We compared notes on different doctor, tests, and treatments. We talked about diagnosis, or lack there of for some. We talked about the effects on siblings and the fears and hopes of having another child after having a special needs baby. We talked about traveling, getting a night off, keeping your extended family involved…we talked for hours about all the things you just can’t say (or don’t want to say) to the rest of the world. The things you sometimes feel guilty for thinking in your head. The truths that bot everyone wants to hear. But most of all we talked about how precious and cute and full of potential our little wonders are. How lucky we are to have found each other and how excited we are to get all the kids together!
It was another great experience in this crazy world of being a special needs mom and I am so thankful to have made some new friends. all o the moms I hung out with are also involved with Perkins, so I’m sure we will be seeing each other again.
Kai spent a few days visiting Gigi and her friends. I’m glad she has her own little village to come by and hang out and help out when she has Kai for a day. He’s a lot for any one person to keep up with, and he can never get enough cuddles and snuggles!

We had a nice mothers day visiting with my mom in western mass on Sunday. It was a beautiful day put and we had a small relaxing gathering, which was just perfect for us.
There is a picture on my moms fridge from last mothers day, my first mothers day, of my brother holding Kai. The pictures from that day are the last ones I have before Kai was diagnosed. It was a hard day for me last year. I was completely exhausted and certain by this time that something was wrong, but we still laughed and loved and shared the morning with some of my favorite moms. I will always love and cherish those pictures and memories. Life will never be like that again.
It is hard to believe A year has pasted since that day. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. It really is true, once you have a baby the years just start flying by!
They keep you pretty busy!
Keeping up with Kai this week:
Monday- opt-homology at children’s
Tuesday-complex care at children’s then opthomology at Perkins
Wednesday- back to chemo for round 2