Better late than never?

Um, hi.
Y'all still there?

I really didn't mean to take such a long break from blogging. It just kinda happened. And honestly? It's been nice. We've had lots of good quality time together... impromptu trips to the mall, playtime at the park, and pillow forts on those freezing rainy days... the good stuff. There have been times where I felt like my head might explode if I didn't sit down and write something. But overall, it's been nice to shut the computer off and chill with my family.

Noah's schedule has been a mess since Christmas. The other night, he slept from 1:30am - 5am. Then was up till 9:30am. Then slept until 2pm. Most nights, we haven't gotten to bed before 3am. Yeah, total mess. He's also given up naps, so my free time to sit and write has been limited. And in an effort to embrace the new year resolution vibes swirling around, I've been busy re-organizing, rearranging, and revamping the house.

So. I'm really behind. Like really really. Christmas was what? Two, three weeks ago? In any case, I started this blog to document our life, and I need to hurry up and do that before I forget. So here goes. Few words, lots of pictures. And no, they're not perfect. But I wasn't going for perfection. I was going for remembering. :)      

Dad's Birthday.
My dad was born on the 18th, and we always try to make a point to celebrate it separately from Christmas. So each year, we (my little family, my brother, and two step-sisters with their boyfriends) head on over to my dad's for a little party.

We don't buy ice cream at our house. Mainly because it's my weakness, and I'd be 500 lbs if we bought it. But Noah knows exactly where his grandparents keep their ice cream. He'll drag us to the freezer, over and over again, and point to the ice cream box. If he's able to reach it, he'll grab it out of the freezer and bring it to us. Clearly, the boy got it honest.

I love watching my dad with Noah. He's never had any issues bonding with Noah, despite the fact that Noah doesn't talk yet. He gets him... what makes him tick, how he likes to play, how to make that little face light up. He understands that it takes a little bit more effort to bond with Noah, and he enjoys putting in that effort. He and Noah have a very special relationship, and I love that.

Christmas Eve.
We always do Christmas Eve with my parents. It leaves us with fewer places to run to on Christmas Day without losing that Christmas-y feel.

First up was my dad's. We had given them a couple ideas of what to get Noah this year. He loves shape sorters, so they got him this Melissa & Doug one that's a little more challenging. They also gave him one of his favorite OT toys... veggies that you slice with a (play) knife. He plays with it constantly.

 However, they surprised us with one of their gifts. They originally planned on getting him a rocking horse, but they couldn't find what they were looking for. My stepmom happens to drive a little Mini Cooper. So when they saw this, they couldn't resist...

Noah loves it! Actually, he got annoyed with Brad, because he wasn't putting it together fast enough. :)

As for us, my dad got me a flash for my camera... not a Nikon, obviously, since those are super expensive. It's a Vivitar, which he says he used for his pro-level camera back in the day. I've had some time to play with it, and I'm loving it so far. I'm more of a natural light photographer, but I'm wanting to learn more OCF techniques. Sorry, I'm going totally off topic.
When we first drove up, there was a HUGE ladder propped up against the house with a big red bow and a tag with Brad's name on it. He's always having to borrow big ladders to clean gutters and all that on our house. It was the one thing I told my parents Brad needed, so I thought it was a great way to give it to him.

My Mom's.
After we visit my dad, we head straight to my mom's house, who lives about 5 minutes away. My grandmother (aka "MamMaw") usually spends the night there on Christmas Eve, and we have a PJ party. My mom makes sandwiches and appetizers, and my stepdad builds a fire. We have a cozy night in, and it's one of my favorite traditions. This year, my younger cousin Cameron was staying with my MamMaw, so we decided not to make him feel weird by being the only one in normal clothes. But my little sister kept the tradition alive. ;)

Seriously, this photo sums up my mom's personality. Totally.

This year, we asked them to help us out by getting Noah an iPad. We were really stressing about how we were going to afford one, even an older version. All the Craigs List ads were sketchy, and retailers have to price them all the same, so no major sales. We asked them to just take whatever they'd normally spend on us and put it towards an iPad. When my mom asked my stepdad about it, he told her to tell us not to worry about it. They'd go out and buy one, no questions asked. In his words, "Anything for that sweet boy..."

(testing it out)

It's been such a hit with Noah. He has several favorite apps, but the one I'm most impressed with has been the spelling app by TouchAutism.com. Noah didn't know his ABC's at all before. He still doesn't know them in order. But this app has taught him what the letters are, so if I say "A" or "F", he immediately points to those letters. Honestly, I think it makes more sense to him this way. Before, they're just arbitrary letters with no meaning. He gets numbers, because they make sense to him. They have a purpose. Put the letters in a specific order, and they suddenly mean something for him. Anyway, it's pretty amazing.

And of course, they still ended up giving us a Christmas. My mom has a problem with seeing her kids not open something on Christmas. They were super awesome and got me a Keurig (hallelujah! see above paragraph about Noah's sleep issues...) and a few other nice things. Knowing Brad needed a tall ladder, they gave him a gift card to Lowes (thank goodness we didn't end up with two huge ladders, lol!).

My mom's house at Christmas (the house I grew up in, and the house Brad proposed to me in front of)...

"Clark, is your house on fire??"

Christmas Day.
I was up until 4am building that firehouse. Brad and Noah crashed when we got home, and I realized Noah's big present wasn't put together yet. I sure wish Santa would bring this stuff pre-assembled. *Ahem*

But it was so worth it. Noah thought it was the coolest thing ever. He loves simple toys, preferably with a vintage feel to it. So I knew this would be a hit.
The only thing I didn't get for Noah that I wanted were cute Christmas PJ's. By the time I got around to looking, all the cute ones were gone. So I had to make do with what we had. Hey, he's wearing red. I count that as a win.

 

 

There was only one thing that Noah really wanted this year, which I didn't find out about until a few days before. Again with the vintage taste. Thank God for Craigs List.

After our little morning together, we always head on over to my grandparents' house where we meet up with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc for lunch and gifts.

 

 

Brad's parents came over that night for dinner and presents. I didn't really get any pictures, since we were all pretty tired by that point.

Hope y'all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Christmas Catch-up

This is going to be a really fast Christmas catch-up post, for documenting purposes. I have a pie in the oven, a few more gifts to wrap, and our first Christmas stop in an hour. So yeah. Very fast post.

We were invited to tag along with a coop homeschool group to make salt dough ornaments. It was just Noah, Alice, and Jack that day... but I think that was plenty. lol. Noah actually loved participating. He played in the flour (his favorite), got to touch the dough, and even enjoyed making handprints. Jessica was the teacher for the day, and she did a great job.

We also took Noah to see Santa, but I can't find the actual picture WITH Santa at the moment. Which is okay, because it sucked. Not the moment with Santa... but the picture quality. I'll never pay that much for a crappy photo ever again. Next year, I'll take my own pictures, thankyouverymuch.

But the mall has this cool exhibit with fake snow falling, and Noah loves it.

 

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

Autism Night Before Christmas

Autism Night Before Christmas
by Cindy Waeltermann

Twas the Night Before Christmas
And all through the house
The creatures were stirring
Yes, even the mouse

We tried melatonin
And gave a hot bath
But the holiday jitters
They always distract

The children were finally
All nestled in bed
When nightmares of terror
Ran through my OWN head

Did I get the right gift
The right color
And style
Would there be a tantrum
Or even, maybe, a smile?

Our relatives come
But they don’t understand
The pleasure he gets
Just from flapping his hands.

“He needs discipline,” they say
“Just a well-needed smack,
You must learn to parent…”
And on goes the attack

We smile and nod
Because we know deep inside
The argument is moot
Let them all take a side

We know what it’s like
To live with the spectrum
The struggles and triumphs
Achievements, regressions…

But what they don’t know
And what they don’t see
Is the joy that we feel
Over simplicity

He said “hello”
He ate something green!
He told his first lie!
He did not cause a scene!

He peed on the potty
Who cares if he’s ten,
He stopped saying the same thing
Again and again!

Others don’t realize
Just how we can cope
How we bravely hang on
At the end of our rope

But what they don’t see
Is the joy we can’t hide
When our children with autism
Make the tiniest stride

We may look at others
Without the problems we face
With jealousy, hatred
Or even distaste,

But what they don’t know
Nor sometimes do we
Is that children with autism
Bring simplicity.

We don’t get excited
Over expensive things
We jump for joy
With the progress work brings

Children with autism
Try hard every day
That they make us proud
More than words can say.

They work even harder
Than you or I
To achieve something small
To reach a star in the sky

So to those who don’t get it
Or can’t get a clue
Take a walk in my shoes
And I’ll assure you

That even 10 minutes
Into the walk
You’ll look at me
With respect, even shock.

You will realize
What it is I go through
And the next time you judge
I can assure you

That you won’t say a thing
You’ll be quiet and learn,
Like the years that I did
When the tables were turned…….

Noah stuff

Noah has been having a bit of a rough time lately.
He's realized that he's 3. It took a while, but he's finally having normal fits and meltdowns. They're still really mild compared to most kids (his OT actually laughs at them, because they're just so... cute).
He also got some sort of weird virus on Friday night. He would randomly break down crying over the silliest things, or over nothing at all. He wouldn't eat anything all day. On Saturday, he finally drank some water and proceeded to throw it all back up. After that happened two more times, he then ate half a bag of tortilla chips and was totally fine. So weird.

But the cranky mood hasn't completely left. Yesterday, he got wimpery as we came up to the McDonalds (at a red light). I figured, what the heck. So I went to get him some ice cream. Except? He didn't want it. And when we pulled out of the parking lot, he proceeded to have an epic (for Noah) meltdown and threw the ice cream cone at me from the back seat. I didn't get on him too much, because I know he's not himself right now. Plus, I had a hard time not laughing.

I just feel so bad for him. He's now understanding more and has opinions and wants, but he can't express them. When he felt bad over the weekend, I didn't know why. We were guessing everything from ear infections to a stomach ache. It's just sad. So while I'll never accept ugly behavior, I also know I have to extend a little grace to him. He's just now becoming more aware... of his surroundings, other people, himself. He expects us to just know his thoughts, and it must be so frustrating when we don't get it. It's like having a newborn in a toddler form sometimes.

***

Yesterday, he had a little bit of a rough time at his OT. She knew he wasn't quite himself when he would just randomly sob at things they always do.
After it was over, we walked out of the little side room. Noah quickly walked into a different room (the lights were off), grabbed a very specific toy, walked into a different room, sat on the floor, and proceeded to play with it for the next 20 minutes. See the door to the left of the slide? Obviously, this vintage Fisher Price cash register had caught his attention when he was sliding.

His therapist felt terrible. He probably thought she was being mean by not letting him play with it. She had no idea that's what he wanted. She even said she would've grabbed it to help him transition had she known. Whoops!
At one point, I asked him if he was ready to leave, and he politely stuck his hand out for me to back off (it's his way of saying, "no thanks").
So being that this is the ONLY thing he's gone crazy over lately, I immediately did a frantic online search for one of these things. I found one on ebay for like $20 (including shipping), which was the cheapest option. After I bought it, I realized I didn't check to make sure it came with coins. Sure enough, it does not. So I searched for the right coins for that particular model.

Then it dawned on me to check craigslist. There's a mom nearby selling theirs (WITH coins) for $10. WHY did I not think of that BEFORE purchasing the non-refundable one?? I've already emailed the guy and asked for him to cancel it (it had only been an hour or so, and yes, I was totally that mom and mentioned "my autistic son who wanted this for Christmas with the coins").
Now I'm just praying he taps into the spirit of Christmas and gives me my money back. Otherwise, I'll just save it and give it as a gift later on down the road. And don't think I'm above calling him a Scrooge if he makes me keep it. lol. I'll just make sure to cook an extra awesome Christmas dinner for Brad to smooth over the fact that I've bought two of the same toy.

***

The owner of the OT company plopped down on the floor with us to chat yesterday (they're all so cool), and she asked how Noah's sleep was going. She then asked if we were using a weighted blanket. I told her that they're just too expensive, and we don't want to spend that kind of money (we're talking at least over $100) on something he'll just throw on the floor.
She then tells me that someone donated one recently, and I was more than welcome to take it home and try it out for a couple of weeks. How awesome is that?!

I hope we never move. These people have been so amazing for Noah.

***

His OT is beginning food therapy with him now, to help him expand his palate a little. She told me about this new technique called "food jagging" that seems to be working well.
Basically, you offer them three kinds of simple foods, one of which you know they will eat. Everyone at the table gets the same thing. There's an empty plate in the middle of the table, where unwanted food can be discarded. She also suggested putting Noah in a contained seat at the table (not a high chair) and placing something on the floor that he can rest his feet on. This gives them added stability when eating, instead of that wiggly, dangly-feet feeling.
So I used his old travel chair last night and put a big speaker we weren't using underneath his feet (perfect height!). He ended up sitting there for 30 minutes, eating everything on his plate. He never does that. He even ate his lima beans with his fork... so exciting!

There were a couple of times where he pushed on the table, like he was ready to get down. But then it was like something in his head clicked, and he was all, "Oh wait, I'm still hungry...".

***

I'm not sure if I'll be back blogging before Christmas. I hope so, because I have plenty to document. But honestly, I'd rather be soaking up this time with my little family. If not, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!! :)