life lately (and a progress update on Noah)

Can you tell we've been a bit busy lately?
Part of it is due to the temperature drop (finally) around here. It feels absolutely awesome out, so we've been taking advantage of it.

Meeting up with friends:

Going out as a family:

 (Noah behaves so well at restaurants, even nicer ones. These were taken at the Cheesecake Factory)

 Soaking up the last little bits of summer fun:

 Monkey Joe's:

 

We bought Noah an Autism Awareness shirt, mostly so that others will be a little more mindful of him. I've watched people's faces completely change once they see it. It's like something on the inside softens, and they begin to reach out and play with him. Those who aren't aware of autism will ask polite questions. Kids become selfless, handing over their toys for Noah to play with. A sweet cashier at Target runs to their break room and back just to hand Noah a box of raisins or a sticker (she remembers Noah's name every time, asks how he's doing, and talks to him the whole time we check out). It's been so refreshing to see that there is still good out there. It's as if Noah teaches people to tap into a more sensitive part of themselves that often goes ignored.

For a little guy who used to be terrified of Monkey Joe, I think this can be counted as progress. :)

 Willing Fall to hurry its little heiney up:

Guess what made a comeback into Noah's diet again this week! That's right... raw pumpkin.
The kid still loves it. Go figure.

I may be a tad bias. But oh my goodness, his cuteness just slays me sometimes.

Pumpkin face 'n all.

 Btw, baking is a GREAT sensory play activity. And cheap.

Just get your vacuum ready, set yourself up next to the sink, and let 'em at it.

I use flour, white sugar, and brown sugar for the different textures.

Once he's done, I suck it all up with the vacuum and wipe the rest right into the sink. Pretty simple. When he's older, I plan on using baking to help teach fractions and measurements (I really wish someone would've done that with me. I probably would've done better in math had I understood what the numbers actually meant).

The other reason for the silence? Well, we've been doing a lot of transitioning the last couple of weeks. Noah has officially aged out of the EI program, much to the disappointment of his coordinator (we're still keeping in touch though! I talked to her yesterday!).
He now is enrolled as part of the public school's "preschool" program, even though it's not really preschool. Noah is going to therapy every day of the week except Wednesdays. Three of those days are at the local elementary school down the road. He's enrolled in OT, Special Ed, and Speech. We've only had one session of each so far, so it remains to be seen as to how much this will benefit him. I'm sure they're all great at what they do. It just takes some time to adjust and figure Noah out. It also doesn't help that they only have 30 minutes a week to do so. But we'll see. Anything is better than nothing.

He's also still doing OT with the private company (looooove them!!) on Tuesdays. His therapist, Ms Kim, is absolutely wonderful with him. She's a mom and grandma, so she has that perfect balance of wisdom, knowing when it's time to push Noah's limits and when it's time to ease up and cuddle him. :) And he's finally stopped crying! He participates well and actually enjoys it.

 (doing his pre-OT run... it's his transition tool of choice. ha)

The other therapists are also there, working with their kids, and they're all so friendly, greeting each kid as they come in. We've introduced brush therapy with Noah this week, and he loves it. I swear I could sit and listen to Kim explain this stuff to me all day. How it affects Noah, how Noah processes the sensory input, and certain signs to look for in the next couple of weeks. Fascinating stuff.

We've been seeing some really great progress with him, and I truly believe it's his OT that's helped. His stimming has decreased so much, and he's becoming a little more verbal.
A few nights ago, I asked him if he was ready to take a bath. He responded with, "Tay ba-ba". That was his first time ever using a two word sentence. I just about invited the neighbors over for a party to celebrate. I was so so excited for him. He's also saying "bye-bye" again.
Noah also knows how to count to 10, but in the past, he hasn't enunciated the words well. It comes out as, "uh-oo-ee" for 1, 2, 3.
This week though? He began to hop around the room, counting each hop and he said both "two" and "six" perfectly! Baby steps. But steps in the right direction.

He's currently obsessed with Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. He randomly does the motions, attempting to sing along. Even on the trampoline (please ignore our neglected, ugly garden beds. we kind of didn't bother this year.). 

(how do you like that hair??)

Because he's learning to process sensory input correctly, he's getting braver. More aware of his own body and what he's capable of. While most parents freak when their kids start going up the slide backwards or do a superman jump off the arm of the couch, I'm over here encouraging it! It's typical toddler behavior, and I'm all for it!

 A couple of months ago, sitting on a swing unassisted wouldn't have happened. He's never been able to balance himself and wanted to lean back on me for support. Now? No help needed.

Noah's making lots of progress, and it's so exciting to watch. I love seeing him learn and getting to watch him make big steps firsthand.

Anyway, sorry for the novel. Just wanted to get this stuff written down before I forget. I love blogging, but frankly, sitting at a computer just isn't as enticing as getting outside and enjoying the awesome weather with my family. :)

Hope you're having an amazing week!

***

I also have a few new posts over at the Poop Whisperer. Check them out if you want!
Why You Gain Weight After Working Out
Pumpkin Spice Latte (vegan friendly option)

the (almost) perfect date

Noah and I had ourselves a little mommy-son date yesterday.
I feel a little silly even phrasing it like that, because really, every day is a mommy-son date for us. But yesterday was a little different.

You see, Noah does this thing every summer where he enjoys going COMPLETELY off his normal sleeping schedule. He wants to stay up and play during the day, but the sun eventually drains him to the point where he just can't last. So he passes out on the couch, on the floor, or wherever he happens to land at 5pm. Yep. Naptime at 5pm. Do you know what that means? It means that if I can't get him to wake up 30 minutes later, I'm totally screwed. We're looking at a 1am bedtime at that point. The only way to fix this is to let him sleep in reeeeally late the next morning (like 11:30 late) and keep him up until about 9:30/10pm.

SO.

Yesterday, he didn't wake up until 12pm. I figured it was safe to assume he'd last until bedtime. Since I didn't have to worry about a nap, we headed towards Birkdale for a fun little afternoon.

Backing up a bit... the other night, we all went out as a family to a favorite mall of ours. They happen to have a specialty toy shop (aka. super expensive... seriously, a play garbage truck was priced at $97). Oh my goodness gracious, I thought Noah was going to pee himself with excitement. Um... actually, he kind of did, but we're not quite ready to potty-train, so no biggie. Anyway, they had this Chuggington train table. Noah has no idea who Chuggington is, but he LOVED that table. I think we stayed in there for at least an hour.

So yesterday, we headed for the Barnes & Noble where they have a Thomas train table. Cue another diaper change.

He loved that thing.
And I'd like to pause for a second to brag on my boy. He plays so well with other kids. He doesn't have a gigantic meltdown if another kid wants to play with Thomas. Or if he has to move over to let someone else play where he is. He just keeps plucking along without a care in the world. I know it has nothing to do with me and my fantastic parenting skills (ha). It's just who he is, and you better believe I thank the Lord for that part of him every day. I mean, with everything we've had to go through with him... pre-eclampsia, dramatic entrance into the world, 24/7 colic, the helmet, autism... I feel like this is God's way of giving us a nice hug. :)

Anyway... they also have a little Lego table that he spent a good 20 minutes at, just stacking blocks. I do find it fascinating that he likes to stack them by color and shape. He's a very methodical engineer.
After he got bored with that, I took him up to the in-house Starbucks there. I try to incorporate lots of decision making opportunities for him. I'll ask if he wants to watch Curious George or Thomas for example, but usually I'm ignored. I still gave it a whirl here. I lifted him up so he could see the snacks and asked him what he wanted. He looked for a couple of minutes, then clearly pointed to the chocolate cupcake. Haha! Boy after my own heart.

So we sat, and I watched him devour his treat (mostly the frosting). At one point, he ran out of water. So I asked him to stay in his seat as I walked back to the counter (a mere 10 ft away). Did he stay? Of course not. As I stood there in line, he hopped down, fork in hand, and started wandering around the other people reading or working. I think I put him back in that chair three times before I actually got his water. He then decided it'd be a great idea, while I was in line, to start jogging a little with a fork in his hand.
Taking care of a toddler alone is exhausting. What in the world will I do when (someday), we have two??

Finally, after 1/2 his cupcake was gone, he was finished. I wrapped it up in a napkin, grabbed the books we were going to buy, threw his 45 lb self onto my hip, grabbed my bag, and prayed the drink I strategically lodged in there wouldn't spill before we got to the car.
In an effort to keep the good times rolling, I switched him into his swimsuit, in the car, before we headed on over to the fountain. And we weren't in our SUV. No, we've been having to drive Brad's little beat-up Cavalier, because it gets better gas mileage. Basically, it feels like changing clothes in a Prius. That was fun.

But honestly, I think that was the only low point of the day. Noah had a blast at the fountain, even if he didn't spend the majority of the time actually IN the water. Too many kids. I finally convinced him to get wet, but I had to get wet too. And after 5 minutes of that, he was ready to go home.

Our little date was perfect, and it continued on into the evening where we hung out on the trampoline, played in the kiddie pool, and made dinner. Oh, and he did end up holding out until 10pm last night. Nevermind that Brad said he woke up at 2am hungry and didn't go back to bed for an hour, which made him sleep in, which completely negated my efforts yesterday... it was still a perfect day. ;)

Happy Stuff

Yesterday, my mom Martha Stewart'ed my home.
See, I've had this problem. I grew up in the same house for most of my life. I lived there for 20 years, basically, until I got married. In my old home, I knew where things went. They'd gone in the same places for years. My mom will be the first to admit she's total Type A, OCD, clean freak. It's her way of having some sense of control over life. I swear you could walk into our home at any point in time, as long as there weren't any major renovations going on, and it would be spotless.  It's still that way. Growing up, we knew there were expectations of how things needed to be. Don't get me wrong; we still got to be kids. We'd grab our sleeping bags and slide down the stairs on them, all Slip-'n-Slide-like during sleepovers. We'd have pizza and movie nights in the living room. We made messes, but we knew those messes needed to be cleaned eventually. Everything had its place, and it stayed that way. We all had chores, and we did them. Because my mom said so. That's just how it was.

Fast forward to now. I could give you the entire story of how we got to where we are. Actually, I did, but just erased it, because it was going to take over this whole post. But after almost 5 years of marriage, I was at a loss. I didn't know where things needed to go. Where they should go. Where all of this crap that we couldn't throw away, but that didn't have a home, needed to go. If certain random objects should be thrown out/donated/kept. And where in the world to put all of Noah's toys. I needed an objective opinion. I needed my mom.

So yesterday, we spent five hours organizing. Along the way, she'd give me tips, which I promptly wrote down. I made a list of supplies that will make our lives a million times simpler and more organized. She gave Brad a little come-to-Jesus talk about how we can make our little home a "palace", and it's not that hard; we just need to agree on prioritizing what we want to do (like finally paint our kitchen!) to it.

In the meantime, this girl is extremely happy. I feel like I can breathe again.

***

While we were cleaning, Noah found his old high chair. And has been obsessed with it ever since. Yesterday, he fell asleep in it. This morning, he's eating his breakfast in it. It's actually really cute. And helpful.

***

We've been doing lots of crafty, simple type fun lately. Like cardboard box playing. And sidewalk painting. I prefer that over video games and tv any day.

(1 cup corn starch + 1 cup water, pour into muffin tins, then add food coloring)

I would also like to say how happy I am that android finally got instagram. I've been jealous of my iphone friends for a while now. I saw where some of my friends have uploaded like 5000 pictures already. I have a lot of catching up to do...


***

This time next week?
I'll be sitting right here:

via

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am.

I don't normally announce vacations before we actually leave, because that's supposed to be a big internet no-no. But I can't help it. Plus, our neighbors will be watching our house like hawks... with a loaded shotgun... ready for anyone that might try something. Okay, not really. But we do have a cop as a neighbor, so I'm not too concerned.

***

Speaking of our neighbors...

Ever since my bro-in-law came to get their trampoline from our yard, we've been looking to get one for Noah. He loves to bounce and jump, and he had so much fun on theirs. I felt bad that he didn't really have much to play with back there, except for his sand box.

Last week, our neighbor came over and said they were about to put their trampoline on craigslist, but they wanted to offer it to us first. For free.

I thought I might cry. Instead I gave him a hug. And eventually some cupcakes. We just couldn't justify spending the money at the moment, even on one from craigslist. So this was totally unexpected, but such a major blessing.

We have the best neighbors ever. And they've made one little boy very very happy.

 

my little monkey joe

So yeah.
I caught Noah's cold. Good times. It really isn't too bad. I've just become BFFs with Puffs tissue boxes and Sudafed.
Yesterday morning, I was dragging. I had a slight fever, so I quickly downed some Tylenol, drank a ton of water, and got some decongestant in me. I knew there was no way I could keep Noah entertained all on my own. See, he's a mover. When our EI coordinator told his SLP about him, that was her exact phrase. He's busy busy... loves to run, jump, wiggle, and shake. Since I was not in the run-jump-wiggle-and-shake mood, I had to think fast. After only being awake for an hour, he was already asking me to race with him.
We have a Monkey Joe's less than 10 miles away from our house, and since he's under 3, we only get charged $5. Our day was saved. I made sure my fever was gone and I had plenty of hand sanitizer on me before we left (no need to spread it around).

I'm so SO glad we went.
Noah jumped and bounced and ran and tumbled and... well, just went nuts.
The best part about going on a Monday morning is that all the kids there are 4 and under. No big kids to trample him.

It was so cute to see him play with the other kids. I had asked my friend Susan who watches the 2 yr old class at church how Noah did one day, if he played with the other kids. She told me that none of them really play with each other. More like around each other. If anything, they just take the other kids' toys. :)
So to watch him get this excited and giggly when other kids played with him was fun to see.

I think I've mentioned a couple of times how Noah is nervous with heights. So nervous, in fact, that the only way he'll even consider the slides at the playground is if I go down with him. In the 3 and under area, they have the perfect Noah-sized slide. He must've gone down that slide a bajillion times. The cute part is that he's very proper about it. Never went down on his tummy or backwards or anything like that. Just sat politely, often with his hands almost folded.

Anyway, it really shocked me to see him start climbing up one of the BIG slides. He would go up about halfway, then turn around and come back down. Finally, he crawled his way almost to the top, turned around, and realized he was a lot further up than he thought. He froze and got the cutest little frown, unsure of how he was going to get out of this mess.

Ever see Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too? The one where Tigger bounces up to the top of a tree and can't get back down? Yeah, that was Noah.
I had to climb all the way up there and bring him back down. Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know why I didn't just take him all the way up and slide down? I guess he was already so frazzled, I didn't want to freak him out any worse.

After that incident, he decided it was time to take a break and re-evaluate life.

The whole thing was a tad traumatic.

He decided to give the bigger slides another go... except this time, he did it on his own terms.
Surprisingly, nobody pummeled him during this venture.

But other than the one little mishap, he had a blast.

He even checked out the arcade games.
His favorite was the one where you throw balls in a trash can. He did great, although at one point, I did have to keep him from climbing in the ball pit.

Overall, it was a huge hit.
The best part was that it required almost zero energy from me.

Have a great day!!

And Happy Valentine's Day!!

xoxo.