What a difference a year makes. I've probably said this before and I hope to continue to say it - but this is not the same boy we had last year!
I never in a million years would have thought I'd hear myself say "God! He's so fun to go shopping with!" I said that one day last week. Last year, I would not take this child to the grocery store or the mall unless it was absolutely necessary.
And now it's fun.
He really is. He is so good and the fact that he's "chatty" now is just so unbelievable.
As I type this he is in his bed singing "The more we get together, together, together..." And it's clear.
And this evening I decided to take Cam to the mall to get him out of Seans hair(err...he's bald...so to get him out of Seans way). Cuyler heard me and ran downstairs.
"Cuyler mall. Cuyler sandals on. Mall! Going to mall!" So I guess he's coming too.
Cam was being a booger and didn't want to go, but as Cuy was climbing into his carseat he kept saying "C'mon Cam. Get inna van. Going to mall. C'mon Cam!"
Sean and I just looked at each other with the "our kids a frikkin genious" smile.
He was so good at the mall and was pointing out and labelling everything that he saw.
On the way home I heard him say "Sandals wet." I looked back and the bottom of his sandal was a tad wet from a tiny puddle. That impressed me. Yep - your sandal is wet. And your telling me because you want to! Again - the smallest "unimportant" phrase meant the most for me to hear today.
I meant to post last week about how he did on his class trip. The went strawberry picking. He did amazing on the bus and wanted to sit with a friend, so his teacher sat in the seat in front of him. I was thrilled. He did a great job at the farm too. That was a huge relief. I was unsure whether I wanted to send him or not - but Sean and I have always said that he will do what his same age peers do and I have to work really hard at getting over my "issues". I have to stop letting him be autistic and I have to ensure I let him be 3 1/2...it ain't always easy. But Sean's really good at reminding me.

We were offered more speech for the next year. Finally. It only took 2 years. He'll be discharged from the program next summer as he transitions into kindergarten. They are now giving him blocks of 12 sessions. And it's funny becuase we don't want it now. It's alot of work to get him there. It's not really convenient at all for us to get to and most importantly - the gains he has made thus far have amazed us and his team. He hasn't seen a speech path since last November. We're going to keep doing what we're doing. We really think that the RDI will focus on alot of the issues that he'd need other intervention for. As our consultant said "His issues are autism related, not speech related." When and if we feel he needs tweaking with articulation or other areas related to speech - we'll just go private with someone who has more experience with ASD than our current ST has.

Today, Sean and I begin our holidays. We're off tomorrow and for the next week. And when I go back - I'm only working 3 mornings a week from now on. I'm sick of my job most of the time. I don't mind it - but I think I'm expected to do MUCH more than what I should be doing for a job that is only 15 hrs a week. I think I'm going to stick it out as Team Leader until the end of summer and then ask to be taken off that position. I've been stressed out way too much over one project that was delegated to me - that I didn't know was delegated to me. I have lost 3 staff in the past 3 weeks and I have been spending far too many hours on this computer trying to figure out what I now refer to as "the fucking schedule". I need to have a minimun of 3 people working each morning and its been pretty impossible to fill. Especially now that school is out and everybody is now much less available than they were.
And Sean keeps saying "You're pregnant. You don't need this stress. Get someone else to do it." And he's right. We've had enough stress the past few months. I think we're FIANLLY over the shock of this pregnancy. And now I've been stressed to the max at work.
Speaking of pregnancy - here's my first Belly Shot. Taken today at 12weeks 4days pregnant. The size 2's have been packed away. I doubt I'll be in them next summer. I tend to stay pretty chunky when I nurse. I am hopeful that 2 summers from now I will be back to skinny. For now, I am getting further and further away from it.
All for a good cause!

Ali hit me with this one.

5 things in my refrigerator:
~DairyFree milk
~large fruit tray
~Boost Protein shakes
~Cashew Nut butter
~Corona

5 things in my closet:
~a shitload of wire hangers from Seans dry cleaning
~the plastic framed Ikea mirror froms Cams room that Cuyler ripped off the wall
~2 birthday presents for 2 little girls we know
~a laundry basket of winter bedding
~my wedding dress

5 things in my purse:
~Mac viva glam lip glass
~sunglasses
~cell phone
~small box of Excel breath mints
~receipt for gas

5 things in my van:
~random McDonalds toys
~a bunch of empty water bottles
~soccer ball
~camping chair
~yesterdays mail that I forgot to bring in


5 friends I'm hitting:
Salome
Tina
Mom To Mr. Handsome
Wendy
Kyra

Post #141...wow..that seems like alot to me...

I've totally neglected this blog and I feel horrible. I'll try to make more of an effort.

Update on Cam: Big things for my big guy! He is now a seasoned 2-wheeler! Sean took the training wheels off of his bike and it took maybe...15 seconds for him to "get it". He's 100% balanced and can turn corners and go up and down curbs like a pro. Big step!
And the thing I'm most proud of is that he's reading. He just finished reading me Go Dog, Go! It makes bedtime a helluva lot longer, but I've been able to let it go. I'm amazed that he's sounding out the words. He read the entire book. And when I was reading One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish he read it with me.

Cuyler Update: Again, happy to report that language continues to move right along! We are working on pronouns as he was having a hard time referring to himself out of third person. So we're working on I, my, me, mine etc. We're also working on getting him to answer "yes". He's got NO down pat and has for some time, but he NEVER answers yes. The only affirmative he gives is smiling, jumping and repeating ie:
ME: "Do you want some juice?"
CUY: "Juice!! Juice!"

He's doing tons of requesting and it's more random as opposed to set patterns.
Eye contact is fantastic. And my favourite thing that he does lately is greet everyone. All the neighbours, whenever he see's anyone he shouts "Hi Lisa!" "Hi Colin!" "Hi Janice!" And what makes me the most proud is the comments we're getting from others - saying how great he's doing, how far he's come, how different he is now. It just validates everything we've done so far and the plans that we're making. Speaking fo which, we start the RDI Supervision in August!!!


Update on me: I'm pregnant. Yep...I know. HOLY SHITBALLS! That's what we thought. I'll spare the gory details, but suffice to say this was totally unexpected and after a few difficult weeks of coming to terms with the future we're getting as opposed to the future we planned - we're very excited.
So there ya go. That's where I've been. Sleeping or heaving.
New arrival set to join us early January!

And NO - I am not hoping for a girl this time. I can say in all honesty - I have no pull either way...girl or boy. I love my boys. TONS...more than anything and one more would complete us. And I really think that girls needs sisters. But on the other hand, the shopping I could do for a girl. Whoa!

Eeeks! It's been so long! One of my girls quit at work and I've been stressed out about that among other things and just bagged by the end of the day. Or the beginning of the night. So here's a quick rundown of what's been going on here lately.

First of all - he got them. And he got them good...or bad...Cam started sprouting his spots exactly 14 days after Cuyler sprouted his spots. Only Cams came quicker and there were way more of them. Cuyler didn't seem fazed by his pox. But holy shitballs - was Cam ever uncomfortable! He would writhe around the floor trying to itch. He would rub up against the doorway like a cat trying to scratch. He couldn't sleep without a good dose of Benadryl. I had to buy a spray bottle and spray the calamine on him because I couldn't touch the spots they were so sensitive. But he's back on the mend and should be back to school on Friday. I'd like him to be ready anyways. It's my day to volunteer in his class. And it's my last volunteer day for the year. Here's a snapshot of his back (click to enlarge it if you want a closer look). His face has so many that he didn't even look like Cam...

And the other thing I have to blog about is the deck. Seans precious deck. His new love, if you will. We bought this house brand new 4 years ago, and he's talked about his deck every year and what he wanted to do.
Well, he did exactly what he wanted to do and it was done in one weekend! I think it looks fantastic and they did a great job (Sean and his buddies). All that's left to do is the lattice around the bottom and then our garden beds around the deck.
So I may have even less time to blog as we have been spending our evenings on the deck under the gazebo lights!

View from further back, you can see both levels (kind of):


ARGH!
This is why I don't blog that much anymore...I've just spent...actually wasted 15 minutes trying to post 2 more pictures...here is the link to the LOWER LEVEL with the gazebo.
And the UPPER LEVEL with a built in bench and where the food will be grilled!