I don't want to forget....

I taught 2nd grade for 6 years and never had a child with autism in my class. I don't remember if I learned anything about it in my education classes. A close friend of mine babysat for a family that had an autistic child. What I knew about autism was what I learned from that little girl...until now. All that said, it's ok that you really don't know what autism is. Sometimes we don't learn about something until it becomes personal. That's definitely our case. I have read many books in the last 6 months (I'll post them later.) that I'm beginning to understand a small bit. There's so much doctors still don't understand. Here's a definition from the Autism Society of America: What is Autism? Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first two years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communicat...

This is just last June. EK doesn't look that different. I think her hair was longer than it is now. (I've trimmed it a couple times.) Obviously, AC has changed. She was such a chubby baby...takes after her mama. Seriously, you'd have to see pictures! :) Happy Friday!

So, it's been in the upper 90's here lately. This is the time of year that I really miss upstate NY. Yes we had lots of mosquitoes and it was hot with humidity(with no central A/C), but you got some relief in the evenings. Sitting on the porch, feeling the cool breeze and watching the backyard light up with fireflies. Good memories! :) Anyway, we have a small pool in the backyard and we've "gone swimming" several times and once at Mimi and Pop's on Father Day. The girls LOVE playing in the water and getting wet. Hopefully we'll be able to go to a "real" pool soon but that isn't something I'm doing solo. (That would be a fun post...if nothing horrible happened.) Here are a couple pictures of the girls in their swimsuits. Mimi and Pops have the fancy kiddie pool with a slide. AC wasn't sure about it. :)

Oh my goodness! I am one tired mama! EK hasn't been sleeping well this week. While she's done rather well adjusting to her summer preschool and a new ABA therapist, I think her anxiety level is showing by a lack of being able to fall asleep. She just can't seem to settle down. It's been at least 10pm most nights this week before she quits yelling and coming out of her room. I've even tried laying by her in her bed, but it doesn't help. Friday night she woke up around 2am screaming. We brought her to bed so she'd fall back asleep quickly. Probably a bad move, but parents need sleep. Last night she went to bed around 8pm, but woke up screaming at 10:30pm. After trying to lay by her for about 20 minutes, I brought her to our room. I can't remember the last night BOTH girls woke up their parents. AC decided that last night was a great night to be up around 2:30 crying. Keith got up with her the first time. I had turned the moniter off so it wouldn't wake...

This week has been a crazy one!! EK started her summer preschool on Monday. Her teachers seem very nice and the other kids (all boys) do too. They are in a 2nd grade classroom, but did at least get some beanbag chairs and a trampoline(at my request). My girl LOVES to jump!! She's doing ok. Today was better than yesterday, so hopefully it'll continue that way. I haven't seen her regress yet and I'm praying she won't. AC and I are doing VBS this week. I'm teaching 3rd graders. It's been a little stressful dropping AC off at church, running EK to her school, and then getting back to church in time to prepare to teach. But, I have enjoyed it and really love teaching kids, especially things of eternal value! AC is LOVING it! She's growing up so quickly. I'm so glad she has the chance to do something fun with kids her age! I'll try to post some pictures too. Just wanted to give an update on how life is going! Please keep praying that everything will co...

Here are 2 pictures from last June. I cannot believe how much they have grown! :) I love the 2nd picture when EK is giving AC a kiss. Sweet memories!!! Please pray for us next week. EK starts ESY (extended school year) on Monday and I'm a nervous wreck. There are SO many unknowns about how it's going to go. EK gets VERY anxious (screams and throws huge fits) whenever I'm not around and she'll be in a new place with new kids and new teachers. I just feel like it's going to be a disaster, but I'm praying that it won't. I think it's good to encourage her to try new things or we'd stay home all the time with just our immediate family. But, it's going to be a lot of change. I think normal kids would be nervous at first too. Anyway, if you think of it, pray for EK and me on Monday morning. Thanks! :)

If I have to pick one thing I would've changed during AC's first year, it'd definitely be her sleeping habits. It took her FOREVER to sleep through the night! It seriously was probably close to a year old that she started consistently sleeping from 8pm-7:30am. She was always a good napper, but forget about Mommy consistently getting a good night's rest. She's totally different now. For the past week or so, she'll ask to go to bed. Wednesday night it was 7pm. I hated to put her down b/c I knew Keith wanted to see her, but she kept begging "nap?", "babies?" (that's what she calls her pacifier), "bed?" The first night she asked this early, I was worried she'd be up at 10pm ready to party. But she slept through the night. Last night it was 6:40pm that she asked to go to bed. She was SO whiney and cranky, that I willingly agreed. She slept until 7:30 this morning. Today she wanted a nap at 9:30, so I put her down b/c again, she w...

Here's EK with Ms. Tammey Here's EK with Ms. Colleen And here's one with Ms. Beth Today was EK's last day of school at PGE. I can't believe it! I remember how unsure we were of even putting her in public preschool back in January. Her teachers made our experience incredible! I can't rave about those ladies enough! :) We are so thankful that EK had an opportunity to grow and learn with them. EK only went to school for an hour and a half. After picking her up, we grabbed lunch and picked up Daddy to go to the park. It apparently was a busy enough day to tire EK out. She slept for almost 2 hours this afternoon. I might be paying for it here soon. The last time she took a nap, she was up until at least 10pm. Keith and I were talking yesterday about EK...