Summer time picnic

Picturesque Mt. Rainier on a beautiful August day


Today was Mike's annual Guard Picnic. It was held out at American Lake on Ft. Lewis. They had all kinds of stuff for the kids to do out there. One of the guys brought his boat and had some spare life preservers, so Mike and Michael took a ride on it. I stayed with Nicholas at the playground. He was having fun going down the slides. They also had a jump castle-which we went in. Myself,Michael and Nicholas all went in there. Nick does not have the greatest motor coordination,so I went in there to make sure he did not get hurt. He loved watching the other kids jump. We got there around 11am and stayed there until 1:30. By 1:30 Nick had just had it with the socializing. He was starting to get upset quite a bit,so we headed home. I took some pics of the boys while we were there. We took the boys down by the lake and Michael loved it as always,but Nick was terrified of the waves,or the sounds they made-cant figure out which one it is just yet. He screamed while he was in the water,but he also screamed while he was out of the water-he loves the water;just not the noise.

Friday night I held a small party for Discovery Toys. A couple months ago I bought Nick's giant peg board from one of the parties I went to,so this time I decided to host one. This time I bought Nick one of those sensory balls that squeek, and I got a kiddie cookbook for Michael. This week, I need to get both Michael and Nicholas enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). Through this program I will not be able to move to any base that does not have the facilities for my boys to get the care they need. It basically limits my assignments to just a few big bases. Also, this program will make it possible for Nick to be enrolled in the ECHO program-which will enable him to start recieving ABA therapy through the University of Washingtons Autism program. Don't forget that we are also doing the WALK NOW for autism research at the end of Sept. If you would like to donate just click on Nick's WALK NOW link to the right of this blog. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I cannot tell you how much Nick has progressed with therapy. He is making more eye contact, learning how to play with toys, and so much more. Without these programs there is no telling where he would be. Before therapy, he was not pointing,not signing, and we had no clue on how to get him "out" of his own world. His therapists are literally angels. We have learned so much from them and incorporate what we learn at home. Nick has made huge progress. He now says a few words like "hi,baby, and goalie" regularly. I cannot say how important these programs are for kids like Nick. There is also a bill that has just been passed, and it is about to go to the Senate. It is for funding of autism programs. You can read about it here:
http://www.combatautism.org