Shadows on the wall

Nicholas had fun this morning playing with the shadows created on the wall when he opened and shut the front door. He was so amused, that he was dancing and screeching for a good part of the morning. He would open the door,stare at the wall,get close to the floor,and follow the lines the light created. He would then shut the door and watch the lines disappear. Then he would open it halfway,then all the way..and do his dances all over again. He can also count to five now. He uses "echolalia" now more than ever when he talks. When he talks,he copies what we say. An example is "Where is Michael?" Nick says "Michael". It is really funny when he gets going like he did last night.

Michael: "Nick NO!"
Nick: "NOOOO!"
Michael: "poop!"
Nick: "poop!"
Michael: "I love you"
Nick: "I love you"

He says it the exact way that you say it; so it is not like spontaneous speech. That is why it is called "echolalia". Most kids with autism use this form of communication. They use it because they dont fully understand what is being said to them; so they repeat it. We love it because the alternative is him not talking AT ALL. He has also proved to us just how literal he thinks.

Mike was putting both kids to bed one night last week and it turned into a tickle fest on the beds. Giggles were coming from everywhere,but after 20 min it was time to get to bed. So, Mike went over to Nicks bed and said "All Done". Nick promptly gets up out of bed, and walks into the living room. He took "All Done" to mean that he was "All Done" with going to bed. Both of us had a good laugh over that.

This week was a busy one. Wednesday we had a Thanksgiving potluck that was put on for the people on the EFMP program(Exceptional Family Member Program). We saw kids who were much worse off than Nicholas and Michael. It was a nice little get-together,and nobody looked at your kid strangely, and did not bat an eye if they could not tolerate the noise level and began to stim(Nick was uncomfortable and out of his comfort zone-but held it together long enough for us to eat). That day had been rather stormy out,and the lights went out just as we pulled in to park, so we ended up having dinner by candlelight! I cant even remember the last "romantic" dinner we had by candlelight, so this power outage was kind of a treat-though probably in the most "UNromantic" setting imagineable. Friday we had another potluck event put on by the Fabrication Flight. This time Nick even climbed into the chair himself! Did not eat anything,but progress nonetheless.

Michael's tooth is STILL hanging on! Not much to report there. He is looking very forward to our trip, and asks me everyday "How many days until we go to Florida?"

That is all from our little corner of the world. Cant wait to see everyone next month!

The end of a busy week!

It has been a busy week for us and I am glad it has ended on a good note. Nick continues to explore Stage 3 babyfood, and our use of pediasure has subsided. I never expected to be feeding babyfood to a toddler who is almost three, but I also never expected to have a son with autism. I will take what I can get! He has made some progress with feeding himself lately as well. I am just happy he is eating more of a variety of food!!

*****Check out the new video******

Michael's tooth is still hanging on by a very thin thread! Not too much else happening around here other than more rain! Here are some pictures of Nick with a new spinny toy:


He likes to feel the vibrations with his mouth and now his hand!

Improvement!!

Nicholas has been making some big improvements with food! We can now get him to "try" jarred green veggies! This week he ate green beans and peas. We have to say "try" and get a little bit on his lips so he can lick it off and decide if he likes it. He still gagged somewhat,but he at least started to eat them. We tried a very small piece of hot dog,but he gagged on that(I mean it was a very small piece) and became upset...so we did not push it any further. We were happy just to get him to try it. We are re-introducing some of the Stage 3 babyfoods to get him used to chewing a little bit.

All of us had the day off today,and we took full advantage of just lounging around the house and being lazy. It has been raining all day long,so it was a good day to just stay inside. Michael has another loose tooth which is now hanging on by a thread. His new tooth is just starting to come in. We are all doing great. Have a great weekend!

24 hours

Change.That was the word of the day! First off, our weather. It has rained for about three days straight, but today was the worst. According to the news on the radio; we now have 18 counties declaring disaster. The roads are flooded all over western Washington. I hope everyone is having a better weather day than we are!! Ok, so DUE to this weather scenario, Mike's Guard unit called asking for volunteers to help with flood control. He declined the offer; stating that he was not trained on truck driving. Reality: It would have caused some hardship on us to find daycare that will accomodate Nick. You mention "Special needs" or "autism", and your daycare offers dwindle fast. Secondly, Mike might also have to go on a training mission in December! UGH!! We would still come down,but would need to make some hasty alternate plans of travel.

I sat quietly at dinner time; enjoying the company of my ever talkative 7 year old. I know I should be paying attention to what he says. After about the 3rd time of telling me about his friends pencil case, I am just nodding in agreement with everything he says. Every once in a while I interject something about needing to eat his dinner while he keeps talking. Nicholas slowly comes in to my peripheral vision; he is crawling on the floor rubbing his forehead on the linoleum, and then proceeds to the carpet. My boys.

Another blog that's all over the place!

The rainy season is in full swing up here in the Northwest! I feel like we should be building an ark with all the rain we have recieved over the past 24 hours. We are expected to get 2 more inches tonight, and over 2 inches tomorrow. We are under a flood watch until tomorrow evening. It is taking me a little time to get used to the daylight savings time this year. Normally it is no problem, and heck, last week I even welcomed turning the clocks back an hour. But this weekend it hit me as I was driving Nick to Chuck E. Cheese at 5:45pm and it was dark out! I am not talking about the "sun is setting" type of thing either-it was DARK! I will be eagerly anticipating our trip down south next month-maybe we can even hit the beach!

As for Nick; he did WONDERFUL in Chuck E. Cheese last night!! No meltdowns, in fact, he barely moved at all,and I was even allowed to laugh at my child's "oddness". Another mom was talking about her son being a picky eater, and I just had to chime in when she revealed her son smells his food before he eats it. Nick does this ALL the time, especially with new foods that are unfamiliar, and even with some that are. It is just a funny little thing he does. I had brought a stroller that I found for FREE, and packed some colorful straws and some snacks since there was no way he would even attempt to eat pizza or cake. I also brought some home made play doh in a little container in case we needed it. Nick sat quietly in the stroller which was just under eye level of the table, and was just a little gem.

Michael had a good time at his friend Keegan's house last night. I picked him up this morning. It was nice having both my boys home again! I missed them!

I changed the links up a little bit. I keep getting questions like "What IS autism?". These questions are mostly asked by acquaintances whom we do not see too often, or have no kids in which to reference to,so I thought I would put up a link describing this "different ability". Well, I am off to start putting little boys to bed. It is one of my favorite times with them...BATH TIME! They are so incredibly cute and good smelling!

Happy Halloween!

Sorry I did not get around posting until now; but we have been busy!! Tuesday, I had Nick's first IEP meeting with the school district. He will be attending Evergreen pre-school on Ft. Lewis. They will hold another evaluation of him in January to see what services he will be provided with. One of the things I specified was that Nick also be taught all the academic stuff that normal kids learn. They informed me that he will be taught academics, as well as any other services he needs. I made a list of goals that we want Nick to accomplish--most of the stuff that he should already be doing, but isn't. He is proving that he can learn things, it just takes him more time than others. He is saying more words lately, and is just a sweetheart. We still deal with eating issues, and sensory issues as well as obsessive behaviors, but he is SPEAKING. We went from him having to be prompted to say "UP" to a big milestone yesterday--he came and pulled me to the ceiling fan and said "UP" by himself!! Oh the joy!!

Halloween was frantic as usual. I did not get home until close to 5pm, fed everyone(Nick was going through another spell of not eating--tonight we changed the dining room light again as it had gone out--he ate.)Michael finished up his homework, and after that Mike helped get the boys dressed. At 6pm, two of our friends came over with their little boy and we all went out. Nick,managed to get his shoes and socks off, and kept pulling his sleeves up (he hates long sleeves). I strolled him around for about 35 min before taking him back home. After that, I went back out with Michael for a little while.

We have a busy weekend coming up. Michael was invited to a sleep-over party at his friend Keegan's house Sat. Night, and we were also invited to another party at Chuck E. Cheese. Michael said he thinks Chuck E. Cheese is for babies!! AAAhhhh, the working mind of a 7yr old! Enjoy the pics!!

Another Milestone!!!

We have our very first LOST TOOTH!! We have been eagerly awaiting this moment ever since last December when Michael first started on his shots! He was the last one in his class to start losing teeth, so he is very proud to have finally crossed this threshold. Now, the toothfairy is going to have to caugh up a couple of bucks!!

A world of our own

Even though it is reported that 1 in 166 children today have some form of an autism spectrum disorder, when we are out in public with Nick we are in a world of our own. To many outsiders, Nick can ALMOST blend in with normal 2yr old behavior. Although I do suspect that even outsiders can detect something "Off"; many will not say anything and just smile. Today we went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese for Michael's friend Rachel. I often have to employ Michael somewhat on these outings, out of necessity. Mostly it is to hold Nicks hand when either getting out of or into the car. Unlike most kids his age, Nick is oblivious to danger. I know most toddlers are, but we are talking about a kid who one day walked right into Carter Lake and walked himself under water. It was one of the worst moments in my life, and thankfully I was right there to pull him out immediately. Nick will not answer to his name, so it is imperative that he is kept close for his own safety. If he happened to get loose in a crowd, it could be disastrous. He has no way of communicating,and only understands certain phrases that we have used. So, I often have Michael help out in some instances where I just do not have enough hands. So, I decided that Michael should be able to go out and have fun despite his brother's issues; and that Nick should go along to also have "fun". I try to expose Nick to as many social outings as I can possibly tolerate with him. We had barely got into the door when he began to scream. Luckily, he was calmed by me holding him, and we found our party within seconds of entering--I was thankful not to have to look for them! I automatically asked for a highchair for Nick. The party was held in the upstairs portion of the place which was quieter and more Nicks pace. (I think the good Lord knew that was best!) To many of the guests, Nick was just a very quiet fellow who entertained himself with straws,and refused to eat any of the food. Until he unleashed his fury when I had to get Michael a drink. I came back to hear him screaming, and thrashing himself in the highchair. He had a crowd of people around him trying to prevent him from tipping over. Michael had a good time, and it was nice to see him smiling and playing with his friends. As we reached the 2 hour mark of the party, Nick entertained people with singing in a barely audible voice "Rain Rain Go Away" People outside our world think it is just the cutest thing--"Oh he is singing!" they say. However, we here from Nickland know it really means that he is about at his breaking point, and we had better get going SOON. But there are two problems here: 1. Michael is nowhere to be found and 2. Mommy has to pee! Judging from Nicks response to my absence earlier, leaving him for a few minutes was out of the question. I took him with me downstairs amidst all the chaos of kids having fun. Nick lasted about 2 minutes before he started to "shutdown". He clenched his hand to mine and every few seconds I would feel him stiffen up. When we got to the bathroom he lost it. He threw himself to the floor screaming, and I basically dragged him into the stall with me. I have become sorta immune to his screaming, but I realize that others are not, so I try in vain to calm him; but it never works. It does not help that he is pounding either his hands or his head on the back of the stall door while screaming. I know it is the noise that irritates him, maybe we should get him some ear phones to put on his head? It is during outings like this that make me feel we are an island to ourselves. We have Nick's very first IEP meeting this Tuesday to discuss his transition to developmental preschool. I also went to that EFMP class on Thursday, and got a ton of information regarding special trust funds, education laws, and all the things this military program provides. It was also nice to meet other parents with special needs kids. I ended up meeting a couple of other parents of autistic kids and just to have someone else say "I know...we too have had that problem" is so comforting. I have signed up to become a member of an ASD(Autism Spectrum Disorder) support group, and even hope to volunteer for some stuff.
Michael is doing good in school! I had a meeting with his teacher last week, and he said Michael is right on par with the other kids in class! YEAH!! He is going to lose that bottom tooth any day now! It is hanging by a thread! Well, I am going to go for now and get to bed. Thats all that has gone on in our little area of the world!

Last Game

Today was the last game of the season. We played against the toughest team on base,and we TIED 1-1!! The first time we played this team we lost 4-0, so for us to tie them was just awesome! After the game, the team headed to Burger King for a well deserved lunch out, and we handed out certificates and medals. It was fun for everyone, except Nicholas. He did not care for all the noise and comotion,but it was Michael's day to celebrate. It was HIS shining moment, and Nick eventually got used to it. We just let him peel stickers or twirl...that is how he copes with things most of the time. I will update the photo page with all the new photos I took today.

I Love Fridays!!!

Fridays are my favorite day at work!! We really do not do much on these days, so it is very relaxed. My supervisor came to me today to tell me he is putting me in for Maintainer of the Week. He told me it was MY turn to recieve an award...since I am usually the person who puts everyone else in for them. Sorry I had to cut our phone conversation short today Mom!! Mike thought he would be funny and hide the jar of Ragu on me! They are trying to make me lose my mind I tell you!!

There is a two day class called S.T.O.M.P.(I have no idea what it stands for) that I put my name in for. This is a class that is going to talk about all the programs that Nick is enrolled in. They also have info on special wills that we need to have drawn up, and also information regarding PCS(moving bases) and networking with other parents of special needs kids. It is kind of hard thinking that Nick qualifies as "Special Needs". Whenever I hear those words I always think about kids with much more severe handicaps;but then again; autism can be a severe mental handicap and requires special treatment. I have asked my supervisor if I could attend at least ONE day of the class, and they have agreed. I dont normally ask for time off, and this is information that will benefit us, so they have been pretty flexible. Somedays this is all just so overwhelming and I think "Is this really happening??" We have started to get the insurance statements from all of Nicks therapies--his recent OT session was $120, his last speech session was also $120. We have not had to pay any of this thanks to the military! It is such a relief to not have to worry about where the money will come from for all of this. Michael's shots alone can cost upwards of $10,000 a year. Not counting all the visits to the Endocrinologist we make. Then, factor in all of Nicks therapies, and a family could easily go bankrupt. But, enough on the depressing stuff.

We are thinking of taking the boys to pick out a pumpkin this weekend. I put Nick in his Micky costume to see if it would fit. It was adorable!! He LOVED it!! He kept looking at his hands as they were covered with the little white gloves...he kept it on for about an hour! He went cross-eyed trying to look at the mouse ears that were on his head. Michael has his last game tomorrow. I am baking some cookies to take as snacks after the game, and we got the trophies all ready to go. I will also take the camara and see if I can get some good pics. Well, I am going to bed now. Talk to you all soon!

Growing Boys!!

Tonight I measured Michael again, and surprise....he is now 44" and 45lbs!! I just happened to have a growth chart(been kind of obsessed about that since he started dropping OFF the chart at 18mos. He is now in the 50% for weight, and his average bone age has caught up to a 6yr olds!! He is "average" height for someone who is 6! I can deal with him being only a year behind, not THREE years behind like he was before!! He is at least starting to blend in with the crowds and is not soooo obvious.

Nicholas is around the 50-75% in height, and 50% in weight. He has always been my little giant. He is nearly 3ft tall at just over 2 and a half! He just happened to step on the scale the other night and he is 29lbs. He is eating again(Thank the Lord), although it is still limited to mushy stuff.

Not a lot has happened this week. I have figured out how to get Nicholas to talk a little more. I take his hand, and make him point to things like his cup, or cookie, or whatever else I have in my hand that he wants. I say: "I WANT...." and make him point to the object and he says "CUH!" or "CEWKIE" or "GO-GO" (translation: Cup,cookie, yogurt). This seems to be working for the moment,so we are going to stick with it. He has not said these words on his own yet, he only says them when we do the little routine, but if anything, he is learning to vocalize. He has not had many meltdowns at therapy this week, which is always good.

This Saturday is Michael's last soccer game of the season. They are playing a pretty tough team, so wish them well! I will try to take some new pictures this weekend and post them up. Not much going on here. Just will enjoy a little down-time after soccer!

Real Life vs. Rockwell Life

I am almost certain that Norman Rockwell DID NOT have children; or if he did, he most certainly did not take them out anywhere. Otherwise, his idyllic paintings would have been DRASTICALLY different than the peaceful,serene portraits he painted of them. We have all seen his paintings of children who seem to get along with each other, never make any messes, and whom have adults smiling at them. Ok, so we do often get the latter part of that,but thats where it ends! I have all these wonderful things I am going to do with my boys in my head all week at work, and then reality sets in. It is a major undertaking just getting everyone to the car. And once in the car, Nick takes off his shoes and socks immediately;not a problem when it is sunny and nice out;but is more than annoying when it is rainy and cold! We get to our destination and schlep everyone out of the car. That is when it starts. "Michael come here!" "Where's YOUR jacket??!" "WHO stinks???!!" Then we get in to the restaurant. All the silverware gets pushed to the opposite end of Nicholas,Mike and I are getting kicked in the legs by a two yr old flinging his feet, Michael announces he has to go potty, and Nick has managed to get his shoes off again...and we have not even ordered our food yet! By the time everyone orders, it seems like we have half the menu ON our table,which causes another problem...no space! Suddenly, what Nick is eating becomes PART of the table,himself, and the floor. The more we wipe him, the more we get on ourselves. By the time the meal is over, Mike and I have not had a real conversation, we are covered in pink yogurt, and Mike announces "I need a cigarette!". Shopping is another entity all together! Then there is shopping for a Halloween costume. I took the boys out to do this yesterday. I figured that it is still early enough to get a good costume, and that we would find one the first store we went to. I got everyone ready and we headed to TOYS R US to have "FUN" picking out a costume for Michael. I seem to remember that this large toy store having everything you need for kiddy fun! Not so. They only had ONE aisle of costumes, (and they were rather picked through already), and why must they put displays in the MIDDLE of the aisles so that it is next to impossible to get your cart down them???!! Michael found a pirate costume, but when I looked at the price I became disgusted! $40!!! $40 for a cheap costume in a plastic bag!! UGH!! I was so disgusted we left the store immediately. We ended up finding a Ninja costume at Target around $20. Not exactly cheap, but better than 40! I am also fed up with the lack of quality of these costumes. Part of it ripped as Michael took it out of the bag. UGH!! He can still wear it,but has been told that he must put it away to prevent it from ripping more. He was quite upset, and so was I. I had spent $20 on something that ripped within 5 minutes of getting it home.

A typical day in Nickland

Yesterday was Nick's OT and Speech day, so we were at the center from 9am to around 11:30am. First he went to his playgroup. Things started off very well, but in true Nick fashion, things can change drastically. He became quite upset during snack time. For one, with all the kids in the room, the snack area kind of echoed-and I think this was one thing that bothered him. He has become increasingly intolerant of loud noises. He has never liked the vacuum cleaner,but now it is also blenders,garbage disposals, he will even steer clear of the microwave. Two: There was a little girl sitting beside him who was just very active, and he was not comfortable at all with sitting next to her while she was jumping in and out of her seat. Three: He is afraid of the table top fan they had in the room. They had to cover it up with a towel just to stop his crying. Once he saw the fan, thats all he would look at. I actually had to hold him to get him somewhat calm. We have noticed that at home he has started covering his ears more when things get too loud. He is also banging his head more frequently. Yesterday morning, as we were leaving the house,something irritated him and he went outside and banged his head on the car. Anyway, after his playgroup, it was time for Speech and OT. Christy wanted to know what an OT does, so here it goes. Nicks OT is working on getting him to play with toys appropriately. This may seem like common sense to most of us, but Nick needs to be taught. For instance; instead of pushing a car on the floor,Nick will spin the wheels. We also work with him on things like climbing, jumping, and we will eventually work with him on his stims. Right now, when he is excited or on "overload" he flaps his hands, shakes his head, or stiffens himself like a board. This is acceptable for a toddler, but as he gets older it will only make him stand out more. So, we have to teach him other methods like twiddling thumbs or giving himself a hug. Another thing he will do is pace the floor over and over, and slap his hands on the wall. He will do this around 20 times or so before stopping. Today was ok until around 10am-when he apparently just had a meltdown. Mike has no idea of what triggered it, and even Tam was taken by it. He usually likes her session, so this was completely new to her. Such as a typical day with Nick; we never know what we will get.

Some nice fall pictures

For those of you who don't have the Fall season; here is a glimpse of what it looks like in western Washington right now!

This is the tree that is in our front yard.


Our view from our driveway

Looking down our street


As you can tell, it was overcast outside and the temperature hovered just below 60. We did not do much today. Just relaxed and cleaned the house up a bit. Michael went over to a friends house and played some video games. He also spent time cleaning up the playroom!! I did not even tell him to do that!! Nick is slowly getting over his cold. I cannot wait until he gets done with it--he gets even more picky with what he eats when he is sick. It is hit or miss (mostly MISS) getting him to eat anything that is not a pop-tart or cereal or yogurt. These are the three foods we are currently alternating now. If anyone has any other suggestions I would LOVE to hear it!! Otherwise, things are just as peachy as they can be.

Tough day for daddy

Actually, this whole week has been tough. The first sure sign of fall arrived in our house Tuesday. Nick came down with a cold, and is just miserable. Monday apparently was a bad day for Nick as well. There were only two other kids in his group that day, so his therapists decided to combine classrooms with another class. This was a disaster for Nick. He refused to cooperate,refused to eat snack, and raised such a stink that they decided to go back into his normal classroom. Well, the minute he got back into his normal room, he went right to his chair at the table and sat down. Days like this end up in a domino effect...once one thing is off, his whole universe is out of whack. Today was no better. It was raining out, so his playgroup played indoors instead of on the playground. Once again, as you can imagine, this did not go over well. Not to mention there were two new kids in the class and their parents...Nick went haywire. He screamed the entire time. Poor daddy called me at work to tell me of this latest disaster. Nick has become more and more rigid about his routines, and it can be tough. He has a new thing he does too. He throws himself to the floor when he gets frustrated/angry. When he is sick, he tends to regress a bit....very little speech,more self-stimming. Yesterday we actually went to soccer practice with Nick twirling a remote. He sat in the stroller spinning the remote in front of him constantly. He was perfectly happy until something set him off and he lost control. At that point, I could tell it was time to take him to the car. So, I picked him up and BAM! He head-butted me right in the face. I took him to the car, and put him in his carseat. He calmed down right away, so we sat in the car until practice was over. Needless to say, Mike is very happy that I will be home on Monday to take him to therapy, as he said he needs a break after this week.

Michael is doing good. We have three more games left of this season, and then I think I will put him back in swimming. He loves it, and has been asking to go back. He got a 100% on his last spelling test(naturally!!LOL!). He is doing good in school. They have picture day on the 12th of October,so you all will be getting some recent pics soon. He is still getting his shots everynight, and does not even fuss about those anymore. Well, I am going to go now. We got an early morning game tomorrow.

Finally!!!

About a week ago my computer took a BIG dump and Mike had to install a new operating system(thanks in part to our little sticker-boy peeling off the Windows sticker with the numbers on it). Well, the one he put on there was not working for me--I could not view my pictures,videos, or anything else; so he installed a new system today and IT WORKS!!!

Dana and Troy came over today and we had one last visit before they went back home. It was fun getting together with them, and the kids played like they had never been apart!! Michael and Nathan were wrestling on the floor, and all we could hear was laughter. I think even Ericka had a good time--even if she was surrounded by boys! All three of them were carrying on without missing a beat! Nick even bonded with Troy--who showed him the wonderful art of spinning the wheels on skates!! Nick was even glad to see him today--greeting him with an acknowledging glance! I think Troy earned G*d like status with Nick--he worships people who show him how to spin new things!!LOL!! Today, Nick even played "peek-a-boo" with Troy. We loved seeing them again..it was like old times.

After they left Michael and I had some fun decorating the windows with Halloween stickers. Michael wants to be a Pirate this year. A friend of mine is giving me a Micky Mouse costume for Nick. Hopefully, it will not rain like it did last year and they will actually get to wear their costumes!! Last year was a complete washout--Michael was going to be Darth Vader, and Nick was going to be Yoda. Mike had just come home from overseas and we were getting ready for our Disney trip. We spent last Halloween in the parking lot of Lowes with the boys asleep in the backseat. It was raining cats and dogs,and was cold out. We did not want to risk anyone getting sick while on vacation, and the boys were not too into trick or treating that night anyway. I hope this year it will at least be dry out.

Walk Now

Yesterday we did our walk for the Cure Autism Now foundation. It was a wonderful time! I got to see Dana and them again, and the kids had a good time hanging out in Husky Stadium until the walk began. It was nice to be in a place where Nick could just be himself and we did not have one single person stare at us! It was ok to crawl around in circles and feel the astro-turf between your toes and fingers--no one in the room thought that was odd, or even gave you a second glance. We felt right at home!! Nick and Nathan raised over $500 for autism research. Not bad at all!! Hope you all enjoy the pictures!!





Nick loved the feel of the astro-turf!




Nick and Me


The lights look so pretty through the balloons!



Dana is going to send me some of the photos she took with her camara. So, I will publish those when I get them. I will do a more lengthy report later, I just wanted to get these up so everyone could see.

A Quick update

So far; Nick has not had any more episodes like Saturday. We think now that it was a night terror. Normal kids have these and are able to transition smoothly out of them. Nick was not able to make that transition quite so good. Of course, without him being able to tell us what is wrong, this is mainly speculation--but it is possible.

Our week has been good. Busy as always though. I came home for lunch yesterday and the first thing out of Mike's mouth was "Look what he did!?" Nick had arranged his goldfish crackers in piles of two all around the living room. Closest to me, there layed a single remaining fish...he was the "odd man out". This morning Nick got to see the garbage truck go by. Mike took him outside to see it, but Nick was not too fond of the noise...he kept repeating "Go Away, go away, go away!" This is what he chants now when something is unsettling, or he simply has had enough. He has told even us to "go away" at times.

We have our walk for autism coming up this Saturday in Seattle. I dont know how Nick will tolerate the change in his routine, but it will be fun to get out and see our friends Troy and Dana again!! Michael is eager to see Nathan and Ericka. He will not be going to the walk due to an early morning soccer game. I am sad that I will miss this game. It is against one of the hardest teams around, and I would love to see how our team does. Michael is excited about that.

I got a statement today from TriCare concerning Nick's OT. Nothing major, just stating what they paid for it. ONE hour long session of OT per WEEK costs $60! That is just for ONE therapy; he also has three others! At $60 per session, that is $200 per week, plus what we spend in gas. Thank the Lord for the military. It may not be the best insurance around, but it sure does help. Without it, I would hate to see our medical bills for both the boys.

A weekend in the ER

Nick threw us one heck of a curve ball this weekend. Friday night I took Michael to the movies with Kristine and Nathaniel, and we were looking forward to a fun,but busy weekend. Friday night I put the boys to bed at 9pm, and everything was fine. Around 3am I was woken up by Nicholas screaming. I went into his room and tried to calm him down, but he just kept on screaming at the top of his lungs. I picked him up and he literally clung to me with his fists clenched tight. He would not let me out of his sight, so we ended up laying on the couch--where I just held him. Every few minutes he would erupt in screaming again and would stiffen his whole body, he would also bite his blanket. After hours of him screaming off and on in what appeared to be obvious pain, I took him to the ER. All I could say was that "Something is wrong with him...he is screaming!" They took his vitals, and we were sent to a room. His outbursts continued, and every nurse that was there at the time stopped by to see how he was doing,what the dr's had said, etc. He was the inconsolable child. They performed many tests on Nick...from cleaning his ears, to feeling his tummy, his testicles, taking a urine sample, two ultrasounds, two sets of X-rays, blood tests, everything. They all kept coming back negative. They were about to release us, and then the dr wanted me to sit Nick up in the bed to give him some juice. It started all over again. Nick had been content after some IV fluids, and laying down, but when I sat him up, he started crying again. Thats when they started checking his testicles to see if that was the problem. Nope. Poor Nicholas kept mumbling "Rain Rain GO AWAY!" every time they messed with him, he also kept crying "Bye Bye Bubby; Bye Bye" and shaking his head back and forth. At one point, they had another dr come in and try to get Nick to point to which body part hurt...yeah, like that was going to help. This was after they were informed he had autism. They released us, and told me to come back for a follow up this morning. Nick was all smiles when we went out to the car, and I was convinced there was nothing truly wrong with him at that point as he was acting just fine(well,for Nicholas anyway). He was his normal self when we got home, and was excited to see his brother again! Last night, was uneventful and peaceful! I passed out before 9pm.

This morning, I took Nick to his "follow-up". Well, we just walk in the door of that place and he is crying again. We got to a room, and I placed him on the bed again-and he began shaking his head back and forth. I told him "We see the Dr then go Bye-Bye""NO owies today". What I thought would be just a quick appt. was anything but. They ordered a CT scan, and MORE x-rays. Nick was not too pleased, and neither was I. They were very concerned about this whole head thing(after we told them he does this all the time), and that he did not like sitting on the bed--he preferred to lay down. Again, they came up with nothing wrong--so why cant we just GO HOME??!! After his CT scan, the dr came back and told me that it looked "pretty normal,but I would like to do a spinal tap". Well, that was the last straw. I said "No, I think he has been through enough, he is acting fine now (as he was moving all about in the chair, and happily playing with a sticker). He asked if I had any concerns with him at the time and I said "No". He then gave us our discharge paperwork, and we left with Nick saying "Bye Bye Bubby!"

I have learned that no matter what we go to the Dr for, to tell them Nick has autism right off the bat. I feel so bad for making him endure all those tests only to find out this could have been just an "autism thing". Something (noise,light,movement) could have triggered his outburst at 3am-maybe a limb had fallen asleep and the sensation scared him, and once that started it was a domino effect. His screaming brought about a sudden change to his routine and then he was in a strange place-which made everything worse. We may never find out what triggered this outburst, but I am sure it won't be his last. I have learned a lot this weekend. I learned that autism can sure throw you a curve ball.

The Fair

I got to spend some one on one time with Michael this weekend. I take the opportunity when I can get it...with so much of our efforts focused on Nick, I don't want Michael to feel left out. He had been given a free admission ticket from school,so I paid for myself, and we spent Saturday afternoon at the Puyallup fair. I doted on him. I bought $60 worth of ride tickets, and we had planned to use them in no time. But, even with how much he has grown using his shots, he was still too short to ride 80% of the rides. My heart sank as we kept passing rides by. I know it is for his own safety,but dang it!! We ended up riding the "kiddie" rides..or at least the ones that went semi fast. Michael got spoiled at Disney; as he was able to go on Space Mountain, the Tower of Terror, and most of the coasters there. Here, he is still stuck on the baby rides. What would his life be like had we not done the shots?? I don't know. Honestly, he would not be much taller than Nicholas is now. Michael is a pituitary dwarf. I digress. Despite these little set backs, we had fun. We rode all the rides we could, and I must say our favorite was the Scrambler. Michael drove the go-carts, and he even got one of those ink tatoos on his arm. We had a good day! We were supposed to meet up with our babysitter, Kristine and the little boy she is mentoring,but we never found them. I think we are going to get the boys together next weekend and take them to see a movie.

Nick is continuing to make huge progress. Last night while I was in the kitchen, he came to me and started jabbering. He was actually looking AT me while he was doing all this. That is huge for kids like Nick--eye contact is not their strong point, but he was "talking" TO me. After he was done, he pointed to my mouth as if to say "Ok, now it's YOUR turn!". Oh, and if you find a box of crackers sitting out in the middle of the floor, chances are he wants some and this is how he tells us. Now, he will be in a completely different room, but that's just his way. I am signing off for now. Michael needs to be "reminded" to behave in class. I thank Nana for this approach...he is writing sentences!!