The wonders of Supplements

If you would have asked me a year ago if I would have considered introducing some supplements to Nick's diet I would have said No. Not the typical vitamin supplements you give to a kid who simply does not eat well, but supplements to supposedly help break down some walls from his autism. I am not looking for a miracle "cure", I know that he will always have autism-I believe it is something he was born with. When I think back to his babyhood,there was some instances that stood out. For example,he did not sit on his own until he started crawling. At one year old, you could ask Michael "Where's daddy?" and he would look for him. I remember asking Nick several times after he turned one, only to be met with a blank stare. I am only hoping for more connections to be made. We are aching to hear Nick's little voice. Sure, he says a few words here and there,and will sing songs..all we ask for is the possibility of a little more. I have read about Cod Liver Oil http://www.autismcoach.com/Cod_Liver_Oil.htm
and many of the other moms have tried it as well on their kids and have said they had improvement in speech. I ventured out into the rain,and bought an 8oz bottle of the Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil (Orange flavored) to try on Nick. Mike did not even protest to this-he is eager to see any improvements Nick can make,and I know he would go to the end of the earth if it meant his son would talk. I gave him a tiny bit after his dinner,and we shall see what happens. I am not going to go all out into chelation to remove heavy metals, or anything too wild like that. That is just not where I am at right now. I just want to hear my sons voice.

We are HOME!!!!

Finally!!! For those who did not hear about our little journey back to Washington,let me fill you in on what happened!

We left Deltona on Wednesday (1 week ago today) and headed up to Walterboro,S.C. to visit with Mike's sister and brother. We had a great time,and we went out to eat at Ryan's with Tina and all the girls.(Tina,her daughters Brittany, Kaylee,and Martika,and Martika's little girl,Amaya. Tina also brought along her boyfriend Mario.)We got to visit with Bobby and his family,and Michael finally got to meet the only two boy cousins he has...Bobby Jr. and Ryan. We stayed the night at Tina's,and left Thursday morning. That day,we drove to Tennessee before turning in for the night. We got up Friday and drove to Amarillo,Texas. In Amarillo,the crap litterally hit the fan. That whole region was stuck in a ice/snow storm,and I-40 Westbound was closed. Since we could not go any further,we tried to find a hotel room. No luck--every hotel we went to was full. They were predicting another storm to hit that night,and we were running out of options fast. We headed South on I-25,and came across a very small town called Tulia. By this time it was 4am,and we had been on the road for 20 hours. Fortunately,there was a hotel in this small town,and we pulled over. Since I-40 was closed for about 24hours, we decided to stay for two nights. Over the radio we had heard that all roads going west bound were closed. We got up Sunday morning,turned on the news and heard that I-40 was open now. We packed up the car and headed West to New Mexico. All was going fine as we crossed the boarder to New Mexico. We got about 30 miles from the boarder,and they closed I-40 again. We went back to Texas,and tried to head North to Colorado,but we were stopped again. All roads headed that way were closed. So,back in Texas we are,and getting more frustrated with each passing moment. We drove down to I-10 and crossed our fingers. As we approached the southern New Mexico boarder we grew anxious and held our breath. Well,all I can say is that we should have done it a LOT sooner! We had no problems,and spent New Years driving through Roswell! We did not see E.T.,but we did not care....we were glad to be out of Texas and to be moving forward in our journey! We pulled in last night around 7pm and spent most of the day today unpacking. We found out that our power had gone out for a couple of days while we were gone, so most of Michael's medicine went bad. I called Dr. McClellan today and he said that all I had to do was take the unused portion back to the pharmacy and they will be able to exchange them. He also said that all of Michael's labs came back just fine. We enjoyed our visit with everyone,I hope you all had a wonderful New Year and Christmas. I know we did!

Florida!!

We have been here for one week so far, and it has been great! The boys are having a good time visiting with Nana and Grandpa, and Nana and Grandpa are having a great time with them. Last Sunday we went to Daytona and saw my aunt Nancy and cousin Jennifer. We also saw her little boy, Braden. Braden is about 3 months old and is just the cutest little thing!! I am sure he was not so cute when he was screaming all the time though :) I am glad the medicine is working for him Jen! We also took the kids to the beach last Sunday so they could see the ocean. There is hardly any beach left after all the hurricanes. They have erroded the beaches pretty bad, and the water now comes up to the seawall during high tide. Not the beach that I remember of my childhood at all.

This week we drug Nick around to almost every single Wal-mart,K-mart,Toys R Us, and Target in central Florida. We have had a great time shopping for them!! In the evenings I have also been going with my mom to help her clean her office at work. She cleans it after everyone leaves so that she can get some extra $$$. The weather here has been wonderful. It has been near 80 almost every day. Well, I better go for now, my sister in law is coming over today for a visit.

Getting ready....

To go to Nana's house that is! We did some last minute preparations today such as shopping. I think I got enough pop-tarts,lemon aid, and all sorts of other munchies to sustain us every day at least until dinner time. We have Michael's Dr appt. tomorrow morning and then we should be leaving in the afternoon. We will keep you all in the loop as to where we are located every night. Cant wait to see everyone! Here are some pictures from this weekend. Mike's unit had their Christmas party on Sunday, and the boys got their picture taken with Santa. Michael had a great time in the jump castle, and Nick LOVED the pinata.


More pictures on the photo page.

Let it Snow....Let it Snow!

This was the view out the front door this morning! We had a light dusting of snow Friday,but it melted by noon. But,starting yesterday evening, it snowed most of the night, and temps today barely reached 27f. Michael had his first "snow day" of the school year today,and from what the weatherman is saying, he could have another one on Thursday. We are supposed to get more snow tomorrow night. They say around 2-6". We will see!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hope everyone had a great holiday! We had a nice day even though it was rainy and temps hovered around 40 degrees. Michael loved helping with the turkey. I invited Kristine over to have dinner with us,and everyone seemed to have a good time. I took some photos of the boys today and put them on the photo page. We are supposed to get some snow this weekend,so if it sticks during the day time, I will get some pictures of that as well. See you all next month!!

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.