Rain, Rain, Stay and Play!

We spent this morning at Symphony Square, getting soaked and watching the Biscuit Brothers perform. On our way to Chris’ house this morning, I noticed some dark clouds looming in the horizon, but I did not think twice. As soon as we filled up the parking meter with change, and started walking to our destination, the rain came down, but that was just a taste of what we experienced later.

It was exhilarating! The last time we went to Symphony Art Park, it was crazy, swampy, drench your undies hot. I’ll take rain any day over crazy, butt hot! As we approached the balloons, Tyler decided he wanted to sit in the amphitheater and wait for the Biscuit Brothers. So we did. Chris, Natalie and Zach waited in line for balloon animals and then the sky fell out. It POURED down rain! Tyler laughed. He was so excited to get drenched. “Mommy, I’m getting all wet. It’s raining on me!” Not only did we get wet, but muddy. By the time the Biscuit Brothers performed, the sun came out and the music and sunshine brightened up our day.

After the concert, we walked over to the art park. The kids were so excited to see Waller Creek, they splashed in the puddles on the bridge -- we never made it over to the art tent. Tyler took off his shoes and jumped up and down, splashing everyone in sight. Then Natalie joined in. After a while, Natalie and Tyler told us they were hungry, so we headed to the car. We ended our fun morning with our friends eating lunch at Whataburger.

The simple pleasures of friends bring such meaning to our lives. It makes me think of one of my favorite Native American sayings, “My heart laughs with joy because I am in your presence.” It certainly does! Thanks for a wonderful day Chris! We are so blessed to have you and your wonderful family in our lives. Your friendship certainly makes my heart smile.

The Big Boy Bed

This weekend Geoff and I thought it was time to move Luke into his toddler bed. We moved Tyler into his Elmo bed around the same time and he was a rock star -- he settled into his "big boy" bed with ease. At the time, we did not know how amazing that was, that Tyler had autism and a new transition such as this would be an incredible feat. Autistics have tremendous difficulty with transitions, and this was a HUGE one. So we pulled out the good ole' toddler bed and put it together Saturday night, getting it ready for our seemingly neurotypical little man. Geoff did not want to take down the crib -- thank God I listened to him!

Luke was enthralled with his bed and kept jumping up and down on it. Tyler stretched out on Luke's bed and said he wanted to spend the night in there and go "night night with Luke." For those of you who know how hard it is to get Tyler to sleep EVERY night, I was thinking this may be my lucky moment, a Godsend. Maybe he will finally go to sleep on his own and I will be at peace. If little brother can do it, then so can Tyler. Of course, these were the happy thoughts running through my mind and not real.

So it came time for all good little boys to go night night in their beds. I read Luke his bedtime stories, rocked him, sang his songs and recited all of the people who love him, "Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you, Tyler loves you..." A normal nighttime routine. Then, came time to put Luke in bed. He gladly lay down, put his head on his pillow and held his babies tightly. I left the room, feeling a sense of euphoria, like I had finally won a hard fought battle. Then the revolving door opened and the game of chase began. It was cute for a while, then just became exhausting. Geoff threw in the towel and then, so did I. We wanted to sleep and so we did!

To be continued ...

Symphony Art Park

We went to the Austin Symphony Art Park with our friends Chris, Zach and Natalie. The boys had a blast playing instruments and enjoyed watching the show with their friends. They also loved getting balloons. Luke got ants in his pants so we had to leave after the show and missed getting some of the Blue Bell ice cream. We made up for it though with a trip to McDonald's with our friends and some swirl ice cream --yummy! A wonderful, fun-filled day.

Count your Blessings

After reading, “He Struggles, but he is my hero” written by a mother of a little boy with autism, I realized that I share the same philosophy as this mother. I would not change a thing about Tyler. He is my gift from God. Although at times, life can be very difficult, I still would not change a thing. He is so sweet and loving, happy, funny and intelligent – he is incredibly gifted. He LOVES all of the important people in his life – he knows what love is. I was not sure if he would ever know this, but he does. He tells me every day how much he loves me. He loves his brother and Daddy so much. We are so lucky that Luke loves Tyler with just as much passion. Tyler also tells me all the other things he loves, his family members, outside, inside, Chris' keys, the kitchen. You’re probably thinking “why the kitchen?” Well that is where we create yummy things, such as pancakes, cookies, muffins and macaroni and cheese. So of course he would love the kitchen! I forgot to mention water, he LOVES water, drinking it and playing in it.

“Unless you have a child with a significant disability, such as Autism....you will NEVER, EVER (not in a million years) be able to fully understand the heartache, the pain, the worry, the guilt, the sorrow, the helplessness, the frustration - the loss...that comes with the diagnosis and every day afterward.”

The other day, we went to one of the local jumpy places. The boys love going there and we always have such a good time. But that day, there was a change in routine which threw Tyler off -- a stamp instead of a wristband. This sounds like nothing to your typical child, but for a child with autism, this is a BIG deal. So he starts tantruming and the owner suggests I try threatening him to get him to cooperate. This really ticks me off! I want to tell this woman to shove her threat up her ass, but I am polite, I just tell her, "my son has autism." To which she replies, "I am so sorry, next time we won't even worry about this." There are always little things that can trigger a meltdown and this just happened to be it. I wish people would be more understanding. The next time a child has a tantrum in a store or restaurant, it may not be a "bratty child" but a child who has special needs that is overstimulated. Compassion can make this world a better place.

I have been struggling lately with Tyler’s regression in potty training, his gastrointestinal issues and tests that do not really measure where my child is with his language development. I get so frustrated when Tyler has a test, like the PLS-4, which was written for typically developed children. It does not show what a rock star he is and how far he has come in the two years since he was diagnosed with autism. All the progress he has made astounds me, but these tests do not show that! So from now on, I will take those tests with a grain of salt. I am with him EVERYDAY – I KNOW how far he has come and everything he has had to overcome. I KNOW what he can do, so I will NOT focus on what he can’t do. Every little achievement is a celebration!

I will NEVER give up, even when I want to hide under a rock and cry a river. I will always fight for my son and make sure that he has a fulfilling life. I will challenge him and he will challenge me, this is just the way it will always be.

Here is the link to Jenipher’s article on the Autism Support Network if you would like to read it:
http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/he-struggles-hes-my-hero

The Sweetness of Little Boys

I am so blessed! Tyler and Luke are so happy, sweet and loving. Every night before Luke's bedtime, we read stories (Goodnight Moon, Hush Little Alien, Time for Bed and I Love You Through and Through) and then we go through a long list of people who love him, "Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you, Pa Pa loves you, Grammy and Pa love you, all of your aunts, uncles and cousins love you. Everybody loves you." Luke loves to recite this with me every night and sometimes during the day too. And then we move on to Sesame Street, "Elmo loves you, Big Bird loves you, Cookie Monster loves you and Oscar the Grouch loves you. All of your friends on Sesame Street love you." Luke has his favorite Sesame Street characters on the wall in his room and he loves to point them out during our nightly recitation.

At bedtime, Tyler loves to read his favorite books (Hooray for Fish! and WonderPets Save the Bengal Tiger) and answer questions about who he loves. Tyler, who do you love, "I love Mommy, Daddy, Lukie" and the list goes on and on and on. It includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and therapists -- Tammy and Juliana. Recently Geoff started asking Luke who he loves, and his responses have been so sweet. His little voice is so precious! The other night, he was telling Geoff, "I wuv Aunt Sharissie (Sharisse), I wuv Brice, I wuv aunt Wisa (Lisa), I wuv Max, I wuv Carly, I wuv Joaquin. I wuv Uncle T, I wuv Jenni..." I just love the sweetness of my little boys. Sometimes I just want to bottle it all up. I need to remember this when they are nearly killing each other over toys. Boys will always be boys!