It was all yellow!!

Don't forget to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the blog and TURN OFF THE MUSIC BEFORE you listen to this...Yellow...hmm...Sammy and yellow..they pretty much go together.. Myles favorite color is Red...he says that now...Sammy hasn't officially declared yellow as his fave..but if i pick something out for him and have my choice of colors..yellow is for him...happy..sunny..sweet...AND he has yellow shirts, "yellow" hair...and he likes bananas...i mean..if that isn't enough......

I am going to try to start posting more of Sammy talking...he is having a surge of development..and it is so exciting to see...i want to be able to go back and see the difference too..

okay..go watch it...or watch it again...i am...

from my heart.

Sweet Sammy

(he started to blink here...sorry he looks slightly cranky..he wasn't i promise!)

I was at Sammy's school on Monday..for "Make it Monday"

my first for this year.

I pick out a book, and ofcourse, a craft..and have it prepared for our friends on Mondays..

They are talking about apples right now, so we read a book called ONE RED APPLE..

a beautiful book i found at Barnes and Noble...and then we did apple prints on some fabric (cut from a clearance sheet from Target)...i took them home and sewed them together with a little trim...and it became a flag for the classroom...(sorry, no pictures of that)

Oh, our sweet teacher just loved it!

We will do one every month, depending on the subject...pumpkins are next!!

I think the kids really like seeing a finished project that they all helped put together.

It is hanging in the reading area.

Bliss.

speaking of bliss.

i took a peek at him on the playground before i left....

this guy was having a blast!

mad climbling skills!



static-y hair sliding abilities...

awesome..just hanging there talent!!

and there he goes...climbing up something i would consider..NOT on the safer end of the safety spectrum....but alas..he did it...over and over again..

he did it...

Smiling ..i am.

from my heart.

Bike Riding!

This is my Son!
This is Him on His Bike!

This was my first bike when i was a little girl...i learned how to ride on this bike..

new freedoms were found on this bike...

and now he is finding new freedoms too!

I marked out a road for him to follow, fitted with arrows and a bridge...

he rode for 2 hours yesterday!

i wonder about the places he goes in his mind...
with the wind blowing in his face ...and his cheerleaders, curve turners, and snack committe at the ready...these are the days!!

I am thrilled that he is riding..

i am tickled beyond measure that he is learning on the same piece of magical equipment i learned on...

I am a proud mommy.

Just the proudest!

From My Heart!

You Are The Apple of My Eye

Our first fieldtrip in Kindergarten!!

Did i go?

ppppfffftht!

ofcourse i went!

but i did not ride on the bus.

no mommies and daddies on the buses.

just sweet.sweet.sweetness filled two buses to the apple orchard!

here is mine....i am so glad i have this picture.

this was right as they got on the bus.

a caravan of mommies and daddies followed so closely behind..

it made me have a lump in my throat..

2 buses filled with all of our babies..

we made it!!!
this was right when we arrived..




looking happy!

very happy!

get ready for the picture tour of all time...

here we are towards the end of the field trip..in the market..

Myles kept wanting to go in here to see the train going around and around...and around......

and...

if you know my Myles, you can see he is really liking this moment...notice his one eye shut..

oh yeah..this is the good stuff here..

get out of my way woman!

exhibit A

this is soooo not a good picture...but there goes the train again!

mmmmmm.

ewwwww!

That's better!
Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

a scarecrow...not just plain scarey like the man a couple pictures up..

(he wasn't a real man...but he didn't seem to bother Myles at all...me?..yeah..he bothered me!)

taking a break from the train...

he wants to look...over.....

there.....

sitting on a bench with some elephants ...
silly smiley!

I just love him so!

gettin' some apples.

putting them in our bags..

and that's it...

our first fieldtrip!

I just loved going and seeing Myles and all of the friends out in the big world...

we went on a hayride...picked apples..ate lunch...played...and watched the train...

and then it was time to head back to school.

He keeps saying "Apple Orchard...Bus...Train"

I'd say..it was a hit!

From My Heart!

Patience..Transmission

We've started doing a little therapy in the park...

this is so great, since they have swings as a reinforcer...

i just brought our picnic blanket..a couple books...and we read, asked questions..swung/swang/swinged :)

this kid loves it outside.. there was a time when switching from the swing to ANY other activity would not have been a smooth option... he was literally addicted..and we were his dealer..

Sometimes, i think, as parents, we don't want our kids to be unhappy..well, actually, when do we ever want them to be sad...??? I have learned so much about waiting it out a little longer...

wait....wait...wait...(doing the sign for "wait" as i say it...(this sign is two hands, palms up, in front of you, gently wiggling your fingers at the same time..as if to say, "Come on"...but your NOT..you're saying WAIT!!!!)

Anyway..waiting...
hmmmmmm.

patience?

(which really means LONG SUFFERING):)

yes, patience, always seems like such a pleasant word to be asking for...either for ourselves, or for our loved ones...however...i cringe everytime i hear someone say the word...

because, quite frankly...i'm sometimes DONE with the waiting..

DONE with progressing slower than i thought we might...

DONE with being a good example of the whole waiting process...

yet still...

we wait!

and swing.

and slowly...we are getting better..

we are growing.

we are blooming.

All of a sudden i had a memory of driving a stick shift for the first (several) time(s)

I was AWEFUL at it... and then one day, it worked...well, i did it right..

and i felt like i could drive for hours...

ofcourse, once you get going you are okay...it's the stopping and starting that throws all sense of practicality completely out the window...

just when you think the road ahead is free from all sorts of crazy jerking...and stalling...and pretty much engine failure all together...you have to use that gear shift..and the clutch..and..

come to a complete stop...and then start the madness all over again!!

WHAT!!(sound of breaks screeching...or was that the engine falling out??)

(okay, this whole last part about the car, was not what i had planned on saying...but clearly, or maybe not so much, it had to be said...)

Are you having trouble with your transmissions/ transitions too...

i would LOVE to hear...

From My Heart!

2 cute-2 be-4 gotten

Guess who turned 4 today??

What in the world?

My baby..

had a little breakfast party at his school...
complete with gluten free pan"cakes"
(he doesn't eat cake..or cupcakes...just doesn't want to...but the boy can put away some pancakes)
a little yogurt and orange slices...and juice boxes...for all of our friends...
and Sammy blew out the #4 candle all by himself!!
Really!


He is all about his shapes now...will say them...even octagon...but OVAL is his favorite...
so i made him this little birthday shirt...with a big 4...and 4 ovals...
he is just so yummy..
I am in awe of his little life...
so much already...packed into just a few short years..
sigh.
(heavily)
WE Love you so Sammy...
You are 2 "everything wonderful"
2 EVER be
4 gotten.
I Love You , my, more than 3 1/2 year old baby...
YOU are 4!!
You are PERFECT!!

Welcome.....to Holland

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
byEmily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Welcome, from the bottom of my heart, to this very dear piece of my heart..Autism Blooms!
The Lord has placed it on my heart to move forward with this vision of mine...or perhaps, HIS. I hope, truely, that you are encouraged as i have been...that Autism is not the end..it is the very beginning of hope, and a deep understanding of somebody that seems so far away...an adventure of sorts...an amazing journey...a blessing...a gift...a LIFE less ordinary...Thankyou for sharing any of your journey as i share ours... i will be back often with updates and fun ideas...

From my heart..