Lauren, Leah and Dr. Seuss

Another really great week!

So far, Alex has four Dr. Seuss books on his iPad, and he has already memorized "The Cat in the Hat" and the ABC one so that he can read to himself with his own books. We are working on "Green Eggs and Ham" and "Hop On Pop". We need to get him a new copy of "Green Eggs and Ham" though, we seem to have misplaced the other one. He was running around my parent's house yesterday, flying kites with Aunt Amy and Uncle Andy, talking about Sam I Am. And he had a blast!

Saturday, Lauren and Leah came over for a few hours again, so Alex was able to show Lauren his iPad and they played together on it. They played Fruit Ninja, some game where they were running through a temple away from monkeys (which incited a lot of laughter when they made the dude run into a tree and make a SPLAT noise), and they of course read "The Cat in the Hat". They played Alex's matching game, and when Lauren got down to just the zeros left, she said, "Alex! Its your turn! You have the zeros!" He also played well with Leah, because we took out his ABC blocks so she could play with them, and of course since she is mobile now, she had to take whatever she could fit in her hand and crawl around with it. This prompted Alex to crawl after her, look her in the eyes, and say, "Where you going?" Leah would just giggle at him and they would go back to playing with the blocks. She passed out on me, and when Alex came out of his room where he and Lauren were playing so Leah could nap, he gave her a kiss on the head. Boy, did that strike me in the heart. I gave him a hug and told him one day he can have a baby brother or sister too. He just has to be patient, and enjoy his baby cousins for now. Of course, being a boy, he gave me the look of "Eh, whatever, Mom..." and went back to playing in his room with Lauren.

One thing that I have noticed is that he is starting to open up to more people now. He isn't always sure how to interact with them, but he does use the few words and phrases he does know, and that has helped him have a better relationship with Lauren, and his Aunts and Uncles he doesn't always get to see. As his days of Preschool are winding down, I am less scared about how he will be once Kindergarten starts. He is a great kid, and we are very lucky to have him in our lives. And I am not just talking about Tony and I, but everyone in his family.

This week, I turn 26 years old. Which means in 6 short months, Alex will be turning 6 years old. Thinking of myself as being 26 doesn't affect me, but when it is brought up that my child will be 6? That makes me feel old. It is insane how well he is doing, and even more insane all of the things he has overcome in his short life. Also, this week will be rather tough on him, because it will be cooler, so there might not be days where he can go out and ride his bike. He will really hate that, because he is becoming quite the bike rider. However, Tony figured out the only way to get him to keep looking straight is to walk in front of him, which is kind of like asking someone to push a shopping cart right behind you. You know you are going to get hit sooner or later. Hopefully I will be able to sneak a video of him to try and get on here so you can see how much fun he has.

New Book and New Bike

Another phenomenal week in the life of Alexzander Silas! This week, Tony and I went out and bought him a new bike, complete with helmet, knee pads, and a "basket" to match! Its a Cars one, and boy does he love it! Even the helmet, and he never likes putting things on his head! We went out to practice riding Friday evening and Saturday evening, and we were out for about an hour and a half each time. The first time he was learning about pedaling, and I was pushing and steering, then day two he pretty much had the pedals under control, but he refused to watch were he was going so I still had to steer. Every once in a while, he forgets which way to pedal, so he goes backwards and screeches to a halt. I giggle, then we move on again. He gets so excited, which gets me excited, because he will yell, "Look at me! I am going faster!", to which I have to run to catch up to him because of course, he is not looking where he is going and is steering off into something (bush, neighbors yard, down a hill, into the a sign... I could go on for days).

He also has been doing an amazing job with his reading, and he has read "The Cat in the Hat" so many times that he not only has it memorized, but we also had to buy him new books so we could listen to something else for a while. I have been trying to get a video of it, but Alex is picking up from Tony the idea that cameras might steal your soul, so he prefers to not be on camera, and chews me out if I try.

I have been feeling guilty the last few weeks because I feel like I hardly get to see my guys at all, and I am so busy all the time I am leaving a lot of the Alex-Watching to Tony. Which also makes me feel guilty, because while I am trying so hard to hurry up and graduate, he is taking over a lot of the parenting duties. I know I shouldn't feel guilty about this, but I do. At the same time, I am amazed all the time by their relationship with each other, because Alex adores and respects him, and has picked up the "Lets harass Mom as soon as she comes home" thing. I really hope that the next kid is a girl, so maybe I can have someone other than Girl Kitty on my side sometimes.

Later this week, Alex's pictures should be coming in! I ordered them last week, and the ones we picked out are pretty cute! I will put a link on here when contest time rolls around, so that you can all go and vote for Alex's picture for the Syttende Mai contest. He is so cute in the one we picked out!

This week, we are looking forward to some rain, so there may not be as many bike stories, but more reading stories. He is growing up so fast!

Pictures and Changes

This week definitely had its ups and downs for our darling Alexzander. Pictures on Thursday did not go well at all. He was very scared of the new place, and Wendy was wonderful about it, but he just wanted to stay where he was comfortable and not sit where we wanted so he could take pictures. She did manage to get at least two good ones (I will find out how many good ones this next week) that she put up on Facebook, so I think that next year, we will see if she will come to us so he is a bit more comfortable.

We also rearranged our living room this week, and Alex is taking to the change very nicely. He loves the new stuff, and I think he felt rather grown up getting to help with stuff. I had Spring Break this last week, so he has had more amounts of Mom Time too. True, he has ignored me for the most part, but we have had some pretty epic cuddle times in there that were very nice.

His sentences are becoming clearer, and he has three Dr. Seuss books on his iPad that he loves to read. To me, it is like his vocabulary is broadening a bit, because he is asking for more things, asking for help, and says "Moooommmmmm?" constantly.

I still worry though, a lot, about his future. In just six months, he will be turning six years old. And yes, that floors me. I have really no issue with being 26, none at all. But my baby turning six? It makes me feel so old! I just hope that Kindergarten goes well, because there is where he will learn a lot more of the social skills he will need for school.

With all of the worries and stress and frustration that comes with having a child with Autism, I still would not change him for the world. He is unique, and looks at things totally unlike any other child his age. Tony and I are really lucky parents.

Zero and Love

There are two things that I am going to address this week for this entry, and I think I have to do so quickly so that we may hit the road to go find a new couch.

Item 1: The iPad. It has been wonderful watching Alex laugh, play, and learn using this thing. He has conquered a memory game, where he flips over cards that have the numbers 0-20 on them, and he completely loses it, laughing his fool head off, when he gets to match two zeros together. He also has read about going to the dentist (which he will have to next month), read Dr. Seuss, and one of his favorite things to do for fun is play Fruit Ninja (which he is scary good at, by the way).

We are still looking for a lot more vocabulary apps, because the couple that we do have he has down. But we will keep him going on the other ones also, just because practice makes perfect. This slim machine is quite possibly the best thing that we could have ever gotten for him. After only one week, he seems like he is more confident in what he knows, and gets excited to learn new things all the time. I am over the moon that the Children's Miracle Network granted us $500 toward the purchase of one.

The next topic that I am going to discuss is Alex's relationship with Tony. Because of me being gone so much, they routinely get to have "Man Time" together, and I think it is doing Alex (and Tony, but don't tell him I said that) a lot of good. I watch those two together and am nothing short of in awe how much Alex loves him. Although, being a lot like me, Alex is very stubborn and wants to fight back when being told to do something, so they do yell at each other. But, all is always forgiven when they play together, because Alex, much like me, can't stay mad at him forever. I am not sure what I would have done if Tony were not in our lives, because he has been a solid foundation in some very uneasy situations. When I am so frustrated I just want to cry, he is there to help.

Next month, April 16th to be exact, Alex is going to the dentist for the first time. Yes, it has taken me this long. What took me so long is that a lot of dentists in our area do not have any experience with Autistic children, let alone will they take their insurance. I am secretly hoping that the application on his iPad will help, and maybe, if I cross my fingers, Tony will have the day off so he can come with. This will be very new and very scary for Alex. And I know that Alex likes it when both of us are together, because it makes him feel more safe. I also know that Alex does get sad when so many times either Tony or I have to leave, and he is stuck with the other parent and we can't be together. I think he is starting to understand what his family is, and what he can expect from Tony and myself. He can expect to feel safe with us. He can expect us to always be there if he needs us. And, even though right now we are poor because I am in college, he can expect to get what he needs when he needs it. That is what a Mommy and a Daddy do. I don't think, even when we get married, I will be able to find the words to express how thankful I am that Tony is here for Alex, and that he is so great at teaching him things he needs to know. That is how I know that he loves us, both of us, because of everything he gives up just to be with us. I have said it many times before, and I will say it again... there is probably nothing I can buy, nothing I can say, nothing I can do to ever thank him enough. Alex has done everything he has because of everyone in his life, and the top two are Tony and I.

Well, now I have to go. The boys are ready and waiting for me. I hope you enjoy the videos, and I will hopefully have more pictures to share next week.