Fire Station Visit and Progress!

This week went well for Alex, considering his favorite Mrs. G in the whole wide world was gone for two whole days!

Lets start with Sunday, at Lauren's birthday party:

He had a great time playing with Leah, Meghan, and Lauren. There were balloons to play with, he played with a lot of toys, and even enjoyed the cake! He likes this picture of him and Leah, because Leah is one of his favorite cousins (don't tell the other ones, because he loves them too).

When we got home, he was so tired from the party, he bathed and went right to sleep. It was a great day for a party, even if he was recovering from a pretty rough cough.

This week has been one of focus. We have been working on homework time and trying to make it go smoother. Monday's homework time went well, with less screaming and crying than the last time we tried. However, Wednesday was back to being rough again, with a lot of fight. We tried to use iPad for "first, and then", and it worked the first time, however Wednesday... even iPad didn't work.

But on Friday, he sat right down, did his work, and was finished before the song played on the radio. I think as long as we keep him sitting in the same spot, turn on some music, and let him focus on what he needs to do with the prize of getting iPad time, then it will start going smoothly as the routine is established.

On Monday, we got his school pictures sent home. He did such a good job! They are so great. I think that we are going to use them for Holiday Cards this year, just because he is so handsome in these!

On Wednesday, with Mrs. G gone, he had another aide to help him named Tracy. She was so great. She told me about how they are starting to work on his independence at school, because he has done such a good job getting his morning routine done by himself. She told me about how she let him pick out his own stuff for hot lunch, and sit by his friends. It was chicken nugget day, and once he saw his friends enjoying their lunch, he joined right in and ate ALL his chicken nuggets! Although he didn't eat lunch the rest of this week, that is at least a start. He has realized that the school lunches that are his favorite are at least really good, maybe this is the start that we need to get him to try new things!

On Thursday, they went to the Fire Station, and his teacher took this really adorable picture:

I was a bit worried because this was his first field trip without Mrs. G, but he did a great job! He sat with his class and listened really well, and I would like to think the above picture is him contemplating becoming a Firefighter when he grows up.

This week they were working on Goldilocks and The Three Bears, and he seemed to have a lot of fun with this. His teacher took this cute picture of him, maybe pretending to be Papa Bear?

I know, I know, he looks so cute holding a baby, he should have a sibling! He does look cute, but he still has to wait.

He also had a great day in Speech this week, where he said an original 6 word sentence. They were so excited by this, as are we! We will get the update on Thursday during Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Things are progressing beautifully in regards to Alex moving forward with the goals we set in his IEP. He is making a lot of friends, and they are helping him jump over the hurdles that he has. This week is only a four day week for the both of us, with Tony and I seeing his teacher on Thursday. We are both looking forward to this! But for now, I have to go. Someone is dying for some attention from Mommy.....

Gift Giving, Homework, and Sickness

I am pretty sure, that for as long as I live, this will be my all-time favorite picture of Alex and I. He was only about 4 months old in this picture, and I, of course, just as bald as he was. We were looking outside, which we were prone to do a lot during that time, because we couldn't go out and play as much as we wanted since I was sick.

Thursday marked my 6 year "Cancerversary", and I found that the whole day I was reflecting on how much Alex and I have both grown in this time. We have had many ups and downs in this time, but we have managed to always make the best of everything and we were always still together on the other side.

But lets get back to our main man.

On Monday, he brought his wedding gift to Matt and Stacey, and he worked really hard on it! It turned out beautifully too!

He was more sociable than normal when we were there, which is good because normally if a lot of people that he doesn't know are around, he will clam up. He stole Stacey's phone, took a video of himself counting along with the timer for the recording.

Everything at school went well this week, and he even had a substitute on Monday. It is good that he is getting into his routine so that he can start making progress at school. He even comes into the school all by himself and (most of the time) remembers to hang his jacket and backpack up, bring his folder in, and even answer what he wants for lunch (which he doesn't eat, he eats his lunch from home still).

We have gotten some fantastic homework sent home, and although our first shot at trying to get him to do it at home ended in screaming and a ripped paper, we have another project that he has to do before tomorrow where he picks what he wants to put on the bus (for the Wheels on the Bus book him and his class is making) and draw it, along with choosing what noise it makes. We have settled, I think, on "The Oxhorn on the bus goes 'ROFLMAO, ROFLMAO, ROFLMAO'", but we will see what he decides when it is time to sit down and draw it. One of my favorite things he has brought home this week was this piece of work:

I told him I was so proud because the picture looks just like Fat Cat! So I had to take a picture and share it with the masses. He also got a letter from his two (4th grade?) buddies, and one of them signed his name "Starkiller 9000" which intrigued me and a couple of my friends when I shared it. I think this is one of the most fun things about being a parent, is getting to see what their little minds come up with.

Yesterday he was sick, and he still is not feeling the greatest today. So that means movie and cuddle time with me, in an attempt to get him to feel better for Lauren's Birthday Party this afternoon. Last night, he even fell asleep in the fort under his bed:

It is hard when he is sick because he doesn't take medication well. Cough syrup, or anything of that consistency  makes him gag and eventually throw up. So when he is sick, we turn on the humidifier, rub him down with Vick's, and cuddle as much as possible.

I am looking forward to telling you all about his trip to the Fire Station this next week, and to let you know how the Oxhorn art project goes today. We hope you all have a great week!

Birthday Celebration and Homecoming

I think that the most important truth that a parent has to come to terms with is this: I have exactly no idea what I am doing. When I came to that conclusion on day one of Alex's life, things seemed to be much less stressful. I only know how to do what I think is best,and I usually just wing it.

With that being said, I also believe that I am, in no way shape or form, any kind of specialist when it comes to Autism. I have people (this week, it was my English professor) telling me I should make this blog into a book, but I have issues with that for a couple of reasons. The first reason is what I mentioned above. My parenting style for Alex can only be defined as "trial and error". The second reason is because every autistic is unique, and they have their own set of abilities and hurdles.

I am in various autism groups on Facebook, and I love a few of them because they have parents asking questions of the whole group as to what to do about one problem or another. Helping out that way is much better to me, because I can address the issues that I have encountered with what my solution was, and learn more about potential problems we may have later when Alex is older. If one separates all of the media and scientists out of the Autism scene, what you are left with is a bunch of parents that just want to A.) not feel alone, and B.) just looking to see if there is help out there.

My English professor told me that the major reason she wanted me to make all of this blather into a book is to help other parents to not feel alone. I have no issues with telling about all of the bad things along with all of the good things, which is apparently a rare thing when it comes to parents (according to her). For example: There are some days where I have a rough time at school, and all I want is to cuddle with Alex and feel better. But he is not always in the mood to have anything to do with me. As a mom, that hurts a lot. There have been a few times where Tony has had to deal with me sobbing because I feel so overwhelmed. What helps me get through? My awesome significant other, and coming to the realization that whether I want it to or not, tomorrow is coming, and it has a chance of being different.

Alright, now all of that information is down, allow me to tell you about Alex's awesome week! I shall do so, with some amazing pictures that his teacher took, and a couple that I took. First, a picture of the Birthday Boy on Monday! He brought cupcakes to school to share with his friends, and had a great day (even wore the crown all day long)!

We had a small get together on Sunday, and Alex was able to play with his favorite Lauren in the whole wide world, and she helped him open some pretty awesome presents. He got a case for his cars, some new cars, and a harmonica from Grandpa and Grandma! Tony and I bought him The Avengers on Tuesday. He had some yummy cake too!

He also had a lot of fun this week, interacting during class. I got the best message from his teacher, Mrs. Harger, on Wednesday, telling me about how he read a sentence in front of the class on the Smartboard. It was "Good Morning, Class.". I was so excited to hear that! But I was even more overjoyed to hear that his classmates cheered him on, and were very encouraging! I said it on Facebook, and I will repeat it here: Alex's classmates are so awesome. Many thanks have to go to their parents for having such awesome and understanding kids.

This whole week, Alex has had such a good time that I cannot help but be thankful for everyone who is so supportive of him. Not just his fellow classmates, but his amazing teacher (who takes the time to message me and tell me how much she loves Alex), and of course, his Mrs. G!

With his amazing support system at school, he has made strides forward to becoming the little social butterfly that we all know he can be.

This week was Westby's homecoming, and all of the Kindergartners were able to go up and watch the parade. Not only that, but they got to dress up as well!

Although the Packer dress up day was kind of rough on Dad (Tony is not a Packer fan), even he had to be proud of Alex for having such a good week. So, as per usual for his reward, Alex gets to go hang out with Grandpa and Grandma today!

We hope you all have a great week!

Happy 6th Birthday, Alex!

Tomorrow is our favorite awesome autistic's 6th birthday. All he wants for his birthday is cake, and that is what he gets! We want to go over to Grandpa and Grandma's house, have some supper, and share cake with anyone who wants some.

This week, Alex had five fantastic days at school. Two of those days he had a substitute teacher, so it is really great that he is getting used to school enough that he can deal with that sort of change easily. They also had him doing more of the different stations, meaning he spends a little time at each table doing something different. He really enjoyed doing this, and being able to be creative right along with his friends.

They also went to the computer lab this week, and started to use computers. Alex really enjoyed that:

He also was able to wear his new shoes to school, so his old shoes can be used for gym class only. However, when I told him to show them off so I could take a picture of them that morning, this is what I got:

Tuesday was picture day, and from the report I have, it went really well, even though the rest of their morning was a bit rushed because of it. He noticed when Mrs. G went on break, and when she came back he asked here where she was, so his communication is getting so much better! We still have not made much headway since he took a bite of pizza many days ago, and most of the time he eats his lunch from home. We are hoping that he will get past this one day and recognize that the school has good food, other than just the string cheese and occasional cupcake. On Friday, he decided he wanted to wear his hat to school, and he looked really good in it!

All in all, he had an AMAZING week, even though toward the end of it he started to get a cough (so now he is told to cough in his "cough pocket", his elbow). Thursday and Friday I asked him if he was ok to go to school, and he would smile and say, "I'm ok." so off he went. I hope that his birthday is just as great tomorrow. I wanted to get this done today so we can just focus on him tomorrow. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that he is turning 6 years old! What a wild ride it has been, and it is only going to get crazier!

Well, now I am off to get our favorite little guy ready so he can go over and hang out with grandpa for a while (his prize for having a great week at school, and it is exactly what he wants).

In closing, I leave this picture. Its the Kitties guarding Alex while he is in his blanket fort. They have to protect the birthday boy!

Fair Week and Dad's Birthday

Another very successful week at Kindergarten! I find that I still slip up and call him a preschooler every once in a while, but I figure that is my own parental wishes being vocalized against him growing up so fast. Here are some pictures that his teacher took during this week:

This last one is a big picture the other kids painted of him for the friend of the day (obviously my pasty child is the one on the left).

Although this week was just another 4 day week (they have Friday off for the county fair), next week will bring with it another day of Kindergarten to his week, and homework! It will be interesting to see if I am able to do my own homework while helping Alex with his own dose.

Thursday was Tony's 28th birthday, and Alex made him a card at school (see above). While there has been no feed back as to whether he liked it or not, I know Alex enjoyed making it, because there are stickers involved. He likes stickers. Here is a closer view of this piece of art:

Alex also helped me make a cake for his birthday, stirring it and smelling it when it came out of the oven. He didn't want any, because it had bananas on it and in it (and he, just like Grandpa, hates bananas). But he was very helpful when making it, even if it didn't look like the best cake ever in the end.

I was asked why I did not take Alex to the county fair. That is easy. It is a huge combination of things he does not like. He doesn't like overly greasy foods. He doesn't like huge crowds of annoying people. He doesn't like things that are too loud. If it were devoid of people and food, he would like to see the animals and maybe ride a couple of the rides, but that would be about it. I myself don't really care for the fair, so I am one lucky mommy that I don't feel obligated to take him. However, he was able to spend some time on Friday AND Saturday with Grandpa, which he loved. I think he is starting to realize this new routine of "Go to school during the week, and during the weekend I get to see Grandpa". I think this is helping him to try harder at school and accomplish more, which is what my goal was anyway.

Overall, things are slowly getting easier for him. In one week, he will be turning 6 years old, and the only thing he wants for his birthday is cake. I might have to try to find him something cool, but cake we can definitely do!

First Week of Kindergarten

This week started out great for Alex. He even tried a bite of pizza this week for lunch! The first day was a little bit rough, getting back into the swing of going to school, and on Wednesday he managed to do his projects with no arguments! Thursday, he worked so hard at school, by 6 pm we found this:

Then on Friday, we got a call saying he got sick at school. I think that sometimes he lets stress get to him too much, and he makes himself sick. By the time I came home in the afternoon, he was feeling fine and actually ate some cheesy noodles. We had to go get Dad some shoes for work, so Alex picked out a new book, and even got new shoes for himself!

I think that Alex really enjoys himself at Kindergarten, but him not knowing how to communicate really gets him down sometimes. I have complete faith, however, that once he falls into his routine, there will be no stopping him. We, as in Tony and I, just need to make sure that he has a good general routine at home, like going to bed at 8 pm and eating supper with us (which he still hates to do), so that he can be set up for optimal success.

Next week is Tony's birthday. He will be 28 years old! I keep telling Alex he is catching up to Grandpa, and will soon be as old as Grandpa! We don't know where we would be without him though. He is great at all of the things that I suck at when it comes to parenting. Like... discipline. I am not really that good at it. But Alex always listens when he talks, even if it is met with cries of the world being unjust and denial that his room needs to be cleaned. Likewise, I am amazing when it comes to the cuddling, encouragement, and ruining his day in other ways. I am going to go get his present this afternoon (but I am not going to say what it is in the off chance that he actually reads this), and it is a really good one! I am also going to attempt to make a banana cream layer cake for the special day. Good luck to me and all my poor baking skills. Hopefully Alex will be there to help, like he is when it comes to the shopping for supplies just so he can save the receipt for this purpose:

(He likes hearing the noise it makes when the wind whips it around. Silly kid.)

Last Week Before School Starts

It never fails that if Kitty comes up and wants to get some scratches and cuddle with me, she usually has to put up with this:

It is a good thing that she loves him so much. Even now she is sitting on the trampoline with him and watching Go Diego, Go.

This week, Alex spent time with Dad, doing whatever it is they do ("Guy Stuff" is all I am told), and he spent a day with Grandpa and then one with Grandpa and Grandma. We also went to Back to School night, and learned that he will have a blast in Kindergarten! We found out that Alex gets Mrs. G again, and while he will still have to get used to the other Aids, Mrs. Stellner and Mrs. Ostrem, he will at least have one person there with him who is a comfort and also knows how to deal with his stubbornness.

We also managed to fill out almost all of Alex's school paperwork! That is so nice to have done. I just have to finish the one for Mrs. Harger, and then fill out what we want for school pictures.

Alex has been great all week. I just hope that he can quickly find a new routine in school and thrive with it. I know that is what helps him out the most, but getting there is usually the fight. I know he will do a great job, and I cannot wait to tell you guys all about it next week.

Well, right now I have to go work on some homework, because I have a lot of it, and maybe Alex will start working on his writing (which usually happens when he sees me doing my homework). Last week, when I was reading he managed to become so focused on what he was writing, he drew up his arm:

Good thing he is washable! I hope you all have a great week, because I know we will try our hardest to here!