Well hello there!

A few new things... First of all, Devyn has been making some great progress! He is on summer break right now. But before he went on break we had another IEP. His teacher and ot/st suggested he move to the mild/mod class instead of being in the mod/severe class. My husband and I agreed because he is making great progress and we felt he was ready to move to the next class. I just wanted to make sure he would keep his services. All services stayed on the same so that was great! He starts when school starts back up again (end of july..He is also talking a lot more - conversation wise! Which is great!!! That is something he really struggles with. There has been a bit of regression because he is on break but hopefully when he goes back to school everything will go back to normal. His OT was cut at the clinic we go to. Which kind makes me a little annoyed..His therapist believes he does not need it anymore. She says he is making too much progress. I agree he is making progress BUT he does a lot of things with his therapist that he will not do with us. We are constantly trying though..hopefully he will break away from this habit soon. I just wish she wouldnt of cut his OT so soon just when he started making good progress. I dont quite understand that. I'm going to try to go through RC again for aba services for Devyn..I really hope I dont get the run around again. I tried before and our service coordinator was just SO rude about it. Pretty much told me it wasnt worth it. Insurance will be a no go because my sons insurance is excluded from the new law...So, we will see how this goes. :/ Otherwise, just doing our usual thing. Therapy and activities/events. Although, I'm thinking of taking it slow on the activities. We have been doing way too much lately and it is pretty exhausting.. I made another team for the Autism Speaks walk this year. This year it will be in Irvine! Right down the street from us and it will be in October. Hoping more people join and/or donate! Gotta start getting the word out about it.. Autumn has also been doing great! Talking up a storm..having little conversations with her brother! SO CUTE! Although, I think the terrible two's are in full swing because she is becoming a moody monster!!!! Hahaha..typical girl I guess haha. Had some not so pleasant visits with For OC Kids about her though...which just makes me angry so I wont go too much into that. All I know is that she is doing GREAT! Everyone thinks so too which is all that matters to me. Other than that...I have started my own little journey! I am trying to lose some weight. It has been 5 weeks and I've already lost 11 lbs. Hoping to lose a lot more. Trying to lose at least 50 lbs by December! I think I can do it :) I have been feeling gloomy lately though...I try to put the family subject in the back of my mind but lately I find myself thinking more about it. I really wish I had parents and the kids had grandparents. I just don't know why my parents and my husbands wouldn't choose to love our kids. They are beautiful and they are worth being loved..they are worth getting to know. Why wouldn't they want to know them? BLAH. So much to say about this subject...I just wish things were different. BUTTT whatever with that! Things are looking up for us though!!! :)

Thankful for autism.

There are quite a few days where I have one of those I hate autism moments. As do a lot of other autism parents. But, last night I encountered something that really made me think. I went to Target last night and there was this lady who checked out a few people in front of me. Her child was sitting in the cart crying and screaming. I just knew her child had autism. Unlike the other people in line, I wasn't staring at her. I wasn't giving her and her child dirty looks. I understood. I felt compassion for her. I wish I would have said something to her. I've never been in a situation like that. I've never been somewhere (other than therapy and events) where there was somebody like me and could relate. I really wish I would have said something. But it really made me think. I am very THANKFUL that my son has autism. Autism has shown me compassion, acceptance and patience. Before I had kids I just worried about myself. I was never aware of what SN parents and kids go through. I didn't really think about it because it didn't affect me personally. But, I would never be rude like the people I encounter daily. I was bullied as a child and know how it feels to be put down frequently. I feel for these parents and children. I just wish more people thought this way. I wish more people were accepting and patient. I don't expect everyone to understand and get it. I know a lot of people dont understand this road unless they have been down it. BUT, that isn't an excuse to be ignorant and judgmental and downright cruel. So, please, just take this into consideration... Next time you go to the store, to the park, or somewhere to eat, or an amusement park, or anywhere really...and you see a child having a difficult time PLEASE THINK FOR A MINUTE. Please think before you say something or give a dirty look. Please think. Maybe you are looking at a mother or father that has had a hard long day of therapy and dr appts..a parent who is exhausted beyond belief. Maybe, just maybe, you are looking at a child that is having a sensory overload and maybe a little loud because of it. People need to be more compassionate. More accepting. My son has autism and I am proud of him. He loves EVERYBODY! He is so friendly to everyone and thinks everyone is his friend. But, the sad reality is, is that there are people out there who just sit there and judge him. Really makes me sad. Sad for the people who are doing the judging. It must take a lot of self hatred to put down a young child. Society really makes me sick sometimes.

Today is World Autism Awareness day! and not to mention Autism Awareness Month!
1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism. Please educate yourself! Autism is not a tragedy, ignorance is! There is a lot involving autism that people should be aware of: symptoms, early intervention & services, all the help and support that is out there for families and of course acceptance. I love my little D! He has autism but it definitely does not define him! Even though people are constantly judging him, he LOVES everybody. He deserves the same respect as everybody else. ♥♥



Dear Devyn,

I love you with my whole heart. I am so proud to say that you are my son. You are so very smart, funny, kind, loveable, silly and the list goes on! Not to mention you are tough as nails! You have been through so much in your 4 years. But, you got through it and you keep amazing us every single day with all your accomplishments and new things you learn. I love that you love EVERYBODY. I love that you have such a kind loving soul. You are so happy all the time and that is what truly makes me happy...to see your sweet little smile and to know that you are MY son and I created such a sweet and loving human being. Just because you have autism doesn't mean you are limited in any way..I truly believe you can do anything you want to do. You have progressed so much in such a short time and it is truly wonderful to watch and be apart of. This journey hasn't been easy but we have come so far and I know good things are in store for you my precious little boy! Mommy loves you. <3

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday baby girl!!

Baby girl turned 2 today! Time really does go by fast. I know everybody says that. But it is really true. I remember when I had her. She was so tiny and I was crazy happy to have my baby girl. She is such a little sweetheart. So independent and has her own crazy bossy personality! She is also progressing! Talking more and more each day. She is so extremely smart! She can name quite a few body parts, she is saying more and more 2-3 phrases every day, getting really good at puzzles, follows directions, great at pretend play..the list goes on! Oh my, is she a little cuddler! I love my mommy and daughter cuddle time!! She is definitely my independent little lady. I just cant wait to experience all the things mothers and daughters are supposed to experience together that I never got to. It makes me so happy to think about. I love my sweet baby girl!!!


Autumn and I ended up going to the baby beach in Dana Point with a friend and her pal Justin! AUTUMN LOVED IT!!! She ran out onto the sand and was running back and forth in the water. It was kind of chilly but she didn't want to stop! We definitely have to go back there. It is super nice!

My pretty little lady!


Running through the water with her buddy Justin!!


Mommy and baby girl!

After the beach we drove down to downtown San Juan Capistrano and ate at Ruby's! I really like it over there. It reminds me of SLO!


Silly girl!!!

After that we came home and waited for daddy to get home! Then we got some dinner at Wahoo's (Autumn loves her rice and beans), walked around the spectrum a little bit then came home to have present time and cupcake time! :)

PRESENT TIME!!!! She loved her musical puzzle and snow white barbie doll!!


Oh, just hangin with snow white and daddy!


Cupcake time!!!





I love my sweet little lady! She is getting so big! These past few days have been busy busy with birthdays but I am so grateful to have these two in my life. I love them more than anything in this world. They make me who I am and for that I am so grateful. I am so proud to be their mommy! <3

Happy Birthday baby boy!

Okay, so I had made a post with a whole bunch of pictures and it got screwed up. So here it goes...Less pictures though. Apparently, I cant position them on my blog correctly ha. I will just make two separate B-Day posts! :)




Oh my sweet baby boy! You are 4 years old today! He is such a big boy now. He has gone through a lot in his 4 years. More than kids his age go through. He is such a special kid. He amazes us daily with the things he learns, does, and says. He is making great progress and is such a little hard worker. I wouldn't change him or anything we have been through for anything. (Well, minus all this recent testing. I love him with all my heart and cant wait to see the person he will become later on in life. He truly is the sweetest little boy ever. The thing about Devyn is...he doesn't judge. He loves everyone. He is friendly towards everyone. He wants to play and interact with everyone. It truly is amazing when you think about it. There are so many people in the world that judge him. Yet, he loves everyone. I love my sweet little duder!
Our day... First, I made a special breakfast for Devyn and Autumn.

Yes, I am aware that this entirely too much food for a toddler. Haha..I just couldnt help myself. But, truth be told, if he did in fact eat it all I wouldnt complain! Because he is as picky as can be! Of course he did not though. He didnt eat much of it at all. It is the thought that counts right? I may or may have not eaten the remainder of it. hahaha..Haha We hung out in the morning through early afternoon. Ate lunch then did our therapy routine. After therapy we picked up my husband from work then came home. Our friends came over with their daughter (who is his best friend). They played all night. We made dinner, had cupcakes and Devyn opened an awesome gift we got him! He had such a great birthday. You could really tell. When I think back to a year ago he couldn't even handle the "Happy Birthday" song being sung. But, last night I truly think he was really starting to understand what a birthday is. His face lit up when we sang happy birthday and he was just oh so happy to be celebrating his birthday with his best friend!

Chloe & Devyn!!


..and people say that ASD kiddos aren't social and are not affectionate!!!! Such a wrong and ignorant remark!

CUPCAKES!




He sure does love his mommy! :)




He absolutely loved his present we got him!!


Playing with Chloe and Autumn and there is Jamie (Chloe's mom in the background)

Overall, it was a great and successful day!!!!

AUTISM MOMS.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!! So true!

Talking talking talking..

Why hello! Life seems to be non-stop busy and there arent enough hours in the day to do everything.

Let's see..what is new..Well, we have been doing the usual activities plus more! I'm getting more time with Autumn by myself. I take Autumn to this place called Jumpin' n Jammin. It is in Mission Viejo. We go every Tuesday morning with my friend and her young son. Autumn LOVES IT! It has a rock wall, bounce house, toddler area, games, obstacle courses, etc. It is made for adults too so I am able to go in the obstacle courses with her and such. I have a bunch of pictures. I will have to update this post later with pictures. But, she is talking A LOT more! We have really been focusing on body parts and names of objects. She can say and point to her eyes, nose, mouth, head, feet, tummy and ears. She has a hard time with ears sometimes but almost there! She is saying two-three word phrases. Still says no to everything but is starting to incorporate yes into her vocabulary haha..She is OFF the paci! WOO HOO. That was hard..and still is! Since she cant have that to soothe her she has become a little butt head! Such an attitude she has...haha. Probably the terrible two's kicking in too!

Devyn has also been talking A LOT!!!! It doesnt surprise but but does in a way. For the longest time I just hoped for the day to have a conversation with him. That is what I really want to hear. Not all the way there but close. He answers questions with more than yes and no now and I think he is really starting to get the difference between the two. His sentences are getting longer and longer now. He is getting really used to our routines and knows what is coming next. He is still having struggles with food and the variety of food he eats but he is getting a little better with it. I've been trying to think of new things to put in his lunch. Because they have been working on cheese and pepperonis/salami in therapy I got some thinly sliced cheese and cut up some salami put it in a tortilla and rolled it up. He ate practically all of it in therapy! So, I put one in his lunch today. I really hope he tried it. OH MY GOD. HE ALSO ATE GRAPES YESTERDAY. HE ATE FREAKING GRAPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have only seen him eat a grape once and that was when he was like a year. He ate them in therapy which might be hard to break. But, he grabbed them and ate them all by himself. So proud of my little dude!!

Yesterday, his stuffed little stuffed horse came in the mail! When he was younger he had a bunch of stuffed animals. Dinosaur and horse stuffed animals. When we move we had lost a few and ever since then I havent been able to find them in store or online anywhere. I FOUND THEM THE OTHER DAY! I ordered one and it arrived. He was so excited. He was talking so much! He was saying how he has 1 new friend and now he has 3 horsie friends. He was doing pretend play and saying one was a big horse and one was a baby horsie and he was pretending one was the mommy and one was the baby and he made the mommy say I love you baby and gave the baby horsie kisses. SO FREAKING CUTE! I wish I would have gotten that on video. He also pretending to put them to sleep. I did get that on video. I will have to upload it soon. Him and Autumn were chasing each other with the animals and pretending to be dinosaurs. It is a great feeling seeing them play together! Makes me happy. Just so proud of his progress and Autumn's progress. School is REALLY helping him. He should have his IEP later this month and I have no doubt that he has met most of his goals. I'm sure he is still struggling with his sensory issues and goals but he will overcome those in time. I talked with D's OT at UCP and she things I should mention something at his IEP and incorporating some motivating using certain objects when he sits down for lunch. Hopefully they will understand and help with this. I also really need to get on the ball with potty training. This is going to be hard. They kind of practice and school and he sits on it occasionally at home. I need to make some kind of reward chart and get some little undies! I think I will but some this weekend and try to contact his teach again regarding this. That is another thing I need to mention in the IEP meeting. COMMUNICATION SUCKS AT HIS SCHOOL! I get that they are busy..but when they dont get back to me in 2 weeks when I left a voice mail that is just unacceptable to me. Hopefully they will get better at this.

Another thing that happened! We have been going to Pretend City for over a year night. We go to the free family autism night every month. He has NEVER gone into the pretend grocery store. When we first started going he had limited pretend play skills and was only concentrated on just a few areas of the museum. He is branching out and actually went into the grocery store! This was a few weeks ago. This made me SO HAPPY! He was pretending to go shopping, eating, weighing items. He loved it. I also got pictures and videos of this too. I was so proud of my little guy. I'm hoping this is the start of him getting over his fear of going to new places and doing new things. Baby steps.

So let's see. No more neuro for us. No more endo. We just have speech, OT and regular pedi and a few other appts. Speech 3 days a week for both kids and OT 2 days a week for D. Not to mention I take autumn to her play date once a week and occasionally story time. I plan on getting them Pretend City passes for their birthdays! They LOVE that place. So now on the weekends and make during the week we will start going more.

I cant believe I will have a 4 year old and 2 year old in a month!!!! Makes me feel so old! Just kidding..kind of! Haha. I need to get working on invites. I'm pretty sure I have the one I want picked out. Just have to get it from this website and then print them myself. They are having a pirate and princess them! So cute! Hopefully the party comes together and goes smoothly. I'm going to be inviting more people to this one. Last year I tried to not invite a whole lot of people because I wasnt sure how D would react but he did great! Hopefully he will get excited about all his little friends being there! We are going to have it at a park by their therapy center and I'm going to get these little stomp rocket things. They have them at his play group and they are really fun for the kids. I was thinking about a cupcake station too..so the kids can decorate their own cupcakes! Fun stuff. I cant wait for them to have THEIR day. I am probably thinking too into this. But, unlike a lot of other kids..they dont really have much family, no grandparents to brag about them, etc. That makes me sad..and of course all they need is us and we always do family stuff. But, I really want them to have their own little day and feel special. Not sure that they will understand that the party is for them. But, I'm sure they will have a blast! :)