In the last post I mentioned that we had some more news last week. The day before the ultrasound appointment we had a long-awaited appointment with a developmental specialist. Our pediatrician had recommended a while back that we take Ryan in because of his language delay and some other things she had noticed. SO . . . the dr. kind of turned our world upside-down last Tuesday when he told us Ryan is autistic.
I debated whether to even blog about this because it is something so personal, but I feel that even if it's just for myself I need to get the feelings out there. I've had an experience with a friend already that wasn't easy. This friend, when told of the diagnosis, quoted to me from a book written by Micheal Savage, the radio commentator. His view of autism is extremely harsh. He basically said that autistic kids are little brats whose parents haven't disciplined them and who probably don't have a daddy around. WOW! Needless to say, I am very grateful for the friends who have been supportive and understanding.
Ryan has been more difficult than his sisters, but the main indicators of this have been other things. For one, his language is almost non-existent. He will say words occasionally but he has lost some of his language. I cried the day I realized he wasn't saying "I love you" anymore. He used to say "Grandma" and his full name and all of that has been lost. It's so strange. There are MANY other things that he does differently from other kids that we didn't even realize. For instance, he has never pointed at anything. That doesn't sound significant but it's an indicator. He will laugh and cry and scream at inappropriate times. (The laughing has often happened in the middle of the night.) He'll walk and run on his tiptoes and go in circles over and over. He doesn't make eye contact as well as he should, but thankfully he does make some eye contact. He also has a really difficult time processing sensory input.
I guess we have our work cut out for us as far as figuring out how to help him. I'm glad we found out now when he's only three years old. I love my baby boy!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Baby News! It's a . . .
GIRL!
Yep, it looks like we're going to be seeing more pink around here for the next several years.
Sigh.
This has been a really hard couple of days. We got some rough news yesterday that is going to take some time and adjustment, but it is what it is. (That was yesterday, not to be confused with the baby news of today.) I'm happy we did the ultrasound to find the gender because there were a lot of feelings for both Ethan and I. You don't think it's going to matter, but it was emotional despite our best intentions.
The baby is super healthy so that is great, of course. However, when the ultrasound tech said I have the "bad luck of the draw", I could only imagine what she was going to say. Apparently I have complete placenta previa. I'm sure everyone is familiar with this. They say that when it's partial at this point there's a good chance the placenta could move out of the way, but since mine is just completely covering the cervix it's not likely to move. This means we have to really watch for bleeding. There's a possibility of having to go on bedrest. (Yeah, I'm not even going to think about that right now.) Also, there's a really good chance we'll have to do a c-section.
This isn't all bad news. Our baby is healthy, so that's all that really matters. I think I just need to take a nap and not think about everything else right now. Prayers are appreciated. :)
Yep, it looks like we're going to be seeing more pink around here for the next several years.
Sigh.
This has been a really hard couple of days. We got some rough news yesterday that is going to take some time and adjustment, but it is what it is. (That was yesterday, not to be confused with the baby news of today.) I'm happy we did the ultrasound to find the gender because there were a lot of feelings for both Ethan and I. You don't think it's going to matter, but it was emotional despite our best intentions.
The baby is super healthy so that is great, of course. However, when the ultrasound tech said I have the "bad luck of the draw", I could only imagine what she was going to say. Apparently I have complete placenta previa. I'm sure everyone is familiar with this. They say that when it's partial at this point there's a good chance the placenta could move out of the way, but since mine is just completely covering the cervix it's not likely to move. This means we have to really watch for bleeding. There's a possibility of having to go on bedrest. (Yeah, I'm not even going to think about that right now.) Also, there's a really good chance we'll have to do a c-section.
This isn't all bad news. Our baby is healthy, so that's all that really matters. I think I just need to take a nap and not think about everything else right now. Prayers are appreciated. :)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Crazy Hair Night
Last night was Crazy Hair Night at AWANA. Allie is on the blue team so we went with that as our theme and cut a bunch of fabric strips from old, stained clothes. (Luckily for us we still had a bag in the garage waiting to go to the ARC.) She told me she was the ONLY kid who didn't have hair color in her hair. Who would've thought?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
First Day of Co-op!
Even though we are in our fourth week of school, today was our first day of co-op. It is offered every other week for two hours. Ryan was in preschool, Emily was in kindergarten, and Allie took two classes, "Wild About Animals" and "Hands-On Science".
Each mom either teaches or assists in a class unless there are special circumstances, and since I had been really sick with the pregnancy the director said I didn't need to assist anywhere this semester. (Woo-hoo!) But then Ryan's class was a little short-handed the first hour so I worked with the preschoolers. They are so cute! It was honestly a joy to spend that time with the little cuties. I think I'll assist there each time. The next hour I found a place in the shade and got to do my Bible study. Talk about feeling spoiled! It was great.
Emily's class, the kindergartners, are studying bugs this semester. Today they each got a little container full of ladybugs to take home. She was ecstatic. We have directions for releasing them, but I think I'm going to have to talk their "mama" into doing that. She's pretty much in love with them!
Allison made an owl mask and did some fun experiments in her science class. We do experiments here at home sometimes but I'm grateful that she's doing more in this class.
Overall, our first day of co-op rocked!
Each mom either teaches or assists in a class unless there are special circumstances, and since I had been really sick with the pregnancy the director said I didn't need to assist anywhere this semester. (Woo-hoo!) But then Ryan's class was a little short-handed the first hour so I worked with the preschoolers. They are so cute! It was honestly a joy to spend that time with the little cuties. I think I'll assist there each time. The next hour I found a place in the shade and got to do my Bible study. Talk about feeling spoiled! It was great.
Emily's class, the kindergartners, are studying bugs this semester. Today they each got a little container full of ladybugs to take home. She was ecstatic. We have directions for releasing them, but I think I'm going to have to talk their "mama" into doing that. She's pretty much in love with them!
Allison made an owl mask and did some fun experiments in her science class. We do experiments here at home sometimes but I'm grateful that she's doing more in this class.
Overall, our first day of co-op rocked!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Funny Headline and Batik Pictures
So I have two things to post that really have nothing to do with each other, but bear with me.
First, Ethan sent me this article that is really kind of funny. Here's the link:
U.S. EXECUTION FAILS OVER INMATE'S UNSUITABLE VEINS
His comment with the email read, "If you're ever convicted of a capital offense, this may be your way out!" Thanks, babe. I have a feeling he may be right about my veins, although I'm not planning to ever come near any kind of offense, thank you!
Secondly, we had a craft today that the kids loved. We were reading in our social studies book about crafts in different cultures and the girls were intrigued by batik, which is a craft in Indonesia. The women take hot wax and make designs on cloth, then they paint over the cloth. When the was peels off the beautiful designs are left. We modified it by using wax (NOT hot) on paper. They drew designs and then watercolored over them. They enjoyed that but the most fun they had was when I wrote them "secret" messages and they had to paint the paper to reveal them. Easy project and fun!
First, Ethan sent me this article that is really kind of funny. Here's the link:
U.S. EXECUTION FAILS OVER INMATE'S UNSUITABLE VEINS
His comment with the email read, "If you're ever convicted of a capital offense, this may be your way out!" Thanks, babe. I have a feeling he may be right about my veins, although I'm not planning to ever come near any kind of offense, thank you!
Secondly, we had a craft today that the kids loved. We were reading in our social studies book about crafts in different cultures and the girls were intrigued by batik, which is a craft in Indonesia. The women take hot wax and make designs on cloth, then they paint over the cloth. When the was peels off the beautiful designs are left. We modified it by using wax (NOT hot) on paper. They drew designs and then watercolored over them. They enjoyed that but the most fun they had was when I wrote them "secret" messages and they had to paint the paper to reveal them. Easy project and fun!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Chocolate Play Dough
We came across this recipe in an old file I had recently. The kids were wanting to make peanut butter play dough, but I talked them into doing chocolate. This was the first AND last picture I took before I unwisely let Allie take the camera from me. She is very careful on her own but her darling brother grabbed it from her hands and dropped it on the lens. :( So goodbye camera, for now.
Here is the recipe:
Mix together --
1 and 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Mix thoroughly, then add --
1 and 1/2 T. oil
1 cup boiling water
Mix and knead until smooth!
The girls particularly liked using cookie cutters and "making" cookies that smelled like the real thing. Ryan tried to eat it more than once. :)
Friday, September 4, 2009
Fall Giveaway
We have been in our house now for about 10 months and I am really feeling the need to get settled! The area in need of help is our living room/dining room/kitchen. There is just so much space and I want the colors to all blend together well. I'm entering a blog contest to win a gift certificate to Home Goods. I've heard of them but have never shopped there. To see some cute fall ideas and enter the contest yourself, go here!
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