New Walker On Board

Well, day 2 and it looks like we have a real walker on our hands. Addison was ALLLLLLL over the place today. I guess it's time to get a few more baby gates out. ;)

4 Steps...

Guess who just walked 4 steps?!? ;)

Goodnight Kisses

For the first time ever, Connor just told me (Amber) he didn't want a kiss. Not sure if I should be sad or more proud that he is developing the language to express himself. I think I will choose to be proud!! ;) P.S. He gave me a kiss anyways and then blew me kisses on his way up the stairs. lol. ♥ that kid!!!

Boots and Boxers

He wants to be just like his daddy!

Potty Training Day 5

Potty Training Day 5 - Two steps forward, one step back. Connor woke up dry but has now had a few accidents this morning. Praying for a more successful afternoon. =)

Potty Training Day 4

Potty Training Day 4 - looks like we are starting to get somewhere. ;)

Thankful

I have the best husband ever! I have been feeling sick most of the day today and despite this being a seriously busy week for us with therapy, a couple extra medical appointments, and his school final that he needs to study for....he hasn't complained once. He got home from work, fed the kids lunch, put Addison down for a nap, and is sending me up for a nap while he takes on Connor's therapy session. Feeling very thankful right now. I love you, Paul!!

Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Most of us have heard, read, or studied this popular and well known verse, but I have to admit, today is the first day I have ever truly felt this peace we all hear about and want to feel. In my mind, I really tried to find some sort of explanation of what I was feeling, but like the verse says, it transcends ALL understanding and I am okay with that....I'm okay with feeling speechless. ;) God is sooo soooo good!!

"...the halls are full of angels."

Upon finding out about Connor's diagnosis last November, my first thought was "how could life ever be the same?" I was sad, fearful, worried, and feeling highly inadequate to deal with such news and circumstances. Looking back, I see now that I had already been "dealing" with it. I stopped worrying about how I was going to be able to do it because I had already DONE it. I don't know why God blessed me with a child with special needs but what I do know is that my relationship with Him was and continues to be strengthened because of the life my family lives. I think sometimes it takes extreme situations in life to call us into God's Will. There are so many things I would love to ask God, specifically "Why?" but for now, I just have faith that it will all be okay. =) I pray that in this I can touch others and show them that God is with them through the ENTIRE journey.
"When life is extreme, it seems God goes to extremes to touch parents with the "supernatural" faith of their children. There's comfort knowing that even when you don't see them, the halls are full of angels." -Faith-Shaped Kids

Therapy Update

ABA therapy went realllllllly well today! We are all seeing some great progress with Connor and his therapist is happy with the work we are putting in. Paul and I were a little thrown off though by the therapist as he was leaving our house. We are confident we heard him say "Love you" before walking out the door. Hahahaha! I feel slightly embarrassed for him. It's like ending a phone conversation with someone you barely know and accidentally telling them you love them. I know, I've been there. lol.

Praise & Worship

Did I really just catch my 13 month old with her arms in the air, praising God in front of the tv while watching Hillsong Kids?!? She is taking after her big brother for sure! ♥

An Eating Milestone

I can't believe it...Connor has finally BIT into his food. Let me give you a brief overview of what we/ he struggles with daily:

What most people don't realize is that Connor has trouble eating in ways we would not even understand. He started eating baby food around 4-5 months old and I tried very hard to transition him into regular solids as recommended and with Paul gone a lot on TDY and various training, I didn't rush it but didn't give up either. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why he preferred pureed foods over solids. It wasn't until he was over a year, nearly 18 months old that he was even interested in trying anything new and even then, he was extremely picky. Picky to the point that he ate the same thing daily. Guidance from other parents and doctors allowed me to relax since I was told that "Toddlers can be picky eaters, they will eat if they are hungry and stop when they are done. Don't worry." I relaxed for a while but still found that new foods were a battle and even after he would realize that maybe they weren't all that bad, he still had trouble with physically eating them. I had to cut EVERYTHING into small pieces as he would still not bite into anything. Even then, when cutting food into small bite sized pieces, he would over stuff his mouth making it difficult to chew and swallow. He even has occasional moments when he pockets food in his cheeks and hours later, it is still there so we have to remember to check his mouth before letting him down from the table. Again, I believed this was nothing more than, "Wow, he really does like this food and just can't get enough of it!" He never choked or really even gagged so I figured it was a natural step in the eating process. Over time, I learned that this is not true. Of course, it all went back to his sensory issues I learned about late last year. Since then, we have tried to do the best we can to read up and learn about how we can help him in this battle and two Speech and OT therapists later, we still haven't received the proper guidance in what to do. I have learned that finding a good therapist is like finding a pair of well fitting jeans. If you are a woman, you can imagine my struggles. Ha! As Connor's parents, we have done our best to just work with him in the best way we know how. We have worked him up to eating at least one bite of everything we eat and if he doesn't like it, he can have HIS meal. He surprises us and himself sometimes so we celebrate another new milestone and add a new meal to his short list of tolerable foods. Long story short (not really lol) he hit another AMAZING milestone this week. He has bit into 2 of his favorite foods that he previously would not do at all and ate another food that he used to not be able to tolerate the texture of! Like any other day, we asked him to take a bite, and for once, it clicked. He took a bite, we celebrated, and from there, he kept doing it. He loved seeing the excitement on our faces as we clapped and gave him lots of verbal praise. I find it so amazing that throughout all of this, God has been with us giving the guidance that even the professionals haven't. I know people think I am crazy but I just know that without a doubt, this kid WILL one day live a normal life and be healed. I get that we all have personality quirks that we and others have to live with....he will too, but I believe with my whole heart, he will blend in while still being exceptional. ;)

2 Cor 4:7

..."Kids can be such mysteries to their parents. What has been entrusted to your care? What little human puzzle are you trying to figure out? Maybe God is investing gifts in the soul of your child that you are only beginning to understand. The signs are already there in many cases. We have this treasure of God's light and glory in "jars of clay" (2 Cor 4:7) of our children. We just need to develop spiritual eyes that can see such things, hone the spiritual sensitivity to encourage such things, and savor the wonder to realize how awesomely creative God's ways are in the heart of a child. Look closely at your children. We have this glorious treasure in precious small jars of clay. Their unique bent, emerging before your very eyes, could be the key to a promising future that could change the world." -Faith-Shaped Kids. LOVE THIS BOOK!!

Hebrews 12:12-13

From the book "Faith-Shaped Kids." Can't help but think of the future I am helping shape for my young children. "So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs, and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those who follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves, but become strong." -Hebrews 12:12-13 (TLB) ♥ this!!!

Sleepy Lil Boy

Bless his heart...he fell asleep on the couch (mind you, he never falls asleep on the couch). While this may seem like one more random picture of some parents sleeping child, to me it shows just how hard of a worker he is. He had a long day of various therapies followed by a haircut which he hates due to some of his sensory issues and then a trip to a store, which can be interesting in itself at times. Being on the outside, I can't even begin to imagine what life is really like for him but what I do know is that he shows such great strength and bravely each and every day that he gets out of bed with a smile on his face. This beautiful little boy works twice as hard as most people do just to try and lead a normal life that is on par with today's standards. I will continue to prayer for healing in his little body every single day of my life!

ABA/Potty Training

We just finished our 3rd ABA therapy session with our new provider and I really like the direction in which he is going with Connor. Granted, I didn't realize that we weren't getting the proper care with our last provider until we were 3 months in and now I see exactly what care we should have been receiving from the start. I am super impressed with how well he connects with Connor! At the moment, Paul and I are in the beginning of our parent training so that we can all be on the same page when addressing situations with Connor. I can see how beneficial this is even with neurotypical kids like Addison. I have no doubt that she (okay, maybe we) will reap the benefits from it too! It was made known yesterday too that our new therapist would like to help us potty train Connor. As you can imagine, I am ecstatic!!!!! I really haden't put a whole lot of thought to the whole situation just because I wasn't sure it was 'that time' but he assures me that it is possible. We plan to start as soon as parent training is done with. =)

Father's Day

I told Connor to say "Happy Father's Day" to his daddy and he said, "Happy Farter's Day." Love that kid!!!!

A Beautiful Testimony

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly." -anonymous. It amazes me how God allows us to walk through some tough times to force us to grow and just when we think we are at the end and it couldn't get any harder or we can't go on, something absolutely amazing happens. We turn into this beautiful testimony for everyone to see. I am one very blessed woman! =)

Shoes, shoes, shoes

So, I am not sure what to think of the fact that every time I find Addison over by the shoe bin, she is pulling shoes out by pairs. She is 12 months old...can this really be possible at this age? Mind you, with Connor, I was under the impression that his childhood development was "typical" until he was about 18 months old. We had Addison receive a full developmental evaluation by ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) when they wanted to see her for low muscle tone and her delay in gross motor skills. At the time, they told us that she was at a 17 month cognitive level. Is this why she is pairing shoes or should I be watching her closely from here on out to watch for those signs I saw with Connor?

On a good note, she was ONLY 2 months behind with gross motor and speech on the day of that eval which was around May 23rd. I have already started seeing a ton of progress so I am curious to see where she scores on her 15 month developmental questionnaire.

New ABA to start soon!

Connor's ABA eval went great! Our new therapist looks VERY promising. Super excited to see big changes!!!! God is sooo soooo good!