Much Needed Update

Okay, so it's been a little while.

I'm a working mom with a full schedule who can't pee when the kids are awake without having one of them want to sit on my lap while I tinkle; cut me some slack.

Updates on D: He is doing fabulously. He is showing signs of improvement every single day, and I am learning how to teach him in ways that are better for D*Bears.

We have been taking family walks every evening which has been an excellent opportunity to show both kids all kinds of goodies that God sprinkled all over our neighborhood. Squirrels, trees, cats, dogs, cars - all these things are catching his eye more and more, and his understanding of the world is becoming more clear with every thing we show him.

I am now at a very happy place where I do not think that autism has claimed his soul or his personality, but I am seeing that D and his ASD are completely intertwined in each other. I wouldn't take any part of my special and remarkable young man away from him. He's perfect, and he's awesome, and he's everything any mother would want in a toddler.

Our big breakthroughs lately:
He understands what his shoes are and where they go, and now and then, he'll even say the word "shoes!"
He says, "Good job!" or "Great job!" when he does something he should, (or when he steals Lylli's toys, which is HILARIOUS.)
He knows what I am saying when I tell him to open the front door, or turn on the water for brushing his teeth
He is imitating everyone around him

Thanks to my mother's endless patience and love for him, the routines that we have established at home are continued during the time when his wonderful Mima has him while J and I work.

As if it wasn't hard enough to live up to the type of mother my mom was, now I have to live up to the type of grandmother she is!! I can't win!! Thanks for setting the bar so high that I can't possibly outshine you, Mom ;)

More on how I detest the media portrayal of ASD at a later date, it's an entry all it's own, but suffice it to say that whatever you have heard about all children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder being unemotional behaviorally impaired brats, misfits or spiritless children is not only appalling but it couldn't be further from the truth.

There is no one sweeter than my D. I have more kisses and hugs and licks ( yes, licks...I'll take it,) than I have a right to!

All in all, the kid's a rockstar, as if there was any doubt, and we are moving along nicely.

We are waiting to hear back about when they can get him into speech therapy, but his assessment went very well, and we took him off of the gluten free diet because I swear the kid is allergic to the absence of gluten. It made him do things in his diaper that wouldn't resonate with you if I only put it in words.

I'll leave it at that.

Speaking of terrible, terrible things, today is Lylli's Birthday! HOORAY!! We all survived the first year!

Tomorrow is her Tinkerberll themed birthday party, and I am beside myself with excitement and bittersweet nostalgia.

She should get her own post about how awesome her birthday is, eh? Yeah. She deserves it.

That's my clever way of telling you all that I'm heading downstairs to pound pizza and pepsi and with my very bearded J*Rock before we cuddle up for a night of Mythbusters and more pizza.

One love,
Kel*Star