Makinna's top 10 big girl things

Makinna is growing up so fast. I can not believe what a mature and independent child she is becoming, so this post is dedicated to her. She is mastering skills and telling me "I can do it!" So these are 10 things Makinna no longer needs Mommy or Daddy to help her with...

1.buckling her car seat

2.pouring her juice

3.wiping her butt

4.opening and closing the car door

5.swinging on the swing

6.answering the phone

7.getting her breakfast

8.dressing herself

9.putting her clothes away

10.washing her self in the tub.

You grow girl!

You've come a long way baby!

Its been one year today since Gage was diagnosed with autism. How time flies! This family has been through so many changes in the past year, all of us.

Lets start with Gage. At this time last year Gage said maybe 5-6 words and had very bad eye contact, and he had little interest in the people around him except for mommy. Fast forward one year....Gage now says hundreds of words, I stopped counting around 200, and adds more everyday. He also is now putting together 2 and 3 words and his eye contact has much improved. He also is interested in people. He plays "the hat game" every night with Daddy and also loves to play chase and hide n seek with Makinna. He has started preschool and even rides the "bus" to school. We are so proud of him.

The rest of us have come a long way too. Daddy has taken an active roll in engaging Gage and is remarkably patient and strong disciplinarian with Gage. I am amazed at how well Daddy can direct Gage when he seems undirectable. As for me... the biggest thing is that I don't feel like I have the weight of the world on me anymore. The knot in my stomach is gone. Autism has become a way of life. It feels normal to have people traipsing in and out of my house and to be busy everyday shuttling kids to school and therapy. Even if life is not the normal of yesteryear it is normal to us. Makinna has a better understanding of autism and is enjoying her brother more these days. She has started "mothering" him, its very cute.

We've come a long way in just a year and I know we have so much more of this road to travel. But together this family shall move forward...for we are each others greatest strength. Way to go Gage, way to go family, here's to another prosperous year.

Gage's Love

Gage just loves any type of running water! As you can see from the pic here we have trouble keeping him out of the sink! Water just seems to calm him, and make him more centered. We had thought about getting a fountain for his room but Gage also likes to splash and sit in water so it is just not an option. He was so cute on a recent trip to my brother's lake home. He walked by the glass doors and glanced out, he then stopped and took a double take, pointed and said "water" with a tone of awe in his voice. He then looked at me and said "splash!"

We will have to make another trip to the lake house soon. The kids had such a blast!

Lucky (Wo) Man

We are country music fans at my house. A favorite artist around here is Montgomery Gentry. Makinna especially likes them. They have a new song out called "Lucky Man". This song speaks to me lately, especially the line.."I look around at what everyone has. And I forget about all I've got." (for full lyricshttp://music.yahoo.com/Montgomery-Gentry/Lucky-Man/lyrics/36514769#lyricstop )
This was especially true last weekend. I work on Saturdays and my mother has passed on the yard sale gene to me that runs in the women in my family. My husband told me about a community yard sale in a development that he had been doing some work in. He told me the houses were big, and boy was he right. The homes were just beautiful..BIG and beautiful. I found my self longing for a big beautiful home. Growing up I lived in very nice homes. The house we have now is just a simple rancher with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, nothing fantastic but not itty bitty either. But the green eyed monster of envy was sitting on my shoulder. Luckily I heard that song on the way home, and I began to kick my self in the butt for even feeling envious.

You see I have a wonderful life. We have our struggles but over all we have a good life. Our house is small but it is full of love. My husband loves me. I know it with every fiber of my body. He loves the kids. He would do anything for this family. We laugh a lot together, our family. We do things together. We grocery shop together, we cook out together, we snuggle in our bed on Sunday mornings together. I believe that as my children grow older they will have fond memories of all the fun we had as a family.
My other blessings include; wonderful friends that let me go on and on and on about my troubles, and an incredibly supportive extended family that has helped us emotionally, financially, and with their time.
Overall life is good. We have our challenges. Seems like they have come one right after another the last 4 years. But we will persevere, we will laugh, we will love each other. After all I probably should not have a big house anyway. My mother also passed on the clutter and poor housekeeping gene to me too.

Testing foiled

Just a short note to say that our dairy testing was foiled. We gave Gage milk Sunday evening and Monday morning. Then I got a call from school Monday afternoon. "oh boy" I thought. Turns out he was running a fever and very lethargic. (which he gets with a fever) I thought at first "wow dairy really does a number on him!" But then I thought a fever of 104 was a little much for a food reaction. Turns out, that after a trip to the doctor, Gage has a sore throat virus. Poor guy. His fever is finally gone today but he is still cranky. I guess the dairy challenge will have to wait for another time.

Test Anxiety

I'm having some major test anxiety. Gage has been gluten free and casein free for 3 months now. He has shown a slow steady progression in eye contact and speech. But ...the diet is difficult. And how do we know its the diet and not just normal development. So next week I will test the dairy part of the diet. I am planning to give him milk 3 days in a row.
I don't know why but I'm having major anxiety over this! I would love to begin giving him dairy again but he is doing so well I hate to have any set backs. Since starting the diet he has not had those tell tail fire red cheeks anymore. Something he was eating was not being good to him. If you scroll down on this blog and look at the picture of Gage eating his birthday cake, you can see that he looks sickly. He looks so pale and washed out with dark circles. He doesn't look like that now. I guess testing is the only way to tell.
Wes is anxious to test, hoping that maybe we can start giving one or the other. Of course he will be at work most of the day while I will be at home with Gage. I guess we will see..... Wish me luck.

MOMMY!!!!

Makinna is 5 and I hear it every 5 minutes...... "MOMMY!!" "Mommy I need a drink" , "mommy I'm hungry" , "mommy I'm ready to wipe" After a while you hear "MOMMY!!" and you cringe thinking "oh God what now?! Can't I even get the dishes put in the dish washer?" But about a month ago I heard it. "MOMMY!!" from another room. But wait Makinna was sitting right next to me. Who could that be? Could it really be...... GAGE! He was actually calling my name ! Oh the joy!
Now I frequently hear my name in stereo from both kids. Of course Makinna will attach a request on hers. Gage just calls me and I of course go running. (have to reinforce that behavior!!) I have come to appreciate so many things having Gage as my son. The sound of your name being called. When you have typical kids it gets tiresome but when you have a child who doesn't speak much it is music. Gage teaches me something almost everyday. (most days he teaches me that I have more patience than I could have ever imagined) I have learned to appreciate the little things. And I have also learned not to take for granted all the fantastic and wonderful things that Makinna can do. Although autism has been a burden for this family it has also highlighted our blessings.
OH have to go I hear it again........"MOMMY!!"