Doing All We Can

It's so crazy how life is such a roller coaster...it literally is up and down. The past week or so has been up! So much has happened that has been such a blessing:

1. Cruise started Occupational Therapy again and it is, of course, going very well. Angela is the world's best OT. Right now we are working on social stories and emotions.

2. I spent an entire day (again) trying to figure out how to get Cruise diagnosed. Then all of a sudden it hit me: why doesn't Cruise have Medicaid? So I called them up and sat on hold for almost an hour. Luckily I got the sweetest lady. I explained everything to her about our lack of income and Cruise's condition. So she instantly canceled CHIP and added Cruise on to Medicaid.

3. Now that Cruise has Medicaid, his much needed services like OT, Speech, and a diagnosis will all be covered!!!

4. We had a meeting with Kids On The Move this week about their brand new Pre-School program. They are just starting out which means no waiting list and a really great deal on tuition. We have signed Cruise up for this year and we are ecstatic! It's a program specifically for children with Autism and it caters to every child's needs. So Cruise will be going to his public school 2x a week (this class focuses on speech) and to his private school 2x a week (this class focuses on everything else). I feel so blessed and overjoyed that he will be able to attend the special pre-school...thank you Mom and Dad for paying his tuition, I don't think you really know just how much this means to me.

5. On Friday, we all drove up to Highland to an amazing place called Courage Reins, a therapeutic horse riding facility. Before leaving, we grabbed Cruise's white toy horse to explain to him that we'd be going to see horses. He held the horse all the way to Courage Reins.

The moment I stepped out of the car, I knew this place was special. There was a calm, warm feeling about it, and I knew this was an important place.

The intake interview was mostly questions about Cruise and his special needs. We went over the forms I had previously filled out and took care of all the information that was needed. Then it was time for Cruise to try out a horse.

They first picked out a helmet and fit it on him. He wasn't bothered and he held his toy horse as he said excitedly, "Horse!"

They led him out to meet his horse, Hella. A huge smile crept to his face as he pet the white beauty. He was in Heaven.

They led him back inside to meet Hella in the indoor riding arena. Again he said, "Horse!" They brought Hella over and sat Cruise on her. He sat for a few minutes to get comfortable. He was calm and relaxed. The trainers/therapists prompted Cruise to say, "Go!" to the horse, but he just smiled. They instructed Hella to go, and she walked along with Cruise on her back and trainers on each side. Cruise kept glancing back to make sure we were still there.

As I watched him, it was as if I could actually see all his disabilities, all disorders, peel off of him, leaving my little boy on the horse. Happy, calm, and aware. It wasn't Cruise with SPD, or Cruise with autism, or Cruise with speech delay. It was simply Cruise. My Cruise. And then all I could do was cry.

He finally pointed straight ahead and yelled, "Go!" And Hella went. After a bit, the trainers prompted him to practice saying "stop", but why would he want to stop? So he yelled, "GO!"

As his riding time came to an end, they prompted Cruise to tell Hella to stop accompanied by the sign. He did this with ease and confidence, and Hella stopped. I thought Cruise would have a meltdown as they helped him off of the horse, but he remained content. He pet Hella as if to say, "thank you," and returned to Dave and I, happier than ever. It all felt like a beautiful dream.

This place is amazing and makes it extremely affordable for the families. So we signed him up for fall quarter and he will be going once a week for an hour.

I really feel so blessed. I sometimes forget that I don't have to do this all on my own. But when things like these happen, I am reminded that my Heavenly Father is so aware of me, my family, and especially Cruise. The Lord always finds a way to provide what you need as long as you are doing all you can and all you should.

Jett, We Salute You!

Jett turned 9 months yesterday and it's getting me sad. Why must they grow up so fast? It's just strange to think that in just three short months, Jett won't be a little baby anymore.

Anyway, I thought I'd write a little post on all things Jett:

Smiles
As always, Jett is happy and smiley. I love it! The first thing he does when he wakes up is smile. I honestly believe he came to our family to keep things happy and upbeat because only Heaven knows the stress we face on a daily basis. If I'm upset, overwhelmed, and pulling my hair out, all I have to do is take one look at this kid and everything melts.
I have always said to people that I believe Jett is an old soul; that his spirit is much older than mine. I still believe that. I feel like he has learned so much and understands the big picture already; so much so that he can remind us of it just by smiling. I thank Heavenly Father every day for this optimistic little boy because he reminds me that even though life can be tough at times, there is always a reason to smile.

Kisses
Jett has begun the great big mouth baby kiss! I love it! However, they usually end up in...

Bites!
This kid has teeth pooping up like daisies! And the poor thing just wants to bite! Bite mommy's face, bite daddy's face, bite Cruise (that never ends up well), bite toes, bite fingers, etc., etc. Those things are MONSTERS! I mean, look at these bad boys!
But I will say this, he rarely complains about his teeth. He never gets diaper rash, fevers, or runny noses from teething. He just wakes up, smiles, and POP! out comes another tooth!

The Book and Shoe Discovery
I knew this time would come, as it did with Cruise: pulling out all the books and shoes! I don't mind it so much, except when he wants to chew on the shoes: I have to draw the line somewhere!


Go, Jett, Go!
He is fast! You set him down, turn for a second and BAM! He's on the other side of the room climbing up something. It's amazing! Cruise isn't too fond of it, which is why we set up multiple "gates" throughout the house. Sometimes Cruise just needs his space, so we try to keep Jett in a room where we are and Cruise's "space" Jett-proofed.
He has started to try standing on his own...which means he will probably be walking in a month or two. I'm sure Cruise will love that.

Brothers
The boys aren't always in eachother's way. Today, for example, Dave took the two of them on a bike ride in the bike trailer. When Dave stopped and looked back, Cruise was holding Jett's hand. I almost cried when I heard that. Cruise has a tough time holding even my hand sometimes, so that was huge for him.

WaterPark
I'm sure if Jett could talk, this is what he would call the bathroom. He is OBSESSED with the bathroom! We have to keep it blocked off because if we set him down, he heads straight for the bathroom! He just LOVES water! Water in the tub, water in the toilet, water in the sink, and man! Those giant mirrors! Why wouldn't you spend all day in the bathroom?!

Other Stuff About Jett
-He loves food! FOOD FOOD FOOD! He loves to eat with us at dinner; it's not just an eating experience, it's a social experience!
-He loves to dance with me and be swung around.

-He loves to snuggle.

-He loves looking at ceilings, especially those with smoke detectors on them.

-He scares easily.

-He poops atleast 6 times a day. No joke. Sorry, I just had to put that in because holy moley, that's a lot of poop.

-He loves being outside; he's always trying to make an escape out the front door.

-He LOVES peanut butter! I know he's not supposed to have it yet, but he always figures out someway to get some whether it be Cruise leaving a peanut butter filled spoon somewhere or a left over sandwich...he finds it!
So there is Jett! Best baby ever.

Cruise's 3 Year Pictures

I was so surprised at how well Cruise did! The photographer had this pink monkey that he thought was absolutely hilarious...he couldn't stop laughing! Of course, that always makes it difficult for me to pick out pictures, but I was so happy to have so many smiley ones to choose from.




I love this one because he did this pose all on his own, it wasn't even the photographer's idea:
I hadn't planned on being in the pictures, but the photographer asked if I'd like to take a few with him and since I don't have many recent pictures with the two of us, I thought, "What the heck."

Schoooools Out For The Summer!

Schools out For-EVER!

He's done! He's done! He's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave has finally graduated from BYU! He now has a B.S. in Public Health: Health Science track and I couldn't be more proud of him! Way to go Dave!!!

To celebrate, I pretended that we weren't low on funds for an evening and treated Dave to dinner at The Foundry Grill at Sundance. Unfortunately I forgot my camera because we were trying to rush out of the house before Cruise could chase us down. Dave got the pork chop (which is AMAZING) and I got the ribeye. For dessert Dave ordered the Sundance banana split and I got the caramel apple pie. I don't think it's possible for anything to NOT taste good at Sundance.

Before we had gone to dinner, we picked up tickets at the Wynnsong for the 9:30 showing of Inception. So after dinner, we drove down just in time to get great seats. We sat, and sat, and sat, then looked at our watches and noticed it was 9:40 and not even the previews had started. So Dave got up and told the employees, who finally got it started. We got through the previews and then...LIGHTS back on, screen black, and Colbie Caillat started singing. So it was my turn. I got up and explained what had happened. I sat back in my seat and the lights went out, the movie started, but...Colbie Caillat was still singing. She kept singing. As much as I love Colbie, I didn't pay 8.50 a seat to listen to her sing. I got up again, stormed out into the lobby, and pretty much let them have it...in the nicest way possible. I told them that I was *this* close to asking for my money back. A manager hurried past me handing me Rain Check tickets and said sorry. I went back to my seat and nothing had been fixed. So we both got up and went to get our money back along with 6 other couples. WHY WOULD I WANT RAIN CHECK TICKETS?! WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO COME BACK TO THIS ESTABLISHMENT AGAIN?!!! We left and made it just in time for the 10:15 showing of Inception at University Mall. Lesson learned: NEVER go to Wynnsong.

Inception was AWESOME. Still blowing my mind. In fact, I dreamt about Inception all night. Yep, it was that good.

Dave chose not to walk. Luckily I walked the only year they MADE everyone buy their caps and gowns, so I still had mine. Sure it was a little short in every way and the cap was a bit snug, but we had fun taking a few pictures this evening after a long search for the cap.






Dave, you pretty much rule in every way! I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. Few people really understand how difficult it is to go to work full time for the majority of your college career, raise children, and maintain a healthy marital relationship all while going to school. I don't know how you did it, but you made it look easy. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and for always having time for your family. We love you so much! Congratulations on finishing this chapter of your life. I am excited to see what and where the next chapter brings us!

P.S. If you can name the singer of this post's title, give yourself 1 million points and a pat on the back. You rule.

Super Quick Post Because It's 2am

Okay...here's the latest news in shortest time possible:

GOT MY BLOG BOOKS!!!! See? Pretty much AWESOME!!! You can make one too! http://www.blurb.com

Mommy got a new planner because this is the only one I can function with:

And Cruise got a new planner too...although, his is a little more fancy than mine:
His OT said that he may need a little more predictability in his schedule (since he's been screaming bloody murder 12 of the 24 hours of the day). So I spent 5 hours today working on this. It not only is for in-home use, but on the go as well! (Please, please, please work! I'm losing my mind!!!)

And finally, the boys got their well-child check ups:

Cruise: my BIG boy
Weight-35 lbs. (81st percentile)
Height-37.5 in. (52nd percentile)

Jett: my little guy
Weight-17.7 lbs (12th percentile)
Length-27 in. (15th percentile)
Head size-17.9 in. (60th percentile)

The End.

Cruise's Buzz Party!

First of all, I must share what happened the night before Cruise's birthday:
I had been baking the cakes and when I went to get the first vanilla round out of its pan, it fell apart. So I set it on the table for everyone to munch on while I figured out a better way to get the rest of the rounds out. Cruise had been circling the kitchen like a hungry little shark. He had refused to eat his dinner and I was too busy to care. So after I had finished baking and decorating the cake, I realized Cruise had eaten half of the one round cake on the table. He had also stolen some finger-fulls of blue frosting and a few licks of the chocolate cake batter.

So that night after Cruise had gone to bed, Dave and I cleaned the house and blogged and were ready to go to bed. That's when Cruise woke up crying. I had him crawl into bed with me when...throw up all over my comforter and pillows!

The poor kid was up for the next couple hours as his body rejected the un-natural intake of sugar. After throwing up three times, I asked Dave to give him a blessing, which he did, and Cruise finally fell asleep next to me on the floor of the living room. I was so worried I would have to cancel his birthday party for fear that he had either food poisoning or stomach flu, but luckily it was his poor judgment in food choice.

However, the next day he woke up and handed me the picture of a cookie. He pointed at it and said, "COOKIE!" I looked at him wide-eyed and said, "HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?!" So I made him eat eggs and a banana.

Saturday was loads of 3 year old fun! We had a fabulous birthday party that Cruise seemed to really enjoy. I don't know if it's being a mom or just being strangely attracted to themes, but I had a lot of fun planning this party. I had Toy Story plates, napkins, cups and balloons. For the only other child there (Ms. Olivia) I had a gift bag with Toy Story themed $1 store fun and a coloring book. Cruise had Mom and Dad and Jett, Papa and Grandma Greer, Aunt Mary and baby cousin Aliyah, my friend Jeni and her daughter Olivia, Aunt Abby, Uncle Casey and Cruise's caregiver from Kids On The Move, Jenna, all there to help celebrate!


We feasted on burgers, chips, gluten-free pasta salad, grilled zucchini from the garden, watermelon, and a variety of soda. After lunch, Cruise opened his gifts:

A book and a Toy Story Mr. Potato Head from Dave and I.


A book and a Buzz Lightyear from Grandma and Grandpa Greer (once we got Buzz out of the packaging you need a PhD to open, Cruise smiled and kissed him).




A Spiderman from Abby and Casey.


A Buzz Lightyear shirt from Jenna (that Cruise is wearing in all these pictures) and a gift card to Macy's from Aunt Mary and Uncle Joseph for new school clothes. Thank you everyone for the wonderful gifts and for just showing up! Cruise had a blast!

After all the gifts had been opened, we brought out the gluten-free Buzz cake! I had SOOOO much fun making this. Dave even helped by drilling holes into Buzz's feet to put toothpicks in so he'd stay on the cake. When we sang Happy Birthday to Cruise, it was as if he was so excited he was trying desperately not to explode and smother the cake! He did so good and blew out his candles. He not only got a mini-Buzz, but yummy cake and ice cream as well.






After all the food fun, we cleaned up and whoever wanted to swim, met us at the Scera Pool. We were a little afraid that it would rain, but it just stayed windy and cloudy. As long as we stayed in the water, we weren't too cold. We still had a blast!




Happy Birthday Cruiser! It's so weird I now have a 3 year old!