Valentine's Day, the Boys, & Cruise's Field Trip

Valentine's Day
For Valentine's Day this year, my parents got us tickets to a production at Mountain View called, "A Night with Andrew Lloyd Webber". So while they watched the kids, we went to the show (which was pretty good considering they're high schoolers) and then afterwards we went to Tucanos and stuffed our faces. Tucanos was having a special deal for Valentine's where you get two chocolate dipped strawberries and a rose with your meal, and since Dave had a coupon for his birthday, we decided to use it for V-Day.

Dave got me a dozen red roses (he always picks out the most beautiful roses) and I got him a leather keychain with a picture of us from where we were engaged. I think he liked it. ;)

We got the boys a character set of Toy Story 3 (little characters) and they loved it! We gave it to them just as we were leaving for the show and it calmed Cruise right down (of course).

The Boys: Cruise

Cruise is doing awesome. We reintroduced gluten back into his diet; I don't know if it was the smartest thing or not, but I am still seeing how things are going...but if anything I'll just limit his gluten intake from here on out.

I had Parent Teacher Conferences with his teacher at Vineyard last week. I had prepared to hear the worst, but as his teacher, Miss Tina, went over his IEP goals, I was pleasantlly surprised. He has been raising his hand, waiting nicely in lines, and singing along during singing time. His teacher loves him. She said she could just wrap him up and take him home...and she already has 4 children! However, apparently Cruise regressed quite a bit over the holiday break which means he qualifies for summer school!!! So he'll be going 3x a week to his Vineyard preschool this summer. Next school year he'll be preparing for Kindergarten, so he can go as many as five times a week.

Bridges Preschool is still awesome! It's growing and growing, so now there is a morning and an afternoon class. Cruise is still in the morning class with five other classmates. He generally does really well now and is actually participating in art activities and not freaking out as much about having paint or glue on his hands. Laurie, the director, talked a little bit with me about starting to separate from Cruise during class time (since I'm right there by his side for the whole two hours) so he can begin regulating himself and not depending on prompts from me to do what is being asked. I totally agree, however, I kind of don't want to. You see, Cruise was a daddy's boy up until age 2 1/2, so he's been my little pal for the past year and I'm not sure I can handle it. I don't know if I'm ready to give that up. I think he'd do just great! But Mommy is a bit scared of Cruise not needing her around. I'll get over it.

Cruise has starting singing... A LOT! It's just awesome! His favorite songs lately are 'Wheels on the Bus', 'Cat Goes Fiddle-I-Fee', and 'Frosty the Snowman'. He will be playing and just singing on his own, no big deal. I love having music back in the house since he couldn't handle it for so long! Up until about 4 months ago, Cruise would scream every time I would try to sing to him. Now I find it as a great distraction from his haircuts. Yesterday as I was cutting his hair, I went out on a limb (expecting a huge meltdown) and started singing "Wheels on the Bus". Well, lo and behold he started singing it with me! And for the rest of his haircut, we sang all his favorite songs as he sat nicely for me. First time ever.

Cruise has been saying his first 3-word sentence regularly: "I want _____" and most times we can get him to say "please" at the end. This has been just wonderful! It actually has helped end tantrums and meltdowns because when he starts to lose it, I say, "What? I don't understand you. Say, "I"..." And then he'll calm down, and say (through tears), "I....want...._____" (usually it's candy). It's so nice to finally get a sense of what your kid wants in their own words!!!

We're also getting a small glimpse of him answering questions. The only question he'll answer presently (most of the time) is, "What's that?" and "Who's that?" I LOVE IT!!! I can't express how amazing it is to get an answer from this little stud of mine!

He has also been calling out to Dave and I, "Mom!!! Dad!!!" That also is awesome! It's so fun to hear him call me Mom. He has been doing awesome with counting: he can count up to fourteen and down from 10. He also can spell his name out loud correctly. And now when he sees someone crying, he says, "Cry. Sad." We have made progress with 2 emotions!!! He can successfully and accurately label sad and happy!!!

Cruise finished up diagnostic testing just recently and it is currently being scored. This will be his second diagnostic testing but his first that is actually signed by an actual doctor. So I guess you can say this will be his official diagnosis once we get the scoring/results back.

Cruise and Jett have been getting along much better lately. Cruise will always give Jett a toy when we ask him to. But if Cruise starts crying/whining, then usually Jett will give the toy back. Cruise hasn't been clobbering or pushing Jett any more (which is such a relief) and they both laugh at each other when they're being silly.

Here's some video of Cruise. You'll probably think I'm annoying by saying his name over and over and over again, so sorry in advance:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jett

Jett is now 15 months old! Jett was sick for a couple weeks recently. It started out as stomach flu and then went to a double ear infection. He couldn't keep anything down for almost two weeks and wouldn't drink fluids other than his milk (which didn't help at all). We took him to the doctor a few times: the first time he got a shot of antibiotic, but still was throwing up so we took him in again, got another shot of the antibiotic and a shot of zofran (anti-nausea meds), as well as a prescription for zofran. He was so dehydrated that his pediatrician said if he got worse, they'd have to hospitalize him, so luckily the zofran helped quite a bit and Jett was finally able to keep food down.

He had lost some weight due to his constant vomiting for two weeks, the poor guy, and was back at his weight from when he had gone in for his 12 month check up: 20lbs. But since getting better, he just eats, and eats, and eats, and eats! This morning he sat at the breakfast table for a half hour just stuffing his cute little face to his heart's content. It has been quite evident of his weight gain just in the past week. He not only eats his food, but then steals Cruise's food as well...he even manages to use a fork half of the time! He's still such a little guy and I honestly don't know where on earth he puts all that food, but man can that kid eat!

Jett eating with a fork.

Jett eating Cruise's food.

Jett's favorite movies lately are Wallace and Gromit, Bolt, and Robin Hood. He LOVES music and dancing! Every time he hears music he starts bouncing and dancing in circles. It's the most adorable thing.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jett is such a teaser and thinks everything is funny, even my angry face. He loves to laugh and do his big cheesy grin. But when he's sad or mad or any other negative feeling, he definitely has to let everyone around him know.

Jett doesn't like wearing  pants. I think I end up redressing him about 8 times a day because I always find him and his pants in two separate rooms. He also doesn't like socks. I can't wait til Summer.

Jett keeps learning more and more words, like Mo for Elmo. Every time he sees an animal that growls or roars, he makes a cute little roaring sound. He loves bears! And despite his advances in expressive language, he likes to pretend he doesn't understand us when we tell him what to do.

He loves to play "Keep away from Mom" which is where he has something he's not supposed to have, like my phone, the remote, candy, etc. and waves his arm around so that I am unable to grab it. In a nutshell, he's my little mischievous son.

But he is such a sweetie. He is a great snuggler and will let me just hold him while we sit and watch a show together. So even though he's a Daddy's boy, he at least lets me snuggle him once in a while. :)

Cruise's Field Trip
Today Cruise and I drove up to SLC to the Clark Planetarium where we met the rest of his class from Bridges Preschool. Cruise had a blast! This was his first time being introduced to outer space and he was in heaven. I got him a hot dog and a drink since he seemed to be hungry and I wanted to avoid any reason for a meltdown.

He got to run around for awhile and touch/look at everything before the hour long show in the dome. The show was geared towards little kids and Cruise was that annoying person who comments all throughout the movie. But, it was Cruise, so of course it was cute and everyone else thought so (luckily his class was the only one in the room during the show).

Eating lunch on the moon.

After the show, he picked out a toy from the gift shop: a space shuttle and astronaut. I wanted to get the $5 space shuttle, but Cruise had to get the one with the little space man that came with it, which of course cost $9, but how often do we go to the planetarium? So I was a sucker and bought it for him. We headed out to the car with Cruise announcing, "5,4,3,2,1...BLAST OFF!!!" Everything was fine until...the freeway. That was when Cruise started screaming, crying, and trying desperately to climb out of his seat. By the time we got home, he was all tangled up in his seatbelt and still screaming. I untangled him and of course he went booking it down the street...so not the best ending to a perfect morning, but hey, you take the bad with the good, right?

Picked Up a Book...

I started reading a book this week...YES, AN ACTUAL BOOK! Seriously, I have a mile long list of books I've been wanting to read that has been collecting dust since Cruise was born. This book wasn't even on the list, but a mom of one of Cruise's classmates suggested it and let me borrow it, so how could I turn it down?! It's called "Cowboy and Wills"  and I don't think I've ever cried this much through a book. It probably would only be that extreme if you could relate to the story, as it is about a little boy with autism: the author's son, Wills, and his dog Cowboy.

Since I began reading it, I realized just how much I had forgotten: Cruise covering his ears and screaming in any place public, his screaming every time we got him out of the tub, us having to hold his body down just to diaper and dress him, his screaming when people came to the house, the impossibility of going to family gatherings, his need to carry every little toy he could hold EVERY WHERE WE WENT, and his meltdowns so violent he'd pick up furniture and throw it. It's funny how you can let things like that get pushed to the back of your memory; but remembering it reminds me just how far he has come and yet just how far he needs to go.

From time to time I get a glimpse of what it is like to have typically developing children: a child who can talk to you and tell you how they're feeling or how their day went. A child who can play appropriately with peers. A child who can empathize. I notice these children at church and in other random places and am always amazed at how kids just develop like that! I'm always amazed at Jett's progress as I'm constantly baffled at how he can communicate, how he looks at me when he is amused by something, how he hugs me when I get hurt. Sometimes I think, "Man, those parents don't know how good they have it," but at the same time I'm the parent who gets to do a touchdown celebration dance every time Cruise says a new two-word sentence, makes eye contact, initiates peer interactions, and gives me a hug. I'm tickled every time he follows directions and self-soothes. And so in that perspective, I guess I can say I'm the luckiest mom to appreciate every little thing. Every little developmental centimeter. And I guess because Cruise is the oldest, I appreciate every bit of growth from Jett (although I have to constantly remind myself that he is in fact typically developing and not a genius).

Anyway, as I read this book, floods of memories, good and bad, rush in and I find myself embarrassingly wiping my eyes every sentence. I don't know why, but when you are able to experience someone, even through words, who knows exactly what you have dealt and deal with every day, it is the most heartwarming, comforting feeling in the world. Parents of children with autism tend to become isolated once it's evident that our children are different. It's not necessarily anyone's fault, it is just that you are in "autism world" all day, every day and it is your reality. It makes conversations with typical mothers very strained as they cannot relate to the extent necessary to maintain strong, long lasting friendships. I guess it could be explained this way: me talking about parenting with a mother of typically developing children is like a mother of typically developing children talking about parenting with an individual with no children. If that makes any sense. It's just so different. But once we find those few individuals who have experienced those dark places only we know, we find a quick and understood friendship to last five life-times.

Monday: The New Saturday

Since Dave can work whenever he feels like it, we decided to designate a "Saturday" for him that isn't on, well, Saturday. We decided on Monday because every one else is at work which means we can do anything with the kiddos without having to deal with crowds and noise (aka, sensory overload). So for our first "Saturday" we took the kids to Pirate Island Pizza.

We explained to Cruise that we were going some where with pirates (he's been into pirates lately), so before leaving, he was sure to grab his pirate ship and pirates to bring along. We showed up at 11:00 (the exact time they opened) to find the entire place not only empty, but absolutely no employees to be found. The arcade still hadn't been turned on either, but that didn't keep us from making ourselves at home. While the boys ran around, I sent Dave to look for someone who worked there. He finally came back with a pirate waiter in tow. The pirate was very un-piratey like as he handed us a bag of free coins for the arcade to apologize for not having anyone there to greet us. SA-WEET!

And so for an hour and a half, we had the whole place to ourselves. The boys had a blast and Dave and I actually got to enjoy being out with the kids. We enjoyed the pizza and salad lunch bar, the games, and the prizes! It was a very successful family outing. We could let the kids run around and we weren't worried about them getting lost or having meltdowns due to the crowds and noises.

And yes, I totally make him wear this shirt on a regular basis.

I am sure gonna like having Mondays as our Saturday. So many possibilities have opened up!

Great Article

I found this great article. If you are someone who has a family member or friend who is the parent of a child with autism, this is a great article about how you can help. Check it out!

Lucy's Hidden Talents, One Year Anniversary, & Dave's New Job

Lucy's Hidden Talents
Whew! So much to report on. First, let's check out the Lucy Dog:
Lucy has some hidden talents we have recently discovered. The first is being a Sled Dog. Dave made a harness for the old girl and hooked Cruise's sled up. Actually, the pictures and video you will see were the day we hooked up 2 sleds so both the boys could take a ride on the Lucy Express. The second talent we have discovered is Lucy's singing abilities. Sure she doesn't hit the right notes, but she tries. Here are the videos and pictures:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One Year Anniversary

Cruise celebrated his one year anniversary since his intervention. To celebrate, we had my parents, his Preschool teachers from Bridges over and his Occupational Therapist over for a nice dinner. I had put together a little show for them from the past year and showed it at the dinner. So, here it is:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dave's New Job
Awesome news: Dave got a new job!!! He quit his old job at Backyards, Inc. and got a job with C&D Marketing out of Lehi. Pretty much he is a lead finder and has been doing AMAZINGLY WELL. It's all commission, but because he knows how to talk to people door to door, he has been kicking booty! In fact, he's come in second (after his trainer) for leads Leader since he started. We are so proud of him and I am especially happy since I can quit my job now and not only be home when the kids wake up but also get some sleep! Woohoo! Thank you Dave!!!

Cruise & Jett

I feel so bad I didn't do an update on the boys last month. December is always so hectic. So, without further adieu...

CRUISE:

Cruise has made leaps and bounds in the vocabulary department. He's putting two words together which is DYNAMITE! He is using slang ("oh man!" "gosh!" and "dude") and picking up on sayings. He likes to call for Lucy: "Woosee! Come here!!!" And he likes to boss Jett around, "No, Jett, no! Get down!" And when he wakes up and I'm still not home from work yet, he goes up to Dave and asks, "Gone? Mom?" He still won't say his name when you ask him what it is or have an actual conversation, but he is doing so great a labeling and using commands.

Lately he's been obsessed with Spiderman band-aids. If he even bonks his head on something, he comes running to me rubbing it and saying, "Spyman, spyman? Ban-ay?" So if you see us often and notice he's got a band-aid on a new location every day, it's because he desperately needed Spiderman to fix his ouch.

Something he and Dave have ritualistically been doing is taking Lucy on a night time walk. Right before bed, Dave suits Cruise up in his snow gear, takes him outside, and hooks a sled up to Lucy (Dave made her a special harness). Then Lucy pulls Cruise around the neighborhood. They actually go pretty fast since there is ice everywhere, and Cruise has a blast. It's just a fun little routine they do together that they both enjoy. Dave is just such a good Daddy.

Cruise starts his second semester at Bridges Autism Preschool this week. He just LOVES school and it amazes me how much an impact it has had on him in every aspect. For example:

September  2010:
-wasn't aware when people/peers entered a room
-did not know how to play with peers
-did not like to touch peers
-couldn't endure people singing songs
-couldn't sit in a group for an extended period of time
-couldn't count
-couldn't spell his name
-screamed when someone cried
-wouldn't eat cereal with milk
-couldn't ask for more, say "all done", say "thank you"
-wouldn't give kisses
-couldn't take turns
-couldn't share
-wouldn't imitate verbally and physically
-wanted to play alone not because he wanted to, but because he didn't know how to socialize
-couldn't say A LOT of words and phrases

January 2011

-acknowledges when people enter a room

-plays with peers and initiates play

-will hug or shake hands with peers to greet them

-loves singing time

-will sit in a seat for 15 minutes

-can count

-can spell his name

-doesn't scream when someone cries

-asks to eat cereal with milk

-says, "more", "all done", "please", and "thank you"

-will give you a kiss if you ask for one

-can take turns

-can share even his most favorite toys

-imitates verbally and physically 

-prefers to play with peers

-loves to talk!

Cruise just keeps growing, as children usually do. He is now in a size 9W in Toddler sizes, is growing out of his 5T clothes, and keeps getting taller!

Cruise started Primary this month at church. He is now a Sunbeam but it is extremely difficult for him. Not only is it hard because it is a completely different schedule, but there are more children and they expect you to sit for 2 hours. So with the Primary President's permission, Cruise can continue attending nursery. So I start him out in Sunbeams until he can't handle it anymore and then take him to the nursery room. Maybe one day he'll be able to do the whole 2 hours. Today he lasted 30 minutes which, actually, was pleasantly surprising.

For Christmas, we got the boys a little check out stand and some fake food. I taught Cruise how to play store and since then, asks to play "door" all the time. We have a little shopping cart that I had bought about a year ago to help Cruise in the grocery store. So we takes turns shopping and being the cashier. I'll say, "Hi!" and he says, "Hi!" Then he'll use the scanner to scan all my items, put them in a shopping bag, and then says, "Goodbye! Thank you!" It's the cutest thing.

Cruise's sense of humor is so unique and hilarious. He is always being funny. The other day I was holding out his sock so he could put his foot in it. He was about to lift his foot when a smile crept to his mouth. He got down on all fours and stuck his nose in the sock and died laughing. His humor comes from doing things the obviously wrong way and laughing at it. I just love it. He is always cracking me up!

Cruise, with the autism and sensory issues aside, is the most well-behaved, creative little 3 year old I know. Sometimes I'll just sit and think about all the possibilities of this special little guy. Whatever he does in life, as long as he is happy, I will always be so proud of him. He truly is a miracle and I love him more than words could describe.

JETT:

To be quite honest, I feel like I have twins sometimes. Jett is catching up to Cruise so quickly! Jett turns 14 months next week. He is using words, using the PECS board, and does an amazing job at communicating with us. When he wants his shoes off, he points to his shows and whines. When he's all done eating, he says, "Done!" When he wants more, he says "more" and does the sign. When he wants something, he points to it. Here are the words he knows:
-more
-done
-dog
-bear
-dad
-mom
-baba (bottle)
-down
-no ("nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh")
-ball
-book
-Pooh (poof)

Jett still loves books. He asks to be read all day long. His favorite book is, "Who Likes Honey?" And his favorite animal in the book is a bear. He really likes bears.

Jett is definitely a little brother. He follows Cruise around all day and has to do what Cruise does. Even though Jett will sit and eat dinner, Cruise won't and so when Jett sees Cruise running around at dinner time, Jett wants to get down and run around too. But it can be a positive when Cruise is playing in the playroom and Jett follows. They may only parallel play, but that is to be expected with Jett's age and Cruise's impatience with his little brother sometimes.

Jett is my little Dennis the Menace, he is quite the mischievous little boy. He likes to climb and get into everything. He likes to push Mommy's buttons and push the limit, but eventually does what Mommy says, so in that sense, he is quite obedient...eventually. He is a big tease and thinks everything he does is funny.

He, of course, is always smiling and flirting. I am beginning to think he knows how adorable he is so he can use it to his advantage. Unfortunately this will probably last an incredibly long time...like, forever. But even still, I can't blame him...he really is adorable.

Jett has a low pain tolerance, which is quite the adjustment for us as parents since Cruise has a high pain tolerance. So every time Jett falls down, he cries. But he's learning that it is okay to fall down, though,  because you can always get yourself back up again.

Jett is truly the sweetest little boy and he is such a joy to have around. Just his smile changes the mood of our home and makes everything so much better. He is just such a happy and optimistic little monkey and we love him!

I Don't Make New Years Resolutions

I just don't. I used to, but the way my life goes these days, I make daily resolutions:

-Wake up on time to make it to work at 5:30am
-Feed the kids: Cruise-Gluten free, Jett-Milk free
-Clean something while the kids aren't looking
-Play with the boys
-Do Floortime with Cruise
-Do ABA with Cruise
-Play one-on-one with Jett
-Feed the boys...again
-Shower? Big maybe
-Make dinner
-Keep the children away from the stove (bigger task than you think)
-Feed the children
-Correct papers
-Make it to that one meeting
-Work out? Only in my dreams
-Clean the living room
-Put Jett to bed
-Do Cruise's hour long bedtime routine
-Shower? Depends on if I can even lift my arms
-Go to sleep and pretend it's before midnight.

Those are what I call daily resolutions. I have no space for a new YEAR resolution. Nuh uh. Not gonna happen. And I'm okay with that. Because they are the days that make the year. If I can make it through today without going completely crazy, then I have met my day's goals.

Oh, I failed to mention...I have a job. Yes, it's a job. It's not the ideal situation, but it puts Gluten-free bread on the table. :) But the good thing is 1-It's before the boys wake up and 2-I don't have to interact much with anyone (which is good because I am not a morning person).

I am working for Kellogg's (which I've learned right now is not a very organized company. I don't understand how a billion dollar company can rely on such disorganized people. I have yet to receive my employee number and time cards). I show up, meet the shipment, and move it to the grocery aisles. I spend most of my time at the Orem Wal-Mart on aisles 7 and 9. So if you are ever up before 9am and have a hankering for high fructose corn syrup, come on over and say hi.

This month marks the 1 year anniversary of Cruise's intervention. I can't believe it has been a whole year! No, it didn't really go fast, but a lot was accomplished and I just have to say I am just so proud of the Cruiser-Man. He really has come a long way.

So, this year I am optimistic. Even though it has started out very busy and incredibly stressful, I see the potential of the year and am trying my best to look up and see all the possibilities.

Christmas 2010

4th Row: Fernando & Ruth, Eric & Charlotte, Me & Dave, Abigail & Casey
3rd Row: Mom Greer, Dad Greer
2nd Row: Lia (Charlotte), Jett, Samuel (Ruth) and Maleise (Charlotte)
Front row: Cruise, Duke (Charlotte), and Gabriel (Ruth)

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! This was the first year Cruise understood what to do with a wrapped present, so it was really fun to watch him shred through wrapping paper to find..."A BOX!" He was really excited to get boxes, but even more excited to find that there was a toy in each box as well.

My sisters were all able to come up for Christmas this year, along with their families of course, and it was such a blast to see them and hang out! Christmas Eve was pretty low key. We got together and had the traditional spaghetti and meatball dinner. Mom and Dad provided the spaghetti and sauce, and I brought the gluten-free noodles and gluten-free meatballs (my sister Charlotte is gluten-free as well).

Lia

Eric, Maleise, and Charlotte

Duke, Cruise is his biggest fan.

Maleise and Dave doing a puzzle.

After dinner we went home and gave the boys each their present from us. Cruise got a stuffed Pooh Bear and Piglet, and Jett got an Eeyore and Piglet puppet. Jett was happy until he saw that Cruise got Pooh and he didn't. So we had to dig up another Pooh Bear for him. I'm gonna say that about 75% of all the Christmas presents we got them were from Savers, 23% were Dave's and my old toys, and 2% were brand spankin' new. So the Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals were all mine at one point. I had kept such good care of them, that they still had their tags on them.

Really? Piglet? You couldn't give me Pooh, huh?

If you look carefully, in the background, Jett is staring with a hurt look on his face. 

Now I'm happy.

The boys gave Dave his present...Mommy helped a little.

There was a little challenge for Santa this year seeing that Cruise sleeps in the living room where the tree was, so I was forced to get creative. I spent an hour or two tracing and cutting out footprints leading from the chimney to the playroom in the basement. The nice thing about this was that all the toys were pretty much where they belonged to begin with, so cleanup wasn't a big hassle.

Following Santa's footprints.

Rhino the Hamster. Pure joy.

Yes, that is a $50 Batmobile. And yes, I spent $10 for it at Savers. I rule.

Watching their Little People movie that came with the Wheelies toy.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After opening Santa presents. The craziness continued at the Greer's house:

Jett is obsessed with this bear. It reads the entire story of "T'was the Night Before Christmas".
It moves its mouth and head. At first he was deathly afraid of it, but now he looks for it whenever we come over.

Gabe (Ruth), Maleise (Charlotte) and Sammie (Ruth) having a tea party.

Cruise playing with Duke's toy.

Cruise and his best friend Duke.

It really was an excellent Christmas. It was so nice to have my whole family together. And to top it off, Abigail got an AMAZING Christmas present in the form of an engagement ring! And those of you who know me best, know that I love planning parties and weddings, so I'm having a blast! :)