Today You Are Seven

Dear Cruise,

Another year has passed and you have grown that much more amazing. You learned to read, you graduated from 1st grade, you learned about your autism and how it makes you a super hero, and you learned how to be nice to everyone, even the bullies. You are thoughtful and kind, you are curious and passionate, you are silly and happy, you are smart and inspired. I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished thus far in your life.

I look at all the extra work you have to do compared to your peers and am amazed by how hard you work. Other kids come home from school and have a snack and go out to play, but when you come home, you have your snack and not just go out to play, but have to face the difficulty of interacting appropriately, reading faces, and practicing conversational skills. Other kids go to church and go through the motions, but you go even though it's hard to wear itchy clothes, you sit even though your body needs to move (and spin, and jump, and hang upside down), you try to listen even though you can hear every little sound in the building, and you try your best to learn, even though most of what is being taught is so abstract and symbolic. But you know what? You're not other kids, you are unique and one of a kind. You are Cruise, the most incredible kid I've ever known.

You march to the beat of your own drum and you aren't afraid of being yourself. I love your self-confidence and how you beam with excitement when someone wants to see your "lab" or help you with experiments. I love the bright light that you are to so many, especially me. You teach me and forgive me every day. You make me laugh each day with the funny things you say and do. You think I'm beautiful, and that is enough for me to know that I am because you never lie. You see the good in everyone and hate to see the bad. You are best friends with your brother Jett and so sweet to Baby Miles. You are imaginative and creative. You are the amazing Dr. Cruise, greatest scientist of the world!

Cruise, this next year will be awesome. You will have new experiences, make new friends, learn new things, and grow even more! You'll probably lose more teeth and will have to make the decision as to whether or not you want to get baptized. Some things this year may be not so awesome as well; you'll face new difficulties and meet new challenges. But that's okay, because those things make you better, even though they aren't so much fun sometimes.

Cruise, I am so proud to tell people that you are my son. I am so proud to be your mom and I am so grateful you were my first little boy. And as much as I love you, I want you to know that your Heavenly Father loves you even more! And that's a lot of love! He knows you better than anyone and I'm sure is just as proud of you as I am. I love you Cruise, no matter what, I always will. Have a wonderful birthday Sweetie, and have an incredible year! You're the coolest kid ever! Don't ever change.

Love,
Mom

Scrunch Face & A Sophisticated Palate

This baby.

He's the best baby.

His new thing is the scrunch face. He will scrunch up his face and make a sniffing sound out of his nose. It's the greatest thing ever.

He also won't eat baby food.

He must eat something with A LOT of flavor. Stuff like spinach ravioli. Yeah, and a side of blueberries. And you see that cookie in the corner there? Nope, he won't eat that. It's too bland. The kid gets one tooth and thinks he can eat whatever we're having! Oh...and he does. It's incredible.

And that's my funny baby post for today. 

Chem Camp aka "Lab School"

Cruise's obsession with chemistry and science has been wonderfully irritating lately. I say that because I love that he is so excited about science and wants to do it all the time. But I also say it because he wants to do it ALL. THE. TIME.  at the expense of my sleep, my kitchen (despite the fact that I set up a lab for him on the back porch), and my sanity. He literally wakes me up at 6am asking me to do science with him in his lab. When I get downstairs there is food coloring, water, lemon juice, and all sorts of utensils all over my floor and table. And even when I do science with him, he will talk about it non-stop throughout the rest of the day. He will literally follow me around the house talking about science. All I can think is that his passion for science is so great, that it is literally seeping from every pore.

We were lucky to find a Chemistry camp nearby in American Fork put on by Mad Science, so my parents decided to make it Cruise's birthday present and pay for him to go! The first day he almost peed his pants he was so excited! He packed a snack and his lab coat. He was the only kid with a lab coat. For the most part, he was in heaven! Lots of hands on stuff and an instructor who was just as excited about science as Cruise. There were also things that were hard for him, like group work, not always being called on, and the fact that the camp was 3 hours long every day. I think they could've left it to 2 personally, but he did really well. I was super grateful that Cruise's ABA tutors were able to get their hours in with him at the camp. It was so nice to be able to drop him off and know that one of his tutors would be there to help him out. Friday I went with him since he normally doesn't have ABA on those days. He did tell me later that he doesn't want to go to lab school anymore, but that he wants to just work in his lab. I totally understand that. It's more fun to just experiment than it is to listen to someone talk and tell you what to do. But overall, the camp was a hit and Cruise ended up with a lot more tools and containers for his lab.

Thank you Grandma & Papa Greer! Cruise has made it clear that he is now a "Genius scientist" and the "Smartest scientist in all of Utah!"

Jett's Woodworking Skills

Jett has recently shown some interest in building stuff with wood and nails. So the other day while we were at Lowes, we passed by a display that featured stuff for kids: mini hammers, goggles, screwdrivers, and pre-cut wood with instructions on how to build certain things. Jett decided on a monster truck. He also HAD to have a hammer and goggles like Dad. When we got home, they got right to work on it. Jett thought it was the greatest thing ever! And he especially liked having help from his dad.

Summer Travel Series: Mexico

This week the boys wanted to go to Mexico. Jett took a turn being the pilot and Cruise kept his job as flight attendant. We got to Mexico and got our "stamp" and then we talked about Mariachi bands and listened to some music. I had the kids listen for different instruments and quizzed them. Then we talked about the pinata and did our very own. The boys cheated and kept looking over and under their blindfolds, so I just removed them all together. I think they had fun beating the donkey to pieces. It's hard to do these "trips" and leave out so much information about history and culture, but with short attention spans, you can only highlight so much.

Summer Travel Series: Hawaii

Yesterday we started something new per Cruise and Jett's request: traveling the world in our living room! It all started when I purchased a couple maps from Costco last week and hung them in their playroom. They have been so fascinated with geography lately, so I thought they would like looking and studying the maps. They then started asking me where certain countries/states were like Hawaii, Texas, New York, Mexico, China, etc. So we made a list of places they would really like to visit and then I made them some awesome passports that I found here. The first place on their list was Hawaii.

While I was out grocery shopping, I stopped by the PartyLand and picked up a couple leis and grass skirts for the boys. In the evening before dinner, I told them it was time to go to Hawaii! So we got on the "plane" and Cruise not only played pilot, but flight attendant as well.

My in-flight snack.

Our pilot told us we landed in Mexico, so we needed to get on a boat to Hawaii. We finally got to Hawaii and the boys got stickers in their passports. I then whipped out the leis and grass skirts and they reluctantly donned them. I put a video up of Pearly Shells for them to learn. Cruise was the only one who really got into it.

Finally, we talked about Hawaii's volcanos and made a volcano in the sink. Then they got to watch some video footage of an active volcano. 

I forgot to get a pineapple, but they wouldn't have eaten it anyway. 

And that was Hawaii!

10 Months Old!

Every time I sit down to write one of these posts, I can't believe another month has gone by. Miles is 10 months old now and doing awesome!

Miles has gotten really good at crawling and is super fast! Especially when it comes to stairs. If you forget to put the gate up, he is up those stairs in just a few seconds! He is pulling himself up onto furniture, but gets a little scared to get down. He loves to play in water, especially Lucy's dog bowl, so we have to put her food up away from Miles. When he hears a bath running, he immediately books it to the tub and tries desperately to crawl in, baths are his most favorite thing!

Miles loves his brothers and likes to follow them around and mess up their Lincoln Log buildings or terrorize their game of castle. I don't know what he'd do without Jett because Jett, of anyone, can get Miles to laugh. It doesn't really matter what he does, he just looks at the kid and he is hysterical! 

Of course, Daddy is his favorite. He cries when he leaves the room, he cries if Daddy enters a room and doesn't acknowledge him, he cries if Daddy even turns away from him! Just like all the other boys, he is definitely a Daddy's Boy! 

We've discovered that Miles loves to eat new foods. He grows tired of food if he's had it more than a couple times. However, we did find that he really likes to munch on pickles and jerky! With one tooth, I've been pretty impressed at how much he can chew! He really enjoys foods that have a lot of flavor to them. So far this week he's tried blueberries and raspberries and really loved them! He cried when he'd run out of berries. 

Developmentally he is doing pretty well. I have noticed that he is a huge sensory seeker, hence the enjoyment of flavorful foods and the need to drink his bottle as he is hanging upside down. He seems to be pretty social and his social smile is improving. He still looks at my mouth a lot when I talk, so we'll be keeping an eye on that over the next couple of months. He has started smiling with his whole face! Like, wrinkle the nose, show that one tooth, squint the eyes kind of smile. We call it his cheese face. I'll have to get a good picture of it sometime and post it. 

I sure do love watching this kid grow!

Family Pictures

Last month we were lucky enough to get family pictures taken by Cruise's teacher, Mr. Harris. The boys were super wild, which made it really hard to get cooperation and good pictures. But there were quite a few we like.