Team Gage

Agent 09 Starring Chad Colby Gage

2012-01-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Day 2 and 3

2012-01-11T21:31:00.001-08:00

Prisoner has not yet realized that lunch is needful. Dinnertime, while they were foods he was well accustomed to, there was much glaring up through eyelashes and close examination of food placed in front of him. Prisoner even smashed cinnamon sugar into his hair using dirtied hands has means. Could possibly be doing this to spite me, the warden.

On the upside, I am becoming extremely proficient in the jargon of the captive. At first, communication was rudimentary mostly consisting of gibberish to the untrained ear. After spending more than 18 mos with Prisoner no. 2, I have grasped the basics of his vernacular.

Breakfast was a cauliflower "mussin". He ate it. I gave a maniacal laugh. Triumph short-lived. Lunch was a sack lunch of another "mussin". Prisoner no. 1 had a PB sandwich. Veggie sticks or "d-taps", as prisoner no 2 likes to call them, was the reward. Prisoner no. 1 ate his lunch and got the "d-taps" as a reward. Prisoner no.2 failed to recognize the concept of lunch. While there was no battle, there was still one fatality--the mussin got smashed.

After repeated attempts at communication, I, the warden, finally realized that Prisoner no. 2 was trying to communicate "messy" and then "d-taps". After 2-3 "mussy" I realized that the cauliflower muffin must be dead. The evidence was smeared on the prisoner's face and shirt; the carnage was obvious.

Prisoner no. 2, when he realized that "d-taps" were not allowed without first eating the "mussin", agreed to eat the "mussin". I caught onto his ruse very quickly.
Warden: "Do you want veggie sticks?
Prisoner: "yahs"
Warden: "Well you have to eat this first." (offering muffin)
Prisoner: (Eyeballing mussin)
Warden: "Are you going to eat it?"
Prisoner: (Contmplatively) "No."

Repeat three times and the result was still a refusal. No "d-taps" for good behavior.

Today the prisoner fared no better.

Refusal of couscous at lunch. Was allowed some crackers and PB with prisoner no. 1.

Dinner. Both only ate their "go-guh" (yogurt) and even left their "hat dahgs" mostly untouched. Those poor dogs were sacrificed in vain.

Day 4 will be better.

My own previous warden, with whom I communicated briefly yesterday, stated that Prisoner no. 2 has already lost the battle, but just didn't know it yet.

I feel that Prisoner no. 2 will prove more willful than expected. But he is now a tired and hungry prisoner. It is only a matter of time.

I hope I can last that long.

Every Newsie Shufflin'

2012-01-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

Getting my Kids to Eat Anything: Day One...

2012-01-09T22:49:00.001-08:00

Battle One
The first skirmish in the Food Fray has been staged. Not sure if it was a win or a loss, but the opponent was a tough nut to crack. Getting something in, is like getting something out of Fort Knox. Nigh impossible. There was much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, along with oatmeal hands being wiped from stem to stern and everywhere in between. Most of it went behind my opponents ears and down the front of his face as his hands slid from forehead to chin in apparent agony. I'd estimate the total battle time was about 40 min. What may you ask was the cause? The two-foot challenger found eating ONE bite of "sweet cereal" mortally offensive, if eating said cereal came before eating 'ot 'daws--hotdogs. Forty minutes! The young one's wailing must have translated to something like. "Help! I'm being attacked by my own mother, Save me!" because backup arrived. Jackson came over and was very upset I was the cause of Sam's distress. There was so much sugar in the oatmeal, the kid was practically eating dessert. I still got him to eat one bite. I tried distractions, ignoring him, letting him get hungrier, bargaining with cookies all to no avail. I did finally get him to eat one bite while distracted with a dollar store spinney top. Which he then later threw off his high chair and the thing broke. Like a said, did I win, lose or draw?

Tomorrow's assault has something new in the arsenal. Banana chocolate muffins with cauliflower in them. Short of feeding them intravenously, I'll do just about anything to get them to eat something else.

LOTS of work, but I'll be making chocolate muffins with cauliflower in them. Hopefully I'll get him to eat it later.

Child number one is also getting more food exposure as I'm putting food on his mouth. Then he gets to eat something else.

Battle One, not battle won.

Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows

2011-12-18T22:57:00.000-08:00

LOVED!

Why we left church early today...

2011-12-11T20:26:00.001-08:00

We had to leave church unexpectedly today around 11-ish to go to the urgent care because Jackson had gotten his thumb crunched in the hinge part of a heavy wooden door. The bathroom door to be exact in the Primary wing. Colby saw it happen, I was in nursery. He opened the door to nursury, said, "Becca, I need your help," and I went back in to grab Sam and off we went. Colby saw the door close, heard a crack and Jackson's shocked face and when he freed Jackson, that's when Jackson started crying. Off to urgent care.

It was traumatic. Jackson was crying and saying, "All done owie," Sam didn't want to be held so he started hitting me, Colby was trying to hold Jackson. Trauma. I cried. Sam hit me some more. Colby gave Jackson a blessing. X-rays.

No breaks! Yeah! Just a blue sausage thumb and a really tired nap-less Sam at the end of the day. It was a movie day when we got home. The relief in my stomach that it was not broken made me feel like I'd eaten a softball stone of alka-seltzer that was slowly fizzing away but not really making me feel better. The relief that was so visceral I felt sick. In any case, it's not broken.

Then Colby took the kids home and I went back to choir. We're singing next week and I'm the pianist!

2011-12-08T22:24:00.001-08:00

Sam's music taste

2011-12-08T09:01:00.001-08:00

Sam's favorite music is classical, specifically tocatta Fugue in D and hip hop, specifically Usher.

More Thoughts

2011-12-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Sam was alternating folding his hands, scowling at me and then playing the piano. Colby then pointed out that he was singing and playing the piano, then folding his arms to say prayers, he'd say "Amen" and then go back to playing the piano. Can you tell he's been to church a lot? Love that kid!

He's also been throwing tantrums. He likes to hit and throw. Today he threw a train over Jackson's head for some reason. If he doesn't get his way, if he's holding something, he chucks it. If he isn't holding something, he'll hit the ground/table. If he's not near one of those, like in his car seat, he'll hit himself in the forehead. Then realize that it hurt. He'll also occassionally lie on the ground and bang his head. I hope he realizes quickly that there are places to fling yourself on the ground and places that are not okay to fling yourself on the ground. Like the other day he decided to do it on the concrete outside Jackson's school. I went from being very hated to very desired instantly.

Jackson's been pointing things out. He's really narrating. He likes to eat PB straight from the jar and he'll use a chair, climb up to get the PB, get a spoon and then go to his room, while waving at me and saying, "Bye, Mom!" If I ask do you want a peanut butter sandwich, he'll look at me and say, "Peanut butter spoon?"

He loves to paint. He'll take my makeup brushes and ask to paint with them. He likes playing with my makeup and will put cream shadows running down my cheeks. Last time he did this, he used a purple color and then signed and said, "Sad".

Sam loves to come into the bathroom and flush the toilet. He's also started to say "Dy-pah" when he poops. Colby really wants me to potty train him, but I don't know. I talked to Kathleen Tobler about it and she agreed, "No way." It's just a constant anxiety. So probably not anytime soon :)

Jackson just discovered a mini snowglobe. Awesome.

Sam will sometimes grab Jackson from behind and give him a giant bear hug. And then lean. I'm just waiting for Sam to eat it when Jackson keeps walking and then accidentally kicks him in the face.

Bless This House

2011-11-22T19:06:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is a time of appreciation and gratitude. A perfect precursor to the crowning event for which we all have need to be grateful for--the birth of the Savior. Thanksgiving humbles my heart and should enrich our homes as we draw close to the people we have to be grateful for. This article found in my church's magazine, The Ensign, brought a tender moment to my heart. How grateful I am for my tiny apartment, my home, sanctuary and refuge and for my husband who has blessed our home with the proper priesthood authority. We are blessed. I really like what this particular family did. I like the plaque idea as a reminder. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bless This House

By Gene and Bonnie Dalton

The dedication of our home brought about a change of heart in our family.

Many years ago, we were excited when we first learned that Latter-day Saints could dedicate their own homes. The idea had never occurred to us, and we sensed that the important things we wanted to have happen in our home could be accomplished better if we dedicated it to the Lord.

We wanted to have the Spirit of God dwell in our home to help us shape the lives of our daughters. We were grateful for Primary, Sunday School, Young Women, and seminary teachers, but we knew that the ultimate responsibility to teach our children to live the gospel was ours.

We wanted our home to be a place where we could study and live the commandments of God and where we could learn to pray, sacrifice, and forgive. If we wanted to live in love and harmony eternally, we needed to begin within those walls.

We hoped our daughters’ friends would see our home as a holy place and treat our girls as daughters of God. We wanted our home to be a place of worship—not an overly solemn, pious place, but a place where every diaper changed for a crying baby, every meal cooked, and every offer to stay home and baby-sit was a godly service and a step toward understanding the Savior and his love.

The decision to dedicate our home was ours to make. God himself has given parents stewardship over their own family and home. A bishop or stake president must seek permission from those in authority in the Church in order to dedicate a chapel or stake center, but a member who wishes to bless his or her home may go directly to the Lord.

When we dedicated our home, the counsel was that it should be paid for. Today the counsel is different. The Melchizedek Priesthood Handbook notes that Church members may dedicate their homes, whether or not they are free of debt, as sacred edifices where the Holy Spirit may reside. A member may dedicate his home as a sanctuary where his family can worship, find safety from the world, grow spiritually, and prepare for eternal family relationships. To dedicate his home, a member might gather his family members around him and offer a special prayer that would include the elements mentioned above or other appropriate thoughts.

Because we were dedicating our home to the rearing of our children, we decided to invite those friends, neighbors, and relatives who taught or cared for them to share this experience with us.

To remind us of the purpose for our home, we decided to order a small brass plaque engraved with the words, “This home is dedicated as a place where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell, where our daughters Denise, Carrie, Sara, Beth, Rachel, Josie, Louisa, and Jennie may learn to love God and serve others, and where friends may feel welcome.”

The dedication itself was simple. Our friends, including nonmembers, came, not knowing exactly what to expect, but with a warm willingness to share in something they knew was important to us. We performed a short musical number, “Bless This House,” in the living room. Then, with our daughters seated around the dining table and the adults standing behind them, Gene offered a short dedicatory prayer. Afterwards, we nailed the plaque to the wall and enjoyed homemade soup and bread.

Did everything change in our home after this dedication? Did we stop hearing cries like “Who stole my hairbrush?” or “Get out of my room!”? Unfortunately not. But the dedication inspired a commitment to invite the Spirit of the Lord into our home. Today, as we often glance at the plaque on the wall and think back on that lovely afternoon, we are reminded that this is His home as well as ours—and we each try to live accordingly.

[illustration] Illustrated by G. Allen Garns

Gene Dalton serves on the Provo Utah Oak Hills Stake high council and is stake Young Men president.

Bonnie Dalton serves as Laurel adviser in the Oak Hills Fourth Ward.

Observations

2011-11-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

Sam likes sitting in his upturned kitchen set.
Jackson is talking like CRAZY AND IT'S SO EXCITING.
He loves school.
The more I see a movie, the more I like it. If it's my kids that are watching it.
Grateful for all my blessings.

D-Town today

2011-11-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

If you can guess where this is, you'd know where we'd been today. Disneyland! There were so many people in costume. I took many pictures of all the rides we went on. We did get to meet Winnie the Pooh and S kept asking for hugs, but they were both very controlled and would only give him a hug if I okayed it. Great kids.
We went on Winnie the Pooh 2X, Monsters 2X, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion at J's request, Splash Mountain (probably gonna skip that one next time),Buzz Lightyear, Little Mermaid, Mr Toad's Wild Ride ( not my fav), Pinocchio, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Storybookland and many others. What great is that J remembers all his favorite rides (which so far is most) and will remind me what to do when. For example, on our way our, I'd forgotten about Buzz. So he said, "Buzz?" I said, "Sure". Then after Buzz he makes sure he has my attention and then says, "Monsters". Which is in the other park. So off we go. We're all beat!
This is us at the start:

Our first ride of the day...Dumbo. Way better ride than movie.
It was a good opportunity for "taking turns"
Sidenote: It seems like S is destined to be the one in the picture that's always making a face!
Alice in Wonderland which J calls "Happy birthday". Now tell me why he does.

Storybook land
Peter Pan
Mr. Toad's
Meeting a movie star

Jack Skellington's Haunted Mansion

While we were there, S was walking with great purpose and his arm was swinging as high as his face.
This is after Alice

This is during Mr Toad's wild ride.
Getting ready for Monsters
The little mermaid

The jungle cruise
With a guest skipper
And the WTP ride
And here's the Buzz one

Day two of potty training...

2011-10-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

one accident at school (but it was discreetly done out of sight of the teacher) and one at home. I'm so proud!
And Hero#2 eats his Oreos (with no coaxing from us) middle first. I eat them whole. Hubsters dips them in milk but Hero #2 eats them (and I saw him do it) by pulling it apart, eating the creme, then eating some of the cookie and then smashing the rest.

If Hero#2 could really talk, it might look like this:

Hero#2 has also taken to spitting and making raspberries all over his seat while we're driving. I think he's getting revenge for being strapped in so effectively. He usually strains against the device after 30 min to 45 in the car.

D-Town today

2011-10-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

I got to go to D-town with my good friends the Cools. Jackson tried Star Tours (he held onto my hands really tight-but asked for more alien robots after) and Soarin over CA. He said, "No flying" when I explained the ride but then after said, "More flying". Silly boy.

Sam konked out. We hit up all the regulars and people still told me I was brave for taking two kids into the park by myself. At least the nice ones told me I was brave. The quiet ones were thinking, "She's crazy!"

We had a blast! Jackson was responsible for his special pass and was very eager to show cast members. Sam loves Toy Story, but mostly Winnie the Pooh.

We were gonna go all undies today, but my friend from out of town called and so the undies had to wait until tomorrow.

TV Shows

2011-10-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

There haven't really been any pictures lately because we lost our card reader and the cord for the camera. I've had a lot of chores and cleaning and have discovered a new show.No it's not this one. It's this one--Psych. Hilarious. I included Monk because this is also a fantastic crime show.

Honestly, my interest in Castle has flagged a little with the recent episodes. The return of the Triple X Killer was interesting, but I really displike the new chief. Calling her "sir". Really? Lame. In any case, Psych is my new favorite and since I've just discovered the show, I've got lots of catching up to do before I break into the new season.

Been Reading + Some History While I'm At It

2011-10-01T18:24:00.001-07:00

Some friends of ours recently got me hooked on the Fablehaven series. Pretty cool. I really liked "The Grip of the Shadow Plague". The books are definitely written for younger audiences and the characters are "young", but it is really creative. It was actually inspiring. I read Harry Potter and think, "Wow. I'll never be able to write that." But this book, I read it and thought, "Wow. This is really creative. I could write something like that!"

I really like writing, almost as much as I like reading. I've got quite a few stories that circulate in my head and it's always been a dream of mine to be published. Really published. To walk into a bookstore and see my books. Awesome.

I've been dying to read "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York." It's a non-fiction "...beguiling concoction-equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller." Honestly, this book is the reason I'm at the computer right now. It was setting the scene for Jazz Age NY and it started talking about Typhoid Mary. Now, I'll admit, deep down I'm a little (okay, maybe a lot) of a geek. I'm not talking nerd. I'm talking geek. I think hierarchal order in Nerdom, geek falls somewhere in between nerd and World of Warcraft-er. I digress. When I heard Typhoid Mary, I immediately thought of the Marvel comic book villain "Typhoid Mary". So I looked it up. Turns out Typhoid Mary was really Mary Mallon, Irish immigrant who was a healthy carrier of typhoid bacteria and worked as a cook, unknowingly spreading typhoid fever to all those she worked for. She infected around 6-7 different families after working as their cook. She would care for them after they fell ill, but would eventually find other employment and the cycle would start over again. She was eventually quarantined and died in isolation 30 years later. Wow. Tough break, Mary. (Mel, if you're reading this, is it any wonder I can only write about dead things ;)

Anyway.

I've also been studying Hokusai, as in this guy:

I've always been moved by this piece. Turns out, he's really one of the only Japanese artists known to the Western world and lived an interesting life. He incorporated Chinese watercolor techniques and rebelled against the studio system becoming an independent painter, painting what he chose. He chose common things in Japanese life, which the Japanese may or may not have liked as it showed intimate details of Japanese life to foreigners. Hokusai lived a poor and desolate life, changing his name and paying off the debts of his no-good grandson.

Hmmm. Appreciate the culture.

Now for pop-culture.

Handsome has recently been enamored of Star Wars. Joanna, every time I watch this I think of you. He only watches Episode V: The Empire Rises and only the Hoth battle. He's gotten far enough in the movie to learn how to laugh like Yoda, but after that, it's back to Hoth. He mostly likes these guys:

The AT-ATs or All Terrain Attack Transport... or something like that. Geeeeekyyy. I love it! Mr. Handsome will catch my eyes and say, "Evil Alien Robot" then sing "DUM, dum, DUM, dum, DEE, dum, DUM, dee dum." You know, the Imperial March. He also uses a vacuum attachment as a laser blaster. And Jo, he says one of your favorite lines from Solo: Who's Scruffy-lookin'?. We're working on "Laugh it up, fuzzball."

In fact, the other night he snuck out of bed while I was reading on the couch and caught my eye at the door. He looks at me and pauses, then says, "Evil Alien Robot" starts to shuffle, and sing the song. Then he stops. Looks at me and says, "Where's the couch?" I say, "I don't know. Where is the couch?" Then he pauses and looks at me and says, "Where's the "sit-down"?" I say, "Would you like to sit down?" He then runs over the couch laughing the whole way and sits down. Love that kid.

That's all for now!

I remember

2011-09-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am humbled. I am grateful.

Jackson Rode...

2011-09-05T15:01:00.001-07:00

...THIS today!

And the teacups and Alice in Wonderland. He didn't cry or anything! Promise. But he didn't want to do the train again.

4 NEW POSTS TODAY!

2011-09-04T20:19:00.003-07:00

Wow! Don't miss Jackson's prayer. So cute!

Jackson Started School

2011-09-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

Jackson started school and I allowed myself a 5 min cry in the car with Sam in the back thinking, "My mom has lost it." Then I turned the car on, wiped my face and cleaned, groceried and what not.

Jackson loves school. Sam loves dropping Jackson off and getting him and will frequently ask "Where's Jackson?" throwing his hands wide as if freeing the question in the air like a bird. We will have to get a crib tent at some point for Sam because he's already figuring out to climb out. He will use tension from his feet on the slats to push off them with his feet while hanging onto the siding. Jackson is really learning so much (he has started quoting whole movie scripts (in order) including, but not limited to: The Incredibles, Ponyo, Monsters Inc, Peter Pan). He's also singing, singing, singing and I love it. His current favorite song is the Incredibles Theme, Ponyo end credit Theme, and "Hey Jackson". It goes something like: Hey Jackson, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind! And I'm sure you get the rest.

Jackson is starting to get the idea that poop in your pants is no fun! Wee!

Jackson is improving so much. He snuck out of bed and ran to shut Colby's and my door so that he could have the run of the house. He's reenacting scenes from Thomas the tank. He's singing! He's jumping and climbing. He's looking at other people and strangers and I'm so happy. It's all thanks to the help of my family and friends and the help of the Lord. I really believe that the combined faith and fast of family and friends for Jackson with the help of a merciful Heavenly Father has led to an ongoing miracle. Jackson started really talking in December and our fast was not even a month before. Thanks to you all and praises to Heavenly Father.

St George pics from another camera

2011-09-04T19:53:00.001-07:00

Alright, last post of St. George
What a beautiful temple! We were able to do sealings there with ALL my sisters (and bro-in-laws) and hubsters. It was fantastic - so joyous to be there with everybody and
so proud of all of us living righteous so we were able to go.

We went to the Tuacahn marketplace there too. Some pretty neat stuff, but BOY, was it hot. Meggie with Bubba

Ice cream at Costco.

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

Logan just absolutely loving Mark.

Celebrating our three August babies.

Logan playing football with Mark.

A close-to-midnight run to Menchies.

Just two boys sitting in the tree.

Mark tried really hard to include Sam.

A very nice "men only" picture.

What what? Who's that? That's right, it's Bryce! He's resurfaced after days of being incapacitated with a kidney infection. Good thing he was able to get to the clinic.
*TANGENT* So after Bryce got medication, he started acting really funny. Turns out, he was having an adverse reaction and having hallucinations from some of the medication. Don't worry, he's fine now, all better. But (no offense Bryce) it was pretty funny while it lasted (it's okay Bryce you were on drugs and couldn't help it). Here are some of the things Bryce said:
-"Shhh!" to Danielle at the dinner table. She wasn't talking.
-"Where's my wallet? Where's my wallet?"
Jared:"Why do you need your wallet?
Bryce: "Why do I need my what?"
-(while watching a movie) There's a man sitting on my chest! There's a man on my chest!
-"It snowed last night!" (taking mom to the window and seeing the dry ground): "Well, obviously itmelted."
-Driving home, there was no music playing, but Bryce sits upright and says, "Can we stop listening to Christmas music?! This is the longest rendition of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' on the accordion I have ever heard!"
Wow Bryce, very specific hallucinations. Impressive.
We love you Bryce and are glad you're ALL BETTER!

There was swimming, playing, eating, toe painting, movie watching,

book reading, sun bathing, and all other kinds of fun.

But alas, it did have to end. On their way back up to the Great North, the fam

stopped off in Provo for lunch. They went to Roll Up Crepes and it was delicious!

Logan and Grandad - each giving each other a "look."

Look at that look on Annelisa's face. That's a candid shot: pure contentment.

Chocolate will do that to you.

It was sad to say goodbye.

Logan actually tried to ditch Meggie and hitch a ride up to Canada, but she caught him just in time.

What a great vacation, family!

Thanks for the fun.

Family, I love you, I love you I do.

Jackson's First Prayer

2011-09-04T19:52:00.001-07:00

Jackson's First Prayer touched my heart.

Dear Heavenly Father,(pause) In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Disneyland with the Grandparents

2011-09-04T19:33:00.001-07:00

Here's Colby at his new dental school.Watching pictures at Disney CA Adventure
Sam and Colby on the Dumbo ride
New Disneyland hotel; the headboard lights up and plays "When You Wish"
Finding our room
They had a mini couch and small TV showing classic Mickey, Goofy, Donald cartoons...brilliant.

Jackson was excited!
We had so much fun. Grandma and Grandpa treated us to a weekend at Disneyland Park Hotel. It was fantastic. We rode the monorail into and out of the park, we rode Winnie the Pooh, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear and Jungle Cruise. There were a few people and it was definitely warm, but we didn't let that stop us!
Poor Chad was such a trooper. His foot was hurting him but he carried on! The show must go on!
Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa! We loved it!

The Help: The Movie

2011-08-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

I loved it. That being said, the book is better. But I still LOVED it! Everything from costumes to acting, to sets, all of it was perfect. It would have been impossible to have shown everything from the book in the movie, but they came close. Where they couldn't show everything, the actresses made up the difference and the "essence" of the character was true to the book. Sounds really cheesy I know, but it was fabulous! Read it then see it or see it then read it. You won't want to miss it!
Honestly, I was so enamored with the costumes I kept reminding myself to watch the movie.

St George Part

2011-08-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

We rencently went to St. George for our first ever family reunion. It was a lot of fun. Here are the pictures in reverse order. Everybody was eventually able to come, even Mark who had thought he wouldn't flew in to Vegas and then we met up. It was quite the health extravaganza. Bryce had a kidney infection 2nd day and the meds he got caused him to hallucinate. More on that later. Colby was coughing and it turns out it was ambulatory pneymonia. Then, after the trip poor little Logan lost a tooth, yesterday (at home).

Here's a cousin shot. That's Logan and Jackson, they are about 18 mos apart.

Logan and Sam LOVED each other. Logan kept calling Sam Na-nee (Natalie) who is Logan's other cousin on the other side of the family. These two would hug each other all the time.
Family shot. Sam's a little nap deprived.

The men
You can't see Mark, whose face is just as red as Sam's saying, "Take the picture! Take the picture!"

Uncle Jared and Cousin Logan
The women
The cousins. If you watch this series with the cousins, you'll see Sam get placated with keys.

And Jackson did actually lean in close for the picture!

Coming back from a hike in Zion's
Sam finally conked out. Auntie Dani carried Sam the whole way! It was an awesome backpack!!!

My explorer pose or my Captain Morgan pose.
The great-grandkids with Grandad

Megan's Hallelujah pose

We went on the Emerald Pools trail. Next time we go it will be the Narrows.
If you look close, Uncle Mark is on a rock on the other side of the canyon.

Walking from Lazy Daisy Cottage to 15 on Main Cupcakes
First date

Logan in Zion's

Before the trip with Grams and Grandpa visiting with their new iPad.

Sam LOVES silly hats and he was carrying a clean diaper around so I strapped it on his head. He loved it.
Reading historical plaques. We had so much fun at the reunion. We're hoping maybe in another 18 mos or so. Montana, Oregon, AZ or CA. Who knows? Family is great!

Our Canada Trip

2011-07-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

We left for a 3 week Canada trip...umm...3 weeks ago thereby leaving poor hubsters all alone! We went for some serious one on one therapy for Little Man #1 and some attention for Little Man #2 and we had a blast. Jackson can now do stairs alternating steps. Side-stepping and tiptopes are a little harder. We're working on names with Jackson. He knows his own name and can figure out the names of most other things. Both he and Sam LOVE Winnie the Pooh. We'll have to go see the new movie. Anyway, here are a LOT of pictures from the trip.
Jackson's favorite game: Hide, Hide, Hide!
Sam loves music, dancing. His fav songs are Choo, Choo, Choo and Boo! Especially when sung by Grams.

The Placemat Series

Butterfield Acres is a sprawling farm that seems pellmell placed higgidy-piggidy all over the hill. It's a giant farm-zoo with emus, rabbits, cows, yaks, goats, chickens, donkeys, tractors, and such.

That's my 93 or 94 year-old Great-grandma (GG) for short milking a goat. She said that cows were easier. We all got a chance. I'll have to milk a cow for something to compare.
Sam was attacked by the sheep and pigs.

First week at Nana and Grandad's. That music box is very special to me because it's what first motivated Jackson to start talking at Christmas and if it hadn't been for Dani, it never would have happened. Thanks to Nana for buying it in the first place and Dani for playing with Jackson.
Aunt Dani and Uncle Mark. I sure hope Mark doesn't mind us calling him a cowboy because it was one of the easiest ways I could think of to describe him.

What you can't see is an animatronic Christmas dog singing "You Make Me Wanna Shout Merry Christmas". :) Good times.

Our thrift store finds.

Our ancient SEGA Pico Winnie the Pooh game. I remember spending a long time on this thing and Grams saved it. Thanks!

Butterfield Acres part 2

Jackson LOVED the duck pond.

Flying kites

At Aunt Dani's sister-in-law's acreage. Dani introduced the horses: Skip, Hollywood, and Ranger. Jackson kept saying, "Buzz Lightyear, Buzz Lightyear." I couldn't figure it out and then it dawned on me! Ranger, and Buzz is a Space Ranger. Cute!

Sam, when asked to give the horses a hug leaned his whole body on it!

Grandad's newest acquisition: an iPad 2. It was a toss up to see who used it more.

Stampede fun. Hats.

Just hanging out at the exhibits.

At the rodeo. We didn't stay for the whole time. Dani, Mark, me, Annelisa and Jack-Jack. Jackson is covering his ears because Mark scared him a couple of minutes ago with a "yee-haw!"

Grandad and Nana's surprise tent purchase. Thanks!

That's our trip! Whew! Fun, but glad to be home!

Seriously,

2011-07-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

I cannot get enough of these two!!

Better Than the First Time

2011-06-18T21:50:00.001-07:00

Feeding Sam chocolate ice cream after Jackson had his fill in a moving car driven by Colby while I reach behind the passenger seat and over the car seat trying to find his mouth looks something like this:
I'll post pics of our first attempt later.

So You Think You Can Dance?

2011-06-17T09:35:00.001-07:00

I LOVE this show. I don't really go in for reality shows, but this one is positive and arguably cultural. This is a contemporary dance by a couple of the contestants that had people in tears. I get chills.

A little Blurb

2011-06-12T18:50:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Since that time, I've baked cupcakes (Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Brown Butter Glaze, Cornmeal and Blackberry muffins, and Applesauce Spice Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting and Ginger and Molasses cupcakes with whip cream frosting), ordered the Tula Pink Indigo fabric, finished a baby sling and cut out a pattern for a skirt which will be sewn tomorrow night.

Colby is still waiting the results of his board exam.

Sam is WALKING and working on picking up speed. He's got the silliest smile and has his own opinion on many things.

Jackson is jumping, climbing and TALKING, TALKING TALKING! He's so loud in church and he knows he's supposed to be quiet, but I feel like I can't get too mad at him because he's TALKING. Just to think that at Christmas he was working on saying a word consistently!!! Wow!

We are blessed. I've realized that the time that we have with kids, while they are kids, is SO SHORT! It's a blink. Not very long at all. I need to really cherish the time I have with them. Jackson is so big and Sam is already a year!

Love those guys!

p.s. I got my hair cut and Colby said it looks like the movie poster for Pulp Fiction. I take that as a compliment. Uma Thurman? Could be worse!

Not a Quilter

2011-05-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

..but I wish I was.
I'm not much of a quilter; although, now that I think about it, I have made two or three. One was for a dear friend and it was all squares that somehow ended up crooked and the other I didn't even finish because I ended up in the emergency room over it. Long story. Ask my sis. I'm more of a sewer, I'm finding. I've made Jack baby about3-4 pants/shorts and myself about 2-3 skirts and embellished several more shirts. It's fun. Anyway, I've been perusing the vintage patterns for something to sew as well as my fav craft blogs when I stumbled on a post about the International Quilters Market held in good old SLC. I followed a couple of links and then fell IN LOVE with this:

AND THIS:

the indigo version:

the honey shade:

and the varying shades of Parisville:

WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE?!! It's my new favorite designer Tula Pink.

Just the name is adorable! You've probably heard of Amy Butler and honestly, I've never really seen the hype. I do like the colors, but this fabric seems smarter. If you can believe that a fabric has a level of intelligence. In any case. This I LUUURVE. I wish I had money to quilt one from each collection: Parisville, Prince Charming and Neptune. None of these quite your style? She's got other fabulous patterns featuring woodland creatures and marvelous repeating hidden patterns. Sigh. To dream.

What We've Been Up To.

2011-05-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Martha's Meyer Lemon Cupcakes. They are filled with lemon curd.
Sam really likes sitting in the toppled kitchen. I've found him in there 3 times today.
Kim and the boys reading a Percy book.

Prepping for a flash again. I think.

Jackson is here in his new Thomas the Train shorts.
Here he is eating a banana for the first time EVER! and saying banana while eating it.
Sam was prepping for the flash.
Jackson's party. Chaos.
Sam is lounging on our bed with Jackson's birthday balloon. Silly boy.

Jackson

2011-05-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

We were carting around Joann's Fabric store and Jackson says, "I come in peace."

He asks to have his window rolled down and sticks out his hand and says, "Bye, hand."

Post Explosion

2011-05-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

So, Colby takes the computer in the evening, which is fine, because I have other things to keep me occupied. But, that's when I usually do my blogging so posts have been short and mostly pics or FB-style quick jots. We've also had so much going on. I'll post more on Jackson's progress and Sam's silliness soon. I hope you'll be content with all the pics until then!

This Post Is Backwards

2011-05-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

I can never figure out how to upload a group of pictures in the correct order so if you want a mostly chronological order to pictures, start at the bottom because the bottom most picture is us entering the park. It was an impromptu visit with our buddies the Stirlands and it was a good test run for traveling by myself. I can do it. Jackson was fantastic and didn't run away at all. Sam was the biggest problem because he was slung to my hip. He started blowing raspberries on my arm, hitting me on the face, monkey climbing up my hips, and leaning all the way back in his sling. Silly boy. We had so much fun! At one point I took Addie so Rae could feed Holden his bottle. I had 3 kids under 3. We went on Snow White and the boat ride again. Everyone must have thought I was CRAZY, but they were all fantastic.
This is at the end of the day. We met Pluto and look at the boys' faces. Jackson was excited until it was his turn and then he got really shy. Both Jackson and Sam rubbed his nose.
Our friend Addie liked the novelty of Jackson's sit and stand stroller. She kept shoving him off.
Jesse and Woody stopped by baby Holden's stroller. Addie, his big sis was sooo excited they were paying attn to Holden.
On Jungle Cruise, Jackson's fav, I think.
Jackson hugging the goats' behind.
Sam on the merry-go-round.
Jackson signing horse and me saying horse on the MGR.

We came out of the goats' ranch just in time to meet the Round Up Gang.
Storybookland.
Our friends the Stirlands.
In the park. Jackson loves the tunnel leading into the park with all the retro posters. Here's a new "retro" poster of Nemo. He always looks for it.
Us on Peter Pan.

Disneyland with Kim

2011-05-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

After Jackson's Monstrous IEP we went to D-land and Colby got to come too! We had mint juleps in the shade and had so much fun!

Annelisa's visit

2011-05-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

She took most of the pictures because the only pictures I have are her being here and then her leaving. It was fantastic to see her after so long! We had so much fun. She just was fresh of her Provo UT mission and she came out for a visit. Disneyland and SHOPPING ensued as well as general fun and nonsense. We went to get ice cream, visit H and M, Forever 21 and more. It was a blast! Thanks for the visit See-Sa!

The LA Zoo

2011-05-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics with my dear friends the Youngbergs who treated us to a day at the LA Zoo. We had so much fun! The gorillas and chimps were very cooperative. Sam was straining to see what he could do!

Sam's Birthday Party

2011-05-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sam's Vocab

2011-05-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

Consists of shoe, signing time, again, more, mama, dada, where, nose, day, ball and flower.

Just a quick post of Sam

2011-04-25T22:28:00.001-07:00

...while we were waiting at Best Buy. I love my baby Sam!

Disneyland and Counting

2011-04-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

At the end of rides like Pirates or Astroblasters, Jackson would throw both fists in the air and say, "Weee did it!"

Then today after church he was holding my and Colby's hand and started counting for us to swing him in the air: "One, two, two, two...one, fweee!"

Another Shabby Apple Giveaway

2011-04-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

Someday I will win!

So I love Shabby Apple! I am a follower of them on Facebook even. What's even better than lusting after a Shabby Apple dress? A chance to wear one! The Inquisitive Mom has a giveaway for a SHABBY APPLE DRESS! EEE! That's right. A giveaway for one of their new dresses! Go to The Inquisitive Mom and check it out!

Sam's first official...

2011-04-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

...steps were about 10 days ago. But he still prefers to crawl. He took about 5 steps yesterday with great coaxing!

On a WALL-E kick

2011-04-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

His new fav movie is Walle. Probably because there's not a lot of talking. Our first interaction of the day went something like this.

Me: Do you want waffles or cereal?
J: I...want... WALL-E!

Happy One Year, Sam!

2011-04-09T13:06:00.001-07:00

We're doing a friends B-day party today. Kim and her boyfriend are coming, the Youngbergs and the Gages. He's one year older and wiser too so I made owl cupcakes. I also made mini cheesecakes and bought a fruit tray. There will be pics and videos later, but I wanted to post these pictures. I took a pictures (almost) every month with him in his crib with Piglet.

3 days

2 weeks

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

Love you, Sam!

My Sis' Visit

2011-04-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

SWithin hours of Auntie and Cousin getting to the house, I got sick with fever and chills, lack of energy, and loss of appetite. It lasted pretty much the whole time, but fortunately, each day I felt a little better. My super-awesome sis took care of the kids and me. The next day, while I tried to sleep her sickness away, the kids hung out. Cuz and S enjoyed one another's company:

J was gracious enough to let Cuz play in his "bean box." They played for about an hour! Whatever J was pouring his beans on, Cuz wanted to pour them there too. In the afternoon, I was feeling well enough to go out, so we hit up Trader Joe's, Forever XXI, and my sis discovered one of my new favorite clothing stores H&M! The 3 kiddies strapped in their strollers did pretty well, but within not too long reached their breaking points.

So . . . splash pad here we come! It was right in the same shopping center. How convenient. Genius planning on the mall designer's part.

J was very excited! He's so cute!

S had fun too, in his own way. :)

Cuz had so much fun - not necessarily in the water though. The first time, he ventured into the middle of the splash pad while the water wasn't on. Then once it turned on, he had a big surprise. From then on, he was more then content with simply running to the edge of the splash pad and then running away. Goof.

Isn't my neph adorable? He was this happy for a fraction of the time he was here (poor kid was totally thrown off his sched), but he sure is cute!

J, the splash pad veteran, showed Cuz and S how it was done.

What fun!

Afterwards, Auntie treated us to Pinkberry! S did not like the mango flavor.

Getting into the Happiest Place on Earth. Yeah. Once we got all the kids strapped in and actually in the park, Cuz decided to lie flat on the floor and scream. Sis and I looked at each other and she said, "We're never doing this again when the kids outnumber the adults." I could only agree. I actually thought that all things considered, it was a GREAT day! Really not bad once we got going.

A hidden Mickey at the petting zoo as well as the first real smiles of the day. I don't count the creepy smile from Cuz above.

At Snow White's fountain. Love this place. It's usually our first stop.

Meeting Winnie the Pooh was a definite highlight. J actually gave him and Eeyore hugs.
If you look close, you can tell we are all very happy to be there.

One of several tub times. I'm not sure if these are the same or all different.
J not so sure, but very tolerant.

At this point, I asked S if he wanted to get out. J, who had been playing happily by himself, turned to look at me and shouted, "OUUUUT!!!!" S was the first one out, but I'm not sure if J meant himself, S or Cuz. It was so funny I couldn't stop giggling.
At Huntington in the Japanese garden. Proof we were there. I loved the Japanese garden. I could sit and walk through it all day long. I would LOVE to have this and the children's garden in my backyard.
One of my favorites by far

At Huntington when J started rolling in the grass

This is what we saw when we came back from getting J. Needless to say, everyone needed a nap.

Cuz and S making friends. Cuz sure knows how to win friends and influence people. I think Cuz was poking S in the eye. S loved it. Crazy kid.
S was showing Cuz his disgusting security blanket. Eww. It's gross.
The cousins. J was mostly okay with them clambering all over him. He did keep shouting, "No!" and "Hide me!" ;)
We all had SSOOOOOO much fun! A HUGE thanks to my sis and her graciousness and compassion! We heart you!

Toddlers and Tiaras

2011-04-01T20:27:00.001-07:00

My Delight Cupcakery

2011-03-26T16:51:00.001-07:00

So Kim (J's Speech Therapist, now our friend), introduced us to My Delight Cupcakery. It's really close to us and apparently just won the LA cupcake bake-off. The winner for the best original cupcake is called the Breakfast Cake. It's made of a light buttermilk batter, topped with Maple Frosting, and then sprinkled with crumbled Applewood Smoked Bacon and drizzled with maple syrup. Most of their cupcake flavors come in mini sizes. Kim has brought us the carrot cake, peanut butter, red velvet, and lemon coconut. Today after Jackson's session we went to check it out with Kim. There was a HUGE line! Today they introduced a new cupcake flavor: Cookies and Cream S'mores. Sorry there's no picture because we ate them all! We also tried the lemon which was very, very good. Very light. And the raspberry truffle and the key lime pie. Sooo good! We got a mini half doz and two of the reg size. It's really very good.
The woman in line in front of us told us about another place to try: Suite 106 Cupcakery. That place looks good. It's also really close, just in the other direction. They just won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. Very cool.
Here's a list of the flavors in the picture if you were wondering.
My Delight Cupcakery's cupcakes top to bottom, left to right:
Chocolate, Birthday, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, Red Velvet Cherry Filled, Breakfast, PB & J, Chocolate Vanilla, Key Lime, Vanilla Chocolate, Holiday S'mores, Vegan Chocolate PB cookie, Strawberry, Gingerbread, Chocolate Covered Salted Caramel, Dulce de Leche, Vanilla, Peanut Butter, Vegan Cookies n' Cream, Coconut Lemon.

I have a boy

2011-03-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today, I pulled J from the computer and scooped him up into my arms and cradle-carried him to the bed. Still wrapped in a tight ball I gave him a big hug and essentially pulled my legs in and hugged him all over. I gave him a big squeeze and as I did, he let out a fart. I said, "Eww! Yucky!" which J thought was pretty funny. I released him from our hug and then he said, "Again!", thinking he meant "hug again", so I grabbed his knees and hugged them to his chest and he farted--again. After which Jackson and I were in hysterics. I had to call Hubs and tell him what happened. He guffawed over the phone with me. Yep. I have a boy.

In the Middle of a Miracle: Dear Friends

2011-03-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of you who fasted and prayed for J. It really means so much to me that you would all make that small personal sacrifice and that you would unite your faith for our son. The Lord has blessed us greatly and we are seeing a miracle.

J, just since Christmas, now speaks in two-word sentences , repeats phrases, jumps, has great eye contact, has spoken with his peers, said "mommy" and "daddy" regularly, his vocabulary has skyrocketed, he's learned to untwist a big jar, working on putting on his shoes on his own, creates spontaneous communication, and become such a verbal little guy. He's even working on three-word sentences. For all of that to happen since Christmas is a miracle. This kind of progress is atypical and at the weekly progress report where all his teachers get together, he's been highlighted as the poster child. They are all very impressed with him and so am I. Seriously, these results in this amount of time are just not typical and I believe it is a result of all the faith and prayers on J's behalf. The Lord loves J and is helping him learn and grow. Myself as well. Thank you for all your prayers!

I know all of these things are because of the Lord, so thanks again. Really.

Me

Below is an anecdote from this week.

Wednesday marked something so precious. It was the first time that J and S played together! Kim was over and I was making dinner but had to stop to see what happened. They played hide and seek. J hid his face in a corner behind the door in our bedroom. S was in the "hallway" by the kitchen. Kim told S to go find J. S would get a huge grin on his face and crawl to the corner where J was.J would poke his head out at S and Kim said, "There he is! You found J!" S laughed, J laughed. Then Kim said, "Come back, S !" and S would crawl towards Kim, who was by the rocking horse. Then she'd say, "Hide, J!" and the whole game would start over. It lasted for about 5-7 minutes and they both got the giggles and S got the snorts. I was trying to record a video, but didn't catch it in time. It was soooo adorable and huge for J! They both LOVED it and so did I.

S is almost walking. He's comfortable holding onto our hands and walking and gets the biggest kick out of it.

J is now a protester. He will say, "NOOO!" now to things that he doesn't like. "Time for bed!" "Noo!" "Do you want waffles?" "Nooo!" and yesterday he signed "drink" for a soda drink we'd gotten from Handel's. I said it's empty and he wailed, "Nooooo!" I showed him the inside and then he pitifully repeated, "Nooo." So cute. He's also been rude to me for the first time. I know it's kind of odd, but it's a good thing. I had a book he wanted and was talking to the regular speech therapist. J came up and ripped it out of my hand and said, "Gimme" and then ran away. She looked at me and said, "Okay. Not very polite, but that's great!" I had to laugh and while I did feel slightly affronted, I was still so proud of him.

My Domestic Bucket List

2011-03-10T16:46:00.000-08:00

We've all got more to do than time to do it in. Here's my "Domestic Bucket List". And really bucket list is really not correct, because I'm thinking more like within the next ten years. This list is in no real order and I tried to provide links enough to follow up. The fabric flowers tutorial at the bottom is really top notch. Exactly what I was looking for!

So, I'm going to list the cooking lists first.
Royal Icing Sugar Cookies. You know, flooding the cookies. Then you can doll them up.
I'm dying to frost some and get good so I can do these:

And of course, to use the Cricut Cake. It's like Cricut for Cakes! Get it! Okay. Seriously. It cuts the fondant for you. Wow. Okay. Moving on...
Some of you may not know, but I LOVE make-up. Love it! If you haven't read Kevyn Aucoin's Making Faces, do it now! There are some great costume make-up tutorials. So on my list is to dress up as the Red Queen from the recent Alice in Wonderland. Kandee Johnson or Michelle Phan on youtube.com are great! Michelle Phan, awesome. Just discovered Kandee Johnson, but since we've got kiddos now, dressing all up for Halloween just got pushed waaay back!
Love to get good at cake pops. I don't really like cake or cookies. But I do love decorating them! Check out Bakerella THE cake pop lady!
This is from AllThingsThrifty.com. I really like her style, I just don't have time to thrift it and I'm not sure I like the super thick wood. But I'd like to try it.
And last but not least, there are some awesome flower headbands on etsy and I've been looking forever for some good fabric flower tutorials. I found them! Can't wait to start headbanding and stuff!

Here and more fantastic flower tutorials Mad Mim here.

My domestic bucket list.

My New Favorite Pics

2011-03-08T23:17:00.001-08:00

Sam is cute.
Jackson's so cute.

They were both going to sleep. I had the camera and said smiiiillle and this is what I got.

Bow Ties, Naps, and Some Pictures Jackson Took

2011-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Jackson took the one of me and the baseball.

Sam's Laugh

2011-02-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

Jackson's First Friend Party

2011-02-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my handsome boy at Miss Addie's birthday party. It was great. He participated in games (wow) and even pretended to blow out the candles (after she did, of course). So much fun!

The Best Game Ever

2011-02-19T09:08:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we discovered the best game ever. I ask Jackson to say something and he says it! He'll even attempt words that he doesn't know!

Today: I will do it, daddy, thank you, sie-tie- (signing time), Buzz, horse (attempted), backpack, day, movie (attempted)

Yesterday: Bah-by, sam, lightning (attempted), Jackson (attempted), no, car, boat, Buzz, bus, Woody, Totoro, go, milk (attempted), dad, rain, pachow, wa-ter, Mack, Elmo, "mountain (attempted), Mom-my, beans, bubbles, rain, trains (attempted), backpack, ball, more

Raining in Anaheim

2011-02-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

It rained on Wednesday, which was our day to go to Disneyland. We braved the weather and headed out.
Sam was all bundled up and ready to brave the elements.
It actually didn't rain for more than 10 minutes at a time. I'd have said it was more scattered showers.

We went on Toy Story Mania (a new one) in CA Advent and it was pretty fun. Jackson asked to go again. Jackson played with his Christmas Toy Story toys from Costco so much, they wore out. Some of them are lost. So when we saw a very reasonably priced set that was larger and made out of colored plastic, we grabbed it! He was very appreciative.

I started to run a bath for Sam and by the time I got Sam stripped and ready, I found this:
Jackson was sitting in there reading his Signing Time flashcards. They ended up on the line drying. Sam did eventually get his bath.
Colby also got to try out his new dentist light he bought:
We all had a great day!

Thinking In Pictures

2011-02-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

These are some notes, more for myself that I've learned from reading Temple Grandin's book "Thinking in Pictures." Not all autistic people think this way, but she does and has known others who do the same. Great read!
-Mind goes from specific to general
-VERY visual/spatial
-Associative thinking; some are unable to stop associative thinking

My Experience with Autism Thus Far

2011-02-04T15:53:00.001-08:00

My Experience with Autism: A general overview of the knowledge I’ve gained

I recently attended a lecture on autism given by a physical therapist at Western U. The information here is garnered from her lecture. Her notes are well documented and I’ve synthesized them below. If you need any other information or want a documentation, please let me know.

When I suspected Jackson of having a disorder and when the diagnosis arrived, I didn’t know what to do. I thought of all the different connotations. Words like “special”, “different” and “disorder” suddenly hit home. It’s a severe developmental disorder and suddenly my expectations of the future, honor roll, sports star, mission, among other things, were washed away like chalk drawings in the rain. These things were still possible but suddenly didn’t seem as reachable. After wallowing in a haze about the diagnosis, I’ve learned a lot. Even as an educator I’m appalled at how little I knew about autism as compared to now and wish to dispense some of the information I’ve gained as well as lessons I’ve learned.

1. If you are concerned your child is behind, be aggressive with health professionals about it.

2. I’d like to say sorry to any mother when I thought their child was blatantly misbehaving and why isn’t the mother doing anything about it.

3. The fact that we are all children of God and any spirit sent to this earth has the capability to learn (it’s the point of this life after all).

Jackson was behind in language for a while, but every doctor (or anyone really) we talked to recommended the “wait and see” approach. I totally understand this approach. I often console others and if someone approached me with that concern I would have said the same thing. Now, refer to number one. Jackson also showed other symptoms but as a first-time parent, I didn’t really have anything else to reference his behavior against. With the prevalence of autism increasing, health care professionals should be well aware of the signals that indicate autism.

Here’s a lot of general information on autism. Read it. The prevalence (in part due to more awareness) of autism has risen. In the 1970s, two to three per 10,000 were diagnosed and now 2009 that number has grown to 1:91. It affects 4x more males than females and a new case is diagnosed about every 20 minutes. Wow! Which means, you know someone or a family or friend who is affected by autism.

What is Autism?

Autism is adevelopmental disorder. They are not sure what exactly causes autism, but the leading research is pointing towards genetics as well as perhaps an environmental cause. They also know that there are certain chemicals in the brain not functioning correctly. Since there is no test for autism, such as a blood test or genetic test, doctors have to use behavioral criteria to give a diagnosis. Now the diagnosis of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) actually covers five other disorders. Think of the color red. Pink, chartreuse, maroon, burgundy and cranberry are all red colors but there are differences. The disorders that fall under ASD are Rhett’s, autism, Asperger’s, PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified) and CDD (Childhood Disintegrative Disorder). Only CDD and Rhett’s are digressive (meaning the kid is fine and then suddenly loses those skills mostly characterized by hand wringing and a stiff, rocking gait). PDD is kind of the diagnosis when they really don’t know what else it is, but that it’s autism. Asperger’s is high functioning. Those were the nerdy kids that didn’t really have any friends, were super smart, but really, really, really awkward. I’ll explain why they’re so awkward later on. Then there’s Autism, which is also over a spectrum. This information will mostly cover autism.

The Autism Spectrum

There are four different “categories” (I use that word loosely) of autism (specifically the disgnosis "autism" not "ASD"). It’s called a spectrum disorder for a reason. There is passive, active, high threshold (for sensory stimulation), and low threshold. So you can get High/Passive, High/Active, Low/Passive, or Low/Active. In each category the behaviors are manifest differently.

High/Passive (Low Registration): Non-reactive, withdrawn, lethargic, un-interested; rx: increase contrast and decrease predictability of activities

High/Active (Sensory Seeking): Impulsive, excitable, always engaged; rx: feed the need

Low/Passive (Sensory Sensitivity): hyperactive, distractible, difficulty staying on task; rx: organize input, provide choice and decrease the density of stimuli

Low/Active (Sensory Avoiding): uncooperative, won’t participate, Rule-bound; rx: honor discomfort, increase routines, increase predictability

Of the four, each child will gravitate towards one area. For family, you should know which area Jackson falls into. I’m pretty sure he’s sensory seeking. He is always on the go, loves big hugs, crashing into things, hiding under pillows, etc.

So how do you get the diagnosis for Autism?

To receive a diagnosis of autism, a child must have at least 6 of the characteristics in three different areas:

1) Impairment in social interaction manifested by the following: lack of social or emotional reciprocity, impairment of non-verbal behaviors (eye contact, facial expression, body language), and lack of “sharing” like bringing objects to show, pointing out objects.

2) Impairment in communication manifested by the following: delay in, lack of spoken language with no attempt at gestures to compensate; impairment in holding a conversation-like dialogue, repetitive use of language; lack of spontaneous, varied, pretend play or social imitative play appropriate for age.

3) Restricted interests manifested by the following: preoccupation with parts of objects, repetitive motor movements (hand-flapping, running in place, complex whole-body movements); inflexible adherence to routines.

Basically, lack of language, eye contact and extremely narrow interests or “self-stimulating (stimming)” behaviors might indicate that your child has ASD. It’s difficult for first-time parents to notice these signs because it’s their first kid. So health professionals should be aware that these parents don’t have a norm to reference concerning kid’s development. If it hadn’t been for Jackson’s lack of speech, we wouldn’t have worried.

Autism affects the brain’s ability to process information. For example, people with autism are unable to ignore the feeling of clothes on their body, or the sound of the fan.

In addition to dealing with processing difficulties, people that have ASD usually deal with other disorders: ADHD 28%, OCD 19%, anxiety, depression 15%, Sensory Modulation Disorder, and epilepsy 25%, and MR 20%.

There are so many different causes for autism that they’ve been able to identify. Some of them are genetic and some are environmental. THE THEORY THAT AUTISM IS CAUSED BY VACCINES IS FALSE. The group that performed the study has retracted their claim and the leader of the group has had his license revoked due to unethical practices.

Children that have autism develop all over the map. They may gain certain skills while not developing others. For example, a child with autism may be able to skip, but is unable to balance on one foot. Assessment of ASD’s must be comprehensive and involve multiple disciplines and a collection of information across people and contexts. Who should be involved? Speech therapists, occupational therapists, behavioral therapists, teachers, special Ed teachers, parents, pediatrician, and the neurologist and physical therapists. That’s a lot of people!

I’m not going to go into the different ways to assess your child if you think they have autism, but I will list some assessments you should check out: CARS rating system (Childhood Autism Rating Scale), CHAT (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers), Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist, Social Communication Questionnaire (previously known as The Autism Screening Questionnaire), ADI- Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule.

Why Should You Get Your Kid “Labeled”

Back in the day (as in our parents’ day), labels were bad. Now, labels are good because then it’s documented and your child is able to receive all sorts of therapy for free as well as an IEP. An IEP is an individualized education plan and teachers are required by law to adhere to it. It is individual, but some things the teacher may be required to do are: when giving instructions repeat eye to eye for the child, stand by their desk when instructing, reword instructions in a specific way, allow for more time for assignments, etc. LABELS ARE NOT BAD. I say this about ANY DIAGNOSIS!

If You Suspect…

Talk to your pediatrician and demand your child be evaluated by the proper professional: a pediatric neurologist. That's about as official as you can get.

What You Can Do At Home

Work on eye contact, interrupt repetitive behaviors, simplify your sentences, try and get them to point, consider using sign language, allow them to tantrum and make them use their words…be creative. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned is to be creative. Use things that they are interested in and then draw them out.

Jackson and Sam updates

2011-02-01T09:06:00.001-08:00

On Friday we went in the hot tub and he signed "hot water". Whenever we say let's go, he goes to grab Sam's carseat and help. He is learning his numbers. He knows 1,2,3 and 8. And "p" for parking. We live in an apartment complex with an elevator!

Yesterday he also sang along with me, something he's never really done. He was in the shower and I was watching him. The spout was turned all the way to one side and he was standing there, I was outside standing on a towel which was catching all the extra water. He then signed, "Signing Time" which is the name of the signing show he watches. I sang the theme song: Baby, baby, baby signing time (repeat 3x)throw in a bridge and you get the idea. Anytime I sang "signing time" he would sign "signing time". He was singing along!

Yesterday Jackson said "book", "cool", "do it!" and was singing along with me (he was signing). Then (these might be repeats) he signed cereal, time, sign, cracker.

Last night he woke up in his crib around 11. When we asked him if he was hungry he signed "food". So we got him some baby food and we were feeding it to him in his crib. He then signed "picnic"!

Sam will unknowingly let go of his support objects for about 3 seconds and stand. Sam has a really wide stance when he crawls! He just follows me all over the place.

Today

2011-01-29T09:01:00.001-08:00

Today Jackson said, "Clllose the door!" then "Cllose it!" And "trrain".
Yesterday was Choo-choo and he signed slow. He also knows for sure what a swing, slide, and playground/park are. Today he signed "cracker."

Wahoo!

2011-01-25T20:20:00.001-08:00

Tonight Jackson said close, door, here, hide, dad, hi, and here you are. He also signed motorcycle, happy, yes, play, game and phone. WOW!

2011-01-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

Jackson added "library", "milk", and "bike" and helicopter. He also recognizes the sounds of trains, helicopters, and planes.

Sam is starting to let go of stuff when he's standing. He's very brave. He also had steak yesterday and loved it!

Make Dinner Easy

2011-01-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

I have to post about one of my new favorite things: Make Dinner Easy. What is it? Well I'm glad you asked. This supermom, who loves to cook, provides "five free simple weekly dinner menus, quick-easy dinner recipes, and an organized free printable grocery list. Each weekly dinner menu includes kid friendly dinner recipes that and quick and easy to make."

Why I LOVE it:

It comes with a shopping list that is organized according to produce, meat, and in the aisles. Shopping is EASY. I just scan the list and check off the ingredients I've already got.
The meals are also extremely balanced: "I try to include fresh fruits and vegetables and a minimum of processed ingredients." VERY true! We've never had such balanced meals.
Less waste. The menus provide one or two vegetables that are used in at least two recipes so you use more of the stuff you buy without having it go bad.
Each meal usually takes no more than 30 min to prep.
There is usually at least one fish dish and one crock pot dish each week.
I only have to figure out meals for Saturday and Sunday! (Which usually just means cooking one of the dinners again to use our stuff).
I only go grocery shopping once a week!

Things to keep in mind:
The serving sizes are for 4-6 people. So all you have to do it check out the quantity at the beginning of the recipe and adjust accordingly. DONE!

I've worked off the menus for three weeks right now.
It's saved us money. I don't have to stress about dinner. The meals are all tasty. We've got some new favorites. And so I'm keeping the weekly menu instead of just the recipe and I'll recycle the whole week's menu. Seriously. Go. Check. It. Out.
So after dinner and this:

I feel like this:

A LOT of NEW Posts

2011-01-14T06:40:00.000-08:00

Don't miss the other posts down below!

This week has been a ton of firsts for Jackson and I'm so proud of him. So here's another Jackson celebration:

On Monday we went to story time and it marked the first time he was interested in the story and participated in the songs! He sat on my lap for some of it and even helped the teacher turn pages! Previously, he'd just run around.

Yesterday on our way to the library, we passed a dog. He got my attention and then signed dog. We heard a plane and he signed plane (totally new).

On Tuesday he added "juice" to his signing vocab.

And yesterday, he played catch for the first time!!! I'm so extraordinarily proud of him!

More Wedding Stuff

2011-01-14T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here are more pictures from Mark and Dani's Wedding!
The photographer was a good friend of Dani's and I think did a great job, but in her own words "it's pretty easy to photograph such good looking people". I agree. Dani was absolutely stunning and together, her and Mark look like models. No joke!

More Christmas stuff

2011-01-14T06:33:00.000-08:00

Again, there is no particular order to them.
Logan and Jared test the slope. Logan is a little apprehensive.
When Santa arrived Jackson was so excited! Santa gave him a bell and after about five minutes, he came up to Santa and gave it back to him. I was so happy about this moment! The only reason he knows about Santa is because he LOVES the Polar Express movie. The elves make a HUGE deal about Santa in the movie so Jackson knew exactly what to do!

"No, no, I have to go - there's a million kids out there waiting for me. Oh my, the women just fall all over me and wont let me go ."

"Golly, is this all I get?"

The big boys and girls.

What a haul!

Now this is what I call fun.

More of the unwrapping game.

At lunch in Chinatown, Jackson enjoyed the soup.

Meanwhile Logan tried the duck, the barbecued pork, the chicken, the soup, the greens and always wanted more. I've never seen a kid eat so much!

Not a bad looking lunch plate. This was Colby's Soya Chicken. Delicious!

We don't know where this lady came from, but her nose is large enough to hold at least a dozen quarters (Explanation of inside joke: we were playing Hide the Quarter with GG when we were all pretty young. You know the old hot and cold game. Well, we couldn't find the quarter anywhere. Dani was very young and short and went up to ask GG where the quarter was and discovered that it was hiding up GG's nose. She was the only one who could see it because she was the only one short enough).

New Words

2011-01-09T17:45:00.001-08:00

Woody, Shoe, Sock :)

Dear Steve Jobs

2011-01-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Steve,

I know we've never met, but I feel we should be on a first name basis after all the things you've done for my kids.
Remember the time when Sam wasn't falling asleep and I felt like this:

Haha! I was so tired. Anyway, remember how I put Braham's Lullaby on repeat and put the ipod by Sam's head? And I was like phew! Thanks, Steve.
Or remember the time that Jackson figured out shapes and said, "Down" and "Jump" from stuff like this:

or this:

And I was like, "Awesome!" Good thinking, Steve!
You've even been there for me when I was lost! Thanks, Steve!
Keep it up!
Oh, and when you see John Lasseter again, say hi!
Me

Christmas Journal

2011-01-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

These pictures of the Christmas Holiday 2010 are in no particular order, but show the fun we all had as family and friends gathered to celebrate the holiday.

A beautiful quilt given to Dani and Mark by Nada Walton.

Sam enjoys the "treasures" of the pinata.

Logan gives the pinata a mucho whacko.

Jackson and Grandad enjoy a movie together.

GG and Sam enjoy a moment together.

Nana and Jackson play - "I'm gonna get you!"

A day out sledding down the driveway.

The race is on.

Warriors.

Ready to roll.

Dani and Jackson start to go, but only Dani is smiling.

The Christmas dinner table.

Jackson is excited to read one of his favorite books - Pixar.

A special present for the Merrill's and Gage's (and belated to Sandra and Bryce), Rick Steves Europe DVD's of 89 shows.

Who cares about the Chicago Blackhawks ---- I'm a Calgary Flames fan. Go Flames Go!!

Jackson enjoys his new computer, with Logan looking over his shoulder.

Nana and Sam take part in the Nativity.

GG plays the part of a 'Wiseman".

More of the cast.

And all of the cast.

The traditional unwrapping game photo.

The paper fight.

The sister missionaries give a Christmas spiritual message.

And the "winners" are ----.

Everyone had a turn at killing and cleaning a Dungeness Crab. This was Megan's turn.

Logan want to order more of that good looking food in Chinatown.

A highlight was the presentation of chocolate from around the world by Becca.

Santa with Jackson.

Santa plays with Jackson through the window.

Logan is not too sure of this guy.

But he warmed up to the presents.

As did Sam.

BUT, "I don't know about this", he says.

It was love at first sight.

More playing.

It was a wonderful Christmas, and although everyone has copies of these pictures, plus many more, we wanted to blog some of them.

Love to all, and a Happy New Year!

The Big Day for My Lil Sis

2011-01-02T19:05:00.001-08:00

On the 28th of December, Danielle High and Mark Currie were married in the Cardston Alberta Temple. As they came out of the Temple, Dani and Mark were greeted by family and friends.

This is the Currie family. Two brothers and two sister's in law. Two nieces and nephews who all adore Dani and Mark. Hal and Diana are the proud parents.

Brad, Mark, Danielle, and Ryan. Last name? .....CURRIE!

Dani's side of the family were all there too. Pictures of Nana, Grandad, and GG are on the professional photographer's camera and will be added later. (Sorry)

Even Annelisa was "in attendance".

It was a little chilly outside, so the newlyweds warmed up in the guest room near the front gates of the Cardston Temple. Notice the beautiful silk bouquet that Bryce arranged. He is so talented.

In case you didn't get to see how gorgeous Dani's hair was, here it is. Val Currie did a fantastic job.

From head to toe, Dani had all the details in place.

Mom had to catch Dani while she visited and warmed up. What a beautiful bride! So very proud of her!!!

While Dani and Mark continued to take pictures, the rest of us went to GG's for lunch. On our way home, we saw a familiar truck driving down the road. We sped up to see who was driving. Yup! Mr. and Mrs. Currie.

They had just eaten lunch at A&W and didn't even get ketchup on the dress! That event was cataloged by the photographer as well.

Lots of work went into getting the gym at the chapel to look nice. In the end, some said it was magical!!! See for yourself!

The false ceiling really made all the difference.

Notice the dance floor.

Dani and Mark were very grateful to Becca for all the work she put into the wedding cake and cupcakes! They were beautiful and delicious.

Just a quick photo before all the people started to arrive.

Nana, and GG were very impressed with the decorations.

Becca, Jackson, Colby, and Sam all joined in.

Jared, Logan, Megan had fun too.

Grandad and Jackson couldn't wait for the party to really get going. It finally did when people started to arrive and "the line" started.

When people arrived, they first signed in at the guest book.

Notice the creative "candles" Bryce invented and made for all the centerpieces. Mark made perfect cuts to create the wood stands. The flowers Dani picked out added the finishing touches.

Once people started to arrive they didn't stop. An estimated 200 people came. They filled all the chairs we'd set up! We were able to say hello to old friends like Keith Wood.

And Janice Kershaw.

Later, Dani and Mark were able to enjoy a bite or two of peach filled or berry filled crepes. They were delicious.

Mark's brother Brad was the MC for the night.

The first thing on the program was a poem about the couple. Bryce wrote and read it. Very cleverly written too, I might add.

MARK & DANI’S WEDDING POEM

Why was Danni even home the summer of 2010

She had planned to stay in Provo,

Taking summer school then.

Or work there through the summer

Even though the weather’s hot

And one thing we had all discussed

That traveling home she would not.

“So you are coming for a Spring Break,”

We queried on the phone.

Not exactly was her reply

The Spirit said go home.

So she made a change in plans

For inspiration said

Travel home to Canada

Sleep in your own warm bed.

Now this was just the first surprise

This trip was not a visit

I’m not returning to Utah

And I’m not even going to miss it.

Alberta is where I want to live

And raise a family

It has so very much to give

This future is for me.

Well that was just the day before

She showed up back at home.

And that is why today my friends

I’m reading you this poem.

Now Mark had just finished a mission

In the Dominical Republic

Time again to try the dating game

Perhaps a Gal he’d seek.

One night Mark’s friend Ben Fairbanks

Was at the McAlister spread.

He phoned and said, I’m hungry

In fact I feel half dead.

Please bring me food, come over,

And meet some cute young chicks

The night is young, it’s half past 10

These girls aren’t half bad picks.

So Mark, like the good friend he was

Brought McDonalds out for Ben

The food he’d bought to eat himself

Was shared about with them.

“May I have some. “”Oh share with me.”

Was all the women said,

A taste of this, the rest of that

Till all of them were fed.

When Danni saw how generous

This handsome guy could be

A good impression it did make

A defining memory.

That night they played Apples to Apples

And Danni was chosen Judge of all.

Mark came up with a real good answer

But the Judge his name didn’t call.

Now really Danni had thought his answer

Was best of any answer there.

But she chose the other guys

You see, she was being wise.

It’s the coyness that wins in the end.

That is why the next few days

With all the group around

Mark Currie and Danielle High

Were also to be found.

It wasn’t really dating,

They were just out with friends.

But may I now remind you

We know how the story ends.

Soon Mark had told his Mother

He’d met his kindred spirit.

The time he spent without Danielle.

Well, he simply could not bear it.

It’s nice Mark has a brother

With horses and a barn.

When Danni’s pal Lanae sought a photo opp

To take pictures with rustic charm

So after all the pictures and taking turns riding Raz

An opportunity was presented, the best kind a guy ever has.

There was Raz , Mark & Danni in the corner of the field

“Come here Raz,” Mark called

and the steed came forth and kneeled

Up upon his back they climbed, you know, you get the gist.

And at this time in their romance they hadn’t even kissed.

For Mark & Danni the railroad tracks were

A good place to reflect.

Looking at the starry night

She never felt neglect.

The first time that they strolled there

Mark hinted at a kiss.

But Danni only lowered her eyes

And He could only wish.

When they really started dating

They rolled three months into each one.

Each date anticipating

The excitement and the fun.

They could not stand to be apart

Her friends began to wine.

Come and spend more time with us

They all began to pine.

They did do other things though

With lots of other friends.

At Days of Thunder in Crowsnest Pass

They tried to make amends.

Due to low budgets hot dogs was all they could afford.

Day after day they blessed them as they prayed unto the Lord.

As time went by this summer

They spent lots of time with us.

Marks calm respectful spirit

Earned lots of points with us.

One time to their cabin Marks family went to work.

Danni was invited and the work she did not shirk.

The Curries really liked the ethics they could see

And soon they thought that Danni might fit in their family tree.

Mark’s nieces and nephews fell in love with her

And Mark’s feelings deepened and became more sure.

To see love reflected in her joy and her smile,

And how she loved the children and went the extra mile.

So to conclude the story

I now must take you back.

To the sight of the engagement

That very same Railroad Track.

They’d finished a nice breakfast

Out to Turner Valley.

Two hours later

He would bend upon one knee.

With the diamond ring in hand

And a smile upon his face.

He asked this beautiful girl Danielle

If His life she would grace.

So now this lovely couple add their own branch of the tree,

We are very glad they are in the family

A Temple Wedding was the best way to start out this day.

May God’s blessings rest upon them

We now all humbly pray.

Bryce L. Walton December 26, 2010

Then Mom read a letter from Sister Annelisa High. It was a surprise to everyone. It made Nana and Grandad cry.

LETTER TO MARK AND DANIELLE~ 28 Dec 2010

Hello Family and Frineds,

This letter is to my sister Danielle and new brother- in- law Mark. Let’s see....any embarrassing stories that I can tell you? Hmmm….. I’m sure alot has been shared already so I will spare you. :)

This day another prayer is answered! You have found and fell in love with a man worthy of the Priesthood, who has served a full-time mission, and who is strong in the gospel. When I met Mark in Provo, I could tell that he will take care of you. I am so happy for you both! My joy is full that you two have entered the Temple and made covenants with our Heavenly Father. What a gift he gives to us. This is a day you will always remember. I want to give you a quote from the Family Proclamation to the World as a weddin present. Quote: " Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work and wholesome recreational activities" (like horseback riding) I strongly encourage you two to study the scriptures together, pray together. Your relationship will strengthen, you will grow together, and your love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will be deeply rooted.

This is an active Gospel. We have the scriptures which testify of Jesus Christ , a living prophet, and Temples scattered all over the earth. We have a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I have come to know my Savior. I know that His Atonement is real. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. It comforts, guides, protects, testifies of all truth, sanctifies. I am grateful for family and the tender miracles and mercies Heavenly Father is willing to grant. He is lovingly watching over us. His love is infinite and unconditional. He places people and situations in our path to help us through. I love you both.

Mark, welcome to the Family.

All my love,

Sister Annelisa High

To the rest of those in attendance - DO YOUR MISSIONARY WORK! :) Although I would love to be there, I would not want to be anywhere else but on my Mission. That sounds like a contradiction. I will explain it another way. I would give all the money I have, all the money in the world to be at Danielle's wedding. But money has no value to me right now because I am a missionary of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I have a work to do, and how great and marvelous it is!!

Mark had once said to Dani that he wanted to hear her play the piano everyday. She played "Winter Peace" by Jim Brickman.

Then it was Mark's turn. Before he sang a song for Dani, he told us all that he'd been nervous until he'd heard Dani play the piano. Her song calmed him right down. He said she has a way of doing that.

Grandad gave a beautiful tribute to the bride. Later, Grandad said he was sorry he got emotional, but I think it just made it better.

Mark thanked everyone for coming and paid tribute to Danielle. He has great love for her.

I think Mark got the idea that Dani loves him too.

When it came time to cut the cake, all went well.

The couple's first dance was romantic.

Dani danced with Grandad too.

Then we all danced. Mark with his mom, Grandad with me, Dani with Bryce, and Hal with his mom.

Mark got a chance to dance with his mom's mom - Grandma Braithwaite.

Mark's dad Hal danced with his mom.

Mark danced with GG.

All generations and all who attended could tell Dani and Mark were very happy. It was a wonderful day! Congratulations to Danielle and Mark Currie.

A Disney Christmas Photo-palooza

2010-12-15T12:12:00.001-08:00

Here we are at 8:15 am. Park just opened and there were NO crowds. I guess it had rained the day before. It was also a little chilly (Jackson should probably have been in pants, but he didn't seem to mind). We only planned on staying for half a day or so and wanted to get going. Our goal was to hit up anything Jackson might like. Off we go!
Jackson loves the Mickey and the Sorcerer's Apprentice cartoon from Fantasia. He'll ask for it on several occasions.

This is the giant Christmas tree which is easily visible from outside the park. It towers. I'm right at the bottom. Main Street is also decked out with garlands that hang across the street.

Our first ride of the day was Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters. Neither Colby nor I had ever been on it. We were pretty excited. Two adults per cart and you each get an astroblaster. The whole ride is set up like a shooting arcade game. When targets are lit, you score more points. Colby was pretty good. He got double my score. We went twice. Go Buzz!

Here's what the ride looks like. Trippy.
Jackson and Colby went on Autopia. Sam didn't meet the height req so I got to do diaper duty.
Jackson's behind the wheel and looking like he belongs there.
They deck Sleeping Beauty's castle in snow, lights, and ribbon icicles. If you remember, there is a Snow White wishing well and fountain to the right of the castle. Also one of Jackson's favs. Ducks were swimming in the pond. Idyllic. Colby took Sam and fed the ducks some of Jackson's veggie sticks, but hurried back. Colby confessed he thought he had killed one of the ducks because after it ate the veggie stick it started gagging and then sank under the water. So we ran over there and clapped really hard and the duck was revived and everything's okay. I'm just kidding about that last part. Ahem...moving on.
We stayed here for 20 min watching the fountain and hearing Snow White sing away. Of course we rode the ride in Fantasyland!
Here's New Orleans street. I really like this one house.
We also rode the train around the park. Jackson was a little confused until we sat closer to the engine.
We rode around one and a half times while Sam finished his bottle and disembarked at Tomorrowland. Colby wanted to check out Tron stuff. We also decided to give Jackson a pit stop and who was hiding by the restrooms? One of his favorite guys Buzz Lightyear! Bathroom got bumped way down the list. He was so excited and didn't really know what to do with a larger than life Buzz.
Once through with Daddy. Then a potty break. Then back in line for round two with Mommy. Jackson gave Buzz a high-five, wasn't sure about a hug so we opted for a hand shake and then he leaned way over and I thought the hug was back on the plate. Turns out, Jackson had spied the buttons on Buzz and pushed the giant red one as well as the three other buttons. Buzz was the strong silent type so I supplied the "to the rescue's" and "infinity and beyond's". Everybody laughed and thought Jackson was so cute for trying to push the buttons.

Disneyland also puts out special Christmas candy which includes handmade candy canes. I'm not a fan of candy canes really at all, but I took pics of homemade chocolate covered marshmallows topped with nuts for Rocky Road. There's also some Jack Skellington apples and Mickey Christmas ones:

Sugar coma.

With that, the damage was done in Disneyland and so we park-hopped to CA Adventure Park, which was also festively decorated.

We discovered that the place is undergoing major construction. Carsland, Ariel's Big Adventure and Buena Vista Street are all big holes right now, but they're gong to be filled.

Next to Carsland is another one of Jackson's favorite guys: Lightning McQueen! Kachow!
This is the first picture when Jackson spied him. Ignore the other kid in the front.
Apparently there was a line. An unseen invisible line only known to a cranky "cast member". I got a little cranky back. Luckily Colby was the only one uncomfortable with my retort (even thought he thought she was a little snarky too), but he didn't let it show until after the pictures were over.Good man! Jackson could have cared less about my humbug behavior. Lightning McQueen was right there!!

Beware of the Doghouse!!!

2010-12-12T20:19:00.001-08:00

Jackson's Play

2010-12-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

Today Jackson started giving me chalk when he was drawing on his chalkboard and then signing "train". He wants me to draw him a train which he then colors!!!! That is so fantastic!
He's also vocalizing a lot. Vocalizing is different than talking. He's using his voice more, which is also good.
We drive by a train track to get Colby from school and Jackson signed "train" because usually when we drive by the tracks a train comes by. He became quite upset when I didn't produce one.
Today he also signed "train" to Colby in the car and Colby said, "Train, what?" and then Jackson added "book". He had seen The Polar Express book sticking out of the diaper bag. This is also fantastic! He wants a specific book and is still putting two signs together.
He is so much fun to hang out with! Glad he's mine.

A Hint of Nutmeg GIVEAWAY!

2010-12-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

Meg is doing a giveaway for TWO rosette hair clips (two people, one clip each)!
Perfect for yourself or for Christmas presents! It’s SO easy to enter!

TO ENTER:
Head on over to A Hint of Nutmeg on Etsy and have a look around. Go to FACEBOOK and leave a comment ON A HINT OF NUTMEG'S FACEBOOK PAGE with what your favorite item in the shop is OR an item you'd like to see.

Additional entries:

--"LIKE" A Hint of Nutmeg on Facebook (If you already do, just leave an additional comment)
--BLOG about this giveaway on your blog and provide a link to your blog.

For each additional entry, leave an additional comment on the A Hint of Nutmeg’s Facebook page. (So you could have a total of THREE entries!)

Winner announced on Dec. 15 and picked by random.org

Be sure to forward this to all your friends and family.
Happy Holidays!
Megan Merrill

New Etsy Shop

2010-12-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

And I'm pleased to say, it's my sister's! She's been working hard to get it up and she's finally done it! Go, Meg! She's got cute hair clips like this:
Grey Lulu Lovely clip
and even a Mommy and Me baby girl hair clips.
She also does baby beanies, my favorite is the dragon beanie.

$15 for one of those is a steal if you ask me. Grams got baby J one for about 3x that for the same product! But we've gotten so many "Cute baby" compliments when the tykes were wearing it that I think it was worth it. So for 1/3 the price you can get the same compliments. Anyway...
She's very open to custom creations!
Check it out here! A Hint of Nutmeg! Wahoo!

The Book is Always Better...

2010-12-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

The book is always better than the movie? In this case the answer is yes! Jackson loves the movie and so I thought I should get the book. Got it yesterday and all day yesterday he was running around with it in his hands. He'd stop and read it or we'd read it together momentarily and then he'd go back to running. If he wanted something he wouldn't let go. If the book started to slip he's give me whatever else was taking up his hands and he'd carry the book. He LOVES the picture shown on the book cover. He'll wait for me to say. "All aboard...why to the North Pole, of course. This is the Polar Express!" He also points to the hot chocolate being served in the club car, and claps his hands at the picture of all the elves waiting for Santa. So cute!

Reviews

2010-12-03T16:31:00.001-08:00

Okay. I'm not a huge Disney fan. Whenever Disney showcases their amazing movie-making ability they always use Little Mermaid (don't like), Lion King (love), and Aladdin. Lion King was in '94. It's been how many years since then? I don't even want to do the math. I digress. Anyway, I feel like Disney dropped the ball as far as kids movies: Hunchback, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, and Meet the Robinson's to name a few. I did have to go and look a few of these up. Yodeling cattle thief and crazy ADHD on Jolt drinks script about a kid who meets his own kid? Really, Dis?
However, Princess and the Frog was redeeming in my opinion. Jackson likes it, the movie is cute, believeable...
Tangled continues to raise Disney in my opinion: dashing rogue, lost princess, magic, and a wicked witch? Fantastic! What it lacks in plot (there are some holes and weird characters) is makes up for in the acting. Mandy Moore is great as Rapunzel. Perfect! And Flynn Ryder is also pretty believable as well. Max the horse grated because he reminded me too much of the horse in Home on the Range. BUT I definitely want to see this again!
I've been battling myself whether to write about this or not. For a month. I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Even though I've got opinions about it (don't I always), it's been jumping on and off my train of thought since I finished it. And certain cool scenes or takes on werewolf or vamp culture pop up and I think: That was a pretty cool book.

The good: It really is well written. I read the cover and thought, "Werewolves, vampires and Victorian England? Are you joking?" But I picked it up anyway. It was fantastic. I loved Twilight in so far as the new take on vamps goes. I liked Soul Screamers because it covered banshees. This book really does meld horror and polite frippery with the greatest of ease! It is wickedly funny and thoroughly enjoyable. And Steampunked out! If you don't know: Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.^[1] Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Phew! Thanks, Wikipedia. Apparently it's one of the best steampunk books around. And it really is. Miss Taraboutti's parasol is a prime example.
The bad: The only beef I really have with this book is that the romantic scenes, while not overly explicit, were a bit much for my taste. I did have to skim. That being said, I had to skim over a couple of pages in Breaking Dawn. If this book were a movie: STRONG PG-13 rating. It also touches on the gayer aspect of society, emphasis on gay. One of the main characters is more than a little effeminate (but we love him anyway). I personally didn't get uncomfortable with this aspect.
The ugly: There are two more books in the series I will not be reading because it continues with gender-bending characters that get close to Miss Alexia T. BUT
I am waiting for the next book to see if any of that gets resolved because I certainly wouldn't mind reading more from this author!

Happy Turkey Day

2010-11-25T06:33:00.000-08:00

Cleaning up

2010-11-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

Jackson spilled a bunch of water right next to the computer and Colby caught him cleaning it up by himself!

Sam has his first real cold and he is NOT taking it well. Poor baby!

Pictures

2010-11-21T15:44:00.001-08:00

Happy Sam
Jackson knew I was taking these pictures! SAm had no idea what was going on.
Here's my cheerleader for morning exercises which take place earlier every day.

I spy with my little eye a peanut butter spoon.

Jackson found a snack on the counter when we were getting shoes on him.

He found more!

I turned my back for a second and look what happened!

I spy with my little eye...a Jackson.
He's under the pillows!

Check out this cool mag

2010-11-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

http://issuu.com/inspired-ideas/docs/christmas
This is a pretty cool mag for Christmas crafts. Me likey.

Big Thanks

2010-11-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for all your support! It was really touching to think that so many people we fasting and praying just for Jackson! It has meant so much to us.

He's really been doing well at speech therapy and we're looking forward to see what he does next! His attention has been getting better and better, which is key for learning language.

During Speech:
The ST (speech therapist, Kim) get in Jackson's face A LOT at ST. She moves so that Jackson can see her face and intrudes on his play so that he'll say something to get her to leave him alone. So today, he tried blocking her with his body and when that didn't work, he came over to me, used my and his bodies to block out Kim. It didn't really work, but it was a good idea. Then he turned his whole body away from her and gave her the cold shoulder. She said that even though he's resisting her interaction, it's really good that he is getting as mad as he is because a lot of kids with autism sometimes don't even realize that there is someone trying to interact with them.

Today he whispered, "beep, beep".

At home, I decided to tickle Jackson by pinning him to the ground and stretching out his arms to his sides and tickling him on his tummy, neck and under his arms with my nose. I say I'm "smelling for giggles". Well when I stopped, Jackson signed, "laugh" and "again". So we did it again! We colored for a little bit, then I laid down on the ground. Jackson laid next to me and I thought he wanted to cuddle, so I did. He didn't want to. He made me sit up, then he laid back on the ground, and signed "laugh", "laugh", "laugh". So I tickled him again! Don't tell me why he likes to be tortured!

He just started putting two signs together, which is a BIG DEAL! By the age of two, most kids should be putting two word sentences together at minimum. So combining the two signs is HUGE! He's also been using more of the signs that he already knows! So fantastic!

Speaking of autism:
Remember that when you talk to others about autism or mention that Jackson has autism, be sure to say that he HAS autism not that he is autistic. Because it's true-- whoever you're talking to may not know that autism is not who he is, but that it's something he has. Thanks!

Tomorrow's Fast

2010-11-06T14:00:00.001-07:00

This is a friendly reminder for those fasting this weekend, that you remember to fast for Jackson, so that Heavenly Father will help him, and hasten his learning to speak.
Thanks again.

A lot of posting

2010-11-05T13:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to the splash pad at Chino Hills. It took Jackson a while to warm up to the splashing again, but he was so excited once he ran in. Once he ran in, he'd sign "dirty". I said no you're "clean". He said "dirty". He ran through the water again and then said "dirty" then "again".

Sam is a rollin' man. He doesn't know how to sit up yet, but he can roll, roll, roll. I put him on his back facing away from his room and turned to get him a diaper. I walked three steps and when I turned around, Sam was on his tummy 90 degrees to where he started.

The other day he wanted to watch a movie and I said, "no". I was lying on the ground and he bent over me and poked me in the eye. Twice! Later that day I was talking to Becca and Jackson really wanted me. So he gestured for the phone and once he got it, he snapped it shut and hung up on her!

When Jackson was at speech therapy, he got so frustrated at the therapist, he said "no!" very clearly to her.

Sam I Am

2010-11-05T10:38:00.001-07:00

When he doesn't like what I feed him, which is most stuff, he likes to blow it out. Yum.

Here's Sam. He has figured out how to manuever himself so that he's perpendicular in the crib. He usually cries when he's like this because he's too long really to be in that position. So he kicks his feet and then smashes his face. Then he cries because he smashed his face so he kicks his feet some more. It's usually only when he wants out. He's also figured out to pull down the bumper. Or he'll push himself up really high on his hands and peek over the edge. Goofy kid.

Halloween

2010-11-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

Jackson and Autism

2010-10-27T09:24:00.001-07:00

Even as I write this, I'm not even sure that I really want to share it, because it's something deeply personal. Of course it concerns my family. But I'd like your help in a group fast.

Jackson has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. By the time he got an official diagnosis they weren't telling me anything I didn't already know. The biggest indicators were a lack of language and the way he interacted with others. Jackson can jabber with the best of them. I know that many of you are familiar, some very personally, with autism. Some of your hubbies' are going to school and learning about this, so you might have an idea of the details. Here is a general link. We suspected that he might have delayed speech by 18 mos, but he had said words and used them correctly. He'd use a new word anywhere from a week to a month and then we'd never see it again. We were transferring insurance companies AND moving and so we didn't get him tested for speech or hearing until around his second birthday. Oh, and we were having another baby.

We started sign language because I was going out of my mind. I had to do something. I rented Baby Signing Time from the library and Jackson picked it up really quick. Sign Language is language so I felt a lot better.

As soon as circumstances allowed, we got Jackson in to see a speech therapist. She told that he had about a 50% delay in expressive and receptive language. Jackson loves ST. It's all play based so he has a blast, even if he gets frustrated because she's controlling the activity.
So the next stop was a ped. neurologist. As of now, he falls somewhere in the autism spectrum (could be Asperger's as well) but they can't tell how severe it is. They will need to wait and see how much his language develops in order to place him on the spectrum. He does have a lot of symptoms of autism, such as the language delay and the fact that he hangs back from joining in play with other toddlers. BUT he does make eye contact (even if it does fade), he is affectionate and excited to see us, he comes and shows me stuff and wants me near him, he doesn't have tantrums (in fact, he hardly has any- he'll gently scold me by gently pinching the back of my hand, which is what Colby and I do when he's been naughty; it's his way of saying, "I don't agree with what you're doing. Bad Mommy-he usually only does it when I strap him in a shopping cart :) he doesn't freak out with textures or if we don't strictly follow our routines. He's also really bright. We think he's practically perfect in every way. So all of these things are great.

It's strange mentioning it to other people because they all have different experiences with autism and have varying levels of knowledge. I'm not an expert by any means. One woman said, "Oh, I'm so sorry." Well I'm not! Jackson is Jackson. The diagnosis doesn't change anything about him. Jackson is mine forever and armed with the knowledge of the plan of salvation, I know that autism is something Jackson has, not who he is. I also know that Jackson is part of our family for a reason, that Heavenly Father has a larger plan for our family than what I know.
My family organized a family fast for Jackson to help improve his language. He'll be seen by the neurologist in four months and depending on the improvement in his language, they'll be able to place him more accurately on the spectrum. We are so grateful for the opportunity to unite our faith through fasting, especially for Jackson. I know the Heavenly Father is aware of us. I have faith that this fast is important and we will all benefit because of it.

The fast is taking place on Nov 7th. If any of you would be willing to participate, we'd greatly appreciate it.

Jackson's Surprise

2010-10-10T21:01:00.003-07:00

Jackson's surprise is happening tomorrow. I've been working on the Toy Story posse for a few nights now. Tomorrow is a trip to IKEA for some cheap frames which will go up during his nap time. Then he'll wake up and BAM! What's that? Oh, it's Buzz on the wall. And BAM! What's that? Oh, Woody's right next to him. Instant smile! I've got a picture printed and ready to go for Slinky dog, but honestly, I'm all painted out.
How come YOU don't have a laser, Woody?

I don't think those were Lincoln Logs. (TS3- go see it!)

You are a toooy! You aren't the real Buzz Lightyear! You're an action figure. You are a child's plaything.
I am Mrs. Nesbitt! Years of Academy training WASTED!
Can someone cover my eyes?

The Claw!