Happy 8th Birthday Tyler!!

Its hard to believe that my sweet boy is 8 years old today! Tyler has changed our lives in so many ways. We can't imagine our lives without him. Even though autism has taken so much from us, the one thing it will never take is our love for eachother. We all hope you have a great day baby boy.

We love you!

Momma, Daddy, and Britney x0x0x0

Why Is It So Hard!

So we are still trying to get Tyler potty trained. We just keep missing everytime he needs to go! I have woken up the past 5 mornings and Tyler has had huge messes. I just don't know why its so hard for us and Tyler to get it all done! I have a potty chart on the wall just like at school. He will read all the steps but when it comes to actually "going," he won't do it! Tyler will be 8 in a few weeks and I just can't take this anymore! I want him to be in underwear and be able to go to the bathroom independently. This is yet another example of how autism can affect your child's life and yours. If it would only just click in his head. I wonder what "pieces" of this puzzle he is still not understanding. I pray this is over soon!!!!!

Autism Speaks Video

Here is a video that was posted by Autism Speaks. Be sure to pause my playlist so you can hear the video....

Waves of Grief

For the past few weeks, I have been suffering from waves of grief.

Last Friday was when it all started to hit me again. Tyler's class was having a Halloween celebration/Pizza party at school. I went down to help out and bring some cookies in for the class. As the kids were eating their pizza and starting to decorate cookies, we were told to get ready for the monthly fire drill. We were getting the kids ready to exit the class when all of a sudden, comes the blaring sound of the alarm. Tyler lost it! Screaming, tears, just scared out of his mind! As we were making our way to the parking lot, I asked the paras if he is always like this and they said no. Maybe its because I was there and he was looking for reassurance from me. I don't know. Once we got the all clear to go back inside, he was still freaked out. I calmed him down to an extent and ended up taking him home early.

Monday morning things were fine getting the kids up and ready for school. Once I got Ty to school, the tears began to fall again. He was fine all weekend and I wasn't sure if he was getting sick. I left him and got a call from the teacher that he was still crying and not eating anything. She said he kept looking at the fire alarm box in the class and would cry and "wait" for it to go off again. My poor little man was still freaked out! Maybe he is more sensitive to the sounds around him now.

He was fine today. Every morning when I pull away, we wave goodbye and he waits till I'm out of sight to head to class. He was waving and smiling this morning, so maybe he's forgetting about it--until next month!

This is just another wave of grief that I have been experiencing on my journey with autism. My son has great days, months and then something like this sets him back.

Another thing that is bothering me is how people can just totally ignore the fact that my son exists. People need to realize that my son has feelings too and even though he can't express them, he still feels them. My son is so special to me and it hurts to see people just brush him off like a piece of gum on a shoe.

Its just been a bad few weeks and I want it all to be over!

Update on Us

Tyler is doing great! He is thriving more and more each day with his academics and has done fairly well with his general ed. pull out experience so far. He has been going with 2nd graders. This not only is going to improve his academics, but will also improve his social skills. I am so amazed at my little guy. He continues to surprise me every day!

Britney is riding the bus now to and from school. She's a "big girl" now..LOL! She is getting better academically as well. She is always wanting to write words and make notes and things. She's too funny. She is taking dance classes 2 times a week. Monday nights she has hip hop and on Saturday, she has tap and ballet.

I am still working at Animal Kingdom. Things are really slow. Its most likely due to the economy and the recent ticket price raise. I have been getting 1 day a week basically all summer. I actually have 2 days next week! I just might break the $50 a week paycheck...WHOO HOO!!

Sorry its been so long since i've posted. Things have been crazy with the home improvements and the back to school routines.

Home Improvements Part 2

Home Improvements

Here is part 1 of some home improvement photos that we did over the summer. Part 2 to follow.