Stop, Luke & Listen

100th day of 1st grade

2012-01-28T19:59:00.002-06:00

Sometime between around 1982 and 2012, the 100th day of school became a big deal. I don't even remember counting the days of schools. We may have in kindergarten. I loved my kindergarten teacher. She may have been my very favorite teacher. But I learned last year that 100th day of school is definitely a big deal. Last year we had to put 100 things on a t-shirt, which was a little challenging for our uncrafty family. But, at least for me, last year's 100th day of school highlight was watching the 1st graders parade down the hall dressed as 100 year olds. I especially loved the teachers' costumes. Luke was super excited. But then he gets super excited about pretty much anything "special." Here's his getup:

I kind of love it. I think the slippers maybe my favorite part.

100-year-old Luke heading to school. We did a super job on the hairspray. Just a bit on the forehead and ears.

100-year-old Luke waiting to safely cross and enter school.

Luke asked Mrs. H if I could stay and watch the parade. He is much more independent these days, but I'm glad he still likes having me around.

100-year-old Luke on parade. This is the "oh my aching back" walk. He practiced for weeks.

We're still washing all the gray out of his hair. Another shampoo or two and maybe he'll be back to normal. Fun day! Just don't want to think about how fast 1st grade is flying by.

Happy 7th Birthday!

2012-01-26T14:37:00.002-06:00

Luke is 7. Some birthdays seem a little more momumental than others. And turning 7 seems kind of huge to me. Seven just sounds like a big kid.

Luke right before bed the last night he was 6. He got a little soap in his eye in the tub. He was certainly not crying about turning 7. He was just a little excited.

And here's the fresh 7 year old first thing in the morning. The flash was a bit bright.

Lamar and I went to lunch at school with Luke on Friday and took brownies. Last year we took cupcakes loaded with red and blue icing. Those kindergartners got icing everywhere and half of them didn't get the color they wanted. We're older and wiser now, and I made indentical, individually wrapped brownies, and took a few extras in case one got dropped on the floor, which it did. I think they were a big hit.

After school the festivities really began. We invited Luke's entire class and a few lifelong friends to our house for the Luke's Birthday Olympic Games.

As kids arrived, they decorated paper flags to wave during our opening ceremonies.

Luke marched down last, carrying our torch.

Luke's been planning this party for months. His two big requests were to have teams, and each team have t-shirts. I divided the kids into four teams and they rotated among four stations.

Here's the orange team, enjoying Hex Bug races.

Some of the yellow team, playing pin the nose on the clown. (These two games were in the "kitchen station.")

The green team playing ring toss. In the "upstairs station" we also threw bean bags at stacked up cups.

Some of the purple team in the "backyard station" catching marshmallow in their mouths (or sometimes hands). They also did a basketball toss in the backyard.

Our fouth station was playing a little Wii bowling, of course. Thankfully I had lots of family and friends here to help me out. I couldn't have done it without them.

And after we completed all our games, everyone gathered in the living room for one final competition.

FREEZE DANCE! Freeze dancing to Disney Channel favorites was some super cheesy, 1st grade fun.

After freeze dance, we had our award ceremony. Each athlete received a medal for their performance and sportmanship.

Luke on the winner's platform.

These athletes had worked up quite an apetite, so we fed them pizza (while they sat on blankets on the kitchen floor).

Then it was time for some TastiD-Lite ice cream cake. Luke asked if we would wave our arms while singing Happy Birthday, and say "cha cha cha" at the end of each verse, and at the end say, "Eat more chicken!" and pretend to eat. Seemed odd to me, but the kids seemed to know exactly what he was talking about it.

I think he was just a little thrilled with the attention. Look at that face.

Then Luke opened his presents. This is a giant water gun. That's going to be fun this summer.

As parents were arriving to pick up our guests, we watched the wackiest game around, Wipeout. That's right, we finally have a DVR and can show Wipeout anytime.

The party felt chaotic and was certainly loud, but looking at the photos and watching the video my good friend shot, I think the kids had a blast.

Once upon a time there was a little 3 year old boy who cried through any birthday party he had to attend. He had to be bribed not to bolt from the room. He sobbed when anyone sang Happy Birthday because he knew loud cheering was coming. And look at him now. Totally worth it all!

We love you, 7-year-old Luke! We love so much you brave, smart, amazing boy!

Obligatory Christmas Recap

2012-01-06T14:36:00.001-06:00

Christmas was great, and it was at least a month ago right? No, it was just two weeks ago. How is that possible?

We left the Thursday before Christmas and headed to Lynchburg. Lamar's sister and family stayed at our house the night before, and beloved cousin Maddie rode with us to Virginia. This made the trip much more pleasurable with Luke having a buddy.

We stopped in Bristol for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Luke told our waitress a couple of times that he was done and she could take his plate, but she didn't hear him. After she left the second or third time without hearing him, Luke slapped his hand on the table and emphatically said, "JAMIE!" Maddie cracked up laughing and I said, "Who's Jamie?" Maddie informed me it was the waitress. Luke had read her name on her apron.

Grandma (who Luke has now decided to call Memaw) led us in some crafts. She has 15 little glue guns.

Since Christmas was on a Sunday, and we had a house full of people to get ready for church on Sunday morning, we opened our gifts to each other on Saturday night.

Luke was a little bit excited about his gifts. I think he's perfected his present opening face. He'll get more practice on his birthday in a couple of weeks.

Pleased with his gifts I think.

Heading to bed Christmas Eve night. Luke was so excited he could not stay put in bed. Maddie laid down beside him, with her iTouch handy so she could check the Norad Santa Tracker for Luke. I think he finally fell asleep around the time Santa reached Florida.

Christmas morning happy dance about the loot. And adults slurping down coffee.

Showing off a new Kinect game.

Luke and his gifts. He still hasn't played with all this stuff, and I didn't feel like Santa was too over the top this year. I guess he just has a lot of entertainment options at his finger tips. He did have a great time playing the Kinect games with his cousins.

Chocolate bar from the stocking for breakfast. Why not? It's Christmas.

Cousins pose in front of the tree on Christmas morning.

On Monday more family arrived. We had 16 folks under one roof Monday night. Good times.

All 8 cousins on one couch. Bunch of crazy kids. They had a fabulous time with each other. I barely saw Luke on Monday. He was so busy having a large time with cousin mania. A nice break for me, since I'm normally his number 1 playmate.

After getting our van repaired in Lynchburg (It was a rather stressful trip to Lynchburg on a cold, rainy night when the engine light came on the van started shaking about an hour and half from our destination), we headed home on Tuesday. More family awaited us at home.

Once upon a time all three of us could easily fit in a chair. These crazy kids just keep getting bigger.

We had Christmas one more time with my family. Luke never sits with us in group photos. Not when someone cooler, like Maggie, is there.

Luke and Maggie got along absolutely beautifully! It was peaceful and tons of fun watching these two play happily together. They're pretty much equally silly.

I am so glad that my only child boy has cousins that love him. Just wish they lived closer so we could see them more.

Maggie and Luke are both game players. They both wanted to play hide and seek, but I didn't feel like walking all over the house looking for them, so I came up with this completely brilliant game where we hid blocks in the bonus room. You may have played a variation of this game at Easter time. The kids seemed to really love it.

And this is how they hid their eyes while we hid the blocks. Luke's getting to be a really good hider. And Maggie is at that adorable stage where she has to tell you where she hid hers.

Erik and family got some "bonus time" in Tennessee since not once, but twice, their flights were canceled. We enjoyed having Maggie and her parents around for an extra day or two.

And the day before Luke went back to school, this happened:

Luke was so excited to show his teacher on Thursday. He was all smiles walking in and she oohed and aahed over his missing tooth. His response, "There was a lot of blood!"

Happy New Year! Praying God's richest blessing for all our family and friends in 2012.

One Starry Night

2011-12-21T14:12:00.004-06:00

The Hallelujah kids at church (kindergartners and 1st graders) performed their Christmas play on Sunday. They did a great job practicing the last few weeks and were so excited about the performance.

Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus (aka Jenna, Luke, and Baby Susie) ready for dress rehearsal on Sunday morning.

Singing Joy to the World in dress rehearsal.

Away in a Manager in dress rehearsal. The kids did great in our two dress rehearsals Sunday morning in children's worship.

Sunday night we had one quick rehearsal in "big church" before our big performance. I was helping direct and had very few photos. "Mary's" mom sent me the great pics, which is why the photo quality in this post is so much better than my normal pics.

Let earth receive her king

Go tell it on the mountain . . .

As the audience sang The First Noel the shepherds came to visit Mary and Joseph. Mary picked up the baby and rocked him. And Luke, totally unrehearsed, reached his hand over and gently touched the baby as she rocked him. It was a melt-my-heart kind of moment. God is good. All the time, from the beginning to the end, God is good. Praise God for his good and perfect plan that is beyond my understanding.

After the play, Luke was congratulated and praised by so many in our church family. He's surrounded by cheerleaders. We are blessed.

Joy to the world! Merry Christmas to all!

Crazy Christmas Time

2011-12-10T20:45:00.001-06:00

A month since I've blogged. That maybe a new record. My spirit is willing but my mind is weak. So what's happened since Thanksgiving.

Luke won the character award for his class this month. Each month a character attribute is . . . featured? . . and a student from each class is selected as the best . . demonstrator? . . of that trait. Last year Luke won the caring award. We were so proud. This year he won the perseverance award. And, of course we're proud again. I'm glad he's quit caring so much about his friends and is focusing on trying hard with his work. I'm kidding, sort of. I do think he's tried so hard this year, especially with his writing that's a challenge for him, and I'm really proud. And he's trying really hard to be a good friend without obsessing over certain friends as he's done in the past. Great job Luke!

A couple we weeks ago we were thrilled to attend a gingerbread house party at the home of friends who just moved to town. I've known Kim, the hostess with the mostest, for many, many years. I've followed her blog for quite a while and always loved to read about her annual party. Reminds me so much of the great parties and events her mom would host when I was a child. So now that we live in the same neck of the woods, I was thrilled we got invited to this shindig!

Look how beautifully organized things were. Each child had a preassembled house and a tray of goodies for decorating. I love an organized party! Luke was ready for some house creatin'.

Luke's house was kind of a how-much-candy-can-I-cram-on-one-house theme. And I had to fight my natural inclination for order and symmetry and let him do his thing.

Finished product. Wow.

After house decorating Luke made some new friends. I'm always a little nervous around new friends. How will it go? Will it be obvious our boy is a little different? But he did really well and from my observations was a "good friend". The kids had a great time playing in the marvelous backyard and with the super cool pirate costumes.

Luke and his new friend, Luke! (And another precious little girl I cropped out since I don't know her family or how they feel about blogging.)

As we left the party, Kim asked Luke to come back sometime and play. When we got in the car, Luke asked me if I would stay too the next time we came. Assuming he'd be nervous, I told sure I would. He said, "No Mom, could you just drop me off and leave for a little while?" Wow. Kim really made him feel comfortable, and he's really gaining confidence. Or he wants to get into some pretty big mischief with his buddy Luke.

Last Saturday was Breakfast with Santa. Always fun, always crazy. This year Lamar stood in line for our photo op while I supervised Luke in the craft area. Lamar texted me when it was time for our picture. After 7 years, I finally figure out how to make Breakfast with Santa less stressful. Luke LOVED everything this year, especially the crafts. This event was WAY too chaotic when he was younger. And now he loves it. Amazing.

Here is Mr. Christmas sporting a Santa hat, Christmas necklace he made at a craft station, candy cane and 2 Christmas slap bracelets. Remember slap bracelets? I remember them being outlawed at my elementary school. Well, they're back. Annoying trends always make a comeback.

Last Sunday we had our annual gingerbread house building afternoon at church. I was tired and hey, we'd already done that this year and you can't top Kim's party. But Luke can now read the announcements and knew all about it and really wanted to go.

I let Luke do his own thing on house #1 of the season. We needed a plan this time. And once he saw how cool his house looked, he loved our plan too.

House, with thatch (pretzel) roof, Christmas tree (with star on top, thanks to our friend Ms. Jennie) and snowman. Too bad I didn't get a photo of the window and shutters on the side. But I do like my, I mean our, m&m door there.

Ta da! We had a lot of fun.

We have a few more festive activities to take in before the season ends. The days are just packed with fun. I'm exhausted. But occasionally I just stop and try to remember what our lives were like a few short years ago. Christmas was the hardest. It seemed there was nothing our family could easily participate in. And now this boy just loves every celebration. I don't deserve such blessings!

A Pilgrim and a Play

2011-11-15T10:58:00.001-06:00

Luke recently had to create a clothespin pilgrim. That should say "Luke" had to create it. He did do most of the painting. I found some inspiration online and Lamar and I created the outfit. It was fun.

Luke loved it. He was sad we had to leave him at school. But the Thanksgiving display at school has now been dismantled, and little pilgrim is back home, sitting on our mantel.

Luke was also in a program at school last week. I spent some time at school helping with all the prep. They performed for the school on Wednesday and for parents on Thursday night. I was present for both performances. On Wednesday he got a bit nervous at the beginning as all the kids were coming in, but kept his eyes on me and did great.

Thursday night, I dropped him off with his classmates in his classroom and went to have a seat in the gym. There were a LOT of parents, grandparents, and siblings there. It overwhelmed me a bit when I saw the size of the crowd. Fortunately Lamar and my parents had scored good seats in row 3 of the bleachers, right in front of where Luke would be performing.

As the kids filed in, I saw Luke pause at the door. He kind of lost his place in line he was walking so slowly, taking it all in. Mrs. H saw the problem and took him by the hand. He stood in the back row, not in his assigned seat in the middle row, and looked really apprehensive.

The show started and I knew he was struggling. I said to Lamar, "Let me out. He's panicking." Lamar said, "Just give him a second." I said, "He needs to see where we are." So we both stood just a little and waved really big. He spotted us, smiled, and relaxed. And about 10 seconds later he was totally in character. He took his spot at the mic and said his line:

"And the chicks say 'cluck'"! After delivering his line he went to his proper seat and continued to perform with gusto for the rest of the show. He frequently looked back at us for a thumbs up. His face lit up with a smile each time we cheered him on.

Big finish from one of the songs. Several folks commented to me on what a performer he is. One mom said, "He's amazing. He really should be a performer!"

Feeling proud after a good show!

My little chick poses in front of the awesome backdrop painted by another 1st grade mom. She is SO talented!

Luke and Mimi after the show. Mimi made all 17 chick hats for Mrs. H's class. She rocks.

Thinking back to the show, I think it's kind of allegorical of Luke's childhood thus far. He got off to an apprehensive, slow start. He needed some help from a teacher. I was too eager to swoop in. Lamar knew he needed some time. He actually needed a little of both. He needed to know where his cheering section was. He needed lots of encouragement. But once he knew what to do, he was an absolute joy to watch.

The Halloween Post

2011-11-04T20:38:00.000-05:00

So Halloween is kind of a big deal around here. I remember a very sad Halloween a few years ago. Newly diagnosed 2 year old Luke was overwhelmed by any new experience, especially a crowd of people in crazy costumes. I was trying to stick with an GFCF diet and the only thing about Halloween that brought him any joy was chocolate. It was a rough time.

The next year, a remarkably improved Luke sported a Spiderman costume sans mask and a crazy Halloween hat (a costume a friend brilliantly named "Spiderman Goes to Mardi Gras").

I just got that photo from Facebook and posted it and was totally unprepared for how emotional it would make me. That sweet 3 year old face, trying so hard. Those were some long days, but somehow the years were short.

The next year Luke remembered a few things about Halloween, and participated in some costume planning. And he really wanted Mom and Dad to participate in the costume wearing. So, of course we did.

He loved this a lot, so much that he immediately began planning for the next year.

He requested the grandparent join in the dressing up. And they did. Because Luke is very convincing.

This year's Halloween planning began last fall. Sometime in August I made him commit to a family theme. I had to get serious about costume creation.

We eventually settled on The Incredibles. I think Luke made an excellent Dash. He was such a poser at our pre Trunk or Treat photo shoot.

He posed us for the group shots too. Luke gets a store bought costume. Everyone else's come from things I have at home or can get for really cheap.

Dash and Walmart version of Mr. Incredible.

Family shot before heading to Trunk or Treat #1. The masks were already getting to us.

At Trunk or Treat. We shed the masks immediately following the photo.

Our Trunk or Treat was large and crazy. Tons of fun, but kind of overwhelming for our boy. There was a dog there and a teenage boy in a turkey suit that Luke was not too excited about.

But we did see our friend Carley as Hannah Montana and had to take advantage of that photo op. After this Luke was ready to head to Mimi and Papa's church for their Trunk or Treat.

Here we're attempting to show our super powers. If you aren't familiar with the movie, Luke's character is super fast, my character is super stretchy, and Lamar's is super strong (which he is very subtly demonstrating).

Mimi and Papa were not left out this year. Mimi is Edna Mole, the Incredibles seamstress. And Papa is Mr. Huph, Mr. Incredible's boss (whom Mr. Incredible throws through about 15 walls. We did not attempt to reenact that.)

A few days before Halloween while I was pouring our candy into our bowl, Luke came in and asked if he could have a piece. Then he said, "Wait, let's pretend I'm trick or treating," and grabbed his bag and pretended to knock on an imaginary door and went through the whole routine. Flashback to all those years we actually practiced trick or treating. What a remarkable boy. And sending my love to all those moms still practicing.

So Halloween is over and we are full swing into the Thanksgiving festivities. On Monday Luke came home from school with a cardboard turkey to be disguised "so the hunter won't kill it and eat it for Thanksgiving dinner." At Luke's request we created a Little Red Riding Hood costume for the turkey. Last night I was struggling with the shoes and had to get Lamar's assistance when he got home from work. Covering big turkey feet with construction paper shoes is no easy task.

This morning Luke presented his turkey to his teacher and announced, "My mom couldn't make turkey shoes, so my dad had to do them." No secrets here.

Fall Things

2011-10-28T19:46:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago was Luke's fall break. We didn't travel but thought we'd hit some local hot spots we haven't had much time for since school started. Monday the weather was beautiful so we went to the zoo.

We enjoyed the flamingo exhibit. Well, Luke and I enjoyed the exhibit while Lamar ran to the gift shop to get some cash so we could ride the train. We have a zoo membership so you'd think a trip to the zoo would be pretty low cost. But Luke seems to prefer to do the things that cost money: eat, ride the train, ride the carousel and such.

So back at the flamingo exhibit, Luke pretended to be a flamingo. Dead ringer for the pink bird huh?

Daddy got the cash, so we rode the train. We folded our bodies in the tiny cars and circled the small track twice. Luke loved it. Worth the $$$.

The train ride was fun for taking photos.

We had a pretty cool time at the zoo, along with everyone else in the metropolitan area. We saw lots of folks we knew. And Luke didn't try to join any other familes. Typically he finds any other family more interesting than our party of 3. So, score for us!

Seeing all those wild animals and eating Dippin Dots made him fierce.

After the zoo we went to OT, because that is what super cool kids do on fall break. Luke and Ms. Danielle made the jack-o-lantern stick puppet seen above, and then convinced her he needed two more to make at home so our family could have a puppet show. He's very convincing. He came home with two puppets we promptly assembled and played with all evening.

Day 2 of fall break, we planned to try out the Adventure Science Center. But Lamar was having terrible back pain. He'd been in some pain the day before and then we walked all over the zoo . . . probably not the best idea. So, we stayed home for the day. Luke was so excited to have a day just to stay home.

He helped me fix coffee for all of his. His was loaded with cream and sugar and he loved it.

Last month at our fall festival, we had a silent auction that included Teachers for Sale. We bid on and won a "bedtime story visit" with Luke's teacher. She came over Tuesday evening in her p.j.'s with fresh baked cookies (the best cookies ever) and hot chocolate. She and Luke shared a snack, played Kinect, and she read him two stories. She stayed a couple of hours and Luke loved every single second of it.

Such a great memory for Luke. I can see the joy on his face. So thankful to Mrs. H for a terrific night! Luke is wondering when she can come over again.

Looking back on the past few weeks to write this little post reminds me how blessed I am. Life's a gift to be savored.

The Walker

2011-10-14T19:43:00.001-05:00

Luke recently got his haircut and while cutting his hair stylist, Ashley, teased saying, "Luke, I think I'm going to give you a mohawk." Luke responded with, "Oh yeah, do that!" So after the cut, she put a little goo in his hair and . . . ta da! He loved it. Luke has quite the transformation over the past couple of years with his feelings toward professional hair styling.

And on that transformation theme, all last year Luke walked to the car ride line hand in hand with an aid. Dismissal was kind of a stressful time for him. He began this year leaving the same way, hand in hand with Ms. Sally. Over the past few weeks he began coming to find me in line without his aid. Sally commented to me he didn't need her much anymore.

During spirit week we had a "walk to school day." Luke loved it and has been asking to walk to and from school since then. So we've been walking, but I was meeting up with him in our normal spot in front of the school. A couple of weeks ago he told me that Mrs. H said he couldn't walk unless he had a note. And if I wrote a note, he could leave with the walkers and go right instead of left.

So I wrote a note, at his insistence, confused as to why it was necessary. When I dropped him off that morning, I asked Mrs. H and she said if I filled out a "walker form" he could be dismissed to the gym and walk out the back doors. She said, "Why did someone tell you couldn't walk with him from the car rider line?!" And I said, "Yes, that somebody is Luke." She said, "You don't miss a thing, do you buddy?" He is the chief rule follower, keeping me in line.

Now that I've filled out the appropriate paper work, Luke, the only walker in his class, walks from his classroom to the back doors by the gym where he meets up with me for the walk home. Crazy huge surge of independence. I'm really enjoying our conversations on the walks to and from school. Great way to start and end the day. It's always interesting when we encounter dogs on the way, which happens most days. But I'm proud of him for facing that fear too. Yesterday he told me, "Lots of people have dogs. Maybe we should get one." I said, "But aren't you afraid of dogs?" He said, "Yeah, but everyone has one." Trouble, trouble.

Luke is loving school, working hard, and learning so much. So thankful. So far, we love some 1st grade.

Digraphs?

2011-09-30T18:18:00.000-05:00

Luke was working on homework the other night and said, "th . . . th. . . Is t-h a digraph? I think it's a digraph." I said, "A what?" and he repeated, "a digraph." I look at Lamar and he said, "I have no idea. Is that a diphthong? I've heard of that." So I googled it. And I think he's right. 1st grade and I can't answer the questions. I will soon be obsolete.

Luke's definitely planning for his educational future. Last year I walked him into school every day. I loved watching him starting his day and helped for a just a few minutes in his class every morning. This year I've just dropped him at the door to his classroom each morning, trying to give him a little more independence. A couple of weeks ago he told me he wanted to try walking in by himself. An aid is his class every morning. She waits for another student at the entrance each day. Luke wanted to try going in with Mrs. K. I alerted her and she was ready. So one Monday morning I dropped him off in the car rider line. He walked down to Mrs. K. I pulled into the parking lot and observed. He waited with her a few minutes and they walked in together.

The next day, Luke asked if I'd walk him in. As we walked, he said, "In kindergarten you walked me in every day. In 1st grade, I will walk in by myself on Mondays and you will walk me in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. In 2nd grade, I will walk in by myself on Mondays and Tuesdays and you will walk me in on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. In 3rd grade, I will walk in by myself on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays . . . . " He continued the pattern until the completion of elementary school. Then he said, "And then in middle school I will walk in by myself every day. And in high school I will walk in by myself. Oh, and in college."

He's learned a little more about college a few days later. Our dear friend Neely has just started college. Luke knew this, but didn't grasp the entirety of that concept. We were at church one Sunday night and going to Katie's, another favorite friend of Luke's, baby shower after church. Sitting in worship Luke spotted Neely's family coming in and whispered, "Does Ms. Jennie know Katie?" I nodded. "Will she be at her party?" I nodded again. He said, "Where is Neely?" I reminded him she went to college. He asked, "But why is she at college at night?"

We Got Spirit. Yes we do.

2011-09-25T13:41:00.000-05:00

Oh little blog. I'm sorry for the neglect. But what a couple of weeks it's been. I know some things happened the past few weeks that I want to record, but after a few crazy busy weeks, I doubt I can remember.

This week was Spirit week at school, leading up to our big Hoe Down (pretty much a fall festival kind of thing) on Friday. Monday was class color day and 1st grade wore yellow. I neglected to take a picture, which Luke reminded me of all week. Tuesday was Wacky Day and I most definitely got a picture of that.

Luke really wanted some colored hairspray for wacky day, I think because in Mrs. H's weekly newsletter she listed the days' themes and for Wacky Day had a photo from last year of a boy with blue hair. Luke couldn't commit to one color though, thus the purple and yellow. It was my first experience with colored hair spray and it's pretty much a mess. But he loved it. He also insisted on wearing his clothes backward, even though his shirt and shorts looked exactly the same in the front and the back. And note two different socks. SO wacky.

Wednesday was Change Your Heart day. We wore red, walked to school, and brought spare change to donate to the American Heart Association (who, Luke explained, "if you get sick, they give you money").

Luke slept with his bag of change on his bedside table. He woke up and came into our bedroom at 6 a.m., carrying his bag of change, saying "I'm so excited! It's Change Your Heart day!" I reminded him that all he was doing was wearing a red shirt, walking to school, and giving his change away. He said, "I already know that Mom and it's so exciting!" He did love walking to school, despite the dogs we passed on the way.

Thursday was Sports Team day. Not so shockingly, we own no sports apparel! But a sweet lady I work with had a Titans jersey her son once wore that she let Luke borrow.

I thought he looked pretty cute in a jersey. Maybe I should sign him up for a sport just for the photo op of him in a jersey. Probably not worth the agony. And Luke loved the walk so much on Wednesday that we walked on Thursday too. And waved to all our friends as they drove by.

Friday was Cowboy Day. And it was raining so no more walking to school and the photo shoot moved inside.

The hat came from another lady at work. I thought it was pretty perfect. Friday night was the Hoe Down, which was super fun for Luke and a super lot of work for lots of us adults. But worth it. The kids loved and we made lots of money for the PTO to spend on our school. And you know how much we love our school. And now that it's over, I'll hopefully have a little more free time.

Luke did really well, despite not having a friend to follow around. He seems a little more confident this year, and a little less reliant on his favorite crutch, latching on to one friend. He lasted til nearly the end. Lamar took him home about 20 minutes before the Hoe Down ended. But Luke missed Mom, so they came back to school, Luke in pajamas, and sat in the van watching Incredibles. About 45 minute later when I was free to go, I found them in the parking lot, Luke snoozing in the backseat and Lamar playing on the ipad. Love my quirky little family.

In other news, a couple of the new fish have died. Luke is unaffected. His only remark, "I wonder who will die next." He thinks Emma. He's probably right, based on her behavior.

And Luke is the very proud owner of an Xbox Kinect. He's a lucky boy to have such generous grandparents. And he also called them and said, "Mom and Dad don't have $300 (for an Xbox Kinect). Do you have $300?" We surprised Luke with the Xbox last Saturday. He called to thank Mimi and Papa and Mimi said, "What did you think when you saw the Xbox?" He said, "I thought you had $300!" The Xbox is some seriously good OT working on coordination and reaction time. Such good therapy that our insurance probably should have covered it.

And I thought summer was busy . . .

2011-09-03T07:09:00.000-05:00

So the new school year is off to a slam packed start. Luke has now completed 3 weeks of first grade. Kind of feels like 3 months, but things are going well.

His handwriting is getting a little better I think! Hallelujah! It's improved a lot since this photo a couple of weeks ago. A couple of his papers have been challenging to read, but for the most part a big improvement from last year's scribbled work in all capital letters.

And Luke's had some traditional back to school sickness. This photo is from one afternoon following too much spinning at OT resulting in a headache. He got my headache face mask from the freezer to relieve his pain, and requested Motrin. And pretended to be asleep when I got out the camera.

Luke cracked himself up at dinner on night and I took a picture without asking him to wipe the ketchup off his face. Crazy night.

We got new carpet!! We love it. We should have done this years ago! It's actually a little darker than it looks in this photo. But I think it might have been simpler to just move out. We're still getting things sorted out and put away and the carpet was installed a week ago. But worth every second of the hassle.

Luke's goldfish, Molly and Teddy, died. But our algae eater, Caroline, lives on. She even survived a couple of hot days and nights in a few inches on water in the garage during the carpet install. But keeping the aquarium for one algae eater who spends 99.9% of her time stuck to the Sponge Bob statue is pretty ridiculous. Yet we just couldn't bring ourselves to dispose of Caroline. So, Luke got a few new, very cheap fish. He named them Emma, David, Olivia and . . .

Luke! (pictured). Luke watches fish Luke and says, "Look! I'm eating! Now I'm swimming!" and so on.

Luke's loving first grade. We're pretty wild about his teacher, Mrs. H. She gives "hippocampus" work to do every night for "seven sleeps" just before bed. She tells the class that practicing for seven nights puts the information in their long-term memory (I think), the hippocampus. She gave each student a little hippo to tape by the bed and Luke faithfully does his work. He thinks the information is literally traveling from his forehead to the back of his head and asks me each night, "Where is it now?" and I have to touch a spot where the info is now residing.

Luke had his first practice spelling test a few days ago. His comment - "It was just like high school."

I've been busy with PTO. I love being involved at school, but the beginning of the year is crazy busy! Here's Luke and a buddy working on our class art project for the silent auction at our upcoming fundraiser. This beauty will definitely bring in the big bucks! Actually the finished product was pretty cute.

Luke announced a few weeks ago he will be going to college. He wants to be a first grade teacher. I much prefer this to his last career plan of becoming a professional dancer.

1st Day of 1st Grade

2011-08-11T11:29:00.013-05:00

What a roller coaster of a week! I had a hard time saying good bye to summer. I loved our lazy mornings with breakfast sometime after 9 and morning swims. And when I have a little more control over Luke's world, life seems a little more manageable and obstacles seem a little smaller. But we can't live in summer fantasy world forever. Reality is calling.

And just days before school started, Luke was consistently pretty bored with my list of summer entertainment options. It was time.

Tuesday morning we were up bright and early and ready for a brand new year.

Luke selected his patriotic Life Is Good shirt. His teacher is Canadian. But I'm sure she appreciates his patriotism. :) The shoes are brand new. He's pretty sure they make him run faster and jump higher.

First big kid back pack. Last year he carried the standard issue kindergarten tote, designed to spot a kindergartner from many yards away. He's a big kid now.

Ready to go. Probably the only day we'll be ready early.

Getting ready to enter the classroom. Starting to look a little nervous.

We met his teacher last week. She called each student and setup a time for us to come by, see the room, and do a little reading. Lamar and I listened as Luke identified letters, sounds, sight words, and read two books and then answered some comprehension questions. Mrs. H declared him a great reader. I enjoyed hearing their conversation and realizing once again how far he's come. Then Mrs. H took his picture. Luke asked to see her camera. Then Mr. Audiovisual reviewed all her photos and showed them to me.

But the classroom seemed a bit more intimidating on Tuesday morning when filled with students.

But he found his spot and got right to work. He looks only slightly mortified that I'm photographing everything.

Despite the great kindergarten year he had, and despite being at a wonderful school full of loving teachers and staff, I was on pins and needles every moment of his first half day of school.

But 3.5 hours later I picked up a very happy 1st grader (the sun was just really bright).

Last night Mrs. H sent all the parents an email with a class photo from the first day. The kids were rocking out with cardboard guitars they'd made. Luke was front and center in full rock star mode. Perhaps just a bit too comfortable for the first day.

But a few nerves had returned this morning and Luke was full of questions about lunch. He had anxiety about lunch most of last year. This morning as I dropped him off, I saw one of the special ed aids in the hall. She asked how Luke was doing and I mentioned his apprehension. She said, "I'll be praying that he has a great lunch today." Love our school!

I pleased to report lunch was "awesome" today. So, 1st grade. Here we go!

swimming lessons take 2

2011-07-29T19:08:00.008-05:00

We had a busy week after returning from vacation. We took another stab at learning to swim this week.

We really loved Vandy swim school so I signed Luke up for some private lessons. Luke was enthusiastic at first, after we cleared up a misunderstanding as to what "private lessons" meant. He thought it somehow involved the showing of "privates."

But the day lessons began he was very nervous and I actually didn't know if he would walk into the pool area. But he found the courage and as soon as he met Ms. Chelsea, he was smitten. After the first lesson he said, "That was actually really fun. And Ms. Chelsea is crazy!"

Luke and Ms. Chelsea before the last day of swim lessons.

Chelsea showing Luke he is swimming on his back with no help from her. He is holding a kick board here.

Luke swimming back to the steps. He got a little push from Chelsea, but he's building up his confidence.

I'd really like to continue some swim lessons during the school year. He made lots of progress this week. I think the group lessons were a great intro, but the one on one instruction is definitely helpful in improving his skills.

While Lamar was working this weekend, Luke and I enjoyed some company from our friends Joseph and Carson while their parents were at a seminar at Vanderbilt. After they were done, we all headed to the zoo together. Thankfully it was a cooler than normal day with some rain showers in the morning and a high of only about 90. That's a cold front compared our typical temps this summer.

On the new train at the zoo. Well, new to us. We hadn't been in a while. It is a pretty short trip, but Luke loved it.

Thanks to our friends, we now know the animal shows at the zoo are pretty neat. Before the show started, I noticed a worker placing some food on trapeze perch just about our heads. I suspected some creature would be flying up there to retrieve it. Given Luke's fear of birds, I went ahead and shared my suspicion with him. We decided to move down a few seats. Luke did great during the show and remained pretty calm when a very large owl flew over the audience to retrieve his treat. Fun times. Luke did really great on our zoo outing. I'm so proud of what a good friend he is and how he's willing to try new things.

ocean isle 2011

2011-07-24T16:10:00.022-05:00

Must blog about vacation before it's a distant memory. We had a great time spending a week in Ocean Isle, North Carolina with Lamar's family.

ALL these folks vacationed together. (Actually were ALL there simultaneously for about 24 hours, but most of us were there for a good portion of the week.)

The view from our condo. I took this right after we arrived Saturday evening after travelling for about 12 hours. I don't enjoy car trips as much as I used to, especially since Luke learned to whine about being bored and wanting be there.

But it was so worth the drive. Luke checking out the balcony with Maddie. We had a great balcony with lots of chairs. We spent many hours sitting, talking, and listening to the ocean. Some of us spent a lot more time on the balcony than others (grandparents).

Shortly after we arrived Luke needed to head to the beach. And surprise, surprise, several cousins were more than happy to accompany him, even though they'd just returned from the beach. Here Luke's making his first walk to the ocean as a 6 year old.

Luke, Maddie, and Haley enjoying the ocean.

Luke LOVED the ocean right away this trip. And wasn't the sunset sky pretty?

Back at the condo we had some dinner (Try just throwing dinner together for 16 people.) and then some of the kids played some BINGO.

Luke suggested everyone "act out" the prize they selected from my prize bag. (Luke's pretending to write in his notebook.) I really hope Jonathan is still taking good care of his finger puppet. You might note the teens had their phones easily accessible during the game. They are such good multitaskers.

Luke and Maddie in the pool, and maybe some more cousins behind them. I can't tell. Or maybe the man that Caitlin bear hugged when she was "it" while playing Marco Polo. Whoops. He was not a cousin.

The cousins at Sharky's. Love the kids' table with big kids to help the little one. At Sharky's I had some seriously good crab cakes. And Luke had a hamburger. I think the love of seafood skipped a generation.

Luke and Haley modeling the wares at Waves or one of those beachy shops. Grandma insisted on purchasing some boogie boards for the kids. Guess which kid enjoyed it the most.

Lamar was the champion wave rider.

Me and my boy at the beach. I convinced him to pose with me for about 10 seconds, but he was off again having so much fun with all his cousins. It was so nice to not have to be the playmate for a few days. I got to just enjoy being mom.

The kids at the Giggling Mackerel. I had the grouper sandwich. Yum. Luke had chicken fingers and onion rings.

We saw this fiddler crab on the beach. He looked like a cartoon character, especially when he scurried across the sand.

Luke, Lamar, and Maddie jumping some waves. Luke was so brave in the ocean. And he wanted to hang with his cousins, even when the ventured pretty far out. The surf was really strong. All our swimmers got really tired riding the waves. And I was just exhausted from sitting in my chair and handing out snacks and drinks.

Luke's looking pretty pooped here from all his wave jumping. And I think that's Lamar and his trusty boogie board behind them.

On Wednesday we took a little break from the beach and headed inland for some mini golf. Serious fun. Luke is actually pretty good at mini golf. We also went souvenir shopping. When leaving, Jonathan thought he found our van and opened the door and discovered a bunch of strangers sitting inside. Wrong van. Another favorite memory.

Thursday morning we went back to the beach and then out for lunch and ice cream. Luke had his first ever double scoop: mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream. Can't argue with his flavor choice. My two very favorites. This ice cream eating nearly ended in disaster as keeping up with two melting scoops was more than his tongue could handle. We restored order in his world with a cup and a spoon.

After ice cream, Luke really wanted to play mini golf again, this time at the small course on Ocean Isle. Not everyone shared his enthusiasm. But Lamar, Luke, Maddie and I were up for a game.

Luke got his first hole in one. He thinks he got a hole in one on two different holes, but actually one had a little help from a foot when Luke wasn't looking. But he did have one legitimate hole in one with no assistance.

Totaling up the scores. Very intense.

What fun is a beach trip without forcing everyone to take family photos? This was just before we headed out and maybe my favorite picture of the night.

The Fields got some precious family pictures. We got a few I liked. Luke asked for a crazy face picture.

2011 Christmas card

Another outtake from family photo night. Love it.

Another favorite photo.

I love this one too. He just absolutely adores these girls.

So because we love our families so much, Donna and I decided to drag the kids down to beach a second night for individual photos. Luke wore his new souvenir Sunset Beach t-shirt. We actually went to Ocean Isle Beach. Whoops. Need reading lessons from Luke.

Since we were doing more photos, why not try for another family photo? It was a little windy, so we tried a few different angles so my hair wouldn't be blowing in my face.

Ta da! Definitely not blowing in my face. Makes me laugh every time I look at it.

I don't have photos from when 14 of us went crabbing (mostly because I spent a large portion of time driving back into town to find a restroom--and a diet coke.) Crabbing is not really an event suitable for 14 folks, half of whom are less than enthusiastic about the adventure. But we made memories, like when one of the two crabs they caught pinched Lamar's finger and Luke cried when he saw the blood.

What a great trip, until I pulled my back packing to leave on Friday. Thankfully we planned to split the trip coming home and had hotel reservations. I spent hours in bed alternating heat and ice. Getting old is hard.

We had a super week. I was really touched to see how much all the cousins enjoy each other's company, young and old(er). I think Luke's strong sense of family togetherness is definitely an inherited trait.

i get by with a little help from my friends

2011-07-15T21:56:00.004-05:00

I logged in to do a quick post before being out of pocket for a week or so, and noticed this is my 250th post. I feel I should do something a bit more monumental than ramble on about our comings and goings, but these are the thoughts I seem to be able to string together tonight.

Summer is clipping along. School will reconvene before we know it. Summer is too short. Phineas and Ferb are really lucky to have 104 days of summer vacation. Wonder what school they're zoned for.

But as much as I try to savor every moment of summer break, there were moments last week that I longed just a bit for the start of school, or at least for Luke to have a break from dear old mom. We both needed it. Homeschoolers, I salute you. I'm amazed at your patience and tenacity.

On Tuesday I was attempting to convince Luke that going to Costco really would be fun but no we weren't getting a wii game, when a friend called to invite Luke to play. Luke eagerly said, "I can go there and NOT Costco?!!!!" He had so much fun and stayed and played happily for 4 or 5 hours! I ran errands like mad! Big HUGE thank you to Cooper and family! And so proud of Luke for this long play date without mom! Yeah!

And today we had the pleasure of joining some friends for a super great day at the pool. We met these friends years ago in the therapy clinic lobby. And we spent some years in preschool together. The kids are all now in different schools but we moms stay in touch, though kind of sporadically. We've been wanting to get the kids together all summer and it finally happened today.

Some super cool, brave kids lunching poolside. So proud of them!

"If you like Cars 2, raise your hand!"

It was precious time watching our kids play and enjoy each other. And it was so refreshing for me to reunite with these moms who are also so thankful for the amazing progress of their special kids, but still press on with challenges that remain.

So post 250 is a little about us but mostly about friends. I am not good at asking for help, but sometimes we all need a little help from our friends. So thankful for the friends God's placed on our path.

more summer stuff

2011-07-02T20:43:00.006-05:00

Playing catch up again. This summer of "just relaxing," as Luke would say, is wearing me out.

Luke is working hard to learn to ride his bike. Ride his bike WITH training wheels. Pedaling is so hard for him. I think he has low muscle tone. I've been doing some research and that's my mom opinion. So we keep practicing. He's making progress.

He "chases" one of his therapists on the bike. It takes him a long time catch her. He's also scared of going too fast on the bike, which is unfortunate since he could use some momentum to assist with the pedaling.

Last week we finished up swimming lessons. He came a long way in the class. I was impressed with his bravery.

Here he is swimming with his face in the water.

The final day of swimming lessons they had a "graduation." Here Luke had just received his certificate and was going to get his commemorative t-shirt.

Luke posing with his certificate. I really should have brought my good camera. The certificate doesn't really glow.

After graduation Luke went to thank his teacher, Miss Janae. He really loved her. I thanked her for her patience and gentle encouragement. She was very gracious.

I was very pleased with the Vandy Swim School and highly recommend them. That being said, after 9 group lessons Luke is not yet swimming well independently. He is putting his head under water and trying lots of new things, but he still begs us to hold him while swimming, much more than I ever saw him beg his swim school teachers. All the enrollment paperwork emphasized that swimming skills are difficult to master and many children need to repeat classes to master the skills. And I'm certainly used it taking Luke a bit longer than average to master skills, particularly physical skills. But I must admit, that I had just a glimmer of hope that swimming would come really easily for him. I mean, logically I knew it wasn't likely. But maybe he would be a natural. Clearly I've seen him in the pool countless times and knew he was not an instinctual swimmer. But maybe with a little instruction . . .

But no, when the class began Luke was at about the same skill level as his classmates. And they all progressed faster than he did. Not a lot faster, but I noticed. I know some of them were in the class for a second time. But it wasn't especially easy for him. And really, I knew it wouldn't be. I mean, he can't even really pedal well.

But he came so far in the class, was never scared, got a long well with the other kids and teachers, and I'm pretty sure no one in the class knew he was "different."

And I signed him up for some private lessons in a few weeks. He is braver and familiar with the pool and teachers now. Maybe a little more instruction time will improve his skills.

It would just be nice for something to be easy for him. But he's a great reader, a good speller, and a whiz with electronics. I have nothing to complain about.

And Luke keeps making me laugh. The other night we took a family walk to the school playground. On the way we saw a man walking his dog. Luke got scared but I pointed out the leash and told him the dog would stay right beside his owner. After we successfully passed, Luke said, "Oh great. I didn't get killed."

When we rounded the corner to the school Luke said, "Wait, this is MY school . . . awkward!!"

At the playground, Daddy took a turn making us laugh.

We enjoyed a quiet 4th of July. After 7 years of attempting to find a way for us to celebrate the 4th that didn't end with Luke sobbing and me holding his ears while he buried his head in my chest to hide from the terrifying fireworks, I finally conceded to the fact that perhaps the 4th of July just isn't our holiday.

All day Luke asked when the fireworks would be and would any be in our yard. And if there were some in our yard, could he call the police? We did enjoy lunch with Mimi and Papa, a little swimming, and playing Wipeout on the Wii (pretty sure that is the funniest Wii game ever). And were home, in bed, and under the covers at 9:15, watching a movie to drown out any firework sounds.

On the way to Mimi and Papa's house yesterday, Lamar and I were talking about his nephew who is studying to be an electrician. I was saying that could be a great career for Luke, but maybe a little risky. Then I reiterated my desire for Luke to go into HVAC repair. How handy would that be to have in the family? Lamar mentioned roofing, but I said Luke doesn't have the coordination and balance for that. During our discussion, Luke was watching a movie and I was certain not listening when he asked, "Can grown ups be dancers?" Yep. Every mom's dream for her son.

summer stuff

2011-06-20T19:23:00.013-05:00

After VBS ended we continued with a flurry of summer activities.

Father's Day. It was quite a feat getting Luke to pose for a photo with "just boys." That boy has always loved the ladies. Finally got him to display his Father's Day painting we did.

For the past two weeks Luke has been in Buddy Club at the clinic where he does OT. I'd really hoped to work on some his most problematic social issues, especially latching on to one friend and copying her every move. Buddy Club was not cheap, but worth every penny if it could help.

Well things didn't go according to plan. Luke did not like Buddy Club at all. He did not bond with any children in the class, and he cried most days when he had to go. Lamar or I ended up sitting at the door of Buddy Club just to keep him from leaving the room. He had a tummy ache and tears most days.

I was glad to hear last Wednesday's topic--being a good sport. Luke definitely needs to work on this. After Wednesday's session the therapist said, "I think Luke could teach that class. He knows all the answers about what to do and say when you don't win or can't go first." Sigh.

Buddy Club was very well done. The environment just didn't provide a chance to work on what I deemed our priorities. It did give many opportunities to work through anxiety with a team of professionals there to assist him. And perhaps anxiety is still a much bigger issue than I realized. I wonder if anxiety is driving force behind some of his other social behaviors. Perhaps copying a friend is a coping strategy.

Here's a kind of cute, kind of creepy craft from Buddy Club.

Luke is having 2 private OT sessions each week this summer. He's working a lot on handwriting. I thought the tape on the glass door with the dry erase markers was pretty brilliant. This was a part of a obstacle course. Luke LOVES an obstacle course.

Last week Luke started swimming lessons. I didn't mean to schedule swimming lessons the same week as Buddy Club, but it was kind of unavoidable due to VBS, travel, and some schedule changes.

The Vanderbilt Swim School had been recommended by several friends. I called and explained our situation and they were very supportive and understanding. So I signed him up and hoped for the best.

He was a little nervous the first day, but lined up with his class and marched to the pool.

Blurry, but I can see the enthusiasm.

His first time out with the instructor. He's made a lot of progress since this photo and is now floating on his back.

After completing his first class. Big success!

After a few lessons here his is "swimming" with his face in the water.

It's a little hike from the parking lot to the pool. (Parking at Vandy is so fun.) But Luke marches with enthusiasm to the indoor pool. He's so glad the pool is inside so that no birds can fly into the pool. The bird phobia is a new one. Luke quickly closes any door to the outside (cars, home, garage) for fear a bird might fly inside. Good thing he doesn't know about the time we had birds in the dryer vent.

Luke has also kind of fallen in love with Vanderbilt this week. He's begging us to join the rec center so he can go play table tennis, racquetball, basketball, and any other activity we pass on the way to the pool. And we pass the football practice field on our walk to the pool. One day Lamar returned a couple of footballs that had come over the fence and some players yelled "thank you." Luke was thrilled. I'm not sure how well Luke will do as a Vandy fan. He really likes for his team to win. And one day we saw the team doing some sort of running in the sand volleyball court, without shirts on. Luke was fascinated by the activity and the clothing.

All smiles after another fun swimming day of swimming. Check out the hip pose there.

We're enjoying the summer, even if it doesn't always go like quite like I planned. I'm enjoying lots of time with my boy. Many, many hours with him right by my side. Sigh. But I know I'll miss him when school starts in August.

vbs time again

2011-06-17T22:42:00.006-05:00

Last week was VBS. A busy, fun, exhausting time.

Luke and I spent lots of time together. I was his group leader, which basically entailed leading the kids from one activity to the next. And lots of standing in the hall and waiting for crowds of people to pass. And counting heads to make sure we didn't lose anyone.

Luke claimed his favorite part of VBS was the games and activities, although he chose not to participate in two of the games.

The relays suited him well. But he opted out of the two activities that involved everyone running at the same time. When I asked him why he didn't want to play he told me, "Because those boys are running really fast and I can't run really fast." And while that makes me sad for him, he's never going to be as fast as the other kids. At least he's able to assess the situation and calmly decide not to play. He totally inherited the slowness from me. So sorry Luke. I wish I could pick the traits I passed on to you.

We also enjoyed some fun activities in the "Nazareth Marketplace."

Luke with a saw. Just a little scary. His adult assistant there was one of his Bible class teachers whom he loves. He's so patient and kind with Luke.

He liked the bead making shop a lot. All the Nazareth booths were so well done and many people put hours into making them a success.

This was a night he decided to skip out on the game. But he loved cheering on our group members. And he sported the popular sash-on-the-head look. Very nice. And a good shot of the new carpet in the gym.

This was the "marketplace drama" the last night of VBS. The formerly evil tax collector converted to Christianity and thus was throwing (plastic) gold coins into the crowd. You can imagine the frenzy this caused. Our "evil tax collector" was Pharaoh last year in Egypt and an evil Roman guard two years ago. Type casting.

What amazed me most about VBS is how well Luke did with all the noise and crowds. Our assemblies were REALLY loud, with lots of shouting "Booster!" and what not. It frequently hurt my ears. But he just loved it. He was so full of VBS spirit.

After our final night of VBS, Luke found Miss Suzanne, our children's minister, to tell her that he loved VBS and he really loved the games but he did not play two of them. She told him that was fine and she was really glad he enjoyed it. Then he told me he needed to find Mr. Jonathan (another minister who was the "master of ceremonies"). He boldly walked up and said, "I really loved VBS. Everything was my favorite." Mr. Jonathan loved getting some positive feedback.

But I think his favorite portion of VBS was tearing down the decor the last night. Most everyone had left and a skelton crew remained to disassemble Nazareth. One of his fabulous Bible teachers gave the kids important jobs to do and he just loved it.

So Luke's been asking me if I will be his group leader at next year's VBS, and what kids will be in our group. Sigh. . . .

a trip to GA

2011-06-04T07:49:00.018-05:00

Just two days after Luke's final day of kindergarten, we headed to Georgia. It was a nice distraction from mulling over the year of kindergarten and what lies ahead. We had a very important wedding to attend.

Our first stop was the ATL airport to pick up my brother and his family. Luke was so incredibly excited about seeing his cousin Maggie.

Here they are together again.

After some creative luggage shifting, everyone and their bags had a spot for the ride to Macon, my hometown. Luke crashed about 20 minutes into the ride. Maggie successfully fought sleep for quite a while, but both were snoozing soundly when we arrived and were carried to their hotel beds. Luke woke up just long enough to learn our room number, then zonked back out. Not the first time he's done that when travelling.

Friday we enjoyed some Nu-Way hot dogs and a little shopping at Macon's new mall (very nice, but an outdoor mall when it's 95 is not ideal). Friday night we headed to the rehearsal dinner.

These two girls are dear family friends. I baby-sat them for years and years. We went to church together and they quickly became a part of our family. Our families spent holidays together and they were in my wedding. Precious friends. So proud of these girls. And I cannot possibly old enough for the baby, who was born when I was high school (I still remember calling from the school pay phone on the day of her birth to find out if she'd arrived safely), to be a married woman.

On Thursday morning as I packed for our trip, Luke asked me what he was going to wear to the wedding. I told him he'd wear his Easter outfit. I actually kind of coordinated our outfits this year, even got a new tie for Lamar, knowing we'd were them again at the wedding. The first time I've ever pulled this off and I was feeling just slightly proud. Luke told me he needed to wear a tie to the wedding. I am not a fan of little boys in suits. My family used to tease me about it, threatening to buy those little baby suits for Luke. But Luke was so adamant that he needed a tie for the wedding, that he and I made a quick run to Kohl's.

He actually looked pretty cute I think.

After quite an adventure finding the quaint country church the bride selected for the wedding (our GPS took us a less than direct route), we arrived just in time to take our seats and enjoy the ceremony (except for sleeping Maggie). Luke was very intrigued by the ceremony and wanted to know at what exact moment they were married.

Maggie woke up as we applauded the newly married couple. She was fascinated by Kelcy's dress and told her "You are my princess." And Luke was totally untucked by reception time, but still insisted on sporting the tie. Quite a look.

Me and sweet Kelcy. I don't know that smiley guy in the back, but he's happy!

Kids getting a little punchy toward the end of the reception. Luke wanted to be with Maggie all the time, and she wanted, well, smaller doses of Luke. He actually took rejection much better than he has from other friends in the past, but not without some drama here and there. They were both absolute champs at the wedding though.

Sweet, sweet Tawny, sister of the bride, and my boy. She was so great with both kids. It just warmed my heart to see them enjoying her.

After the wedding we relaxed and made a Sonic run. Luke was adamant he wanted to order exactly the same meal Maggie did, which included a banana and a strawberry slush. I knew he would not like either of those, but he was certain that was exactly what he wanted. So we ordered them and he did not touch them. And then he wanted my diet coke. Sigh.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed to church. Lamar was complaining of a headache that morning as we feasted on the hotel complimentary breakfast buffet. I had to go to Bible class with Luke of course and after class found Lamar in the car with an intense migraine. So I left Luke with the family and headed to get Lamar some medicine and a Coke. We spent church time in the van, AC on max, as he recovered. I am sad I missed worshipping with a church I love so much. But I was able to visit briefly with many folks I've known since I was a small child. And Luke weathered all the craziness and changes like a champ.

A very precious family invited us to their home for lunch after church. I explained Lamar was sick but Mrs. Beverly quickly offered her guest bedroom for Lamar to rest. And when Lamar has a migraine, he needs to sleep.

There are very few houses I would take Luke to for a meal without first explaining our "situation". But I could tell Luke and Mrs Beverly had already become fast friends during church. And Beverly and Dave truly have the gift of hospitality and put everyone at ease, including this nervous mom.

After lunch we headed out on a boat ride.

Life jackets and freeze pops for the kids.

We fed the ducks.

Some sweet baby girl love from Maggie. About 2 seconds after this photo, Luke had to climb in my lap too. Sigh.

Maggie and Mrs. Bev talking about princesses I think. That's the back of Luke's head, right there beside them.

Papa and the grandkids enjoying the ride.

Mr. Dave gave Luke a turn driving. He drove for a minute, but Maggie didn't want to drive so he went back to sit with her. Do you see a pattern here?

Lunch and the boat ride were wonderful, the highlight of my trip, except for Lamar's migraine obviously. So after the fun Mr. Dave and Mrs. Beverly loaded us up with ice cold bottled water and diet Cokes and we headed to Atlanta. They are just the kindest folks and the best hosts ever.

Since Lamar was sick I drove (wife of the year, huh?). Lamar always prefers to be the driver on car trips, though he claims it has nothing to do with my driving skills. And I certainly don't mind always being the passenger. It had been years since I'd driven in Atlanta. I blindly followed my GPS and we safely arrived at our hotel. And from this experience I gleaned it is easier to be the driver than the one attending to the kids' needs!

Monday morning we all went to the Georgia Aquarium, thanks to Mimi and Papa! What a super aquarium. We loved it.

The trip was slightly rocky at first with the kids arguing over riding in the stroller. Luke has not ridden in his stroller in over 2 years, but once Maggie got in it, it was his new favorite thing. But we weathered that storm without too much drama (for us) and had a nice time. Luke actually touched a stingray in the touch tank. First time he's done that.

We loved the penguin exhibit. Luke wanted Maggie to do the penguin crawl tunnel with him, and when she didn't want to he was going to back out too. Then Mimi said, "Luke if you don't do things just because Maggie won't do them too, you're going to miss out on some great stuff." That seemed to resonant with Luke and off we went.

A blurry Luke and me in the penguin exhibit. Maggie later decided to try the crawl tunnel too.

The most impressive portion of the aquarium was the ocean voyage section, built by Home Depot. Wow. Here we are on the moving sidewalk watching sea creatures swim above us. The staff was really helpful too and we learned a lot about the fish. I remember nothing now, but at the time I found it interesting. But based on the photo, I think the music was a little loud for Maggie though.

The tunnel ended in a huge observation room with a giant glass wall for viewing the fish. Luke tried out some poses in front of the tank. This was our favorite.

Maggie was certain this room was a movie and she was so excited to see it! Precious.

I think this tank was supposed to be Nemo and Dori. Luke took the photo as the line to the small tank really long (thanks Disney!) and Luke waited with Papa to see these fish.

Tuesday morning we did some shopping. Hoping to avoid any stroller conflicts, we planned to rent some strollers at the mall. Luke about 5 inches taller than the "recommended" height. So here's how he rode:

And he never once complained about it.

Luke did really great shopping, especially considering we shopped for hours and he's accustomed to very short shopping trips. He even did fine when our little family of three separated from the group. Separating our group has always been hard for him, but he managed.

Tuesday evening we took a picnic to Stone Mountain park. We planned to stay for the laser show. But I saw in the brochure that there were some fireworks during the show. So I called Stone Mountain and asked when the fireworks were in the show. The answer was a few at the end, but not a lot. So we decided to give it a try.

Mimi got the kids these fun light up necklaces.

But they really wanted light sabers, which Mimi also bought them. Traveling with grandparents is pretty awesome. We warned Erik not to instigate a battle with Luke, but he did not head our advice. And Luke got just a bit carried away. Surprise, surprise.

The kids enjoyed the music and dancing before the show. They loved the chicken dance, but I will not be posting any photos of me chicken dancing with Luke.

The laser show finally started and almost immediately there were a few fireworks. I tried helping Luke use the earplugs Erik gave him, but they didn't fit his ears too well. A few minutes later there were a few more fireworks. It seemed fireworks were used throughout the show. And not knowing when they were coming was making Luke very nervous. He asked Lamar to take him to the car. Knowing he was asking to leave the group, even his beloved Maggie, I knew he was struggling. So Lamar, Luke, and I made our way through the darkness back to the car, covering Luke's ears the entire way.

Just after we got the car, the rest of the family appeared. Maggie was upset about the "flames and fireworks" too. So we headed back to the hotel, the kids happily watching Tangled in the van. Luke fell asleep moments after getting back to the room.

We checked out of our hotel Wednesday morning. Erik and Jeanie's flight didn't leave til that evening, so we headed to Lenox mall to kill a little time and eat at a favorite restaurant.

We rewarded Luke successfully giving Maggie some space by letting him try out the Xbox Kinect display.

Big hit. Huge hit. And kind seems like it would help his coordination. He loved the dancing game and the race we tried. I failed at getting my character to run. I ran in place as fast as I could, but my onscreen character would only shuffle. Typical.

We dropped Jeanie, Erik, and Maggie at the airport and said our good-byes.

Luke slept a good portion of the drive home. Vacation is hard work.

What a trip! It was a blessed time with family, adopted family, and church family. After we arrived home, our dear friend, the mother of the bride, sent me an email I will always cherish. She commented how comfortable and happy Luke seemed the wedding, how good his eye contact was, and how well he interacted with everyone. She said, "I don't think anyone around him realized what he/you have gone through."

Oh how I needed that reminder! Because sometimes even I forget what we've gone through. And sometimes the challenges we battle today really try my patience and I wonder if we're making any progress. But I have to remember where he's been. God isn't finished with him yet. And he isn't finished with me either. I know I have a lot more to learn from this boy's life. He continually reminds me that my plans are not my own and the only way to live is trusting God for each step of this journey.

I hope Luke has many memories to savor from our great trip to Georgia. I know I do.

Boop! I'm a first grader!

2011-05-27T08:39:00.007-05:00

This post about the last day of school is long overdue. I wish I'd had the time to blog in the midst of the events of the last week of school, because as time has passed the emotions have dulled a little. But completing kindergarten was a big deal.

As the last day of school approached, Luke was full of questions about the exact moment he would become a first grader. We determined it would be the moment he got his report card saying he had successfully completed kindergarten and was now moving to first grade. He said, "So, I get my report card and BOOP! I'm a first grader?"

Here's the boop! moment.

But the days leading up to this "graduation" were action packed. Thursday (I think) was Bubble Day (meaning the kids spent the entire morning on the playground playing with bubbles and such.)

Luke was pretty good at spraying and pooping bubbles with a squirt bottle.

But he decided to join his girlfriends catching bubbles. To successfully catch bubbles, your hands need to be "really bubbly." I'm surprised he tolerated the wet, slimy hands. But he'll pretty much endure anything to hang with his girlfriends.

Friday was game day, and I spent the morning hanging out with him and his friends playing Twister, Candyland, Go Fish!, and the like. Big fun.

Monday, the last full day of school, was pajama day. Perfect since it was also a rainy day.

Luke making the trek into school one last time as a kindergartner.

Mrs. W gave me this precious candy bar bouquet as a thank you for being her room mom. Boy has she got me all figured out. Chocolate!!!!!

Monday night Luke and I went to celebrate a milestone of our precious friend Neely. We had a super time at her graduation ice cream party. Luke did great, even though he was afraid of the dog. He stayed really calm and we played outside on the swings and trampoline with the dog within sight the entire time. Progress! Luke had been asking for a pet dog for several weeks. But seeing that he's still afraid, I think I've successfully bought a little time before considering that request.

Tuesday was the last day of school. It was technically a half day for the kids, but most just stopped by, said good-bye, and got their report cards. We also presented Mrs. W with her end of the year gift.

I love the interaction of Mrs. W and Luke in this photo. I think she asked them to guess what the gift was and Luke's whole body is showing his enthusiasm for this guessing game. I wonder how many such interactions these two have shared this year. Oh, I'm gonna miss her something awful!

Posing for a pic with the hand print and money bouquet gift behind them. Mrs. W was less than happy I caught her teary eyes in this photo. But I love that the picture shows how wonderful and loving she is, and how much we're going to miss each other.

After school we headed to the park for a little celebration for the kids. A super mom got this cookie cake for the kids to enjoy:

Apparently the cake decorator wasn't familiar with the possessive case.

The celebratory kids (about half the class). Luke wedged himself between his two favorite girls, of course.

Luke fell apart before the party was over. He was tired, and the day was emotional and overstimulating. He got mad at a friend for not sharing and was an emotional mess. We left without too much drama thankfully. I'm still glad we did the picnic and he had a little closure to his kindergarten year, tears and all.

I'm surprised that I was pretty sad this last week of kindergarten. Luke's done really well. His handwriting is not age appropriate, but in every other area is at least at grade level, and reading well above grade level. What an amazing answered prayer! The social issues have been a challenge. But the issue is that he is overly interested in his peers, at times obsessed with following their every move. But I know teaching social skills is a fine art and I fully expect with time and maturity he will learn proper balance. And really, to have a child on the spectrum that is so concerned with having friends really is a blessing I guess.

So I was confused as to why I was feeling blue. I really think I'm kind of mourning the fact I couldn't make it perfect for him. I couldn't give him the tools to succeed at everything he tried every day. I prayed daily that God would guide every step he took, but he still got his feelings hurt sometimes. And while logically I know he must begin now to learn life lessons, I wish I could make the path easy for him, at least for a little while longer.

My thinking now is that every school year will have blessings and challenges. So I will try to savor the good and press on the through the challenges.

But for now . . . it's SUMMER VACATION!!!!!

field trip

2011-05-15T12:46:00.007-05:00

Last Thursday Luke's class enjoyed their third and final field trip of the year. Luke certainly was not feeling his best. He went to the doctor 4 times in the past 2 weeks. I hoping for a three-copays-and-your-fourth-is-free deal, but no such luck. But I'm glad Luke was well enough to make the trip.

The kids loaded the buses Thursday morning and a bunch of us moms followed in a mini van. We had a fun ride to the Discovery Center.

A lot the activities were outside and it was a warm, sunny spring day.

Luke and friends touched a snake, a turtle, and another animal I don't remember.

We spent some time waiting for our turn and got pretty warm in the sun.

Here the kids are getting instructions on fishing for crawdads, or crayfish, or salamanders--some sort of small swimming creature. The instructor had just said, "Now you guys are fifth graders, right?" Luke thought that was hilarious.

Luke fishing. His only catch was a leaf, but he announced it proudly.

When we arrived at the Discovery Center, I found Luke standing in line crying. He wouldn't look at me. Suspicious. He was crying because he could not stand by the girls he loves in the line. This struggle has irritated me all year. I'm so tired of encouraging him to find a friend who wants to be with him, only to have him say, "NO! I don't want to!" And it really frustrated me on Thursday. But I reminded myself that he wasn't feeling just super, a field trip is very over stimulating, and sticking with his "favorite friends" is a comforting behavior for him, even if those friends don't want his company at the time. And just moments before I was talking to a mini van full of moms who've seen Luke quite a bit this year, and did not know he had "issues." I know he's doing remarkably well. But I so want him to have good, healthy friendships.

So I coped, encouraged good behavior, and tried not to let this struggle annoy me too badly. And Luke calmed down quickly, as you can see in the photos.

But Luke persisted in being close to his favorite girls. And by the end of the field trip, they were grabbing him by the hand to hurry him up the stairs so they could go down the huge tunnel slide again (a slide I'm pretty sure Luke would have been too scared to try if not trying to impress the girls).

And they wrote notes to each other in the crafty area, declaring their friendship and love. I guess sometimes persistence pays off.

His social skills will improve with time, by the grace of God. And it's not like his classmates are exactly socially mature. Luke's behavior is perhaps just a bit more intense at times. And he gets a little more emotional when things don't go his way.

After a fun day, the kids loaded into the hot bus for the drive back to school. And the exhausted moms collapsed into the minivan. We made it about 2 miles before stopping for diet cokes and chocolate.

Friday I started feeling pretty lousy myself. Perhaps I get a little cranky too when I'm sick. I went to the walk-in clinic on Friday evening because my ear felt like it might explode. I had no idea that 35 year olds got ear infections! And I sure do have sympathy for little ones with infected ears. It hurts! And I've been dizzy for days. Probably a complication of having an ear infection when you're old.

Despite challenges, kindergarten has been a wonderful year. I know every single year will have it's obstacles. But I'm so thankful for his wonderful teacher, his friends, and all he's learned. One week left. Keeping the tissues handy.

crazy couple of weeks

2011-05-08T20:17:00.012-05:00

Once again I'm behind. The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy. I want to soak up these final days of kindergarten (augh!) but I'm feeling ready for a break from the craziness.

Last Thursday Luke woke up with a red eye. Oh, you've fooled me before red eyes. I put some allergy drops in his eyes, gave him allegra, and sent him to school. A couple hours later I got a call from the school nurse that Luke had an itchy, gooey eye.

I quickly hurried to school to accept my mom of the year award for sending my contagious child to school. En route, I made an appointment with pediatrician. We headed straight there and got our expected pink eye diagnosis and prescription. We finished up at lunch time, and Sonic just happens to be next door to our pediatrician's office. So we savored a little lunch, and our respective Sonic favs: a large diet coke and a chocolate shake.

The pink eye cleared up quickly, but Friday night Luke started complaining of a sore throat and ear pain. We headed back to the doctor Saturday morning and after much drama over his strep test (which was negative), we learned Luke had developed an ear infection since Thursday. So we left with a new script for augmentin.

Luke then had 3 difficult, grumpy days. I'm now pretty sure he wasn't feeling well, but oh how he tried my patience those days. But I now know it definitely gets Luke's attention if I cry in frustration.

Tuesday night was Specials Night as school. Mimi and Papa joined us for dinner and visiting the special classes at school (Art, Library, Music, P.E.) We began our tour in art, but Luke was not interested in completing any crafts. Shocker. So we headed to gym for, in Luke's words, "dance lines." (a.k.a. line dancing). This definitely interested Luke.

Luke and friends cutting a rug to Cotton Eyed Joe.

We also stopped by the music room and Luke rocked it on the instruments. Before we left we also visited the library for a story, and then ultimately back to the art room for a craft, because we couldn't leave without completing every activity. After a few difficult days, Luke did well in the busy, over stimulating evening.

Luke and Daddy had a great time on the playground that evening. Shortly after arriving home, Luke broke out in a rash, kind of like hives. It happened shortly after his evening dose of augmentin, so we worried it was drug related. And so Wednesday we went back to the doctor for the third time in a week.

The rash of course was completely gone when we arrived at the doctor's office. Neither the doctor or I were ready to commit to a penicillin allergy. Luke's ear and eye were totally clear. I asked if we should try another dose of the augmentin as a test. The doctor was all for it, if I was comfortable with it.

That evening, more than 24 hours after his last dose, Luke broke out in a rash again.

The photo really doesn't capture the drama of the whelps. But at least he was still happy.

Benedryl cleared up the rash again (and boy did he sleep well), so I went ahead with my test in the morning. I kept him home a full hour after giving him the medicine and no rash. He was very glad we still made it to school before sharing time was over. He shared the details of his rash with the class.

So no more mystery rashes, and Luke seems to generally be feeling better. And he is much more agreeable and pleasant too. Funny how those seem to go hand-in-hand.

Friday was field day. I had no idea what to expect.

He was excited and full of school spirit.

My assignment was supervising the giant slide. Lamar was off on Friday, so he came along. We took turns as the inflatable police.

Luke heading up the slide. Lots of years (and $$$) of OT and a whole lot of prayer have him climbing on such an apparatus. He's still cautious and kind of slow, but he's not afraid to try.

The field day I remember from my child was lots of organized races and events, with winners and ribbons in each event. But Luke and his partner were free to wander among all the activities and choose what they wanted to do. And the point of all the activities was to have fun. Luke's buddy reported to me Luke did not want want to play any of the water games (which was most of them) so I took a walk with them to try and help.

Luke and C decided to try this one first.

The entire point of this game was to spray each other with water bottles. I anticipated this not going well.

Right after this friend sprayed Luke in the face, Luke began to cry and attempted to seek revenge. It did not go as he planned and he was a little worked up by the end of the game.

We moved on to other activities. Luke wanted desperately to win, even though all the games emphasized they were simply fun and no winners were declared.

In this event, the object was to crab crawl with a bowl of water on your belly. Luke found this position more effective.

Lamar then took a turn hanging with the boys. He convinced Luke it would be okay to get wet.

He did a really good job convincing him.

Before this game began, they let the kids soak each other. Big fun.

And here is the actual game. I doubt Luke was supposed to use his hand to hold the sponge between his knees, but no one was really enforcing that rule.

We stayed for a tasty school pizza lunch. And then I enjoyed watching Luke and his friends toss the 80 something water balloons my fingers were raw from filling and tying the night before. I have no pictures because I was busy guarding my precious balloons from getting stepped on or swiped by a kindergartner from another class. The squeals of delight when a water balloon burst on the ground were worth my aching back and sore fingers. Almost.

Luke and I rested this weekend. He now has what I guess is an allergy-induced cough. I am so ready for him to be well and fully enjoy his last few days of kindergarten.

More pics to come. Luke got a much needed haircut this weekend. He finally agreed to try the clippers and he did super. What a great mother's day gift!

Easter Time!

2011-04-24T15:35:00.004-05:00

It's Sunday afternoon and our family is wiped out. Tired and blessed.

Friday night we dyed eggs.

Luke had a blast measuring and pouring the water this year. I ran out of vinegar so mixed results on our colors this year, but lot of fun.

Saturday morning Luke wrote "Quiet Please" on his marker board and announced he was going to do a puppet show. I was his assistant and we spent an hour or two making signs announcing the show and assembling the cast.

We were just about ready to begin when Luke announced we needed decorations. I was trying to think of something easy to draw and suggested flowers for the decor. Luke said, "great idea," went to the computer, logged on to pbskids.org, and opened a Cat and Hat game that was a flower creator. He made and printed six flowers.

This photo shows some of our decorations. Then we drew some more pictures that we hung around the room. We were finally ready for the show to begin. Luke called the audience (Daddy) and I ran the video camera. I will have to attempt to post the video of the show. He spent 0 minutes preparing a script. It was all ad lib. My favorite line was "I'm a flower and I'm 'bout to grow."

I had not intended to spend my Saturday morning putting on a puppet show. I actually had a little list of things I wanted to accomplish. But this was an unusual burst of creativity for Luke so I jumped at the opportunity and tried to savor it.

Saturday evening we headed to friends' house for our annual egg hunt. I've posted about our special little egg hunt in years past. It was a fun time for Luke to hang out with his buddies.

A little pre hunt jumping.

A bunch of BIG kids ready for hunting.

Luke did a really good job hunting independently, not obsessing over winning and losing, and sharing the loot with his friends. Proud of him.

The kids, posing for the annual photo. They are so grown up. Sigh.

My tripod broke (augh!) at the egg hunt, but the ledge of the deck worked pretty well. We took one group shot and everyone was smiling AND looking at the camera. Amazing. Such big kids.

Well, we did take one more photo.

Luke was so keyed up after the egg hunt and the time with friends (a.k.a. chasing the girls around trying to get their attention) he took a long time to wind down and go to sleep. I think his brain takes a while to turn off after exciting activities. So we had a late night followed by an early morning.

Thankfully the bunny didn't leave us much candy, since we have a lot of loot 3 egg hunts. He did leave a couple of movies and some goodies.

After a wonderful time of worship, we headed to do a little more egg hunting at Mimi and Papa's church. Luke was tired, but rallied to get a few more eggs.

What form!

After about 10 or 15 eggs he declared himself done.

The only family photo I got today. It was windy and my hair was a situation.

Luke and his egg hunt prize. He named "her" Ashley.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with Mimi and Papa but we were all very tired from the busy weekend (Seriously, I don't know if we could ever manage Disney world. Apparently we need lots of downtime.) Luke had been talking about egg hunting at Mimi's house, but I didn't know if he was game for more. But he rallied one more time and did a little more hunting and hiding.

Look at that enthusiasm. After a few rounds he decided he was just "too tired of walking" and the egg hunt was over.

There were a few small bumps but mostly a great weekend for Luke and our family. Holidays used to bring so much pain of unrealized expectations and activities Luke couldn't manage participating in. Just look at him now. Praising God for this step-by-step, little-by-little miracle!

autism awareness month

2011-04-13T22:10:00.008-05:00

Did you know April is Autism Awareness Month? It's awareness month for several other things too. I just googled it and got a lengthy list, including IBS awareness. Well, having a child with autism could certainly make that worse . . . .

Anyway, I've read a few touching stories on various websites this month about the trials and blessings of having a family member with autism. Most things I read were about an individual extremely affected by autism, and the triumph in finding a way for that person to communicate or discovering a hidden talent. Hats off to those families. I stand in awe.

So it's been a while since I've detailed how autism is affecting our lives these days. Of course it's interwoven into every post. My perspective on every event of Luke's child will always be seen through the eyes of an autism mom. But our burdens have changed so much since my early blogging days. Praise God! But the burdens are still there and I guess the best way to explain that is to describe my week.

Saturday night, Luke's eyes suddenly became very itchy and started swelling. I gave him benedryl and a bath. And I skyped with my awesome pediatrician sister-in-law who thought allergies. Sunday morning was worse. I was ready to call the pediatrician. But once the benedryl kicked in again, he got relief.

This is the photo I sent Lamar at work to show him how much better he was looking. We took him to the doc Monday morning who confirmed my sister-in-law's diagnosis. He recommended allergy meds and I explained that I would not put him on zyrtec again. He took zyrtec at age 2, and, as I told the doc, "It pushed him a little further down the spectrum." I didn't realize how drastically it affected his behavior until we stopped it. Apparently I'm not the first to complain about this side effect and he suggest allegra. He also suggested some eye drops and perhaps we'll try a nose spray in the future. I was sure Luke would protest the eye drops and saline spray (just to get him used to the feel) but he's been doing just super. His comment on the eye drops was "That's really chilly water in my eye." And now I'm over analyzing every behavior this week, wondering how the allegra is affecting him. Allegra apparently does not cross the blood/brain barrier. We'll see.

And so after missing school on Monday, going back Tuesday was not pleasurable. Luke's started talking a lot about first grade. He's fixated on he and his 3 bffs (3 girls who I seriously doubt reciprocate his adoration) being in the same class. I've specified I do NOT want him with these friends next year, and Mrs. W agrees. Since he keeps bringing it up, with the Mrs. W's permission, I told him he definitely would not be with them next year. He said, "OK, I will tell the girls," and whispered under his breathe, rehearsing how he'd break the news.

This led to a conversation on Luke varying who he plays with. He eventually told me he wants help finding new friends to play with. We had an impromptu meeting with Mrs. W in the hallway Tuesday morning to discuss how he would like her help finding new friends to sit by and play with (She's been encouraging this all year.). And he's had some success this week, but the lure of the girls has drawn him in a few times too.

And Luke has decided once again that he needs a parent at lunch with him everyday. Lamar and I have been to a LOT of kindergarten lunches this year. The kids are so used to us being there. Yesterday one precious little friend asked me to mix up her cookies and cream ice cream so it would "look all chocolate." I tried, but did a pretty lousy job. Her comment, "Well, Mr. Lamar can do it."

Lamar is working a later shift today and I had to work this morning. Luke wanted me to eat lunch with him. I told him the only way for me to be lunch was to go to work early, which meant Daddy would have to take him to school. (I always do drop off.) He said this would work. So, I gave in on the lunch but we did work on flexibility in our drop off routine. My thought was we'd work on the lunch issue next week.

So I just discovered there is tea for the adults in the lunchroom (I'm not much on eating with the kids. It's pretty gross.) Today I was getting my tea when Luke was sitting down at the table. Seat selection always causes him some anxiety, but he did fine today, all by himself. He also went by himself to get ice cream. Now I'm thinking maybe I just need to help him have confidence and independence at lunch.

Perhaps you're wondering why the school doesn't have support for him at lunch. They do! But Luke will not allow his aid to help him at lunch. He really doesn't like every having extra help. He does LOVE the aid that brings him to the pick up line after school. She just happens to be gorgeous. Trouble, trouble.

Today is show and tell day. Luke took giant play penny he got from the treasure box at therapy, and some mardi gras looking beads that he said are "tiny disco balls." I hope his class finds this funny. It's always a big let down for him when they don't respond as he anticipated.

I've heard from several autism moms that "social issues" were the biggest challenge of kindergarten. And I thought, "Well, Luke loves other children so that shouldn't be too hard." But teaching him how to respond in social situations, where there are no absolutes for how his friends will react, is a big challenge. For example, yesterday at lunch (yep, I've been 2 days in a row) the little girl sitting next to him was pretty grumpy. Luke wanted to whisper a "secret" in her ear and she said she didn't want him close to her face. She continued to whine and complain about various things. Luke continued to try and tell her something, and she continued to get perturbed. I whispered in his ear, "Remember what you do when a friend isn't being nice or doesn't want to play?" He said, "Find another friend." So I said, "Well, you do the same thing when a friend doesn't want to talk to you." He said, "Oh!" and began talking to the girl sitting across from him.

He doesn't always respond so calmly to correction, particularly at home in the evenings when he's tired, but he's getting so much better about remaining calm and rational.

I am nothing but thankful for the progress we've made. My heart goes out to all those parents working every day to teach basic language and play skills. Those days are so tiring! But there are things about teaching language that I think were actually easier than teaching how to navigate the complex social structure of kindergarten. Multiple times each day I wonder if I'm enabling him or being too demanding. But I chose to believe that God has led us to this place, with Luke and his uniqueness as our only child, and I trust he'll lead us down the right path. It's the only way I know to live.

savoring 5 kilometers

2011-04-09T21:02:00.005-05:00

The end of 2010, my friend Sara Walker lost her sweet baby girl at the very end of a normal pregnancy. In the weeks that followed, Sara learned she has stage 4 colon cancer. In the days leading up to and immediately following her diagnosis, Sara began to share news and her hope with friends and family via email. A few weeks later at her kitchen table we discussed a caringbridge site . . . and the rest is history. Sara is sharing her journey with cancer and so much more here. What woman, faced with such tragedy, would inspire thousands to be transparent, let go of fear, live by faith, and savor today? Only a woman filled with the holy spirit. She is amazing. She is revolutionary. Yesterday it was our honor to walk in the Walker Run 5K. The run was organized by Sara's former PT school classmates and sponsored by her employer, STAR Physical Therapy. I think they said 1200 people registered for the race. Lamar was working yesterday so Luke and I tagged along with some friends. Luke and Cooper and their chariot. Ready to get started! The Walkers receiving their giant check (I was SO hoping there would be a giant check!) for $30,657. A-mazing!!!!! Check out this view of walkers and runners. It gives me chills. The boys taking a break in the wagon. They did run and walk quite a bit. Too bad I have no photos of that!

We made it! And we're bringing the t-shirt tie back! When Luke put on the t-shirt and declared it too big, I knew exactly what to do. Thank you 1989!

After the race we hitched a ride home with our beloved Jackie Lynn. And we had a little CB brunch, followed by a good game of checkers.

Luke did really well despite the crowds, noise, and totally new experience. He got just a bit irrational when he tripped, but other than that, super behavior from Luke.

Each time I look at pics from the race, or think back to our sweet Sara addressing the crowd yesterday, I think of this song: Love lifted me (even me). (Because songs in my head are always in 4 part harmony) Love lifted me (even me). When nothing else could help, love lifted me.

a fish tale

2011-04-07T20:08:00.008-05:00

Luke was having a personal struggle lately. He's probably getting too old for me to give the details of this struggle, but let's just say I was really motivated to help him overcome this struggle. And my washer and dryer were getting tired. So, we promised if he could accomplish a goal in overcoming the obstacle, he could get some pet fish. Although this photo is unrelated, it pretty much sums up my feelings on pet ownership. Luke chose a Sponge Bob fish tank. Just great. Our sales associate at the pet store didn't seem to be quite a fish expert. She said this tank would be fine for two large goldfish and the algae eater she suggested we purchase. When checking out, an older and wiser (I'm guessing) employee said, "Hmmm, those fish are going in there? (pause) Well, they should be fine. But you'll need to change the water once week. Because their poop will make the ammonia levels high." Should. have. known. this. would. be. trouble. But Luke loves the fish. He declared them all girls and named them Molly, Teddy, and Caroline. Two of those names are on my list of favorite girl names. The first night we fed the fish and dropped in an algae tablet for Caroline (the algae eater). Caroline did not touch her food, but Molly and Teddy devoured their food and the algae. Hmmm . . . The next morning the tank was kind of cloudy and well, I think that man at the pet store knew what he was talking about. Luke was home sick on Thursday. I noticed water collecting under the tank. Sponge Bob's house had cracked. I called Lamar at work, who concurred that we needed to get them out of there, but what to do? I did the only logical thing. I called my parents to come help us. They arrived about an hour later with a new tank and a net. They majorly rock. And much rinsing, filling the tank, and treating the water, the fish seemed happy in their second new home in 48 hours. What a relief the Sponge Bob decor could be moved to aquarium #2. So last night Lamar and I discussed Caroline not eating the algae and her sisters eating it. We googled it and found a few recommendations to put something like zucchini in the tank for the algae eater. Well, I have no zucchini in the house. And what's to keep the goldfish from eating that too. And who knows what that would do to their g.i. tracts. And it's just weird and gross. So we tried the algae one more time and a repeat performance. And the tank was filmy today again and poor Molly and Teddy weren't swimming to much. So in my favorite moment of the entire fish debacle, Lamar called the pet store and asked if necessary to feed the algae eater. This employee said no. She's had the same algae eater for 3 years and never fed it the tablets. Then Lamar said, "Well, our goldfish are eating the algae and they are pooping A LOT." So in one last effort to save Molly, Teddy, and Caroline, we changed the aquarium water AGAIN. All 10 gallons. The water is clear and freshly treated. And no more algae tablets. The fish are still acting sluggish, but maybe they'll recover? Maybe they're traumatized from all the moving. Luke LOVES moving the fish with the net. He just needs some supervision so as not to crush them. Luke was super excited to take pictures of the fish for show and tell today. And he keeps asking when we can get a cat and dog. Don't hold your breath, buddy. In other news, Luke would really like to have a brother and sister. The request began on our trip to Chattanooga. It first started when we were purchasing aquarium (another aquarium causing me problems!) tickets at the kiosk and we got 2 adult tickets and 1 child ticket. I think he wants a brother and a sister so there will be more kids than adults and he will be on the "winning team". Because right now EVERYTHING in his life is about who is winning. So the other night Luke was really bugging me about when we could get a brother and sister. He prefers the brother be 8 and the sister be 5. He has no interest adding an infant to the family. He thinks we should name the girl Allie and the boy Jerry. After several questions and requests I suggested Luke pray about his desires. So he did. The next morning he got up and went downstairs, looked around and said, "Where are they?" Who? "The brother and sister." :)

a little stormy

2011-04-04T18:08:00.006-05:00

Last Friday night, after a pretty low-key day, Luke and I were watching TV when Lamar came home from work. Luke was very tired but determined he was not. After Lamar ate his reheated supper, he got out the big bag of popcorn. Lamar discovered the big bags of popcorn at Publix a few months ago. Luke devoured the popcorn the first time we offered it to him, so I started packing it for his school snack each day. I usually put something else with it, like a few pretzels. He's never made a single comment about his snack. When Luke saw the popcorn bag he got really upset. He grabbed the bag from Lamar's hands and poured ALL the popcorn on his little table. Then he took hand fulls of the popcorn to the trash can saying, "I want this to be gone." So of course I want to punish him for this outrageous behavior. It made me furious. But it was so odd that I had to understand his motivation. Luke was able to calm himself enough to talk about it. After many questions I ascertained he does not like having popcorn for his snack. It makes him mad that every day popcorn is in his snack bag. So he thought he'd get rid of the popcorn. I walked him through a better way to discuss this with me and we agreed no more popcorn in the snack bag. And then he cleaned up the mess. Meltdowns like these are rare these days. But it still knocked the wind out of my sails for a bit. On Saturday we made our way to the movies, Luke's fifth cinematic experience: My expectations for Hop were low. I expected cheesy slap-stick. And there was plenty of cheese, but the movie was really cute and I laughed a lot. Joe Cool poses with the movie poster, our little movie tradition. Too bad about the glare. Right before the movie Luke and I managed to spill diet coke all over him. In our defense, I was trying to save him from a spill and the cup collapsed in my hand. We ran to the restroom. I had spare pants for him in my bag (doesn't everyone?) and he put on the sweatshirt we brought in case it was chilly. And we made it back to our seats before the movie started. Our rock star moment of the day. On Monday the weather forecast was a little scary. I stayed close to home, knowing I might need to make a dash to school. Then I got an email from Mrs. W that she was leaving school with her sick child. I knew Luke was with a sub and a storm was approaching. I planned to arrive just as they returned from specials and take him or at least ride out the storm with him at school. But the storm moved more quickly than anyone expected. I was on the exercise bike and heard tornado sirens. So I went against all safety protocol and threw Lamar's big rain slicker over my exercise clothes and jumped in the van. In my .5 mile drive to school, the wind was gusting and the rain was pouring. I sat in the van in parking lot, wondering if it was safe to run in. The wind was rocking the van and I figured I wasn't exactly safe there. I thought about driving right up to the door and just parking in the fire lane and running in. But what if there was an emergency and a fire truck needed to come. So I just jumped out and ran in. I didn't even have on my bright orange rain boots that I wear every single time it rains. Just my Nikes that were instantly saturated. The secretary saw me coming, opened the door and said, "He's right here in the nurse's office." Apparently the special ed teachers thought it would be good idea to bring some of the kids that might be especially nervous to the office. But Luke didn't want to gather with the others in the assistant principal's office. Luke's kind of a special ed snob. So he was hanging with his bff Ms. Wendie in the nurse's office. He was so glad to see me, saying "Wow Mom! How did you get here?" And I was so glad he was so well taken care of. LOVE our school. We waited out the storm together, me soaking wet, looking through an old yearbook. He loved finding students and teachers he knows. I can only imagine how excited he'll be when he gets his first yearbook in a few weeks. We survived the stormy week and are feeling much sunnier today.

just another sunday

2011-03-29T19:48:00.009-05:00

Last Sunday Luke woke up tired and cranky. Our attempts to get dressed and out the door were failing miserably. I told him we would miss early church if he didn't hurry. He usually strongly prefers early church, because his favorite girl, Neely (age 18), is at early church and lately we've been sitting with her and her cool mom. But he asked if we could go to late church today. We did and it was nice not making the made dash to get out the door by 7:40. So en route to church Luke asked if he could go to children's worship. He hasn't been interested in participating in children's worship in months. I agreed he could go and I would stay with him. While in children's ministry he helped with communion, said a prayer, and helped in the Bible story. * * Here's Nehemiah showing how he feels about the temple walls being destroyed. I'm so appreciative of the great children's worship volunteers including and just providing a wonderful, enriching experience for all the children. * After Luke's performance, I noticed one of Luke's former Sunday School teachers sitting in the back of the room. Going to such a big church, it's been ages since I've seen her. She had Luke in Bible class from 2 1/2--3 1/2. She came over to talk about Luke's performance with tears in her eyes, amazed at his progress. * Boy did I need that dose of perspective! Because lately I'm struggling. Luke is challenging me daily in new ways. He is a precious sweet boy one moment, and the next he's angrily arguing about something ridiculous and declaring how mean I am. I've tried everything to correct and discipline. And what seems the most effective is ignoring him and not acknowledging him until his words are kind and he is calm. * And that is NOT what I want to do. I want to react. And I have. And I know from experience it is not the solution. But that's what I want to do. * And I've realized, yet again, that there is no coasting in parenting Luke. Every day must be filled with structure and intentional living. And perhaps you're thinking "that's true with any child." Well, I don't know a lot about parenting a typical child, but in observing my friends and family members I just don't think it is essential with a typical child. Of course every child benefits from structure, but is it isn't essential to get through the day? If mom has a migraine and can't go through the normal morning routine and hands off to dad, does a typical child scream and refuse to put on his shirt before school? * Oh he's come so far. But am I allowed to say that these remaining obstacles make me tired? * Have I blogged about my sweet friend Sara? She is in the fight of her life, for her life. And God is changing lives through her story. Read her words and be encouraged. Her latest post was about God's healing not in the quick way she'd hope, but little by little. And I completely believe God has healed Luke and he is my miracle, my day by day, little by little miracle. * So I will choose to not compare my family to others. I will savor the sweetness of my boy and help him through the challenges. Like Sunday night we saw my friend and coworker Katie. I was telling her about Luke coming to work with me on Friday of spring break when she was out of town. I was telling her about the emails Luke was sending and she said, "Luke, you're hired!" And he said, "Katie, you're lowered!" Savor!

back to "chaganooga"

2011-03-24T14:20:00.015-05:00

I hate it when I neglect the blog. Because once I'm behind, it's so overwhelming to think about trying to catch up. Some funny things happened the last couple of weeks I'm sure. But I'm just going to pretend they didn't and move on to our spring break. We wanted to get away for a few days, but didn't want to go far or be gone long. We thought about Gatlinburg, but just weren't up for the traffic. We thought and thought and I said, "We could go back to Chattanooga." Luke loved this idea, so of course that's what we did. Guess where we stopped on our way into town? Rock City! And there beside the gnome hats are See Rock City birdhouse hats. Classy. I know we have a picture of me and my brother sitting on this stone bench at Rock City about 30 years ago or so. Wouldn't it be nice if I actually had that photo and inserted it here for comparison? If I were a good blogger I'd do that. And check out super cool Luke with his glasses up on his forehead. He had strict guidelines about glasses on your eyes in the sun and on your head in the shade. I was frequently a rule violator. Some nice lady volunteered to photograph our family. I just lovely friendly folks! Fat Man's Squeeze. A favorite of Luke's. The boys in front of the waterfall. Luke's comment about everything in Rock City was, "It is SO beautiful!" Even the really cheesy stuff was so beautiful. After a great time at Rock City, we checked into the hotel, rested a bit, and headed out for dinner at Big River (barbecue chicken pizza--yum!!!!!). Luke said several times he wanted to go to the"carpet slide". Here's the carpet slide. A hill down by the river covered in brown grass. There are large pieces of cardboard, I assume left by other sliders. His OT gym has a carpet slide and I guess it's a similar sliding experience. After a small wipeout on his 2nd or 3rd slide, he was a little scared. So Lamar escorted him down the hill several times. He's a really good sport. Tired boy after a fun day. Day 2 we planned to head to the aquarium. But Luke kept asking to go to the museum. Last year we went to the Creative Discovery Center and he kind of enjoyed it, but he quickly moved from one activity to the next without really playing anywhere. So I wasn't excited to pay admission again, but he insisted he really wanted to go. Why not? He wasn't much for the first water play area, but he LOVED the play structure. He and Daddy did some serious climbing. SERIOUS climbing. Walking to take this photo I got soaked by a boy playing with the water. Kept me quite cool for our entire 3 hour museum visit. Luke then sat down and colored and cut out this crafty project with me. He willingly sat down and did a craft. Wow. Luke's favorite section of the museum was the music and performance area. He loved the stage area again this year, especially the sound effects. And he LOVED this screen that had psychedelic colors and forms mimicking his movements. Could have stayed here for hours. He saw some children walking around with decorated faces and he remembered face painting from our visit last year. We had to find the face painting station pronto. He spent quite a while on his masterpiece. The masterpiece. After spending a long time in the downstairs exhibits, we headed up to the roof. Here I'm lifting Luke with a pulley. Pretty much the only way I could lift him anymore. Kayaking demo. I wonder how many kids had that helmet on before he did. Gross. Back downstairs he found this voice recording exhibit. He could have entertained himself there for hours. Too bad for him (fortunately for us adults) some other children wanted a turn. We finally left the museum and Luke immediately decided he was embarrassed by his face paint, a total replay of last year. He wanted me to somehow hide his face as we walked back to the hotel, which was as impossible as it sounds. And he did not enjoy the scrubbing required to remove the face paint. I suggested he store up these memories for the next time face painting seems like a good idea. But the museum was definitely a hit this year and it was amazing to see how far his play skills have progressed in a year. After a very yummy Cheeburger Cheeburger lunch, where Luke was fascinated as our waiter announced that two fellow patrons had polished off 20 oz. burgers and instructed us all to cheer for them, placed giant hamburger hat on their heads, and took their picture (because excessive eating should be celebrated. Nonetheless, they were some seriously good burgers), we headed to the aquarium. I was tired and Lamar was tired. I suggested we just rest a while and skip the aquarium. We could head out for more fun and dinner later. Luke really thought the aquarium would be fun. We started out with gusto. He even touched a stingray. I think he touched it. Those stingrays must be immune to human germs. There are thousands of hands in that tank each day I bet. Or they replace those stingrays pretty often. We loved the tiny penguin exhibit again. I'm still really hoping the penguins are happy in there, jumping in that same little pool over and over. About halfway through the aquarium, Luke's energy was fading fast. He was following other families around, because every family is apparently more interesting than ours. He asked if he could take pictures (I just had our little point and shoot on this trip). He took about 200 photos. They all look pretty much like this. After reviewing his photography work he said, "All the fish have red eyes." After the picture taking bonanza, we went back to the hotel and crashed. After a little rest we hit the hotel pool for a second time. Luke loved the water and after months of not swimming, he jumped in with no fear. I cannot procrastinate any longer on swimming lessons. I mailed in a registration form for swim school today. Hope we get a spot. We enjoyed another good dinner, more fun sliding down the hill and playing on the playground and a milk shake, with sprinkles in it. Did you know, if you ask, Cold Stone will put sprinkles in your milkshake? I can't imagine anyone other than Luke would need that information though. We enjoyed a second delicious FREE breakfast at our hotel Wednesday morning and headed home. We stopped for some shopping, because I learned this weekend that Luke's swimsuit from last year was TOO small. Luke had a super time in "Chaganooga". He bid farewell to every single thing we did as we drove out of town and promised "We'll be back Chaganooga." We enjoyed our second visit to this incredibly family friendly town. After checking into our hotel we walked everywhere we went. And there was so much more we wanted to do but just ran out of time. During Spring Break we also saw Mars Needs Mom and Luke lost his second tooth (not simultaneously thankfully). Back to school on Monday. Just about 9 weeks left of kindergarten. How can it be?

story book character day

2011-03-02T14:21:00.007-06:00

So March 2 is Dr. Seuss' birthday, or sometime around there. And I was completely unaware that Dr. Seuss' birthday is a big deal. But I am so aware now.

I commented to someone (who shall remain nameless) that I do not remember celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday when I was a child in school. She said, "Well, he had not died yet." Ahhh, but he was having birthdays.

So in conjunction with Dr. Seuss' birthday, kindergartners dressed as their favorite story book characters. Any guesses who Luke wanted to be?

Scooby dooby doo!

When Mrs. W told them about book character day, Luke just knew he wanted to be Scooby. I contemplated buying him a costume, but I found this rather simple pattern for making the hat. And thank goodness I have Mimi around to help with shopping and sewing.

We got the brown tshirt in a bag of hand-me-downs from a friend. And I made the SD with felt squares and hot glue. Can you believe I free handed that? Shocker, I know.

And Luke needed a picture of his back.

Getting hyped about the big day!

In celebration of Dr. Seuss the kindergartners feasted on green eggs and ham.

Poor kids were stuck with this bad chef. And that is likely one of the worst pics of me ever. But the world needed to see those lovely green eggs. I think I was supposed to mix the ham with the eggs, but we served them separately. I knew at least one boy would be eating the ham but no eggs.

A few story book characters getting ready to deliver green eggs and ham to the office staff.

Luke and Durham take a tasty treat to our very favorite administrator, Mrs. C.

I returned later in the day, along with a few other moms, to read to the kids. I took two books and let them vote for which one I'd read. We're Going On A Bear Hunt won by a landslide. Luke was absolutely so excited I was there reading I thought he just might burst. My heart swells when I see him doing well at school.

So happy birthday Dr. Seuss! Your birthday bash was tons of fun!

parties, spring, school

2011-02-26T20:09:00.004-06:00

That look pretty much typifies my mood lately. I don't know why. Maybe it's because we had two birthday parties in less than 24 hours. And both were at jumping places. But there was a time when Luke cried for the entirety of every birthday party he attended. And it wasn't that long ago. So I really shouldn't complain. And it's really great that he boldly tries all the inflatables these days, even if he needs help sometimes. That's a huge advancement. But if possible he wants both me and Lamar to go to every party with him. Lamar for help in the obstacles and me for moral support I guess. So we all three traipse to each party. I'm sure all his classmates' parents must think we're crazy over-protective. Or that we don't get out much.

At least I got this cute pic of Luke and his little friend Kate. This party's theme was Despicable Me, thus the glasses (I guess like the little yellow creatures in the movie. I think they wear glasses.)

Yesterday was a pretty gorgeous day and we had some fun outside, trying out some great toys from the party goodie bags. Seriously. The Pump It Up "thunder sticks" were super fun (inflatable sticks great for hitting things and people) We chased each other around the yard with them forever. And then Luke stepped on one and it popped. Oh well, fun while it lasted.

Short sleeves in February. I think Punxsutaney Phil may have been right about this early spring.

Lamar raked some leaves that fell in, oh, November maybe. And Luke was the trash compactor.

Luke had a friend over to play the other day and they had a splendid time playing Wii. When I took his friend home, I asked him if he knew his house number. (I'd been there once and thought I'd remember which house but I'd forgotten to look it up before we left to confirm.) The friend responded that he didn't know. I rephrased, asking if he knew his address, but he didn't. Luke, who had been to to his house once, said, "I know. It's 3-3-0." He was right.

On Thursday afternoon I spent a few hours in Luke's classroom, taking down artwork and of course listening in on the activities of the day. Mrs. W asked a question about a book they'd read earlier. Luke raised his hand and answered correctly. Last week, for some reason, I was kind of mentally stuck on the challenges that remain, and feeling a tad frustrated. But I chose to savor that moment, because my boy participating in class with no aids or assistance, is pretty amazing.

Please vote for Luke!

2011-02-23T10:41:00.002-06:00

My awesome photographer friend, Karen Halbert, is having a contest. Please vote for this fabulous photo she took of Luke:

To vote, go to "karen halbert photography" page on facebook. Like her page. Then go to the "2010 Contest Album" and find Luke's photo. He is image 20, 5th row on the far right. Then like the photo of Luke.

That's it! Contest ends tomorrow, 2/24, at 8 p.m. Thanks for voting!

on the big screen

2011-02-19T20:06:00.004-06:00

Today Luke made his third trip to the cinemas for . . .

He willingly posed with this sign picturing "the little mad guy."

What is up with this new picture face? Oh well. We had a little popcorn.

Luke was really excited about the whole experience. He covered his ears for all the previews and got a little scared. (He also got scared in a school assembly on Friday, I think due to noise, and had to leave. That hasn't happened in a long time.) But he settled comfortably into his seat for our feature presentation, no hands on ears.

He laughed a lot at the silly comedy in the movie. He seemed to follow the basics of the storyline. Before we decided to go, I made sure the ending was cheery.

But as the credits rolled he burst into tears. I don't know if the ending was emotional for him and the big sensory experience made him a little more sensitive, or maybe he's been googling Shakespeare and was upset at the deviation from the original script. (Sorry for the spoilers but I'm guessing you might have guessed it's a loose interpretation.)

But he quickly calmed down and now says the movie was great. He says it's maybe not as good as Toy Story 3 and Tangled (his other two theater experiences), but still great.

And in the last few days Luke has decided he loves--seriously loves--Scooby Doo. Definitely beats the Hannah Montana phase.

After dinner last night, he got really quite while watching a Scooby DVD. We went to check and this is what we found . . .

Scooby was still playing . . . in French. This morning I asked why he set the language to French and he said, "I love French. It's kind of like Spanish." Of course.

V Day and Teeth Day

2011-02-16T18:36:00.006-06:00

Valentine's Day was our third and final class party for the year. Our last kindergarten class party. Sniff.

At the Halloween party we played a little game of sorts, "Going On a Ghost Hunt." And at the Christmas party we went on a Santa hunt. The kids really wanted to hunt again. So I came up with a completely cheesy hunt for the Valentine's party.

Here we are catching pretending to catch candy hearts in our mouths. We swam in a river of chocolate and marched through a field of flowers. Complete cheese. But apparently kindergartners kind of like cheesy.

We played a couple of fun games. Another mom lent me a game with a stack of hearts, each with silly tasks to complete: sing your favorite song, do your favorite dance, make a silly face, etc. They kids drew a heart, performed the task, and got a chocolate kiss. Big hit.

Then to fill a little time I modified a game we played at the Christmas party. I blindfolded one student and then had another child say "Happy Valentine's Day," trying to disguise his/her voice. Then the blindfolded child guessed who said spoke. They LOVED this super simple game.

Daddy was able to come to the party too. Yeah!

Several weeks ago I made Luke's first dental appointment. I should have taken him before age 6. But there are so many reasons I didn't attempt a dentist visit at a younger age. I suspect you faithful 3 readers can list all those reasons too. Anxiety and super sensitive gag reflex are just a couple.

And in the last few weeks Luke had his first loose tooth. He's wiggled and wiggled, but progress was slow. And then I noticed the permanent tooth coming in behind the wiggly baby tooth. Exactly what happened with my teeth as a child. And I had many baby teeth pulled by the dentist because of it. I certainly didn't want Luke to have a tooth pulled on his first dental visit. I was praying the tooth would come out before our appointment.

Monday night, Valentine's Day, the three of us headed to the little meat 'n three just across from our neighborhood. So romantic. When we arrived I noticed Luke's mouth was bleeding a little. The tooth was just barely hanging on. After a couple of tries Lamar was able to pull the tooth. Yeah for always having napkins in the car! Luke was SO excited. I was SO thankful.

Rockin the missing tooth look.

I had no idea the going rate for teeth these days, and since it was late in the day when the tooth came out, I didn't have much time to compare notes with fellow tooth fairies. Lamar had a five in his wallet, so we went with that and a note that said, "Congratulations Luke! Love, The Tooth Fairy." Tuesday morning I had to remind him to go check for his money. He was equally as excited about the money and the note.

And about 16 hours late we headed to Luke's first dentist appointment. I was thrilled the tooth was out, but still nervous for him. He was super calm. We arrived early because it's a good little drive from our house and I didn't know what rush hour traffic would be like. Luke patiently waited in the lobby. He didn't even play with ipad I'd brought. He did ask me which is the best: the doctor, the hospital, or the dentist. I explained when you would go to each place and that one was not better than another. He said, "Yes, but you have to pick your favorite." His favorite was the dentist. Already his favorite, before he even saw him.

Dr. McNutt is well thought of in the special needs community. I now understand why. I went back with Luke and watched from chairs across the room. He got to select a movie from about 200 titles. He had his own television for viewing his chosen Toy Story. The hygienist asked what type of toothpaste he used and she used the same to clean his teeth so the taste would be familiar. She patiently explained everything to Luke. Luke was a real champ and he had a full cleaning!

After his cleaning Dr. McNutt checked out his teeth. And they took this photo of Luke demonstrating his dental hygiene techniques on the dragon. Luke got a great report. I was so pleased with Dr. McNutt and his staff.

I took Luke to school after his appointment and he shared all his big news with his friends. He was kind of a rock star, at least for a few minutes. They all wanted to know how much he got for the tooth. Judging from their reaction, this tooth fairy overpaid. One little guy said, "What! I just got a penny!" Seriously doubt that.

What a week for Luke! Some days it seems we just chip away at our remaining obstacles and progress is kind of slow. And then some days he just makes a giant leap forward. Glory!

the play date

2011-02-11T21:52:00.005-06:00

Two more snow days this week. I didn't even drag Luke outside to play in the white stuff and I took no photos. I'm kind of over the snow.

Snow begin falling Wednesday afternoon. School let out 3 hours early. Church cancelled. Traffic was apparently a nightmare around town. Several friends were stuck in traffic for hours attempting to get home. Lamar left for work at 5:15 Thursday morning. He saw many abandoned cars and several in ditches.

Luke wore his pajamas inside out Wednesday night, even though school was already cancelled for Thursday. Insurance I guess.

By mid Thursday we had significant melting. Mimi and Papa saved us from cabin fever and took us to lunch. We ran some errands and I got my only snow day photo:

On a John Deere at Lowe's.

Thursday night I was kind of surprised when we got the call that no school on Friday. I think that makes 9 snow days this school year.

So no school on Friday. Luke had his weekly OT, but much earlier in the day thanks to the flexibility of no school. About 2:30 a mom of one of Luke's school friends called, inviting Luke to play. I've met the mom many times at school and birthday parties and she's very sweet and has 4 precious children. To my knowledge she knows nothing about Luke's diagnosis or issues.

Side note: Recently at school, Luke has not wanted the help of any aids and therapists. He is extremely embarrassed when they give him any attention. He wants to be treated just like his classmates.

Luke was enthusiastic about the spontaneous play date. In route to his buddy's house, he asks if they have a dog and it occurs to me I didn't even ask. I tell him I guess we'll find out when we get there, and he agrees with no real apprehension. Wow.

We arrive at a house full of toys and children and tons of fun. It was clear that the mom didn't plan on me staying. I was just about to begin my explanation that Luke likely wouldn't separate from me. And then I thought, "Hey, you want to be treated just like the other kids so let's try it." I explained to Luke I was heading to the grocery, but I would be back. Friend's mom confirmed she would call me if he got nervous or needed to go home. Luke looked a bit nervous but then smiled and said, "Mom, I'll be fine."

So I left. Driving to Publix I thought, "I've lost my mind. I didn't tell her anything about his issues. I didn't list all his triggers. I just left him."

I made it through my grocery shopping with no phone calls. I finally called to check after a couple of hours and asked how things were going. Friend's mom said things had gone just great and she said and I quote, "He is just so sweet. He is the easiest kid ever."

So many words I use to describe Luke. Easy is never one of them. But glory to God!

I picked up a very happy boy, showing his friend and his little brother some secrets to winning gold on a Mario game. I fought my urge to photograph this monumental event. Couldn't blow our cover. We left with lots of smiles and thank yous, never letting on that today was a milestone.

We spent our evening at another classmate's birthday party. The kids were precious and all had a ball, including Luke. But I think there is some sort of time warp during birthday parties and one hour somehow becomes 5. Sure feels that way.

A fairly eventful snow day for us, even if we never touched the snow.

lately

2011-02-03T19:48:00.006-06:00

What have we been doing lately? We certainly seem busy, but it's hard to recall what business has filled the days.

A week or so ago we got a little more snow. Luke learned about some snow day rituals and tried them all out the night before in hopes of a snow day.

He wore his pajamas inside out, flushed three ice cubes, and put a white crayon in the window. He mentioned something about a spoon under his pillow, but he forgot about that before bed and I didn't remind him. Seemed like it might result in interrupted sleep or a lost spoon.

And what do you know? The next morning there was a little white covering on the ground.

These snow day practices must be a Tennessee thing. I knew nothing about this from my childhood in Georgia. Oh, and he crossed his fingers. He told me you cross your fingers when you want it to snow and when you want the Smartboard to work (fancy touchscreen thing at school that's apparently less than reliable lately).

Just a recent photo of Luke taken on the way to church. I think this was his birthday weekend.

This week Luke's school celebrated the 100th day of school. I was completely unaware that the 100th day of school was an important milestone that needed celebrating. But apparently his school is not alone in celebrating the fact that they've attended school for 100 days.

Our 100th day of school assignments were to send in 100 small items that could be glued to a 100 day banner (which was a very cute counting activity). And to send in 100 edible items (nut free of course) for a special "100 days of school snack mix." Luke told me it was nasty and he ate the snack I'd packed for him, anticipating he might feel that way. And we had to make a 100th day of school shirt. The shirt was to have 100 items drawn, glued, sewn, or somehow attached to it. This caused our uncrafty family great consternation.

After a trip to Hobby Lobby last weekend, we had a plan (and supplies for several back up plans. and a back up shirt just in case.) After all "our" work (with heavy emphasis on the adults. Very little of the work was done by the kindergartner.) He deemed it boring--his feeling about most crafts.

Unfortunately I didn't get a great picture of the shirt but it was covered with 100 stamps of Toy Story characters. He was pretty happy with the finished project.

Check out his little buddy's shirt with 100 smiley faces made with googly eyes. Isn't that precious?

And here's Luke and friends getting ready for the 1st graders 100th Day parade (apparently the celebrating doesn't end in kindergarten.) The 1st graders and teachers dressed like they were 100 years old. It was a sight to behold. Notice how Luke is kind of touching his throat in the photo, and how he looks just a little pale. We were at the doctor's office this morning to learn he has strep. Again. Several in his class have had it. When I emailed Mrs. W to tell her, she suggested perhaps the kids have gotten a bit too good at sharing.

He was so pitiful at the doctor's office, but such a good boy. He hates the throat swab, but was brave about it. It was a quick visit as the office was PACKED with sick kids today. Luke said, with his voice strained from a swollen throat, "We had a nice day at the doctor's."

After a dose of antibiotics and motrin, he felt like getting up off the couch for a little wii. Now we'll see if I catch it from him like I did in September. Does finger crossing work for strep? I think I'll stick with prayer.

6th birthday bash blog

2011-01-23T20:37:00.007-06:00

Luke's been thinking about his sixth birthday party since a few hours after his fifth birthday party. One thing he knew he wanted was a very special cake. Last year's cake was truly unique. He knew what he wanted, and Gramma and Grampa were up for the challenge.

They arrived Friday evening with cakes already baked, which moved things along quickly. This year Luke was much more involved with the preparation.

He was a champion cake icer. Crumbs in the icing adds character.

The Wii cake. The Wii and remotes are made from rice krispy treats and fondant. Luke placed all the dots for the bottom border.

Saturday morning we headed back to Pump It Up, a great place to celebrate a birthday. Luke invited his entire class and a couple of lifelong friends.

Luke chose the Pump It Up tshirt over the water bottle. He made the same choice last year. We're starting a collection. I love all the grandparents looking on this photo, and Lamar with my purse.

I wanted a picture of the kids charging in like maniacs, which they did last year. But here's Luke making sure it's okay to enter, and his friends are waiting patiently. Good job, Mrs. W. Good job.

Sliding glee. Luke told me several times he was still five until his party began. So this photo of his first trip down the slide marks his first moments as a six year old, in his mind at least.

The kids seemed to have a great time. We videoed some of the party, and I watched it later that day. I was busy keeping up with kids during the party and missed many funny and joyful moments. And was reminded that I have a very annoying voice.

Luke did hang close to a particular friend during the party. But when Daddy jumped in the "boxing ring" bouncey and Luke and several little boys began pummeling with giant boxing gloves, he was able to let his friend move on without having to follow her. We're making baby steps forward with this issue.

The party crew. Such a sweet group of kids.

After jumping ourselves to exhaustion, we headed to the party room.

One of the three tables of party-ers. Look at little Kate about to chow down on some pizza.

Pizza time!

And then it was candle time. Luke bravely stepped forward for the singing and blowing. No nerves this year. Just a very slight wince when he knew the cheering was coming, probably only noticeable to me.

Candle blowing out pro.

Not only was it a super cool wii cake, but it tasted pretty great.

Daddy, the videographer. Not quite ready to go pro. He took several minutes of video in the bouncing rooms after he thought he's stopped recording. It's some pretty psychedelic footage. Bless.

Present time!

Look how they sat so well, not crowding around the party chair. Wow! They have learned SO much this in kindergarten.

A word about my outfit. Luke picked the striped thing for me when we were shopping together a couple of weeks ago. Not something I would have ever selected, but I decided to embrace my inner Bea Arthur and go with it. He was very excited I wore it to his party.

After the party, Luke tried out a few gifts. The first thing he opened was a Cars bowling set. Not that surprising since he loves to bowl, but kind of funny since we already have a couple of bowling sets. But we don't have Cars bowling. Now we can announce, "You got Lightening McQueen and Sally!"

Luke's reaction to Grampa's strike. During bowling he assigned us all positions: bowler, 2 gutters, pen setter. Apparently this is how bowling works in P.E. at school. The "gutters" throw the ball back when the bowler misses. I'm certain this is an important and busy job when kindergartners bowl.

Then Luke added two positions: audience and dancer. The dancer only danced when the bowler got a strike or spare, but he got 4 tries to get that spare. Unfortunately we did not have the video camera handy when Grampa was the dancer.

Post party, Luke tasting the Wii remote. You are what you eat.

Saturday night Mimi and Papa came over for dinner. Fun times with lots of laughs. Precious memories with family.

I think it was a great birthday. For me, Luke's birthday caps off the true "holiday season" around here, which begins around Halloween. It's a crazy busy time, but full of fun and family. I used to dread this time of year, because so many hurdles prevented Luke from enjoying celebrations. And birthdays were especially painful for a few years. So I very thankful to be exhausted from a week full of celebrating with a very excited 6 year old.

The 6th Birthday

2011-01-20T18:14:00.006-06:00

I took this picture last night right before bed. The very last night Luke was a five year old. Five has been a great age . . . most of the time. He has learned so much this year. It blows my mind to think how he's matured in a year. He's reading like a champ now and gaining confidence and independence. What a year!

Mrs. W had the birthday crown waiting when he arrived this morning. He asked me to stay and hear his birthday announced in the morning announcements.

Back at school for cupcakes at lunch. The icing was a real situation for all of them. Thank goodness I stuck a big package of wipes in my purse. Next year I'm taking cookies.

Lunch was fun, and an experience as always. There is always politicking regarding where everyone sits. And Luke is very opinionated about who he wants to sit by. It's one of our biggest remaining challenges. He holds on to some rigidity with always following and sitting with the same people, in every situation. Mrs. W is a pro at keeping them separated in the classroom. But free times like lunch and recess, he's on their heels. And this is a real challenge when those selected friends aren't always excited to have them with him.

Anyway, so after school it was present time. (Because giving this boy a new Wii game before walking out the door for school would be pure torture.)

Ready for some presents.

Mario Party 8. A little excited. So far it's a big hit. He is really back into the Mario gang.

Some Fly Guy books. He got Buzz Boy and Fly Guy at the school book fair in December. It's a bedtime favorite, full of hilarious kindergarten humor. And he does a great job reading it all by himself. He got three more books in the series.

And an awkward pose with his new Buzz Lightyear lunchbox. He is actually excited about it. He even decided to deviate from the week's schedule and take his lunch tomorrow, rather than buying as planned, in order to use the new tote. But then it started snowing and . . . NO SCHOOL tomorrow! Guess he'll be sporting the new lunchbox on Monday.

I've thought about this six birthday post for a while (because I'm a complete nerd that thinks about my blog ponderings in advance sometimes). I thought I might recount my emotions at each of Luke's birthday, particularly ages 2 and 3 when the autism fog was thick and I was so weary. And perhaps I would write about what I thought my life would like as Luke turned six, and the reality of the present.

But in the last few weeks, as a dear friend received some life changing news, I find I just want to say that six years ago we received a most precious gift. And I thankful for every single moment with him. Even the days of unending frustration and the times of fear were a gift because I get to be a part of the story of Luke's life. And by the grace of God, I think it will be a pretty amazing story.

Oh Snow!

2011-01-11T09:03:00.003-06:00

After a pretty fun filled weekend: a birthday party of a school buddy, hanging out at home on Saturday, Luke feigning illness Sunday morning to avoid church (we think), informing Luke he was well enough for church Sunday night, we got a very exciting call Sunday night. No school on Monday because snow was on the way. That's how we roll in the south. We cancel school when snow is just predicted.

We talked to Mimi on the phone shortly after getting the cancellation phone call. She asked Luke what he would be doing on his snow day. His reply: "Just relax." The daily grind is so tough on the almost 6 year old.

Well fortunately for school officials, the forecast was correct and we got some snow. After a morning of Wii play, I informed the boys we would be going outside and playing in the snow.

Luke enjoyed creating his snow outfit. Isn't the scarf lovely?

The snow was perfect for building a snowman, just wet enough to pack easily. Luke was not exactly enthusiastic about making a snowman, but once seeing the finished product he claimed he loved making snowmen.

Posing with his snow brother.

Yes, I got out the tripod and set the timer in the snow. My boys LOVE that about me.

After the snowman making, we started gently throwing some snowballs. Luke was kind of fearful of getting hit. So I told him to go tell Daddy a story and while he was talking, I would come up behind Daddy and smash a snowball on Dad's head.

This game was a BIG hit with Luke.

Lamar, post snow in the head. We played many, many times with Luke assigning roles. "OK, Dad you tell the story. Mom you listen. And I'll be the snowballer."

Luke with a few snow smashing remnants on his cap.

After the snow smashing, Luke suggested we play baseball in the snow. We made big fluffy snow baseballs and hit them with our hands. If you demolished your snowball, homerun.

It was fun. But tomorrow is Luke's third snow day. He's hopeful he'll go back on Thursday, because snow is only fun for a day or two.

Wrapping up Christmas and the Brand New Year

2011-01-01T21:15:00.010-06:00

I really hate out of order pics on a blog, but I just don't have the energy at the moment.

We struggled with the return back to the daily routine after our long Christmas break. I've had to wake Luke up in the mornings, which is very unusual for him. And he's been asking to go to bed at night, which is unprecedented.

Mrs. W gave me a heads up that I should hang around through announcements this morning. I did and watched Luke win the character award for his class this month. And, contrary to what you might assume, he didn't win for being a "character." He was selected (by his teacher I think) for exemplifying the character word of the month, which was "caring."

He was really thrilled to win, though perhaps not evident in the photo. He was so excited when his name was announced. And I watched as he went to office to be photographed with the other winners. I'm really proud of him. And really humbled that my child who I was told many years ago would likely never understand or show empathy to anyone, was selected as a very caring student.

So back to the holidays. We delayed our travel plans by a day due to some Christmas snow. On Monday we headed to the lovely state of Virginia for some time with family.

We began with a little present opening with the cousins.

Both got Scribblenauts for the DS. Maddie really liked it. It's too hard for Luke right now. But he enjoyed playing it with Haley's help.

Luke and Maddie painting the Minnie and Mickey statues that Santa left Luke. He was really excited to share this craft with Maddie.

Maddie and Haley got new robes for Christmas and they wore them a lot the first day we were there. Luke really needed a robe too. Grandma and I found him one at Sears.

The robe club.

All the cousins were sweet to play with Luke for many hours. He just adores them all. And he begs them to play with him. Maddie is still the apple of his eye. He woke up eagerly each morning and his first concern was what Maddie was up to (and every day she was still sleeping).

I got the kids some handmade hats at the Lynchburg mall. They were pretty psyched about them.

There was lots of Wii play, but lots of tickling, running, and wrestling too. Luke is having a hard time losing at games lately. Playing with his cousins was a good chance to talk through this, though a little frustrating at the time. It is a blessing his cousins are older and remained calm the couple of times that Luke just turned the wii off because he was losing. We're working on it.

7 or the 8 cousins were together for a few hours on Thursday. It was great fun as always.

14 of the 16 of us shared a meal and a few hours together. And guess who suggested we brave the cold and take a picture on the porch?

And then a five year old really thought we should all make a crazy a face.

I think Lamar's crazy face is pretty disturbing.

The kids back inside by Grandma's pink tree.

The kids just acting natural.

And then it was time for some of our beloved cousins to leave. Luke suggested this pose:

So very hard to say goodbye.

And that evening the rest of the cousins left (and their parents). Luke said many times Thursday night, "I don't want to be the only cousin here." But we enjoyed a quiet night with Grandma and Grandpa before heading home Friday morning.

We were so tired when we returned home, but enjoyed our time in Virginia as we always do.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

2010-12-26T14:45:00.008-06:00

Our family celebration began Christmas Eve, meeting Mimi and Papa for some Cracker Barrel breakfast, kind of a tradition for them. The food did not disappoint. I'm pretty sure CB hashbrown casserole never disappoints.

Luke's on a real kick about not being last. But Friday morning at breakfast he was inadvertently the last to order his beverage. I didn't anticipate this being a problem, but he was already not thrilled about being at CB (not his favorite) and upset they didn't have french fries (since it was 9:30 a.m.). So he began to cry saying he didn't want to be last to order. And the sweet waitress looked at Mimi and said, "I'm sorry. What did you want again?" and Mimi repeated her order, making her the last to order. So kudos to you CB server for not judging me or my child and helping out. You made my day.

Then we went back to Mimi and Papa's house for some gift exchanging. We would see them again on Christmas Day, but other family would be there and we wanted a little time to open presents with just us.

Luke was very excited about his gift.

As he opened the Wii Draw (I think the actual name is U draw. I totally don't understand switching up the misspelled pronouns), he said, "Just what I needed!" U Draw comes with a "game" which is a pretty cool drawing program. I'm sure a little artist would love it. Luke, far from an artist, was intrigued but after a while switched to some of his favorite Wii games.

Luke showing Mimi the photo calendar we gave her.

Christmas Eve night Luke was very excited. He asked many times where Santa was. I showed him the online Santa tracker (Norad, or something like that). We watched one of the "videos" of Santa in London. Luke watched for a minute and said, "That's a cartoon. Is the Santa coming to our house a cartoon?"

I've never really pushed the Santa thing with Luke. At age 2, 3 & 4, he just wouldn't have understood it. We were so busy just teaching him talk and some basic skills, talking about Santa was just not a priority. This year he's talked about him a lot. I think he's heard and learned a lot from friends at school.

We watched a bit of Santa Buddies on the Disney Channel. Perhaps the worst Christmas movie ever. George Wendt, a.k.a. Norm from Cheers, was Santa. Very disturbing. During the movie Luke watched Santa flying through the air and told me it was the same video that had been on the Norad Santa Tracker. I think he was right. Hard to get one past this boy.

But he still kept an eye for ol St. Nick.

Getting ready for bed Christmas Eve night, though he told me repeatedly he wasn't tired.

The loot Santa left. It looks pretty small, compared to the spread I remember getting as a kid. But Santa left an ipad for the family to share, and those are four wrapped Wii games. So Luke made out pretty well.

Checking out the ipad Christmas morning. Santa learned enough to type a note that read, "Merry Christmas Bowmans! Love, Santa"

After Luke checked out the ipad and asked me to download games immediately (I should upload the video. Pretty funny.) he was ready to open gifts. And he asked if I could open my gift first. I was touched.

Now he's ready to tear into some presents.

He's been asking for this Michael Jackson game for months, and he's yet to play it. Of course, he's already taken it out of the package so I can't return it. I bet he'll enjoy playing it with his cousins soon. The game comes with a glove. Seriously.

Lining up the gifts.

Stocking time. Seriously excited about a new Veggie Tales toothbrush. It plays music. 99 cents at Walgreen's.

A Hershey's Cookies and Cream bar. This was his breakfast Christmas morning. Hey, it's Christmas.

Luke taking over as videographer while I checked out my stocking stuffers.

Worst picture ever. If you love me, don't click on that picture and make it bigger. I only post it for the story. Luke's been asking me for a few months why I don't wear headbands. I truthfully told him they give me a headache. But he thought it would be so great if I wore a headband. I found these soft stretchy headbands at, where else, Walgreen's, on Christmas Eve. And somehow they ended up in my stocking. Luke is sporting one sweatband style. We're the coolest.

After we finished opening he thanked me for all the gifts. He's so not buying the Santa thing.

We enjoyed a delicious Christmas meal with Mimi and Papa and my uncle and his wife. And we had a blast playing one of Luke's new games, Pictionary. It works with the U Draw tablet and it so much fun. I laughed so much my sides ached. There are easy and harder clues, and you always have the option to get a new clue, so young kids through adults can play. Luke loved it and was our artist most of the game. Great way to get him working on some fine motor skills.

Oh, and we had a white Christmas, the first one I can remember. The snow changed our plans for the week, but we're still hopeful to see some more family. Luke seemed to absolutely love Christmas and it was a joy to experience the holiday with him.

Christmas Party and Program

2010-12-22T16:31:00.014-06:00

Last Friday was Christmas Party day at school. Riding the coattails of the big success of "Going on a Ghost Hunt" at the Halloween party, we kicked off the festivities with "Going on a Santa Hunt." I found a version here that I kind of liked, but made a few changes. Here it is, just in case any of my 3 readers (or I maybe down to 2) need a Christmas party game for 5 and 6 year olds.

We're Going on a Santa Hunt
It’s Christmas Eve. Santa’s coming soon. But we can’t wait. We're going on a Santa hunt. We can't wait to see him!
It’s a cold night. Let’s dress really warm.
Put on your hat. Put on your gloves. Put on your boots. Let’s go!
Oh, no! There's a lake, an icy, frozen lake. We can't go over it, we can't go under it,
We've got to go across it. Put on your skates.
Skate. Skate. Skate.
Whew! We made it! Take off your skates.
We're going on a Santa hunt. We can’t wait to see him!
Oh, no! A snowstorm. A whirling, swirling snowstorm. We can't go over it, we can't go under it. We've got to go through it. Stomp thru the snow.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Whew! We made it!
We're going on a Santa hunt. We can’t wait to see him!
Oh, no! A herd of reindeer. Big reindeer, with bells around their necks. We can't go over them, we can't go under them. We've got to go thru them.
Let’s pretend we’re reindeer. Tie on your bell. Pretend you have antlers.
Jingle jangle. Jingle jangle. Jingle jangle.
We're going on a Santa hunt. We can’t wait to see him!
Oh, no! A cave. A dark, narrow cave. We can't go over it, we can't go under it,
We've got to go through it.
Be very, very quiet. Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe.
What's that at the back of the cave? Lots of white fur, little black eyes, sharp teeth.
Is it Santa? No! It's! A! Polar! Bear!!
Back through the cave
Tiptoe. Tiptoe. Tiptoe.
Back through the reindeer.
Jingle jangle. Jingle jangle. Jingle jangle.
Back thru the snowstorm.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Back over the icy lake.
Put on my skates super fast.
Skate. Skate. Whoa!!! I almost fell.
Take off my skates super fast.
Run to my house.
Open the door.
Run upstairs.
Run into my room.
Close the door.
Get in bed. Hide under the covers.
Whew! I’m going to wait for Santa right here!

The kids seemed to love it. Well, maybe the little guy next to me looks less than thrilled, bless his heart. It's a terrible pic of me, but look how happy Luke is.

One of our activities was a Snowman Relay. I divided the kids into teams and they helped dress each other in snowman garb. Then we taped on a carrot nose and I took their picture. Then they took everything off and dressed the next team member. We didn't recycle the noses though. It was a pretty big hit. Only 3 flatly refused to wear the costume.

Big fun.

We also had an ornament craft and some Christmas sticker sheets. They kids were in three groups and visited each center.

Luke showing his love for the awesome Mrs. W.

Mrs. W's Christmas gift, a money Christmas tree. I popped in one day when Mrs. Wheeler was out and asked each child what Santa should bring Mrs. W. Their answers ranged from school supplies to Wii games (Any guesses on who suggested Wii Party and Wii Wheel of Fortune?) My favorite answer was Santa should bring Mrs. W more students for her class. I made little paper ornaments with their answers and put them on the tree.

***

Sunday Luke was in a program at church. I posted a photo of his costume a couple of weeks ago. Given the unusually snowy and icy weather we've had, the kids had only 1 rehearsal before performance day on Sunday.

Here's Luke before their first performance in Children's Worship Sunday morning.

He's totally feeling his role as shepherd.

The shepherds and angels lined up and ready for their entrance.

Luke and his long time buddy Zola in the "green room" (a.k.a. the wood paneled room. A little BHCC joke. Sorry.)

Luke and Eli show their excellent shepherding skills. That's Eli's sheep on Luke's head.

Children's Worship performance, and really their dress rehearsal.

The shepherds visit the baby Jesus.

Sunday night's big show for an audience of about 700. Impossible to get a good group shot. There were 35 or so children in the play.

Thanks to Jonathan for the close ups. Luke was really into the hand motions for the songs. This is "asleep on the hay."

Luke gets his sign to display announcing "Jesus is Born." I don't know why we have backwards letters on a sign clearly written by an adult.

Luke showing his sign.

I don't really have words (rare, I know) for my emotions watching him on stage). Even I, his mother, forget at times where we started and how far we've come. I wouldn't have dared to dream this moment possible a couple of years ago.

How did we get here? The grace of God.

Oh and I was on the front row as "head shepherd." It was fun working with kids. And it was exhausting. But isn't the head covering fabulous? I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have done it without me helping out. And even then I thought he might back out Sunday night. But he was determined to follow through on his commitment.

So glad our good buddy Cooper and his family made the effort to come see Luke's stage debut. Luke had the very best time running around with Cooper and his sister after the performance. My favorite quote of the night was when Alison told Cooper to go find his little sister and he said, "But I can't. She's it!"

Our Christmas is already more blessed than I expected or certainly deserve. Looking forward to some sweet, relaxing time with our little family the next few days. Luke is so shocked by how much time he has off of school for the holidays. After only 3 days he's asked many times, "Is it still Christmas Break?" Merry Christmas!

Snow!

2010-12-13T08:07:00.009-06:00

Sunday morning snow started falling. And it snowed all day and into the night. On December 12!!! I was able to tear Luke away from the Wii and bundle us up for a few minutes in the snow.

He pretty much loved it once we got outside. Rain boots are not warm in the snow, by the way.

He posed by our classy Christmas decor. I cannot believe I have these pieces in my front yard. We got the penguin from Walgreen's a few weeks ago, after much begging from Luke for some outside decorations. Then Luke decided penguin needed a friend. And then he spotted Tigger in the Dollar General window. I purchased the display model Tigger, the only one left, for $10. I don't even like Poo.

Hilarious father/son photo. Luke calls the face Lamar is making "the big eyes."

While playing in the snow, I remembered I bought some good snow gloves at Walgreen's last winter. (I guess I do shop there all the time. It's 2 seconds from my house. No wonder Luke thinks it's the place to buy a turkey.) They worked well for snowball throwing.

Major snowy day for us.

Trying to catch a snow flake. Not sure if he was successful, given that his method was running as fast as he could with his tongue hanging out.

We finally dragged him back in because we old people were freezing.

No school today and I'm wondering about tomorrow. I hate for all the kindergartners to miss the special Christmas activities Mrs. W had planned for this week. Friday is the last day before Christmas break!

Breakfast with Santa

2010-12-12T13:52:00.007-06:00

Time just keeps marching on. Saturday was Breakfast with Santa. I think this is the fifth one Luke's attended. We took him when he was a 10 month old babe, and again when he was 22 months. That year we arrived just as the festivities were ending and posed for a quick photo with Santa. The Christmas he was 2, his anxieties were at their highest. We had received his diagnosis just a few months prior, and he was about to begin preschool. It was the most stressful time of life . . . so far. Anyway, we skipped that year. Last year we went and Luke had a nice time, though we did our best to avoid the crowds.

This year was really fabulous. We got our Santa picture, Luke choosing once again to stay with Mom and Dad and not Santa. It's his tradition.

Luke was so patient waiting in line for the picture.

He enjoyed a few crafts.

From the moment we arrived he looked for his buddy Annie. He latched onto her last year at Breakfast with Santa too. I'm sure he remembered. We didn't meet up with Annie and her family until after we'd eaten. And although he asked about her repeatedly and was not happy when other folks sat at our table, he controlled his emotions and only quietly voiced his protests to me.

Smiley kids doing crafts.

Luke getting in on the conversation.

3 silly kindergartners

Breakfast with Santa was relatively easy and fun. Amazing.

Feelin' Festive and Such

2010-12-05T16:11:00.010-06:00

I neglected to include one of my favorite photos from Oklahoma in the last post. Maggie is all about the princesses. She talks about them pretty much every waking moment. She loves princesses as much as Luke loves Wii.

So Luke learned a lot about princesses on this trip. He could identify several of them by the end of our visit. When we took a family photo, Maggie and Luke suggested a group photo with the princesses too.

Look at Luke's face. Hilarious.

Luke is planning on participating in a little Christmas program. I say planning because you just never know what will happen performance night. He will be a shepherd.

Apparently a handless shepherd.

Luke enjoyed decorating the tree this year. Here's how he helped:

It was kind of odd that he was exactly the size of the tree box.

I was really unmotivated with decorating this year, but Luke kept asking for the tree. Half the lights were out on our old prelit tree, so we purchased a new inexpensive one this year that is SO much easier to assemble. So maybe I won't dread tree assembly as much next year.

I opened the ornament boxes and let Luke make selections. When he tired of decorating, we were done.

And . . .ta da!

Such a beauty. Our old tree topper did not work with our new Kmart Blue Light Special tree, so I perched a large candy cane ornament we own for some unknown reason on the top. It's mostly cropped out of this photo, but I will have to get a close up of that beautiful piece.

Here's our annual family photo in front of the tree.

Whoops.

There we go. We are so fancy in our sweats.

Luke posed and took this.

My boys on tree trimmin' night.

Luke's been "earning" a Wii Speak for quite a while and it came this week. So excited. This interfaces with a few games. The only one we use it with is Wheel of Fortune. It doesn't always understand us, especially Luke. But you can record you own happy and sad sound and play them on command, which is super hilarious and definitely worth the price. Last night Luke had his Mii saying, "Yippee! Ride 'em cowboy!"

And Luke went to his first birthday party at Build-A-Bear Workshop on Saturday. He did SO well at the party. And each party attender goes home with a bear. Wow.

Luke and his bear, Tokyo.

Thanksgiving in OK

2010-11-30T22:21:00.003-06:00

Last week we drove about 1400 miles. And some of us are weary and feeling old.

We left Tuesday after school. I intended to sign Luke out early from school and hit the road. Lamar and I packed the care and wheeled into the school parking lot about 2:15. Luke came to me with tears in his eyes asking to stay for the Jingle Bell Walk Pep Rally. So we did and I got to enjoy my first pep rally in about . . . oh . . . 16 years or so. They're just as obnoxious as I remembered. Luke enjoyed the visiting high school cheerleaders performance. He wasn't bothered by ALL the screaming, but covered his ears for the teacher relay race that involved popping a balloon. Go figure.

So we got a later start than intended, but still arrived at our hotel in northern Arkansas at a reasonable hour. Luke fell asleep in the car (I'm now a big fan of driving in the evening!). When Lamar carried him in, Luke woke up long enough to learn our room number and then zonked out for the night.

We drove about 7 more hours on Wednesday and arrived at Erik and Jeanie's house late Wednesday afternoon. And the playing began.

They played.

They sang with the Wii. And sang. And sang.

They ventured outside in the cold for a few minutes.

And were pretty much the best of friends for 3 days. This was the first time they've really played together. It just filled my heart seeing them loving each other.

We had a great time and a great meal thanks to my sister-in-law. We went to see Tangled Thursday evening. I think a Thanksgiving movie should be a new family tradition. This was Luke's second ever movie in a theater. He did great, but was very emotional when it seemed the ending would be less than happy. He asked to leave but I convinced him to stay (and prayed Disney didn't fail me.) We all loved the movie.

The kids were troopers for a little shopping on Friday. Oklahoma is a refreshing, pleasant place. We should visit more often.

Maggie cried when we left. Luke was fine for the 12 hour drive home on Saturday. But watching Elf that evening he burst into tears when Buddy left the North Pole and said, "I want to go back to Oklahoma."

And back to the grind on Monday. These weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are absolutely packed. It seems like nearly every day Luke has something "special" going on at school. He's super excited about Christmas. Funny since this year I really felt at peace about having a child that doesn't love Christmas. Of course!

Happy Holidays!

thanksgiving lunch

2010-11-20T07:54:00.003-06:00

I made a visit to school on Friday because I heard some kindergartners might be wearing some costumes to lunch.

Luke was line leader this week. He told me last Sunday night he thought he'd be the line leader this week. On Monday morning I whispered to Mrs. W that he had this idea in his head, and she might want tell him privately if he was mistaken. She confirmed that he'd figured out her order and he was indeed next.

Unfortunately Luke had a cold Thursday and missed one day in his position of leadership.

Luke leading the line and holding Mrs. W's hand (undoubtedly his favorite part of the job). He selected his Native American name you see there, "Sunset of the Warrior."

The "Thanksgiving lunch" was pizza. Apparently the turkey and dressing school lunches of my childhood are a thing of the past. Christopher Columbus was Italian, right? It all connects.

Done with lunch and ready to lead his class to the playground.

He agreed to pose with the headband before running onto the playground.

Recently Mrs. W asked each child "How do you cook a turkey?" She displayed each and answer, along with the cute handprints, in the hall. Here is Luke's:

Says a lot about how much cooking goes on around here. He has no idea people actually prepare turkeys in their homes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

first show

2010-11-07T18:16:00.008-06:00

Last week was a blur of school, work, meetings, appointments, a birthday party, some other things I'm forgetting.

I guess one of our most important events of the week was our annual IEP meeting, our first "big school" IEP. It went well. Reading is big strength. He's reading at least a grade level ahead. Producing neat work is a weakness. His pictures and coloring are very scribbly and his cutting a mess, but he's always the first one finished at his table. Priorities.

And then on Friday a friend shut the door on Luke's hand. The school nurse patched him up and sent him back to class, but he continued to cry about it. I'm sure it hurt terribly. His fingers are bruised and swollen. But now he does have an solid excuse for his messy writing and drawing, at least for a few days.

Sunday afternoon we took Luke to his first ever live show, Mickey's Rockin Road Show. Just a year or so ago, I wouldn't have imagined Luke could tolerate the noise of a live show. But we saw a commercial for this show (The one and only time I saw it advertised. Notice all the empty seats.) and Luke asked to go. They advertised tickets available for $12. Maybe if you sat in the parking lot.

Luke didn't ask for any of the overpriced souvenirs but really wanted some Dippin Dots. $5 for that little cup Lamar's holding.

Our seats were not the best, but I didn't know if he could handle being too close. I didn't count on the fact that we wouldn't be able to fully see the screen behind the curtain, that at times was kind of important to the storyline. He never complained though.

Checking out the $11 program we offered to buy him during intermission. He completed all the activities in it today.

So the main reason we've never attempted a live show, or the movie theater until recently, is sensory overload. Until recently just applause in church was overwhelming for him. He's made great strides handling noise recently. But another concern was his attention span and ability to sit still. His behavior at the show was just about perfect. He was older than a lot the kids there (tons of 2 and 3 year olds) but he never moved from his seat, taking it all in. The other kids were EVERYWHERE, and so were there parents. Maybe my expectations are just a tad high sometimes.

After the show we walked down by the stage to check out the confetti they released during the grand finale.

He was so sad when the show was over and we headed home. He didn't meltdown though. He was just very quiet on the way home and asked when we could go to another show. And then he fell asleep in the car. Sweet day.

our best halloween ever

2010-10-31T22:16:00.005-05:00

Perhaps you remember that last year Luke asked me and Lamar to dress up for Halloween. And we obliged. So of course this year he expected family costumes. We thought and thought about our theme. And then we saw a movie with a pretty swell ensemble cast.

Buzz, Jessie and Woody ready for some Trunk or Treating.

But a cast of three wasn't enough. Luke really needed Mimi and Papa to participate. He suggested they be Barbie and Ken. But I just couldn't figure out exactly how to make that happen.

So we added Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. My parents in Halloween costumes. They will do anything for their grandchildren.

We bought Luke's costume but I made/compiled the others. Shocking I know, but that Buzz getup was not store bought. Well, except the stocking cap. And fyi, pinning large pieces of felt to your jeans makes them really warm, especially when it is 70 degrees on Halloween.

Look how happy he is.

I had prepared Luke for a costume parade when we arrived at Trunk or Treat. I was not aware it was contest though. And considering his response to not winning the candy corn game last week, I was kind of worried. But guess who won for best family costumes? (Perhaps I should mention our family made up about 50% of the participants).

The winning team.

After the parade and some pizza, it was time for some trunk or treating. He was so excited and knew exactly what to do. Three years ago I left trunk or treat in tears because Luke was an overstimulated mess. He's come so far. And maybe I've made a little progress too.

We got home and Luke saw trick or treaters all over our street. He was ready for more.

So we headed out for a little more fun. We met some new neighbors and had a great time. It was really fun. Luke just kept talking about how much fun it was and how much he loved Halloween. Amazing.

Party Time!

2010-10-29T19:29:00.003-05:00

Halloween is here! And everyone knows what that means. Time for Room Moms to throw the first party of the year. It's tricky because you need establish yourself as a quality Room Mom, but you don't want to set the bar so high that future parties disappoint. And parents were pretty eager to help with this first kindergarten party. And I need to capitalize on this enthusiasm, and somehow keep them motivated through Field Day. Room Momming is a very serious business.

I think a good time was had by all. Parents volunteered to help with all activities except games. Shocking! So I kicked things off with Going On a Ghost Hunt (just like Going On a Bear Hunt with a Halloween theme), with some modifications (I skipped playing any Grieg). I post this only because the kids loved it so much. No photos though. I was too busy making a fool of myself to get take any pictures.

Then we moved onto mummy making, cookie decorating, and making spiders from handprints. Here's some photos of my favorite mummy.

I really love how happy he looks in these photos. I remember his first every school party, Valentine's Day just after his 3rd birthday. He'd been in school less than a month. He cried the entire time and begged to leave.

Cookie face.

Some more snacks. That little pudding cup behind Luke was the cutest snack ever: crushed Oreos in the bottom, chocolate pudding, whipped cream on top with two tiny chocolate chips for ghost eyes. A mom made these because her child won't eat any types of cookies or cakes. They were so cute and amazingly good.

The party was all positive for Luke until the last moments. We had a little competition to guess the number of candy corn pieces in bag. When we announced the closest guesser at the end of the party, and handed her the candy, Luke burst into tears. I ushered him to the cubby room where he told me he wanted to win. I said, "Well, you didn't have the closest bid, you know, just like on Price Is Right." He got it then I think. I showed him the take home treats everyone was getting and he was fine. He left for P.E. a happy boy. You just never know when a game show analogy might save the day.

We practiced Trick or Treating today, just as a refresher. Luke actually remembered how it works this year with no prompts. I anticipate tomorrow being a success, but nothing is certain. I've made 4 adult costumes and purchased one for him. He better enjoy it.