Pulling the Autism Card

I don't do it often.  I have a well-behaved, really quite lovely little boy.  Who, granted, is a bit quirky.  But I don't need to pull the Autism card very often.  Mostly I want people to see him for who he is - a really awesome kid.  But when he freaks out randomly at "wiggly sun spots" at his swimming lessons and refuses to get in the pool...  I feel the need to explain to his very nice teacher that he's Autistic, and has some sensory issues.  And when he is terrified at the photo studio because of the flash??  Well, I kind of shake my head.  A lot.  Because, seriously, kid?  I take your photo millions of times.  With a flash.  And you never blink.  But, yeah.  I pulled the Autism card.  Dude, sorry.  My kid is Autistic, and bright lights kind of freak him out a little.  It got us some extra time and some extra patience.  It also helped that we went on a Tuesday morning when nobody else was there...

He spent five minutes in my lap with his hands over his eyes before he finally settled down a little bit and kind of cooperated with picture taking.  It took a while for him to warm up...

It got a little better when I got him looking and giggling at me a bit...

And then the photographer pulled out the game-changer.  Which he proceeded to drive all over the studio the rest of the time we were there...

I planned on having pictures of Erin and Dex together, but wasn't really planning on having pictures of her by herself.  But, she was there.  So what the hell...

She was also at least seven times more cooperative than her brother...

Dexter was much better when we got around to taking pictures of both kids.  Maybe next time I'll just have him drive the damn tractor around BEFORE we try any pictures...

I think, though, if you asked Dexter how he liked the whole experience, it would be something like this...

Open For Business

Today I moved Dexter's Open sign to a different place on the wall, which made him pay attention to it again. So we played with the Open sign for a while, and then Dexter asked if I wanted an Open sign, too.  Sure, I said.  I'd love an Open sign.  So he made me one.  And then he made one for Daddy.  And Buddy.  And Erin.  And then made a couple more because two of them got old, so he had to make new ones.  His Open sign making skills are really pretty impressive.  I had nothing to do with these, except for ripping the tape.  I was busy feeding a baby.

His "N" needs a little help, but I am really pretty impressed with him, and his writing abilities.

Aunt Maria came to visit over the weekend, and met Erin for the first time.  So we are Open for family, and will see our fair share for the next few weeks, with at least seven billion birthday celebrations for one soon to be four year old.

Yes, we're STILL reading the goddamn Lionel train catalog...  It does, at least, keep him quiet and entertained during Rest Time.

Just a couple of guys.  Feeding their babies.

Three Months

Three!  Three months!  That's how old this baby is today.  Ridiculous.  I think she's in the middle, or on the tail end, of a growth spurt.  So she is even huger and cuter than ever.  As seen in this video, where she tries to get Dexter to read her the train book:

Feel The Love (click to view)

But yeah.  She still doesn't sit up on her own.

Grandpa brought four Lionel train catalogs down with him this week.  So we have spent A LOT of time looking at train catalogs.  Today Dex was looking at the track sets at the back of the catalog, and telling me that when he gets THIS track set he will have a street car on it and it will go around and around and around and then it will go on this side track and hit the buffer and then it will go around and around and around.  And I had to break it to him that we shall NOT be getting any of these trains at our house, but he can play with trains when he goes to visit Grandma and Grandpa.  So now he is saying that he USED to have this track set and a street car, but then someone took them.  :-)

The good thing about the train books is that he can read them.  Pretty much entirely.  So he's been doing a lot of reading this week.

Erin is not reading yet.  Give her a week or so.  But she HAS discovered these cool balls that Dex used to play with, and kind of likes them a lot.

She's typically pretty impressed with herself by her standing abilities.  Which we think is cute now, but I assume in a few months when that standing is accompanied by mobility...  we shall be pushing her little butt back on to the floor.

Three Months!

Success!

Never underestimate the power of the peanut butter cup.  Or, you know, four peanut butter cups.

Dexter was QUIET.  ALL NIGHT.  He woke up around 6AM, and we could hear him moving around and wimpering a little bit.  But no calling for Daddy.  We both went in when his clock turned yellow and made a big deal over how awesome he was.  And he ate his peanut butter cups and his imaginary gummy train right there in bed.  He is currently playing with his new train.  He just called up to Nonna:

Look at my new train, Nonna!  You can touch it, but then you have to give it back.  Because it's MY TRAIN.  I got it from sleeping all night.

Does Reece's sell stock?  We might need it...

4:20

That's what time Dexter lost his peanut butter cups and his train this morning.  Bummer.  Two more hours and he'd have been in peanut butter cup heaven.  He also tells me he would like to eat his train.  Not the actual toy train.  But rather a gummy train.  Which we don't own.  He'll have to use his vivid imagination for that one.

Erin continues to cough and be snotty, but her fever seems to be under control today.  And she's full of smiles because her Nonna is fawning over her all weekend...

A riveting game of CandyLand

Does this look like the face of a peanut butter cup eater?  Crossing our fingers...

Peanut Butter Cups

Mama's boy is a candy junkie.  A newly discovered Recee's Peanut Butter Cup junkie.

All the talking and explaining and reassuring in the world was not helping his sleeping situation.  Progressively ignoring him has helped a lot over the past few weeks, but we still had an hour or so of yelling for Daddy at bed time, and an hour or so of yelling in the morning when he wakes up at the ungodly hour of 5:30.

Today Dexter said something about big peanut butter cups.  And a little light bulb popped up over my head.  What if...  What if we put a package of peanut butter cups in his room, right next to his clock?  And the train that we've been promising him for 2 weeks if he could just shut his mouth when his clock is blue.  And if he's quiet for blue light, he can have both when his clock turns yellow.  And if he makes any noise, we will reach in the door and grab the peanut butter cups and the train, and he will not get them.

I absolutely thought that the peanut butter cups would be in his room for about 3.2 seconds after John closed the door at bed time, and then his usual calling for Daddy would resume and the peanut butter cups would be MINE.  All mine!  :-)

But the boy surprises me sometimes.  It's been a quiet night, save for the hacking coughs from all members of the family.  The baby is still coughing, which is both the cutest and the most concerning sound.  Her fever is steadily going up, and I called the doctor about it tonight.  So far we've been given the all-clear to keep fighting the germs at home.  But if anything gets worse, I see another trip to A.I. in our future...  We're crossing our fingers that it doesn't come to that.

Doesn't really look like the face of a sick baby.  She's been fairly chipper, which is part of the reason why we're allowed to stay home, even though her fever has spiked over the "dude, call the doctor" mark.

Isn't Married Life Glamorous?

That's what John said on Monday.  December 31st.  New Years's Eve.  As I was walking around the house trying to get a cranky, tired baby back to sleep.  And John was trying to get a sick three-year-old to eat a piece of toast with honey.  When our grand plans of dinner and a movie that evening flew right out the window with Dexter's 101 degree fever.  At least he wasn't puking this year.  But, really.  What is it with Dexter and his dislike of New Year's Eve?  Or at least his uncanny ability to sabotage any NYE plans we might have?

We, otherwise, had a nice holiday.  Relaxing.  We didn't do much of anything.  We didn't have any guests.  Well, Grandma and Grandpa came the weekend before Christmas.  But no Christmas guests.  And thanks to Dexter's illness, no guests after Christmas, either.  So we hung out.  Played with trains a lot.  Played in the snow one day.  The boys went to the Choo Choo Barn to see a whole lotta model trains (Dexter showed me the "book train" on his train video.  Why is it called the book train, you ask?  Because it says "Reading" on it.  And if it says Reading, there must be books on the train.  I love that boy).  We ate a lot of Christmas cookies and Hershey's kisses.  And then after that we played with trains some more.  And man, oh man, am I ever sick of playing with trains...

Currently in the house of sick, Erin has a runny nose and one helluva cough.  No fever, and she seems otherwise fairly chipper.  But sounds like crap.  Poor baby.  She, fortunately, is tremendously entertained by ceiling fans, and does not require endless hours of train play to keep her amused.  The other day I was trying to feed her, and she just kept staring at her fan and grinning.  Then she'd look at me, all serious-like.  Then stare back at her fan and grin some more.  She is fantastically cute.

Things are getting back to post-holiday normal here for a couple days.  Swimming and school started today. Dex only yelled for Daddy for like 30 minutes tonight before he passed out.  We need school and swimming every day...

I have seven bazillion pictures, and I am not going to post all of them here.  Let me see if I can find a few cute ones.

Just a nice spring day, blowing on some dandelion puffs.  On December 13th...

Sleepy Santa Baby

Reindeer PJ's

Dexter discovered, while making Christmas cookies for Santa, that he likes molasses.  Kind of a lot.  Also, Grandpa, he was reading the recipe.  And read that we needed 1/2 cup of mole asses.  Thanks.  :-)

Pint-sized Santa

Awww.  Dexter's not even trying to strangle the baby...

Catching snowflakes on Christmas Eve

The first time I have ever, in the 11 years I have known him, seen John Norman ride a bike

Saturday Snow Angel

Dexter willingly and quite happily went sledding.  I was shocked.  We used the hill in to Mr. Mike's yard because it's 1) steep and 2) doesn't shoot you out in to the road

Dexter did his fair share of eating snow.  He at least ate the white snow.  Mostly.  I think.

Family puzzle time

Under that blanket is a fever-ish Dexter, watching videos on his IPad

I know, Baby Girl.  That's how I feel, too, just listening to your cough.  I imagine you feel worse than I do.