Random thoughts

My last post made me think back to when Jillian was just a newborn and how much her brothers adored and loved her. They sill do, of course, but there's just something about a tiny little baby. I had left Jillian laying on the bed with Cayson, and I overheard this:

Cayson: Jillian, do you know that you're our most prized possession?

" I Love Case Case"

I have been trying to teach Jillian how to say, "I love you." Or better yet, "I love Mom."

She's either uninterested or just gets silly, and she won't say it. Well, last night we were in the car, when I was once again trying to get her to declare her love for me, when she snuggled up to Cayson and said, "I love Case Case." It was so sweet! Of course, Cayson loved that she said it to him first. He was quite pleased with himself. She hasn't said it since, but it just melted my heart. It was drawn out like. "IIIIIIIIIIIII LLLLooooooooooooovvvvee Case Case."

Bye-Bye Bottle!

We have officially been bottle-free for five days! My goal was to take it away by eighteen months, so we're a few weeks early! It couldn't have gone any smoother. She hasn't asked for one or cried for one. I have noticed that she is drinking less than with the bottle, so I'll have to make sure I ask the doctor how much whole milk she is supposed to be getting at this age. Is it normal to drop down? Anyway, Yaaayyy for us!! (It does make me kinda sad knowing that she just isn't a baby anymore, though!)

15 years!

I can hardly believe we have been married fifteen years!! It's just not possible. Aren't people who can say that old??? We decided to do something special and go on a quick get-away. The kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa, and we went to the Anniversary Inn overnight. We had a great time. It was so relaxing and quiet!!! We enjoyed some much-needed time away. We stayed in the "Swiss Family Robinson" room. We had a chance to peek at some of the other rooms while we were there, and I can't wait to go back!

One, two, three...

Jillian is learning to count! She has counted to three for quite a while now, and then to five a few weeks ago, but the other day she counted clear to ten! I was lucky enough to get this video a couple of days ago...

Happy Halloween!

Monkeying Around

We took the kids to the zoo a few days ago. It was Jillian's first time, and she had a blast! She LOVES elephants right now, so she especially loved watching them. Cayson's favorite was probably the penguins, and Christian's was the snakes. We had a good day. It was nice to get out and enjoy this fall weather.

CARPET!!!

Our basment no longer has cold, cement floors!! The carpet was put down about a week ago, an we love it!!! I love how all the colors came together, too. I was a bit worried about that. The carpet guy made me feel better when he asked Shawn if he had a designer who picked out our colors because they were so different, and he really liked them.
We have had a lot of fun playing downstairs this last week. We don't have much of anthing down there yet, so it is just a big play area for the kids. Our upstairs is small and pretty cramped right now, so Jillian especially loves all the open space. She just dashed around that first day saying, "Run, Run, Run, Run!" It was really cute.
We still have lots of work to get the boys moved down. We are trying to declutter their rooms upstairs and talk them into getting rid of a bunch of stuff. We are going to go buy some closet organizers and blinds tonight, and the boys are also getting new mattresses. I'll post some more pics when it finally all comes together.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 36th Birthday Shawn!!!
(I know he'll be so pleased that I added his age)

Gardner Village

Last night we took the kids to Gardner Village. We had a great time. Jillian and Cayson went on a pony ride, and then we went to their petting zoo. I thought Jillian would be nervous and clingy, but she wanted down to play with the animals. She was so cute!
After that, we walked around the shops and went on a "Witch Hunt". We had to search for a list of different witches they had around the Village. After we found all the witches, the boys turned in their paper and got a chocolate chip cookie from the bakery.
The boys would tell you that their favorite part was going to Sweet Aftons and each getting $5.00 to spend however they wanted. It was fun watching them go throughout the store adding things up and trying to figure how they wanted to spend their money. When Cayson was done and said he was up to $4.95, Christian pointed out a $.05 Jolly Rancher to him. Never let five cents go wasted!
Anyway, it was a fun start to the season!

Spooky!!

Okay, so my decorations might not necessarily be "Spooky", but we still had lots of fun doing it! I was so excited to get out my decorations this year. I thought we could all do it together and that the boys would have fun too, but I was pretty much abandoned to do it myself. Oh well, I still had fun! Anyone else decorate?

We're almost done painting!

We are almost done painting! We only have touch-up work left to do. Our electrical is getting hooked up tomorrow, and we have carpet ordered!! I can't wait!!

This is Cayson's bedroom. We still need to put the border up.

This is Christian's bedroom.

This is our family/playroom. I was really worried about the colors at first and thought it might be too dark, but I really love it now!

Dirty Look

So, this is one of Jillian's latest things. She can give people the dirtiest looks. I don't know where she got it from, but she will now do it on cue. We will say, "Jillian, can you give me a dirty look?" and this is what we get. This picture is the best I have, but it really doesn't give it justice. Now if I can get her high-pitch scream on video, I'll share that, too. It's great fun, let me tell ya!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Christian had such a great report from his teacher. He is getting mostly A's, with one B+. He even has an A in his "regular" geography class. His teacher just adores him and thinks he is the sweetest kid ever. It was fun to see how he spends his days. He goes to the greenhouse for 1st and 2nd period, and he has geography and seminary for 3rd and 4th. His last few classes are in his "homeroom" where he can get more one on one. For PE he gets to play Wii Fit and do Tae-Bo and yoga. How fun is that?! He also has a study hall period where they help him with geography homework and do miscellaneous things when he's caught up, such as math. He also has a writing skills class. Christian really wants to give up study hall and do his homework at home just so he can go to a math class. What kid wants to do that?! He also gets social skills weekly with the school psychologist with a group of kids. It's such a great program.
We then went to the greenhouse and met the teachers over there. They were so nice, and we could tell they were so happy to have him there. They showed us the 4,000 poinsettias the kids were working on for the holiday season. I can't wait to go buy some and support the program! Christian really likes being there, and he is determined to save up for a laptop from the money he earns. Great idea, Christian!

Jillian

Here's some pics I just thought I'd share....

Cute, huh?

Aloe Vera Plant

Christian isn't one to ramble on about school or give many details about his day, but when he came home today, he was so excited to show me his Aloe Vera plant that he planted all by himself. His explanation went something like this:

"Do you know what kind of plant this is Mom? Don't you know that it's an Aloe Vera plant. Actually, it's a baby Aloe Vera, and we can keep replanting it over and over. We can replant the baby plants. Can we replant it? Can I sell them when I make more of them? Did you know that it has medicine in it?"

For Christian, that much detail is pretty non-existent, so I was so excited to see him this excited over something!

15 month check-up

Jillian had her 15-month check up today. Where has the time gone?
She weighed in at 23 pounds even and was 31 inches long.
The doctor said she was doing great and even said she was pretty advanced in her speech. He was hoping for around 20 words. He said that is pretty typical at this age. He was really surprised when I told him it was much higher than that. Of course, little miss attitude wouldn't say anything for him, except, of course, "No!"

She also had two shots, which she handled like a trooper. She cried for a tiny bit, but she was more upset about having to lay down on the exam table.

She zonked out on the way home and is much happier now!

School News

Christian came home with a packet of papers telling us about a work program at a nearby school, which services teenagers and people with disabilities up until the age of twenty-two. The school helps these kids learn life skills, social sills, work skills, and stuff like that. Anyway, his teacher recommended him to the program, and he had an "interview" there if we gave our permission. It is just down the street from his middle school. So yesterday he went and met with them, and he was "hired"! How cool is that? He will go there for 1st and 2nd period every day and work in their greenhouse. AND, he gets paid for it. He is so excited to have a "job"! I don't know how much he will make. I know it will be a small amount, but what a great idea. We even have to fill out a W2 form and everything, so they can issue him checks. He starts on Tuesday! They said parents were welcome to come and check it out at certain times, so I'm anxious to go see exactly what he'll be doing. I'll keep everyone posted!

Back to School Night

Now I know where Jillian gets all her words from. I went to back to school night for Cayson, and as I was looking for his desk, his teacher told me he was quite the chatterbox, so she had to surround him by girls. Yep, girls on every single side of him. I don't think he minds that too much, though! For several months now, we've had the name Audrey spelled out with magnetic letters on our fridge. As I took in all the girls around him, I wondered which name would go up next! Oh well, knowing that he's a talker isn't the worst things I could find out from his teacher. i guess I'll take it.

Baby Talk

Jillian is such a chatterbox! She jibber-jabbers all the time and has the cutest little voice! Her language skills have just exploded over the last few months. She is repeating so many things and says words that I had no idea she knew. As she is approaching 15 months, I thought it would be fun to document all the words she can say. (Yes, this is a bragging moment for Mom!)

*Please note that a good portion of these words might not be recognizable to others!

1. DaDa
2. Mama
3. Christian
4. Cayson
5. BaBa
6. Milk
7. Banana
8. Nummie
9. Bite
10. Yogurt
11. Cheese
12. Cracker
13. Chair
14. Bye-Bye
15. Go
16. Door
17. Shoes
18. Pants
19. Bow
20. Pretty
21. Brush
22. Bubble
23. Bath
24. Baby
25. Pooh Bear
26. Brown Bear
27. Eye
28. Ear
29. Hair
30. Nose
31. Mouth
32. Uh-Oh
33. Blankie
34. Night Night
35. Toes
36. Tickle
37. One
38. Two
39. Buckle
40. Ball
41. Wow
42. Cool
43. Thank You
44. Please
45. No
46. More
47. Soft
48. Quiet
49. Bite
50. Ow
51. Where did it go?
52. What's that?
53. Moo
54. Cow
55. Baa (Sheep)
56. Maa (Goat)
57. Neigh
58. Meow
59. Doggie
60. Ruff Ruff Rufff
61. Bzzzzzzz
62. Duck
63. Quack Quack
64. Hissssssssssss
65. Hooo Hooo (Owl)
66. Eee Eee Ooooh Oooohh Ahhhh Ahhh (Monkey)
67. Oooh hooo hoooo hoooo (Tigger sound)
68. Outside
69. Grandma
70. Grandpa
71. Crap (I'm so glad she knows this one)
72. Run away
73. Hello
74. Hi
75. Boo
76. Diaper
77. Ewwwwwwww
78. Wipes
79. Down
80. Dance
81. Come Here
82. Mirror
83. Remote
84. Loud
85. Quiet
86. All gone
87. The end

I'll add more to the list as think of them - I know I'm missing some.
What amazes me more, is what she understands. I think she is sooo smart! (Yes, this is her mother talking!) There is just never a day that goes by that I am not in awe of her. I love watching her figure things out, and I love watching her play. This age is so much fun!

9th Grade

Christian started 9th grade yesterday! Wow, that makes me feel so old! He is quite the opposite of Cayson. He gets ready for school in a flash and has plenty of time leftover. He has all his supplies perfectly organized in his new backpack. Everything has a place. No nerves. No stress. He just tells me goodbye and heads out to wait for the bus. He looked so handsome with his new clothes and haircut. (Of course, my camera is having issues, so I'll have to post a pic later.) I think this is going to be a good year!

Random thoughts

Christian: Mom, you're halfway to being really old.

The Birds and the Bees

Explaining the birds and the bees to my kids is not something I've ever looked forward to, but it makes it that much more complicated when you are explaining it to a child with autism. Just how much info is appropriate? We didn't give out too many details, but after a conversation of how babies are made, Christian left the room. About thirty seconds later, he came back down the hall and said, "Well, I sure hope grandma and grandpa aren't doing any of that sex stuff, because they're definitely way too old to be having a baby."

Run Away

As I was sitting on the floor with the diaper and wipes, Jillian took off down the hall as fast as she could...

Me: Jillian, you need your diaper changed. Where are you going.

Jillian: Run away.

Isn't that too cute?!?!?

All Dressed Up

I just love this baby girl so much! She makes my heart smile when she twirls around and oooohs and aaahhhhhs over herself being so pretty. She already spends way too much time in front of the mirror...

Monster Bus

Christian loves buses, so when he saw this monster bus in the Sears Parking lot, it was all he could talk about. He just had to have a ride on it. Shawn was a sport and went with them, and he liked it as much as the boys. Just thought I'd share a couple pics...