i didn't forget...

it has been a little bit! but i didn't forget about this :)  it's the usual: start something, get really into it, stop for a night, stop for another night, then another, then remind yourself you should really do it that night, but then you read the whole second book of The Hunger Games trilogy instead, then become obsessed with that, buy the third book, start reading that, and then remind yourself that you should really write tonight, and then write part of it during nap time the next day and finish it that night.  hehehehehe :)  that was a long and terrible run-on sentence!  but sometimes, it just has to happen.

anyhoo, things are going pretty well with the boys lately. son #1 is in that "i want to do everything by myself" phase; even though everything takes like a hour to do so. and he yells, "no, mommy!" every time i try to help or start helping (it is just like a reflex or something).  so, i have been good and letting him do everything by himself and asking him to do things and he is so proud of himself :)  it is pretty darn cute.  lots of high fives and fist pumping and all that.  him and son #2 are starting to play better together too, which is really fun to watch.  but son #2 still has a difficult time engaging and has been really into making REALLY long trains of things these days...  son #1 always says, "good job!" to him after he makes one, but i am not sure if this is an okay thing to let him do or not... do i allow him to line things up and then move them like a train? is that appropriate play? or is that repetitive and not appropriate? he will say "choo choo" and "chug chug chug," so i think it is kind of appropriate play...

son #2 and i have also been making some good progress with the ABA therapy.  we are getting more into it each week and it seems to be getting easier for me to do as well :)  we still have not heard from his speech and occupational therapists from the birth to three program, but hopefully we will hear from them about more therapy soon.

the nap schedule has been broken a few times, but in general it is still working! yay!  the only problem is that son #2 is doing that "refusing to take a nap" thing lately... so that is kind of not cool.  but whatev.  let's hope it is just a phase for a week or two and then we can get back down to awesome napping.

you know, all this talk about autism this month, my son getting diagnosed, all the new findings about genetic and environmental factors, gets me thinking about things a lot. like every night before bed when i am trying to fall asleep! here it goes (sorry for the 'train of thought' writing, but i feel like i need to get this OUT of my head)...

is it environmental?  is it more just a genetic type of thing that is more widely known about these days than it was before, so more people are diagnosed? and more parents are worried about it being such a horrible thing when they are forgetting the positive things about children that are a little different...  of course, there are some very severe cases that are not easy to handle and i am not demeaning those cases AT ALL; i am just also trying to keep in mind that my child is not going to be treated like there is something wrong with him. he just has some differences in his development that require some extra support! but i do expect him to lead a pretty normal life :)  in our very social world we are obsessed with having to be social and connected and it is not right if you keep to yourself a little and do things on your own terms... why not? why can't someone really like something?  they probably won't like it forever; they will probably switch to something else at some point. especially those kids who have parents and other people there to support them and do lots of things with like reading lots of books, listening to different types of music, going places, trying to introduce them to new people, etc.  there are also kids who don't have as much support, but i know there are a lot more programs at schools and special needs teachers now then there were a long time ago, so hopefully they are getting some support somewhere...  there are so many people with learning differences that have gifts... they learn a different way, yes.  but they also see the world a different way; which is why we live in such an amazing place! like one of my best friends said to me when i told her about my son being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, "albert einstein, mozart, and michelangelo were autistic... so i'm sure he'll do great things too. so many diagnoses of autism these days; there have been autistic people forever, undiagnosed.  if everyone was "normal" the world would be a boring place!"

so, i know it is a serious thing and we are doing everything we can to get him the support he needs in school and socially. he is already improving and i am glad that i have been aware of his differences at his young age.  but sometimes i worry that the label will cause problems for him.  but i just have to remind myself that the label is so that he can get the help he needs.  if i didn't do these things, he would maybe have a really hard time in school and with friends.  so doing all of this now is totally worth it. i just don't want to squash the amazing things that are happening in his brain... i do believe there is a lot going on in there! you can see it through all the things he does. 

whoa.  that is probably enough :)
peace out
lolo