[ Ali Edwards ]

Documenting Simon.

Learning a new skill (thanks Grandpa Al for the fun skateboard).

Balancing at the park (with Harry Potter wand in hand).

Jumping in & swimming.

Running through the sprinkler and playing with the neighbor kids.

Being silly (lots and lots of that happening around here).

Checking stuff out.

You may have noticed that the long sleeves & pants are back again. When I posted about taking all the long sleeved shirts out of his closet for the summer Roberta made the following comment:

Kids know what they like just like we do...perhaps Simon likes the "security" long sleeves gives him...it's a tactile thing...feels like a big hug. If you're worried about him being "hot"...look at all the people in the world living in the desert...all wear long blk/white sleeves to protect their skin. As mothers we try to protect our children...but being a mother of a LD child whom we used to call "The Taz" because he would throw terrible fits...trust me...when you let go and let me...allow them to be who they are...everyone is happier:}

She made some points I hadn't considered (especially about people in desert climates who long sleeves to protect their skin) and it actually made me adjust my outlook on the situation. Thanks Roberta for adding your comments. We are all feeling a little happier around here...but we did draw the line when he wanted to wear his winter/ski coat outside today when it was 90+ degrees.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend. Giveaways will be posted tomorrow morning.

Documenting The Kids

[ sentiment strip available at Designer Digitals ]

Simon @ 7 years
- worked super hard for over three weeks to have three days "in green" for a reward trip to Target to get some legos (staying in green means following directions, no pushing, no arguing about who is first in line, accepting, etc)
- playing with the neighbor kids outside almost everyday after school: riding bikes, playing chase
- doing single number addition worksheets super-fast (and correctly)
- ate green peppers & broccoli
- working on accepting not being first in line after recess everyday + found a solution by holding hands (and sharing first) with the little girl you compete with the most
- lost your first tooth (you pulled it out all on your own)

Anna @ 3 months
- smiling a ton, especially when Simon comes into view
- liking very much to be held rather than in any other spot
- rolled over from stomach to back
- working on getting into a routine
- moved from the bassinet next to our bed to the crib in your own room
- had your first adventure to the 92 degree swimming pool (you loved it)
- started hanging out with a very special babysitter twice a week

Bloom & Grow : World Autism Awareness Day

Today is World Autism Awareness Day.

As you may have read in the giveaway post yesterday, I teamed up with the designers at Songbird Ave to create a digital kit in honor of Autism Awareness month. All proceeds from the sale of this kit benefit Autism Speaks.

My son was diagnosed with autism right around the time he turned three. It has been quite a journey; many stories have been documented here along the way. We celebrate his successes both small & big, and diligently work through the challenges. We embrace him for the awesome, tender, hilarious, sweet kid that he is. 

You can read past posts about our journey here.

To learn more, including the signs of autism, go here. There is also  a pretty good FAQ here.

Below are two more examples using elements and templates from the Songbird Ave Bloom & Grow kit:

How about a layout where the entire background is a photo? I have done a few of these in the past with enlargements and am planning to do some more for Anna's book. I love working off one big image background - it poses a whole new set of design challenges.

 

Loving scalloped edges right now. Either digitally, or with the Threading Water punch, I have been wanting a scalloped edge on just about everything I have put together recently. 

For information on working with digital layered templates check out my Hybrid/Digital Scrapbooking series of posts.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday the Hero Arts blog. They do such a great job of showcasing stamping tips and providing inspiration for all levels of crafters. You may also be interested in their contests and videos. Happy Birthday!

Moments + connections like this.

"Baby Anna this is you."

One of my favorite memories of being in the hospital was watching Simon show baby Anna the photo of her that he took to school to share with his class (great idea Grandma). Tucked inside his backpack it was his connection to her (and us) while he was at school and we were in the hospital.

On the day we came home we waited to leave the hospital until my Mom was able to bring him over after school. We wanted to leave as a whole family unit and include him in the specialness that is bringing a new baby home.

The transition from three to four has been remarkably smooth so far.

Simon comes home from school and the first thing he says is "Baby Anna I am home!"

He loves to call Anna and I "the girls." He will say, "do you girls want to come see this toy?" or "are you girls going to take a bath?"

He also loves to give her "snuggles" where he touches her head with his hands or presses his lips to her head. It is a precious connection.

There is really nothing quite like this miracle that is new life and the bonds that are growing stronger everyday. We all feel really blessed.

And speaking of new life, Gabrielle McDougall Gitomer made her way into the world yesterday. We are overjoyed for my sister and Jeffrey and can't wait to meet the newest member of our family.

And only four + a half hours later...

The giant Lego Star Wars box was opened as soon as Simon arrived home yesterday. It was definitely the first thing he wanted to do after he came in the door.

It was about that point in time when I looked on the box and noticed it said ages 9-14. Um, yep, I knew I was in for it.

Upon opening the box I was greeted to somewhere around 14 bags filled with lego supplies. Lots and lots of small and smaller pieces. My first task was to go in the kitchen and grab a couple muffin tins, cookie sheets, and some blue cups because there was no way this task was going to be tackled without some serious organization.

 

There were over 1300 pieces and two booklets. This photo right here was step 10. I think there were 60 some steps. 

Simon's job in all this was simply not to whine and to help where he could. Amazingly, over the four + hours it took to put this ship together he did not break down once. He did ask if I was "done yet" a few times but no drama. He put all the little droids together - and practiced some counting as there were 23 in all. We had a nice little conversation as the afternoon and evening went along, talking about the legos, the baby, his birthday party, and school yesterday (they made a Chinese dragon that he was pretty excited about).

We took a little break for dinner and to put on jammies. And then it was finally done. It looks like this:

 

He didn't have much time to play with it before it was bed time, but it was a good start. I imagine tomorrow afternoon will be filled with some serious playtime. It's a pretty cool ship with lots of doors that open and close and three other small ships that go in and out (one carries all the droids).

I have to say that I liked the process. It's methodical and balanced and you just follow the directions...one small step at a time. As I was putting it together I was thinking that it's someones job to design these things and to figure out how all the pieces go together just right. Totally amazing.

Here's to a playful weekend at home and to 37 weeks tomorrow. 

 
Coming next week: a Valentine minibook, a superhero giveaway, and a tour of the baby's room.

Celebrating Simon.

We are all wiped out tonight after a really fun, loud, and chocolate-filled birthday celebration. My feet are definitely tired.

 

Yep, cake (above) and cupcakes.

Birthdays are cool.

And I love this one:

 

Today after school Simon and I will embark on putting together a Star Wars lego ship. Wish me luck. He was bummed that it was not happening after the party so we had a little chat about having something to look forward to on the day after your birthday.

He also says thank you to all of you who left well-wishes for him yesterday. That was really special and cool. 

Seven is going to be a good year.

 

And speaking of things that are good & fun, a tour of Simon's updated bedroom was featured on Ohdeedoh yesterday (click this link for information about stuff in the room). In all reality the nesting has been going on around here for the last few months.

The planet mobile is an old one from Pottery Barn Kids. I found this one on ebay a few years back.

Capture, savor, and celebrate right now.

After a few weeks of having all three of us here together Chris is back to meetings (the new legislative session begins next week) and Simon has one more day off school today (it's a "professional development/planning day"). I am ready for a bit of "alone" time around here to get some more work done before the baby actually arrives.

I finished cleaning up, clearing out, and reorganizing Simon's room yesterday. One of the things that was most fun was having him rediscover toys he has not played with for awhile that still bring him entertainment and joy. I am glad to have that entire project completed and can move on to my list for the baby room (thanks for all those kind words on the sneak peek).

One of my favorite things over the past couple of weeks is that Simon has really gotten into reading. REAL reading on his own.

Our normal routine is to read a book to him each evening before going to sleep of his choice (we intervene or make suggestions depending on how late or early it is). One night last week he picked Green Eggs & Ham, climbed up on his bed, sat criss-cross, and told Chris he wanted to read it that night.

It took over an hour for Simon to read Green Eggs & Ham the first evening.

After the excitement (and a bit of fatigue all around) Chris had the brilliant idea to come up with a simple way to track the books he reads all by himself: each time he finishes a book he can add it to a list we are keeping on a bulletin board in his bedroom. That in and of itself was enough of a motivator for him to get down to business and it has been working like a charm for the last week.

The next night he read Robert the Rose Horse. It also took him over an hour. He is super tired by the end and we are working in the suggestion that you can break a book into two nights (or more) but that idea has not caught on just yet. In the meantime we are adding in some shorter books or changing it up by having one of us read to him.

Tonight he fell asleep while Chris was reading to him. He had spent part of his afternoon reading Green Eggs & Ham (on his own on the couch) and starting on Horton Hears A Who.

I so hope this is just the beginning of a lifetime love of reading.

In addition, I would like to ask for your prayers and positive thoughts. Many of you know that I have had a bunch of moles removed over the last year and a half (actually more than 20 since August 2007). This past week I received some results indicating that the most recent one I had removed from my upper chest area is stage one melanoma (this is more serious on the spectrum than the melanoma I had removed in the past which was only on the surface of the skin). I should be getting more information this week as to what the next steps are in this situation.

Consider this your friendly reminder to have your own skin checked by a dermatologist if you have any suspicions or conerns.

Hello Snow.

6am and the school district website says “no school.”

“Hey Simon, guess what?”

“What?” he asked in that sleepy morning voice while still snuggled under the covers.

“You don’t have school today.”

“Isn’t it Monday? No school on Monday?” he sat up quickly, super interested at this new development.

“Go look outside.”

He scampered over to the window and peeked through the blinds. He sees it. Just about 4 inches of it. There is one of those great squeals of delight that come only from the realization that it is indeed a snow day.

And oh how I know those feelings. I remember them all too well. I also woke up about three times last night to check and see if it was really sticking and then had a hard time going back to sleep because I was getting way too excited. Snow is infrequent around here so when it comes it is cause for a big celebration if you are a kid or one of those grown-up kids who loves snow.

Simon spent the first bit of the morning watching cartoons before finally pulling out the snow gear – including snow pants that are just a touch too tight but definitely wearable. Long underwear, socks, turtleneck, snow pants, fleece, snow coat, snow mittens, snow boots and a good hat. An amazing amount of excitement was found in the simple actions of getting dressed.

I did a lot of watching Simon play with the neighbor kids in the snow today. He is finally to the point where he can be outside on his own without one of us outside as well. I still sit in the window and watch while reading or working on my laptop.

He is growing more and more independent all the time.

Many times in the past he has done lots of running back and forth while playing outside to tell me many little important things – updates on what the kids are doing, who said what, etc. Today he stayed longer and played more; coming back only to show me an icicle or when I called out to him to come home for a snack.

It’s in those quiet moments sitting at the window watching when I can really see how much he has grown. It is so cool to see him interested in the other kids, wanting to play with them and be part of the larger neighborhood experience. I love that.

December Daily post coming later today.

Truth Be Told

The other day Simon came home from school, walked into the house, and told me "My star was in yellow today."

His school uses a star program. Essentially green means no problems, yellow means something came up/not following the rules, and red is when you get in big trouble. Simon is no stranger to yellow stars, not the majority by any means, but they definitely popped up from time to time throughout kindergarten. 

"Uh oh. What happened buddy?" I asked.

"I was sneaky." he said and proceeded to tell me about how he was caught sneaking out to recess before the kids were dismissed as a group from lunch.

I've never heard him use the word "sneaky" before and it was hard not to giggle a bit as the word crossed his lips.

It wasn't that long ago that asking him what had happened each day at school resulted in zero response. In his case it was more of a lack of back + forth communication ability then avoiding the question.

These days when he comes home one of the first things we do together (after the shoes come off and the coat gets hung up) is to open his communication notebook and see what the aides have written about his day. They include activities he participated in, things he struggled with, and what he is working on in the classroom (behaviorally and academically). This is a vital part of helping us understand what's happening at school and has become a way for Simon and I to share together how things went over the course of the day.

On this particular day one of the things I was most thankful for was him simply telling me what had happened even before I read it in the notebook. He was truthful and forthright and he wanted to share even when he had gotten into trouble.

I am sure there will be challenging days ahead (obviously, as there always are), but on this day there was a good solid line of communication happening. I love progress. I celebrate those little (and big) moments.

After he revealed that his star was in yellow we chatted a bit about being sneaky and following the rules. He agreed that he wanted to follow the rules and keep his star in green.

So far, so good.

Seen + Overheard.

[ meeting storm troopers prior to marching in the Eugene Celebration parade ]

To the bus driver as he boarded yesterday morning: "Shelia! Shelia! Guess what? The earth is moving!"

To us: "I am going to have a sister and her name is Cousin Lucy."

[ And just to clarify, Lucy is the name of Simon's cousin. His sister will have a different name. He just likes her so much that he wants her to have the same name. It has become a game for him + he laughs so hard when he tells us this will be his sister's name. ]

Cool giveaway coming bright + early Thursday morning.