Video of the day: Bitty's favorite duck video

Little Bitty loves ducks, so one day when he was sitting on my lap at the computer, I found this video of ducks for him. Now he asks for it every time he sees either dh or I at the computer. He signs "more" and says "mo' ducky?" If we say yes, he gets excited and says "quack, quack!" ("qua-quat") LOLIf we say no, he assumes we didn't understand him and keeps signing / saying "mo' ducky?" until we either put the ducks on or get up from the computer. Sometimes I shrink the windows so he can watch...

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Overheard in our car tonight

The power went off in our neighborhood soon after I got home from work today, so we decided to go pick up something to eat - we couldn't cook and we knew being in the car would help LB go to sleep (he's been really cranky the last few days). Some of their conversations made me laugh, here's a couple of them. As you can see, BH's "inside voice" is more suited to a football stadium full of screaming fans.Cuddlebug is on the caseCB: I'm trying to solve this case [the case of the power outage, that...

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Special Exposure & Wordless Wednesday: Summer Fun

Here are some pics of the boys playing in their little pool in the yard. These were taken in the summer of 2006, Little Bitty was about 15 mos old and Cuddlebug & Bearhug had just turned 5 yrs old.Little Bitty with a leafBearhug makes a splashCuddlebug takes a break to water the plantsCheck out more Special Exposure Wednesday and Wordless Wednesd...

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Try This Tuesday: Shortcuts

One of the things about our twins that was simultaneously impressive and frustrating when they were younger, was that they were great with directions / navigation. Anywhere that they had been more than once, even if it was a 30 minute drive from home, they could remember how to get there again and they knew if we missed a turn. They are better than me with directions, that's...

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Using his "noggin"

On the topic of his Thomas cards (which he calls "Tommy cards" or "Ton-nee coh"), Little Bitty has been playing with those all weekend. When we visited family in April, he learned a new game from his Grandma, which involves going through the deck of cards, naming the character on each card, and then tossing it on the floor while saying "oops!" (or "oot!" as he says it). LOL.This weekend I noticed him playing a new game, setting up 3 or 6 cards and then flipping them over saying "this one? this one?...

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Starting to read?

It seems Little Bitty can read some words, well sort of read them anyway. When CB and BH were learning the presidents, he saw the placemat they were studying from and said "James!" Sure enough, there are several presidents named James. And of course, he's familiar with that name from Thomas & Friends, lol.So I decided to do a little non-scientific test. He has a set of Thomas...

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Video of the day: McHammer

Dh and I saw this over the weekend while we were flipping channels, of course I had to go find it on YouTube so I could post it here. Too funny, apparently she is too young to remember MC Hammer...

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Magic Marker Monday

Here's my first participation in "Magic Marker Monday."This is a poem written by Cuddlebug this past spring (1st grade) about Poptarts, which as you can see, he likes :). PoptartsI like them. Ask me why.Because they taste like dessert.Because there are lots of flavors.Because the taste is inside.Because you don't have to microwave it.Because, because, because.That's why. I like...

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For newly dx'd families

If you're a family member of someone who was recently diagnosed on the autism spectrum, this post is for you. I've been thinking about this, what would I have wanted to know, what have I learned that would be helpful to share? So here are some things I came up with that I think are important to know, and hopefully encouraging to hear, when you've just learned that your child has autism.1 - Your child is the same child they were before the diagnosis.They haven't changed, the only thing that's changed...

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He said "mama" tonight :)

I've posted before about how it is very rare for Little Bitty to actually say "mama" -- just wanted to share that he said it tonight! It was getting close to bedtime, he walked over to me with a big grin on his face and said "mama" as he climbed into my lap to cuddle.Of course he doesn't stay still for long, he got up and said "da-dee" (also rare!) and crawled over to cuddle with dh for a minute. He did the back and forth a few times before finally settling do...

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Have a Thomas fan in your family?

Do you ever feel like Thomas the Tank Engine has taken over your home? Here are my top ten signs that the Really Useful Engine has effectively taken over at your house:10 - you know the words to more than one Thomas sing-along song9 - you could find your way around the Island of Sodor without a GPS8 - you know which engines have separate coal tenders7 - your child has told you...

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Can you name all 43 presidents?

Me either... but Cuddlebug and Bearhug can! They've been studying the presidents the last couple of weeks and thanks to their amazingly good memories, they know them all now and can even tell you who was which number. Can you tell I'm a proud mama? LOL. This has been great for their confidence, especially with the start of 2nd grade coming up soon. Afterward they both told me,...

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New blogging site launching next week!

Check out momdot.com, originally set to launch Aug 1. but launch date now moved up to Monday, July ...

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Taking a stand

I have a few more things to say about this and then I will move on to other topics for now. Well, unless I actually get a response to my letter to Glenn Beck, in which case I'll share but I'm not holding my breath :).On why I choose not to ignore this:I couldn't care less what Michael Savage thinks, and if it were just him I'd be more than happy to ignore him and not give him any of the attention he so obviously craves. However, the reason I think it is so important to stand up and do something...

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List of sponsors

If you'd like to write to the sponsors of Michael Savage's show, there is a list here, along with updates on some of the responses that have been received from various sponsors.Thanks, Greg!So far, Aflac has pulled their advertising from the show, and Directbuy.com has opted not to renew their advertising contract which expires this week. Kudos to them for taking a sta...

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Recent autism comments

Ok, I've debated whether to post anything about this or let it go and ignore it. As you can see I've opted not to ignore it. You've probably heard about the despicable comments made by Michael Savage, a radio talk show host, about children with autism and their parents last week.I guess it's pretty easy to attack a bunch of children and families in the pursuit of ratings. Obviously he didn't listen to his own father's advice of "don't be an idiot." Then again, I guess if he's on to something then...

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Special Exposure / Wordless Wednesday

I took this picture of the boys yesterday, I love it! It's so hard to get pictures of all three of them together, and I managed to snap this as they were walking, with each of my twins holding their little brother's hand.See more Special Exposure Wednesday and Wordless Wednesd...

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Try this Tuesday - A Restaurant Guide

When you have kids with autism, venturing out with the family can be a challenge. We’ve certainly had our share of fiascos, and that’s putting it mildly. With a lot of persistence, we’ve had successes too. Aside from ensuring that the planets are in just the right alignment, and your children are in good moods, with no one overly tired or cranky, here are a few things we’ve learned...

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Addicted to "cran"

It's official, my 3-yr-old is a cran addict.Let me back up a little bit. This past week has been rough with him having meltdowns almost every evening (not counting extra crankiness during the day). Probably it is because his big brothers were at camp during the day this week so his routine was impacted. After all, even though they enjoyed camp, the routine change had CB and BH...

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The battle over wearing shoes is over!

Dh went shopping for kid shoes this week for all three boys, since they have each worn out their current shoes. LB likes the kind that light up when you walk (or stomp your feet, or kick the seat in front of you in the car, lol) so he was planning to look for another pair like that for him. Imagine his surprise and LB's delight when they saw these:He said LB's eyes got wide with...

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Time to go home!

Little-Bitty said a new phrase yesterday! After an extensive meltdown in the car, he finally calmed down enough to say "go home," which he then combined with a phrase he already knows, "time to go!" and said "time to go home!" Luckily, we were already on our way home.We were impressed, partly because he was able to combine two phrases to make a new one that he hasn't said before, but more importantly because once he calmed down he was able to tell us what he wanted and explain why he'd had the...

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How "Little Bitty" got his nickname, and other tidbits

When we brought LB home from the hospital, his brothers were so excited to meet him for the first time! We did not try to have them come to the hospital to meet him. Two overstimulated and hyperactive 3-yr-old boys + expensive hospital equipment and stressed out nurses = disaster waiting to happen!Of course the first thing CB wanted to know was how he got out of my tummy, and could...

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The playing field... has been levelled

A little background...BH has always been a little heavier than CB, ever since birth. This was initially due to TTTS, and as they have grown it's just stayed that way, with the initial 1.5 lbs. difference growing to appx. 6 lbs. difference today.For the boys, this was a big deal. They weighed themselves all the time (well, that started when dh and I went on a health kick) and got excited every time their "number" went up, but CB was continually disappointed when his number (weight) didn't catch...

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The "big boss"

I was informed the other day that our family has a "big boss," and that I'm not it. Not that I thought I was, but I was under the impression that dh and I are "equal" bosses. I think he thought so too...According to our sons, however (at least the two who are old enough to express an opinion on the matter), dh is the "big boss." Hmm... I was more than a little surprised when BH told me that and CB readily agreed."What makes him the big boss?" I asked."He's taller than you," came the logical...

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He's still my little "mama's boy"

I wrote this back in October 2007 about my Little Bitty and how he'd changed, first regressing and then starting to make some progress with help from Early Intervention. Thought I'd share it here.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A little over a year ago, when LB saw me he would run up to me saying "mama! mama!" and holding his arms up for me to pick him up.A few months later, he rarely said "mama" anymore, but he'd still run up to me with his little arms up to be held.A little more time passed, and he...

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The return of "no"

One of the things we've been working with Little Bitty on for a long time is "yes" and "no." He's never really done the head shaking or nodding thing but he does express himself so we've pretty much figured out his signals but wanted to teach him how to use the words yes and no. His speech therapist gave us some PECS cards to use for this too.Several months ago, he could say no...

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Book recommendation: The Out-of-Sync Child

The book, "The Out-of-Sync Child" by Carol Kranowitz, was recommended to me when our twins were dx'd with autism and sensory intergration disorder. At the time, I was just starting to learn about autism and didn't really know much at all about sensory processing issues.The first section talks about how to recognize sensory integration disorder and gives a number of examples of...

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Bearhug's Random Thoughts & Brotherly Love

I love hearing what's on my little guys' minds. Today, Bearhug told me, "I like it when LB follows me around... he follows me a lot. Do you know why he follows me? Because he loves me and because he knows I do fun things. He likes to do what I'm doing because it's fun." Then he surprised me with, "Do you remember when LB used to have a paci? I think he looked really cute with his...

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Please vote! Should I change the name of this blog?

When I first started this blog I named it the first thing that came into my head. I'm trying to decide if I should leave it as is or change it to something else and would welcome any input.I've added a poll at the top right corner, looking for feedback on whether I should keep the name as it is "Everyday Adventures & Random Thoughts" or change it.If you have a suggestion that isn't on the list please choose Other and add a comment to this post with your idea.Thanks in advance for your he...

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Going undercover...

Time to put on our cool shades and video watches...I've decided that in the interest of national security (haha) it would probably be wise to start using "secret code names" for my family so from here on out the boys will be referred to as Cuddlebug, Bearhug, and Little Bitty. If I'm feeling too lazy to actually type the names they'll be CB, BH, and LB, lol :)This post will probably "self-destruct" (or just be deleted by me) at some point, just wanted to give anyone who's been reading so far a heads...

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Beautiful!

A couple of weeks ago, Little Bitty picked up the word "beautiful" when I used it to describe his artwork. He's not much on coloring (well, on paper anyway, he likes walls just fine) so I was impressed to see him at work with some crayons. Of course, I ooh'd and aah'd over his drawing and told him "I love it, it's beautiful!"He smiled really big and said "dee-fooh" (his version of "beautiful") for the first time. It was so sweet!This morning he climbed on my lap, touched my face (gently for once,...

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Happy faces!

Took this picture over the holiday weekend, I love their smiles!...

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A new number

Cuddlebug "made up" a number today. He's pretty intrigued by the idea that you can make something up, and have it become "real." For example, you can make up a song and have it become a real song, or you can make up a word, and it becomes a real word. So, he wanted to make up a number.He asked me how we let people know so they can start using this number too. I told him I wasn't sure how to do that, but hey, I figure posting it here is as good a way as any, so here goes.The new number is called...

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Speech lessons with Cuddlebug...

Tonight Cuddlebug (who is eager for Little Bitty to start talking more) offered to teach LB lots of words, "because I know lots of words." And that he does!Lesson #1 came when LB was playing in the sink (which he knows he shouldn't be). CB said, ever so politely, "Excuse me 'LB.'" Bitty ignored him of course. CB kept trying, bless his heart. "Excuse me... that means I want you to move... you're in the way... excuse me..."Then he went into teaching mode and offered this tip, important to know in...

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Echolalia - one mom's perspective

Echolalia, for those that don't know, is basically repeating back what you hear, and is a common speech issue for those on the spectrum. It can take the form of repeating back just the last word you said, a whole phrase, either right away or at a later time, or even entire scripts / dialogues from conversations, tv, movies, or other sources.When Cuddlebug was younger, much of his speech was echolalia. I remember our frustration at trying to teach him his name, and how to respond to the question...

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A little history...

It occurred to me that in my posts I have been mostly focused on the present so far, but I think that in order to really tell our story I need to also share some of where we have been on the journey so far.So, you'll start to some posts here and there that go into more detail about how we got to this point, hopefully you'll find them interesting. It's not about dwelling on the past but I think particularly with Bearhug and Cuddlebug it's hard to convey how far they've come without telling you more...

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Video of the day: More Cowbell!

A little break for a funny post, I think Christopher Walken is hilarious, and this skit from SNL cracks me up every time."Guess what?! I gotta fever... and the only prescription, is more cowbell!" R...

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Sleep is for wimps

And today, I was the wimpiest of them all. I actually took a nap, and not just any nap, I slept for several hours. I think the allergy medicine I took had something to do with that, but it was kind of nice :). Until Little Bitty started running circles on the bed and finally resorted to pulling my hair to wake me up. That's his new thing, pulling my hair. I'm not a fan, as you can imagine.Since LB got sick with a double ear infection a week and a half ago, his sleep schedule has been very disrupted....

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More words from Mr. Bitty...

Little Bitty is a man of few words, but he continues to add new ones here and there. Here's one of his new words - honeybun, aka "huck-a-doh." I love the way he says it ...

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Lego creation & words from Little Bitty!

Cuddlebug and Bearhug like to call the things they make "creations." A creation can be anything -- a drawing, lego construction, geotrax track design, a fort, etc. Today I found a pretty cool lego creation in their playroom -- it's an elevated train track complete with buffers and a dock loader.Little Bitty was pretty excited when he saw it (what train-lovin' little boy wouldn't...

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What are boogers for?

This is the question Cuddlebug greeted me with yesterday morning. He has a stuffy nose, so it's no wonder he's curious about the purpose of boogers.I decided this was a good teaching moment and said, "let's look it up!" And so we did. Google is great, when I as a kid I would have to actually make a trek to the library if I wanted to do a little research on boogers. Now, anyone...

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How we celebrated the 4th of July

Bearhug and Cuddlebug like to make lists. They make all kinds of lists, lists of what they like to eat, lists of their friends, lists of things they'd like for Christmas, lists of numbers, lists of things they've cleaned or chores they've done, lists of what they'd like to do today, you name it. So it was no surprise when BH decided to make a checklist for what he planned to do...

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America the Beautiful

Since today is America's Independence Day, I wanted to take a moment to say how grateful I am for this country, for the freedoms we have and for those in the military who defend those freedoms, not only for us but who champion those same freedoms on behalf of others around the world. In his book, "Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues that will Heal our Hearts and Homes,"...

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Do you have your ducks in a row?

Little Bitty does :) This is the scene that greeted me when I came downstairs the other day. The ducks look like they're all waiting in line for their turn to take a swim in the pond.Here he is masterminding another duck-a-palooza...Unfortunately the cat likes playing with his ducks too so one is missing. I managed to rescue a couple from under the couch, but I don't even know...

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Awesome big brothers!

I just have to brag a little bit about what Cuddlebug and Bearhug did this weekend. They are amazing big brothers and do such a great job helping to take care of Little Bitty.Saturday morning, BH came into our bedroom looking for a tissue. He said LB had a runny nose, and he wanted to wipe his nose for him.Later that day, CB told me he'd seen LB running around naked (because he likes to take his pull-ups off) so he went and found a clean pull-up and helped him put it on. He said we were still asleep...

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