Buddy Boy

Well, today was a tough day. I took Buddy Boy to an appointment for an autism study. This study was for all kids born in 2006 that go to the medical center we go to, nothing worrisome about it neccesarily.

It was this 2-hour evaluation where a group of 4 people, some doctors, etc, observed him and played with him while I watched from the corner. Most the time Buddy Boy was in the corner with me though...everyone who knows him knows he's SO shy.

Anyway, at the end of the evaluation, the doctor told me that she thinks he has autism. It is NOT an official diagnosis, and we have to schedule a more in-depth evaluation to get a diagnosis, but she said there were a lot of red flags that she saw. One of the workers there called me when I got home cause I was so upset when we left. She told me that this doctor specializes specifically in diagnoses of young kids like our son, and so she really knows what she's talking about.

We won't know for sure for awhile, because there is quite a long waiting list for the affordable evaluation. (If I didn't want to wait, it would cost $1,000!) So we'll not know yet, but in the meantime we are supposed to start some intervention and behavior therapy for him.

I'm kinda freaking out. I'm so scared of my baby being looked at differently his whole life, of him feeling like he's different or doesn't belong. Please, please keep him in your prayers. If it turns out that he does have autism, there are a lot of things we can do for him, but I honestly don't care whether he has it or not right now. I just want him to feel like he fits in, to know that he's loved. The best shot we have at it right now is to start intervention right away, and hope for the best.

The Bucket

I have been scanning away at all my old pictures and found some classic bucket pictures. I have had a ton of pictures stashed away, it has been fun to pull them out and look at them. I'm trying to get all my old photos saved on my computer, but it has been a task that might take a couple years. ~Dad

Little Mister Buddy

Lately I have been taking Munchkin and Buddy Boy to the park, Munchkin runs around and Buddy has been learning to climb up the slide and then slide down. He has loved the slide especially when you combine it with water. I haven't taken pictures at the park yet, but here are some at home.

Dad's Birthday

Well, earlier this month Dad celebrated his 33rd birthday. The kids and I were all really excited for the day. We did some shopping when we had the car and the kids each picked out 2 gifts for Dad from the dollar store. (He got socks, rope, and a soldering tool of some sort.) I shopped online and got him a scanner/copier/printer, etc.


So while Dad was at work, the rest of us were hard at work too. We painted a happy birthday sign and put up streamers all over. We also blew up a bunch of balloons. The we set to work on the cake. Munchkin was a great kitchen helper, and Buddy Boy helped us lick the spoons.

It was this raspberry cake/cheesecake creation that I thought turned out delicious. The bottom layer was actual cake and the top layer was cheesecake baked into it.

We also made a pinata. It wasn't exactly a high tech cool one, but it was fun to make. We had no candy so we stuck fruit snacks and a home depot gift card in it.



And since my illness Dad's been having to take over a lot of housework, so we all made an extra special effort at cleaning the place for him! I think that was one of the best parts for him:-)

Happy birthday Dad!

Mom and Munchkin

I received a new scanner for my birthday, and I'm so excited to start scanning all of our non-digital older pictures. Here are some of my favorites from the older pictures of Munchkin and Mom. I think Munchkin is a little older than Buddy Boy's current age in these pictures (1 1/2 years). ~Dad

Summer fun

Munchkin's summer fun has been playing in the water. It hasn't been very warm, but that doesn't stop us from trying to have fun, then going into the house and having a bath to thaw out.



Buddy's fun is playing in the mud. I don't really like him playing in the mud, but I guess a muddy sand box is okay.





My fun has been the garden. I really haven't done anything special with it, but it is fun to see the progression. Both of our apple trees are covered with apples (last year we had about 20, this year I'm hoping for 40). Our grape vine finally has little grapes, and our raspberries are covered as well. Now watch the birds eat them all. ~Dad