{This Is My Life}

Our Journey Continues

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that Camden was diagnosed with Autism last year.  I never expected that.  Then again, who expects something like that would happen to their child?  Since we felt that things may have been easier for Cam if we had known sooner, we decided to have Ella evaluated just to be on the safe side.  We noticed a few concerns with her behavior, but not as obvious as with Camden.  Well, Thursday Jeromy and I were on our way to Baton Rouge to receive the results of her evaluation.  We talked a little about what we thought it might be.  Probably nothing, a social delay maybe.

We were handed the report.  I read the words "Autistic Disorder" on the third page.  I felt a lump in my throat, but at the same time it didn't really sink in.  My baby girl?  My ballerina princess?  A little ham around her family, but definitely a hermit outside of her comfort zone.  On the way home, as we drove in the rain on the interstate, Jeromy and I agreed that we were surprised at her diagnosis.  I think we just didn't want to think of it as a possibility.  Honestly, I can see why she meets criteria for the diagnosis.  You just excuse away a lot of it - especially after hearing the same remarks from family and friends repeatedly (albeit well-intentioned):  "It's probably modeled behavior from Camden", "she's just shy... she will grow out of it", "all kids are picky eaters", "lots of kids do that."

There is one thing we do know.  We are extremely blessed at how mild the Autism is in our children.  Therapy has done wonders for Camden in the past year.  Amazing difference!  This time last year I would be in tears before lunch time almost every day, just feeling completely overwhelmed by taking care of him - not to mention taking care of a newborn and a 2-year-old.  I thank God for helping us through the past year, and it helps me breathe a little easier to know that things can be even easier a year from now.  I also thank God for giving me these amazing kids.  Aside from easing some of their difficulties, I would not change them for anything.  If you ask me, the world needs more people like them.  Honest, unique, and so full of love.  :)

Here are a few photos of us from the past few days...

Ella relaxing on the sofa this morning

Camden in the car on the way to church

Maya playing peek-a-boo with me

Jeromy watching the Super Bowl

Me being silly with Camden (who was taking pictures of me)

My family = pure joy

It's About Time

It has been a while since I have posted about my little ones, so this is for the family (and to save for years to come).

Maya is 14-months-old now.  I would say that she could very well be the silliest kid in our family, but let's be honest, we are ALL extremely silly.  That would be a tough competition.  She really is hilarious though.  She is repeating almost any word we tell her and is learning to show her frustration if she does not get what she wants quickly enough.  Yay!  A third ride into terrific toddlerhood!  Hold on, everybody... we are in for a bumpy ride (particularly while these teeth are pushing their way through - ouch!).

Camden is the coolest 4-year-old I have ever known.  (What do you expect coming from his own mother?)  He still loves Cars, the movie + toys, but is not as fixated on Thomas & Friends as he used to be.  We still play with them regularly though.  He has been teaching himself to read, with the help of two great little cartoons called Super Why! and Word World on PBS Kids.  I am so proud of him.  I love his curiosity and open little mind.  Poor guy - his hair is a bit whacky these days due to Mommy wanting it to grow out.  He would be so awesome with long hair.  Right?  (And all of the grandparents yell "Nooooo!")

It's amazing how quickly time has flown by.  This month last year is when I started venturing out to find an answer for Camden's difficulties.  We had no idea that we would be led to his diagnosis of Autism.  Next month makes one year that he has been receiving occupational therapy and his progress has been incredible!  I definitely attribute a lot of that to starting him at such a young age.  He still has things we will continue to work on, of course, but to see him doing so many things that he would/could not do a year ago is an amazing feeling.  I am so proud of him!  Let's move on before the tears start flowing...

Ella.  My goodness, this girl keeps me on my toes!  She gives the sweetest kisses and has the cutest pretend stories with her toys.  She also loves to terrorize her brother and sister by pushing and stealing toys.  Jeromy asked this morning if we should consider giving her up for adoption.  She's just too cute.  It is awfully hard to get her to keep clothes on though.  I have a few new photos to add to her "Ella's Patterns" album over on the left.  I will try to get to that today (not making any promises).  Another funny tid bit is that every day she says "I'm going to dance cwass (class) water (later)!"  The funny thing about that is we pulled her out of dancing class in October because she had a melt down every time we went.  She loves to dance though, and loves her dancing clothes + shoes.  I will probably put her in for the summer session and see if she handles it better.

I don't think I have mentioned this before now, but we had her evaluated over a period of months last year.  We should be receiving her report soon.  I am feeling a bit nervous about that, but I know it will be somewhat easier knowing what to expect regardless of the report.  It will help knowing what to do next to help her in some areas.  Plus, she is the strongest kid I know.

I will have a sneak peek this afternoon from a photo shoot I did this weekend.  That's you, "J" and "T"!
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ETA:  If you are interested in booking a photo session with me and want to receive my intro rate of $100/session, you must book before the end of March.  Contact me at 337-212-1795 or laura.reaux@mac.com and I will be happy to answer any questions!

Plain And Simple

Alright, I have not posted for so long for two reasons.

1.  So much has been going on lately and I have been super busy.

2.  I hate posting without pictures and I did not have the time to edit any.  (Blame the perfectionist in me.)

I should really be sleeping right now, but I could not let myself go another night without blogging.  Besides, I am giving Jeromy a few more minutes of sleeping on the sofa in his jeans before nagging at him to get up.  (Why do I have to fuss until he gets up?  Shouldn't I just let him sleep on the sofa all night if he wants to?)  Anyway, Camden and I made a trip to New Orleans yesterday.  That was half awful/half wonderful.  I do have to say that for a 3-year-old little man he did super on the 3-hour drive there... so we just won't count the trip back (there were tears involved).  We went to see a pediatric neurologist who gave him a medical diagnosis of Autism.  This is what we are hoping will be the key factor in getting Camden into school this year.  I will give more info on that later.

Camden really deserved something special, so we made a stop in Baton Rouge last night.  We had a fun dinner at Texas Roadhouse where he attempted to fill up on peanuts (which he pretty much did, except for half of a roll and two bites of a chicken tender).  Of course he asked to go to his favorite place in the world (mine, too), Barnes & Noble, and I couldn't refuse.  We hung out at the train table for an hour where I watched him interact with a few other kids.  He did great!  There was a very pushy little girl who I took the liberty of correcting more than once, and Cam held  his own.  That makes me SO happy.  We made some great memories yesterday and I can't wait to scrap them.

Alright, I just have to...

This is gonna be a long one, folks!

Believe it or not, I am still alive!  I'm not sure if anyone still visits my blog anymore... you have probably all decided I must have forgotten about you, but the truth is I think about you every day.  :)

Having a ball, playing with lentils in a container

These little munchkins have been challenging me for the past week or two, and I have had to use more time and energy to go toe-to-toe with them.  A few other Moms I know have been dealing with the same things with some of their kids, too.  Why do they seem to do this at the same time?  There was a cluster of weeks (or was it months?) where I was having a more difficult time with Camden in the spring, and it seemed to be the case with other Moms then, too.  Things that make you go hmmmm...

Speaking of going toe-to-toe, I feel like I am at battle with the school district.  They are refusing to give Camden the services and support that he needs, despite the diagnoses he has received this summer.  How is it that every where you read or hear about Autism, you hear early intervention is key, and yet I can not get the school system to help me provide that for my son?  It blows my mind.  The anger hits me in waves.  Honestly, I feel pretty darn ready to move to a state where Camden can get what he needs and flourish.  This post on Ali Edwards' blog, and the website of a program in Oregon that she linked to - EC Cares - had me weeping this evening.  This is what I want for him... so badly!

Since I felt like I was spending way too much time on the phone at war, I wanted to make sure to fit in silly time.  So I chased the kids into my room and we jumped and played on my  bed.  Of course, I propped up my leg to make a tent like a good Mommy while we all had a good giggle.  These are the moments I want us all to remember when my children are grown.  Scrapping this photo will definitely help with that.

Jeromy is offshore for work and I miss him so much.  Who wouldn't miss a pretty face like that?  We aren't able to call each other, so I'm not sure when he will be back.  It should be some time before Tuesday is over.  I think this photo of him is definitely scrap-worthy, too.  Yum!  hehe

My baby girl is getting so big!  She is sitting up and crawling now.  Noooooo!  Someone freeze time please.  Maybe her deliciously chunky thighs will at least slow her down.  I sure have been nibbling on her an awful lot lately.  I am completely enthralled by her.

I will leave you with a few pictures I took over the weekend.  I hope you had a great one!

I would love to know what she is dreaming about

Kicking myself for not taking her socks off of her sooner


Red makes this kid happy... even the first "toy" (brush) he was attached to was red

ETA:  Anyone feel like making a new banner for my blog?  No photo editing/creating software, and no working scanner here.

Autism

Camden received a diagnosis of Autism today.  (This is the final report we have been waiting for from an evaluation that we started back in April.)  They felt Autism was the appropriate diagnosis because of his speech deficits (repeating words/phrases, using movie scripts when playing, using sounds instead of words when speaking at times).

I have such mixed emotions tonight.  Anger, sadness, uncertainty, and then a gentle reminder from God that everything will be fine.  I always feel God's presence the most when I am going through a rough spot.  It's when I remember to stop and listen to what He is telling me... and I always hear sweet words of encouragement and love.  Sometimes he even sends an extra little sign to show He's here for me, maybe in the form of a note from a friend sending peace and love (if you're reading this, thanks so much for that).

Now I need to focus on making positive changes around here.  Taking one thing at a time.  Doing what I need to do to get Camden the services that he needs, and figuring out what decisions are best for him, and our family as a whole.  Tomorrow I'm going to take some time and really just play and cherish my little ones.  I want to really see all of the special blessings they bring to my life.

Deep breath.

Raw Reaction

Today I learned that Camden has a clinical diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome.  My initial reaction was relief.  Relieved that we can get more help for him.  Relieved that I'm not a bad parent.  Relieved that he isn't a a bad kid.  Relieved that when someone gives me a look or says something about the way he's acting, I have a real reason and not just an excuse.  And then, I felt fragile.  I have felt for a couple of months that I already knew what his diagnosis would be, and then at the same time I felt like maybe I was making a bigger deal of his problems.  I guess hearing it confirmed made it real today.  Hopefully things will only get better for him, I just couldn't help but think.  Will he be one of the guys on the team that everyone wants to be friends with?  Will he have no problem getting a date to prom?  I just imagined things going so differently even up to this point. 

No matter what, Camden is an amazing little boy.  He is so affectionate.  He is super smart.  There is no other kid like him, and he has stolen my heart.  I am blessed to have him... exactly the way he is.

Friday's Adventure

Jeromy and I took Camden to New Orleans on Friday.  I honestly can not remember the last time just the three of us spent an entire day together.  It was a glimpse into how our life would have been if he were an only child.  It was pretty easy-going and so fun, but I missed my girls being with us.  They had a fun day with both of their grandmothers though.

We went to New Orleans for another evaluation, at Children's Hospital.  He did great and we will know the results on Thursday.  That's quick!  I'm mainly waiting on the results for the one we just finished at LSU.  We started that one back in April, and they were so very thorough.  After the eval, we went to the Riverwalk for lunch.  We did a little window shopping (not an easy thing for a 3-year-old in a toy store) and went and played by the water fountain for a little while.  It was a really great day, even if we were wiped out due to waking up at 4am (and having gone to sleep after midnight).

 

What's Up Wednesday

   

I made this card set for a Mother's Day gift.  I had so much fun making them!  I tied them along with four envelopes with a pink ribbon.  You can see the cards up-close here.

  We finally got Camden's report on the evaluation done through the school system.  He does not qualify for special services.  They don't think his issues are severe enough to interfere with his learning.  We were happy to hear it.  See, the outcome of the report did not actually affect his schooling, because I am going to be homeschooling him.  If I were planning on putting him in public school, I may have been concerned.  Because of the limited amount of time and circumstances they interacted with him, he showed no problem behaviors while he was there.  Of course they wouldn't think his good behavior would interfere with his learning.  :)

One thing was very interesting about his report, but really didn't surprise Jeromy and I much.  He scored exceptionally above average on communication for his age.  I don't have the actual scores in front of me because they are sending the report in the mail, but here is an idea... average scores for his age ranged between 85 and 95, his scores were between 113 and 130.  Now think about how well he talks, and try to think about how much preschoolers talk.  No wonder I have a headache at the end of every day, right?  Ha!

Covergirls

 

I am SO glad this image is not larger than it is.  I look like a bunny rabbit (in the picture, not in real life).  Bad, bad people for choosing the picture where I looked like that!  The crop was pretty fun while we were there, but I'm not sure if I would pay for that again.  I would rather save my money and attend a really great crop out-of-state with cool classes.  What do you say, Brandi?

I just found out that I will finally be meeting with the school system's team of specialists next week for Camden's report.  I say finally because he was evaluated back in February.  They sure aren't in a hurry.  Are they?  I'm not sure what we are going to do about his schooling (homeschooling was always my first choice, ever since I found out I was pregnant for Camden four years ago), but I at least want to hear what they have to say.

Amy and I have challenged each other again, and I'm going to get working on that today.  Love the challenge she gave me!  Now I am off to eat an extremely late lunch (it's after 3:00pm here) and finish watching Anne of Green Gables.

Utter Honesty

The last week or so has been amazingly difficult for me.  Literally, almost unbearable at times.  I cried... a LOT... yesterday.  (I hate admitting that.)  Camden's behavior has gotten worse, but I really think a lot of it has to do with him being sick.  He and Ella have had a bad cold and are finally recovering.  I am trying to change things around here, and I really hope I can find something that helps.  I considered not sharing this here, because I would really like this to be a positive and fun blog to read, but I started this blog for ME first.  A way to get things out of my head, so there.  You still love me, don't you?  ;)

I will be updating my etsy shop today with a few things!  I'll let ya know.