{This Is My Life}

He Rocks My World

I was able to take Camden to therapy alone today.  Just the two of us.  We were still in the driveway when he said "It'll be fun just you and me!"  He's seriously the COOLEST little guy I know.  (Yeah, yeah... I know I'm biased.)  It was awesome to just hang out with him alone.  We stopped at Target on the way  home and got treats and just goofed off in the store.  Personally, I think Target is one of the funnest places to goof off.  Just holding his hand while he still thinks I'm cool and getting random smooches from him made my day a great one.  I hope we will always be this close.  And I just can't stop thinking of this one thing... if he is this cool of a person at 4, how awesome will he be when he's older?

One thing is for sure... he is SILLY, just like his Mom!

Confidence

This morning as I stopped singing for a moment...

Me:  Cam, would you like to be able to sing like Mommy one day?
Camden:  I already can.

... and proceeds to sing a line of a current favorite song.

Nothing could have put a bigger smile on my face.

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!

First Faces

I was so excited when I saw these faces that I sent them by phone to family members!  These are Camden and Ella's first drawn face (Camden's is on the left, Ella's on the right).  I love looking at the pages that they color... particularly the drawings on blank paper vs. color book pages.  I love seeing what their own little imaginations conjure up.  Ella had drawn her face first and told me, "Look at my ugwy face."  I, of course, assured her that her face was far from ugly and told her how much I loved it.  I asked Camden if he wanted to try drawing a face and he did!  He even added ears, to my delight!  {big smile}  I'm off to frame them!

Martian Child

Daddy:        Cam, can you change Maya's diaper?
Camden:    No
Daddy:        Why not?
Camden:    It's because....  I'm not a human.

He means grown-up.

A Long Day

... but a special one.

Flying Time

How in the world does time pass so quickly when the days seem so long?  I desperately want to post, but I am tired and seriously need rest.  I will leave you with a few pictures though.

Is it really me?  I don't see this woman in photos very often (thanks, Mom).

This grumpy face has been around quite a bit lately.

You would not believe the volume that accompanied this shot.

OH, before I forget... details about my photography coming up very soon.  Stay posted!

Bad, Bad Blogger

Alright, so I haven't been the best blogger lately... so I am just going to distract you with this adorable picture of my famous little people!  Here they are on the cover of the October issue of a local parenting magazine.  I am one proud Mommy.

This incredibly handsome little dude is four-years-old.  His birthday was on the 2nd and, still, I can hardly believe he is four already!  I remember the night I had him so well.  Since his birthday I have been reminiscing about all of the wonderful memories I have of him already.  Most of them are not of major milestones or holidays.  They are every day moments - our daily routine when he was a baby, his favorite toys over the years, cute little things he did and faces he made.  This reminds me of how important it is to do fun things with them, and not to just go through our days as if we are on a monotonous repeat.

I really need to do something creative this week.  Amy?  Challenge?

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

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.