Ian

Ian hasn't been eating much since he started his new medication a month ago. I don't know for sure but I think he's lost between 7-10lbs and it shows. I sent some Ensure to school for him to drink since he's not eating lunch and I try to force feed him in the morning and at night. Doesn't always work. I'm not really sure the medication is working either. It is certainly helping with his attention span but the screaming has gotten worse. Yesterday he screamed over every little thing until Adam got home. I was at my wits end by then. He also pooped on the toy room floor and then stepped in it. We really are making progress with the whole potty training thing and we aren't going through pull-ups quite as fast. I would say he uses the toilet 75% of the time so I am now convinced that the other 25% of the time he is just being lazy or needs the attention. Half of the time he uses the toilet he does so on his own without any help so I know he is completely capable of being potty trained. I spoke with his teacher earlier this week and she informed me he will be moving schools again. I should be upset by this but I am completely relieved. The school he is going to is a special education school. He will have access to resources he hasn't before (like a brand new sensory room) and the teachers are better equipped to handle his behavior problems. Hopefully he will start going there this summer which would also be a welcome relief for me. I don't know how I am going to survive 3 months home with this kid if he doesn't have school. Spring Break was such a challenge and my back is still hurting from out incident. He is getting bigger and stronger and more stubborn everyday. Other than that I just continue to pray that we find something that works for him. I feel like we are losing time and that if we don't get things figured out soon it's going to get worse not better. Puberty is not that far off and I've heard that this is a make or break period for kids with autism. I have hope though and I think this new school will be a great thing for us.

Wow

This little cutie is Eva. The big fat lady holding her is me. Wow. That is all I could think when I saw this picture. I stared at it a long time not really recognizing myself. I don't think of myself this big. I mean, I know I am overweight but wow...I never really realized how much. I ran a marathon at this weight and can keep up in aerobics classes and feel like I am a young, fit person. This picture tells another story. Really, I don't know what happened but I do know that I've spent the last year battling some demons and I haven't quite been myself. I feel like I am getting better emotionally/mentally and I need to get myself better physically too. I know I've mentioned it more than once on this blog and so you're probably thinking, why will this time be any different? It will and that is all I can say. I've had an epiphany of sort and it took looking at that picture to make it happen. If you want to follow along you can check out my running blog which will now become my weight loss/running blog...if I can get the motivation to update it!

Spring Break

I think St.George on Spring Break is becoming a tradition. We love it down there. There is so much to see and do we never have enough time to do everything we want. This year we had some friends join us for the fun. The more the merrier right? Here are some of the highlights. We stayed in Richfield the first night but I didn't take any pictures there. Even though the drive is only about 4 hours it was nice to split it up up. When we first arrived in St. George we headed to the park. After weeks of snow and rain it felt so good to be out in the sun. Take note of Millie and my matching shirts...she thought that was so cool!

We spent so much time in the hotel pool. I am so glad the kids are finally old enough to swim by themselves since I hate swimming. The kids loved swimming,I loved reading my book and Adam loved fishing!

Later that night the kids and I grabbed dinner and headed out to Quail Creek where we had dropped Adam off earlier too fish. The kids all went out on the boot but no one had any luck with the fish.

The next day we went to Sand Hollow. Adam had already spent the morning fishing there so we went just to play in the sand and water.



That night we grabbed some pizza and headed to Pioneer park. If you've never been there it is defiantly a place to go. There are a number of rocks to hike and climb. We got there a little too close to dark so we didn't have much time to hike. That and we had 3 kids 18mos and under! Still, we had fun.

Our last day there was spent at Snow Canyon. More sand and small little hikes.


It's always nice to get away and have some fun but it's also so much work. I hurt my back one morning picking up Ian off the floor when he was throwing one of his fits. He had a really hard time during the mornings which was when Adam was fishing. I was glad to have Lexi along to help me with him. One of Ian's favorite people in the whole world is Steve so he tagged along with him giving me some relief. It was defiantly worth the stress and I wish the weather here would cooperate and warm up!

Easter Sunday

 

Having conference fall on Easter Sunday this year was wonderful. There is nothing like listening to the leaders of our church testify of Christ to set the tone for this wonderful holiday. We do not celebrate Easter with baskets but have chosen instead to Celebrate the resurection of Christ. We do let the kids participate in an Easter egg hunt at my mom's house. Matthais was "too big" to do it this year. Boy, they grow up so fast! We had a great dinner with my family and there wasn't any fights (although, I thought it was close when we brougt up the dog poop in the back yard!)

Harris Day 2010

 

Our annual Harris day was split into two days this year. We started friday with a trip to the Lehi Legacy center for swimming. On Saturday we met at a church after the first session of Conference for lunch and games. It wasn't really any different from our usual get togethers but now that so many of the kids are getting older any excuse for the entire family to get together is great. It's strange now that some of the nieces and nephews are getting older and have their own lives. We have one on a mission and one getting married. Seems like they get to a certain age and we never see them anymore. This makes me sad yet I understand too. I'm just glad my kids are still young enough to appreciate these times together. I hope we are still doing Harris day in 10 years and we will have the next generation with us

Autism Awareness Day

Autism, as you know, is something that deeply affects our family. Everyday we struggle with this disease that is so common, yet, so mysterious. Our days rage from extreme silliness and laughter to screaming hysterics and tantrums; we never know what is in store for us. I wouldn't change it though. Ian has taught me more about unconditional love than I thought I would ever know. He is hard but he is such a joy. I love you Ian!

Another fantastic, dance filled Saturday!

It was a long day but so much fun. I really enjoyed this competition and watching all the other Hot Shots teams dance. I really wish we had gone up and watched the night before since some of our amazing dancers won overall in their solos. Millie loved being with the big girls. She looks up to them so much and wants to be just like them. Millie's group took second and they were so adorable! There is just something about these little girls doing their thing! I especially enjoy watching Millie because I know how much she loves it!