Praise and Worship.

I know I have posted about the twins singing worship songs all the time, especially Jonathan but I had to share this with you all. Last night on the way home from church and dinner we were listening to the boys cd of downloaded songs that they love to sing in children's church. I happened to look in the rear view mirror to see what the twins were doing (Luke was with Daddy in Daddy's car) and saw them reaching their hands in the air while singing. Now we do these motions with the songs and that is what they were doing, but it just did something to my heart to see them praising this way. I often wonder how much they understand about Our Savior and the songs we sing to Him and seeing that last night just made think that they just might understand more than I think they do. I posted the song they were singing last night along with one of their other favorites right now.

A Fear Come True!

Okay, so it's not as bad as the title makes it out to be, but I suppose it could be.

Most of you know that the twins have only been potty trained for less than a year. While I am still rejoicing in that fact there are still some hard things about it. One of them being their lack of a need for privacy. They just go in the bathroom and don't even bother with the door. I know most kids are this way but they do this at other people's houses and in public restrooms. I am usually with them and make sure they know they have to shut the door. The other issue is that they feel like they can just come out of any bathroom without putting their pants back on. Again, they do this at my parents house and have done it at other people's houses too. We are usually quick to catch them. I am usually with them in a public restroom so I am quick to make sure they don't leave the stall without pulling up their pants. Matthew has done pretty well with this but Jonathan just doesn't care. He is constantly walking around the house with his undies and short wrapped around his ankles. He thinks he needs help getting them back up but he CAN do it.
I am sure you know where this is going. Today my mom and I decided to take the boys to a local pizza place called Peter Piper Pizza (a smaller scale chuck e cheese). My mom and I were helping Matthew and Luke play some games while Jonathan was busy climbing in the tunnels and going down the slide. Somewhere along the way he must have decided to go potty. I am not sure which restroom he used, Men's or Women's, but he went in and went potty. Neither, my mom nor I was aware of this until, one of the young men working there came walking around the corner with Jonathan who, you guessed it, was walking around with his undies and shorts around his ankles. We explained to the worker that he was Autistic and he said he understood, but some people might not. I was mortified. I did get his pants up and tried to explain to him how he couldn't do that. I try and tell him this at home every time he does it. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't crowded because we were there after lunch and thankfully no one complained. I am not sure if anyone else saw him. I just don't want this happening again and I am not sure what I can do about it.

Random Pictures from the Past Month.

Luke needed a picture of his new fashion style. He did this to himself.
Luke got this workbench for his birthday. It came a couple weeks after the fact but he was very excited. I put the whole thing together. Go Mom! < A couple weeks ago I took the boys (by myself) to a local park that has a few rides including this mini train. They did very well and cannot wait to go again this Saturday. Matthew calls it the carnival. Riding jet ski boats. I was really surprised that Luke got on because he does not like carousals, but he did great.





Luke started going to Rainbows on Sunday night at church since he is now 3. Here he is in his new uniform.

The boys were playing in this box that contained the twins new bedding. Oh how fun boxes are. This reminds me I need to get pictures of the new beds.

Matthew asked me to take his picture one morning before school. I thought he posed very well.


Luke wanted his picture taken yesterday morning. I think he wanted me to take a picture of the red balloon. This kid loves having his picture taken.

Life

Well, it took a few weeks but life has slowly returned to normal since our trip. Life was pretty quiet and peaceful for a few weeks and now things are back to the way they were before our trip. The twins are all over the place, all 3 of the boys are fighting again. Luke has been sick twice and I feel the need for another vacation.
There are less than 3 weeks of school left and then the real fun begins. The only thing I am looking forward to this summer is the fact that I will not have to get up at 6:00 every morning. I take that back. I will probably be up at 6:00 but I won't need to get out of bed to get the boys ready for school. Have I ever mentioned that the boys, all of them, wake up with the sun? This is such a lovely time of year when you hear your kids at 5:30 in the morning.
My goal for the summer is to potty train Luke. Didn't I just get finished potty training the twins???? I did attempt to get things started a couple weeks ago but Luke is a pretty strong willed child and he pretty much refused to go in the toilet. He went in his room a couple of times and even in my closet. Most days he would just wait until it was nap time and I would put him in a pull-up and then that pull-up would be soaked through in a matter of a couple of minutes. I know he can do it because this past Fall he was going in the toilet a couple of times or more a week. I guess I just missed my opportunity, but I was in the middle of getting the twins potty trained. Oh well, he definitely knows he has the control in this area. This week he has been sick and I haven't pushed him. I am hoping this summer we can get it done so he can start preschool in August.

On a side note... Jonathan has begun to eat hot dogs. I know it is not the most nutritious food out there, but let me tell you I am so thrilled we have added another main food to his meal menu. It is a great thing for him to eat at lunch. He also likes corn dogs, but I have to take the corn part off, so it really is just a hot dog. He has been eating both of these at school for months now and I was so excited when he finally said "Yes" he would eat one at home a couple of weeks ago. This past week he ate fish nuggets at school so I am hoping I can add this to his diet in a little bit.

Well, I think that is about all I have for tonight. I will try and post a few pics of the boys soon.

Decisions, Decisions.

We have had a few decisions to make around here recently regarding all the boys' schooling next year.
About 2 weeks ago Matthew's teacher called me wanting to know if I still wanted to keep the boys at separate schools next year. She works very closely with the head of the autistic programs for Mesa Public Schools. At the time I still wasn't 100% sure about keeping them separated but they do a lot better when they aren't together for long periods of time. So I told her to keep them at separate schools. For the past 2 weeks I have been debating that decision in my mind and out loud with Eric. He knows they do well apart but also knows how confusing it is to have the 2 of them at separate schools. He usually just goes along with what I feel is best for them. Earlier this week I almost called to see if I could change my mind but then decided against it.
Well, this morning Matthew's teacher called me again. She said they had a new situation come up with some of the programs and that there is now a way that the boys can both go to the same school and be in separate classes. At Matthew's school they have a separate autistic first grade and then second and third are together and fourth, fifth and sixth are together. Starting next year they will now have a separate second grade. She suggested putting Matthew in the second grade class and bringing Jonathan into the first grade class. I really think this will work out so well.
To answer your questions about Matthew being in the second grade class. No, he is not skipping a grade. Technically he will be in the second grade class but still considered a first grader. His teacher feels he is more at the level of the kids in that program and will fit in really well. I think he will do well too. He does have that early October birthday so he won't be much younger than the others and he is a pretty tall boy so he won't be the small kid. I am just so happy that this opportunity came along it is such and answer to prayer.
Jonathan might take a little while to get used to a new school but I really feel this will benefit him as well. In his class now there are a couple of kids who are for the most part non-verbal and highly aggressive. Jonathan has been bringing home some of their behavior and I really wasn't looking forward to him being with these kids again. I hope that doesn't sound mean. Jonathan's school does not offer a first grade program but instead has first, second and third all together and I was not really looking forward to that as well.
All in all, I really think this will be so nice. They can ride the same bus and Jonathan won't have to get picked up at 6:55, which means I get an extra 20 minutes to stay in bed. Which is always nice.
We also decided to put Luke in a preschool program next year. He will be attending a preschool at my parents church. He will go 2 days a week for 3 hours each day. I really feel that Luke needs this. 1. He is so smart and really needs to learn how to use his knowledge. 2. He needs to be around "normal" kids and make some friends. He loves his brothers dearly but he really loves the interaction he gets with other kids. I really think he will do well. I am so very excited to see what the Fall will bring to our family and I feel such a peace about all the decisions that have been made this week.

A Little of This and That

Sorry it has been a few weeks since my last post. Life has again been busy with illness and other things. I went on a little vacation for 4 days in the middle of February. Just me, no kids and no husband. I went to visit my dear friend, Amy in Oklahoma. But before that we had another round or ear infections and I came down with bronchitis and pink eye. Not a fun way to leave for a vacation but I survived.
The twins also had their 6 year reevaluation for autism. In Arizona, in order to keep your state assistance for therapy programs, kids have to have another diagnosis at the age of 6. I guess they think it just in case the child get better with early intervention.
Not much has changed. They are still autistic. However, they are now officially considered underweight. Jonathan is underweight and Matthew is on the border. They do eat, just not a lot of variety and they are very active. Jonathan, however, has stopped eating some things at home, namely his chicken nuggets. This has been a staple for him since he was able to eat table food and he usually has this for dinner at least twice a week. So for him to stop eating it is not a good thing. I could understand if he was sick of it but he eats chicken nuggets at school and he also eats them at Grandma's and at Grandma's house they are the same chicken nuggets that I buy. I have been in tears pleading with him to eat some nights and other nights I just have to leave the room and let Eric deal with it. I have been told that Jonathan might be doing this because he knows how much it means to me and in a way it is his way of having power over me. His eating has been foremost in my mind lately and will even cry myself to sleep thinking about it. Matthew is skinny but Jonathan looks like an anorexic, he just looks so frail and that if I grabbed his arm the wrong way it would snap. It is so very scary to me.
All this to say, could you please keep both boys in your prayers, especially Jonathan. Thank you.

There is Music in the Air!

Yesterday we received our Christmas present from my in-laws. A new digital piano. It is still on the ground but I have been playing it anyway. When we got it all out of the box yesterday and turned on Jonathan sat right down and figured out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star already. He did this last year on an old toy xylophone at my in-laws in PA. I was very impressed he figured it out on the piano so soon. Now I know this is not a hard song to play but the fact that he did it on his own is what is so impressive to me. He also watched me play BINGO on the keyboard and then tried to play it on his own. He did quite well with that too.
I am so excited to have a piano again. I am a bit rusty on it, since I haven't played in 6 years but I am sure it will all come back to me soon. I will try and get some pictures of Jonathan playing.