Pics from May to June .... **LOTS of PICS**

Well, I haven't been posting here since Mother's Day (whoops!) so I thought I'd catch you all up with a great plethora of pics of the boys! there are a TON of pics! Maybe I should have done a slideshow instead? LOL! :) Anyways.... enjoy :) Will post a real update shortly :)

cracking the eggs for a cake

Yummy - cake batter!

Yummy - cake batter!

gotta love chocolate!

David and I... all dressed up for a family member's wedding

Handsome memorial day boys!

Red, White & Blue day at their schools

Holden, acting as goalie for his soccer team

Waiting for the ball to get passed to him

too busy chatting to pay attention to the game ;)

1st of his off-season wrestling tourneys... waiting to start

pinning his one and only opponent that showed up

getting a pep talk from the referee....

at his 2nd off-season wrestling tourney, wrestling a 35lb kid!

Pinning his opponent

waiting for one of his matches to start

tying up with an opponent (and a kid he's wrestled SEVERAL times)

getting ready to run a gable

Won this very cool FIRST PLACE trophy!!!

Ashton @ his 5th grade graduation ceremony

can't believe he'll be a MIDDLE SCHOOLER in the fall

handsome guy!

McCormick side of the family on Father's Day

Griffin side of the family on Father's Day

all the Dads @ Father's Day

handsome boy, posing for me :)

Smiley boy!

interrupting his DSi playing time LOL

Fresh cucumber from the garden = cool new phone! lol

enjoying some watermelon

he even gave it a thumbs up!

looks like he's trying to eat it with his nose LOL

wrestling at another wrestling match

waiting around for another match to start

trying to take the kid down

He WON! :)

Handsome poser, and he's SMILING!

look at those lady-killer eyelashes - WOWZA!

handsome boys

BIG SMILE!

Holden with his bug catcher (and his bugs)

intense stare..... 8 - |

Scratchy, our kitty cat (she's old!)

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all the Autism Mommies out there!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Autism Moms
the following text is from the above link ....... I did copy it but wanted to include it all here.... but I certainly did not write this....

My family doesn't usually do a lot for Mother's Day. Generally they let me sleep in—without guilt—and I get some lovely handmade gifts, which are the best kind, in my opinion. I know that I feel like I get a wonderful Mother's Day gift every single day, and that is having the privilege to parent my three beautiful munchkins.

One thing that mothers—all mothers—don't always get enough of, however, is thanks. So I have a few thank yous to give to all you autism moms out there:

Thank you for taking the time to listen to your kids, even if they can't talk, and for trying to figure out what they mean. Thank you for realizing that even if your child can't speak, that doesn't mean he doesn't have something to say. And for those of you, like me, who interpret script after script from television shows and movies to discover the meaning underneath them? Thank you too.

Thank you for sacrificing an income to stay home and take care of your child. Or, if you choose to or have to work, thank you for providing for your child financially, while still being there for her at home.

Thank you for learning everything you can know about special education law, IDEA, and IEPs so you can advocate for your child. Often your child doesn't thank you, the school doesn't thank you, and you probably don't thank yourself, so I'll do it for you: Thank you.

Thank you for researching therapies and then driving, waiting, and dragging along siblings to appointments. Thank you for putting up with the whining from your typical kids about not wanting to sit in another waiting room.

And thank you also for knowing when it's time to just take a break and let your child have some down time. Thanks for remembering that it's not all about therapies, learning, and treatments, but that it's also about making sure your child gets to have fun and just be a kid.

Thanks for facilitating playdates for your child even if it feels like pulling teeth. Thank you for throwing birthday parties for your child so he and you can meet some other kids. Thanks for following your child's lead on those birthday parties, whether it be just inviting one friend or twenty and also for letting him pick a weird theme. (Like magnets, which is what my son has chosen for his birthday party next week.)

Thank you for taking your kids out into the world and teaching people about our wonderful autistic children. It makes the world better for everyone.

Thank you for fighting the isolation that having a special needs child foists upon you. And thank you for extending a hand to another autism mom so she doesn't feel so alone.

Thank you for working through potty training that happens at age four or six or not at all.

Thank you for keeping your child safe, whether it be because he is a "runner," or whether it be because she has self-injurious behavior.

Thank you for wanting to punch mean, teasing kids in the face but for not doing so.

Thank you for going to bed late, if your child has trouble going to sleep. Thank you for getting up early, if she rises at four. Thank you for getting up multiple times in the night if he does too.

Thank you for going on long walks with your child if that is what calms him.

Thank you for learning all about Star Wars or space (or magnets) or whatever your child is obsessed with, without complaint, and with a laugh in your heart.

Thank you for accepting your child for who he or she is.

Thank you for all the things you do that I can't possibly know about because I don't walk in your shoes. Thank you for being the best mother for your child that he or she could possibly ever have.

Thank you for loving your child. Even if sometimes it feels like it's not making a difference, it is everything to him or her.

And, lastly, because you probably don't hear it enough, you are doing a great job. You really are. Try to remember to take some time for yourself and to breathe. (And, yes, I really do get how hard that is. And thank you for sacrificing that time too. But try to get it.)

Happy Mother's Day. May you get an extra hour to sleep and a nice hug or drawing—or whatever it is you need to feel happy today. You deserve it.




So, Happy Mother's Day to the autism moms!

It's Cowboy Ashton! :)

way toooo cute not to share, doncha think? ;) 

Ashton snagged his Grandaddy's hat the other day at little bro's soccer game. Looks quite handsome if you ask me!! :)

Pictures!! Lots of pictures!!! *beware, LOTS*

Just some pictures from the last month ...... :) Enjoy!!!!!

Both boys wearing BLUE for World Autism Awareness Day, April 2, 2010!

Soccer season has officially started - GO FIREBALLS!!!

Holden with the easter eggs once they were finished!

Moosehead Ashton!
(DH's cousin was playing around and I thought it was funny!)

On the hunt for eggs at Grandma & Grandaddy's house!

Ashton with his easter card and $$ from grandparents

Chocolate easter bunny demise! (look how BIG it is!)

Hard to believe they are now 11 and 8 years old!

L to R: Holden, Connor (school friend) and Riley (cousin)

YODA CAKE! (half chocolate/half white)

Blowing out their candles!

Holden's own birthday cake for his party with his friends @ CEC

Getting his crown from Chuck E.

Pretending to be asleep (he wasn't really, I promise lol)

He is *never* quiet!! :)

I know many parents of autistic children long for the day that their child starts talking and starts having conversations with them; to hear those three precious words that every parent wants to hear, "I Love You!"

Well, I am one of those lucky parents... Ashton never shuts up is never quiet! We heard "I Love You" back when he was around three or four years old, so quite some time ago. Now granted, it was usually in response to us telling him we loved him, but hey, he was saying it! It's not a new thing for him to say it to us, but when he does say it unprompted or unrelated to what was said to him, it's a bit spine-tingling.

My favorite things now are when I'm coming back from the store, getting lunch, etc and Ashton will excitedly run up to me, give me a hug and say "I'm SO glad to see you Mom!" How sweet/cute is that?! This isn't something we've ever really said to one another so it's something he's picked up on his own/formed on his own and just says it at the most appropriate times.

Personally, I love to hear my son talk. It's music to my ears most times and the fact that he CAN actually talk to us, tell us what he wants/doesn't want, and tell us if something is bothering him (although not always accurately) is a true miracle. I know many parents/caregivers are left to a guessing game of what a child wants/needs and are even further perplexed when something is bothering said child and you can't figure out what it is.

Just because I love to hear him talk however, doesn't mean that it doesn't sometimes get on my nerves. This doesn't make me horrible, but it does make me very normal I think. Ashton can be very echolalic. He can get stuck on a phrase from a book or movie and will repeat it, over and over and over and over and over and over and over, ad nauseum. Or sometimes, if you're not paying attention to him when he's trying to tell you something, he does the same thing; repeats it over and over again.

Yep, sometimes I DO tell my son to "please be quiet!"

I know I should be grateful that he talks and converses (although not age-appropriately) and I really, truly am. But there are times, when I've heard the same phrase/noise so many times that I can no longer hear anything else! He also has a very annoying habit of tapping you on the shoulder when he talks as well as talking with his hands (basically moves his fingers as though his fingers are talking while he's speaking). He also likes to talk in your face which I am sure as you can imagine, is a bit unnerving as he's in your space.

Anyways .... yep, a child with autism can talk, and talk and talk and talk..... and yes, it can be annoying. But it doesn't mean I'm forever grateful that I am blessed with a child who can speak his mind and tell us like it is. I love knowing what he wants/needs (or doesn't) and that he can tell us when he's not feeling entirely well.

I'll take the incessant talking over never getting to hear my child's voice....

LIGHT IT UP BLUE for World Autism Awareness Day! (April 2nd)

April is Autism Awareness Month and April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day! To kick off the celebrations, you are all encouraged to "Light It Up Blue" on the evening of April 1st to help raise awareness for Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dress up your blog, your Facebook profile, tweet about it on Twitter... DO WHAT YOU CAN to help raise awareness!

Thanks so much!