What a BUSY summer!! (LOTS of pics - beware!)

So since the last update, there was Father's Day. I wanted to snag a generational picture of my husband, his father, his grandfather and the boys (4 generations). We have one of the same group of men back when Holden was a newborn, but I wanted a more recent and up to date one :) So glad I got it!

Next, the boys and I went to Nauticus. It was a blast! 

Holden has also started IM (interactive metronome) therapy with an Occupational Therapist "Dr Gracie". He's doing better and better with each session and I'm hopefully that by the end of summer we'll have some lasting effects that will transfer over into his academics, sports activities and maybe even socially. We call them "workouts" since he prefers not to use the term "therapy", but it's all the same ;)

Then, Holden's much anticipated birthday gift was finally upon us - the Rascal Flatts concert at the Farm Bureau Live ampitheater in VA Beach. He was SO excited! We made a poster to try and win backstage passes or upgraded seats (didn't win either, but it was still fun) and had a blast at the concert. He says he wants to go again next year! :) :) Our friend Shelly went with us too, so it was a blast!

THEN .... Ashton had another race with Team Hoyt of VB, and Holden was also running the race too - the YMCA "We Build People" 5K on July 4th! Here's a few of those pics.

Come to find out later that day, Holden placed 2nd in his division!! and Ashton received a medal because his runner, Marc, placed in HIS division! Ms. Andrea placed in her division too!

I told Holden, after this race, that he had to get his hair cut. He wasn't very happy with me, but it came out SO cute and it looks much better, for summer anyways! 

This haircut was in preparation for our annual family camping trip. Holden still says he hates the haircut but I think everyone else totally disagrees! ;) It looks cute and now he looks like a boy from the back instead of a little girl, though I do miss all the waves he had in his hair LOL

So, onto the camping pictures.....

Papa cracks me up! LOL

A peek inside our tent after I made the beds :)

Then.... Ashton has started Camp Gonnawannagoagin! He had a blast his 1st week, and while he did that, Holden and I went to the zoo, the aquarium and just had fun hanging out. 

and my favorite animal picture of the day, goes to:

then last, but not least, was yet another race - this one was the Allen Stone Braveheart Memorial Run Swim Run, 5K and Children's 1mile race. Ashton participated in the RSR with Team Hoyt again, what a blast, even if he did get tossed out of the boat and their overall time won't count. But Marc, Andrea and Ashton were good sports through it all! Check out the pics!

this is why he got tossed out of the boat during the "swim" part of the race.

and they're off!

Marc let Ashton out of the jogger stroller to cross the finish line on his own two feet!

So yes..... a very busy summer indeed so far! :) But what a blast!!!! 

School's Out for the Summer!

AMAZED at how much he's matured/thinned out over the school year! WOW!

He's also taller than me now! I KNEW it was going to happen, but already?! :O

This one finally put on a few pounds (!!) AND grew taller! FINALLY! 

He's kept the shaggy hair 'do and while he tells me I can get it cut, he keeps pushing back

the date that I can take him for said hair cut. ;) We'll see..... 

So..... I am now the mom of an 8th grader AND a 5th grader. Well, technically, I'm not sure what grade Ashton will be in because it depends on what grade the majority of his class will be in the fall, which I do believe will be 8th grade. But WOW! So much physical growth for both boys (especially in height) and Holden has finally put some meat on his bones (not that you can tell from the pictures above LOL!)   

Both boys had wonderful school years.

Well, as most know Ashton's year started out rocky (as expected) but we moved him to another school in November and things have been on a major upswing ever since. This spring alone he's come a LONG WAYS towards making up for lost ground over his 6th grade year and the start of his 7th grade year. He's got FRIENDS!! He LOVES school!! He's got AWESOME grades!! (We haven't gotten his final report card, but I expect they will be all As, maybe mostly As with a B thrown in). We couldn't be more thrilled with the progress he's made since November. I'm so glad that he's in an environment that accepts him for who he is and what he's capable of. What's funny is, he's actually more "typical" acting now than he used to be. Odd how that works out. He's more socially appropriate with his peers, he's a whole lot more verbal and he can attend to his classroom work tasks and demands. He's an amazing kid!

Holden's grades were a bit up and down, but he did well overall. Some of that was med changes (in an effort to help him gain weight, we lowered dosages, tried different meds, increased dosages) but some of it was the work is just plain harder in 4th grade! He knows now that he really needs to apply himself to make the grades he'd like to maintain, so I hope he'll put forth a better effort next year. He DID manage to maintain his perfect attendance record for the second year in a row, WOW! He also managed to rack up over 75 AR points! That's HUGE for him! He's never been much of a reader, but he really got on the ball with AR this year and it paid off. He also was his SCA (student council association) representative for his class and helped out with lots of activities at school. Holden completed his first season of being on an advance soccer team and of course, another season on the wrestling team. He ran his first 8K (52:16) and ran his 2nd 5K (30:37). He's becoming quite the runner! He loves it! He also ran a 6:18 1mile at school, WOW!

So - the summer has started off to a great start! I won passes to have breakfast at a local radio station (97.3 the Eagle) and get to listen to an inpromptu performance of Tyler Farr, a new and rising country artist! I say, definitely be listening out for that guy - he's great! I took Ashton as my "date". He got to play hooky from the last day of school (his class wasn't doing anything anyways) and he had a great time! Later that day we (the boys and I) went bowling with some friends of Holden's and their family. That was a blast and the kids all got along really, really well! Can't wait to go again! Today was the CHKD 8K race....  Ashton rode with Team Hoyt of VA Beach again. He had a blast! Neither of us was thrilled with the early morning (5:00am for me and I got him up at 5:45am) but he had a great time! He especially enjoyed the medal, the tshirt he received and of course, what teenage boy doesn't like pizza?!?! LOL! He also loved throwing the cups of water they got at water stops on the ground. I made sure to remind him "WE DON'T DO THAT AT HOME!!!!" ;) Thanks again to Marc Leber and his mom, Andrea for pushing Ashton! :)

A few pics - and then it's off to bed for the boys! :)

Ashton, with Tyler Farr at 97.3 the Eagle's radio station

 Big Group today for Team Hoyt of VA Beach - CHKD 8K race!

Marc, Ashton and Andrea

Marc pushing Ashton towards the finish - time of 37:53! Way to GO!

Happy Guys with their medals! Ashton looks thrilled and Marc looks pretty happy there too!

Both boys will be receiving services/therapy this summer. Ashton will be receiving 20hours ESY of 1:1 academic instruction with his teacher. Holden will be getting at least 12hours of IM (interactive metronome) therapy with a friend/former school therapist for Ashton! I'm very anxious to see how it plays out in helping some of his ADHD impulses/inattentiveness, etc. :)


Have a great Father's Day to all the Dads out there in Cyberland!

Explaining (or not) the death of a loved one.....

So, my husband's grandmother passed away yesterday, after suffering a severe stroke Monday PM/Tuesday AM. (the neurosurgeon said 2 "events"). Yes, just two short days after her 79th birthday. Her and Pawpaw have been married for 60years, come July 5th. We will all miss her fiesty and stubborn ways, her cantankerous mannerisms and her love of the North Carolina Tarheels. She really was the sweetest woman, but boy oh boy was she set in her ways. We've giggled and had fits of laughter over remembering some of her sayings and just how she would say things, over the past few days. It's nice to be able to laugh and share happy memories in such a sad time. Especially when it happened all so suddenly. She'd just received a clean bill of health from her doctor just a week or so ago. For that matter, she'd been at our cookout on Monday evening for Memorial Day... though we knew something was up, since she wasn't herself.

Anyways........

We've explained it to Holden, our non-spectrum kiddo, and he seems "fine". He's asked a few questions, but hasn't seemed overly sad, just matter of fact that it was her time, she didn't suffer and well, we always thought Pawpaw would go first (Pawpaw's older). He didn't want to see her in the hospital (which we agreed with and respected) and has said he really isn't sure if he wants to go to the funeral. We'll see how (or if) his feelings change on this over the next couple of days.

In contrast, we haven't explained anything to Ashton yet, though what he overhears and understands is beyond what he shares with us. I'm sure he knows "something" is up. We went over to Granny & Pawpaw's house yesterday and she's not there. But then again, a lot of people *were* there and I don't think he processed that she wasn't. We think it will hit him (figuratively) when we go over there once things have settled down and he realizes she's not there. This is just how we've decided to deal with it, for now anyways.

It might not actually BE the right way.... but in these circumstances, I'm not sure there is a right or wrong way to deal with these things. For now, I think this is the right way. I did do some searching online for social stories talking about death, etc. They look to be a good starting point. The links for them are below. I may also go to the library and see if there are any "young" children's books that discuss death and what happens, etc.

The links I found helpful are:
About Death social story

Story tailored to a child's interest explaining death

What is death?

Hug the ones you love, tell them that you love them ..... you may never know when your (or their) last day is...... We love you Granny and miss you very very much and know that you're flying free from pain up in heaven.... <3

I *knew* it was all MY fault! ;)

Click below for the laugh of a lifetime!! ;)

New study shows autism linked to moms who breathe during pregnancy

So, I ran across this gem of an article yesterday. I totally laughed my ass off. But, it brings some light-heartedness to a topic that plagues just about any mother of an autistic (or any special needs, really) child.

Read it. Laugh. Share it. and please know, that NOBODY really thinks anything *we* did, caused our children's autism.

Happy Saturday all!

Special Needs Ryan Gosling

Thanks to Sunday Stilwell of Extreme Parenthood for starting the SNRG craze.

Click here to see the other week 16 SNRG blog entries!

So..... I've seen these Special Needs Ryan Gosling pictures floating around the internet for the last four months. I find them extremely hilarious and knew I wanted to jump right in. So, here's my first foray into the #SNRG craze! ;)

Have a HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY weekend to all of my American friends and bloggers - eat lots, stay safe and remember, without our military we wouldn't have the freedoms we do today.

Take Care!

What a sweet boy!

So... the backstory on the picture.....

Ashton is OBSESSED with the "blue notebook" that his teacher and I communicate back and forth with. He'll seek it out at school and write (scribble) and the same thing at home and it's usually just jibber jabber, messy and you can't read it anyways. Well, I decided yesterday that maybe he NEEDS to write in it. To pass notes back and forth to his teacher or to me. Well, LOOK WHAT HE WROTE THIS MORNING!! No input from me, NO verbal cues to write neatly and spaces, NOTHING!! I was SHOCKED that he wrote so neatly without verbal cues, and that he came up with this thought ALL ON HIS OWN!!!! Sooooo sweet!!!

Sweetest Mother's Day gifts ever! :)

I HAVE THE TWO BEST BOYS AROUND!! :) Mom loves you both VERY VERY much!!

This was probably the first year that I can remember the gifts and crafts

that came home for a holiday, actually being made by Ashton. I LOVE THIS!!! :) 

Sweet boy with the card his teacher helped him make and the flowers and vase he made!

I really LOVE that he loves me because I'm Happy! :) And the other side says "Love Ashton"....
If he messes up, he doesn't erase or cross out, he writes over top of the other letters.... ;) 

The vase is beautiful as are the tissue paper flowers! Love this!! :)  

and not to be left out, Holden with the beautiful flower he made and brought home :)

5 weeks 'til school's out!

Woot!

I am constantly amazed at the quality of pictures I can get from my iPhone 4S.
... the one taken above was 5/10/12 :)
<3 LOVE MY BOYS <3

Wrestling has been over since March, the spring soccer season just ended (though we're already getting ready to sign up for fall soccer! lol) and other than wanting to run a race or two, Holden is done with sports for the spring! We're going to sign him up for British Challenger Soccer camp again (he had a blast last year), Ashton is doing 3 weeks of Camp Gonnawannagoagin and hopefully Holden will attend one of those weeks as well, as a peer volunteer (he's FINALLY old enough!). Then we also have a family camping trip planned for July. Combine all that with 20hours of 1:1 academic instruction for Ashton as part of his IEP, free bowling, zoo and aquarium memberships and $1 movie days, we're gonna have a blast this summer! Even considering a few trips to Busch Gardens this summer too!

Yay!

Holden is gearing up for SOLs at school, they start next week (reading and math this year, 4th grade). His grades have finally stabilized again after a medicine dosage increase. He's excited about SOLs, because that means no homework! lol Silly boy! I think he's glad to be done with the hustle and bustle of sports too. It means more time playing outside and more time for video games! He better enjoy the video games now, because come summer vacation time, he's going to have to earn that time. He gets sucked in and then doesn't want to stop playing, even when given time limits. We'll see how well that works. He's really maturing a lot though and reports from teacher and staff at his school is that he's a very polite, patient, kind and sweet boy. His class recently went on a SOL-geared field trip to Jamestown. He loved it and was very patient and kind with a few of the other more "talkative" students. ;)

Ashton is Ashton! ;) Seriously, he's doing great. Still doing his classwork and attending to his group lessons. We finalized his IEP and there are some great goals with some very good short-term objectives. He's already progressing along nicely with them and that really helps. We whittled away the accommodations and modifications and now have a great set of resources that should help him, rather than hinder him in the school environment. He also got approved for ESY services; 20 hours of 1:1 academic instruction. This should facilitate the familiarity with his teacher, the consistency of which she teaches, and help him continue to make up for lost time during his 6th grade year and the start of his 7th grade year. The other thing we did is make sure that he'll be considered a 7th grader in the fall again. He's a little on the young side anyways for a special ed 7th grader, plus, this means he'll have 2 more years at a wonderful school, with wonderful and caring administration and have the consistency with a wonderful, supportive and loving learning environment which at this stage in his development, he needs. This is seriously NOT a bad thing! This is an awesome thing for Ashton. :)

So, that's where we are at! 5 weeks 'til I will have a 5th grader (!!!) and a repeat 7th grader! Wow! Time sure is flying by! Have a great Mother's Day to all the mother's out there!