Sibling Shenanigans

When you have a child with autism and then have another child, you wonder and hope all the time that that sibling will be a lightbulb for the autistic child. I've heard so many stories of how autistic older brothers or sisters really come out of their shells with their younger sibling, and/or that the younger child has a knack for reaching the autistic child like no one else can.

Kate is too young to understand that her brother has any challenges or differences. That day will come, and that conversation will be one of the most important ones Jeremy and I ever have with her. But for now, Kate knows what she needs to about Luke: that he is sweet, special, and someone she loves so very much! 

(Also, that she wants whatever he has, whether it's a snack, drink, the iPad, etc.) 

Luke is 7!!!!

When I was pregnant for the first time, people gave me one piece of advice more than any other: "enjoy it, because it goes by so fast." 

I was naive and just thought, "oh old people, you're so funny." 

Well I blinked and went from this... 

...to this seven year old boy. 

Kate Starts MDO!

Kate started MDO today. While we loved where we went last year (Sonshine Academy at First Colleyville), this year I chose to put Kate in Kids at the Cross preschool. It's a little closer to home, the times are more convenient, and she's in class with her sweet cousins Harper and Carson! I was so impressed at Parent Orientation last week, and I think Kate will have a great year! 

Here she is this morning before school. 

She just had to color some Minions before we left. 

I wasn't able to get a picture of her at drop off because it was a mad house. She was a little whimpery when I left, but I snuck a look in the room a few minutes later and she was smiling and looking around. 

Her teacher texted me this picture several hours in...

and with this message: "Kate is so so so precious! We are having a really great first day! She warmed up real quick to all her friends and has had a lot of fun!" 

I'm really proud of her! She had a great day, and she even stayed still on her mat during rest/nap time. She was all smiles when I picked her up. I hope she fares as well on Thursday! 

Even though this girl makes me darn-near certifiably insane much of the time, I sure did miss my buddy today! I do know, however, that she is going to learn so much and make sweet friends! I'm so excited for my girl to have something that's just for her. :)

Summertime, 2015

Oh summer of 2015. How did we spend you?

We spent a lot of time in the car taking Luke to school (WoodallKids Academy).

First Day of the First Grade

I can hardly believe that my boy is in FIRST GRADE! 

As he does throughout the school year, Luke worked really hard this summer, attending BWF every day at least from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. every day. I took a picture of him at the start of summer and on his last day of Academy - his physical growth is evident, and I love his confident smile! 

Yay simmin!

Miss Kate sure has been a little fish this summer. Not surprisingly, she is FEARLESS. I pretty much put her Puddle Jumper on her and she's all over the place!

Kindergarten, Schmindergarten - Bring on First Grade!

It's so hard to believe that the school year is over! It doesn't seem like long ago at all that I was worried about how Luke would do, wondering if his teachers and support would be as wonderful as what he had in PPCD. Thankfully, God is so faithful, and we couldn't be happier to be at Luke's school. Jeremy and I are so proud of our sweet boy! 

Day Out with Thomas - April, 2015

For at least the third time (but Kate's first), we went to the Day Out with Thomas the Train when he rolled into Grapevine. Since Kate has a big brother - and his old toys - she loves "Choo Choo," as she calls him. She loves to play with the toy trains, and she loves to watch the actual TV show. We figured she would enjoy the trip for sure, but we didn't know how stoked Luke would be. 

Easter 2015

The week prior to Easter was busy for us - Luke had surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed on 3/27 and missed the whole next week of school. We have some sweet friends from Sunday School that wanted to cheer us up, so while we thought we would have missed the opportunity to hunt eggs, we got to do so in our own front yard!

Two Cute to be True

Kate is two. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN SO QUICKLY? My baby girl is stretching into a big girl right before my eyes. Talk about bittersweet! 

Here's a little about you at age 2, Kate...

Cute Pictures from School

Between kindergarten's myriad of activities and preschool's theme days, I've got a hodgepodge of cute school pictures to share! 

First, preschool has a picture day... or in Kate's case, days. (These are pictures of proofs, so the quality is poor.) On day 1, Kate would NOT have it and fled the scene.

Kate the Great

After a shout out to big brother, I don't want to leave little sister hanging, so here are some pictures of the Kitty Kate over the past few weeks.

While Luke is at school, Kate and I are buddies. She spends a lot of time in shopping carts... and a lot of time playing with her hair. Or my hair. 

Legendary Luke

After a crazy Christmas holiday, we were very eager to get back to the routine, primarily for Luke's sake. Routine and structure provide stability and comfort for him, and while it took a few days to get back into the swing of things, Luke thrived going back to school!

Valentine's Day 2015

Happy Belated Valentine's Day! 

January Odds and Ends

We're on our second "snow" day, and with actual snow looming, we may have a third day at home. Lord help me... cabin fever is setting in!

Anyway, I thought I'd take some time to remember the January that was. Picture time!

Our Seattle Trip

Towards the end of September (which feels like approximately ten years ago), Jeremy and I took a trip to Seattle to celebrate our tenth anniversary (celebrated in November) and Jeremy's 40th birthday. Why Seattle, you may ask? Honestly, no idea what really moved us to choose it, but we had a wonderful time! 

Kindergarten Halftime

It seems like a week ago that I nervously prepared to send Luke to Kindergarten. I've practically blinked, and half the year is over! 

Before I let the pictures do the talking, I will say with 100% confidence that staying at home is the best decision I could have ever made to help Luke with this transition. Granted, the fall of 2014 has included MASSIVE transitions for every member of our family, but I'm thankful that I have been able to focus completely on Luke's day-to-day routine! 

Santa Pics 2014

Since I am so behind in blog posts for the year, I'm going to do some updates that are picture-heavy and text-light. We took the kids to see Santa at North East Mall through the Caring Santa program. Can't say enough good things about it - if you have a child with special needs or know someone who does, refer them to caringsanta.org ASAP! 

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve at home. After the kids went to bed, Jeremy made a delicious steak dinner, and we drank some wine and went through what I have named our Jar of Blessings.