Christmas tradtions! - December 25th, 2015

We had some rough moments this week with all the schedule changes but we still had some great moments too! Here are some fun and memorable times Ashley got to experience this week!

Saturday

In the morning, she said "watching" when tv got turned on. When Jeremy asked if she wanted to go to the park she responded "yes".

This morning we met our family at local park to see my brother's drone that he just got for Christmas! The kids loved watching it and were even chasing it for a while! Ashley even sat in the circle waiting patiently to see it lift off!

On the playground, she saw these two boys sliding down these poles. She watched them a few times and then grabbed my hand to lead me over. She indicated that she wanted my help to climb up so we did that probably 5 times! She would watch each boy coming down the slide and made eye contact with them too! :) At lunch she said "juh" (for juice) and "chee" (for chip).

In session with me, she said "puh & etzul (for pretzel), more, juice, ball, this, straw (for strawberry shortcake), potty, push, tih (3 times for tickles) & awesome." We had a good time running around, spinning balls, tickles, & looking at books! During a long tickle session, she said "tih" 3 times during pauses to indicate she wanted more tickles! She took my hair tie out again when I was on my knees eye level with her. She made eye contact smiling, gave me a kiss and then said "awesome". In session with Jeremy she enjoyed listening to music and jumping!

I got to meet with 3 other Son-Rise mom's at Mozart's for an hour! Feeling so thankful and encouraged by these Son-Rise mom's in Austin/San Antonio area!!!! We met this afternoon and I got some great ideas on how to encourage our daughter to "wait" for various activities and items! Some ideas were more baking and waiting while it bakes in oven and make wait time fun. Also make sure praising her EVERY time she waits patiently or quietly.

After bath time, she always likes me to wrap her in towel and give her a bear hug! I LOVE this time because she is wanting affection and we are eye level since I am sitting on top of toilet seat cover. Tonight as soon as I hugged her she said "I wuvu" mumbled together!!! yay!!! I said it back to her smiling and she looked at me smiling too!

Sunday

Today Ashley woke up pretty angry and then Noah really set her off. It was really rough at church and the afternoon. I don't even want to count how many meltdowns she had. My mom did come in the afternoon to do a session with Ashley and she was eager to take Grammy upstairs to Playroom.

At night, I took Ashley to attend a special needs family event. We had fun at Leander Trail of Lights on horseback @ Open My World Therapeutic Riding center! Ashley got to meet Santa, see large fire up close for first time, makes smores for first time, run in circles around small waterfall and ride Bella the horse! It started out rough (waiting to ride) and ended badly because she did NOT want to leave. However, the hour in between was a lot of fun!!!! When we were there she said "Awesome" and "water".

Monday

Ashley and everyone else seemed to wake up much happier today!!! We went to Hop N Happy and both kids loved it! They got some great exercise! As soon as we got home, Ashley gave me the picture of the Playroom wanting to go up. She wanted to play with her small Bubble Guppy figures and Tinkerbell today! In session, she said "water, bubbles (2x for Bubble Guppy toy), ball, tuh (2x for Tink book & Tink sticker)". 

Ashley and I baked a yellow cake after session while Jeremy & Noah were gone for our "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake. She did great cracking the eggs (hand over hand), pouring in the water, oil and cake mix! We worked on counting with eggs and then waiting while it baked. Then Ashley helped me decorate the cake with chocolate icing, sprinkles, & Reese's pieces. We did hand over hand writing "Happy Birthday Jesus" on top of the cake before she poured out lots of sprinkles all over it! She was so proud of herself and I love that she responds so well to praise! Then she had to 'wait' until after dinner to have a piece.

At speech and OT, she did a great job following directions and enjoyed playing in the gym! After Jeremy took her to a park to play and she loved playing with daddy! We had scrambled eggs at dinner and Ashley ate them! After dinner, Ashley took my hair tie down again standing in front of me. Then she gave me 2 kisses and big smiles! :)

We started our family tradition tonight that my parents did for my brother and me. Every Christmas we would make a cake and decorate. Then we would sing "Happy Birthday Jesus" and my brother and I even acted out manger scene a few years with us being Joseph and Mary! If only I could find a picture of that!

After dinner, we got out our toy manger scene and Jeremy did a very brief summary on the birth of Jesus an why we celebrate Christmas! :) Then we got the cake out with 2 candles and all sang Happy Birthday. Ashley even said "Jesuh" and we all enjoyed a small piece! The rest of the night Noah kept singing happy birthday which would have Ashley looking around for cake! haha!

Tuesday

In session with Tracy, she said "water, nack (for snack), pretzel (really clearly!!!), bubble bubble (for bubble guppie toy), what" and other approximations. She really enjoyed fairies, bubble guppies, books, and matching colors.

In speech with Brooke, she said "whoa, this one, tink (for tinkerbell), help, Nemo, Bubble, more (along with signing), yeah, and thank you." She said thank you completely spontaneous after Brooke got her some crushed ice! She had a great session but transition to leave was rough.

That evening we met Uncle John, Cousin Amber and Cousin Shelby at Chic-fil-a! It was great to catch up with them and we did get Ashley to wave to them. In the playground Shelby went to play with her and started jumping like a frog. Ashley thought it was really funny and  made great eye contact with her. Then Ashley seemed to take Shelby's hand everywhere after that inside the playground! Noah loved playing with Amber on the playground too! We didn't get to stay too long since it got really crowded with face painting and animal balloons.

Wednesday

Ashley did not sleep well today so this morning was different. She kept playing a musical toy over and over stemming on it. I took her to local park to get outside and she enjoyed rolling the ball around. She really didn't engage much and wanted to be in her own world.

In speech with Brooke, she said " watching veggie, bubble, eat, yeah, go, pudding". She also said "strawberry strawberry eat" when she saw Brooke's chocolate covered strawberry! :) She has a sweet tooth like her mommy!

We took the kids to do a private class for Cookie Decorating with other special needs kids and siblings. Both our kids apparently are not big fans of gingerbread cookies but liked the icing! Ashley did pretty good squeezing the icing out onto the cookie!

In session with Tracy, Ashley said lots of different sounds but no words she could distinguish. She loved watching Tracy dance around with pink and purple fabrics and then even danced around too! She is really into Strawberry shortcake, fairies, and Bubble Guppies right now.

Thursday

This morning Ashley got to play at park with daddy and really enjoyed playing with him! When she got home the kids got baths and we got ready to leave for HCBC Christmas Eve Service at noon! Our new special needs coordinator reserved a section for Special Needs Families so that we did not have to arrive too early. She also got us fake candles the kids could use and gluten free cookies. Ashley seemed super anxious before we even left and we kept trying to explain that we were going to church. I guess she has seen us dress up 2 times lately for parties and then we left her with babysitter. I think that is what she thought when she saw us dressed up....that we were going to leave. :(  When we got to church she was set on wanting to go to her sunday school class so she didn't last too long in the service this year. She did enjoy the songs at the very beginning but when they started that short movie she was done. Then I lost my car keys so we were stuck there for another 30 minutes trying to find them....kids not very happy. Some how I had dropped them in my friends Christmas gift sack. She drove back to the church to give it to us. Jeremy was able to start making jokes pretty fast like "Merry Christmas! You got a used car!" Haha!

After we went to my parents house and they got my Grandmommy from San Antonio so she was able to join all of us!!!! Ashley definitely understood Christmas presents this year and wanted to open pretty quickly. She did help us hand out some of the gifts which was great listening and patience in opening. She then helped Papa and Grammy open their gifts but didn't seem to like what they got so she moved on. The kids sat at separate table but turns out both our kids wanted to come join us at the big table! It was an enjoyable night and great to be with our family!

Friday

Christmas morning! We kept routine the same that morning for Ashley and then brought toys out later to surprise them! Ashley got a new bike since she showed interest lately so we will have to start working on her using her feet to push the pedals! Noah got Ashley's tricycle since she never wanted to use it we put it aside for him! We took Ashley out to try her new bike and we need to get sturdier training wheels for her so she doesn't feel like she will fall over.

She had a great time at the park with Jeremy! There were some kids in line at the park doing a family game and Ashley went and got in line! In session with me, she said "Straw straw (for new strawberry shortcake book), Bubbles (for bubble guppies book), want, water, and two-tie (4x for cookie)." When we were doing counting and I asked her for the number 1 card. She looked at me and copied making #1 with her finger!!! She did it again and then tried also making #3 and #4 with her hand so I helped her. She thought it was funny! She made great eye contact and we had a good time having 1 on 1 time!

Her friend D (classmate from ESLE class a year ago) came over to drop off a gift and they seemed excited to see each other! D even gave Ashley a spontaneous hug which was so sweet! Where was my camera when I needed it??? Ashley did not hug her back but she did stand there and tolerated it! When D was about to leave, Ashley got her hand and pulled her back into living room to play 2 different times!

While I was making dinner, Ashley got Noah's puzzle box and brought it over to me. She wanted to do the puzzle so I opened it for her and she sat down to complete. She got frustrated on one piece so I helped her with that one but she completed the rest of it independently! Yay! She did not even look at the picture of it either.

 

 

 

Cow Santa & Party - December 18th, 2015

Sunday

Ashley had a great time today at church! Haley was gone today so Ashley played in Kings Kids A! In session with me, she said "juice, emon (for lemon), balls, want, water, one, bahs (for books), tuh (tink book), I want, straw (for strawberry shortcake book), & awesome" after she took my hair tie out again!
We had a great time playing with balls, Strawberry Shortcake, running in circles, tickles, singing, looking at books and taking my hair tie out! She did the actions with me for the "Head, shoulders, knees & toes" song 2 times! When we were looking at her Strawberry Shortcake book I asked if she could point to Lemon. She did it right away with no hesitation and looked at me. I asked her to point to the other 5 and she did great! She is getting so much better at identifying objects and showing us just how smart she really is! :)  We are trying to mix up the counting activity with jelly beans now so we ask her for a number. For example, I ask her for the number 2 and she grabs the index card with that number to give to me. We always celebrate and I put it next to my eyes. Then I get out 2 jelly beans and we count them. Today she got the number 2 and 3 correctly when I asked for them but doesn't seem to have 1, 4 or 5 yet.

In the afternoon, Jeremy took her to Hop N Happy and she got some great exercise the entire time! We all had a nice dinner together eating Mexican Casserole and then I cut both kids hair....Ashley's looks good but a little shorter than I wanted for her ponytail. Noah's hair was tricky and I don't think I will attempt that one again. yikes.

Monday

At school, she said "sort" during a new sorting activity and she got it on the 3rd try! She was really focused and did all her work really well today! At home she said "water, watching, awesome, & shoes". We were not able to do a session today since I needed to fix problem with work but Jeremy took her to the park. She was really interactive with him and wanted him to climb everywhere with her!

Tuesday

At school, she said "match, bubbles, water, nemo" and went to potty on her own! She had a really great day and no challenges!

In session with me, she said "ball, water, want, & trash". She did a lot of stemming with her hand today by almost making a claw and looking at her hands. I started joining her trying to do the same thing. She paused 2 different times to look at my hand and then smiled! :) She did a great job with counting! When I asked her for the number 2 and 3 she got those correct! She loved taking my hair tie out again making great eye contact for several minutes!

In session with Jeremy, she had fun playing chase with him making great eye contact! She also said "bath".

We almost went to the Austin Trail of Lights tonight but after talking with good friend about their experience we decided to stay local. We were fortunate tonight was pictures with Santa Cow at Chic-fil-a especially since we didn't make Caring Santa! Ashley loved them!!!! She was turning Santa Cow's head different directions and clapping his hands together!:) When we asked her if she wanted to sit in Santa Cow's lap for a picture she hopped on! Noah was a little scared but after seeing Ashley hop on he had to also! Afterwards we walked through Chinati Square lights!

Wednesday

At school, she said "bubbles, water, one brother" and went to the bathroom on her own today without any prompting!

In session with Tracy, she said "yum, wanna, want one, ball, green, this one, apple, watch it, & Ashley is awesome!" She said that phrase "Ashee is eesome!" 5 different times and got very giggly! When tracy rolled a ball over to her and it almost touched her pictures, she said "watch it". She had great time playing with pipe cleaners and using Twisslers to trace letter A, B, and C.

Thursday

At school, she said "Jesus, one, watching" and was very productive! We had her SLE class party at 1pm which was fun to see her in her environment and talk to her teachers more! Jeremy, Noah and I all came to her party! During the party she said "cookie" when wanting one and "water". She made an ornament and did game where students put carrot on the paper snowman. When I got out my phone to take a picture of her she played peek-a-boo! haha! The picture on the right is her lead teacher Ms. Meyers (on left of Ashley) and Ms. Callie (on right of Ashley) spends a lot of time with Ashley during the day too! They are both WONDERFUL!!!!

In session with Tracy, she said "blu (for blue), wall, wee, juice, baabee (for berry), Da (Dora), Blub (for Blueberry Muffin), huh (for help), red, what, bat, straw, oran (for orange), water & berry." She started out a little rough from the party at school that had just ended but started getting vocal after hour.

Friday

Each morning after breakfast at table I give her a small bowl of crunch cereal since OT suggest it as an alerting activity. She is getting better each day on her approximation of cereal and its hard to write out but almost sounds like "sheeahh" for cereal.

At school today she said "bubbles & one". She did really great today with all the schedule changes and extra parents in the school due to parties.

Dinosaurs & Bike Shopping - December 11th, 2015

Saturday

Today we went to Dinosaur Park in Bastrop with Austin Special Needs. It was a little bit of a drive and cold starting out but it ended up being a lot of fun. They have a trail to walk through and you can see large statues of different dinosaurs with their facts. Noah liked looking at them but Ashley only maybe looked at one of them. :) They had a large playground area and field so the kids loved playing there after! They had sand pits too that the kids could dig through and find fossils! While we were there Ashley said "water, cha-cha (for cracker) & trash" when I asked if she could put item in trash.

At lunch, she said "cheeps & juice". In the afternoon, the kids got to attend Christmas at Camp Grace and had a great time! At bath time, Ashley said "ath, water & love you" after I said I love you! Both kids went to bed pretty quickly since we had a full day.

Sunday

We actually got to church early today! However, that was a huge mistake. We got there way too early so her teacher, peers and buddy were not there. Ashley was pretty upset so we will just always be a few minutes late from now on! :) She said "I want, ball, dum-dum, and no" to a question. In the bathroom, they have colored tiles on the wall. Haley told me that Ashley pointed to the red tile and then pointed to her shirt. Next she pointed to the blue tile and pointed to her blue jeans! When I picked her up from class she seemed happy to see me. I got on my knees to give her a hug and she put her arms around my neck while making eye contact and a smiling! She also tilted her head looking at me like she always does after taking out my hair tie. I think she liked that I wore my hair down for church! It was really sweet!

In session with me, she said "want, water, ball, balls, one, tree (for three) & red (2 times)" when we were counting with red jelly beans! We removed the dots from the numbers 1-5 and she is still putting the correct number of jelly beans on each number! She was very affectionate today, lots of eye contact, and super happy! She loved getting tickles today and also taking out my hair tie!

Jeremy took her to a park which she loved being outdoors and the swings! The adventure got ruined though when an ice cream truck showed up and all the other kids got ice cream. :(  We honestly are not seeing much of a difference with the GFCF diet so we will be talking to her doctor this week about it. It been really hard and it is very expensive.

At dinner, she said "water & straw" when wanting to help with strawberries!

Monday

At school, Ashley said "water, bubbles, & book." She worked really hard today and worked on handwriting and labeling.

 In session with my mom, she had a good time playing! In the evening she said "bus" when playing with her bus toy. She put in the Fairies clothes into the bus and then pushed it around. This was very different because she normally plays with toys that have faces. She always discards these clothes or tries to chew on them. Noah was not feeling good today and was really clingy so it was tough on Ashley too.

Okay so tonight Ashley wanted to put ONLY the Fairy clothes on her bus and push it around. VERY different... She prefers to play with toys that have faces. I couldn't help see this bus and not think of the rapture scene from the Left Behind book :)

Tuesday

At school, she said "want, one, & diamond" and did great following directions,

In session with me, she said "straws (for strawberry shortcake), want, craber (for cracker), buh (for book), drink, water, balls, brace (for bracelet), what, busy-bee, tri (for triangle), one & tuh (for two)." We played a ring toss game but she was not too interested in it. She decided to take the bracelets onto her wrist and shake them to make noise!  I put a few on my ears and then she copied that too! We had colored shape sorters today and I put out all the red shapes (circle, star, square, triangle, heart). I asked her for each shape and she almost did it correctly! At dinner time, she said "straw" for strawberry and "awesome"!

Wednesday

At school, they said she was really unfocused and whined a lot. However she did say "blocks, Nemo, I want, chips" and did great job matching when focused.

In session with Tracy, she made lots of sounds and great eye contact! She said "awesome, yum, ball, berry, up, this, whee, want, blue, gree (for green), eat, more, mon (for mouth), twizzle, water, tweetwee (for treat), sna (for snack), one, two & sp (for spin)."

Thursday

At school, she was not very vocal but went to the bathroom on her own twice! After school, we had to see specialist for follow up appointment. During that time she said words "baby" and "piece".

After the appointment I took her to Academy to look at bikes since we are thinking of getting her one for Christmas. She did so great and stayed with me the entire time! She seemed to love the teal and purple bike and kept wanting to sit on it! We even picked out a helmet and she didn't mind it on her head at all! We also got training wheels that will work for a 20 inch bike and a Minnie Mouse basket to attach so her toys can come along! She seems to show interest in others' bikes and we feel she might be ready to finally learn how to ride bike! It will be fun to have it there on Christmas morning for her and we will use Ashley's old red tricycle for Noah's present. She never wanted to use it so its in great condition! At night she said "bath" and "water".

Friday

At school, she said "one" and "bubbles". She was much more focused today and even asked to go potty with no prompting using her IPAD!!!

In speech with Brooke, she said "want, titen (for chicken), waxberry (for strawberry), ope (for open), pease (for please), yeah, no, momma, tinte (for tinker bell), no, hep(for help)." She also transitioned leaving the facility really well too!

In session with Tracy, she said "eat, yum, yummy, one, bear, bears, & red". She had fun with strawberry shortcake, balls, counting, spinning, magnets and books.

Puzzles & Tracing letters! - December 4th, 2015

Ashley loves when my mom and Tracy come to play with her in the Playroom! Since she was waiting so patiently today I thought I would catch her eagerly waiting!

Sunday

At church she was in a great mood and loved dancing in worship both hours! They have some special sensory toys for Ashley and one of them is a small dog that moves if you touch his back! She loved it!

Once we got home, she said "shoes, juice, want, cheeps (for chips)" at lunch time! In session with me, we played Hungry Hippos, Strawberry Shortcake, rolling balls, spinning balls, and counting activities! She said "chee, cheese, & cheeps" for chips and "want, ball, straw (2 times for strawberry shortcake cards), one, tuh (for two)."

Haley took Ashley to local bounce house and she said "sli (for slide) and juh (for jump)" while there. It was super crowded so she did a lot of rocking. :( She lined up her Petshop again several times today so I thought I would take pictures each time to try find a pattern.

Before dinner, she helped me with the strawberries again and said "strawbe". After dinner, Jeremy got Ashley's help to shut all the blinds and during it she said "shut" 2 times! While they were cuddling on the couch, Jeremy asked her "Do you know I love you?" and she said "yeah". :) At potty time, she said "all done" when finished!

Monday

At school, she said "water & green" and was in a really good mood! In session with Becky, she said "cheeps" 2 times for chips. We got a busybody book with Strawberry Shortcake characters and she loves them! She is matching the 1 inch figurines to the cards and the houses on the map! My mom started being goofing and jumping on one foot. Ashley started imitating her and lasted about 1 minute!

After dinner, she said "water" and "mubbin". I asked her "Can you give me Lemon?" and she gave me the correct one! I went through the other 5 characters and she did them all correct too!

Tuesday

At school, she said "water, trash, beans, yes & teetee" at potty time! In the afternoon, she was very cranky and not focused. She did not have best session with my mom and was very focused on her strawberry shortcake figurines. She did help me later make Mexican casserole! I explained each step and she seemed to really be listening to all of it! When daddy got home, she want to get tickles from him and cuddle. She also grabbed his hand and said "Run, run!" wanting to initiate it!

Wednesday

Today at school, she said "Nemo, water, & swing." She did a great job following directions today especially when walking down the hall with the group.

In session with Tracy, she said "tru (for truck), straw (for strawberry shortcake), yum, want, sn (for snack), want, water, ball & naana" sound a lot today. They tried a new game of Ring Toss and Ashley wanted to participate. They also used bracelets with the game!

In the evening, she said "ath" for bath and sang "watree, watree, watree, watree" (how she says water right now) all the way to the tub! :)



Thursday

At school, she was not really vocal BUT she had an incredible day! She was in a great mood and had NO sensory issues at ALL the entire day! Ashley also pulled off the shelf a new puzzle she has never seen before. She completed a 24 piece Mickey Mouse puzzle independently and without any visual picture aid today at school!!! It is so exciting to see her problem solving skills increase so quickly this year!!!

When we got home she said "water" and got Tracy's picture off the visual schedule! Today she was very patient waiting for Tracy even though she was eager to go up to Playroom! She got her Petshop toys again and lined them up in double row again. However, this time she seemed to babble to each one, move their head while talking to them and then set them in the row! :)

In session with Tracy, she said "tru (for truck), red, sn (for snack), berry (for strawberry), this, A, B, two, moose (for cracker...), boo (for blue)." She tried new activity with Ashley using pipe cleaners to make letters A, B and C which was not too motivating for Ashley. We might try string Twizzlers next time.

After session, she thought it was funny to take my hair tie out several times and made great eye contact! She helped me again with the strawberries for dinner! I help her cut the tops off but then I leave her with dull butter knife to cut strawberries in half while I finish dinner. She really enjoys it! :) After dinner, she said "want, bath, watch & straw" for watching strawberry shortcake.


Friday

Before leaving for school, I turned on Chicken Little and Ashley said "bus" 2 times when it came on the tv!Today at school, she said "first, want, bubbles, one, watching, & Veggie Tales!" She had another super day at school and no challenges! They have been working on tracing letters and today she traced the letter "A" 4 times independently! The one on the upper right was done hand over hand but the others she did all by herself!!!!

In session with me, she said "eat, water, etschul (2 times for pretzel), lemon, want, hi, juh (for jump), balls, drink, one, tree (for three), & tru (for truck)." I was getting a lot of green lights today so I thought I would write her name in orange and see if she would trace it. She traced her name Ashley completely independent with green marker and did AMAZING! Took a picture later so we can see her progress from here.

After I got her help to bake Caramel chocolate cookies using Rolo candies! We like to bake some sweets for our neighbors every Christmas! She enjoyed breaking the eggs, pouring in the oil & cake mix, and trying to stir the batter. By the end she was catching on quickly! She helped make small spoonfuls of batter, push Rolo into center, and then make ball around Rolo! :) She did enjoy a few Rolo candies too!

After dinner, she said "watch, Straw & tv." She was really playful with Noah wanting to climb over the couch with him and then playing with daddy when he got home!

Thanksgiving week - November 28th, 2015

Holidays can be the hardest times for families with special needs kids especially those with autism. The sudden change in schedule, no school, no therapy, upset siblings, lack of predictability & large holiday gatherings can create a lot of stress and anxiety. We tried to make this week as fun as possible for Ashley and used her visual schedule. It helped to keep her active, outdoors when weather allowed and to have sessions in the Playroom. She did not sleep too well and was not very vocal this week. However, she still seemed happy and active! Jeremy still had to work Monday - Wednesday so I am thankful for my parents, Tracy, Haley, & respite program we were approved for which Haley is our respite provider! This week added up but thankfully we got discounts with special needs field trips too!

We did notice that she lined up her Petshop toys about 5-7 times each day this week. She would put them in 2 rows, a different order each time and the same 4 Petshop toys were not allowed to be included. :) She seems to line up her Petshop toys when she is anxious so that is hard to watch.

Saturday

Today was a fun day and Ashley was in a great mood even if not super vocal! We decided to go to Mt. Playmore this morning for Special Needs hour since Ashley seemed very active. We haven't been there in a really long time because last time Ashley wouldn't go inside the large playscape and just kept staring at the ice cream display. Today she loved it and was climbing through ALL of it. It was sweet how she kept taking my hand and wanting me to go inside with her. She really wanted me to follow her and play with her!!!! She said "Awesome" before we went on the slide once and she gave me good eye contact during that 1.5 hours of play. Towards the end I was getting exhausted and sweaty climbing in there with her and those small tunnels. If I tried to step outside for break and she didn't see me, then she would take closest adults hand to come in there with her! :) Both kids were not happy when we left but I know they were getting hungry. In the car Ashley said "water" when she saw all 4 of us drinking water!

At lunch, she said "juice, awesome, & water".

In the afternoon, Jeremy took her on a Therapeutic Riding field trip at ERCT with other special needs families. One struggle we have always had is Ashley being patient for her turn and waiting. The start of the trip was tough until she got on the horse 20 minutes later which was her riding time. She loved riding and afterwards enjoyed the hammock & tire swing. She said "more" to request more swinging on tire! During that time I was able to get the Playroom closet organized better so we can be prepared for this week of no school or speech therapy.

In the evening, Ashley had a fun session with daddy and loved that he was jumping with her! She loved listening to music and played with her teapot!

Sunday

Ashley had a great morning at church and said "I want, um-um (for dum-dum), no & yes" to questions. When Ashley was eating her animal crackers Haley tried to make it into a game! Ashley would show Haley each animal cracker and Haley would tell her what animal it was. Then she attempted the sound of the animal and Ashley seemed to really enjoy it! I was surprised to hear this because she is normally eating her food fast! At lunch, she said "juice."

In session with me, she was very focused on Strawberry Shortcake Memory game cards. She woke up at 4am this morning so I think it was starting to hit her. She only made a few approximations and no words today. I did try a new game playing Memory with 12 cards that had 6 of the Strawberry Shortcake images on each. This was the second time I tried with her and she did better this time. Once we got the match, she would grab them and put to the side. After she arranged her 6 characters and I joined her by arranging my characters the same way.

In the afternoon, Haley took her to a park and they had a great time outdoors! My parents came also to give us a much needed date night! She had a short session with my mom and then wanted to come down when she heard commotion downstairs. Aunt Miranda & Chloe came so that Chloe could go home with Grammy & Papa for an overnight visit. Ashley was excited to see them both and took Chloe's hand several times during her time here and even sat shoulder to shoulder with Chloe on couch watching tv!

Monday

I took the kids to Hop n Happy this morning with Austin Special Needs and both kids loved it. Ashley wanted my help to climb stairs up to a slide on one of the bounce houses. I asked if she wanted help and she said "yeah". She really didn't need my help but I guess it gave her extra confidence. She tried to interact with 2 of her friends there and made great eye contact. Both interactions was Ashley making eye contact, jumping next to them and smiling! It only last about 5 seconds each but it was something! When we walked to the car, she said "water" so it was nice to hear her say what she needed!

At lunch, Ashley said "chee (for chips) and juice". She also requested watching Chicken Little show on her Ipad and then looked at me saying "chi".

After Hop N Happy, our day got pretty tough... We had a follow up doctor appointment for Ashley and then had to run 2 errands. All of that made Ashley upset since they were not fun places and really no way to help her understand these errands. Her frustration just keep building up throughout the day and my patience grew shorter. :(

In session with me, she said "beewee (for berry of Strawberry Shortcake cards), water, petze (for pretzel), motzel (for pretzel)".  Our frustration with each other seemed to spill over into the Playroom so I kept it short today. We ended up going into the backyard to change things up and enjoy the nice weather before rain comes. I got the sidewalk chalk out and she said "chalk" 3 times!

In the evening, we all went to Chic-fil-a for dinner because I did not want to cook. Our outing went sooooo well and the kids played in the play area so nicely! We cannot remember the last time Ashley played so well and appropriately! Normally Ashley would rock in corner and cover her ears. We just got to watch them from outside and they got great exercise! We might just make this a weekly event since it helped pass that evening hour where kids cannot get grumpy with each other at home.

Tuesday

This morning we went on a field trip with families of Austin Special Needs to the Austin Aquarium. It was so much fun and Ashley was ALL over the place. Last time she stayed with stingrays the entire time but she went back and forth between 4 areas this time. When I asked her if she liked the stingrays she said "yeah". I had a scare at one time when Ashley got out of my sight from playground...I am so thankful for our special needs community because two other moms went looking for her too and I must have overlooked her when I was jogging through. She was playing with the starfish bending down. One of my biggest fears is her wandering off from our house or in public because she is basically nonverbal and not always aware of what is around her.

When Tracy arrived before the aquarium, Ashley took her hand and said "play"! Tracy stayed home with Noah and brought Samson so the 2 boys could play while I took Ashley to field trip! In session with Tracy, she said "one, tuh (for two), tree (for three), water, ball & more." I also brought up Chic-fil-a for them to have a picnic lunch and Ashley loves their food! She enjoyed Strawberry Shortcake cards again, music, and counting. She was not very vocal or active today.

After lunch, I took Ashley and Noah to a local elementary park so we could all get some exercise. This is the first time I attempted to do this solo with both kids. Overall it went pretty well and I could do it again at this park. At first, Ashley thought it was funny to run away from Noah. I don't think she was trying to initiate chase but just trying to get away from brother. Noah is a trooper though and thankfully stays pretty close to me as we follow Ashley. Two times he did try wander far away but he listened and came back. Ashley likes climbing the walls so Noah wants to do everything she does and he does great holding onto the big kid swings! At the end, he finally grabbed her hand and wanted her to come on the slide. Ashley wasn't too happy but then she came with him. She paused and then brought both his hands to her chest looking at his eyes which I got on camera. I wish I could know what she was thinking at that moment because it was sweet! Whenever she got to top of the slide she would have biggest smile on her face. I got it once on camera and once she looked at me and said "cheese" while smiling! :)

We did a Playroom session and again she really wanted to focus on the Strawberry Shortcake Memory game cards. She actually held up each card to me, made eye contact and waited for me to say their name. She said "straw, straw, moosuh (for music)" and some approximations for the character names.

Ashley helped me make the Mexican casserole by pouring in the contents and was super attentive to all I was doing and saying! She then helped with washing & cutting Strawberries. She knows without me saying anything to get a butter knife, paper towel on counter, stool from laundry room, open fridge and grab strawberries!!! She sang "Straw, straw, straw, straw" once when starting process! Before she ate them, she said "mine" and started putting them in her mouth!

Wednesday

This morning when I went into her bedroom she was on her bed rolling around. I asked "what are you doing?" and she repeated "What are you doing?" mumbled together!

In session with Tracy, she said "straw straw (for Strawberry Shortcake), buffo (for buffalo animal cracker), jump, more, muse (music), want, water, my, one, yum, & eat." She liked hearing Tracy name all the animals of her animal crackers just like Haley did on Sunday at church! Ashley did really well at following directions and enjoyed counting with skittles again!

After lunch, we did water play in the backyard since it warmed up and forecast doesn't look to good next 4 days. Ashley said 5 different times "water" to request the hose being turned on. Ashley loves the hose but Noah does not like being sprayed with it. We had one last set of water balloons to use up and Ashley wanted to squeeze the water out while Noah wanted to preserve them all. :)

In the afternoon, Haley took Ashley to a local park and she had a great time! In the evening, she was so excited to see daddy home early and wanted to run around with him! She also said "mubbin" for muffin.

 

Thursday

Today it started raining just like it did last year on Thanksgiving. We needed to all get out of the house so we went to Walmart to look at toys just like we did last year. Before we left Ashley wanted a hat off the shelf and wanted Jeremy to help her put it on. That was interesting because she doesn't like wearing things on her head. Noah then wanted one too so how could I not catch my two cuties in baseball hats?

My parents came over at 11am so we could start some food preparation and Jeremy took Ashley to the Playroom for a session. We thought today would go best if she was in Playroom until it was time for us to all sit down for Thanksgiving lunch. Uncle Chris, Aunt Miranda, cousins Chloe & Lyla came around noon. When Ashley came downstairs she seemed excited to see everyone and was eager to sit down for food. She sat with us the ENTIRE meal and dessert which has NEVER happened! I have been trying to work on all of us sitting at the table together these last 2 months and Ashley got better each time waiting until I finished eating. At Thanksgiving lunch, she touched some food on her plate but only ate the strawberries and oranges. She was content to watch all of us eat and never even tried to get up! Then we all had Pumpkin Dump Cake and Ashley tried that after watching all of us. She liked it a lot especially with redi-whip on top! :)

This was the most memorable thanksgiving we have ever had with Ashley! Last year she sat with us maybe 5 minutes, then ran around screaming or rocking making very loud noises. The years before that were even worse so we were so thankful we ALL got to sit at table together this year and enjoy each others company! It gives us hope for future family gatherings!

After lunch, Ashley wanted to go back to Playroom so Aunt Miranda took her up for a little! When they came back down, she wanted ice and played catch with Papa for 3 turns! When I pulled out my camera to take some more pictures, she smiled and said "cheese" while walking towards me. We helped her take a selfie with Miranda and me! She also enjoyed playing with Chloe & Lyla. Later she wanted to go back up to Playroom with Grammy and they had a good time! It was so great that Ashley had a place to escape when she needed a break and that she let us know! We all got to visit for almost 3 hours this year which is longer than we have ever been able to do before!!!

After everyone left, Jeremy took her to walk around a different Walmart since it was still raining. She needs opportunities to get activity and exercise because it helps her sleep too! In the evening, she said "water & mubba" for muffin.

Friday

This morning we went to my parents house so kids could have a different place to play and no crowds! They like the new toys there and the big bath tub to play in! One activity the kids like is throwing foam blocks off top banister and having one of us throw them back up! We did that for about 10 minutes and this time Ashley participated without even being encouraged! At potty break, she said "wash" after I said lets wash our hands!

We went to chic-fil-a for lunch since we didn't have any more Thanksgiving leftovers and again Ashley played so great in the playground. There was a girl her age that Ashley really wanted to play with and she kept taking her hand to lead her up steps. Once I explained to the girl that Ashley doesn't talk (just easier to explain it this way to a 6 year old) but she really wants to play, then the girl seemed a lot more understanding! I asked Ashley if she wanted to say "hi" to Alexis and then she waved to her making good eye contact! It was cute to watch but I do hope one day Ashley can communicate even better with a friend how she wants to play and what she wants to do! On the drive home she said "water" since she got a great workout there!

Haley took Ashley to local bounce house and she had so much fun running around! She made great eye contact with Haley but did not say any words. In session with me, she said "want, boppy (for music), wee (for weebles), & wash" at potty time! She seemed tired and worn out from all the exercise but we just enjoyed the quiet in Playroom away from fussy Noah!


Saturday

In session, with Jeremy this morning she said "bay" for bacon and wanted to line up Strawberry Shortcake cards again! In session with me, she said "water, ink (for pink) & wash" at potty time! I took Ashley on a lunch date to Qdoba since we needed to keep kids separated today. When we got ready to leave she got her shoes, my shoes and then said "shoes". When we were in line to order food, I would ask her if she wanted rice, beans, chicken, etc and got no response. However, when I asked if she wanted sides of chips and juice then she chimed in with "chips" and "juice". I asked if she would try her burrito bowl and she said "try". She did eat 5 small bites which is a great start and she didn't fight it.

When we got home I thought we would make some gfcf brownies together and she really enjoyed it! This was her first time to make brownies and they turned out very yummy! I should have planned more things in the kitchen for us to do together this week during break. She liked spraying Pam, cracking the eggs (hand over hand), stirring, pouring in the melted butter, & pouring in the brownie mix. It got hard stirring the entire mix so she looked at me and gave me the whisk to help. She then scooped the batter into the pan! I the let her lick the whisk and somehow she got the perfect circle around her mouth! haha! After she asked for a PBJ sandwich so she helped me spread peanut butter and jelly while saying "jeh" for jelly. She put paper towel in the trash and said "trash" while walking to it. Then she took her plate, sat at table and said "Awesome" while looking at her creation! :)

In the afternoon, Jeremy took Ashley to a place in Round Rock that she has never been to before. They had about 8 different inflatables and Ashley wanted Jeremy to go everywhere with her to play! She loved it there and did not want to leave! He took a few pictures because she finally accomplished climbing those harder stairs!

In the evening, she said "bath & mubbin" for muffin. I gave Noah and Ashley a bath at same time and she always sits in the front. Today Noah wanted to fill up his cup from the faucet and Ashley seemed to know what he was trying to do. She filled up her cup with water and then poured it into his cup! :)

I seem to have a new favorite praise and worship song each week so the kids got to listen to this one a lot this past week. Noah even started singing along by the end of the week. When things get tough with kids or they start getting upset with each other, I try to turn on music to calm them down and myself! :)

Sibling Kisses!! -November 20th, 2015

Saturday

Ashley had a good session with Jeremy this morning and I know she loves going up there with him early for one on one time! After session, we had a special needs family playground meetup and had a great time! We got a few sweet photos of Tawni and Ashley together because they love seeing each other at church and dancing together in worship! At the playground, Ashley said "ball" and was really playful! I showed her pictures after event pointing to Tawni and Ashley said "Donnee" for Tawni!

In the afternoon, I asked her if she wanted ice and she said "yeah". She also said "chips, water, bath & straw (2 times for strawberry)."

Sunday

There is not much to report on today. It was a rough day with Ashley at church and home. She seemed super angry, anxious and did a whine stemming sound every 5 seconds. Haley took her to a park in the afternoon so we were really grateful. When she got home, she took my hair tie out pretty quickly and then gave me a kiss! :) We are not sure what Haley did to help Ashley's mood but we were very thankful!

Today she only said "shoes, juice, chips, water & bye." Uncle Chris came by for a short time and Ashley was taking his hand wanting him to come play with her. When he left, he said bye to her and Ashley made eye contact, waved and said "bye"! A friend of ours brought a wagon filled with all these figurines and our kids must have thought it was Christmas! They spent all night going through it and Noah loved pushing it around everywhere.

Monday

This morning Ashley woke up happy and very talkative with babbling to her new Mickey Mouse figurines. She said "shoes & water" before we left and made great eye contact with me once out of car at school drop off line.

At school, she said "bubbles, water, please & cheese". They said she worked really hard today and when teacher blew whistle at end of recess she came off playground with all the other kids (she was not upset and she is understanding what whistle means!).

In session with me, she said "I want, water (2 times), want, one, marble & gee-joe-joe" sound a LOT. She understands her favorite song "A whole new world" is song #3 so it is great to see her recognizing numbers now! When she was laying out numbers 1-5 to put them in order, it was so great watching her thinking process. She enjoyed taking my hair tie out again and again!

At dinner, she said "straw" independently for Strawberry without anyone saying that word first and then used her Ipad to select strawberry too!

Tuesday

This morning started off rough because Noah was fussy so it sounds like it took almost an hour for her to cool down at school. She went through all her work quickly today and they said they are ready to add onto her work since she has mastered most of it!!!! She said "water, green, red & next" at school!

In session with me, she said "I want, muse (for music), one, two, tree (2 times for three), water, cheese, lizard & sticks". I also started adding more activities onto the counting by asking her Can you give me 2 bears while showing with my hand number 2 and I put my hand out. She started getting it when changing numbers up but she isn't fully grasping counting. I just wanted to try and see where she was at. She will get it one day and we will keep trying new things! It is a fine balance of challenging her but not getting her into meltdown mode when too hard.

After session, she requested Strawberries on her Ipad and I asked if she wanted to help me. She went to the fridge and pulled them out by herself. She said "Straw", "straw" and "berry" during the time we washed and cut!

Wednesday

This morning Ashley woke up happy and vocal! She said "bus" looking at bus in her book, "done" after going potty, and "water" to request her cup! At school, she said "chips, water & cheese" and worked hard again today!

In session with me, she seemed really tired but she did say "this, one, ball, shoes, & yes" to a question! She seemed to get her energy back after bath time and after Noah woke up from his nap. He wanted to follow her around and Ashley seemed to like it today. I got Ashley to play catch with me and she actually caught the ball!!! It is a big ball but she had the hand/eye coordination to catch it 4 different times with me and then throw/roll back to me! The 5th time I asked her if she could give me the ball and she said "no" so it was great she made it clear she was done! :)

Ashley liked watching me pour and mix all the ingredients for Mexican Casserole but she didn't want to help. She did help me wash and cut strawberries again! Noah, Ashley & I all sat at dinner together and Ashley is getting so much better using a fork! She is starting to eat all the food on her plate now without needing any encouragement!

Tonight I got to witness the sweetest sibling moment between Ashley and Noah!!! Tonight they seemed to like each other and I heard what sounded like mischievous laughter from both....uh oh. However, I came around corner and saw Ashley trying to give Noah a kiss! I grabbed my phone and secretly took pictures because she tried 3 times! Once she saw me it was all over but they were both laughing and she was making great eye contact with him!!! We have tried prompting them to give hugs to each other before but not a kiss!

Thursday

In the morning, Ashley said "shoes & water" and seemed hesitant to get out of the car today. She still made good eye contact with me after getting out of car and waved bye to me! At school, she said "water & potty" and sat during an entire school play while being quiet! She was very happy today but not super vocal.

In session with me, she said "one, awesome, water, musa (for music), buba (for count activity), want & ball)". She loved dancing to the music and counting with red skittles. She also took my hair tie down several times. One time after she pulled hair tie out, she got in front of me with her hands around my neck, laughing, making great eye contact and then gave me a kiss! So sweet!

In the evening, she helped me with strawberries again and said "straw, straw" while getting them out of the fridge. She also wanted to play chase and get lots of tickles!

Friday

This morning she gave me this biggest smile when I went into her room. She said "shoes" and "bay" for bacon before leaving for school!

At school, Ashley said "pony, bubbles, water & green". They said she had an EXCELLENT day and there were NO challenges! Yay!

At speech with Brooke, she did some receptive vocabulary testing and Ashley did awesome! Today she had willingness to do the pictures and was even repeating some of the words back from the test! She said " yeah, no, shortcake, mama, more, ten, toy story, wat (for watch), please, flower, knees, back, camera, baseball, pilot."

She had a short session with my mom and got to kind of play Candy Land. She did LOVE seeing all the candy images! :) At dinner she said "straw" again 3 times while helping me wash and cut.

Aladdin & Awesome Friday! - November 13th, 2015

We had some hard days this week BUT the positive highlights are
1) said "Jesuh" after I sang her Jesus Loves You
2) singing "wuh wuh wuh" in tune along with a song (she has really pretty singing voice)
3) loving Aladdin "Whole New World" song and having items fly on magic carpet
4) holding hands with Noah
5) said long phrase "to the gym" at speech therapy
6) This morning I went into her bedroom and said 'It's Friday!' Ashley said "Awesome!" with big smile!
7) Starting to make great eye contact with me after she gets out of car at school when I say bye!

Saturday

Ashley said "mubbin" for muffin, "sewuh" for cereal, "I want" for ice, & "shoes" when we were putting her shoes on! She had a good morning session with Jeremy and just loves climbing all over him! He said she had great eye contact and wanted to listen to some music. During the Backyardigans theme song, she sang one of the lines in PERFECT tune singing "Wuh wuh wuh...etc".

I took Ashley on another lunch date to Qdoba and she sat nicely with me the entire time! She tried some of her burrito bowl again but really enjoyed the tortilla chips on side of kids meal. The employees there are getting to know us! When we got in line to order, the man went out of his way to wave to Ashley and bent down to get on her eye level even with buffet in between. Ashley was pretty focused on the food but she did wave to him! He also gave her some extra chips!

In session with me, she said "try, water, chi (for chicken nuggets), try, one, two, more, that, cha-cha (for cracker), I want, juice, two, Dora, boo (for Boots), Tink, & Jesuh" (for Jesus after I sang Jesus Loves You)!

Daddy took her on afternoon adventure to Barton Creek Mall but it was not the best outing. The rain can really affect Ashley since she loves being outdoors. We all sat at dinner tonight and at Mexican Casserole leftovers. It was nice to all sit at the table together and I am hoping we might have a chance as large family to eat at Thanksgiving this year!

In the evening, the kids were really restless so we did a lot of running and playing chase! Ashley loved it when we chased her and then she would also chase us! During that time, she said "run, no (in response to question), try, drink, and sih (for six when Jeremy said what time was)." At bedtime she watched my mouth again as I said Zephaniah 3:17! :)

Sunday

At church, Ashley had a great time dancing in worship but after just did not want to sit at circle time today. I am thankful we have Kings Kids room where Ashley can take a break and have access to lots of sensory toys/activities! She did say "I want, bubba (for bubbles), and no" 2 times when asked if she needed to go potty.

In session with me, she said "ball, balls, I want, and three" when we were counting! I didn't get a lot of green lights today and she seemed tired. She had a great time at a new park in Georgetown with daddy and did not want to leave!

In the evening, we all tried a new GFCF breaded chicken tenders and everyone loved them! After dinner, Ashley grabbed Jeremy's hand and said "chase"! We ran laps again and again and again! :) She also said "water" at bath time and then "dress" after when I said we need to get dressed. Before bed, she said "mubbin" for muffin and "nana" for banana!


Monday

   

Today was an off day for Ashley and one of her classmates was really fussy. She only said "water" at school and did sit well for school work. In speech and OT, she enjoyed the gym and she requested for the wrist & ankle weights which seem to calm her down. She also participated in "head, shoulders, knees & toes" song.

In session with Becky, she had great eye contact and said "shoes". They played sock game where she got to dig toys out of the socks! She really enjoyed spinning balls and playing with the balloons.

She didn't say too much that evening either but we did have fun running! She was ready to go to bed and slept well!


Tuesday

At school, she said "water, cheese, chex & mama" when walking to the car and she signed mama at same time! She did a great job matching shapes today too! She said "shoes" 2 times when we got home while taking her shoes off and when I asked Noah to take his shoes off.

In session with me, "water, stih (for pretzel stick), try, one, tree (for three when we were counting), more, Bobby (sand for music player), tah (for Tangled song), and no" to one of my questions! We got 2 new squishy lizards from Amazon our friend recommended and Ashley loved them. She was clapping their hands together and then even had them give each other a high five! :) I asked if the lizard could give me a high five. Her face looked like she thought I was strange for wanting high five from the lizard. I think she prefers the blue one since its mouth is closed and it got to hold a lot of items today (doctor play kit, toothbrush, ball, etc). We played a new CD my brother made and it has "Whole New World" song from Aladdin. When it started, Ashley paused and recognized the tune right away. She danced the entire song and I danced next to her. She even put the 2 lizards on a balloon and had them flying around like the Magic Carpet! It was so creative and I was so impressed! She only did it for about 4 seconds so I got a book and put her lizards on it to fly it around also. She loved that and took it from me to continue. It was all really cute!

In the evening, she said "nice" for ice and "hot" after I said her  muffin was hot. She did a great job helping me with the strawberries again and she seems to really enjoy cutting them up!
 

Wednesday

This morning Ashley did a great job listening to instructions for us to get ready for school. When I dropped her off, she got out of the car and made great eye contact with me when I said goodbye! At school, she said "water & bubbles" and did great following directions.

Some days Ashley and Noah really like each other and have fun playing. Then there are other days we can't have them in the same room together which I think is pretty typical of siblings. After we picked Ashley up from school early for session, Noah kept saying to Ashley "hold hand, hold hand, hold hand" when we all got out of the car. I had my phone out so I am thankful there is function where I can access camera quickly. He grabbed her hand and then she looked at Noah smiling. She held his hand walking to the door and it was a sweet moment!

In session with Tracy, she said "busy bee, sticks, pretzel sticks, juice, nose, nack (for snack), one, tree (for three), ooo (for two), down, I want, want, yummy, more, up, balls, and Awesome!" when she saw extra snack in hallway after potty break! She enjoyed music, books, lizards, jumping and counting activities! She also liked dancing to Aladdin again!

She did great helping me again before dinner wash and cut strawberries! At the table, I asked if she wanted pineapple and she said "yeah."

Thursday

At school, she said "water, please & bubbles" and she worked very hard today!

In session with Tracy, she said "one, tree (for three), mmmm (music), lizard, want" and enjoyed Aladdin songs again. We printed some pictures to go along with it and pulled out the figurines. Ashley was not really into dancing today and did not have as much energy or alertness. Tracy tried new counting activity using small pieces of chocolate which was huge motivator for Ashley! We are trying to come up with more counting activities to help Ashley understand and use her motivations.

In the evening, she said "awesome" when I got her ice and also said "water".


Friday

 

This morning when I went into her room I said "Good morning Ashley! It's Friday!" and she said "Awesome" with a smile! She also said "shoes" before we left for school and made great eye contact with me when she got out of the car to walk into school with teacher!

At school, she said "water, bubbles & please" and they reported she was a great listener. She worked really hard today and she even did extra work! She really enjoyed PE and dancing to music!

In speech with Brooke, she said "yeah, no, waberry (for strawberry), bus, Veggie Tales, help me (4 times), & to the gym (3 words!!!)!" Her song today was Wheels on the Bus and favorite character was Strawberry Shortcake.

 

In the evening, I asked if she needed to go potty and she said "no". When I asked if she would help me close the blinds she immediately started running to each one to close! I love seeing her listening skills get better and she had a proud smile after she finished! She also said "iiii" for ice!