"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Happy 6th Birthday Brycen!!!

Brycen turns 6 today!  Can't believe 6 years has gone by since he was placed in our arms and we learned what unconditional love really was.  Little did we know that day what the next years would hold, but neither of us would change anything about it...well, maybe just a little...but none of the important stuff of course!

I wasn't too tech savvy when Brycen was born and don't have any digital pictures uploaded from his first couple years, so I went back to his 1st year scrapbook to reminisce about those amazing (AKA sleepless) days.  Ironically, some pictures stood out at me that I wanted to share (and some that are just cute and I couldn't resist!).  So here we go...

Brycen's first pictures...8lbs 5.4 ounces of pure joy!

Mommy & Me snuggle time

Daddy & Me play time

Our little glow-worm...Brycen was very jaundice and required home nursing & a biliblanket for several days.

Brycen was very lucky to meet all 4 of his maternal great-grandparents.

Play time with Morgan!

Ditto...only Uncle Pat's turn!

Peek a boo...I love you!

Papa Mark's cane...now what do we do with these things?

First vacation...Cubs game in Milwaukee!  Prior to regression he had no issues with putting things on his head.

Wow...we have aged in the last few years, huh?

Lovin his little pool!

Matching outfits with Ethan at Uncle Pat & Aunt Erin's wedding

His best friend...our late doggy Mason

I'm a little teapot!  Prior to regression he loved singing and doing actions to songs.

Pictures and smiling for the camera were very easy then!  Happy happy boy!

He even liked getting messy with cake...now he is very neat with his cupcakes so he doesn't get too messy.

Still loves those goats years later!

Remember when haircuts were easy and it became naptime?  Whole different story now.


I hope you enjoyed a look back on Brycen's first year of life and some of the fun times we had!  Some things have definitely changed after he regressed at age 2, but some things remain the same. 

Even on the tough days, this boy can brighten anyone's day with his infectious giggle and sweet blue eyes!  This little boy is why we fight so hard against Autism and to give him the life he deserves!

Happy 6th Birthday, Brycen!!  Mommy & Daddy love you!
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Autism and Our Family

"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.

Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!

Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.

Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.