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!

Beginning of Summer Update

I am so sorry it's been over 2 weeks since I've updated!  I have a feeling the summer is getting away from us already.

Just some brief updates on Brycen now that summer is in full swing:

• He started his summer school hours last week where he is meeting with an associate at the local Y to prevent any regression in routine and socialization.  The first week was great for him!  He seems like a little chic magnet...saw a couple of the "older" girls sitting around him after I dropped him off on Thursday.  They are meeting 3 times per week for a couple hours each time.
• He also started working with a new SCL staff, Alicia, last week.  Yay for finding someone local that is able to work consistently with him this summer (and hopefully during school year if her schedule allows).  He showed her his attitude right away about having to wait...but have no doubt they are going to have some fun this summer!!  He is already getting very excited when she shows up :)  They will be working together 2-3 times per week all summer.
• He continues with speech therapy three times per week.  He has been working with a new speech therapist that was recently hired full-time at our local clinic.  He is still feeling her out but I can tell he enjoys her as he will run right back there.  We enjoy getting feedback from new therapists to see if there is anything we are missing and they always have new ideas that we haven't thought of!  We do miss Bridget though...but we have plans to continue seeing her and her family on the side :)
• Sleep is the same old...up most nights around 3ish. 
• Aggression is the same...though I'm becoming less and less tolerant of this lately.  He's almost 6 yrs old and getting bigger which means he can do a lot more damage to everybody he is aggressive to.  It HURTS!  Time to get tougher here.
• He's doing amazing with eating!!!  He's finally gaining some weight and filling out a little though still a skinny thing.  He's consistently trying some new things though may not take more than a bite...and he devoured 1/2 ear of sweet corn last week so that will definitely be on the weekly menu this summer!
• Potty training is frustrating!  Since we started in early April, he has been great with peeing...up until this last week when he started peeing in his pull-up again A LOT!  Now you are probably wondering why is he in a pull-up instead of underwear after all the success we had a couple months ago...well, the kid regressed completely in pooping.  Since school ended, he has only had a handful of successes on the toilet with that.  I thought it was just a little stage with change in schedule, but looks like it's more than that especially since he started peeing in it as well.  Sooooo, it's back to the basics again!  I refuse to let this regression take him back that far...we worked HARD in April on this success.  Regression is always in the back of my mind with EVERYTHING he accomplishes developmentally, and being he is so close to the age the U of I doctors initially mentioned, it is definitely crunch time!

Thanks for staying updated on Brycen and our family!  As you all know, we participated in the Iowa Walk Now for Autism Speaks in Des Moines on June 9...and I have tons I want to share with you about that soon!  It definitely calls for a post of it's own, or maybe even two or three!

Autism is a Mystery ~ Supportive Family & Friends are not!

Have you ever spent a couple hours surrounded by complete strangers that feel like family?  If so, then you know why I look forward to the Autism walk each year.  I don't have to know each of the hundreds of people's names to know that these are the people in my world that "get it."  Though we are gathering to fight one of the biggest mysteries in the world and obviously it's not a celebration of Autism, we still get excited to be surrounded by faith, hope, and A LOT of love for our children who have daily obstacles that many of us just take for granted. 

Did your kids answer the phone this morning with "hello"?  My son isn't able to do that...he is nonverbal.

Did your kids go outside to play in the yard without supervison?  My son isn't able to do that...he doesn't understand to stay in the yard and lacks safety awareness.

Did your kids buckle their own seatbelt the last time you were in the car?  My son isn't able to do that...his fine motor skills make that hard for him.

Did your kids sleep through the night?  My son isn't able to do that...something in his brain causes him to wake almost every night and he requires a medication to even help him fall asleep.

I could list a ton of examples of what most parents take for granted in their children!  But instead of listing more of those, I'd rather have you remember what my son CAN DO!

Did your kids ride their bike this week?  My son did too!

Did your kids give you a hug and kiss?  My son did too!

Did your kids play games on the computer?  My son did too!

Did your kids play with a sibling or friend this week?  My son did too!

Did your kids laugh and smile today?  My son did too!

Did your kids do a chore around the house?  My son did too!

In 8 days, we will be surrounded by families and friends that are taking time out of their busy schedule to spend a Saturday morning fighting against Autism!  Most of the people on Team Brycen will also have traveled from out of town to do so as well.  How amazing to have about 40 family and friends come together to show support for a disorder that is one of the biggest mysteries in the world and is becoming an epidemic as the diagnosis rates continue to rise year after year. 

Not only do we have some amazing 40 people surrounding Brycen that day...but we also have an outstanding number of people that have donated to this cause with their hard-earned money!  Classmates from when Mike & I were in school...to teachers & therapists that have worked with Brycen...extended family that may have never met Brycen...old & new friends...friends of friends that just want to support a good cause...past & present co-workers...to strangers that put money into the fundraising jars at the store.  Together these people donated to Team Brycen 2012 to raise an amazing $6333  as of this morning!!!  The generosity of those supporting us is beyond any expectation we had going into this just 3 years ago! 

Thank you to all of those people who found it in their hearts (and wallets) to donate to a cause that we will forever be linked to!  While Autism may still be a mystery in our lives...the friends and family that support us is most definitely not a mystery! 

There is still time to donate if you haven't already.  Below is a link that will take you directly to our team fundraising page where you can click on the names of any of the walkers or "general team" to make a donation.  If you prefer, you can also give me a check or cash and I will get it to the right people! 
http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=998348&lis=1&kntae998348=E2B0C08AF8B244E5BCCC0D842D0F7F12&team=4940637

Brycen & Mommy's Special Day

Galesburg, IL train museum---May 22, 2012---Brycen & Mommy

Since the kids are out of school already, I decided I wanted to spend some special time with each of them this week with G'ma & G'pa O's help to watch them separately so I could do so.  I wanted to plan a special trip with each of them for part of a day to someplace I think was unique to each of their likes.  Of course everybody knows Brycen has an obsession with trains, so what better place to take him to than a train museum.  Lucky for us, the town we are living in is on the Eastern side of the state which is quite close to many train depots and museums, so I chose to take Brycen to Galesburg, IL for a little day trip.  Any mention of going to see trains produces immediate happiness in him!!

So after therapy, we packed a lunch for the car and off we went to Galesburg for the afternoon.   It's about an hour and half but with Brycen that time goes by so fast as he loves being in the car especially on the interstate where he can watch semis all day!  The only "pet peeve" of his is when we are passing another vehicle...he does NOT like us to be in the left lane for too long and will begin making unhappy noises and pointing to the right lane as soon as he thinks we should move back over.  He's getting a little better about this but you can tell it causes him some anxiety :(

As soon as we got out of the car and was walking across the street to the museum, a train whistle could be heard not far away.  Brycen watched as the crossing lights started flashing and started tugging my arm very hard to walk faster! 

After the train went by, we went into the museum, but unfortunately cameras are not allowed inside.  Luckily she said I could take pictures outside on the train cars and engine that we could tour with one of the guides.  After about 20 minutes of watching a small train layout inside (and I talked to one of the workers who believes she has a 2 yr old grandson that has Autism), we went outside with one of the guides for the tour. 


Into one of the train cars

Ringing the bell

Finally looking at me for a picture in front of the engine

In the caboose

Taking the wheel...choo choo!

Holding my new pull back train from the gift shop (and posing for mommy!)

 After the museum, we ventured next door to the actual train depot where we saw a few passengers waiting to board their trains.  During the time at the museum and depot, we saw at least 5 trains go by!!  We decided to walk across the street to the Discovery Depot which is a children's museum with hands-on activities. 

One of his favorite toys ever!

Climbing through a train "tunnel"

Tree house slide

Water room...wanting the duckie to float



Climbing the wall...this was as far as he would go and then fall down on the mat & laugh!

Of course he spent the most time at the train table

Cool set up where you roll golf balls down...

...and they come rolling back on the bottom.

Off to drive another train.

"All Aboard!" says Brycen

Before leaving the Discovery Depot, we watched another train go by on the tracks before walking down the block to a little French cafe called The Landmark (the staff at the depot said it was child friendly and recommended it for it's unique food).  Brycen was happy to sit at a table by the window and watch the cars go by.  Then we headed home for an evening treat at a local ice cream place.

Drinking pop at the cafe

Eating his grilled cheese and homemade potato chips

Holding onto the handle in the car...not because of my bad driving :)

Yummy chocolate ice cream at Yums!

I mentioned "seeing the trains"...

...then we watched the video on my camera of a train and he was all smiles.

VERY happy boy after his special day with Mommy!