The new guy . . . .

Guess what??

I am FINALLY an aunt on my side of the family!
Congratulations to my brother and his wife and their new little guy.

He is the cutest little bundle you have ever seen.

I told my sister in law, after cuddling him for awhile, I could take him home if she wanted some rest ;)
She declined.
She's pretty attached to the little guy ;)
She is going to be a fabulous mommy.

It is also so fun to see my brother as a daddy :)

Welcome to the family Ryker!!

Robot Room . . . . .

The boys have finally joined forces!

They share a room now and they are LOVIN it.

Wanna see??

Ta-da!


I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out considering I tried my hardest to do it cheaply.

My mom and I painted the chevron stripe wall.
It seriously took us a million years to figure this out!!
We were so deliriously tired and confused we just laughed the whole way through.
Starting over and over again with our tape.
Oh man. We are special, Mom :)
So, don't ask me how to paint a chevron wall. I have nooooo idea. Ha ha.

My sweet, wonderful, amazing friend Misti cut these spectacular vinyl robots for their room.

Check out her website. She is THE best! Thank you dear Misti!!
They are every boys dream.
Thank you Mom and sister Jamie for helping me apply them.
Again, we laughed the whole way through struggling to apply them.

They got the red bunk bed my siblings and I had as kids.


Good memories. Hope my boys have the same.

I made some cheap art.

Maybe a little too cheap looking?? Ha ha.

Oh well, the kids like it.

I repurposed some old pillows I had with some funky fabric.
I also painted an old lamp I found a bright red and added red ribbon to the lamp shade to try and modernize it.


I love it. 6 bucks.

I love having my boys in the same room and hope they will develop that bond that can only be done in close quarters.
Let the fighting begin!!

One year . . . . .

Today was the last day of Christopher's swimming lessons.

It has also been ONE year since his diagnosis.
Remember when I told you a year ago (like you really do) that I was telling you about his diagnosis purely for selfish reasons?
I was telling you so that I could look back and see how far we have come.
Boy, have we come far.

It was one year ago that I realized that something wasn't right.
We were at our first day of swimming lessons.
We entered the building and he immediately started complaining about the smell.
He was so worried about the smell.

They asked him to shower before going to the pool.
He screamed and cried and was TERRIFIED of the shower.

We got to the pool and he put his hands over his ears and screamed at the top of his lungs for 20 minutes straight.
We finally got him in the pool and I watched him anxiously.
He ignored the other kids. His teachers would call and call his name and he wouldn't even turn around. It was as if he couldn't hear.

He was terrified of the slide, terrified of waiting in a line, terrified by the sound of the diving board.

I was shocked and horrified. What is wrong with my happy, sweet boy?

Thus began a year of doctors, therapy, interviews, worry, tears, even despair.

HOWEVER . . .
I have learned so much in a year.
I've learned that autism is not my son.
He is an incredible boy that has the trial of pushing through this disorder that has taken over his little body.
I've learned that even though he is small, he is stronger than anyone I know.
I've learned that I can do things I never thought possible.
I can push through despair and worry to help my child.

Wanna know how this year's swimming lessons went??

He took a shower without too much hesitation.


He still hates the feel of it, but he is brave.


He was all smiles when he got in the pool.


He listened to his teachers and had a blast with the other kids.



He waited in a line and he went down the slide. (he even went off the diving board)



I read a good article by a mom of an autistic daughter. She said that as a mother of an autistic child you will form a team of people that you will love. Love, more than they will love you. It is beyond true. I love his team of doctors and therapists who are helping my son gain confidence and overcome his fears.

What an amazing year.
Lots of sad blog posts (sorry).
But, hopefully, lots of very happy ones to come.
Thanks for listening.

Things We Love Lately . . . . . .

This week has been a busy one so far.

Swimming lessons, therapies, errands, house cleaning, and Mommy coming to the realization that school is starting soon.
That means school supply shopping, school clothes, registration, and my baby leaving me for almost 6 hours a day.
Not just my first born beautiful boy entering school, but a boy who also needs some specialized care.
Can I really trust him in the hands of another? Mommy is stressed.


So, because I have so much to do and so much to think about, I am going to blog????
Yep.


Some things I love lately . . . . . .

I love thrifting. Sigh.
I found something spectacular at the thrift store.
I love these lanterns that are popping up in all the home decor stores and on design shows.





They are EXPENSIVE!
Like 50 bucks expensive.

Well, I found one in my local thrift store.


A beautiful, brand new one that I had seen before at a home decor store for about $50.
I got it for 4 bucks! FOUR!
The lady at the front desk said "Oh, I'm glad someone is buying this. I have no idea what this thing is and no idea how much to charge for it."
I just smiled (I admit I felt a tinge of guilt).
It seriously was a steal!
I have no idea why someone would dump this thing at their local thrift store.
Thank you person who dumped this $50 lantern at your local thrift store!!


I love that shark week is almost here!!!
I know. It's weird, right?
I have always been fascinated with sharks and I love learning about them.
Happy Shark Week everyone!




I love that we are getting all our fruits and veggies from a local farm this summer.
Fresh lettuce!!


So tasty!

Beautiful dark red cherries!


Our dessert every night.

Gotta love fresh produce!

What are you loving or (like me) trying not to think about this week??

things are looking UP

We did A LOT the last couple of days!
We . . . . . . went to Utah, stayed with Grandma and Grandpa, had tons of yummy food and bonding time, went to a family reunion (a camping reunion), had so much fun with Davin's extended family, played, and played, and PLAYED some more.

Did I get ANY pictures of all of that???
NO!!!! I forgot my camera.
Bummer.
BUT, Grandma did let me use her camera to take pictures of something totally awesome!
We got to take the boys to see a real life UP house!
You know, the Mr. Frederickson, balloons, Paradise Falls, UP house!!


It was so cool.


I told Davin that I would buy that house in a second if we had the money.
Wouldn't that be a magical place for your kids to grow up?
Anyways, we may not have a lot of pictures to remember this week by, but let me assure you . . . . we had a blast!

Peace, Family, and Taking Time . . .

We had a small, quiet, Independence Day this year.

We spent it with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt JJ.



We ate a little food, did a little swimming,


and did a few fireworks.


Exactly what Independence Day should be, I believe.
Peace, family, and taking time to remember the sacrifices of others.
Hope yours was just as wonderful!

Yesterday . . . . .

Yesterday, Christopher went to his therapy. A little background info: Christopher remembers every commercial EVER put on the Earth and memorizes lines from them. Have you seen this commercial? He decided to tell every one of the therapists there "You look like a beach angel!!" as he greeted them.

Could be telling them worse things, right??
Silly kid.

Yesterday, I heard screaming coming from the backyard. I ran to the door, flung it open (okay, spent 5 minutes trying to roll our old, broken screen door open. Hate that thing!) and found this . . . . . . .

I guess Andy figured out how to turn the hose on.
Good thing Christopher was a good sport!

Yesterday, I went to the thrift store and picked up a few things.
(I know. I know. It's another one of THOSE stories. What strange thing did Kristin pick up today?)

I've been wanting a white side table



and a green lamp


for our living room.
After months of searching and seeing lots and lots of these things $$$$$$$$$$, I decided to just make my own.

(Sorry, no before pictures)

I found an old but sturdy wooden end table and painted her white


and an ugly orange and brown and yellow lamp and painted her green.

$14.

Can't beat that!!
Okay, so you definitely can if you've got the money.
I don't have the money:)


Yesterday, I was reading this book


given to me by my mother in law.
Wives and Daughters.
It's really good.
If you like Jane Austen, read Elizabeth Gaskell.
If you are one of those people who like trying to decipher sentences like "I pique myself on my keen relish for all creature comforts, and also on my power of doing without them, if need be. I've enjoyed our tete-a-tete." you will enjoy this book.
Love this stuff.
Now I need to go watch Pride and Prejudice or something.

What did you do yesterday?