It's a first . . . .

While I was at a meeting last night I got a text from Davin - "Christopher lost a tooth!"

I immediately thought - What did he do to knock his tooth out!!!?

Christopher has been SOOOOO anxious to lose a tooth. He feels like EVERYONE at school has lost one except for him :)

So, I was surprised that he didn't even realize his tooth was loose?

A mystery.

Anyways, he was chewing on a plastic sword (very strange) and it popped out.

He is over the moon with excitement and wanted to take a lot of pictures to remember.

He, of course, had to take some with his star glasses which he calls "so stylish and cool".

We are excited to have our first missing tooth!

Congratulations to Christopher!

Hello there . . . .

Hello, Blog!

I have neglected you!

I figured it would happen sooner or later. Life is getting too busy.

Here is what we have been up to . . . . .

Davin has been busy slaving away at the office.


Busy season is almost over!!! Only a couple more weeks.
I can't believe it.
We survived another one.

I have been busy growing a baby.

This one has been hard work, let me tell ya. Sick sick sick, horrible Braxton Hicks contractions, anemia (happens with all my babies), and really sore hips (anyone else have that problem?). I can't complain too much though. I find pregnancy to be such a miracle I can't help but be fascinated by the whole process.

I have finally gotten over the fact that we are NOT having a girl and have shoved all of those dreams of pink dresses and a pink room out of my head :) Luckily my little brother and his wife are adding a girl to the mix. Yippee!
I've started on our little guy's room and I am having tons of fun with it. My mom has been a HUGE help and I thought I would show you how it is coming along. I've gotten most of my ideas from pinterest and I am actually DOING them. Has anyone else had that problem with pinterest? You pin an enormous amount of fun things to do . . . . . and you don't do a single one. Not this time!! I'm very proud of myself.

I took the baby's old, cheap cheap cheapo dresser (this thing is practically cardboard) and painted it to look like this one I found on pinterest.

Pinterest on left


I really think it turned out cute!!

I painted baby's wall with white and yellow stripes.


Pinterest on left


His room will be yellow and teal. I usually hate yellow, but I think it makes it so cheerful.

I bought these paper lanterns to make a huge mobile for above his bed.


Pinterest on top


I will show you again when they are actually hanging up. :)

I have found a lot of cool things at the thrift store, including this huge mirror for $10.

Can't beat that.

I have lots of other projects under way for his room and I will show you as I get them completed.

The boys and I have been enjoying some warm spring weather.

They also got their dusty bikes out of the garage and took a spin.

Last year Christopher could barely move the pedals on his bike (Asperger kids are notorious for not being able to ride a bike).

This year he was able to pedal!! Just goes to show what two years of therapy can accomplish!! Sheesh.
It's slow going but we LOVE seeing his progress.

What have you been up to??

The Score

Well, the poll has closed.

Out of 17 votes, only 2 of you voted for boy.

Our family as of today : Boys 4 (including Davin) Girls 1 (that's me)

I'm outnumbered . . . . . and we are excited about it :)

Mark your calendar!

February 27th is the day!

The day we find out whether I am destined to watch Cars and talk about things like Bakugan?? forever . . . . or whether pink and maybe some barbie dolls could be in my future.

(Either one sounds pretty great, don't ya think?)

Vote for Garlick Baby #3's gender!!!

It's a fact.

I share a lot of facts on my blog about autism.
I know it probably gets a little boring to most.
I find that I share the unfortunate things too much.
This post is about some fun, funny, and beautiful things about my boy.


FACT:

Christopher loves any kind of commercial, especially infomercials.

A lot of that you can contribute to his Asperger's.
Asperger children are extremely interested in facts since their worlds can be pretty confusing.

So, he will believe any commercial or infomercial known to man.

You say it's a fun toy - he will believe it.

You say it tastes great - he will believe it.

You say that knife can cut through concrete - he will believe it.

The other day I was discussing something with Davin and I said "How would I find a babysitter for all those days?"

Christopher casually walks into the room, looks up at me and says "Don't worry mom. Just use Care.com. They have lots of people to help you. Anyone you need. Babysitter, whatever."

Davin and I laughed and laughed. He is a walking commercial. He should be getting paid for this stuff.

The other day he was so excited about an infomercial he came running in our room to tell us. He was so excited he could barely get the words out. "There's . . . a . . . . chainsaw . . . on . . . tv. It's awesome! It can cut through a whole tree. We need that."

FACT:

Kids with Asperger's have a unique gift in being able to look past a person's appearance to the real person.
They are accepting of everyone.
Of course, this could be dangerous. Stranger danger is a difficult lesson to teach :).

I teach young children at my church.
This year I have Christopher's age group.
In our class we have a pretty severely handicapped boy.
My teaching partner and I take turns taking care of him while the other teaches.
The children are nice to him, but are understandably afraid of the noises he makes and of his strange actions.
Christopher has no fear of people with handicaps.
The first day we had him in class I was holding him and Christopher rushed up to him, gave him a hug and said "Oh, he is so cute."
The other children pull away when this boy tries to grab them. Christopher pulls this boy to him to give hugs.

Christopher attends a therapy facility that I have mentioned in previous posts.
They have group therapies and they are exposed to children with a whole range of developmental and physical problems.
Most children would feel pretty overwhelmed in such an environment.
To Christopher, they are all just people. Friends.
He was talking about a little girl the other day and I was trying to picture who she was.
I asked him "What is she like?"
He thinks for a minute. "Well, she is nice. She's really good at coloring. She has a Dora the Explorer backpack."
I say "No. What does she look like?"
He says "Oh. Hmmm. Well, I don't know. She doesn't have any legs."
I'm always so amazed by this unique ability.
What if we were all this way?
What a beautiful, accepting world this would be.



FACT:

Asperger children are never afraid to say what they are thinking. They always tell the truth. ALWAYS.
Sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing :)
Other times it is just cute and funny.
Christopher loves his kindergarten teacher.
LOVES her.
He draws her pictures. He tells her that he loves her all the time. He will announce it in class.
One day someone asked Christopher who his teacher was.
"Oh, her name is Mrs. ---- and she has beautiful golden hair and I love her."



If only I was so brave to tell people I love them. Tell people I appreciate them. Tell people I think they are terrific.


FACT:

I love my boy.
He is a beautiful person and everyone who comes in contact with him immediately senses that.
I would love to be more like him.

Things We Love Lately . . . . .

I love that this boy had a birthday.

Okay, maybe I don't LOVE it. My baby turned 3!

I do love that he loved having a birthday.

His day was full of cars and more cars :)

I love that for the moment we have found the most heavenly balance of medication and stress free living for our Christopher.

For the moment :)

That means that these two are best friends again.

Doing EVERYTHING together.

And I mean EVERYTHING.

Oh, how I love it.

I love the show Intervention.

I think it comes from my obsessive need to see that everyone is living their happiest lives.

I HAVE to see that these people get help. And, if they don't . . . . . well, I'm sad for the rest of the day.

Yep, I'm a strange one.

Maybe in a different life I should have been a therapist.

I am loving cheetos.

I used to think that people who had weird cravings during pregnancy were . . . .well, . . . . weird.

I have always HATED cheetos. However, during this pregnancy they taste like heaven. Pure heaven.
Don't worry. I don't sit around eating cheetos all day. They are my rare treat :)

What is your rare treat? Do you think that I need an intervention from cheetos?
And, what are you loving lately?

It's a . . . . . .

Baby.

We are having a baby.

We are having a BABY!

New baby's picture is up on the fridge, mingling with his (or hers') brothers' pictures.

I got baby's picture taken today at the doctor.

This pregnancy has been strange for me.

The smile has been there on my face and the words "we are excited" have come flowing out of my mouth without hesitation.

But, in my heart I was afraid, anxious, and somewhat numb.

It may sound strange to others, but I was feeling guilty about this pregnancy.

I know that by already having a child with autism, the odds are greater that I will have another one with those issues.

I honestly considered not having more children.

I was surprised when they took me into the ultrasound room at the doctor.

They said they like to do an ultrasound at the first appointment.

They said this would be fun because usually most patients aren't far enough along to see much.

I am 14 weeks and the baby would be much more formed.

And formed it was.

A perfect little outline of baby's head, nose, mouth.

Little legs and toes kicking.

Little arms and fingers moving up and down.

A heart beating in its' little body.

There was a little person growing inside me.

I was so emotional on the 30 minute drive back home.

I was no longer numb.

I felt this baby.

I felt that I was not a selfish person for bringing this new life to our family.

This baby was a blessing from God.

My Christopher, with all his struggles, has taught me so much.

He has taught me that life is precious.

He has taught me that some of the most beautiful people on this Earth are the ones that are "different".

Whether this next baby has some difficulties like Christopher or not, it will be special and loved by our family.

We are having a baby!!