The thing I haven't really talked about yet

At Jack's 3 year well-child checkup, we filled out a questionnaire for the pediatrician, just answering questions about tasks that Jack could accomplish, his language/comprehension skills, and his overall development. As it turns out, he was pretty behind on almost all of the areas that were measured (4 out of 5). So, we were referred to ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) which is through our local school district. Jack went through several evaluations, all done at our home, and they compiled all of this information into a report. He went through speech, psychological, autism and occupational therapy evaluation. After they were done with this process, we were informed that Jack meets the criteria for a diagnosis of Autism. Specifically, high-functioning autism, or Asperger's.

We experienced so many emotions when we received his diagnosis. We felt relief, because we knew that we weren't crazy and that other people noticed that there was something "off" about Jack too. We felt anger, because who were these people that barely knew our son to come in and tell us that there was something wrong with him? We were sad, because our only son was not "normal." We were guilty, because there's a part of you that wonders if you were the cause of these problems.

Jack's main symptoms include problems with language comprehension, echolalia (repeating what he hears us say, whether it's immediate or delayed), sensory issues, problems focusing, being very schedule-oriented, not being interested in other children, and having a hard time with transitions or new things.

All of this to say...Jack started preschool this week! He is going to the ECSE preschool, 4 days a week in the morning. He started on Tuesday. Today was his first day taking the bus. So far, it seems like he's really enjoying it. He really likes his teacher and she is an awesome lady. Today he actually named some of the kids in his class for me! There are 8 kids in his class (including him) and 4 adults...so he really gets a lot of quality attention. He meets one-on-one with a speech therapist and also gets some time with an occupational therapist.

When we dropped him off yesterday, he waved "bye" to us as he walked into the classroom and had a big smile on his face! When we put him on the bus this morning, he was so excited to ride the bus, but once he realized that we weren't going with him, he got a very concerned look on his face and didn't smile as they were driving away....but he did great and made it home safe and sound!

Here are some pictures of my BIG boy and his first couple days of school!!!

Standing at the front doors of the school.

Oh my gosh, he's gotten so big. When did this happen?

Putting his backpack in his cubby with his teacher.

Talking to the bus driver as his friends were getting off the bus.

Waving bye!

All buckled in! First time on the bus, today.

Away!

Jack dressed up as "Super Jack" for Halloween. He loved it! We had a hard time coming up with a costume this year. We couldn't find a store-bought costume that we liked and I ran out of time to order one online. And I didn't want to spend $30 for a costume that he would wear once. So, we ended up coming up with Super Jack and I managed to put it together myself! Unfortunately, someone didn't really like wearing the mask, so it ended up being up on his forehead most of the day. But, he was still super cute! His favorite thing to do was grab his cape and pretend he was going to fly and say "Super Jack - AWAY!"










Jack also received a Halloween surprise in the mail from Grandma! He got a very cool car toy that shoots cars down ramps, some candy, a pumpkin cup and some cookies to decorate. He loved it all and the car toy is one of his favorite toys now. Thank you, grandma!

The day I don't want to talk about.

It snowed. On October 26th. It snowed. It started at about 10:45 am and didn't end until sometime in the late evening. Thank goodness it melted quickly and didn't stick around. It is beautiful and sunny today, but it is freezing. It appears that winter has made its way to Minnesota. I am pretty grouchy about it, but trying to get over it. Really.

Our crazy dog loves the snow.

Viral

We've discovered that Jack loves watching funny cat/dog videos on the internets. Unfortunately, this means that we have to be very careful about what we click on when we're visiting youtube. Some of those (OK, A LOT of those) videos just aren't appropriate for a 3 year old - let alone a 30 year old.

Anyway - here is some video of Jack laughing at this video.






And here is another one of our favorites. :)

Spiderman

It seems that Jack caught the "climbing bug" a little late. Most toddlers start climbing fairly early (18 months - 2 years old?), and we thought that we were fortunate that Jack didn't seem to be much of a climber. Oops. We thought too soon. Here's some pictures of the latest mountain Jack has conquered.

A Moment of Awe

As I was unloading the groceries the other day (one of my least favorite jobs), I was awe-struck. I am amazed at how God continues to provide for our needs...and how often we fail to realize that. It is so easy to complain about what He doesn't provide, that we fail to recognize all that He does provide. I have the ability to drive my vehicle to the grocery store, walk through the aisles, pick out what I "need" and purchase them with cash and make meals for my family.

We've recently cut waaaaaay back on our "eating out" budget and that is a big deal for us. We enjoy eating out and sometimes eating at home just isn't as fun. But we know that we need to be good stewards of our finances...and spending $20 on mediocre food (when we could have the same meal...much healthier and tastier at home for a fraction of the cost) just isn't accomplishing that goal. I spent quite a bit of time coming up with yummy menus that we would enjoy eating...but that were also low-cost. Sometimes this feels like a horrible chore to me. I would much rather just buy what I want from the store without having to think about cost or the budget. I grumble and complain about having to watch what I spend and what store I have to spend it at. Way.Too.Often.

Back to my moment of awe - as I was unloading bags and bags of groceries, I was brought to tears by God's goodness. His grace and mercy. I've been doing a Bible study at church on the life of David and we've been talking about having a "Who am I?" moment with God. A moment when you stop and ask God, "Who am I? That you have blessed me and my family so much?" (2 Samuel 7:18) Last week we were asked to recollect a time when we've had one of those moments...and I couldn't think of anything...which made me sad...and upset that I haven't stopped enough to recognize what God has done for me. So, on Monday, God gave me one of those moments. It's such a small thing - groceries. Something we almost always take for granted. But as I watched my pantry, refrigerator and freezer get filled up I asked, "Who am I?" While there are families all over the world - in my community and across the globe - not able to provide food for their family's next meal, God has graciously given us the resources to have more food than we'll ever need. He is good!

Renaissance Fair - Minus the Sarcasm

So, the real reason we went to the Renaissance Fair last month was to spend time with my dad and his wife. Unfortunately, I didn't get that many pictures of all of us. Here are a few, though.

Jack chugging some of Kiki's lemonade.

Jack and Abuelo watching the jousting.

Huh?