update...

Today we started potty training Trevor... put the cute little undies on and away we went. He's peeing on the potty pretty good, he just needs a little time to figure out the holding part of it. He did end up pooping in his underwear (which, I'm sure you don't want to know, but looked really funny) but overall, not a bad first day potty training.

Our bathroom is almost done - we've had a few minor setbacks. The only thing that needs to happen yet is the patch on the drywall by the sink. Geoff was trying to attach the new towel holder to the wall and ended up hitting conduit, then found out most of that wall has a metal plate on the other side of the drywall. Anyhow - ended up with a few holes really close that now need to be patched. But - I will have before and after pictures soon. I love how much better it looks! (I guess anything would have been a major improvement, but I really like it!)

Cinco de mayo...

I was just thinking about the fact that today is May 5th. Exactly one year ago we found out that Jaylen (probably) has Aspergers. We had gone camping the weekend before with my family, and I remember trying to not think about the fact that we were going to find out the results of all of Jaylen's testing on Monday. I wanted things to just keep going the way they were, to be unaware of any problems he might have. I was already figuring they were going to tell us our son had autism, and who wants to hear that? Jaylen was improving, talking better, becoming more social. Surely he was just coming out of his shell, right? Maybe we can pretend a little longer that nothing is wrong... Well, Monday came and Geoff and I took the boys to the school to meet with the psychologist, speech therapist, and special ed preschool teacher. I remember going over charts and graphs and talking over some of the results, and then the psychologist looking a little nervously at me as he was about to drop the A-bomb. But it was Aspergers, not autism. I kind of knew a little about aspergers, but not a whole lot - mostly that it was similar to autism, but very high-functioning autism. I was a little teary-eyed, but in a way, I was actually kind of relieved. Now we knew what we were dealing with and we could start doing just that - dealing with it.

I was a little afraid of Jaylen having a "label" because I was afraid he wouldn't be pushed and challenged; after all, he's an incredibly smart little kid. But the more I thought about it, I realized that a label would not change Jaylen. He is who he is and God made him who he is. Knowing what Jaylen's challenges are would help us understand how to be better parents for him and what services he would need to help him.

Jaylen was enrolled in preschool to start in September, and I had mixed feelings. I was hoping it would be good for him, but didn't really think it would make much of a difference. Was I really ready to put my 3 year old on a bus and send him off to strangers? I had no clue how big of an impact his being in preschool was going to make. Jaylen has come so far, in his behavior, his speech, his social skills, really overall it has made a huge difference. This is not to say we don't still have our challenges, trust me, we do! But he's making so much progress! And as I said earlier, he's one smart kid. He basically taught himself to read, and can now pick up a kids book he's never seen and start reading it with little help. I think math will be a strong point for him too. Counting and adding just come natural to him!

So here we are, a year after first discovering our son (probably) has Aspergers. Tomorrow morning a nurse is coming from the health department for a home visit with me and Jaylen. We're starting the process to have Jaylen officially diagnosed. In July, we will have an appointment in Bellingham with Dr Zinner from Seattle - he works at Children's Hospital and the University of Washington. I kinda have this "here we go again" feeling, like what will we find out this time? I've heard so many stories of kids being evaluated by different doctors and getting different stories from each one. I'm praying this whole process will go smoothly and we'll be able to get a clear diagnosis. But once again, I'm reminded that Jaylen is who he is, and no diagnosis will change that. We love this little (big) guy and nothing will change that either!

Out of the mouths of babes...

The scene: Jaylen, Trevor and I are sitting in the living room, watching a cartoon.

Jaylen: "Did God make me?" (He likes to ask questions he knows the answer to)
Mommy: "Yes, God made you."
Jaylen: "And you too?"
Mommy: "Yes, and Trevor and Daddy too."
Jaylen: "Were we all in Jesus's tummy?"

Oh boy, we have a bit of explaining to do. With all the pregnant aunties, he knows babies start out in tummys, but God made us... so I guess he just put the two together!

Later on, we were reading in Jaylen's children's Bible and he asked about heaven, and if we could skadoo there (think Blue's Clues!)...

I just love to hear the things he comes up with!

Tip of the Day...

When your 1 or 2 year old starts making sounds like Flipper, don't laugh at or encourage it. He'll start doing it ALL THE TIME. And he'll start doing it louder. Including at the library, and when your library has high ceilings, it's especially loud.

Tip of the day...

Never put wallpaper up in your house. Really, just don't do it. Cause even if you like it, you probably won't live there forever... at some point someone will probably be taking it down. I've been working on our little hallway half bathroom this week, and it's been a real challenge! I've spent quite a few hours removing wallpaper, lots of it inch by inch... It's a lot of work - and I'm still not done getting it all down! I took some before-pictures. When we're done and I have after-pictures, I'll post them... :)

Child-like faith

Jaylen has been sitting in "big" church with us, and yesterday we had communion. We have it monthly, so he's seen it a few times. The first couple of times we only explained to him that the juice and crackers are not for him, only mommy and daddy. Yesterday, we kind of talked a bit about what we were doing. I explained that we were celebrating Jesus, and that the juice reminds us of Jesus' blood that takes away our sin, and the cracker reminds us of His body that died for us. I told him that because Jesus died, we can live and go to heaven. He asked me if I had to die too, and I told him Jesus died FOR me, to pay for my sin so I can go to heaven. With the cutest big eyes looking up at me, he said, "And I can go to heaven too?" We also talked about how Jesus didn't stay dead, but rose from the dead and went to heaven with God. It really struck me that the Gospel is so simple, that in those few statements I can explain it to my four year old. And yet, we will always have something to learn about God and His Word.

If Jesus came...

So I was looking through old bulletins and other miscellaneous things that accumulate in my Bible, and I came across this poem I had cut out. I don't even remember when I got it, or where it came from, but I love it's message.

If Jesus Came...

If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two,
If He should show up unannounced, I wonder what you'd do?

Would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in,
Or hide some books and put the Bible where they'd been?

Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends,
Or would you hope they stay away until His visit ends?

Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on,
Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?

It might be interesting to know the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you.

-Author unknown