And the Baby is......

Wow,it has been awhile since I blogged! Things have been going quickly over here. The Other Half is away on business at least 2days a week now. I just get in go mode and get only the necessities done. I am trying to branch out from that, now that the kids and I have gotten our routine down.

The Other Half and I found out last week that we are having another boy! G was there with us and asked the Ultra Sound Tech where the girl was. Ha! I just started laughing and asked if she was sure. She pointed to his boy part and proved that she wasn't pulling my leg. The Other Half just laughed and said he couldn't believe it. We felt sure it was a girl. Plus we had already agreed on a name. Boy names on the other hand have proven very difficult for us to agree on. This could be one of those kids that has their name pulled out of a hat in the delivery room. I kid...I think....

C was none to happy about the news. I told her at school when I came to pick her up from tutoring. She, unfortunately, started to cry. Her friend Emily, who is in the same sibling boat, hugged her and told her they would start a Girls with Brothers club. By day 3 C had come around. She has grasped that she will never have to share a room and she will be 10years older than her brother, so she won't have to put up with alot of "stinky brother" activity. And in the mean time C has had her hand kicked by the baby, which melted her heart. She is always asking me if he is moving and if she can feel it. She really likes talking to my belly.

G has awesomely accepted the fact that he will be the big brother or a brother. He currently wants the baby to sleep in his room. He says he can't wait to snuggle the baby, teach it to give zurburts, and rock'n roll. I love his attitude thus far!
I do have to say being given another boy is intimidating. I'm not intimidated by all the boy stuff. Peeing outside, doing gross things for a laugh, the loudness, the physicalness, that is all fine. I've always had a large amount of guy friends so that doesn't and hasn't fazed me. However, having a son with highly functioning autism does give us an increased chance that this child could have autism. Our pediatrician said, regardless of sex, our chances increase 50% that this child could have autism. I don't worry about it often, but it does cross my mind. I pray for protection and guidance. For this next child we will be doing a delayed shot schedule. I'm a healthy eater, so I've continued to do that as well. I exercise too. Although I have to say, G tolerated his shots much better than C. I don't recall him having fever or getting sick after any of them. However later in pregnancy was hard health wise for he and I. I had to be on antibiotics for upper respiratory infection, then bronchitis, and several other things. He also had complications during and post delivery. So it is hard to say what triggered his autism. I figure all I can do is pray, and make logical discussions based on creditable sources for this little guy. Then one has to let the chips fall where they may.

Autism and Highly functioning Autism can be a real pain in the butt. It can take a toll on you and your family. It has at times done all of that to us. Having said that Autism can come with many gifting too. G has become very articulate with voicing his feelings. This comes from all the therapy and social stories he has had. He is a very loving guy. He reads and writes at a higher level than his Kindergarten grade. He loves music. He hears things in the music that I don't. He is teaching himself to play the drums well. He has been watching the praise and worship team ,at church, practice and preform for close to 3years. This past December, while they practiced for the Christmas program, some people heard someone playing bongos. They assumed because of how on time they were, that it was part of a track played with the musicians. The song stopped, but the bongos continued. The ladies looked around, and it was G playing. Everyone thought it was so cool they let him continue during practices. The musicians have also been sweet to let him sit and "play" drums. His play has turned very good.The musicians love telling me about what G did after practice, or showing me their phone videos of him singing and playing drums in time. G also likes writing his own songs. He spends hours in his room singing loudly,in key, and drumming his heart out. He has a gift, a love, a joy. Who knows if it would be as strong if he weren't who he is, if the Autism wasn't present. Who knows?
Because of these things we try not to be afraid.

Sorry so late, Updates!

Let me start out by saying all of your prayers have been appreciated and have helped so much! My cousin was released from the hospital the day after my last blog! She is on the same heart meds as my 70 year old Grandmother, but she and Tallia are doing well!!!! The doctors decided to release her after her heart was able to behave for a 2days straight. The meds she currently is on shouldn't harm Tallia either. We are all so happy! Unfortunately, because of the heart condition, my cousin cannot go into labor. They have told her it will kill her. So at the end of March, I believe, they will do a C-section for Tallia. She will be a couple weeks early, but they have determined that she is very healthy and it shouldn't harm her at all. So ,for now, my cousin and her unborn daughter are enjoying lots of rest and relaxation. Thank God for modern medicine!!!

Now, the reason I haven't updated in a while was the morning after my cousin was released from the hospital The Other Half had ACL surgery. We were so naive to think he would be up and moving by the weekend, WRONG! He was having allot of fun trying to steady himself on crutches as he hobbled his was to the bathroom with me right at his heel ready to catch him at a moments notice. Well, I was going to try to catch him, anyway.... So for the last couple of weeks I have been nursemaid and mom. Exhausting! C has been great. She has been on her best behavior. G on the other hand.....After 4days he found out all daddy could do was yell at him from the couch when he was misbehaving. Man that kid is smart! He would continue being naughty until I came around a corner and then it was Stop! Drop! and Run! It was an adventure I will tell you that.

Even though he was laid up The Other Half managed to hobble to G's first big Psychologist meeting. It was our first meeting with the Doc so it was just grown ups. It was so nice to have him there. He remembered to mention things about G that I had grown accustomed to, but aren't "typical" behaviors. He also had things to say about how G is around him that is different from his time spent with me. So it was a good meeting. We both came out of the meeting feeling hopeful. I am feeling overwhelmingly hopeful that this woman will help point all of us in the right direction. Her testing will be done tomorrow afternoon and then March the 12th we will find out the results. We will know whether our son has high functioning Autism, like preliminary test have shown, or is just ADHD and slightly delayed. This will also help the school, and us, decide which schools in the district he should attend for Kindergarten and what programs are available to him. We are so scared to send him to Kindergarten next year, but these tests will help to ease some of that. It's yet another life line we have been given during his dimly lit journey. Thank God for it!

My highly injured Other Half also managed to shock me with a surprise birthday party last month! I was completely floored! I had no idea! It was so sweet. He managed to get about 8 of our friends to brave a snowstorm and eat Mexican with us for my bday. They all worked together to make it so special, it was so sweet. My friend Mimi came up with some party games, Other Half bought a round of Margaritas, and we all just chatted, sang If you Like Pina Coladas, then we made wishes. Mimi had collected milk weed pods over the summer and was trying to think of something to do with them. So she came up with this great idea that we would all take one, go out side of the restaurant, open them, blow the fluff out and wish as it flew into the snow flake filled air. The pictures she took turned out so cool! I will have to get them from her and post them. After that we finished the night with lots of hugs and car donuts in the snow covered parking lot!

To all of you out there, again, thank you soososososososos very much for your prayers on behalf of my cousin they are truly working.