Austin is 7!

Yesterday was Austin's 7th birthday...my goodness...he's 7. I'm telling you, the last 3 years have flown by. But then again, when I think about it, Andrew was born 3 years ago. LOL Ben is out of town for the weekend as well as my parents but I had a small get together at the bowling alley anyway. I think Andrew enjoyed it more than Austin but it was fun! Austin loved standing over the blowers where the balls are. =) Thank you to all who gave me ideas for his birthday! Austin did receive the Handy Manny tool box (although when Austin is at school, Andrew claims it as his) as suggested! I'll have a great Christmas list for him this year with the rest of the suggestions!

Wide Eyed Wonder

Ok, so my apologies for the fingerprints on the fishtank and the freaky looking fish up close but I loved Andrew's expression!

PBS Ready, Set, Fun!

This morning I took the kids to our local fairgrounds for the annual PBS Ready, Set, Fun! Local businesses, authors, etc. all come and set up booths all geared toward reading, learning, and exploration. Every year the kids come home with lots of books (they give them away!), stickers, pencils, etc.

One booth had an obstacle course set up and lo and behold, Austin was interested!! Austin has an extreme fear of being unstable and unbalanced. I put Austin at the opening of the tunnel and he went through with only a slight bit of encouragement! The second tunnel I didn't have to encourage him at all! I was so proud of him!

Pictures Mom? I just woke up!

Midnight conversation with Andrew

Andrew woke me up at 11:30pm last night, crying for me. Thinking he had an explosive diaper (he eats raisins like they're chocolate), I went in to check on him. In his pitch dark room, I go to pick him up...and he's naked. And wet. And cold. Pee everywhere.

Me: Andrew, why did you take your diaper off?!?!?

Andrew: Because. (slight pause) I'm a jaguar!

Um. Yeah. Whatever kid. Of couse, I couldn't get mad at that! I got him cleaned up put back to bed and for the next half an hour he serenaded me by singing the phrase "I'm a jaguar, I'm a jaguar" over and over. Toddlers are great, aren't they?


* If you're wondering where in the world Andrew learned about jaguars, check out the Fisher Price games section. It has an alphabet page that uses animals. Yes, the 'J' is for Jaguar.

Gift Suggestions

Ok so Austin's birthday is right around the corner and I'm at a loss. This supposedly 'joyful' time of the year is stressful for me. What do you get a little boy who doesn't really play with toys?!? He loves to watch Veggie Tales, Elmo, and the Cars movie but I hate having him in front of the tv so much. I want him to play! He used to enjoy books (as most kids with RTS do) but it's hard to keep his attention long enough to listen to one. Ben and I bought him a sandbox this year and I know he'll love that. He loves to run his hands through the sand and make a royal mess. =) Everytime I research a toy related to kids with special needs, I come up empty or find things he'd love but are outrageously expensive. Someday I'd love to get him a hanging chair for his room so he can spin all he wants but it's out of budget at the moment...hmm...maybe Christmas? He's very fearful of being off balance so a bilibo chair wouldn't work...

Well, I'm going to go back to the drawing board and research so more. Would love any and all input I can get!

trip to the museum

This past Friday, Ben and I took the boys to the Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse. We had a lot of fun and I took a few pictures although they didn't come out great. It's hard to take pictures when Austin's wandering around looking at all the flashy stuff!


Andrew playing (really loudly) a xylophone


Fun mirrors!


Ben climbing the rock wall with our friends


Andrew and Ben going into the HUGE playplace

Ok so I just realized I didn't get a single picture of Austin! Poo! He mostly sat in the stroller and watched everyone else play...but there's always next time!