Cream of Potato Soup

The weather is finally spring-like here in northwest Pennsylvania, and I couldn't be happier. It's nice to open the windows again, to feel the warmth of the sun on your face. It really is just what I've been hoping for.

Except for one thing.

See, Evan is an outdoor man. He loves playing outside, going to the park, taking walks, and I was really looking forward to spending the summer doing these things with him. But now I'm a little afraid. Our yard is a bit on the small side, and last year that was fine, but this year Evan seems to have outgrown it. When we go out the front door now, Ev is no longer content to play around the house. He now wants to take what I call "Evan's Tour of Meadville".

This tour has happened the last two days, and I fully expect we'll be touring again this afternoon. We start out on a harmless walk around the block, and Evan turns it into two hours of trudging through the city. He has an agenda, and if I don't let him carry it out he gets very angry.

Yesterday we walked to preschool (where he cried because he couldn't go in), to the mall (where he screamed because I won't let him roll around on the floor), to Burger King (where he flailed because I wouldn't get him Chicken Tenders), to the college (where he wailed because I told him Daddy worked in a different building now), to the playground (where he sobbed because he couldn't play basketball with the teenagers).

By the end of the tour, we were both exhausted and frazzled. I want us to get outside and get some fresh air, but I know he's going to want to walk again. And walk. And walk.

Posted by jenny at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We had a busy weekend here at our house, but we survived. Friday night Aunt Beth and Aunt Cara came for a visit, and Evan really enjoyed their company. He gave them lots of kisses and had a blast throwing confetti with them. We also discovered, through the use of Easter M & M's, that Evan knows most of his colors. Boy was I shocked! I guess he's been paying attention to me after all!

Saturday was quiet for Daddy and Evan, who took walks around downtown and had outdoor adventures. I drove to Pittsburgh with Lisa for Kelly's bachelorette party and had a fantastic time. We painted plates for her at Color Me Mine, and had a really nice dinner out at the Pope's table at Buca Di Beppo. Lisa and I both had fun and hated to leave, but we made it an early night so we could get home before we turned back into pumpkins.

Our Easter Sunday was very nice as well. We visited my mom at home, and went to my aunt's for a big ham dinner. Evan got to play outside a bit, and he really liked doing that. There were little plastic bunny rabbits with parachutes in his basket, and Daddy spent a lot of time chucking those in the air to Evan's great delight. He also got lots of chocolate and presents--underpants and stuffed animals and books. Ev was in his glory. It's going to take us weeks to get through all this candy (and lots of willpower on my part not to help out!)

We're taking it easy today so we can recover a bit--we have therapy today but no preschool this week. I have a feeling it's going to be a long one.

Posted by jenny at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Let me begin by saying that I talk to Evan all day long. Since he was a tiny baby, I have talked to him like I would talk to you or any other human. I point things out, I ask him questions. I had always heard that was the key to getting your child to talk himself. Little did I know that wouldn't be enough in our case, but I kept it up anyway. I chatted, inquired, pleaded, and for years he's remained silent. Until yesterday.

We were out at our favorite local playground, taking advantage of the near 50 degree temperatures. Sure, it was a bit muddy, but it was great to be outside. Evan ran and jumped and climbed for an hour, and he was having a great time. At one point, he climbed up into the high tower on the wooden play structure--you can go up these narrow stairs to a tower where you can look over the rest of the playground. Or, if you're Ev's size, you can look through the wooden slats that make up the walls, because they're pretty high.

Usually when he climbs to the top of this tower, Ev will jump up and down and yell with excitement. He thinks it's funny to be up so high with Mommy down on the ground below. This time, however, he was silent. He stood quietly at the top for several moments, and I wondered why. I said "I can see you buddy!" to let him know I was watching him. No reaction. A few more moments pass before this exchange:

Me: "Ev, what are you doing up there?"

Evan: "Poop."

This is the first time Ev has ever answered me when I've asked him anything. I thought it was funny, but I wasn't too impressed because poop is the only word he knows, besides dada. But lo and behold, when he comes down the stairs I check his pants and he has indeed pooped. What a moment. He knew it, he told me, and that was it. I found it so funny and exciting that I had to call Mike from the playground to tell him about it. It was a proud moment in our family history, poop.

Posted by jenny at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mike and I love having Evan in our lives, and one thing that we get a huge kick out of is his budding independence. We enjoy watching him learn how to do things himself, and the thrill he gets from being a "big boy". It's pretty amazing.

One place we've noticed him changing is when we go shopping. No longer content to sit in the cart, Evan wants to help push it. Or perhaps he'll walk beside it as we cruise the aisles. He knows the layout of the stores we frequent, and will often steer us toward his favorite sections. Now that he's gotten taller, he can reach all sorts of things (Gatorade, Junior Mints, Cheesy Poofs). He goes to the deli himself to request popcorn chicken. At checkout, we'll find several items he's thrown in the cart when we weren't paying attention.

Evan now makes shopping an adventure. I can hardly remember the days when he used to just sleep in his little carrier, hooked on to the cart, as we completed our errands with ease. Little did we know the fun we were missing.

Posted by jenny at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Evan is hugging me around my neck right now. He smells so good and sweet, and you can't help but love him. And then he's done with me and runs off to bug Mike. So fleeting is my son's affection. But I can't blame him, Daddy's got the PS2 on.

It's been a good week here, for the most part. Nothing earth shattering going on, just slow progress from day to day. And I'll settle for slow progress over no progress anytime.

I finally talked to Ev's caseworker, and she said that nothing really changes on Ev's IEP because of the PDD-NOS diagnosis. That was a little discouraging for me, because I had always thought that autism was the magic word that opens all therapy doors. Wrong again! I smell another uphill battle for services.

She did say she would send me info on a support group here in town (helpful) and some info about autism (not as helpful). I've known what autism was since I was a teenager, but I've done lots of homework on it over the last few years-- since Mikaele's son was diagnosed and even more so since doctors started suggesting it with Evan. I don't know if a packet will help me all that much.

And I'm sure I'll need help.

Posted by jenny at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Evan's pretty much back to normal after being sick, aside from a lingering cough. He's been sleeping better and started eating again, and I'm excited about that at least. So we're plugging our way through another week, therapy and preschool, preschool and therapy. I can tell what day it is by if we're headed to the hospital or not.

I think Ev likes preschool, though it's hard to tell. When I tell him we have to go, he cries, and he usually cries quietly along the entire walk to school. He's so good and so compliant that he doesn't fight me--he puts on his coat and bookbag, he walks all the way there--but he's crying a little the entire time.

Today we were a few minutes later than usual, and all the other kids were already sitting at their tables. I gave him a quick kiss goodbye and the teacher ushered him into the room. Evan cried harder then, and by the time I was going down the stairs I could hear him coughing and gagging like he does when he's upset. That sound just breaks my heart, but I'm sure that within a few minutes he was fine.

By the time I go pick him up, he's always smiling and excited. I wish I could see for myself the transformation that takes place when I'm gone. I want to see him in school without him knowing I'm there (impossible, but a nice thought). It's so strange to know that he has a life that doesn't involve me--that he exists apart from me and doesn't need me every waking moment. I'm still having trouble with that one.

Posted by jenny at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday was a rough one for us. After a sleepless night on my part, Mike took over in the morning, holding Ev on the couch so I could get a few hours of sleep. All Evan wanted to do all day was sleep or lay on one of us, and that's all he did. We stayed in our jammies and just held him and tried to make him feel better. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work.

What really worried me is that Evan didn't eat for another day, and at one point he was refusing to drink as well. He didn't want anything, and I began to fear we were going to end up at the hospital for dehydration. After a call to my mom for advice, we just kept pushing fluids and hoping for the best. Mike eventually came to the rescue--he went out and got Ev a "sport bottle" of Gatorade. He loves those, and finally had a few sips before going to bed last night.

We both slept pretty soundly all night, and got up a little after 8 this morning. Ev seems more alert today, and already had something to drink. Here's hoping we've turned the corner now and are on our way to wellness.

Posted by jenny at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Somehow, when Evan is sick, the whole world turns upside down. He feels rotten, and we can't fix it, so we bend over backwards to try to make him feel better. Poor kid ate nothing but a bite of cereal bar and a Junior Mint (don't ask) in the past 24 hours. Luckily he's drinking juice, but I still wish he'd eat something.

On top of that, he's not sleeping well. He napped in the afternoon, and fell asleep tonight at about 8, but he ended up in our bed around 11 and laid there with me until after Mike came to bed. Unfortunately, most of Ev's time between 11 and 1:30 was spent rolling around, coughing, and kicking Mike in the head.

So at 1:30 he and I came downstairs and have been hanging out ever since. He just wants to lay on the couch and watch TV, but he doesn't want to do that unless I'm holding him. Nothing like being pinned under a sweaty little boy for hours on end. Ev dozed off again around 3, and I was able to extract myself long enough to get a drink and write this before I get back on the couch.

He stirs again--back to my post.

Posted by jenny at 03:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Somehow, we're all sick again. Mike hasn't been feeling well since Sunday, and Ev and I have been feeling like garbage since yesterday. I can't tell if this is a continuation of our previous cold, or a totally different one. Either way, it's annoying. None of us are that sick, we can all function pretty well, but we're just not feeling great and haven't been sleeping. Boo on us.

I've been trying to get in touch with Ev's IU caseworker since late last week to tell her about the PDD diagnosis, but no luck. I can't seem to find her direct number, and without it I just get the runaround. So frustrating. Even worse is that we just wrote his IEP for the year, and now we might have to change it. Life with a special needs child is never dull. Hell, I bet life with any child is never dull--maybe just a different kind of excitement.

Posted by jenny at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Results from the poop and blood analysis came back, and everything is normal in that department. I still think something might be haywire as far as a possible food allergy, but at least we know now that it's not a serious digestive issue.

I just looked down as I was typing and realized I have "mom hands". I'm 28, and I have mom hands. Though, to be fair, I think my mother probably had mom hands when she was 28 too. Of course, she was one kid up on me by then. I need some lotion or something.

Evan had preschool today, where he swam and played in the gym. If that doesn't call for an afternoon nap, I don't know what does. I'm going to go encourage that right now.

Posted by jenny at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We took some videos last night of Evan making a bunch of noise. Enjoy:

Movie 1
Movie 2

Posted by Mike at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks for the responses to my "what's grosser than gross?" question--though most of them were disgusting personal experiences or notes for Eric. I still can't think of any new ones myself, and neither could Jerry last night. Next up, post verses of the ever popular "diarrhea song". Just kidding, you don't have to do that---but if you'd like to, don't let me stop you. I'm still in third grade.

Big news over here at our house. Last Thursday's speech therapy was a giant step forward--Evan imitated sound for his SLP for the first time. Ever. Up til now, he's just been working on behavior or imitating movement, but on Thursday he started imitating the "a", "b", and "o" sounds. And he hasn't stopped yet. At home in the last few days, he's imitated those sounds as well as "p", "d", and "t". And he's doing it more consistently--he's able to come up with those sounds (or something close) almost every time I ask.

We're just so excited.

And Ev's blossoming in other ways too. Suddenly, he's able to point out all his body parts and can point to pictures in books (something most little ones can do, but it's always been a stumbling block for us). He's coming up with signs we taught him last fall and haven't used since, and using them on a regular basis, correctly. He's more social and active and seems to be learning so much.

What's caused this sudden change? Is it preschool, or therapy finally kicking in, age, fish oil or Mikaele's request for distance reiki healing on Evan? It could be one or two or all of these things, but I don't care. We're going to keep doing it all and hope that we continue to see such great improvements.

Posted by jenny at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Do you remember those jokes from when you were younger? I was thinking about them this morning, but I can't really remember any. Post some in the comments if you do.

Here's what's grosser than gross at my house. Me, scraping poop out of Evan's diaper with a tongue depressor into a little plastic jar. Imagine that one. There was gagging. I was so disgusted. But the poop was delivered to the lab, and the blood was taken, and we await results.

Posted by jenny at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Today was Evan's 3 year check-up, and it went pretty well. Evan was good for the most part, and the doctor spent a lot of time talking with us about our concerns. It was a great visit.

Evan is 3' 2" tall, and weighs 31 pounds. That means he's tall enough to go on most of the kiddie rides at Waldameer this summer! He's mostly healthy, and the doctor was impressed that Ev hasn't really been sick at all in the past year.

We discussed some of Evan's problems, and the doctor seemed surprised that Evan hasn't started speaking yet. He stressed the importance of using some form of communication with him (like sign), which we assured him we were already doing. He was pleased with our efforts to get Ev the therapy that he needs, but said he felt that it may be a long time before Evan talks, if he ever does.

The doctor also expressed an interest in Evan's current "diagnosis". He said he agreed that Ev was developmentally delayed, but was pleased to see that he's making steady progress and improvement. He did say that he would most likely put Evan somewhere on the autism spectrum at this time--probably PDD-NOS, but he didn't say for sure. We'll keep an eye on it, and notify Ev's IU caseworker that he is thought to be on the autism spectrum--just in case there's anything more we can do for him in terms of therapy.

We're also going to do some lab work--tomorrow Ev will go to get blood drawn for lead testing and to check if he's still anemic. And I get to bring in a lovely stool sample too! I've been concerned for a while about possible food allergies and digestive problems, so they're going to do a full work-up on Evan's poopies too. It should be fun.

Posted by jenny at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes kids, it's another snow day. We got blasted with snow again last night, and there's another two hour delay. I think we have about a foot of snow on the ground right now. I am not happy.

The only thing saving today is that we take Ev for his three year check-up this afternoon. I'm excited to see how big he is now (he hasn't been officially weighed or measured in over a year) and to ask the doctor some questions. I'll give a full report later in the day.

Posted by jenny at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is a snow day--we got a couple of inches overnight and it's still falling. Evan was supposed to have preschool today, but since Crawford Central is on a 2 hour delay, AM preschool is cancelled. Bah!

I have moved over to the dark side, where "snow day" sounds awful instead of magical. Now that I'm on the parent end of things, I found myself praying NOT to hear our school district called on the radio this morning. No preschool equals a very long day stuck in the house with a demanding 3 year old. Oh mercy.

Posted by jenny at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)