9.5 weeks in, some more to go

It has been 9.5 weeks since Matt left for Texas.  It feels like both an eternity and like it was yesterday.  Some days are definitely better than others, but as a whole they are pretty good.

Victoria has started swim lessons.  She can swim, but she needs to get stronger in the water.  And she loves to swim, so this is good for her.  On most days she likes school, and I haven't had any reports lately to believe otherwise.  She has good friends at school, and the work that she is bringing home looks great.  Her teacher is definitely a positive reinforcer, which I like.  I also hope that she pushes V out of her comfort zone too.
Victoria started a social group for her ABA a couple of weeks ago.  She likes it, and I honestly don't know why, other than she does like to be around other people.  There are 3 boys that are in it too, and they are all at least 2 years younger than her.  But they have different lesson plans for the kids each week, and I know it will be good for her.  She starts her ABA at our house tomorrow.  I'm super excited.  I know she is going to do great and I'm excited to have a reason to keep my house clean each week.
She is very excited for Christmas.  She has asked for very little.  I had her fill out a Christmas wish list of 4 wishes: something she wants, needs, will read, and will wear.  She wants a US Acres (Orson Farm from Garfield and Friends) book, she needs new shoes.  (She doesn't, but she said if she grows out of hers, she will need new shoes. I didn't have an argument for that, since it is true.)  She will read a Warrior book series book, and will wear an iCarly shirt.

Micah is great.  He really misses his Daddy, and loves to talk to Daddy on the phone and tell him about his day.  His newest obsession is traffic signs and lights.   He knows what red, green and yellow mean. He loves speed limit signs and stop signs.  He has just started to learn the meaning of red and green arrows.  Super weird, but at least he's learning.
He likes motorcycle cops, because they catch bad guys.  :)  He cracks me up.  He loves the big jets that fly from the base.
He LOVEs to play in sand.  He learns wonderful things from different TV shows.  On our walk tonight to look at Christmas lights, there was a blown up igloo and he knew what it was.  I asked him how he knew what it was called and he told me Little Einsteins. (sp?)
 He loves musical instruments, and I think he can name about 10, and can name 3 or 4 just by listening to them.
Micah asked Santa for 4 dinosaurs and a blue present.  (no idea what that means.)  We have a book called The Dinosaurs Night Before Christmas and it's his new favorite.  It came with a CD and he will listen to the book 10-12 times a day.

We honestly have no idea when Matt will be coming home for good.  Because that would give me something to look forward too.  But I am feeling very blessed to have visitors lined up after the new year, so hopefully time will fly.

Initial ABA appt 10/30/12

Took V to her initial ABA appt. I like them immediately because I went with one therapist and V went with another.  I do not like to talk about Vs issues in front of her.  She is fully aware of her weaknesses and is embarrassed to talking about them. Will I talk about them in front of her if need be, yes, but most of the time it's not necessary.  I have asked people in the past if we can talk separately and they look at me like I'm nuts. So I very much appreciated the fact that they had some to hang out with her, and she didn't just sit in the waiting room. I like talking about V to people that understand her problems, have solutions, and I can tell they aren't judging her or me.  And they aren't emotional.  :-) I have very high hopes with this treatment and therapy for V.  Also, they have a social group that meets at the center every Monday. Super exciting! I asked her if she wants to go, she said, "for sure!" So we are going to try it, and I think it's going to be worth the 30 minute drive once a week.  So there ya go! And here we gooooo!!!!!!

October 27, 2012

Matt has been gone for almost 3 weeks, only 23 to go.  Really, who knows how long.  No one that's who.  One of the crazy things about the Air Force.  You'd think after 65 years, they would know how long they need airman other places, even if those places are only 2 states away.  Okay, rants done, thanks for listening.

Things have been going since Matt left.  Same schedule and routine.  But he is sorely missed.  He used to bathe M every night.  I think that the 30 minutes before bed is when he is missed most by Micah.... and myself.  I love that Micah is so verbal and that he can tell me his wants, needs, feelings and hurts.  But, I'm pretty sure that a fairy dies every time he says, "I miss daddy."

Micah is obsessed with Angry Birds and Bad Piggies.  We are going to be taking a couple of days break for the iPad.  He performed a wonderful fit while on Skype with Meme and Pots this morning, and I was the idiot Mom who just smiled and laughed.  No more being an idiot for me.  (don't quote me on that.)  So I think iPad is going to be sick for awhile.  Luckily, he has a hands on Angry Birds toy that we can play and a new Angry Birds Space coloring book, that is his night time book of choice.

One of my favorite things to do is watch him watch and interact with older kids.  He was doing that at the park today, and I love it.  It makes him brave to try new things at the play ground.  (He is like his Momma, not a dare devil at all.)  I feel like we are always on the go lately, but I know he gets a lot out of play dates.  Poor kid can't spend all his time with me.  He is finally gotten over his fear of the child care at the gym.  He waves and says bye and plays for an hour while I work out.  It is wonderful.

Victoria is doing amazing in school.  I'm so excited to see the progress she will make by the end of the year.  So on her IEP (individualized education program?) it says that she will go from a 1.8 to a 2.8 in math.  (1st number is grade, second number is the month, so 1st grade 8th month)  At her parent teacher conference, her teacher told me she is doing beginning 3rd grade work, which is a review of 2nd grade work.  This is so exciting!  She started reading a chapter book series "Warriors" a couple of months ago, and I feel like these books are quickly progressing her reading abilities.  She LOVES them.  Needless to say I'm very excited.

On Tuesday, we have our initial meeting for her ABA (applied behavior analysis).  This is what she was doing the last 2 months in Washington that was AMAZING!!  My prayer is that she has a therapist that is capable and Victoria likes.

Thats all for now, my computer is dying.

Is it Monday yet....?

Confession: I have always judged parents who do not like being around their children.  So let me begin this post by saying, I love being around Victoria and Micah.  They both crack me up.  Matt and I call them the Tweedles.  Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum.  In Alice in Wonderland, these two characters were silly, they broke up the monotony, and they kept you on your toes.

Now that I've said that, this week has been one of the longest in a long time.  Matt left Sunday and Victoria has been on Fall break all week.  We did crafts, went out to lunch, hit the book store and the library and experienced a VERY southern pumpkin patch.  Micah spent a day on the couch with a fever.  And all I heard all day, "Momma, want to snuggle with me?" Um, of course I do.

 I'm exhausted.  I enjoy it when Victoria is in school.  I don't have to worry about her for 8 hours a day, because with her, you honestly never know what mood she is going to be in or what is going to set her off.  Yesterday, she was a little off.  I figured out why at 9 pm, she didn't take her medicine in the morning.  Considering she didn't take her medicine, she did really well.  But it could have been a much better day, had she taken her medicine.  Today, we went to the library.  It seems that every time we go they don't have or can't find a book that she finds through a search on the computer.  She spends 50% of the time we are there looking at the library catalog online.  Last time she got upset, and I can't remember all of the details, but it wasn't pretty.  Today, they couldn't find one of their books that said "Checked in."  She was a mess.  We talked about it on the way home.  We talked about being flexible. And I told her that she's not being punished, but I'm not taking her back to the library until we can make sure that she can handle going.  (This is going to be something we discuss with her therapist, whenever they call back....)  We then talked about how to focus on the good things.  (Very Pollyanna of me, I know)  Long story short, I need her back in her ABA soon.  They are working on scheduling her, or that's what I've been told.

For those of you lucky few who have met Victoria, you probably know that she loves to tell funny quotes from cartoons.  And you usually know one is coming, because she will start giggling out of the blue.  Then she says, "Know what's funny."  Today on the way to the library she started giggling, and I was about to tell her to hold on, because I was pulling into the base's gate, but Micah said, "What's funny, Sister?" Victoria started to tell him, and then said, never mind.  And said, "Katie, know what's funny?"  I said, "No, but your brother wants to know." And I'm pretty sure I told her it wasn't very nice that she didn't finish telling him, when he wanted to know.  So she told Micah the quote.  And the last part of the quote was (crap, I can't remember, so I'll use xxxxx.)  So the last part of the quote was xxxxx.  Then she said, "Isn't that funny Micah?" Micah repeated, xxxx.  And she said, "Yeah, isn't that funny?"  then we heard crickets.  (I promise this story is very funny and sweet in my head.)

Oh Micah Bear.  My goal this week was for him to learn about the letter A.  We did a little bit here and there.   But like most of my plans, it didn't work out, but other things did. (I guess I better do a little planning next time.) He knows his left from his right after this week, and he knows that a Stop sign is an octagon and it's where cars stop.  So I'm going to consider this week a success.

10/7/12 ~ 5 months and counting

It is only 10:30 am, and it feels like I've had a 18 hour day.  Before church this morning, the kids and I said goodbye to Matt for at least 5 months.  I know, I know, he's only going to Texas.  But he's not here and that's what matters to me.  I'm excited that we will be able to Skype every night, and I can call him if I need him. I also like the fact that we had less than a week to say goodbye, usually we have to drag it out for a couple of months.  I like this better, because I doesn't seem real and will take awhile to sink in.  And by then I'll be too busy to be upset.  :)

We had a couple of churches to choose from when we moved here.  There was one 10 minutes away and one 25 minutes away.  The one that is 25 minutes away is where Micah is going to go to school in a couple of years.  We visited both churches and lets just say the one closest to our house had an average age was just a little bit high.  So we became members of the one a bit further away, and I could not be happier.  Turns out there is a special needs Sunday School class for Victoria.  Victoria went for the first time today.  One of the teachers is the Kindergarten teachers at the school and has her Masters in Special Education.  She said V did great and she said it was a pleasure teaching Victoria because she has so much passion for learning about Jesus and the bible.  (As if my day wasn't emotional enough, it was beautiful to hear.)  I took Micah to Sunday School also.  There were 11 kids in his room and they had a story, craft, coloring page, singing and a prayer.  I stayed with Micah to get him used to it.  But it was so fast paced I think in a couple of weeks, he'll be able to go by himself.  It was a wonderful day at church today.  I love having the confirmation that this IS the church that we need to be at.

Victoria is doing well in school.  She has had a couple nights of math homework which totally overwhelms her.  I have learned that she is good at Math and has a lot of good problem solving strategies for solving problems, but I think that she gets overwhelmed with the amount of problems.  So I think this is something that I will talk with her teacher about.  It seems that she has a lot of one on one instruction at school, which is a good thing.  I do not think she is enjoying being mainstreamed for science, PE and lunch, but I am not at all about to pull her out of it.  I think it's good for her to learn that sometimes teachers can't focus 100% of their attention on her.  Plus, it's only been a month, so I'm hoping that she learns to enjoy her time there.

On Friday, she had a Special Olympics event at a park.  I was unaware of the fact that it was a Special Olympics event, since her permission slip said that her class was going to the park to play bocce ball.  I am going to let the teacher know that I would like to know about these events so that I can meet them there.

I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in the next couple of months.  There is some organizing around the house that I want to do, swim lessons for V, lots of play groups for Micah, and some serious gym time for myself.

September 17, 2012

Howdy Folks.

Victoria~

Victoria started school last Tuesday!!!! There could not be enough exclamation points after that sentence.  She is SUPER difficult to keep busy.  If she had her way she would spend 16 hours a day on the internet.  I had a rough summer, especially with the move keeping her off the internet for a lot of the day.  It is taking me some time to realize that most kids would rather be on an electronic than something else.  And she has literally spent most of her 12 years on the computer or internet.  So having her back is school is good for me and for her.  She thrives on schedules.  I am happy with her school so far.  They actually have her mainstreamed into a Science class with another 7th grader from her classroom.  (mainstream means that a special education student is put into a general education classroom.)  Needless to say this stepmomma has her anxieties about this.  She is in a classroom with typical 7th graders who are 5 grades above her in reading and writing.  However, in the couple of meeting that I had at her school, her principal said that they are very much into making the students as independent as they can be.  I completely agree since that is what our #1 goal is at home.  She is also mainstreamed for her specials: gym, music, and art, and also lunch.

On Friday, Victoria went on her first field trip.  This one was actually very awesome.  Her class went to  get free sports physicals so they can participate in Special Olympics.  I guess her class takes field trips to compete in the Special Olympics.  Matt and I are very excited for this for Victoria.

On Saturday, Victoria was SUPER weird and not her normally weird and sweet self.  She kept telling me that she wasn't feeling right and that was having a horrible day.  Luckily, she was not having any self injurious behaviors as we did when she first came to live with us and was having bad days.  On the other hand, she was saying that she wished she wasn't alive and that she was never born.  She also said it would be easier on me if she wasn't hear.  I have learned that she doesn't mean any of it, and she wouldn't say it on a good day.  She was also being very ungrateful for everything she has.  We had a LONG talk.  I tried to talk to her about how some children don't have a 10th of what we have.  But also how Dad and I sometimes feel the same way, that we want more, and that at some point every person feels that way.  Long story short, rough emotional day for both of us.  When I was making dinner that night I happened to look at her pill boxes.  She has 2 different ones, one for morning and one for nighttime.  I realized that she had not taken her medicine that morning?!?!?!?!  Holy crap on a cracker!!!!!!!!  I knew that her medicine had evened her out and reduced her anxiety, but this was crazy.  The fact that she knew she wasn't right also said a lot.  This fact of her being more verbal about her feelings and emotions stems from her ABA therapy.  She takes 75mg a day of a generic Zoloft.  Before Saturday, I had to remind her everyday to take her medicine at least once, even though it is on her morning schedule.  :)  I called her downstairs after this discovery, and we had a talk about her medicine.  That Dad and I and the doctor do not just have her on the medicine for the fun of it.  Needless to say, yesterday and today she took her medicine without being told.  I love life lessons!!

Micah~

Micah was taking this move pretty hard.  When he turned two, he took the role very seriously.  He was a little bit more independent and a little more mouthy.  :)  However, about 2 weeks before we started our move his appetite when down the drain along with his sweet demeanour.  He was a monster.  I know what you're thinking, it was not just the terrible twos.  Pots (my dad) came to visit; and even he was thrown by Micah's attitude and behavior.  He kept warning Micah that Meme was not going to let him get away with this behavior when she visits in a month.  I have been around two year olds, this was different.  His appetite was gone.  He wasn't even eating hot dogs and chicken nuggets.  He was probably eating 300 calories a day.  I bought cute sandwich cutters and cute plates to try and entice him.  5% of the time they worked.  Well, the good news is, he seems to be over this monster phase.  He is eating again and is still two, but his behavior is completely manageable.  (Am I allowed to say that I manage my children's behavior? It sounds weird, but seems right.)

Also, it is finally cooling off here in Arizona.  By that I mean upper 90s during the day, but 75 in the morning and night.  Ahhhh! This is what Arizonians live for.  There is nothing better than going to the park after dinner and it feels cool.  And by cool I mean the sun is going down and it's 90 degrees.

Well, there you have it peeps.  Thanks again for all the encouraging comments, prayers and love!

What's happenin'

Hey Peeps!

I have been thinking for a couple of minutes and have no idea how to start this post, so your stuck with this silly sentence I just wrote.  :)

We are STILL waiting for Victoria to start school.  I guess here in Arizona, before they will place a child into Special Ed, they need to have a meeting with the parents, a General Education teacher, a Special Education teacher and the school psycologist to go over her IEP and Evaluation.  (her IEP is her individual education plan that states her goals for learning and any and all accomodations she needs while at school.  And the evaluation is done every three years for students in Special Ed to show that they are still in need of services.)  While I was on the phone with the school psychologist last Friday, a week and a day after we dropped off her paper work, she told me about the meeting, and that the earliest time we can meet is THIS Friday.  So two weeks after we drop off the paperwork.  On one hand I am glad that we are having the meeting, except the Special Ed teacher that will be there is not going to be V's teacher, because she needs to be in a self-contained classroom which at a different school.  However, the psychologist said that she could go to school on Tuesday, but she would just be in General Education classroom with all of the typical children.  "Yeah, that will be great for her anxiety and self esteem, considering she is on a 2nd and 3rd grade level on her subjects, she should do just fine with 7th grade material and going from class to class even though she has NEVER done that." Once she realized that I was not okay with that plan, she told me the principal would call me later in the day to discuss options.  I'm still waiting.....  So this momma is waiting until AFTER the meeting, so no one is biased, I will be contacting the school district about this crazy wait.  :)

So, with much deliberation and consideration of Victoria's needs:  the plan for now is for Victoria to spend her school years with us and her summers with her mom.  She is a little young to be a snow bird, but we know that this is the right decision.  I am a little sad that she won't have much of a summer in Bethel, AK, but I was taught at a young age to share and I would rather have her 9 months of the year than 3.

It was a weird yet euphoric feeling today when it was settled that V would be with us most of the time. I feel like we should celebrate somehow like an adoption.  Technically, I have been the mother of two for 8 months, but it is official now.  I AM the mother of 2 and one of them has special needs.  I feel like I should have started that sentence with, Hi my name is Katie and....  I am super excited for the next year, and it seems like December was another lifetime ago.

Long story short, my life will be a little chaotic again starting next Monday when V goes back to school, but I am super ready for the 4 of us to start growing roots here in our new city.

PS please pray for Matt and Victoria, as he starts a new job tomorrow and V starts school next week.  She's a little anxious, and me too!

I Heart Facebook

I know it's a weird title to a post, especially since I haven't hollered at y'all in awhile, but I just want to say thanks to Facebook.  Thanks to Facebook, Matt and I are still in contact with friends from when we were stationed in Cheyenne, WY.  When we first got to Arizona, we stayed at Temporary Living on base, and we were supposed to close on our house by the 15th, so that's as long as I booked us for.  On the 13th, we found out that we would NOT be closing on the 15th, and the base had no openings for us.  So Matt quickly Facebooked our good friend from forever ago, who we have not seen in at least 4 years and asked if we could come stay with him and his less than a year wife, with our kiddos.  They didn't hesitate to accept us into their home.  It was a wonderful experience in one of the most stressful times of our lives.  Megan made delicious food for us and excepted all of our craziness.  So thank you so much Jody and Megan and facebook!

I am also thankful to Facebook, so that during our crazy "leaving WA, not having a house, and trying to close on our house" process, I could always log on to facebook and ask for prayers and kind thoughts.  So thank y'all for that too.

So here goes the post...
(Oh, you might want to go to the bathroom and grab a snack)

2 weeks before we left WA, we lost power.  I know what you're thinking AHHHHH! Matt and I witness a true miracle that day and were shown proof that every thing we had been putting into Victoria's care was paying off.  The key to the power going out, was Matt and I remained calm and we went through a plan with V. We told V we were going to eat dinner, play games and do some reading, and if the power was still not on by 9 pm, her and I were going to my friends house for the night, so she could have internet before bed.  We know our limitations to the miracles that we ask for.  She remained absolutely calm.  It was amazing.  She carried on a conversation and had dinner.  Her and I ended up going to see a movie because she was doing so well, and not 30 seconds after we pulled out of the driveway the power came back on, but we went to see a movie anyways.  It was an awesome evening.

She did very well throughout the packing and moving and traveling process.  She was very helpful sitting in the back of the car with Micah on our trip.  Our only minor glitch was when we stopped in Modesto, CA for the night, all 4 of us were in one room for the night.  Although, she was a little nervous, she remained fairly calm.

When we got to Luke AFB, we knew that they do not have wifi in their rooms.  The bonus was that it was a 3 bedroom duplex, so the 4 of us had plenty of room to hang out in.  However, when we got there and told V that she would only be having internet from 8 pm - 12 am every night, because we got a hotspot and you pay for data use and that girl uses a little over 1 gig a night during that 4 hours.  She had a quit a meltdown, and unfortunately I wasn't as calm as I should have been, so it took me awhile to get her back down to her normal mental state.  But we did it, and she did great the rest of the 11 days there.  We went swimming, she did a lot of reading.  She was much more easy to entertain than Micah who was going on over 2 weeks of only having a couple of toys.  He may or may not have watched a lot of TV.

Long story short, we are going on almost a week in our new house, and I am SUPER ready for Victoria to go back to school.  In Washington, I had no problem telling her to go outside and play, which she loved to do.  Here, it's 3 pm and 112 degrees.  So she needs to go to school, so we can get her back on a schedule and away from that computer for 8 hours a day.  Also, Matt and my stress has decreased dramatically in the last week, so we are able to stay calm and keep the kids busy.

Also, yesterday we lost our internet for some unknown reason in the middle of the day.  It was weird, because the rest of us lost it and soon as my dad signed onto his computer, but who knows.  Matt went into Vs room to see if she had lost it too, and found here with her head down on the desk.  She said here internet was down, but she was calm.  When he went back in there to tell her it was back on, she was still calm.  She told Matt that she felt weird. He asked why, and she said, "I didn't overreact." I went up a little while later and told her I was very proud of her.  I didn't want to overreact in praising her, because I felt that would have confused her on how to not overreact.  (does that make sense.)  This will not stop me from overly praising her in the future for being wonderful.

Matt is going back to work the Tuesday after labor day, and when he does that and signs onto the base we can start her ABA going again.  There are a couple of goals that we would like to accomplish in the next school year.  We will see which ones are attainable sooner than later.  The greatest achievement I feel that Victoria attained with here last ABA therapist was the ability to verbalize her emotions, both good and bad.  Here are some goals that Matt and I would like to see with Victoria's ABA

- carrying on a two sided conversation
- listening to what Matt and I say.  for example, when we tell her something she needs to listen to all of the components.  we are unsure how attainable this one is
-from 9 pm to midnight, she is in a zombie like state.  it's like dealing with a completely different person.   so we need some strategies for that.
- her 12am midnight bedtime.  actually, we would be happy with a flexible bedtime.  I wouldn't care if she stayed up late on the weekends.  but sometimes she is so tired and exhausted and won't go to bed.

I promise to post pics soon.  Thanks for reading.  But gotta stop, my boo boo is awake.  :)

My brilliant children

Victoria is amazing.  Today was her last day of school.  It is bittersweet for me.  I am excited that I don't have to spend the mornings being her cheerleader getting her out the door in a happy mood, but, I'm a little nervous about trying to figure out enough things to keep her out of her room this summer.  However, her summer is only 5 weeks long, she will start school in Arizona the week of June 5th.  (She is not aware of this yet, we are letting her enjoy summer for now.)  She received Student of the Quarter for her grade.  Somehow I didn't get notice about the awards assembly, which is sad, but she brought home the certificate.

 Her therapist will be working with her every weekday from 11-1.  So that's good.  We plan to visit the library once or twice a week.  And hopefully we get warmer weather soon so we can go to the pool and she can show off her swimming she has been practicing so hard.

She is getting excited to go to Arizona with her, and we are overjoyed that we get to take her and she will be with us longer.  We just don't know yet how much that "longer" is going to be.  :)

Micah is so smart.  I am fully aware that I am his mother, and I am supposed to say that.  Matt just got home from work.  Here is the conversation between the two

Micah: Hi, Dada.
Matt: Hi, Micah.
Micah: How was your day?
Matt: Good, how was yours?
Micah: Good, I got new shoes.

Makes a Momma smile.  He still loves his vehicles, airplanes and helicopters very much.  And he can dribble the soccer ball about half way across our yard.  It's pretty awesome.  We are working on potty training and letting go of "paci."  We are doing mediocre on both!

Matt and I are getting very excited about our move to Surprise, AZ.  This next couple of weeks will be super hectic, but we are taking our time driving there and are using it a a vacation.  We are stopping at hotels with pools and won't be driving for more than 7 hours a day.  That makes me VERY happy.  Matt is going to take a couple of weeks off once we get there to help set the house up, since I have only done it a million times before.  But, I'm excited to furnish and decorate the house with him, since we are DOUBLING our square footage.  Thank you Lord.

I hope that I post again before we move, but I certainly am not counting on it, so you shouldn't either.  So there is a good chance my next post will be from the very hot, but very sunny state of Arizona!!

Victoria is starting therapy

Hi Friends

Victoria started her ABA therapy last week, and she loves her therapist.  It's probably because they have only been hanging out so far, but I know she is going to be great for V.  I feel very grateful that this is happening and I know that it is going to be great for Victoria and our family.  She will actually be spending 9 hours a week with her.

This past weekend was definitely a roller coaster for her.  She didn't have swim lessons because they were canceled for everyone.   Which was perfect because she woke up with "sore throat." So at breakfast I said, "that's awesome that your lessons were canceled because you wouldn't have been able to go anyways."  She sat there for a couple of minutes, then looked at me and said, "I think God did that."  I was completely choked up, and that is my favorite statement to come out of her.  I said, "I think so too." She said, "Yeah, because He can predict the future."  I just smiled.  There is no denying that she has turned our household upside down in very positive and not so positive ways.  But if she only learns one thing while she is here,  I want it to be that she knows God loves her.

She has had three pretty serious meltdowns since Thursday, and we are pretty sure it's because she has a "sore throat."  She lost her computer privileges Saturday night, and she thought she was going crazy.  It was around 4:30 and I told her she wouldn't get to have the computer until 7:30, which she doesn't have it a lot during that time anyways, but of course it was the end of the world in her mind.  Until I told her that we didn't get home until 8:30 the night we went out for Dad's bday dinner.  And then she was completely calm, and then came the tears.  For some reason after a big meltdown it becomes confession time.  She says all the things that she has been holding in for who knows how long.  After that, she did just fine with her punishment.

Today she came home from school with a band-aid on her finger and when I asked what happened she started to get super anxious.  Long story short, she was tired at school which made her distracted from her work and she got in trouble so she scratched herself.   And she was VERY worried that if she told me she was tired I would change her bedtime, as if that was humanly possible.  (trust me it's not, at least not by me or Matt.)  I told her she is 12, she chooses to go to bed at midnight and is tired the next day, that is her natural consequence.  (Life is sure hard sometimes.  :)

I know that no one else has or will ever keep me on my toes like Victoria does.  My prayer is that I never take for granted the time I get or her brother gets to spend with her.  I also prayer that I deal with her with as much love and patience as I humanly can.  She can put a smile on my face quickly and make me laugh like no one else.

Happy 2nd Birthday Micah Bear!!

Micah Bear you could not be more loved than you are right now.  Everyday you are shown such love from your Daddy, Momma, and Sister.  Some would call it spoiled rotten, I call it loved.  :)

Micah Bear you could not be more loved than you are right now.  Everyday you are shown such love from your Daddy, Momma, and Sister.  Some would call it spoiled rotten, I call it loved.  :)

It seems that a couple of days before Micah turned two, someone snuck him a script and he was cast the role of a 2 year old.  He started having tantrums and using the word "no" quite loudly at his parents.  It happened over night and it would have been funny, had it been anyone else's kid.  Before his birthday he rarely needed to be disciplined, but he has spent his fair share of time in the time out chair recently.  Also, for a couple of months I would ask him "why he was in time out?"  And he would just say "sorry Momma."  Now when asked he tells me, "yelled at Momma."  It's pretty awesome to see his little brain getting bigger.  He has also become SUPER sensitive the last couple of weeks.  He cries all the time, and doesn't like it when we are upset, even if we aren't upset at him.  For instance, I spilled my whole glass of water on the floor, and groaned loudly.  As I was leaving the room to get a towel, Micah said, "Mommy?"  And his eyes were full of tears.  So I have learned to definitely control my emotions if possible around him.

Micah loves to be outside.  He received a water table from his Gramma for his birthday, and he loves it.  He takes all his toys "swimming."  

He loves his big sister.  Watching the two of them play makes my heart so happy.  They are learning slowly how to play with each other and take turns.  Victoria is learning that she doesn't have to give Micah everything she is playing with, and that a big sister helps her little brother with patience and sharing.  :)  However, a lot of their play times are cut short because they don't want to play what the other one is playing, and neither one gives in.  And there is no rationalizing it to either of them, so I just hang back and let them play separately. 

Micah LOVES Momma's iPad.  (

Micah still loves trucks, trains, airplanes, and buses.  At the park near our house, sometime we will be there when people are flying their model planes, and Micah will sit and watch for as long as they fly.  He picked out books at the library about airplanes and trains.  

Here's Micah with his Favorite type of trucks!!

April 2012

             April has been a wonderful month in our house.  Looking back it was very peaceful, with just one meltdown from Victoria.  She has been on her anti-anxiety medication for about a month now, and it has been difficult to judge/tell if it is having any positive affect on Victoria, until last night!!!  She has been using a heater in her room pretty much since she first got here, and we have tried a couple of times to get her to stop.  Well the last week or so, I would walk in her bedroom in the morning and it would be hot as heck, and she wasn't even using her covers.  So I would make her drink a huge glass of water at breakfast, I told her she was sweating too much and getting to hot she needed to rehydrate, she didn't like to do it, but she knew the alternative was turning her heater off.  Well, yesterday afternoon, Matt called her out her room and told her she didn't get to use the heater anymore, it's just too hot, but she could use the fan setting.  Two months ago this would have been a huge meltdown that probably would have taken an hour to get through, and her first reaction was to panic, but we had a rational conversation with her and she accepted it.  It was amazing.

She got another award at school on Friday for going the "extra mile."  Micah and I went to the assembly, it was wonderful. She is taking Art now instead of P.E.  So we are brainstorming ways to keep her active at stuff she wants to do.

I am currently reading Temple Grandin's Book "The Way I See it."  Temple is in her sixties now and was diagnosed with Autism at a very early age.  It is widely agreed upon that she has given the most insight into autism over anyone else.  She is amazing.  Her book has me inspired and very hopeful for Victoria.  I have had a lot of  "a-ha" moments, and moments when I feel good about the steps and work we are doing with Victoria.  However, on the other hand, we have a long way to go, and Victoria has ALOT of work ahead of her.

Micah is doing amazing.  He is definitely enjoying the freak wonderful weather we are having.  He loves being outside and we usually bribe him or bring him inside kicking and screaming.  Luckily he is still little, so mom and dad still win.  He literally is talking non stop, and for the most part I can understand him.  I don't know about everyone else.  Micah and Victoria spend a lot of time playing outside together, which I love.

Micah's favorite new phrases

Cretch Mom ~ Catch Mom

Hi Mom, a doin?  ~ What are you doin?

strawbees ~ strawberries

Where go? I can't find em?

see Momma's computer

see iPad?

Micah does it

until next time...

Reminder to self

Reminder to self: As much as Matt and I feel that we are on the steepest learning curve of a lifetime with Victoria. She is on a very steep one also. She is learning how to be a big sister to Micah. She has no idea what to do with him, but is still doing simply amazing. She is learning how to be part of a family. The size of her household doubled when she moved here. When she asks me something, most of the time she will also ask Matt the EXACT same question. She is trying to learn that whatever one of us says goes for both of us, and she is learning that it makes us CRAZY when she asks both of us. Unfortunately/fortunately for her (depending on who you ask), she has gone from a single parent household where mom is very busy and preoccupied, to a house where stepmom is home when she gets home and is very involved in every aspect of her day.

As each day passes we are all getting used to and learning our new and ever changing roles. My prayer is that I remember her side and cut her a little slack. :)

4 1/2 months

Victoria came to live with us 4.5 months ago. Wow! It feels like both yesterday and a lifetime ago. I think she has made some very positive changes since she got here. Her sense of humor grows everyday, which is great, considering this house runs on humor. I honestly can't think of any examples this second, but maybe I will while writing what will probably turn out to be a monster of a post. So go grab a cup of coffee and take a seat.

Victoria started swim lessons about a month ago and is doing very well. Her second week she was actually swimming. It was so awesome to see. Her goal now is to swim under water. She also goes to gym time for expectational kids at the YMCA after swim lessons. I love to watch the kids in the class play, there is a wide range of ages and abilities, and it doesn't even seem like the kids notice. They just like playing together.

Victoria started anxiety medicine two weeks ago, and we are watching for changes. I don't think we have seen anything significant yet, but I know time will tell. We are watching to see if she if she is treating herself better. She is very hard on herself, and doesn't like herself if we have to get on to her. On the bright side, we haven't seen any negative affects with her taking the medicine.

She should be seeing an Applied Behavior Analyst (ABA) soon. We are not quite sure on the specific details, but she should be receiving around 40 hours a month. We are very blessed that Matt is in the Air Force. We are paying minimal out of pocket costs for this therapy. It is the only research based therapy proven to help autistic children. So we are very excited for this to begin.

For those of you who aren't aware, we are being transfered to Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix, AZ in September. We are very excited and nervous about our move. Victoria will be moving with us. Her developmental pediatrician has told both Victoria's mom and us, that it would be most beneficial for Victoria for her to stay with us longer. So now the plan is for her to move back with her mom in January. However, I believe that will depend on if her mom can get transfered out of Bethel to Anchorage. The good news is that Victoria will be able to receive ABA in Anchorage.

4 1/2 months later I can honestly say that I finally feel like I am treading water instead of being beneath the water with a straw trying to suck in air. Victoria visited her mom Easter weekend, and it was nice to have a break for both her and us. I knew that I was going to be tested when she got home. And we did see some very minor things that we attributed to her being with her mom, but as soon as she walked through the door I felt awesome and was so glad she was home. This is where I want her to be, because I believe it is what is best for her. (I will probably come back and read this paragraph on rough days :)

Victoria and Micah have started playing together a lot more. Of course, I have to tell her to or she will be in her room on the computer, but we are taking baby steps. I love how much they love each other, and I love listening to them from another room when they don't know. Victoria is anxious about everything, so if Matt or I am in the room, she spends a lot of the time asking us if she is doing okay.

Well, I think that is enough for now. I promise not to be a stranger to this blog. Thanks for reading.

Our Weekend

Victoria had her first swim lesson on Saturday. She had a great time. It is a class for children with disabilities. There were about 6 kids total, and it was an hour long, so she got some great one on one time. I love that all of the kids in her class were younger than her by at least 4 years, and she didn't even notice. She just loves to be around other kids. She started a conversation with a girl in the locker room, who is an older sister to one of the kids in her class, but was still probably only 8. Victoria kept the conversation going on in the lobby with me. The girl sat down at a table by ours, and V said, "Don't you think she is beautiful?" And the girl told Victoria that she loved her glasses. V said, "thanks, I got them at January." The girl told her she got hers at Walmart. It made me giggle a little. I told the girl that Victoria got hers at Walmart too.

Then, Victoria got to stay for gym time for kids with disabilities. There were probably 10 kids in this class, with a wide variety of ages and disabilities. They did stretching and played basket and hockey. It was fun to watch the teachers always asking Victoria if she could dribble when she was walking/running. She could do it quite well, she just seemed to either forget or just not think it was that important.

Needless to say after two hours of exercise she was tired. I tried to tell her on the way home that if she took a nap that would be fine. Nope. She stayed up until midnight, and had one meltdown in the afternoon. I'm pretty sure with was escalated because she was so tired. She definitely had a rough time staying awake during church and Sunday School the next day also.

When Victoria first came to live with us, she was dead set on the food that she would eat. However, I always told her she had to try it first. I am getting bolder with the food that I put on the table. Our staple meals have been spaghetti, tacos, and pizza. She will now eat tuna casserole, broccoli chicken casserole, and others. (Sorry, I'm writing this at 6:30 in the morning and I've only had one cup of coffee. My memory isn't perfect yet. :) Long story short, she is getting a lot better at what she will eat. I made Shepherd's pie last night for Matt, she ate the meat out of it and the mashed potatoes with out complaining that she didn't like it, but it was clear she didn't. I told her I was proud of her for not complaining, and next time I made it, I would make something else for her and Micah.

Speaking of eating and Micah, my amazing eater is not so amazing anymore, at least not at eating. I know I should be thankful for almost 2 years of him eating whatever was put in front of him. Now all he asks for is hot dogs for dinner. But let me add, he will eat fruits all day, and still likes the veggie puree pouches. But I can't remember when he ate something for dinner that wasn't kid friendly. (I'm not sure this paragraph makes sense, but I'm not rewriting it, sorry.)

Happy Post ~ Micah

Not that the posts about Victoria aren't unhappy.

For the last month or so, Micah seems to be blooming into a new person. He has become a lot less whinny, sure he wants his Momma ALL the time, but his personality is much more calm. He has time out maybe once every couple of days. And is favorite line is, "Okay Momma." And, "thank you Momma." He still loves trucks, and he LOVES babies. We are surrounded by them at church, and he loves them. He talks about babies all the time. (No this is not a post to say we're pregnant. :) If he hears a baby cry, he says, "Sowwy Baby."

Some of my favorite new phrases he says.

Try again.

Oopsy Daisy

Too cold

Daddy funny/silly

night night Sister

Baby Hazel

When Micah was sick, I was holding him until he went to sleep, but most of the time I would just lay down in our bed with him, and he would sleep with us all night. After he was sick, he wouldn't go to sleep well at all. I happened to pull out one of the sleep books I read when he was a baby to give to a friend, and read that toddlers need to be told that you, the parent, are right down the hall and they are not alone. The first time I tried it, he fell asleep no problem. And has been falling asleep no problem ever since. Thank you book!

Victoria and Micah love each other very much and the two of them together make me smile everyday. I am very happy about the timing of our move to Arizona, since it will take Micah's mind off the fact that Victoria is moving in August. :)

Happy Birthday Victoria!

Victoria's 12th birthday was Saturday and it was a wonderful one. Her grandma and husband picked her up around 11 to take her to see The Lorax. Which was so nice, because Matt and I got to clean and decorate for her party. When she got home she opened her grandma's present, and then they left.

After that a couple of friends from church came over. Victoria loves her friends. This was the first time she's had a birthday party with friends and the first time she had friends over.

When we asked her what games she wanted to play on her birthday, she said Sorry. Who are we to say that Sorry is not a party game. So she got play Sorry with her friends. Then she made some vidoes, and got to show them Garfield and Friends on DVD. She had a smile on her face the entire day.

On a typical Saturday, we can usually only get Victoria to spend an hour total outside of her room unless we go somewhere. This includes meals. On her birthday she spent over 9 hours outside of her room. She even stayed out after her friends left.

When she was opening her presents, she kept saying, "this is the best Birthday ever." I don't think anyone in the room didn't have a huge smile on his/her face. It was awesome. She got Garfield cupcakes and vanilla ice cream.

It was one of the best days ever.

Victoria being funny

Without knowing it, I have been passing some silly phrases onto Victoria, and Micah for that matter. I guess I always tell her to show inanimate objects who's boss. So, she came out of her room a couple of days and said, "I tried to show my jacket who was boss, but I lost." I started laughing so hard. Just a little background, she sometimes has difficulties zipping jackets/sweatshirts and she has a peacoat that she has trouble getting the collar to lay down flat. I was so proud of her humor, because usually she just uses movie quotes when she is trying to be funny. I love seeing a little sarcasm come out in her. :)

Then, yesterday I received a package from my mom in the mail. She asked who it was from, and I said, "my mom." She asked what it was, and I said, "probably just some junk." (More background, my parents have been cleaning out there house, so I was guessing it was stuff I had left there in the past.) Her reply, "I thought your mom liked you." (so did I.)

Conversation with Victoria at lunch

Victoria had a dr appt this week, and because she did well at it, we told her she could have McDonald's for lunch on Friday since there was no school. Then at school yesterday, she got an A+ on her test. Micah was going down for a nap, so Matt stayed home with him, and Victoria and I got to go.

About a minute after sitting down, she asked me, "Do you think I will be a good grown up?" I have no idea where she got this question from, and it was very rare, since 99% of the time she just tells us movie quotes. I told her I think she will be a great grown up, and asked her what she thought. She shrugged at the question. So, I went a different route.

Me: What kinds of stuff do grown ups have to do?

V: Cleaning and laundry and stuff.

Me: That's true, what else do they have to do?

V: Well, you have to take of Micah.

Me: That's true, but do all grown ups have kids? I was a grown up a long time before I had Micah. (I know what y'all are thinking, stop laughing.)

V: I don't know.

Me: What makes some one a grown up?

V: I have no idea.

Me: What else do grown ups have to do?

V: Get jobs. :( But I want to be a director.

Me: I know! What do you think it's going to take to be a director.

V: I don't know, a couple years I guess.

The conversation went on. It was a bittersweet conversation, and I'm not sure why. I think it's because I think about her future a lot. What will she be able to do? Where will she live? I try to just think about it, and not worry. I know for a fact that I, personally have very high expectations for her. I know she can do better than she thinks she can, so I am tough and strict with her. And she helped to remind me today why I am the way I am. I want her to be a good grown up.

Glowicki Fam Lately

First things first, Micah is a reader. He knows his name, however he thinks his name is Mikey. So cute. He reads some words in the Foot Book by Dr. Seuss, but his favorite book to read is Baby Bear, Baby Bear. What do you see? by Eric Carle. He says all of the animal names. It is precious and amazing.

Secondly, he eats a banana every morning, but he doesn't like the last bite. So he likes to leave it places for us to find. On our bed when Matt is still in it, behind our chair, and my favorite place Matt's work boot. Matt was rushing to get to work one morning, stuck his foot in is boot and smushed the banana piece. Better than coffee to get your morning going.

Victoria is doing pretty good. We had our appointment with a developmental pediatrician, and it went better than I could have ever dreamed. He spent 2 hours with Matt and I talking. Tomorrow we have our next appt. Soon we will be having a behavior therapist coming to the house to work with her. He is very interested in making a thoroughly thought out assessment of her and her needs. Long story short, we're hopeful and excited.

She has a had a couple of meltdowns lately, but snaps out of them quickly. She has anxiety and does not like it when we are upset with her, which makes it very hard to correct or discipline. I started talking to her about fixing her dirty clothes before putting them in the hamper and she started getting upset. I haven't quit figured out how to talk to her about things like that without upsetting her. "Buck up Victoria," doesn't seem to be working. Just kidding!

We are also trying to get Victoria to understand that we are her parents and not her cook/maid. She will come out of her room, say that she is hungry, and then try to go back to her room. We have no problem making/cooking her food, but we make her hang out with us in the kitchen while we are getting it ready. I am also working on in my head to start teaching her to make things by herself, besides PB&J. I firmly believe that she is capable of more than she thinks she is and more than she is doing. But I am also woken up everyday at things that she is unable to do by/for herself. And I just don't know if she is really unable, which is fine, or if she just needs to be taught and worked with.

Victoria and Micah are loving each other more and more every day. She spends dinner time trying to stump him, by asking him if he can say different words. It's cute. And they hug each other bye, and she even let him kiss her cheek. When she left for school this morning, I said, "say good bye to your sister." He walked up to her, "Huggy, huggy!!!!" Makes a Momma so happy!

I feel mentally tired everyday and always ready to go to sleep and turn off my brain. As I have said before, Micah takes up about 10% of my mental ability and 90% of my physical ability, and Victoria the complete opposite. At least they try to balance each other and me off. :)

I know I said this before, however, thank you everyone who reads this blog and supports our family in different ways.

First Consequence

Okay folks, get ready for a bumpy ride. I have been putting of posting for no good reason, so this could be quite a jumbled post. And just so everyone knows, I do reread my writing, so no editing is done.

Let's start with last night's meltdown. Victoria is a very cold natured person, and when she got here we were keeping our house at about 63. We have started setting it higher. However, Victoria has become accustomed to the heater in her room and has added it to her nightly routine. (hindsight is 20/20). So last night, Matt told her no more heater at night, because by the time we all wake up in the morning, her room is a sauna. She was not okay with that, as soon as Matt left the room, he heard her pacing and having a meltdown. Long story short, she got her heater on. I am the one to wake Victoria in the morning, so when I went to wake her up, her room was a sauna, and Matt said she had a meltdown, and said she couldn't sleep without the heater on. At first, I wanted to talk to her about it before she went to school, but she looked exhausted and I didn't want to send her to school upset and have her not do her work. I am also finding, that before I have a serious talk with her, I need to give myself a couple hours to one, calm down, and two figure out how and what I am going to say.

7 hours later she got home from school and I was ready. Here are the different thoughts that went through my head today:

1. She has never had a consequence at our house, because we are afraid of a meltdown. Yes, she is autistic, but she still needs discipline. We can not be afraid of an 11 year old.

2. I was more upset that she had a meltdown, than the fact that she wanted the heater on.

3. She needs to learn to work through her meltdowns and not overreact. And my guess is that she has been taught this before, we just need to reinforce it. We'll see what happens next time....

Okay, I thought there was more, but whatever. So when she got home I told her we needed to have a talk about what had happened the night before. She immediately got VERY anxious. I told her I wasn't mad and I wasn't going to hurt her, we just need to talk. She said she overreacted and got mad and thought she wouldn't be able to sleep. (I tried to talk about not turning the heater on after 12, but that was a no go for now.)We talked about how it is not okay to over react/hit yourself :( what there are solutions. So her solution now is to calm down, relax, and to talk to Dad or myself. I told her that she was going to receive a consequence for her actions. I had talked to her before about consequences and types of consequences that she could get. I asked her to think of a consequence for herself, but that just made her anxious and mad at herself. So I told her that she would need to spend 15 minutes after dinner on the couch with no computer or TV show that she wanted to watch. I said she could talk or watch something if Micah was. She asked if that was until her bedtime, I said no, and we talked about how long 15 minutes is. My main objective for that timeout was taking away internet from her without her freaking out on me. And mission accomplished.

About a week ago we lost power at 10:30 pm because of a windstorm. I can honestly say those 2.5 hours were some of the worst of my life. There was not rationalizing with her. Long story, short, not fun. I spent the next day feeling hung over.

I am going to Development Pediatrics tomorrow to ask about her referral. I left a message last week about it, and the recording said I would hear back in 3 days. One of the things is, I just want to make sure that they received her referral, and two, I need them to know that it's serious. So, we'll see how well I keep my cool tomorrow. :)

Victoria is doing well at church. I let her read one of her books during the sermon, but hope to stop that in the next couple of months. I love that fact that she is there with us.

She came home from school today and said, "I asked if they have Valentine's parties, and the teacher said no." So I'm pretty sure we will be having our own!! Super excited!

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has left comments about this blog and who is thinking and praying for us. It really means a lot to me. I am feeling very loved and cheered for. (I know that doesn't make sense, but I'm not changing it.)

My challenge this week

I started this blog post with this paragraph 5 days ago, must have gotten busy and didn't finish.

:-)

I believe there is a balance in parenthood in what to have your children do for themselves and what you should do for them. I pretty much have it down for Micah. I know what he is capable of and what I need to do for him. But everyday I challenge him to do things by himself and I am amazed at what he can do. Victoria is in a whole other ball field, playing a completely different game. Things that I think she should be doing by herself, she simply can't, doesn't know how, or is simply not able to do. However, she is very easy to take care of, and spoil. She is courteous, so bringing her a drink when she should be doing it herself, is hard not to do. I believe that one of our most important roles as parents is to prepare our children to be self-sufficient.

Today:

Last week everyone had a unexpected week off, including Matt. First we got dumped on with snow, and then an ice storm came. Over 300,000 people lost power last week. I was praying every second for the power to stay on, so that Victoria would have her computer. Thankfully, we did not loose power, however on Friday we lost our cable/internet. And I finally realized that Victoria is addicted to the internet. I know that the word addicted is overused in this day in age. But she had a complete meltdown. To her, loosing the internet meant, she would never sleep again, because part of her nightly routine is to watch certain videos on the internet. It was a very sad time for us. She wanted to be alone, so I told her I would check on her every 5 minutes. I suggest other things to do and she said it's not that simple for her to feel better. However, 10 minutes later she came out and asked to go the bookstore. I was happy, I would have taken her anywhere she wanted to go. So we went to the bookstore, the books uplifted her mood, and when we got home the cable was back on.

We tried to go to late service the last couple of weeks and it was not for us. So Sunday we decided to go to early service. Victoria wakes up at 7 for school anyways, so it really wasn't any different. Matt was the hardest to get out of bed. So I put on my drill sergeant hat and got everyone out of the house by 7:41, church starts 8:00 and it's 20 minutes away. We got there just in time. Victoria was very good in church, so was Micah. Well, Micah is usually good in church if we go to early service.

Victoria went back to school today after being off for a week, and she still is not a fan of middle school. She misses her school in Alaska, because they play games and she gets to get on the internet. So Matt and I are talking about some reward system for her, so that she tries her best at school. However, she does like gym, which is the last hour of the day. She really likes it when they do bowling.

A little about Micah Bear:

Micah is a Michigan Baby. He loved being outside in the cold and snow. Every time we came in he was screaming. Even when the snow was up to his knees. Every night he stops at Victoria's room to say good night. He says, "Bye." And she laughs and smiles.

Micah Bear 20 months

I feel like I have been neglecting Micah on the blog lately. (It's because he hasn't had a post since last March!) He is an amazing little boy. I think he is adjusting well to having Victoria coming to live with us. However, he has been a little bit more whinny and needing just a little more attention. Which is making me just a little bit more crazy than usual, so I try to remind myself what he is dealing with. Sometimes that helps my patience, sometimes it doesn't. Micah LOVES automobiles of any kind, especially "Big Ducks!(trucks)" He will point out all the big trucks when we are in the car. He loves buses, city and school, he's not particular. He has a whole bin of trucks, trains, planes, and bikes.

Micah has a very large vocabulary, but it could be just me thinking my child is a genious. :) He also does a really good job of repeating words we say. Which is mostly a good thing. Matt had a great time reading a book with him the other day, pointing out frogs and foxes. Let's just say I was cooking and thought I needed to wash Micah's mouth out with soap.

He LOVES LOVES LOVES to dance. It's like his body has a mind of it's own. When he is in the kitchen and he hears a song he likes from the living room, he can't ever figure out if he should go closer to the music, or stay in the kitchen and dance. It's very funny to see.

Micah has started to take care of his stuffed animals. He will feed them and put his pacifiers in their mouths. When we were at a friends house and a baby cried, he went to check on her. He will be a great big brother, someday. Cookie Monster is his favorite stuffed animal and character. He likes to say, "Night Night Cookie." We both agree that Cookie Monster doesn't have enough camera time on Sesame Street.

Before Micah was one, I was told by a couple of moms that his appetite would decrease when he turned one and started moving around. Holy cow, that boy can eat. He really amazes me sometimes. He eats more before 9 am, then some people eat all day. He loves his vegetables and will pick fruit over anything else. So I really can't complain.

Last but definitely not least, Micah loves books. Which makes his momma so happy. He doesn't really have a favorite book, but he does have his nap/bedtime books and other anytime books. He loves books about automobiles, obviously. But also likes to read books about animals.

I know there is more that I want to share about him, but I believe this post is long enough. All I can say is he is the sunshine in my day and can always make me laugh. Thanks for being you Micah Bear!! Momma loves you!

First Week of School

So, Victoria's first week of school went great. She LOVES her glasses, and tries to wear them to bed. I love that they have boosted her self-esteem, who knew! She came home with a girl's soccer packet for school. I asked her if that was something she was interested in, because she is not a fan of exercise, and she said she was interested. We talked about it a little more, I told her that soccer is mostly about running, and she still wanted to do it. So I talked to her teacher, who is also the head of the schools athletics, and he said she could do it and it would probably be good for her. As long as she knows, they practice in the rain and cold. Hopefully it lasts, because I would love to see her in a team sport.

Thursday morning, I dropped her off at school and as she was getting out of the car she said, "Bye Micah." Considering she VERY rarely acknowledges him, it brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. It was very sweet. Then Micah started crying, because he hates when it's time to say goodbye to anyone. :)

Both of Victoria's maternal grandparents live within an hour and a half of us. So, Grandma called last night to see if she could have her for the weekend, which sounded great for Grandma and Victoria. However, when I asked Victoria if she wanted to go see Grandma, she said yes, but started making her anxious body movements. So we talked about it, and she said she didn't want to upset Grandma, but she would rather stay home. Well, we tried it anyways. :-O. The whole way to drop her off, she said she would rather go home with me. I said, I know but you need to spend time with Grandma. Long story short, we got a call 2 hours later with a very upset Victoria. One of Victoria's obsessions is youtube, she can't fall asleep without it, and it is the first thing she wants to do whenever she gets home from anywhere. Well, Grandma doesn't have internet. Which set her off and Grandma could not calm her down, until she said she would bring her home. This is definitely one of our goals now. Her Grandma would like to have her for a couple of weeks this summer. So, we will see what happens. We are going to start with day visits and with Grandma coming to visit her up here. Needless to say, Victoria is in her room now, happy and on the internet. :-/. However, she looks exhausted and worn down from her melt down.

The good news for the night, is Matt doesn't have to work in the morning, so he is staying up to put Victoria to bed. So, here's to me getting in bed and not getting out until 6 am, HA!

PS Victoria woke me up last night at 3 am to tell me she was mad that she overslept. Um, Victoria you didn't over sleep, you went to sleep when I put you to bed, and that threw you off.

First Day of School

Today was Victoria's first day of school here in Lakewood. As I was taking her to the school, I kept asking her if she was nervous, she kept saying, "no, I'm fine." I figured out I was nervous, and made myself stop asking her before she became nervous. I took her to her classroom, which is a self-contained Special Education room. Which means that she is a classroom with other special ed students all day. The room is partitioned off into 3 sections, so the teacher and aides can work with different levels at the same time. The teacher said that the grade doesn't matter for the groups, it's the ability level. I felt much better after talking to her teacher for awhile.

Before, I picked her up later I was able to talk to her teacher and he said she had a great day. He also said that she is very polite. She also said that she had a good day. She even has gym at the end of the day and didn't complain about it! Needless to say, I feel much better about her going to school tomorrow. But I'm sure I'll find something to worry about soon. :)

Sunday, January 9

So, it is almost midnight. I have already been to bed for 1.5 hours tonight, but I woke up to put Victoria to bed, so Matt could get some sleep. Confusing, huh? Victoria needs her strict bedtime routine, so Matt stayed up to give her medicine at 10:30 and cocoa at 11:30, now he's in bed, and I will tuck her in a midnight. Only for her to get out of bed at least another 5 times. She has extreme anxiety about going to bed, and this is the number one reason why she came to live with us, so we can take her to the doctor. (Sorry if this doesn't make sense, it's just giving me something to do, so I don't fall asleep on the couch.)

So Matt and I entered the world of 2:2 at church today. People always comment to us, "Micah was so well behaved at church." My reply is always, "He better be, it's 2 to 1." It's a bit challenging with 2 in church, especially since today was Victoria's 2nd time Ever to go to church. However, I'm sure that both children were very well behaved, I on the other had was a stressed nutbar. Don't ask me why? I know it will get better.

After church, I took Victoria to pick out glasses. We had a long talk on the way there to hopefully prepare her for what would happen. I told her, she was just going to pick them out, and that we would pick them up in a week when they were ready. Well, all our worrying was for nothing. She LOVES wearing glasses! (we will see what happens when we actually bring them home.) But she picked out a cute pink pair and she loves them. She says she looks beautiful in them. I thought I was going to cry right there in the store. To hopefully keep the excitement, we did bring home a Disney Princess glasses holder, which she also loves. Stay tuned on more glasses development.

Once again, thank you God for the most beautiful January day. We took both kids to the park, where hopefully they released enough energy to sleep well tonight. Here's hoping!

Today was a great reminder that I am not in charge of this crazy roller coaster life, God is. And as much as I like to be in charge and in control, I will let God take the wheel on this one. Okay, just tucked our girl in. I forgot the other thing that she likes to wake us up and ask us if we are going to wake her up in the morning. She likes to be be woken up at 8. So in the 3 minutes it took to tuck her in, I probably said 5 times what time I'm going to wake her then asked what time I'm going to wake her. So maybe she won't wake me up in an hour to remind me?????

Adventures at the Clinic

So, Victoria had her first eye exam this morning. It could have gone better for her, she was very anxious and frustrated there. I am on a steep learning curve and am learning new things every day. I should have talked her through the exam process, I have only had a million myself. I also learned that she gets VERY frustrated that she can not see, so if you ask her to read letters that she can't see, she shuts down. Who can blame her for that? Also, we took her to the medical clinic that mostly deals with Active Duty military, and not so many children or autistic children for that matter. Thankfully when the doctor came in, he was very calm and gave encouraging vibes. The second part of the exam went much better and the doctor is pretty sure of the prescription, and we will go back in a month to make sure. He said that the second visit usually goes better with less anxiety. Time will tell.

Then, because that wasn't enough of an emotional roller coaster for Victoria, I took her to get shots. I could see her getting more and more anxious while we were waiting to be called. By the time it was our turn, she was already in tears. It was so sad. However, she was very brave and as soon as she was done looked at me, smiled and said, that's not as bad as I remember. Ahhhh! Thank goodness, because we have to go back in 2 months for a follow up. :)

Needless to say, Victoria earned all of us McDonald's for lunch! And because we are being blessed with an amazing winter, the sun was out so we got to go to the park before lunch. Both kids were very exited about that. It was cold and sunny. I also learned today that Victoria is a professional swinger, (her words), and she loves to swing. I love learning new things about her.

We are still waiting on Victoria to start school. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday. Victoria is very ready to start back to school. That's another thing, enrolling a child into school is no piece of cake. Especially one in Special Ed. The school district got back to us yesterday letting us know which school Victoria will go to, but when Matt went to the school to enroll her, they had no knowledge of her enrollment. But, we are very excited that she will be going to school about a half of a mile away.

I will try to get a picture of Micah and Victoria soon, but Victoria does not like to have her picture taken, so we'll see what we get.

The Glowicki Family 2012

Hi Friends! Boy did 2011 fly by, I apologize for my serious lack of updates via blog. I will try to do better in 2012 starting with this update. On Dec. 31st I flew up to Anchorage to pick up Matt's daughter Victoria, so she could come live with us until August. She will be 12 in March. Until now, the longest we have had her is for 2 weeks, so we are very excited. However, you might be guessing that there is a reason for us to uproot her from her mom to come live with us. Victoria was diagnosed with Autism about 7 years ago. It seems that hormones and puberty to a number on this diagnosis and considering Victoria and her mom live in the middle of nowhere Alaska, she is living with us for awhile so that we can give her the medical care that she needs.

So far, Micah thinks it is amazing to have another person in the house for him to entertain. Victoria loves her little brother but is not quite sure what to do with him. Heck, I don't know what to do with him half the time. I think that Micah and Victoria getting to know each other this year will be the silver lining in her living with us.

We took Victoria to the doctor this morning to get her a well check up and to get a referral for her to see developmental pediatrics on at the nearby Army Hospital. We found out at the appt, plus Victoria had been telling us, that she has a vision problem. So we are taking her for an eye appt on Friday, and she will most likely need glasses. This could be a bit of a challenge, since Victoria already has a very low self esteem. So we have already started talking about her wearing glasses and how cool she will look in them. :)

Victoria also has trouble going to sleep at night, so with her going to be around midnight and Micah up at 6, Matt and I feel as though we have a newborn again. Who ever said parenting is easy is a liar!

Victoria is very excited to start school here, which is very encouraging. However, due to the fact that she needs Special Ed. services, we are waiting on the school district to look over her paper work, to make sure she is in the best school and class that can take care of her needs.

So far 2012 has been challenging, exciting and fun! We are definitely looking forward to the roller coaster ride this year will take us on, and hopefully I will take you on it to with this blog.

(PS these updates are for me took look back on to see progress, and for the very few people out there who want to be updated on us. :)