Monday, February 16, 2015

It's a Miracle!

A miracle occurred just now. Now, I realize some of you might not see this as a miracle, and that's okay. In this house, we celebrate every achievement, no matter how small it might seem. Tonight was HUGE though!

Every night it's the same routine, I change Gavin's diaper, get his toothbrush ready, chase him down, hold him down (while he screams bloody murder), and brush his teeth. He HATES it. Tonight went a little differently though. I came in with the toothbrush, he didn't move. I kept waiting on him to bolt as I got closer. Still, no movement. I bent down, ready to give "the calming speech" (that NEVER works). "It's okay Gavin, I promise I won't hurt you. We have to make your teeth clean and shiny." Anyway, I bent down and was getting ready to calm him, when the miracle occurred. He opened his mouth for me to brush his teeth.



 My next thought was, "Okay as soon as I start brushing, he will freak." That didn't happen either.
He sat there the entire time, and let me brush his teeth! The entire time I was cheering and bragging on him. Seeing that huge smile on his face (instead of the screaming) melted my heart. Way to go, Gavin!!!


Sunday, February 8, 2015

What is it about Sunday?

Let me start by saying this, I LOVE my boys, they are my everything. Sometimes a momma just needs to vent though.

What is it about Sunday in this house???? EVERY Sunday is the same. Gavin wakes up WILD and stays that way ALL day. It is currently 8:15pm and he is running around the living room. He has done this all day, pretty much nonstop. The sleepier he gets, the worse it gets. When he gets sleepy, he is hyper AND whiny!


Not only do I have a hyper, whiny, three year old; I also have a (almost) 17 month old into EVERYTHING!

Why is every Sunday like this?!? Okay, Keegan is into everything everyday, and Gavin is wild everyday, but it's like on Sunday's they get together and say, "Okay it's Sunday, let's be 10x worse for mom. Hahaha!!!"


With all that being said, I still wouldn't trade them for anything. My house is chaos 99% of the time, I have to pray for strength MANY times a day, I am watching the wrinkles appear, and I can feel my hair turning gray. Even through the chaos, there is something else you will find at our house..... love and laughter. When I think I am to my breaking point, Gavin will run up to me and give me the biggest hug, and Keegan will sit beside me and put his head on my shoulder. At that very moment I realize just how blessed I am.



Saturday, February 7, 2015

Update on Gavin

Wow, it has been a while since I have blogged. Between work, OT, ST, music therapy, and life....I haven't had time. I will give you a little update on Gavin. :)

Gavin is 3 1/2, and still isn't talking. About the only thing he can say is, "momma" and a FEW times he has said, "more momma." So, as far as speech, we haven't made much gain. I'm not giving up hope though. We are in the process of getting his hearing checked. He had a hearing test before, but it was recommended he get an ABR (brain scan hearing test) to make 100% sure his hearing is okay. This recommendation came from Glenwood Autism Center. We took him there a few weeks ago for a medical evaluation. They (the speech therapist and the psychologist) were concerned about the sounds he makes. In the words of the psychologist, "The sounds he is making aren't normal speech sounds. We hear those sounds come from children with hearing issues." So that is step 1. We are waiting on a referral to a hearing clinic.

We are still doing OT 4 times a week. He gets it at school, at a local OT center, and we have an OT that comes to the house 2 days a week. He has made SO much progress. Let you remind you of Gavin 6 months ago...

He couldn't do a puzzle (he just chewed on it)
Play-doh was a big NO (he ate it)
He couldn't kick a ball.
Brushing teeth and cutting nails was a nightmare!
He couldn't string beads. He would try, but struggled.
He didn't know how to play appropriately with toys. (He chewed on EVERYTHING.)
Any activity that included him getting his hands dirty (painting, shaving cream, ect) he would FREAK out!

Now:
LOVES puzzles, and is good at putting them together (simple puzzles, of course)
LOVES play-doh!
He can kick a ball, and he will catch it sometimes.
Still not a huge fan of brushing teeth, but it's getting better.
He will sit in my lap and let me cut his nails. I use to have to hold him down to do it.
He loves stringing beads. He loves stacking shapes on his stacking rod. He likes it so much that he gets MAD when Keegan tries to take it from him. :)
He knows how to play with most toys. I rarely see him chewing on anything anymore. He will occasionally, but will stop when I ask him to. 
....and today, we did this:


To most of you, this isn't a big deal. To me, this is HUGE! Gavin's hand is the red one. 6 months ago had we tried this, you'd see a red blob, me covered in paint, and paint all over him because he was freaking out. He whined for half a second when he realized what was about to happen. Then he opened his hand, let me paint it, and even held it open while I put it on the paper. He didn't scream, squirm, whine...nothing! I was in shock. I *might* have done the "Go, Gavin, Go" dance in the kitchen. ;) The dance includes lots of clapping, jumping up and down, shaking my booty, screaming, "GO GAVIN!!! WOOHOO!!!!" I was thrilled, he was looking at me like I had lost my mind though. 


Finally, he has made improvements at school, too. Is he still wild? Oh yeah! Does he still have to be watched like a hawk? Yep! Does he still need someone to hold his hand when they go somewhere? Definitely! BUT with that being said, he has improved. He plays in centers, and sometimes he switches centers instead of staying in the same one. He use to just run around the room like a wild monkey during center time. He will sit down to eat his snack. He listens better. I am sure there is more, I am just drawing a blank. Now with all THAT being said (his improvements) let me say this because I am NOT that naive parent that thinks he acts like that daily. I know Gavin! I know he still has days where he is WILD and out of control (his poor teachers lol). I know he still has days where he will ignore everything that is said, and I am sure there are days where snack is a nightmare. BUT the fact that he has days where he can follow directions, play right, and chill (even for 30 seconds) is AMAZING progress. We use to have ZERO days like that. 

Needless to say, I am so very proud of Gavin. He has come so far already, and I know he will continue to amaze me. He has some WONDERFUL people in his life that are helping him (and me). We are truly blessed!