November 11 Update!

Jackson The Great

So, an update might be in order here!  Jack has continued with his therapy and we finally figured out what is going on.  On October 22, Jack was diagnosed with Asperger's and Sensory Processing Disorder.  I wasn't sure what that meant for his future but every one of his therapists has assured me that he should grow up perfectly normal and not have any setbacks (provided he receive the proper therapies).  And...things are already 1000% improved.  It is amazing. To look at his folder a month ago would be to see a sea of red faces (bad behavior) but now almost every day is a green face with the occasional yellow face thrown in once a week or so.  At home, he plays and runs and imagines and is SO much happier.  It is like I have a different kid!  I remember looking at him raging and screaming for hours and hours at a time out of frustration and anger when he was 2-3 and wondering "What is wrong with my baby??!!" and now I have my answer and my solution and it is amazing.

In October, we visited Pumpkin Patches, went to the Fair and to Fall Festivals and of course we went trick or treating on Halloween.  Jack was a pirate!  He also went on a bus on his very first ever field trip!  He went to Motley's Pumpkin Patch in Little Rock and had so much fun!

September 6, 2011

FALL -- Finally!

PTL, it finally feels like a touch of fall is in the air!!  Of course, that is because of a tropical storm but I will take what I can get!  Suddenly, it is  in the low fifties in the mornings and only going up to the high-seventies and low-eighties.  Quite a change from a month ago when it was 100 degrees + every day.  I am still running on the treadmill but I can't wait until I can run outside!  I am still losing weight pretty steadily and am within 20 pounds of my halfway point!  That probably sounds like a lot but I should hit it by Halloween and that will put me on track to be a size 4 by March/April.  Right now, it sounds like a dream but I intend to make it a reality!

Now to update about school....ugh school.  Jack seems to be doing a bit better and better every day but we still have a lot of hurdles to overcome.  It seems more likely every day that Jack has a sensory processing disorder and the good news is that there is help for that.  Other than that, he is learning new fun things at school all of the time and brings them home to share with us!  For instance, Jack has learned a pirate song and decided to give us all pirate names one night.  He named himself "CROCODILEBEARD", named Garry "SHARKBEARD" and after I asked what my name was, he looked around the room and christened me "KITTYBEARD".  Gee, thanks, lol.  His therapy continues in the coming weeks with appointments and testing on September 19 and October 1 and he has his school physical on this Thursday.  Oh joy....

Here are some photos that I took today out in the backyard:

August 30, 2011

Catching Up

So, the last thing I wrote was about being discouraged with Jack's behavior at school.  Since then, we have had our ups and downs but things seem to be improving quickly.  By Friday, the teachers were telling me that he was doing much better and he actually stayed all day yesterday!  I am SO proud of him!  Today might be a different story and they might need me to come for naptime but he is making progress and that is all I can really ask for.  He has been a SUPER joy to have around at home lately too.  No more running around when he should be eating -- he sits and eats his meals (and eats CONSTANTLY), he puts his shoes in the basket by the door and puts his dirty clothes in the laundry room.  He is content to play by himself for hours and doesn't whine and complain nearly as much.  Plus, I have SO much more time to myself.  As a reward, I have promised him a star present (present wrapped in star paper) every Friday that he is good all week.  It "magically" appears in the mailbox for him, lol. 

Grandmama visited this past weekend and Jack had lots of fun!  As usual, he loved playing in her "hotel-y room" and he was fascinated by the hotel phone. Jack has never really seen a house phone before -- only cell phones -- and the hotel phone freaked him out, haha.  I called it and he ran away but we talked him into answering it.  He told me the funniest things but the best was when he got tired of talking to me.  He would interrupt me or change the subject and say "You have reached 5-0-1-5. Please record your message after the tone. *BEEP*".  Then he would hang up, haha!!  Sooo funny!

Here are a few after school pics of Jack from last week:

August 25, 2011

Discouraged...

This week, I had to face some cold hard realities and I am just not sure how to feel.  For years, I have noticed some problem behaviors in Jack and have mentioned them to multiple people and several of his pediatricians and everyone told me that it was "probably normal and he was just a bit more aggressive because he was a big boy".  I would give anything to be able to go back and listen to my instincts and get him help 2 years ago because now I have to watch him struggle for my failings as a parent.  That is a tough pill to swallow.  Basically, I have cleared my schedule of anything (except weddings) and made myself 100% available to stay at school all day to help keep Jack in line.  We have therapist appoinments set up for testing and people approching me every day asking me if I have had him tested.  "No...not yet but it is scheduled and hopefully we will have some answers soon" has become my standard response.  In the meantime, I am not sure how to discipline.  Should I do what I have always done and spank him for disobeying....or should I try to remove him from class for a little while?  What if he can't help what he is doing?  It would be like spanking him for breathing.  Have I been doing that for years now?  I just don't know yet.  I am so anxious that I can't sleep at night and I spend all day with what feels like a brick in the pit of my stomach as I watch him unable to control himself.  I really hope that we can get some help for him and help him adjust now before it becomes even harder as he gets older.  :(

Jack's Birthdays

Jack's (Five) Birthdays

"Five?!" you say?  Well...I had to include his actual "birth"day.  :)  Jackson arrived on May 10, 2007, at 5:19pm, weighing in at 11 pounds.  Needless to say, he came via c-section. 



Jackson's First Birthday!

With Daddy deployed, we held Jack's first birthday at Grandmama's house and it was quite a bash!  Granddaddy grilled hotdogs and brats and we had cake and ice cream.  The cake was made by Aunt Beverly.  The party theme was blue and yellow and featured beautiful blue tulle twined with giant outdoor multi-colored globe lights, small globe candleholders with white tea lights and various flowers.

Jackson's Second Birthday!

Jack's second birthday theme was Frogs.  Jack LOVED Frogs (he called them "Progs").  He had a sweet frog-patterned jon jon made by his Aunt Beth and his Daddy grilled.  The decorations included beautiful multicolored flowers, including white hydrangea and yellow lillies and small blown-glass frogs floated in the vases among the stems.  The cake was made by Publix and had an edible frog photo on it.

Jackson's Third Birthday!

Jack's third birthday ended up being a small family thing at the house.  My Grandmother passed in February and I didn't want to go to Birmingham and have a party that she wouldn't be there for.    We had a good time though.  We ordered Jack a CARS cake and gave him his present from us -- a jeep powerwheel!

Jackson's Fourth Birthday



Jack had two birthday parties this year.  The first one was a family Mickey Mouse-themed red, black and white party in Birmingham on April 2 and the second party was just a small party on his actual birthday in the backyard.

The Mickey party featured red and white polka dotted cupcakes in special cupcake wrappers, an ice cream bar and a platter from Chik-fil-A.  Guests drank iced tea or lemonade from mason jars with chalkboard tags tied to them for personalization and applied their thumbprints to a "thumbprint tree" designed for Jack.

The party on his actual birthday was small.  We bought a cake from Walmart and let him open his gifts in the backyard.