Buggy Update

Well over a year later....there may not seem like there are a lot of changes for my baby bug, but there really are.  First off, he still points, but with great force....especially if he wants something badly and cannot be patient OR if he wants someone to leave the room when he's in a not-so-friendly mood.

And again...for any new readers, AJ was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 3 years of age and Intellectual Disability at age 5.  He's had neonatal diabetes since birth.

AJ is now 6 1/2, but still probably more like a 2 year old...some things being less, some more.  He still problem solves and pays great attention to things he wants to know about so he can repeat.  He still can't open the gate or open the doors with the baby locks on them.  We are so thankful for this.  He still can't get dressed on his own and is not potty trained, but he can take off his pants and can pull them up - not perfectly, but pretty good.  He hangs up his jacket and book bag at the door when he gets home from school..

I thought when he entered the LFI program this fall, we were going to see a lot of changes in AJ as he learns and grows more and we HAVE, but they have not been able to connect with him on a level where he demonstrates what he knows in class.  We believe he needs 1 on 1 attention and we are working to make that happen.  He still needs work with his fine motor skills and balance on stairs, etc.

AJ is still very, very HAPPY.  He has his moments like not knowing how to be patient (I'm still anxiously awaiting this one), testing all of the time (doing things he should not while looking at you and smiling or seeing how long he can NOT come when you call him or ask him to put something back), not sharing (not a fan) and throwing fits (because he is not patient and because he is not getting his way)....but I would say he is happy 95% of the time.  He will wake up in the morning and just chat and chat.  He now has an iPad and he uses it all of the time.  He knows how to find a specific youtube video, spongebob movie, his favorite games!  It's really awesome watching him learn and grow with this tool.

AJ has little routines.  Here are the current ones.  In the morning when I come downstairs he says bye, love you and wants me to leave RIGHT AWAY.  If I do not, he gets irritated.  When he comes home from school, he says bye to daddy and wants to go upstairs to my room.  He wants the fan on, the pinwheels set in a place where they will spin, his ipad and a couple of whatever current toys/balls/music or learning item he is currently obsessed  with that week.  Once it is time for dinner, we take all of his items downstairs, make sure the ceiling fan in the living room is on, strap him in his chair (he insists), turn spongebob on the tv and has dinner.  I have to strap him in first thing or else he will be in the fridge, the pantry, playing with the sink faucet, etc.  His newest thing is insisting to call or facetime Gran Gran after dinner.  Then I will ask him if he wants to take a bath.  He FREAKS OUT.  If he isn't stinking, we will skip the bath and do a good wash up.  It all depends on what is worth the misery for him and myself.  After bathtime, he is so anxious to get dressed for bed.  He LOVES to be in his room alone.  He loves bedtime.  This is where I realize how very lucky I am!  He doesn't stay in his bed, but if he's quiet and doesn't play long, i'm okay with that.  After he goes to sleep, I can put his laundry away, turn off his tv and his fan off.  He does not yet cover himself, so we have to keep him warm.  On the weekends, he will wake up well before us and he will knock on his door and say "mommy?  daddy?" - so cute.

AJ LOVES his sister.  He loves to laugh with her and chase her.  When he sees something funny, he will look at her so they can laugh together.  He also still bugs her to pieces by messing with the patterns on her clothing.  :-)

AJ's favorite show is sponge bob and he knows almost all of the theme song.  He cannot sing it, but he does his best at trying to imitate it.  I will have to get it on video.  AJ loves to pretend he is having a phone conversation and will carry on the CUTEST conversations in AJ language for a LONG time!  Avery has a really good recording that I will need to get up on YouTube.  AJ loves to see himself in the mirror.  It is really, really adorable.
AJ also still pays VERY close attention to where we are going on the road.  If you are not going in the direction he wants, he will be MAD!  LOL

AJ doesn't seem bothered by school or the bus.  I love the bus driver and attendant, but to be honestly, i've has such little communication with his teacher that I really don't know what they think about him or what he does in class.  Avery goes every single day to feed him lunch and medicate him.

He loves dogs!  He loves champ so much.  He will climb and lay on champ all of the time.  He loves to feed champ chips, crackers, crust, etc.  He will make dog noises and carry around any puppy toy or stuffed animal.

AJ's words.  He tries to copy nearly everything he hears, but here are most of what I know:
AJ sounds like he's saying want it or don't want it, but we are not completely sure
Hi
Hewwo
Book
The End
Knows his numbers 1-5 and letters A, B, C, D
Ewee: Strawberry
Eeches:  Peaches
Apple for Apples or Pineapple
Roll
Kay Cakes: Pancakes
Waffles
Toast
Shishis:  GoldFish
Bubbles
Bob:  SpongeBob
Pe Pig:  Peppa Pig
My:  Music player
Pin for spinning top or pinwheel
Bawoon:  Balloon
AJ?:  where's AJ? (hiding under shirt or behind curtain)
Dey is: There he is!
Did It?:  Get It?
Mommy, Daddy, NaNa (Christina), Ma Ma (Grandma), GanGan (Gran Gran), Bean (Auntie Bean)
Go, Up, Get Down, More, No
Thank you - he says this ALL THE TIME
Welcome
Champ
Sit Champ
Here Champ
Puppy
BeDAH:  bed with emphasis on the D for some reason
Fine:  while patting his chest which is sign language for fine
Bye Luh You - he says these together most of the time
Out: Ouch

Ahbee: Open

If you knock on door he will say "MIN" which is come in

He will say his words until you repeat back or you answer.  He is SO excited when he knows you understood him.

AJ is still not potty trained, but he now WANTS his diaper changed, does not GO until he gets home from school and will lay down willingly....I believe we are on the way!

He still has issues with people other than family in our home, but he will learn ways of handling it as he gets older.  When there is too much chaos or a voice/noise that upsets his system, he will scream, hit and throw things.

AJ's smile.  Everyone loves it.  His eyes sparkle and his smile lights up the room.  He will walk up to people and say HI over and over again.  Laughing and running and bouncing.

Over a year later...

So it has been well over a year since I last posted.  Since I never did get around to doing an update for Christina after i did AJ's....I will start with her and things I want to remember.

Christina went to Kindergarten this year.  Her last day is a week from tomorrow and she will officially be a first grader.  It is so SO very hard to believe.  She loves going to school, but does not like the "work" part.  I have a feeling first grade might be a bit shocking for her.  :-)  She has done very well in school.  She loves her friends, her teacher, Ms. Jarboe and she's still very much a hand raiser!  Always wanting to ask questions, volunteer, answer things, suggest things, etc.

We moved into our new home last fall so Christina has been able to be in school with a lot of her friends that live in our neighborhood.  Her best friend is Adriana.  They play together practically every day and it is the sweetest friendship between 2 very different little girls.  It's really fun to watch them.  They giggle and talk non-stop.

Christina has taken swim again this year and she absolutely loves it.  We love the location she takes lessons and I can see her doing this long term.  She also started tap/ballet with Adriana.  They are not big fans of it.  They would rather swim, play soccer, some sport, anything....they are rather bored with it.  She says she wants to do hip hop, but the cost of dance and how time consuming it is, I think we will take a break for now and enjoy some team sports along with swimming.  She has a big summer coming up with a huge trip with Aunt Nancy, Grandma and my nieces.  She has VBS and we also will be going to the beach in July.

Christina is very smart, her thinking seems out of the box a lot of the time and she's still quite the planner.  Always thinking ahead.  She likes to negotiate and rarely has an attitude with the few choices she is given...and NEVER has had a meltdown or fit in a store in her life.

She has been pulling out her own teeth rather than letting me do it and for quite some time she's been pretty toothless...unable to say three because it's always sounding like four.  One tooth is coming in pretty good so I'm sure her toothless talking will become clear before long.

I love how she says CARATIVE instead of Creative.  I love how she still sounds the TH as an F and still the R as a W.  She has stopped calling me mommy for the most part and does mama and dada.

Christina IS creative.  She looks at any ordinary object and thinks about what she can make out of it.  I think she draws pretty well for her age.  I keep glue, scissors, paper, crayons, paint, etc. stocked at all times!  She would draw and create and write all day if she had the time.

She has become addicted to lego video games and minecraft this year and is quite impressive!  She has been collecting Beanie Boo's for well over a year, talks about being on dance and singing competition shows when she's older and decided she would not like to be married.

Christina gets herself ready in the morning, most of the time picking out her own outfits, makes her own breakfast and is a really amazing helper.

She plays with AJ a lot.  She loves him and knows how to make him laugh far more than she makes him cry.  She is always trying to teach him words, colors, things we don't want him doing (ha ha!), etc. 

Christina is VERY rough and competitive.  She is always hurting herself because of this.  So far no serious injuries!  I gave her a facebook account to be able to connect with her family to compete in games with them.  She has figured out how to post some of her game pictures to facebook and that's pretty funny.  I tag her account from time to time so that 10 years from now she can go back and see all of the pictures.

Her favorite people in the world are still the Doyle cousins.  Shocker.  Her favorite colors change all of the time.  From blue to pink and back again.  She loves flowers/planting/cooking and thank goodness she has gran gran and antsy to do that with!  She loves dogs, especially her champy.  She always says "ohhhhh he's so precious!  mama look!  isn't he so cute!"  She likes spongebob nearly as much as AJ does, but she also watches other Disney non-cartoon shows a lot as well, such as Dog with a Blog.  She is requesting a Hello Kitty and Peace sign birthday party this year, so that tells you a couple more of her favorite things.  Oh, and random, she doesn't like sweaters???

The last thing off the top of my head for now is the fact that she now is completely embarrassed when I tell stories about her in front of her.  She HATES it and so now I have to wait until she's not around to tell how funny or cute she just was.  They grow up too fast.

My Bug

Before AJ started really communicating, there wasn't a TON of things to post about him.  No "you won't believe what he said" posts.  Now that he is POINTING - and he has been pointing about a year now....and trust me, that was just as exciting as him talking!!! -- and saying words, I want to make sure I record this so that I remember.

First of all...just for memory sake and for all that didn't know, AJ was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 3 years of age and Intellectual Disability at age 5.  He's had neonatal diabetes since birth.

AJ is 5 1/2, but probably more like a 2 year old...some things being less, some more.  He can be a problem solver about a lot of things like stacking things up to reach something, he knows how to open the fridge and pantry to get things, always knows which buttons to push to turn things on and off - but he can't yet get dressed on his own and is not potty trained.  I believe as he starts kindergarten this fall, we are going to see a lot of changes in AJ as he learns and grows more.  He could be more stable as far as walking, but I know that will come.

AJ is HAPPY.  All of the time.  He has his terrible 2 moments like not knowing how to be patient, testing all of the time, not sharing and throwing fits....but I would say he is happy 95% of the time.  He will wake up in the morning and just chat and chat with his musical toys in his crib.  I can hear him as I get ready for work.  It's hard not to go in there and smooch and hug on him.

AJ LOVES his sister.  He loves to laugh with her and chase her.  When he sees something funny, he will look at her so they can laugh together.

AJ's favorite toys are balls, blocks and his mp3 player.  He loves his crib and loves the routine of getting in bed at nap and bedtime.  He will take his things and throw them in the crib and then lift his arms for you to put him into bed.  He loves his projector and his aquarium.  He, of course, still loves fans and anything that spins...and loves the patterns on his sister's clothing. 

AJ's favorite show is sponge bob and he knows almost all of the theme song.  He cannot sing it, but he does his best at trying to imitate it.  I will have to get it on video.  AJ loves to pretend he is having a phone conversation and will carry on the CUTEST conversations in AJ language for a LONG time!  Avery has a really good recording that I will need to get up on YouTube.  AJ loves to see himself in the mirror.  It is really, really adorable.

AJ also pays VERY close attention to where we are going on the road.  He knows where the 270 exit is and if I'm not headed to VA, he will be MAD!  LOL

AJ loves school and on the days he isn't "testing" - and thinking "i'm so cute and funny, all look at me", he's very good with the structure.  Sits where he should, puts his back pack where it should go, can almost unzip his coat all of the way, knows which books are which, the words of the songs, he is good at matching colors and shapes and knows alot of animal sounds.  He loves dogs!  He will make dog noises and carry around any puppy toy or stuffed animal.

AJ's words:
Wan Wan (he's saying want, want while pointing to fridge):  Milk --- and if you say milk, he will make the K sound.
Wan Wan - just also for anything he wants.
Gook or Book - also re book for read book
Ewee: Strawberry
Eeches:  Peaches
Roll
Kay Cakes: Pancakes
Chooch: Toast
Fish:  Goldfish 
Bubbles
Bob:  SpongeBob
My:  Music player
Boon:  Balloon
Where Da Ball?
Did It?:  Get It?
Mommy, Daddy, No, Ma Ma (Grandma), Go
Up, Get Down, More
Champ
Sit Champ
Here Champ
Puppy
Bye Bye
Luh You:  Love You
Ahpee: Open

Did I mention "No" ???  LOL

He repeats SO much and is SO proud when you repeat back to him so he knows you understood.

If I left anything off, email me or comment so I can add it!  I really want to keep a good record for the future.  I LOVE this kid.  He has the most wonderful smile.  He loves to be tickled and kissed.  He blows kisses and waves backwards.  Adorable.

AJ's Silly Laugh

Dancing

AJ learned to dance at school. :-) Christina learned from her daddy. Obviously. hee hee Near the end of the video AJ plays peek-a-boo with the hat he refused to take off.

Christina (after I did her hair): "You did a great job, Mommy! Not as great as I did (brushing her doll's hair), but that's ok! It's still a great job!"

3 1/2 Going on 13

Well it's pretty impossible for me to remember all of the things that come out of this princess' mouth, but she is so smart. She thinks ahead, you can reason with her, she is really good at putting positive spins on things and she is super sweet. She says "I wuv you Mommy" out of the blue all the time and she'll lean in to hug me. She can be quite bossy, but she's very strong and secure and she LOVES her family. Her tummy seems to talk to her quite a bit. It tells her if it doesn't feel good enough to clean up, or to finish her dinner or if she needs to be carried. :-) She pays such close attention to everything going on around her and she doesn't forget anything. She is very compassionate with her brother and always helpful with him. She wants to make sure everything is equal with them. "Mommy, is AJ going to take a nap too? Did AJ eat lunch? I'm just making sure Mommy!" She loves to brush her teeth and wash her hands as many times as you'll let her daily. She wants to vacuum with me and clean with me and she can pretty much operate the Wii and DVD players all by herself. She isn't that great at going to bed at night...she just isn't a big fan of it...but she does sleep later in the morning and on the weekends she wakes up and asks me "Are you going to stay home today Mommy?" She loves it when we are all together. Christina's been potty trained for quite some time, she is able to dress herself including buttons and she REALLY wants to learn how to tie her shoes...but that's a bit tricky so we aren't there yet. She started going to school and she loves to learn, do crafts, play with her friends and she really likes her teacher. Grandma takes her and picks her up on Mondays and Tuesdays and then they go to Wendy's. Every. Single. Time. She loves to play with her friends and she ADORES and LOVES her cousins...the sun rises and sets on them! Yesterday at the park she said to Ashley "I am brave" and Ashley replied, yes, you are very brave! A little bit later she declares "I am not afraid of anything!" Gotta keep an eye on this little one! She is trying to teach AJ how to say her name, but she does get him to say THREE after she says one, two and GO after ready, set. She loves to run and have him chase her and they love to slide down the stairs together. Christina loves to wear clothes that have her favorite characters on them with the matching bows and she also likes dresses. She loves bows and jewelry and she REALLY wanted cowboy boots because Jessie wears them. She LOVES Jessie...she LOVES Toy Story and we have the best time reciting lines from our favorite movies. It's so much fun to be able to share things that just crack us up! There isn't really anyone there at night to tell us to stop giggling and go to bed! She's an amazing little person...a bundle of sunshine. Life is good for Christina and she makes mine better every day.

Sooooooooo BIG!

AJ has now been in school for 6 months. He has improved FOUR months in the last 6. That's really great! He was diagnosed 2 weeks ago with pdd-nos and he is currently on a 16-18 month level at 3 1/2 years old. AJ loves school, his teachers, the activities and he really knows the routine. Lunchtime is still pretty icky. Sometimes the healthroom tech "Miss Ann" can get him to eat, but it all depends on his mood and how he feels that day. Sometimes it depends on the presentation...a certain spoon, cup, color, etc. He is mimicking alot more than ever. You will hear him say "one, two" often when he's climbing stairs or just randomly. He also took the bottle of bubbles, brought it to me and said "bubbles". When he wants you to do something, he will bring it to you and put it in your hand for you to help him. He will also take stools (or anything to give him height) and use them to climb up to reach something that he wants. He always seems to want what Christina has...and vice versa at times. It seems red is his favorite color when it comes to choosing objects and he loves any clothing that has interesting patterns on them. One day his shirt was wet after he got some milk from lunch on it and he got another shirt and brought it to me. So cute! Recently I've been saying "SOOOOO BIG!" to him and raising my arms in the air. When he does it, I tickle him. He can't say SO BIG, but he does say "gaa ga" when he raises his arms. He can say "no" and uses that alot. He is a big tease! He will go up to something he knows he shouldn't have and say "no". He also says Mommy and Daddy, but alot of times he will say it, make sure he has your attention and then say DADDY to me. He thinks it's hilarious! So I know he knows the difference for sure. His temper has gotten so much better. The more we can understand what it is that he wants and meet his needs, the less he throws fits. His fits have always been pretty short lived anyway and he's VERY happy most all the time that he's not hungry or tired or sick. He has a LOT of energy and bounces ALL the time! He still loves to stack his blocks and carry them around. His favorite thing in the world is a small soccer ball, but balloons are a close second and bubbles are probably tied! He will play catch with you throwing the ball back and forth and he LOVES to have people paying attention to him and clapping and praising him. Such a little ham! He is STILLLLL amazing at bedtime. He never goes right to sleep and stays up alot longer than he ever used to because as soon as I put him in the bed he stands up to start playing with his aquarium! But he doesn't cry and he's a very good boy. He will sometimes just chat to himself or play with his seahorse and gloworm (which he now knows how to get to work!). I switched Christina and AJ's room and his room is darker now so he gets alot more sleep than he used to. That probably has alot to do with his temper getting better as well. He STILL loves to ride in the car....but he does hate to get back in the car when we leave mom or grandma and aunt nancy's houses. He throws such a fit when we have to leave - he doesn't even want to put his jacket on when it's time to go. He starts throwing a fit as soon as I bring the coat to him and even when I get him to the carseat, he straightens out to make it harder for me to put him in. He has such a wonderful time with his family. :-) AJ loves being outside. He gets to play outside at school nearly everyday! I can't wait till it's a bit warmer so I can take him to the park and see all of the new things he has learned! He is more challenging lately to brush his teeth. He wants to hold the toothbrush and he will NOT keep his mouth open well for me to brush. It's a bit of a challenge. He not only is understanding how to pull up his pants (still needs help), but he knows to put his arms up for his shirts. He also can completely undress on his own. Completely. When you don't want him to. He is lovey and cuddly and soooooo funny. He's a big tease and he adores animals, his sister and Bubble Guppies is his favorite show by FAR! AJ has the nick name Buggy or Bug now and it's stuck with Avery, Christina and I. He knows that's him and we love him. :-)

So Colorful!

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First Time Bowling!

Love the Vibrating Toothbrush!

Bathtime Smile

He is not bouncing so I got a pic!
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This is so big for me! *tear*

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Playing with my car :)

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He really is having the biggest time with this car!

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Video Games

It is absolutely amazing to me how fast she has learned to work video games! I think we should work more on reading! If she can learn video games, she can read!
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Reading :)

She is reading to Jesse & Woody this morning :)
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Me & my Bug

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First Time Doing It Himself

He does drink from an open cup on his own, but he never really 'got' the sippy cup before tonight. He was so excited. :)
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Sick

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