Cousins

One of our fun summer memories was spending a few days in Belton with Uncle Brad, Aunt Shannon, and the 3 Ms. And even more fun since they live on a college campus and it was summertime...the whole place to ourselves.

I have decided Belton has the best FREE public splash pad. We love going there anytime we're in town for the summer. The Bankheads' two other cousins happened to be in town as well, so all seven kids had a blast.

And somehow I forgot the swimsuit for Will that has a drawstring. SO he was a little saggy, but that didn't seem to stop him.

I love how these pics turned out! Think they had some fun?

 

I didn't bring the camera with me the next day, but more splashing at a local waterpark. Will found the perfect slide his size to go on at least 50 times in a row. :)

And before we left, we did a group shot with sisters and the kids. And also provided further proof that in some bizarre genetic wonder that we can't figure out, Morgan & Will are actually brother and sister somehow. :)

Such a fun couple of days with the Bankhead crew!  And just for my own memory's sake, the FB post after my drive home that night:

There are many, many absolutely exhausting moments that go into this parenting gig. Some we all wish we could forget. But something about the last three hours tonight makes me wish I could freeze time. A late-night drive home on I-35 by myself with the boys. With lots of traffic. Usually a recipe for disaster. But tonight, Tate was incredibly helpful and full of funny questions. Will happily sang, recited, or who knows what almost the entire drive. Reminding myself to be thankful and savor these moments.

4th of July

This year's 4th of July was a fun one. The summer seemed to be pretty busy, so we enjoyed the low-key day of just the four of us.

We had our first attempt of family miniature golf. It was fast & furious and pretty laughable at times, but we amazingly finished and had a fun time!

And then Will got to experience his first-ever fireworks. You can see he was clearly impressed.

Tate was a fan and liked to give a description (loudly) of each firework.  :) It was a fun day & night!

End Of An Era

This summer was the definite end of an era. Packing away the baby crib...for good. I put if off as long as I could, but Will was getting huge in that thing. He handled the transition surprisingly well and has loved his Big Boy Bed. 

Maybe the saddest part of the change meant that when he switched beds, there wouldn't be enough room for the glider anymore. Just about every single day of Will's life, I held and rocked him while singing a song before he went to bed. He loves routine, and this was a staple in the bedtime routine. He loved it...even despite my inability to carry a tune.  :)

The Last Nap:

Good morning Mr. Bedhead! :) Stayed in his bed and slept great!

When I knew we were having another boy, I didn't really change the nursery up much. I still liked it. So we just set the same room up but in a different house and with a few different personalizations for Will. 

A trip down memory lane for my own nostalgia/torture. :)

So many hours rocking in that glider. So many diapers changed on that table. So many clothes pulled out of the dresser. So many toys played with and books read on the rug. 

So many sweet memories of this room.

 

**I do have to laugh a little that clearly these pictures were from BEFORE Tate was born. The room had not been lived in yet. And never looked that clean ever again. 

Misc. June

In a truly desperate attempt to keep this thing updated, may I present our June wrap-up (in December)...

The only downside to having our Small Group's Garage Sale at our house is also having a kid that had $ burning a hole in his pocket. When you combine those two, you get this:

Doesn't every kid "NEED" giant retracting Batman wings?

June is when the temps warm up enough around our parts. That means out comes the Slip & Slide. And this particular day was a special one. Our "first baby" turned 10 years old. And what did she do to celebrate? She plopped her 80 lb. self right down on that Slip & Slide much to the frustration of two little boys. Just as you should on your birthday. :)

One of family's favorite summer traditions was back after a year off, Summer Spectacular! Our church puts on an incredible not-your-old-school VBS. Classes for everyone followed by an impressive musical. This year the theme was Joseph, and the musical did not disappoint. We all loved it!

A small, local waterpark nearby invited the kids at Will's school and other local Special Ed programs for Champions Day. They opened up two hours early just for our group, which was pretty great not having crowds. We really had no idea how Will would do at a place like this, so what a great way to try it out. And it was a pretty perfect day for this little fish. He loved it. Really what he loved was a little kid slide that he went on approximately 53 times in a row. :)

Will discovered shadow puppets and asked for "aaamuls" each night before bed. :)

Look who made it in our local Rec Center's summer catalog? He is most proud of his goggles & water gun.

Some of our friends got a new pool this summer and invited us over for a fun day of swimming. I tell Tate all the time that Laura and I were pregnant at the same time and Jackson was his first-ever friend. The picture of Anna on the chaise in the pink bikini, eating Cheetos, may be one of my favorites. Isn't that what we all want to be doing?  :)

Another fun trip to Six Flags with these daredevils, thanks to their super reading skills winning free tickets.

And one day I remembered to relax, chill out, and make some fun memories...after of course Tate was threatened with his life that people or animals were never to be thrown over.

Where We Are...

There is a constant debate in my head about how much I should publicly talk about what we are going thru with Will. For those close to us, it is well known and obvious. But I struggle with how much I should put out there.

But at the same time, if you know anything about me, you know I crave authenticity and am always one that wants to be real. Especially regarding this parenting gig, since mystiques rarely help anyone.

Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about the initial autism concerns with Will. Since then, we have slowly realized and accepted, we are living a life on the spectrum. Granted, he is considered on the high-functioning end of the spectrum. But boy what a ride it is proving to be. Off the top of my tired head, these are just a few of the daily challenges:

must cut the food a certain way
runs in parking lots
won't hold a hand in parking lot
screams while sitting at red lights
runs, runs, runs
little volume control
doesn't like to be contained
wanders away
melts down if food falls off the fork
wants you to sing, screams if you sing
freaks out over wearing a jacket

Any of these examples can trigger an epic meltdown. And sometimes this entire list can all happen in less than 30 minutes.  :)  Add any kind of new or unknown situation, any place that has a lot of activity or noise, a doctor's appointment, etc., and the wheels are officially off.

Right now my defense mechanism seems to be to cry. Wish that wasn't the case, because I don't do the pretty cry. I go right to swollen lips, red blotches on my neck. But it's who I am. When I feel overwhelmed, I cry. And truth be told, there's been a lot of that lately.

Although Will is doing absolutely wonderful in school (he thrives in routine and predictability and we are SO thankful for this school), life at home is not quite as picturesque. In fact, life at home has become increasingly harder.

Thankfully, he is a great sleeper. Seriously. Thank you, Lord! So I am not necessarily physically tired as much as I am emotionally tired. Emotionally exhausted. Living life not knowing and honestly, fearing, when a complete meltdown might occur is tiring. Constantly wondering where I should just accept this is how he operates vs. pushing him to adapt is confusing and stressful. Seeing him interact with the world and people in such a different way can be heartbreaking.

The other day I sat in a parking lot crying more tears of frustration and exhaustion after a horrendous experience at the pumpkin patch. Afterwards I was on Facebook and a friend posted these words from the song Glorious Unfolding:

Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight
Don’t try to figure it out
Just listen to what I’m whispering to your heart
‘Cause I know this is not
Anything like you thought
The story of your life was gonna be
And it feels like the end has started closing in on you
But it’s just not true
There’s so much of the story that’s still yet to unfold

I was a mess. That's when I decided I needed to write an update. For reasons both to document where we have been and are going on this journey (prayerful & hopeful we will see progress over time) and to provide a little glimpse into our world.

My assumption would've been that as he nears age 4, we would be scheduling playdates, signing him up for his first soccer team, and talking with him about all of his interests and favorite things to do. We aren't and that's ok. Right now, we are thrilled with a morning that he wakes up happy or a dinner that doesn't involve screaming.

But even when those things don't happen, I can thankfully still find some pretty adorable and unique things about this boy that make my heart happy.

knows all upper and lower case letters
can spell several friends & family members names
remembers EVERYthing
sweetest little voice
a puzzle rockstar
loves to sing
loves to dance
loves to jump on the trampoline
loves his family
gives the absolute BEST hugs

And when any of these happen, thankfully, it is easy to briefly forget the tiring moments before.

I think a lot of people around us aren't sure what to do or say. Will's situation is tricky. Because he is high-functioning, there are some scenarios that he is completely "normal" in. When in a comfortable or predictable situation, some may never guess about the spectrum. If that's the only time you see him, you may think we're crazy for changing his school and taking him to all of the therapies he goes to.

But let's face it. Life (especially in the Strzinek house) is anything but predictable. So more times than not, our outings and interactions are neither calm nor predictable.  :)

I've already heard it all. From the "all kids are like this, don't worry he will get over it" to people telling me about every random autism treatment they've ever heard about. Neither is the most helpful.  :)

But thankfully, Will has already developed quite a Fan Club. There are a few people at our church and his school who have a pretty special connection with him. The mutual love is just about the sweetest thing I've ever seen. There are really no words to express how much that means to us.

So that's where we are. The good and the bad of it all. Because it really is some of both.

I wouldn't change one minute of it. Well, a few less meltdowns would be nice. But I sure wouldn't change who Will is. He has taught me so much in just a few years, and I know there is much more to come. And in the exhaustion and the hard moments, I hold tight to this promise...

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,  for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ~ Lamentations 3:22-23

3rd annual Aunt Kelly & Nieces Day

"Only an aunt can gives hugs like a mother, keep secrets like a sister, and share love like a friend."

During the summer, I had the 3rd Annual Aunt Kelly & Nieces Day with Mallory & Morgan. Such a fun tradition the past few years.

This year we started with lunch at a fun pink, girly placed called Silver Spoon. The girls were quite amazed at the light fixtures made out of silver spoons. :)

And then we headed to our local paint-your-own-pottery place. This is when I'm reminded how different my boys are. And how different these two sisters are. I won't name names, but one was done with her painting pretty quick. And I had to keep encouraging the other one to maybe speed up just a little. :)

Both seemed to enjoy picking out the colors and did a wonderful job with their piggy bank masterpieces.

I love all three of my nieces. (Lots of fun outings with 13-year-old niece, Mary Tish, as well. This was the only one I could find that was from the years of digital pictures.)  :)  Such a special opportunity to have time with just them. Always hopeful that the relationship I have with all three will stay strong.