Pre-Preschool Meeting

Yesterday i met with the ACS Preschool teachers,

Julie and Debbie.

First impressions? Love them both!

This meeting was set in place to talk about Marshall-

who he is and what he likes,

our goals for him for his first preschool year.

Both Melissa and Karen from the FVCDC

were at the meeting as well.

The aide is not back from her 10 month contract

so she was not able to attend.

Karen had a bit of a bombshell for me, for everyone,

at the meeting yesterday.

Marshall will not have his own aide.

PCHOOO!!! (bomb sound) lol.

There is another little boy with Autism in Marshall's class

and due to lack of funding, the two boys will

be sharing 1 aide.

*sigh

Since all of this talk of preschool for Marshall already

now for the past year, i have been told that he

would qualify for an aide, his own aide.

Knowing my son, i have said time and time again that if

Marshall does not have an aide, that

i will not even put him in preschool.

It would feel as if i was setting him up for failure...

and i am not a big advocate for 3 year olds

to be in preschool anyways,

but i understand the benefits for Marshall with all of his

delays, and how having an aide in this social setting

will help Marshall to improve.

And now i find out that one-on-one attention is

out the window.

My initial reaction? I wanted to cry.

I started to get teary eyed and choked up, but i managed

to save the real tears for after the meeting

when Melissa and i talked in the parking lot for an hour.

I'm not sure why i felt so emotional.

I think it was just overwhelming for me to have a new thought,

a new thing to worry about.

I have been excited and curious to see how Marshall will do

at preschool, and i was confident that with

the help of an aide, he would do well.

And now i'm not so sure.

Both of the preschool teachers who are very in tune

with special needs children and support

their integration into their classroom,

were not pleased to hear about the shared aide idea.

Debbie stated almost right aways,

"I am sharing from my heart...

I don't think it is fair to those two little boys,

I don't think it's fair to the aide,

(even though she has tons of experience and they love her

and have worked with her before)

and also, it's not fair to us as their teachers."

I agree.

Karen felt terrible to have to give us this news.

She said that she was still going to try and

figure something out, and that she would come and fill in

when it worked with her schedule.

Karen also said that there might be funding to contract out

an aide, which would mean that ACS would have

to find someone to fill the 4 hours a week slot...

i can't imagine that's an easy task,

and the teachers did not offer any comfort words about

this scenario. It would have been great

if they would've said,

"Oh yes, we have several contacts that we could call

if the funding is provided"

or something along those lines.

But they looked concerned about finding someone.

Great.

So after this discussion about the shared aide came to a close,

the teachers wanted to hear all about Marshall.

My head was somewhere else... panic mode i think. lol.

So Karen and Melissa started to talk about M

and eventually i was able to join in.

The teachers were very happy to hear about Marshall's

progress at Next Step. In talking about

M we were all smiles and had a few laughs which was great.

Both teachers said that they were excited to meet

Marshall and were looking forward to having him in their class.

It felt genuine :)

Now i am feeling... well, everything feels up in the air again,

which i don't like.

Everyone at the table agreed that we needed to just pray

that everything would work out.

It's true. Prayer and a little Faith.

Sounds simple doesn't it?

Boy i tell you, God has been testing my Faith more so

in the past year than he has my entire life...

and it's not fun! lol.

A journey of Faith is something that i've talked about my whole

life, but had no idea what i was even saying

now that i look back on it.

Anyways...

It's ironic that my last post praises Marshall and how well

he is doing at school,

how well he is doing in general.

After the initial shock of the shared aide scenario,

i am optimistic about the whole situation.

Marshall might be ok with a shared aide.

Thankfully, it is slow integration

and the class is split into two groups,

so the aide can work with just Marshall for

an hour each of the two days that first week.

Maybe this will be enough??

Then the following week it will be the two full hours sharing the aide.

It's scary.

And it will definitely be an adventure for the staff involved. lol.

We shall see.

Life is good!

I don't have any one thing or specific event

to share at this time.

And that is a good thing, i think!

I feel more led to 'vent' when there are hard days,

days when i struggle,

days when Marshall struggles.

Things have been going really well around here!

Marshall has been at Next Step now for 3 weeks and today

he started his 4th week.

He is doing so well there!!!

Each and every day Warren reports of progress.

Sure there are some days when W tells

me that Marshall was testing a lot,

but overall, he's learning and listening and just doing

awesome!

("awesome" - a word that Warren uses often that M has picked up

on and repeated after him last week! so cute.)

I of course, could not be happier :)

Today after school i spoke with Warren for a bit

and he agreed that each day has been better than the

one before and we have not had a 'bad day',

no set-backs... as of yet.

Warren reported today at how Marshall is doing so well

during circle time, even doing the actions and everything!

Last week i didn't hear M screaming through

the circle at the end of the day... which he has been doing

and also running around.

Now he participates.

Warren told me that it was so great last week when they

took all four kids outside

and they all played on the same play structure and

were chasing eachother around having fun

together :)

Warren also said today that each child in the program

works at their own pace, and that Marshall

is working at a fast pace... meaning

that he is learning, adjusting and adapting

more easily than what is typical.

He said that he has been so impressed with how

Marshall doesn't become angry with

transitions anymore and how

he knows what's going on from one thing to the next

and how he does what's expected.

How great is all of this to hear!!

He has only been there for 3 weeks!!

I am very curious to see

how Marshall will do in preschool after adjusting so well

at Next Step. I have a feeling he is going to

thrive in every environment.

After all, he is a genius in his own fashion ;)

Awww... i am so stinking proud of that kid!

This past week has been great.

Marshall did AMAZING at my Uncle's pool again this

past week. He waited patiently until i cleaned the

pool, got him dressed and sunscreened up

before walking in on his own and walking off the steps

and into the water on his own!!

(with a life jacket and tube of course)

It was a proud moment and it was so great to just sit

back and watch him kicking his little legs with

his sister and cousins and just having a great time!

Being a normal kid...

whatever 'normal' even means these days i'm not entirely sure,

but you get my drift :)

It's been a good week (have i said that enough already? lol)

and i'm excited for the week ahead!

Our only struggles at this time are still the potty

training bit, and also the amount of yelling

that Marshall is still doing...

both when he's happy and when he's not.

I can take a few struggles with the amount of accomplishments

Marshall is making on a daily basis.

Way to go Buddy!

"I love you MORE"

lol... a new game Marshall loves to play with me :)

Goodbye Melissa, Hello Karen

Through the FVCDC we were set up with Melissa from the beginning.

I have mentioned how much we like Melissa

several times in my blogging :)

Melissa is part of the Infant Development Program

which is from ages birth-3 years old.

Marshall turned 3 in May and now we have to say

goodbye to Melissa :(

It's been so great having someone who is working with our

family on a regular basis who we respect and

really value her opinion...who we've

grown to love.

She has always been an open ear to me.

I have laughed and i have cried with her.

She has seen me through hard times, and good times with my son.

Together we have seen Marshall come so far in the

past year and a half.

As Melissa said yesterday on one of her last visits here,

Marshall has come

"leaps and bounds",

and it's true, he really has!

It has been great to rejoice in this along with Melissa,

who has become a good friend to me,

a strong support in my life...

a 'rambler' like myself. lol.

A simple phone call can easily turn into

a half hour conversation :)

Yesterday Melissa came to our home with Karen,

who will be our new contact person

for the next few years.

I've met Karen once before at playgroup and she was

really easy to talk to and i have no

doubt that our relationship will

grow into a friendship.

It was great to meet her and for

Marshall to connect with her yesterday.

Melissa and Karen share a desk at work

so although we will be saying 'goodbye' to Melissa,

she will continue to hear about our family via Karen

i'm sure... and i have a feeling she will be asking often too.

I think it's safe to say

that Melissa has fallen in love with our family.

She seems sad about us 'moving on' and

almost gets choked up when she talks about it.

But we are not going anywhere, even though the situation

isn't quite the same anymore.

This blog will help

as we take you along the journey that you helped get started :)

**************************************

Melissa - I believe you let your guard down with us and

have opened your heart in a big way.

I thank you for that.

I have never felt like we were just 'another family'

that you work for.

Your friendship has been such a blessing to my family...

to me.

It speaks volumes watching the way Marshall sat

in your lap yesterday just to give you a hug.

That was really precious...

and something i don't see Marshall do with others often.

Thank you for coming alongside us on this journey.

It has been a lot of things,

but mostly, it has been about

Faith. Hope. Love... and ultimately Autism.

This is God's plan for us.

And the future looks so bright for Marshall.

You will not be forgotten.

Thank you.

Fall Schedule at NS

I am happy to report that Marshall has been walking

on his own each time both to and from school (well,

from the car to the classroom)!

Yesterday as well as today,

Marshall did not shed a tear or even get a sad face

when i said my goodbyes to him!!

He waved and said "bye-bye"

to me at a distance and i had to ask him for a hug.

Can you believe that?!

I was pretty excited yesterday and M did the

same thing today :)

********************************

So how they work out the scheduling at Next Step

is like this. (And they redo it for summer

and possibly in the new year (i can't remember) again.)

What they do is they take your first, second and third

choice for time slots, and then they

try to accomidate each family's first choices.

I believe there are about 12 families

as there are 3 different time slots per day and

about 4 kids in each class.

This does not seem like an easy task!

Today i recieved Marshall's time slot for September

and it is our first choice!! Yeah! 1-3pm

I spoke with Janel a few weeks back and she said that

she felt i should put the 10-12pm as my first choice.

She seemed to be pushing that a bit actually.

Marshall is going to ACS preschool 2 days a week

and with that 10-12 slot, Janel suggested

that i take M out of preschool an hour early each day.

Ummmm...

He's only there for two hours.

He has no hope of bonding with his aide and i'm sure the

preschool wouldn't support me taking him out each time,

and i'm not fond of the idea either.

The impression i got from Janel was that M

will do better in her program than at a preschool,

so i should take him out.

This may be true,

but i don't want to close that preschool door just yet.

If the slot we were given was the 10-12pm one,

then we would most likely take M out of preschool

alltogether... which means that D doesn't need to be

in this private school which just messes up

everything... God would be playing

some mean game with us to change it up after everything

is in place!! lol.

Danny and i feel that it is in Marshall's best

interest to do both NS and preschool.

Of course, the problem with M ending his day at

3pm (2:50pm is pickup), is figuring

out how i can pickup the girls from school at the end of the day.

Well, after stressing and mulling over every option,

we are deciding to take D out of preschool 10

minutes early on her two/three days of the week.

I don't think that this will ruin her K experience,

and it will give Marshall the most help

which is definitely a priority.

I am hopeful that when i meet with D's

teacher and the school, that they will be supportive

and understanding of this request,

or rather, demand.

D is done class at exactly 2:50pm, so it is the only option

as i have no one else who could pickup D from school,

nor do i want someone else doing it every time.

B who is in grade 7 this year is done school

at 3:08pm, but only gets out the door around

3:15pm, so i should be able to grab her

on time as i am always in the car leaving NS by the end

time, which will be 3pm in September.

And even if i end up being a bit late, B is old enough

to hang out at the school without worry

(the bus kids only get picked up after 3:15pm).

I also found out today

that Marshall will no longer be working with

Warren, which is disappointing

as he has really grown fond of him in these two weeks.

Warren is not a year round employee i have found out..

He worked for NS last summer and is in school during the

year. So he will be done again at the end of the month.

Marshall's new interventionist will be Miranda.

I met Miranda on the first day that M and i visited

the classroom and i really liked her.

She was super friendly and sat and talked with me

for a while and made me feel really comfortable.

I'm sure Marshall will grow fond of her also,

and that he will continue to do well in this program.

Miranda is there now, so she is not a completely

new face for M which is a good thing.

**************************************

Marshall was up for about an hour in the middle of

the night last night which is weird for him as

he is a really good sleeper.

But it is not completely new for him to do this either.

He was talking and laughing. lol.

I tried to lay with him at 4am to get him to go

back down, but ended up abandoning him

(he didn't care)

to go back to my bed and sleep while he continued

to chat and play until he fell back asleep about an hour later.

This morning he seems to have a bit of a runny

nose and i'm pretty sure he's got a cold

coming on. I have been sneezing and feeling the same

nose business since i woke up this morning.

It is inevitable.

Sickness.

I hate it.

After last Winter when we had the flu in this house

with both kids and myself back and forth

for about a month, i will take a cold

and almost celebrate the simplicity of it.

Runny nose? wipe it.

Stuffed up? tylenol

Tired? extra naps

Easy peasy.

Puking - fevers- diarrhea?

NASTY.

Be thankful i only started blogging in June! lol.

Praise the Lord for another sunshiny day!

A Great Morning!!!

I just had to post about the great

morning Marshall had today at school!

We got out of the car at NS and

as usual, M was adament that i carry him into the school.

I brought him into the classroom

where we hung his new Toy Story backpack

on his designated hook.

Then M went to the train table and i went with

him. He will usually play, but he looks

worried about me leaving and will come

over to sit with me or hug me

for the first couple of minutes.

Today he seemed more at ease.

Then Warren came and i saw Marshall's face grow sad :(

I said, "Mommy's going byebye now ok?" "I love you"

and kisses, kisses, kisses.

Normally when i pull M off of me to hand to Warren,

his eyes are full of tears and he is wiping

them away.

Today when i pulled him away, no tears!!!

He still looked a bit sad,

but he didn't cry.

As i was walking out the door i heard him start

to run and i saw that he was running to a play

area and was not running towards me - awesome!!

When school was over i went to pick up

Marshall and although i heard him

whining and yelling a bit as

i waited outside the door,

Warren came out with M and said that today

was a great day and that each day

is better than the one before!!

How cool is that?!!

My son... is adjusting.

Fantastic!

Marshall was sitting on my lap while i talked with Warren

who told me that M went to the work room with

him today and he did a puzzle and played with

playdoh. Also, Warren said that M

peed in his diaper and went to his bag, grabbed a fresh diaper,

came over to him and said, "poopoo"... which M often

says for peepee :)

Warren was impressed and sure enough, M needed a change!

I'm so happy that Marshall is getting so comfortable

with Warren.

Then we were about

to leave and Marshall didn't want me to put him down

and i started to tell Warren how frustrating it is that

since we started school, M refuses to walk from the car

to the school and back afterwards.

I told him how yesterday i tried to get M to walk when

we were leaving and how he was freaking out

yelling at my legs and how i tripped a bit and then D tripped

over me and fell and scraped herself pretty good,

and how awesome it was to now have 2 crying

children for our walk back to the car. lol.

Anyways, so i'm done venting and

we are going to leave (it is just M and me)

and M won't let me put him down...

but i show him his backpack to carry as i put him down

anyways and he starts to carry it but then hands

it back to me and then runs over to the outside door!

I keep saying, "Good boy M! You walk!"

and he lets me push the door open and we get outside

and i'm just waiting for him to start whining "up"...

but he doesn't.

He just walks!

So started to run a bit thinking that he would want

up any minute, but he just smiled and ran

next to me and then when we got to

the little hill he slowed down and let me

take his hand and together...

we walked.

Yeah!!!

This is similar to the other day when M was listening to

me talk about his flipflops and then he went

to put them on to show off his skill.

He wanted to prove me wrong to Warren about having

to carry him every time.

Clever. lol.

So proud of my little man!

Hopefully this starts a new daily routine :)

Week 1 NS, Airshow, updates

Last Thursday when i picked Marshall up

from Next Step, he wasn't happy.

I guess i was 2 minutes late and M didn't like seeing

the other kids leaving and me not being there.

Warren said that M was testing a lot that day,

so there was a lot of yelling and being upset when he couldn't

have what he wanted or

go where he wanted.

This is what i get a LOT of at home.

I took Marshall home and he was ....

crabby. We'll just say that.

It was pretty bad.

He was super clingy and constantly

crying and whining and screaming. I couldn't even make dinner.

I put him down for a nap as he just seemed so

not himself and overwhelmed or something,

and he did sleep.

I figured once he woke up he'd be in better spirits.

He was not.

lol.

It was up there with one of the worst days

where nothing makes M happy,

nothing meets his needs,

and nothing allows for him to feel content.

I guess it was payback for the intense,

unlikeable session with Warren earlier in the day? lol.

Anyways.... a day i will not dwell on or think about now that

the words are on this page.

*****************************************

On Friday when i picked up Marshall from Next Step,

Warren was really happy and said that

Marshall had such a good day!!!!!!

He also said that it has

been a really great week for Marshall with adjusting

overall and he seemed eager to work with

M more the following week (today).

Happy.

That is what i felt and it is just so adorable watching

Marshall really understand praise

and shrug his shoulders as if he is almost

bashful about recieving it.

Marshall is still doing the really sad teary-eyed

goodbyes... which are so hard.

This morning he did it again.

But he doesn't get mad or throw a fit,

he says goodbye and stays with Warren as I walk out

the door. It's hard but totally doable.

****************************************

This weekend Marshall did really well!!

The rest of Marshall's Friday was really awesome.

He has been saying airplane, "aipone"

for a long time already, but all of a sudden,

he's saying "aipLane" (minus the 'r')...

it is so cute!!!

Most of Marshall's words are not very clear,

but anyone can know what he is saying

when he says airplane now, which is awesome.

********************************

Marshall has been following directions really well recently

as well. We went to the Abbotsford Airshow

on Saturday and M stayed on the blanketed area and

he was quite clingy for me which was

kind of annoying cause it was hot out,

but he looked at the planes and wasn't freaked

out by the loud jets which was great!

This was the first time we've gone

to the airshow.

I've gone as a kid, but the little kids and my hubby never have.

Marshall was happy to sit in the stroller as we

ventured over to meet my sis and my 2 brothers in the area

they'd been sitting in for a while already near the runway.

It was really warm, clear sunny skies,

but windy... which was a huge blessing.

My husband bought some slurpees for us which

is always a favourte for Marshall.

He liked the planes but wasn't super interested in

just sitting calmly during the dead spots.

He played with my nieces camera quite a bit,

and later on in the day i set up a blanket

off of his stroller to create some shade for the kids.

Marshall decided that wrapping himself

in the large quilt would be more fun. lol.

It was hot and i was waiting for him to fall asleep

under there... or pass out!!

He didn`t, but crashed for the drive home of course.

Daddy entertained the kids by laying down

on the blanket for majority of the day

while they climbed all over him. lol.

We had not planned to go the the Airshow.

For one, it is not a big interest for us.

The jets fly over our house during the day so we see

enough to keep the kids happy.

Secondly, being in a crowded place where it`s hot,

where Marshall is expected to sit for hours on end

with minimal enterainment does not

sound like a fun challenge .

But thanks to my

sis and bro-in-law for giving us a carload pass into

the Airshow, we couldn`t say no to FREE!!

And Marshall did really well...

i really don`t mind being proved wrong in these

situations!

A pretty good afternoon :)

*********************************

Last week Marshall opened the fridge and asked me for

some chocolate milk... i won't even try to

spell it how he says it cause it isn't even close. lol.

He points to the jug so i know.

I asked him, "where is your cup? go find your cup M."

He came into the livingroom area and looked

around briefly before it dawned on him.

He turned around and went out the slider into the backyard

and ran straight to his cup which he'd placed on the ground

behind a patio chair! wow!!

That was impressive.

*********************************

Marshall has a pair of sandals and a pair of flipflops

that have the strap at the back.

Recently M has been trying to put on the flipflops himself

and now he does it like a pro!

A few days ago my sis and her kids were over

and i was telling my sister C that Marshall can put on his own

flipflops. The kids were coloring nearby.

At the time M was barefoot.

I didn't clue in at all, but M ran into the house for a few minutes

and then came out of the house over to Auntie C

with his flipflopped-feet and was holding up

his foot in the air to my sister showing her his flipflop!!

What??!! He must have heard me and

wanted to show her first hand and get praise for it??!

I was so surprised that he was listening

to our conversation as he has such a one-way track mind.

Pretty cool.

*********************************

Potty training has taken a turn.

Marshall is not interested in sitting on the potty for longer

than 10 seconds anymore.

I've tried using some food rewards but M just gets

really angry that i won't give it to him

and he runs out of the bathroom screaming.

Marshall is really into taking his wet diaper off and putting

on a dry one this past week.

He doesn't even tell me he needs to pee most times,

he just goes in his diaper and then he

asks "pee pee" and grabs at his diaper

which is, "can i take my diaper off?"

I will say, "yes, off"

and he'll happily take it off.

The exciting part for Marshall is that he now understands

putting things in the garbage. lol.

I remember when Devyn thought it was fun to

put garbage away around a year and a half.

M is excited about doing this now at 3.

He will often just take off his dry diaper to put into

the garbage (which i go back and fish out after)

and he comes over all excited seeking praise from me.

Turkey.

He is a master now at putting a diaper on and does

so with pride and confidence.

I don't know...

I have been slacking a bit with getting him onto the potty.

I know he could be potty trained if he wanted to be.

It is such a fight now that i'm giving it a rest

and will pickup on it again in a month or something.

With typical kids it is always said that

'Potty training is easy if you wait until they're ready'.

I know Marshall is showing me all of the ready signs,

but perhaps a little break from the daily struggle

will bring back interest in the potty for him,

and also, a new round of energy and positive

attitude for me :)

*********************************

OH!!! I almost forgot! Last night during Marshall's bath

that he went into willingly and 'swam' for half an hour in,

he took the lufa from me and washed himself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He was happy to do so!!! What?!!!

Progress, gotta love it!

***********************************

This post is a bit of everything which is bothersome

to me because it feels unorganized. lol.

Oh well, it was a really enjoyable weekend with

a mostly happy M, who by the way, also did really

well at church on Sunday as well as out for lunch with my family.

Almost normal. lol.

I'll take it!

White Rock

Last year we went as a family of 5 to White Rock

for the first time. My parents (Nana and Grandpa) came along also.

Marshall loved it there.

I had bought him some water shoes as i was

worried that he wouldn't like the sand.

Earlier that summer he'd freak out if one of those playground pebbles would get between his toes. He actually did not like the water shoes

and was totally ok to run around barefoot.

The tide was out that day so there was so much room to just run...

Marshall was in his glory!!

It was great for us cause it wasn't busy there due to

quite a few clouds and a lot of wind,

but we didn't mind that it was cool.

Also, it meant that M could run pretty far away from us

without concern cause we could see him

a mile away!

Marshall stood mid-shin in the ocean and became a

statue. lol.

Nana stood there with Marshall as he was completely

still and just watched the sunshine

reflect off of the waves as they came towards him,

repeatedly hitting his legs.

He seemed so peaceful.

He stood there for an HOUR!!

I suppose this should have been a big Austism red-flag,

and looking back now it makes sense that Marshall

was in his own world.

I got him to come out of the water to eat.

Fish and Chips is always on the menu when we head to

White Rock.

So we all sat down on a blanket with our boxes

of greasy fish and chips and loads of tarter sauce - yum!

Marshall sat down and ate well...

and soon the seagulls found us,

tons of seagulls.

I hate that!! It gives me such an uneasy feeling having

those dumb birds flying overhead and walking

right up to the blanket.

You can't scare them away!

My Dad decided to start feeding them, oh joy.

But actually, it was really fun to watch!

He went away from us a bit and stood with his arm

up in the air with a french fry.

The birds were grabbing the fries from

Grandpa's hand.

Marshall loved the seagulls - go figure.

At first he didn't seem to,

but after Grandpa started feeding them and they

were surrounding him,

M was in there like a dirty shirt running all around

and 'chasing' the birds and laughing and smiling

and just having a great time. lol.

The train drove past too

which Marshall thought was awesome.

It was a wonderful day!

We only took happiness away from that adventure

and have been excited to go again this summer.

This past weekend, we did :)

We looked ahead and saw that the tide was not going to

be out in the time frame that worked for us,

but due to my husband working a lot

and also the timing of doing big family days only when

my step daughter is with us,

we just had to make use of this 'free' day and hoped

we would have some sand to play on for even

a short period of time.

We got to White rock around noon

and the tide was pretty far in and coming,

but there was some sand still available so we found a spot

(a spot that we kept having to move back of course)

and started to play!

Marshall was very whiny.

He walked to the beach fine and seemed to like

the environments, but he didn't

want to play in the sand.

He didn't want to go into the water.

He did go in briefly,

but was very upset when the bottom of his shorts got wet.

Then he went pee, a lot, in his diaper and i forgot the

diapers in the van which was far away,

so he was unhappy about that.

We took off the diaper and just let him go

free in his shorts which he was ok with.

He wanted me to carry him and cuddle him

the whole time.

It wasn't fun.

The train even came by which he pointed at and said

"train", but he didn't even really care.

We had just done the waterslides the day before

so perhaps he was still tired from that long day in the sun,

i dunno.

Then i started to dig a hole and we'd get buckets of water

and fill the hole.

Marshall thought this was fun - finally, something that

isn't whining!

So he had a good time dumping the water in the hole

and then throwing/pushing the sand back into

the water.

Daddy dug a trail both out to the ocean, as well

as away from it and then let the waves push the water

into our canal, and also kept dumping

buckets of water...

he was really into this activity.

So we had about an hour where Marshall was really

into the beach experience and seemed

to enjoy himself. Yeah!

Then he was done.

The tide was coming in quickly and so we headed back

to get our fish and chips.

Marshall didn't want to walk and was freaking out,

so i had to carry him for 10 minutes as we walked back to

where the van was parked.

If you remember, my body was broken from the slides,

so this was quite painful for me. lol.

We got to the car and i put dry shorts on Marshall,

got our blankets and pop,

and set up on the grass near the walkway.

Daddy brought over the fish and chips and we all

enjoyed some lunch.

The birds were not present this year :)

We chilled on the blankets for a bit.

Marshall kept pointing out the "waer" and at the "boat"s.

The weather was perfect.

The all of a sudden Marshall took an interest in the

people walking along the pathway.

He stood up and he started waving at everyone! lol.

It was adorable and hilarious too :)

He would wave well in advance and look right at them,

really engaging which is awesome,

and everyone waved back!

We were all just laughing at the cuteness of it all...

B was taking video and i got some good still shots of it too.

It was great to end the day on a good note!

Next time we head out

we will be sure to go when the tide is out for longer

and then to actually 'set up camp' there.

So this ends our very busy week of adventure!

It was chaotic, but fun, and i'm happy to have positive memories

with the family i am sooo blessed to have.

Splashdown Park

The waterslides!!

Last weekend we headed to Tsawassen

as we had half off coupons from Praise 106.5 Family Savers.

This was the first time with Marshall!

We haven't gone at all since he's been born,

so it's not like we chose to leave him at home in the past

or anything like that.

Like everything else we ever do,

it's a gamble as to how Marshall will be.

Will he like it?

Will he scream the whole time?

Will he listen?

Is he gunna be cranky and need a nap?

Will we have to leave after half an hour?

These questions loomed about still on the morning

of our waterslide day,

but what else can you do but try!

It was cloudy in Abbotsford,

but blue skies and really warm in Tsawassen!

Marshall was a little unsure of where we were going

so as soon as we were out of the car, it was "up".

He is my daily weight lifting routine these days!! lol.

We got into the park and it was busy

but not insane.

Got our blankets set up and brought our cooler

stocked with food and beverages.

Marshall saw the water and the slides and was

whining while he held his life jacket...

he wanted to go in the water!

M actually did really well as far as listening this day.

He would walk away from the blanket towards

the water just a few feet, and then stop.

I would see him and tell him to "come" or to

"wait" and he listened... every time.

This is actually only dawning on me now...

he never bolted, not once.

I will pause as i take this in!!!

......ahhh.................lol.

Big sister B brought a friend along so the two

of them pretty much disappeared for the day.

Daddy and I were left with the little ones...

well, i was left with Marshall as he

only wants me.

It is quite annoying.

Daddy is stronger.

Daddy is an extra pair of hands.

Daddy is fresh patience when Mommy's is wearing thin.

But Marshall won't have any of it.

Daddy tries to help, but M just gets more pissed off.

Mama's boy. lol.

Moving on,

now it's watersliding time!

Neither my husband or myself have been to this park

before so water levels and knowing which

slides go fast and what not was a guessing game

in the beginning.

I was worried that Marshall wouldn't like sliding

with water, and that maybe he wouldn't even

sit on the slide, nevermind slide down it.

Marshall proved me wrong :)

He walked into the water with me and went straight

for the slide (there were 3 at the top of the kiddie section).

He sat down and was a bit unsure, so i tucked in behind

him and we slid down together.

He loved it!!

:)

Daddy was there the whole time as the two little ones

slid down and then walked back up the hill.

Unfortunitely, we can't fully trust Marshall

to walk up a hill without running off into who knows

where, so each and every time he

came out of the water, me... and only me had

to get out and walk up the hill each time.

Now, i am out of shape.

I don't look it, but i am.

Last summer i was walking/jogging almost daily

with the kids in the stroller,

and i was in great shape.

But this year, i'm not sure why exactly,

i haven't been motivated enough to

get out there and do it.

So i've pretty much been sitting on my butt.

After half a dozen times up that little hill,

i could already feel my legs burning...

and then of course when i stop walking, the jello

sensation kicks in.

I knew i was in trouble. lol.

Then it got worse.

Marshall became very interested in the larger

wider slide (just goes straight down)

that lands in the deeper water that the regular

slides go into.

Now this meant that i had to lift M up as i landed at the

bottom of the slide.

Holy-moly.

Arms. Legs. Old lady. lol.

Ok, this really isn't supposed to be about me so i will just add

that i still can't crouch down without making a whimpering

noise and it's been 4 days. lol.

SOOOO...

back to this larger slide.

Marshall loved it.

We slid down this particular slide at least 10 consecutive

times after the first time.

I would scream often as the speed was freaking me

out and i was worried i was gunna take M

under with me.

I guess Marshall picked up on this cause

after the 5th time or so, he started screaming too!! lol.

He was laughing and smiling,

AND he was totally ok with getting really wet

on his head and in his face at the bottom of the slide.

That surprised me.

We'd 'stick' the landing and i'd pop out and look at

Marshall and his face was covered in water and

he was blinking like crazy. lol.

I'd say, "Oh boy!! Water!! It's ok!!" and laugh

and pretty soon he was saying, "it's ok" after each slide when

i'd rub his face and he was laughing.

It was great.

We ate lunch and then Marshall got a bit out of sorts.

We went back onto the slides and suddenly he

would want to walk to the big slide, but then

once i'd sit down with him,

instead of counting like we'd been doing,

he was freaking out and turning around and trying

to climb me.

He smashed his head on my teeth three different times.

I was already sitting with him,

so i pushed us down each time.

I'm sure people were thinking i was abusing my screaming

son by forcing him down this slide,

but what could i do?!

Then we'd go up the hill and i'd try to lure him to the

kiddie slides, but he wanted the big slide...

and he'd wait until we were sitting and then he'd freak again.

It was getting stressful,

and i was landing wrong in the water because he

wouldn't sit proper.

Anyways...

i convinced him to go back to the blanket to eat,

which he did, and was happy about it.

He was looking like he might fall asleep, but he didn't,

he saved that for the car ride home :)

Daddy got everyone icecream which

we thought would be a nice treat...

and it was - after buying 8 different kinds for 6 people! lol.

That was a bit of a train wreck for about 10 minutes,

but in the end, everyone got what they wanted

and everyone was happy.

And hey, if my family's happy, then i'm happy.

Another new adventure for the Hiebert clan,

a good adventure!

We will definitely make a point of hitting the waterslides

again with Marshall in the future...

but i will have to start my training

3 months prior to the date! lol.

Next Step- Day 1, 2 and 3

Marshall has officially started at Next Step.

Monday to Friday and his time slot

for the remainder of summer is from 10:30-12:30pm.

His interventionist is Warren.

I took Marshall in last Friday, as recommended by Janel,

to get familiar with the space and some of the

faces he would be seeing.

Next Step rents 2 classrooms out of Terry Fox school

here in Abbotsford and it is only 10 minutes from

our home which is great.

One classroom is the PLAY room

and the other is the WORK room.

For this week, the main goal is to get Marshall

familiar with the space, and to build

a relationship with Warren.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 1.

I brought Marshall into the school and he didn't want to

go into the classroom.

He was crying a bit but of course, i brought

him into the room anyways.

Warren walked into the room with a Shrek toy that

was still in the box.

Marshall saw this and got off my lap and

went over to Warren and to the toy.

We helped M open the box and he pulled out a big

Shrek head and started to play with it.

Warren started to play together with him.

It was the perfect opportunity to slip out,

but at Next Step, it is manditory that i say proper

goodbye's to Marshall (which is a good thing to learn)

and then leave.

So i said "bye-bye" and gave M a kiss.

He kinda looked at me but kept on playing with the toy

so i got up and walked out the door.

I heard no screaming or crying.

Great!

I came back after two hours and Warren looked

overwhelmed. lol.

I asked him how Marshall was and he said that it was a hard

day and he had a lot of trouble with transitions.

Warren said that Marshall soon realized that i'd left and

then spent the next 10 minutes crying for me.

He cried/screamed on and off the whole 2 hours,

but after the 10 minutes his tantrums were

only about a minute each time

as Warren was able to distract him.

Patti, another interventionist was there with us and she

chimed in and said that Warren is still fairly new

and that he has never had a child from the first day,

so he is still learning and therefore today

was a lot for him. Poor guy - lol.

Patti said that Marshall had a pretty normal/typical

first day.

Phew.

It was hard, but not too extreme... i can live with that.

Now the big question was,

How will Marshall feel about staying tomorrow now

that he knows what's going on?

I was not hopeful. lol.

Leading up to this program starting, i have already

shared that i have had some anxiety about it.

Feeling like it will be the hardest thing to

leave Marshall behind screaming for me... not knowing

what is going on there.

Well, i don't feel like this anymore...

and i'm happy to say that!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 2.

This morning as i was getting Marshall ready,

i said a few phrases a few times:

"Marshall, are you going to school?!!"

"Are you going to play with Warren?!!"

I don't know if M knew what i

was talking about, but he seemed to know and would

smile and was happy to get his lunch kit ready.

Out the door we went and into

the van. I drove into the parking lot of Next Step

and was waiting for a reaction...

it didn't come.

Marshall was eager to get out and hold his

Toy Story lunch bag.

He jumped out of the van but right aways wanted

"up", so i carried him to the school.

He wouldn't let me put him down once i entered

the classroom, but after a few minutes

he got down and went over the to

kitchen play area.

Warren said that they spent quite a bit of time there

the day before looking at all the food.

I let Marshall play for a bit and then W and i went

over to him.

I told Marshall my goodbyes and he started crying and

tried to climb onto me.

Warren took Marshall gently by the shoulders and guided

M back towards him.

I said "I love you" and goodbye again,

and then i walked out of the room.

I could hear him crying as i left, but i was ok.

I like Warren - i get a good vibe from him.

I went to pick Marshall up after his session and when

i walked into the school

Marshall came running over to me all happy :)

Warren was all smiles and said to

me over and over,

"It was a really good day... Marshall did really good!"

I have to laugh about it to myself

as seeing Warren's face and watching him light up

and look much less overwhelmed than he did the first day.

I praised Marshall like crazy and kept saying,

"Did you play with Warren?"

"You were a good boy Marshall!"

Marshall was in his glory and looking bashful at my

words of praise :)

For the rest of the day, Marshall took to some phrase

i haven't figured out exactly,

but i'm sure it has something to do with my saying

Did you play with Warren? Did you have fun?

comments,

He was saying over and over,

"..... (insert jibberish here).... Waaaen"

so, it goes... 'something something Warren'

lol.

It's so cute, and he keeps saying it and he waves his

hand in the air whenever he says Warren's name.

I am SO happy to see Marshall building a great bond and

trust with his interventionist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 3.

We just got home from Marshall's third day.

This morning i told Marshall we were going to go to school

and play with Warren and he seemed

happy about the idea.

We got in the car and as soon as we got out of

the van, he wanted "up" again.

I'm not sure what this carrying constantly thing is

about all of a sudden, but i guess

he's adjusting to the new environment so i won't

fight him on that right now.

Marshall was fine to go into the classroom

but wouldn't let go of me.

I managed to get him off me and sat to play with

him for a bit. Once he was content

and Warren was with us,

I said my goodbyes.

This time Marshall came over to me for a hug,

a sad half-crying hug :(

I said goodbye and i love you and have fun,

and Warren took hold of Marshall gently again.

Marshall didn't scream.

He teared up and seemed sad.

I tell you, it was much harder to leave him sad-crying

as opposed to mad-crying! lol. aww..

Anyways, i left and i could hear in his voice that he

wasn't going to escalade the screaming.

I picked him up from school and Marshall was happy,

and again, Warren was happy!! Yeah!

Warren said that they had another really great day.

Marshall ate his snack well and played

well and didn't cry :)

Warren took Marshall outside to the playground

today and M came back inside when he asked

him too! wow!

Warren stated that Marshall has really good

fine motor skills... it doesn't take long to

figure that out with our active son! lol.

It really is something to be thankful for though.

At our first visit to the school last Friday,

there was one boy there who stepped up into the coat

rack area which is only a few inches off the ground.

His interventionist had to coach him as

he struggled to get back down from the small

step. She also spent time coaching him as to how to

sit properly on the floor so his feet were positioned properly.

There are 4 kids ranging from 3-6 years old in each

class. This day i was able to observe the

other children, and we really have soooo much

to be thankful for in regards to Marshall.

One of the little girls came into the

classroom with a fully drool-soaked tshirt and she

appeared to have no language.

Another boy who i know from playgroup was there

and a year and a half ago he had no language,

and now seeing him again,

realizing that he still has no words.

I don't know these children's severity of Autism,

but man, we need to be thankful that

we are in a sense,

dealing with peanuts in comparisson

to what some of these kids/parent's struggle with.

Quite humbling actually... i got off of my

'poor me, poor Marshall' train pretty

quickly after that half hour in the classroom.

Praise the Lord for the hand we have been dealt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So this is what our first 3 days has looked like at Next Step.

In my opinion, very successful!!

Next week Warren will start getting Marshall into the

WORK room, which may change a lot of the

happiness currently being experienced. lol.

We shall see!

Family Vacation- The Cabin

Last week my husband had a week off of work

so we took advantage of the time and

went to visit his brother, wife and 2 kids up

in Kamloops.

My sister in law's family has a cabin on Walloper Lake

near Laque le Jeune.

We have gone up and spent time at the cabin

every summer, but never with Marshall...

until now!

A new enviroment, new "no's",

new sleeping arrangement.... hmmm...

really had no idea how this was going to go over.

BUT

we decided that we would try and if it was going

terrible, we'd just come home, no biggie.

So Sunday morning all 5 of us drove up.

Marshall fell asleep as we pulled into

the driveway, so we let him nap a bit longer

which actually worked out well

as we were able to unload the van and sort

everything.

M woke up and as per usual, he was grumpy.

He sat with me in the lazy boy until he 'came to'

and then he explored the new space.

Their family dog Harley was there so Marshall

was excited about that :)

M wandered around and we set up boundaries for him

and for the most part, he didn't fight anything.

The main area of caution for Marshall is the deck.

They have built in seating all around the deck which is

2 stories off the ground.

He was never out there alone.

He loved to stand on the deck and look out at the

"waer" (water) and point!

He also pointed to the "boat" constantly.

On the second day, Uncle S, Daddy and I took M out

on the boat.

Marshall was excited to put on his life jacket and

was happy walking down to the dock,

but then we started to get into the boat...

the unstable, rocky boat,

and Marshall started freaking out.

I wasn't stressed out but

was just kinda laughing as i figured he'd get over

it soon enough.

S started up the motor and we headed out further

on the lake.

Marshall was not impressed...

but he didn't know what he wanted either.

He was going back and forth from Dad and myself,

he was pointing at the fishing rods

and grabbing the oars and

just looked very overwhelmed.

We stopped the motor and got out the fishing

rod which M held briefly.

Uncle S caught a little fish for Marshall which

M thought was pretty cool.

Marshall came to touch it and pulled away quickly

and said, "yuck". lol.

Then we unhooked it and M really wanted to hold it.

So we gave him the slippery fish and he held it

in his hand.

He looked at it for a short moment,

the went to the side of the boat and

tossed it back into the water. lol.

Our little environmentalist ;)

One of my main concerns about going away from

everything familiar at home,

was the sleeping part.

The little kids and i actually slept in an RV on the

property. I wanted to have a quiet

place to take them if needed,

and then also, i could keep them in there in the

mornings to let everyone else sleep in a bit.

We set up M's bed where the table turns into a bed.

I brought ALL of his bedding and most of his

bed things/toys that he always has.

He was a little freaked out

so i layed down with him and rubbed his head until

he fell asleep.

He slept through the night the first night

and so did D!!

I was paranoid about them waking up and so

every noise had me alert. lol. I didn't sleep at all

the first night.

Both the second and third night Marshall fell asleep

on his own while i read my book in my bed,

but during both those nights

M woke up at 3am and came into my bed!

He has never done this at home.

I expected him to cry if he woke up and i would soothe

him back to sleep in his bed.

So this was strange.

He simply crawled in on his own,

layed down beside me,

and fell back asleep.

Weird.

But hey, he slept!!

I even got him to take a nap in one of the bedrooms

in the cabin the one day he needed it!

The last day there we went to a relatives farm to

see all of his birds... peacocks, pheasants, chickens, doves etc.

Marshall enjoyed that briefly but then

ventured down to the water and Daddy basically

chased him around the whole time.

There was a hilly area of grass and we all

enjoyed watching M happily rolling around on it. lol.

M crashed most of the drive home :)

It was a great adventure!!

Marshall did much better than i expected,

which makes me happy.

I am realizing that keeping my expectations low

creates a happier turn out! lol.

I will be less hesitant to take the kids, aka Marshall,

away for a night or two after

this successful trip! Yeah!