A Peek at the Poulsens

We identified months ago that our middle child and first son, Stockton Luke, has some behaviors and developmental delays consistent with autism. We tried speech therapy from 2 years of age, got his hearing tested, and had early development services in our home. Nothing was dramatically increasing his development though, so we decided to go ahead and get him evaluated for autism and/or other developmental issues. We had to wait four months for the appointment at a special clinic in Omaha (Munroe-Meyer Institute), but it was worth the wait because they are experts at MMI and provide extensive, comprehensive resources to children and families in these circumstances.   After a 4-hour process doing various observations, questionnaires, standardized testing, and speech evaluations, the doctors did conclude that Stockton has autism spectrum disorder , or just autism for short. It was a bit jarring to deal with an actual on-paper diagnosis, but thankfully we've sort of known in our hea...

 He's ONE! I can't believe it. Smalls has been a giant part of our family for the last year - it seems crazy that it's only been a year! He is absolutely meant to be with us and we love the enthusiasm he brings to our lives. Lately he's also been a little whiny, but he still has a zest for life and fun and a twinkle in both eyes.  post-cake rinse  He loves his siblings and has the cutest curlies on the top of his head. He sometimes walks, most of the time crawls on his toes with his bum in the air. He can identify fan, clock, and multiple family members. He loves saying "Stockton" ("dah-dun") and "clock" ("cuck"). He still stiffens his legs and points his feet when he's excited about something. He loves being outside and on the toy airplane. He dislikes being away from Mommy and getting his diaper changed.  We had a fun celebration over at the Poulsens - I love all the phones you can see taking pictures haha....

I'm skipping ahead to write this post since it's fresh on my mind, but never fear, I'll get to the others too! (Sorry Jack, you turned one over a month ago...he he). I'm sad that I didn't take more pictures of this trip - my hands were always too full and I was always enjoying the moment too much to take pictures, I guess. Austin's sister, Makenzie, got married in Bountiful on May 27 so we decided to suck it up and venture out on our first family road trip since summer 2014. We were nervous about how the kids would sleep, how they'd do in the car, if they'd destroy the houses and places where we went, and if Austin and I would survive all of the potential doom we were imagining. I am happy to report that we did, indeed, survive, and everything went really well! anything to make them happy - suckers, mittens, dollar toys, forts  Wednesday was a driving day. We met the Lincoln Poulsens (Makall and parents) to caravan together at 4 in the morning ...

 Isn't she pretty? We walked to church one Sunday when Austin stayed home with sick boys. She loves to walk on walls. She loves her pretty dresses. She doesn't really care about her hair (yet?) - I'm almost always the one to initiate but she usually goes along with it. She is BUSY - she doesn't like to sit still, and she doesn't like being alone. She is independent, but she likes someone (usually me) to come be independent with her. "Mom, wanna go make beds downstairs and take a rest?" "Mom, let's go outside." "Mommy, come on!" She told me she had to "put a bandaid on her brain" after she bonked it coming out of the fort. She left it on there for quite a while haha. She is stubborn! She gets an idea in her head and unless you have an extremely compelling argument, she will not let it go. Like I said, she loves doing things with another person, but sometimes I'm doing something else and can't come right th...

An everything post!  My children LOVE sitting on blankets. You lay a big blanket down on the ground and they FLOCK over, arms flapping, and plop themselves down. I don't know why it's so stimulating but they all love it haha. I thought it was cute to have them on each of their own blankies in this picture. Also, Stockton's sunglasses.  Attention! Three children playing together! Purposefully and contentedly! I rounded the corner after finishing up in the kitchen to this sight and stopped still, not wanting to disturb the moment. Brothers. Oh how I hope they are friends growing up. Kimber do you feel like your boys are pretty close already?   Fort under the table! Goldfish and banana picnic  I had the blankie over his head while we ran inside because it was pouring rain, and he kept it like this for a while in the store haha.  His FEET! You know he's excited when he holds them out stiff like that haha. Natalie likes doing wor...

I couldn't believe how much D.C. and Maryland felt like HOME! I only lived there for 3 years, and this was my 3rd or 4th visit back since I moved away over 10 years ago. But it just instantly felt like I was right back where I belong. Part of it I'm sure is being with Ananda - things are always better when I'm with her - but I just have so many happy perfect memories from that time in my life (6, 7, and 8th grade) and it felt so good to be back again. The third night we took the train to Columbia, MD, which is where I lived and where Ananda's parents still live. It was positively MAGICAL to drive around and see where we grew up! Not to mention seeing Pat and John - they are my second parents and I love them SO much. We pulled into the driveway of 5344 Racegate Run and opened the front door and the nostalgia hit us so hard it actually made us a little emotional - the number of times we have come careening in that door fresh from the "stress" and "drama...