Thursday, March 31, 2011

Life As We Know It

Life with Cole is never dull... Sometimes I get so caught up in the whirlwind that is our daily life and I forget to take a step back and see how far we have come together. Having a child with autism is HARD, I would never deny that, but overall it is a blessing. For Cole's sake, I really wish I could take it away, but I know that he is who he is supposed to be and I am so grateful for all of the miracles that I get witness as he progresses.
This is about as close as playing together as these two get... but even this is major progress. For a long time Cole could not be in the same room as Lola without panicking, but the more predictable she becomes, the easier she is on Cole.
This is Cole on Christmas morning. This was the first year that he seemed at all aware that it was a special day. We had been building it up, telling him that Santa Claus was coming and that he would bring Cole cookies, because nothing gets Cole more excited than cookies... and when he saw the plate of cookies on Christmas morning, I think he made the connection I was trying to help him make.
He LOVES having family in town. He loves nothing more than a room full of people (adults- kids make him nervous), all paying attention to him, and family is definitely good for that. He particularly loved having Marcus in town over Christmas break... If you know Cole, then you know how amazing it is to see him this calm...
I love his face in this picture... I feel like it captures who he is. He is SO sweet and just wants to be good. His frustrations come from his difficultly understanding the expectations that other people understand innately. I am so blessed to have him and Lola in my life... I know that they are helping me become the person I was always meant to be. Life is good.

8 comments:

Brit said...

This post made me cry. I love Cole and am so glad that I get to be a part of his life! Keep the posts coming, I love seeing all these pictures!!

MelissaS said...

AIMEE! So glad to see you blogging again. You and your littles have made your way into my thoughts a few times in the last couple weeks (and I keep forgetting to ask Dana about you guys) so I am glad I can see what you have been up to.
Your kids are both so darling. It sounds like Cole is doing well--I am so glad.

ps--I love your entertainment center. You really do have such great taste.

pps--tell Diana happy (almost two months) belated birthday for me.

Neil and Courtney Anne said...

Holy crap, Cole is huge! We miss you guys (Cole especially ;-) ), and wish we could have met miss Lola before you moved. Keep posting updates!

Haley said...

I love, love, love the picture of Marcus and Cole...so sweet. I'm so happy Cole is doing so well...I miss you guys!

She Loves The Color Pink said...

Aimee, you are such a great mom! Cole is such a handsome boy! He looks so much like you and Sean.
Oh and I love your red couch :)

Joan said...

Cole is so big! When did that happen? Beautiful babies.
Lucky to have a mom who loves them so much. That was so cute to do a separate post for Lola!

Drew and Valarie's Family Blog said...

welcome back :) hehe,, do you facebook much, I sent you a message there, but don't know if you check it often. How are you guys doing?!!! Cute pictures!!!! This was the first I heard of Cole being Autistic, how amazing of a mom are you!???!! I'd love to catch up with you and Sean! Hope you are doing well!

harada57 said...
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