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.

Lola

It's crazy to think that I haven't posted in a year! I was getting on to do a long overdue post, but I didn't realize it had been that long... Time flies I guess:) I thought this little girl deserved a post all her own. I am so glad that she came to our family. It is hard to picture life before she was around.

I love her face! She is so sweet... Sometimes I feel bad that she has it pretty hard in some ways, but I know that she was meant for our family. She has such a strong spirit and she is so full of life and personality. I love watching her emerge as she gets older...

One of her favorite past-times... exploring. She loves to play around the entertainment center and pull out dvds, empty full containers of wipes and use the tv stand as a teether. Lola loves to be busy and she wants me to do everything with her, so she keeps me busy too:)

This was taken on her first birthday... I love my little girl. She is such a gift!

7 Weeks

As of yesterday, this little girl is officially 7 weeks old, but it is already hard to remember what life was like without her. She loves tummy time, baths, clean diapers, hearing the sound of her brother's voice, (don't we all:) and sleeping in her dad's arms. Lola is so much different from Cole... It is so interesting to realize how particular babies are, even at such a young age. She doesn't seem to share Cole's love for music, which I thought all babies liked, but apparently that is not the case. Lately, I hear Cole singing to himself before he falls asleep. He takes tunes from songs he knows and throws in his own words. He also loves singing at church, the words aren't always decipherable, but he seems to know what he is saying. Therapy is going really well for him... he loves the people he works with and he is communicating a little bit more all the time. I am so grateful for the therapists and teachers that work with Cole... It is amazing how people who were strangers a few months ago, were able to come in and form a bond with Cole and help him in ways I was unable to. He is a lucky boy to have so many people that care about and love him.

She Is Here!

Lola Lynn was born at 5:04 pm on the 9th of February...

Here she is checking me out for the first time...

And I think she has decided that she likes me:)

She is so sweet and I am glad she is finally here! I cannot believe how much life can change in just 5 days. Cole is adjusting better than I expected him to, but I think it is just going to take him some time to get used to all of the newness.

First Day of School

A very tired Cole started school this morning... I cannot believe having him all to myself every day has already come and gone. I am very grateful though for the programs that our school district has and I know once he adjusts he will love preschool.

This is just another random picture from his birthday last week... I love his little face. I am so glad that he gets to start school before Lola arrives sometime in the next couple weeks... I really didn't want him to associate being sent to school with Lola. He is going to be such a sweet big brother. Lately he has been kissing my stomach and saying, "baby?" He is the best...

Happy 3rd Birthday

I had no idea how quickly this baby boy...

... would turn in to this little man. We have had such a good day together - the three of us ate lunch at McDonalds, played at Jump Planet, shopped at Target, played at the park, jumped off couches and ate homemade mac and cheese for dinner... all of Cole's favorite things. I say it all the time, but it is so hard to imagine life before Cole. Didn't I miss him? The last year has definitely been a challenging one, but I am so excited for all the things life has in store for Cole.

Leaves and Accessories

Cole loves to accessorize... His item of choice these days is this hat.  He loves to put in on when we're going to run errands, I think he knows how cute he looks in it... 

His other favorite is my sunglasses.  I bought him a pair of his own, but apparently he prefers the over-sized look.  

We have been really busy lately with therapy, and when we have been at home it has usually been raining, but today we had some rain-free down time, so we made the most of it.  Cole spent his time gathering leaves...

And tossing them up in the air... I am glad he loves leaves as much as I do.  There is just something about all things fall that I find cozy and calming...

Cole plotting his next move... He is rarely standing still, especially when we are outside, but he did pause for a moment after throwing leaves to decide where to go next... I love his face.  I cannot believe he is going to be a big brother in just over 3 months and he will also be starting preschool at the same time...  life as we know it is about to change forever.  Once he adjusts, I know he is going to love having a little sister.  We are naming her Lola after Cole's favorite cartoon character.  3 months feels like forever in terms of being miserably pregnant, but I know the time is going to fly by, so I am trying to make the most of the rest of our alone time.