Progress!

Ryker has been making so much progress in the past few weeks. We are hearing more and more sounds and he even mumbles a word or two on random occasions. His speech therapist is convinced that he will be the type of kid who will spurt out words randomly and then one day just start talking. All of his therapists have mentioned his high cognitive abilities and how they feel he will really thrive in the next few years. He really is a smart, smart kid-- sometimes autism gets in the way of that, but he fights it every single day- and it shows.

Yesterday morning he greeted me in bed with kisses! He has never, ever given me a kiss (or anyone else for that matter). I told Adam that it would probably be a long time before he did that again, and being the sneaky little guy he is, decided to prove me wrong 2 more times throughout the day. :)

I guess kisses and random words weren't enough for him this weekend. During snack this morning, he used his spoon independently to scoop his yogurt. My jaw dropped- I couldn't believe it! Normally when he does new things like this it is a one time (literally- he normally does the action once and then we don't see it again for weeks or months)- not today. He had 2 servings of yogurt and used his spoon for most of it. He did ask for help by grabbing my hand, but he really limited my help to scooping the yogurt.

He is starting to play with a purpose. I can't tell you how amazing it is to watch him put cars on top of a race track/ramp and push them. Most of his life he hasn't been able to make those connections or understand- toys were frustrating for him. He normally throws toys when he doesn't know what to do with them- there used to be a lot of flying toys around here! He still has a lot of work to do, specifically on generalizing skills, but to know he is beginning to understand is priceless!

We are starting his summer therapy schedule this week, so our days will be a little calmer...but not too much. Lots of playing, swimming, and cuddling before September when we have to send little man on a school bus 4 days a week!

Helping Mommy

This morning Makaylin helped me prep for the trifle we're going to put together this afternoon- more pictures of that next time. We baked a gluten-free yellow cake first, and she had fun pouring the ingredients into the bowl. After we put the cake in the oven, we had to mix up vanilla pudding- she tried so hard to whisk really fast, but in the end I had to help. :)

{Strawberry Lemonade for Mak while we wait for the cake to bake}

{Iced caramel Macchiato for Mommy- in my OSU glass!}

{I have to give credit to Adam for this one. He was so proud of this picture that he took. I edited it and cropped it, but he took it!}

YGG: Live!

Last Tuesday morning Makaylin was on the Yo Gabba Gabba: Live! web site watching the balloons on their map "fly away". The balloons represented cities, and whichever balloons were left at 9a.m. were the locations for the next YGG Live! tour. Last year they didn't come anywhere near Minneapolis, so we were so excited to see that Minneapolis is their very first show on the tour- and you can bet we are getting tickets! Makaylin & Ryker just love YGG and I can only imagine the mayhem that will ensue on September 15th.

Auntie!

Auntie Kelsie visited us this afternoon-- the kids just love her! :)

Root Beer Floats!

On Mother's Day, Makaylin & I enjoyed a root beer float at home. It was the first time she had tasted pop and as she took the first sip she looked up and said, "Mmmm... yummy!"

I didn't do it!

Makaylin was helping me make some gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cup frosting yesterday. Ryker decided he would sneak some frosting and grab some batter out of the bowl. It was a mess, but he was nothing but smiles!

Happy Easter!

Well, this was the kids 3rd Easter. Their first was spent in the NICU. We spent their 2nd Easter in California and enjoyed a nice earthquake (pretty strong one, actually) during our dinner. This year we were able to spend it with family and we are grateful and blessed! The kids were spoiled and we have 2 shopping bags full of candy/treats--more than at Halloween! They also got a lot of new books (yay for replacing broken books!), bubbles, and bunnies.

For the twins's birthday, Nana bought them a bounce house. We were blessed with beautiful weather today, so Adam set it up outside this morning. The kids LOVED it! I know we will be making good use of it all summer long!

Ryker didn't quite make it to the easter egg hunt--he was so ready for a nap. So, Makaylin & Daxxon looked for their eggs and had a great time!