Happy Birthday Levi!

Oh, my sweet, precious little boy...I cannot believe you are 1 year old!  You are exactly 1 year 1 hour old as I type this.  I can remember every single second of your birth date.  I woke up thinking I had peed my pants, only to finally realize my water broke!  It was a beautiful sunny day as we drove to the hospital.  (the exact opposite of this nasty, rainy, cold weather we have now).  Everything went very quickly once we got to the hospital.  We checked in, and a wonderful nurse took us to our own beautiful, PRIVATE room.  We got to the hospital around 10 am and by 12:30 I was holding you in my arms!!!  It was such a wonderful experience.  You came out and started crying immediately, and I instantly fell in love with you.  You weighed in at a very large 9lbs 4 oz.  (I thought about going the VBAC route but doc said your shoulders wouldn't have fit through me anyway :) ).  We had such a good experience at the hospital, and as well once we got home.  I learned my lesson the first time around with Owen that help was a good thing, and Grandma stayed to help.  I still got a little anxious at times (as I will probably always do) but this first year with you has been beyond wonderful. 

I can already see in your personality this huge, huggable, loveable heart.  You are pretty much all grins except when you are tired or hungry.  Then you really let us know.  You worship your big brother, and your totally a momma's boy (yeah :) ).  Of course you love your daddy too (thats all you talk about...da da da da).  You've been so patient with us as we have had to spend a lot of time working with Owen this year.  God gives you what you can handle, and your sweet, relatively laid back demeanor is a blessing. 

We are so in love with you Levi, and you have been such a treasure for our family. 

Here are some picts of our morning at BounceU -

Autism Awareness Video

Please take a look at this Video!

http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214

Not what I wanted to hear

I've had to take a few days to process the info from Owen's appointment at Cardinal Glennon on Monday.  I really really was expecting them to look at me like I was crazy for bringing Owen to them, I wanted them to be mad at me for wasting their time, and for them to tell me that Owen was a perfectly normal 3 year old boy.  They didn't. 

Owen has made dramatic, miraculous improvements over the past several months.  Its been a combination of several things occuring...his therapy, his dietary changes, his supplements, his school, his mom getting a handle and not freaking out over everything, his dad getting on board that there was a problem, his grandparents being loving and supportive, and most importantly, our Lord watching over him. 

There are still some issues though.  They said that he has an average of a 20month development for several areas.  He was off the charts in some things (he can count to 60, knows his ABC, can spell his name, knows his months/days...) but way behind in other areas (even though he can count if you ask him "how many" he doesn't understand).  They said he does not have ADHD, but we need to watch for it in the future.  They highly recommended additional Occupational Therapy, which I've already set up.  We are getting a full report soon, and will return in December for another session.  The doctor said it is extremely possible for him to come off the Autism Spectrum in a year. 

So, I felt a little blue.  A little sorry for myself.  Then I walked through the hospital and saw several children in wheelchairs who couldn't even hold their head up.  My pitty party quickly ended. 

Its still a lot to digest though, about our little boy.

We are doing good, we will do everything we need to and ensure he gets the help he needs. 

Okay, enough about that.  Tomorrow is Levi's birthday!!!!!  We are doing a small gathering with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday.  We are sure he will take his first step anyday now.  Won't that be fun if its on his birthday!?!

Weekend fun with Mommy

Another good day...though...Owen was a little more cranky today since he didn't have a nap yesterday.  He had to go to his room a couple of times, but nothing I couldn't handle. 

Owen slept until 6:20 am though...woo hoo!  (he gets up at 5 am regularly now...again.....ugh!!!)  We got up and went to church.  He wouldn't go pee at home, he screamed that he wanted to pee at church.  Okay, wasn't going to fight that battle. 

Got home and took Mason for a quick walk then ate lunch.  Then we went to his buddy Ryan's birthday party.  Had a good time there.  Got home and got him into bed about 1:30...by then he was so over-tired that he had a hard time going to sleep.  I painted our staircase while he slept (please don't ask why I choose this activity, I really have no idea...I thought it sounded good).  He got up about 4 and we took Mason for another walk, it started POURING down rain while we where walking.  It was good for him, rain never hurt anyone.  We got in the van to take my movie back to redbox (Confessions of a Shop-a-holic....please don't waste your $$), then Owen and I went out to dinner.  It was awesome!  Everyone was oooing and ahhhing over how cute he was, and he behaved so well! 

Then we got home and carved a pumpkin!  I'm not winning any awards anytime soon, but it was fun.  Owen watched Dinasour Train then it was time for bed. 

We've had a great weekend together.  I miss my Levi and hubby (although I'm quite annoyed with hubby right now...long story don't feel like writing about it...but he is in Vegas with his buddies, and, so the story goes...)

I'm off to bed at the ripe hour of 9 pm.  We have Owen's 4 hour long evaluation at Cardinal Glennon tomorrow.  I'm so excited for this apt....6 months waiting finally over!

Happy Birthday Ry-Ry!

Owen and Mommy's Day Out

I just had the most spectacular day with my little boy.  Hopefully I can write it all before I pass out tired in bed.  We started the day with Owen's gym class, then I took the boys to meet Grandma, who then took Levi back to her house so that Owen and I could spend the weekend together.

First, we went into Micheals so that I could buy a pumpkin carving kit.  I also bought a frame (sorry hunny :) (inside joke)).  Then we went to Eckerts Farms, and had the most wonderful time!  We spent 3 hours playing and laughing.  We rode a tracker to see the pumpkin farm...it was breezy and sunny.  Someone even made the comment "wow, what a well behaved little boy". 

We left Eckerts, came home, took Mason for a walk then it was off to a Halloween party.  Owen is Bob the Builder....he walked into the building and loudly proclaimed "I'm Bob da Builder and Levi is Pooh!".  Levi wasn't with us, but he remembered his little brother. 

Here are some picts from our great day!

Batteries do not go in your butt

I seriously can't make this stuff up....

So, today, just another random day in the Nothaus family...only a little stranger, one that prepares me for life with boys.  Owen had 2 batteries in his hand (he likes to inspect things).  He was walking around, playing with these batteries, looking at them over and over.  I walked past him, and noticed only one battery.  I said "Owen, where is the other battery?"  He said "Owen put the battery in butt".  I said "Owen, batteries don't go in your butt, please take it out".  So, he unclenched and said battery came out. 

This, along with the fact that Owen likes to wear my shoes around with house and play with kitchen stuff has Barclay worried.  :-) 

Oh, life with boys...can't wait to see what else it brings! 

Leave the personal hygiene care for home.

This is scary....

"A new study published October 5, 2009 in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics found a parent-reported autism prevalence rate of one in every 91 American children, including one in 58 boys. For more information, click here."

We just started Levi on whole milk.  We are going to watch him carefully, because we found out after letting Owen have dairy products for 2 years that he has an intolerance to it.  Who knows if that had anything to do with why he didn't talk for so long, but I'm not taking any chances.  Any signs of Levi loosing words or backsliding on milestones its bye-bye milk!  Formula is so dang expensive, and I'm looking forward to saving $20 a week!  :) 

I didn't post anything this weekend because we were so dang busy!  Boys at grandma and grandpa's and we rocked out getting stuff done around the house.  We started the weekend with a trip to our friend's house in O'Fallon.  Barclay and his friend Craig stayed up until 2 am drinking (and farting)....I swear they where like a couple of giddy school boys getting to stay up past their bedtime.  We spent the night and arrived home the next morning and got to work.  It is amazing how much one can get done without kids in tow.  We both fell exhausted into bed on Sat and Sun night. 

Barclay is going to Vegas this weekend, so its just me home alone with the boys.  I have lots of plans to get us out of the house, so hopefully everything will go smoothly....though Barclay is the one who gets up with Levi in the middle of the night if he needs it (yup, you read that right) so I might be in for a "rude awakening" :)

Oh, so exciting, Levi stacked 2 blocks today!!  He took the blocks and stacked one on top of the other...yeah Levi!  Only 1 more week till my baby turns 1...I'm gonna cry....he is so flippin' sweet. 

I keep forgetting to write this.  Please don't clip your fingernails at work, at least, not at your desk.  Its just-plain-gross.  Its the same as if I started picking my nose.  No, thats not meant for anyone I know that reads this...but just in case you are one of the people, stop.  Now you understand my title. 

Ahhhh..quiet house

We are so so so so so so so lucky to have awesome grandparents close by willing to watch our kids for a weekend.  Well, not "watching" them but spending time with them...they enjoy doing it (at least thats what they say, ha!).  The house is quiet, its yucky outside, and I am going to take a nap.  Yes, the kitchen is a disaster, laundry needs done, and I'm throwing caution to the wind and napping...mark this day in history!  Love you grandma and grandpa!!!!

Nothaus Family Weekend

This has been a good family weekend.  Just a weekend without too much going on, but lovely in its simplicity. 

Friday night, Barclay and I put the boys to bed, ordered a pizza, and watched "The Soloist".  Movie was decent, a little slow in parts, pizza was great, and just being able to relax with my hubby was awesome.  We went down to the basement and I didn't worry that the dishes weren't done (sort of, okay, it was in the back of my mind but I was able to handle it :) ). 

Saturday morning, Barclay took the boys to Little Gym so Owen could do his gym class.  Almost every 3 year old boy is in soccer, but Owen loves gym (he is the only boy in the class).  I'll have to be careful as he grows up to make sure he is in activities that he likes to do, not because I think he should do them.  I want to expose him to a lot of different things, and let him decide what he likes (yes, I suppose I'll let him try baseball even though it is the most boring sport ON EARTH).  Anyway, it would be so easy for me to slip into this "well, all the other boys are doing soccer so that means he needs to as well".  It wouldn't be a good fit for him right now, and he is very happy with his gym class (did I mention he is the only boy?  see, I struggle even as I right this!  LOL  :) )

While the boys were doing that, I went to Forest Park for the Autism Speaks walk.  Thank you so much to all those who contributed to my team!  I was a team of 1, but I raised $1300!  That is so awesome, and I'm proud to have participated.  There was a great turnout.  Here is a pict of my little friend Kyah.  She took a pict of me too! 

Saturday afternoon, we took the boys to the park.  Both were uber cute and played for an hour/half on the playground.  It was so fun, and again, simple.  Just sitting watching them play on a beautiful day was pure joy. 

Saturday night, I went over to Kyah's house so her mom and dad (our family friends' Donnell and Tim) could go out for a much needed evening together...alone!  We are very fortunate to have Barclay's mom so that we can spend time together, and I so treasure that.  Tim and Donnell do not have family close and have to use all extra funds for Kyah's therapy and just basic living....I understand the importance of mental breaks so I was thrilled to help out.   (Just a side note to anyone reading this...if you know a family with special need children, or heck any children for that matter, and they don't have much of a support network, offer them a free evening of babysitting, you will feel great for doing it and they will appreciate you beyond words!)

And then this morning, we planned to go to church and then the pumpkin patch but neither happend.  Everyone was in a good mood and just content to stay in their PJs (I'm still in mine as I write this at 1:30 pm).  Barclay dug a ditch to stop the errosion in our back yard (great jub hunny, you can spend that $300 in Vegas! :) ). 

Now, everyone is sleeping and I'm cleaning...cleaning is my relaxing activity, don't judge me! :)

(Some random picts...here is Owen helping daddy dig the ditch, Levi's 11 month picture, Owen's 3 year pict in the Farve jersey)

"Stop talking with your mouth full"

I said that to Owen the other day.  If you have been following my blog or know anything about our journey with our little man, you can appreciate just how ironic that statement was.  Owen was eating, and talking so much and with a mouth full of food.  I was standing at the sink doing dishes, as soon as I said it I just stopped.  I wasn't scolding him, I just simply said it.  And then smiled....my 3 year old is talking so much I told him to stop!!!  Wow....in May he was putting 2 words together.  His progress...well, its miraculous.  Early intervention is key!!!  For any parent who ignores warning signs with your kids, your only doing yourself and your child a disservice.  I'm not judging you, believe me, I did not want to accept that there was anything wrong with Owen.  But there was...and now....I'm not sure that anyone would be the wiser. 

Do other parents out there feel so incredibly disorganized?  I was such a put together person pre-kids...car was always clean, every piece of mail neatly tucked away into a specific folder, pictures printed and placed in a photo album, weekly menus and shopping lists created every Sunday....now, I am happy if I can find a place to sit in the van (as the driver you can see how that might be important), mail is doing good to make it into the house (where it lands after that is anyone's guess), pictures from 2 years ago are still on our camera, and I do make a decent attempt at shopping lists every week (it does save $$).  I know its only going to get worse as the boys get older and get into sports.  I still after 3 years of having another human to take care of can't seem to get my organized-groove back.  Its really annoying. 

Barclay and I went to see the Australian Pink Floyd concert on Tuesday.  It was...amazing.  They sounded exactly like Pink Floyd!  If you are into their music, you must go to the concert.  I would have bet my house they where lip syncing, but they weren't!  A great show...and 3 hours long!!  Who plays music that long?  No one!  "Is there anybody out there?"....http://www.aussiefloyd.com/

Today I went to a kids consignment shop to get the boys some clothes.  There is a great shop in St. Louis that only accepts name brand, quality clothes.  I paid $5 for a brand new gymboree shirt...if you are a parent you know that is dirt cheap.  Unfortunately, Owen's hand-me-downs are not going to work for Levi.  "Little brother" is huge and the seasons are not matching up, so that means mommy has to shop....damn. 

We are getting ready to do what parents do on a weekend night after the kids go to bed.  Watch a movie and go to sleep.