Weathering the storm...

The weather forecasters predicted that there would be some severe weather this week here in central Florida.  Mother nature had other plans.  We got a little wet and a few random gusts of wind but mostly just overcast.  So what did we do?  Went to the park of course!

 Cyler really liked crawling through the tunnels--this is a first for him!

Slides are always fun!

 Tuesday we spent a good deal of time in the morning with Play-Doh --lots of fun!

We did end up getting a little rain and when daddy came home we went outside to get a little dirty--big time sensory play!  YES!

Yes--you may take off your boot and fill it with sand!

Cyler had a great time playing outside! In the beginning he wanted us to wash his hands right away but quickly became more interested in exploring--Hooray for dirt!

Fast forward...August!!

Cyler is AMAZING!   He has been completely potty trained for a month now.  He decided all my his self and did it in one day.  Of course, this was right after purchasing 2 cases of diapers because they were a "good deal".  How much of a good deal is it if you only use a few of them.  Oh well, donation time.  We have made some changes...ALL OF US!  We as parents are trying to say yes more.  Realizing that we will never know what Cyler is capable of if we don't let him try.  We have also come to the conclusion that Cyler was very much overstimulated.  This was not good.  We went through his toys and got it down to one cubicle and one bin of toys.  Yes, I understand that this is still a lot.  The rest were moved into the walk-in closet to be traded out later and some were donated.  Cyler was very much involved in the process.  We gave him the choice to rotate, donate, or keep out.  It was funny at one point--he climbed into an empty bin and said that he is not to be donated or rotated because he is staying.  At another point he looked at all the toys in the closet and asked why they were in there.  We explained again the whole rotate thing again then asked him what he thought.  His reply--I think you're A**Holes!   Terry, almost fell over and I was shocked that he used the word in the right context.  (remember this child couldn't even talk for 3 years).

Cyler is 4 (quick post)

Cyler is 4 now.  His birthday party was mostly racing themed.  I say mostly because he wanted a Barney/racing/pirate B-day.

 Here he is letting his AWESOME car cake melt....lol    He was happy anyway!!!

  He continues with his dance classes and even practices at home.  He really loves dance class a lot.
 Also, we are going on a trip in June.  We will be taking the AutoTrain to Lorton, VA then driving to PA.  Spending some time in my old stomping ground...so excited.  Mostly he is excited to go Sesame and Seaside Heights. We shall see!

Update...

We are eating again.  Cyler eats a little of something with every meal.  (mostly sweet potatoes)  I am so thrilled.  He is doing really well.  Also because of all of his "dancing" we have decided to enroll him into dance classes.  He LOVES it!  There is another little boy in there about his age but the class is mostly girls.  His first night was last Tuesday and he has talked about it every day.  He really can't wait to get his tap shoes.  He is growing so much and we are so proud of him.  Furthermore, Cyler has decided that he wants to "potty train".  He will actually let me know that he has to "pee in the potty" or "potty train" about 2 times a day and he likes wearing training pants. 

Christmas 2011

Christmas was awesome this year.  This is the first year that Cyler has actually been excited.  I took about all of December but we were finally able to get Cyler to sit on Santa's lap.  After that, everytime we went to the mall he had to sit on Santa's lap so that he could tell him what he wanted...again, and again.  On the day before Christmas Cyler kept trying to go to bed because he knew that Santa comes while you are sleeping.  He is sooo darn cute!   Christmas morning was great.  Santa left lots of presents...

Ok so Santa didn't bring the fan or the Tiger but we live in a small apartment so we really didn't have anywhere to move them to. Anyway...

It took a really long time to open presents because Cyler decided that he would use one of the tiny swords that came with his dragon castle.  Then he would peek into the slit that he created with the sword.

If he liked what he saw the rest of the paper would come off! 

We even got a few smiles...

We all had such a great time this Christmas.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree!

         Well we put ourChristmas Tree up the other night and oh how exciting.  It did go rather quickly as we decided to purchase one of those prelit trees this year.  Once it was up Cyler decided that it should be decorated redneck style as he proceeded to hang everything from phones to shoes on it.  He then stared at it for a few minutes while yelling "TOYS" as if they would magically appear now that the tree is up.  It is quite logical that he would expect to see presents under the tree since that is what is drilled into everyones head all year long. 
         We have also decided that Cyler has to see what snow is because he calls all of the snowflakes hanging around clouds.  He has come quite a long way since our appt. with the genetecist.  Since that day Cyler has been anwering questions appropriately, naming colors, objects, and people.  It has been incredible and this did take place literally overnight!  Woohoo go Cyler!

Geneticist Appointment...underwhelming.

         Cyler has seen a geneticist every year since his birth.  She "followed" him in the NICU and performed genetic tests and such while he was there and continues this even now.  Her big thing is that she wants to find a syndrome for him.  I can't wrap my head around this.  All of the test have proven that he does not have a syndrome and yet she continues this "research".  Well during the last appointment I was completely dumbfounded by her.  She claimed that he has Echolalia because he repeats what we say.  I am not saying that it's not a possible because I have found in life that ANYTHING is possible.  However, the day after the appointment Cyler began answering questions appropriately instead of just repeating what we say.  She also let us know that we should be working more with him on his communication skills.  This totally threw me for a loop because I personally work with him all day, EVERYDAY!  I reminded her that he just had his trach removed in January and that he was unable to verbally communicate for 3 years.  Personally I feel that he is learning by leaps and bounds.  I find it absolutely amazing that this child that could not speak for 3 years is now putting 2 and 3 words together, can count to 10, and sing the alphabet song in less than one year. He also continues to use his "signs" to communicate.
           She also informed me that his "dancing" is inappropriate and must be stopped.  I can't believe this!   When Cyler is excited he dances a little, I think it's great and at times have even joined him. The last comment she made before we left really made me cringe.  She said that my husband and I were making excuses for Cyler.  Excuses for not talking, not eating, etc.
            My son has overcome so much in the time that he has been here and these are valid reasons for not reciting the dictionary and eating seven course meals in one sitting.  My son spent 7 months in a NICU ,1 year hooked up to a ventilator, and 3 years with a trach because he couldn't breathe. He is still tube fed because he developed an oral aversion from being intubated and unable to eat for such a long time.  We are extremely grateful that he CAN dance, CAN eat, and CAN talk!