My precious Grandpa

Early this morning Matthew's Grandpa Sumida passed away. Though we knew it was inevitable, it was so sad. We are very grateful that Matthew had a chance to get to know his Grandpa and had a precious relationship with him......we just wish it could have been for a longer time. They had a beautiful bond and Tom was an "extra special" person in Matthew's life. As you can see in these photos, they had a really sweet affection. Tom was a wonderful Grandpa and Matthew loved him dearly. Now it is up to us to make sure that Matthew always remembers their times together.

Grandpa, you are so loved and will be so missed.

Our little water boy

Matthew started swim lessons today. Truth be told, I was a little worried. Though he has fear of almost nothing, he has not enjoyed going into the pool and is quite adamant about it. I think he does not like the vastness of a pool and he does not like to be wet outside of the bath tub. At first he was scared, shed a tear or two and asked to go home. He did not like that his swim trucks were wet but the coaches were so encouraging and enthusiastic and by the end of the session he was smiling and having a good time. As I was drying him off he said “I have fun swimming pool Mom”.
I was so proud of my trooper!
Great job Matthew!

Matthew doing warm up excersizes with the coaches

Matthew and coach Sam

OK, how cute is my Matthew!

Matthew and coach Adriana

I had to include a photo of Mark and his mini me.

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad ever!

A busy few days....

I have a few days worth of posts so this will be long.
Today I took Matthew to Atlantis Park in Garden Grove with my friend Elena and her son, Zachary. I had my 8th b-day party there…37 years ago! The kids loved the park. It brought back many fond memories.

I loved the dragon slide when I was a kid.

Seemed so much bigger back then. :)

Matthew had fun on it too!

I loved this picture....

Seeing Matthew get help from a friend.

Yesterday was my Andrew’s 6th grade graduation. It seems like yesterday I was at the hospital waiting to see my precious nephew for the first time….and after today he is in junior high school.

Not only did Andrew receive an award for musical achievement (he is a piano aficionado), he is standing because he also received the President's Award for academic excellence. Way to go Andrew!

We headed over to Keiko's house for some post-graduation fun.

Andrew and Zach, you are both so very special and we are so proud to be your aunt and uncle. Matthew is lucky to have cousins who shows him such love.

Tuesday was that last day of school for Matthew. There was a class lunch and sing along. Initially we were touched to see Matthew doing so well during the lunch. In wanting to keep things real and accurate, I must say that our day was completely turned upside down when an insensitive parent came and basically said some incredibly hurtful and cruel things regarding having a special needs child. It really took the wind out of me and reduced me to tears. As the mother of a child with autism I know that I need to be prepared for some discrimination and ignorance but to hear such comments made in reference to a 3 year old literally left me speechless. That being said, I am so blessed to have family and friends who have surrounded us with love, support and friendship. You have all made our journey much easier and we appreciate all you do.

We love you sweet boy and you have brought us happiness beyond what we could have ever imagined. We are so incredibly proud of you. You are my joy.

Tee Ball

Today was Matthew’s first day of T-Ball. We were all very excited and it was SO much fun. Matthew enjoyed him self and the kids were so cute! Matthew did really well and I think he may end up being quite a little athlete some day. We could not have been prouder of our amazing little fella'.

Matthew and his little buddy Dylan

Doing warm up and stretching excersizes

Matthew caught it! Wow!

Learning with Coach to catch a grounder

My little slugger!

Running the bases with Dad

It was such an enjoyable time for Matthew and Mark.

I found myself feeling a little emotional. It was not that long ago we thought that we may never be able to have these experiences with our son. It has been a different path, and at times still difficult but we are so grateful for this beautiful boy who has brought us such joy.

We love you Matthew!

Fun with friends

It was a cool and comfortable day so we headed over to Adventure City with friends for some fun. There were no crowds, the weather was perfect and the kids had a blast.

That smile......be still my heart.

Matthew and his buds...Brenna and Dylan

A day is not complete without a visit to the nasty petting zoo....Yuck!

Trains, police cars and fire trucks....always a fav.

Three little amigos

A very good time was had by all.