Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving week


Last Saturday our very dear friends, the Derelioglus left for Costa Rica for stem cell replacement therapy for their precious son Riley. You are all in our thoughts and prayers every day and we look forward to your safe return. Please take a moment to look at Riley's blog.
http://healingriley.blogspot.com/
*********
Sunday we enjoyed a delicious Pre-Thanksgiving at Gillian's. Yum!

Great friends and great food....lots to be thankful for!

*********************
Tuesday we met up with a few friends at Disneyland for a day of fun.
Matthew was so excited and of course, bee-lined it for the Matterhorn and then Thunder Mountain to start the day.

I think that he rode the Matterhorn 3 times that day and Thunder Mountain 3 times. Did not get that from me!

We have all been sick so we planned on staying half day..... Matthew was not in agreement!

Matthew and his cousin Avery

Some of my favorite people

Don't you wish you could leave them behind bars sometimes? Lots of times?

Waiting for the parade with such anticipation :)

Trying to catch the snow on Main Street

The end to a great day!
******************
This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house.

It was really good and Mark was the turkey master.

The grandmas and grandma Sumida, flanked by all the Sumida men

The kids all had a good time and Matthew was excited to see his cousins. It was nice to see him so interested and friendly....he was inviting Justin and Avery into his room to play and shut the door to keep the adults out!
We have had our ups and downs this year, as I am sure any parent of a special needs child experiences....you have incredible highs and desperate lows. Overall, we have so much to be thankful for this year. We have the most wonderful son ever and what he gives us back everyday is worth more than money. Happy Thanksgiving to our sweet boy.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Tee Ball


Well.......Matthew definitely likes hitting and running when it comes to playing tee ball, it is the throwing and catching he hates. He is getting better and has a pretty good swing. I am sure Daddy will try and transform that to a golf swing some day.
Overall it has been a tough couple of weeks. It feels like you can never exhale because a bump is just around the corner. It seems that a great boom of progress is followed by a period of regression...or maybe a period of difficulty proceeds a streak of progress.......who knows. Regardless, it has just been a draining and hard 2-3 weeks. In keeping things honest, when Matthew goes through hard patches, he does not sleep (up every 1-2 hours through the night), tantrums that you have to see to believe and crazy stimming. It is during these times that the autism just screams at you and it is hard to keep the faith.
After a very upsetting weekend and and polishing off an entire of pint of Ben and Jerry's in one sitting (Elena's fault) I needed to see something positive. I took Matthew to the playground at McDonald's to burn off some energy after school today. There was an adorable girl about Matthew's age. This was the conversation that took place.

Matthew: Mommy, the little girl wanna pay wif me.
Me: Go ask her
Matthew goes over to her
Matthew: Little girl, what you eat for bweakfast? Wanna pay evator (elevator)?
Later she came to show Matthew her Strawberry Short cake notebook. Matthew takes it from her and says
Matthew: Dis is cool. I love strawberries.
He pretends to eat a strawberry off the notebook and then hands it back to her.
******
Then tonight as Mark was eating a piece of candy:
Matthew: Daddy, can I have a little, tiny bite please?

I know that does not seem like much but "little, tiny bite"! Wow, I love that language!

It is these moments that bring me sanity and I try to focus on when it feels like everything else is slipping. I suppose every parent who has a child with autism has fears of regression, going back to that place where your child seemed unreachable. I love Matthew so much and it hurts to see him struggle. I hope and pray for the day when this is only a memory.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Halloween Weekend


A busy but fun last few days. It was Matthew first Trick-or-Treating adventure. He loves Veggie Tales and wanted to be Bob the Tomato. He looked forward to this for days and had a great time.

He walked in the Halloween parade with Dad.

He got the hang of things very quickly and ran from house to house wanting to fill his bucket with treats!

Matthew and his special friend Brenna

Are they cute or what?

*******************
Friday there was a sing along at school. He was happy to see Mom and Dad at school and sang so loud.

*****************
Thursday we met friends at the local pumpkin patch.

Look how tall my baby is getting!

Rides are Matthew's favorite. The bumpier and faster the better. Love those smiles!

I don't have photos but Matthew and Mark went to Disneyland for a few house over the weekend and Matthew went on the Matterhorn 3 times, Thunder Mountain and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride....he sure does not get that from his mother.
All the fun and enthusiasm from this weekend makes us so excited for this Christmas. Matthew was not too involved in the holidays last year but this year will be so much fun experiencing many things for the first time. Snow, Santa, presents....
Can't wait!