Summer Fun

      We have had a fun week enjoying our Summer break. Next week, we get possession of our new home and all the painting and cleaning and hard work will begin, so we made sure to really enjoy this week. Monday, the girls had a dentist appointment and they ran into Bailey while we were there. They love the dentist but they were even more excited to see Bailey! When we got home, we set up Rylee's new ant farm that she got for her birthday. She is in love with her "pet ants".

       Tuesday morning, Liz had a meeting at her school, so Levi and KAde came to play. The girls were thrilled to spend the morning playing with their cousins. And I was thrilled because this is the first time since he was a little baby, that Levi would willingly stay with me without his mama!

       After the boys left, the girls decided to get the slip-n-slide out. They played on it for hours while I cleaned out Ryan's car. They had a blast.

      Wednesday, we went to Atoka to the splash pad. This was the first time Ryan has come with us. Working second shift actually works out better during summer break because he gets to come do fun things with us!

     Yesterday we worked on cleaning and packing up the house some more. And today we have been pretty lazy. I absolutely love summer break!

AG Family Day at a Jackson General's Game

     Last night we went to the Jackson General's baseball game for American Greeting's family day. It was a lot of fun. We started by heading to Jackson a little early to do some furniture shopping for our new home, then we headed over to the ball field to enjoy the company picnic.

     Rylee knew there was going to be a fireworks show at the end of the game and was pretty on edge. She cried a little, whined a lot, and even screamed a few times. She was in a pretty bad mood all around. Her daddy saved the day by letting her play her game in his lap for a little while. After that, she seemed to loosen up little by little, until soon she was back to her happy, goofy, little self.

    The girls loved the music and dancing that went along with the game. Payton was lap-hopping from person to person until she settled in Rylee's lap. These girls are so silly. They keep me smiling. They lasted in the seats for about 4 innings until they wanted to head over to the play area.

     They had an absolute blast in the play area. The jumped, climbed, slid, and ran around to their hearts' content. It definitely helped them get some energy out. Afterwards, I got them some ice cream and we headed back to our seats just in time to watch the final inning and wait for the fireworks show to begin.

I copied my post from facebook about last night below.

     We took a big risk last night and it actually paid off. 
     We went to the Jackson Generals baseball game last night. After the game there was going to be a fireworks show. Both girls are scared of loud noises. Rylee was showing some signs of major anxiety before the game ever started. Her sister was playing off of her anxiety and was pretty anxious herself. (That's the [not so] fun thing about having a child with autism. Even though all signs currently indicate Payton is neuro-typical, she wants to be just like big sister. Therefore when Rylee is anxious or melting down, oftentimes Payton displays similar behaviors. It's truly exhausting.) We told them we could leave before the fireworks started if they were too scared, but we had brought their ear protection just in case they wanted to stay. The night went on and both girls started to loosen up and have lots of fun. When it came time for fireworks, Payton was still pretty anxious (I think she may have been more tired than anything.), but Rylee was pretty calm, so we decided to stay. Once we put their 🎧 on, they were both fine. They watched the entire fireworks show with nothing but sounds of wonder and amazement. At the end both girls said the fireworks were the best part!
      There is no instruction manual to being an autism parent. Sometimes it can be very isolating. People don't understand why your child may scream at them instead of greet them when they say hello. People don't understand why a 7-year-old may still need to be held and carried around. People don't understand that she wants to be out and about with everyone, even though she may not want anyone to look at or talk to her. People don't understand how intense her anxiety can be and how tough it is for her to deal with "fun" activities. Sometimes, it just sucks. But in moments where she faces her anxieties head on and comes out with happy memories to replace the fear, it's all worth it. At this point, I honestly don't care what people think of me and my parenting choices. Rylee Love will always have autism. Our goal is not to "cure" her of autism. Our goal is to teach her how to cope with the symptoms of her autism and embrace things she was once too afraid to like. Last night we accomplished that goal.

Rylee Love is 7!

    Rylee Love is 7-years-old!! Where did my little baby go?! I sure hate how time flies, but she really is growing more gorgeous by the day, so I guess that's a plus. ;)

    Liz had a training to attend on Rylee's birthday, so Kaden spent the day with us. Rylee was so excited to spend her birthday with her BFF. They spent the entire morning playing video games together and having a blast.

     Goodness I love this goofy child! I spent the day trying to make sure she got everything she wanted, starting with her favorite breakfast: cinnamon rolls. I love birthdays, and I love to spoil my baby!

     Kaden and Payton both made Rylee special handmade cards. She was so happy to look at what they made her.

    Kade was so into her opening her presents, you would've thought they were for him. He was so happy for her about each gift. We got her a Rubik's cube, a Zelda themed carrying case for her 3DS, a Zelda Triforce nightlight, a Nintendo EShop giftcard, and Super Mario Sunshine. She was so excited.

    After they opened her gifts an played with them for a while, we headed to Pizza Hut for her birthday lunch. These 3 tore up the pizza buffet, eating 5 pieces of pizza a piece! Where do they put it all?!

    After lunch, we headed back home where they played for a few more hours. Then we headed to Dyersburg for a special  Chik-Fil-A dinner for the birthday girl. We almost had a meltdown when I ordered the wrong drink with her dinner(only autism moms will understand this struggle), but she quickly calmed when I got her the drink she wanted. Luckily, we made it through her entire birthday meltdown free! Yay! After we ate, the kids played in the play area for over an hour. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day for our sweet Rylee Love.

     Rylee Love, you are such an amazing blessing from God. You have taught me so much more than I could ever teach you. You continue to amaze me every single day with how smart and resilient you are. You refuse to let anything hold you back. I wish you could be my little baby forever, but since you can't, I am excited to see what you grow up to become. You have already done so much to teach me and those around you about embracing uniqueness and loving unconditionally. I am so proud to be your mama. Happy Birthday, my little Love-bug!

VBS, Pool Fun, & Father's Day 2017

     Last week, we had VBS at Mary's Chapel. I led the 1st and 2nd grade group. It was so much fun! The kids in my group were at that age where they were asking lots of really good questions. It was so exciting to watch them get excited about learning about God. The kids had a lot of fun and learned a lot, too. It's the perfect combination!

     Tuesday, we went swimming in Nonna and Granddaddy's pool for the first time this year! Liz and her boys joined us, and it was a lot of fun. The girls were kinda whiny at first, but soon everyone was having an absolute blast. I LOVE SUMMER!

    Yesterday we went to Dyersburg to eat at Cracker Barrel for an early Father's Day dinner. It was so delicious. Then we went shopping to spend some of Rylee's birthday money. She had so much fun picking out exactly what she wanted. It was a perfect day!

     Today we went to church, then had lunch at Subway. We had a lazy afternoon before heading back to church for VBS family night. The kids sang their songs from VBS, we watched a slideshow of pictures from the week, then we ate. At the end, the kids got to throw water balloons at the male leaders because the girls raised more money than the boys throughout the week. It was a blast!

Rylee and Maddy's Pool Party

      This year, we decided to combine Maddy and Rylee's birthday parties since they both have June birthdays and many of the same guests attend each party. It turned out to be a lot of fun!

      Rylee is feeling much better since having her tonsils and adenoids removed less than 2 weeks ago, but she still wasn't feeling 100%, so she was a little on edge. She didn't want to blow out a candle, she didn't want to sit for this picture, and she didn't want to open presents, so of course we didn't make her. After all, we want her to enjoy her party... It really worked out that we had a joint party, so at least Maddy enjoyed doing those things and everyone cold watch her.

     She did however, eat 4 pieces of pizza and then she had a blast participating in the water gun war. All the kids (and adults) had a blast playing with the water guns until it was time to head over to the pool.

    The water was cold, but it was a lot of fun. We swam and played and laughed.

    After swimming for about an hour, Rylee Love got too cold and tired and was ready to get out. She wrapped up in a towel and enjoyed snacking and dancing to the music until it was time to go.

    Towards the end of the party, another water gun war broke out. It was so funny to watch. Everyone seemed to have a blast.

    When we got home, Rylee opened her presents. She was so excited to see everything she got without the pressure of having anyone watch her. She thoroughly enjoyed every gift. I am so glad everything went well and that we have such amazing, understanding family and friends who are willing to accommodate Rylee and her needs. If she had been pressured to participate in activities that she was uncomfortable with, the night could've gone way differently...

Rylee's Tonsilectomy

      Last Tuesday, we went to the Perfect Cut to have Rylee Love's summer color put in. She chose teal and was so excited to how it turned out. I knew she was nervous about her surgery, so I thought scheduling this appointment the day before her surgery would help keep her mind off it, and it really worked. I can't get over how cute it turned out!

      Early Wednesday morning, we headed to Jackson to the surgery center to get the process started. They gave her something to calm her nerves, and boy did it work. She was so silly. It was cute, and it helped to calm our nerves some, too.

      She had her tonsils and adenoids removed. When she woke from anesthesia, the nurses said she was very disoriented and got a little crazy, so they sedated her. She slept on and off most of the time in recovery, but they asked us to wake her every 15 minutes to try to get her to drink. That was terrible. She cried and cried. Once she finally woke up some, she wanted to watch tv, so we watched How to Train Your Dragon. She was so into it, it helped keep her mind off of the pain somewhat.

    Bro. Ryan came to check on her and pray with us and his little Rylee sent this beautiful picture with him for our Rylee. She actually smiled when he showed it to her. It was so sweet! 

     Finally after being at the surgery center for over 8 hours, we were able to head home and pick up Payton. She had a sleepover with Nonna and Granddaddy Tuesday night and it was such a relief to know she was having a great time so we didn't have to worry about her and could just focus on Rylee throughout her surgery.

     Rylee's recovery at home was hard. There were a lot of tears from her and a lot of sleepless nights for me. It was incredibly difficult to convince her to drink or eat popsicles or do anything that would help keep her hydrated. I finally resorted to syringe feeding her pedialyte while she slept. It might sound crazy, but it kept her hydrated enough to avoid having to go back to the hospital for another iv.

      Finally, Wednesday morning she woke up and seemed to be in a better mood. She was drinking great and actually ate an entire gogurt. This was the first time she had eaten since her surgery! I was so excited. Then she asked her daddy to make peanut butter cookies for her to eat! It was like she was a new kid!

    Today it has been almost like the surgery never happened. She has been playing and eating and her little personality is finally shining through. I am a very happy mama today!

   She got better just in time, too. Because she has a birthday party coming up on Saturday!