A HUGE SURPRISE!

So, All five of us are sick with coughs. The kids and Evan also have runny noses. I am the only one with a fever and nausea. After two days of thinking..."why am I the only one who's lost their appetite? And how come I feel better with a little something in my stomach...that almost sounds like morning sickness...hmmm...let me look at this callender...no!...couldn't be!...quick take a test...looks negative...oh wait...what's that?...is it a line?...nooo, I'm just imagining things...um, maybe not...that looks like a line...(pacing back and forth in my tiny little kitchen)...that is a line. I am pregnant."

We are very surprised, but we are also thrilled! We do make 'em cute! The newest addition to our family should be here sometime by Halloween!

I was up most of the night with a high fever and felt so terrible this morning. I was up at 5 with Ewan and then fell back to sleep on the couch. Evan set Ewan and Heather up with a video to watch while I slept and he took a shower. This was the result of a little unsupervised time...
They got a cake mix from the pantry and opened it themselves.
You can just barely see Ewan hiding under my bedside table. Heather said "Oh, Hi Mommy! Don't spank me, o'tay?

Cameron's STAR WARS, BATMAN, DINOSAUR, SURPRISE, birthday party

Any time Cameron talked about wanting a birthday party, he insisted on the above criteria. Pulling off the "surprise" part was a little tricky considering he asked for it, but we made it happen ;)

My friend Heather took Cameron for about an hour, so he'd be out of the house when his guests arrived. This is his moment of "surprise."

Ewan, Heather and Evelyn hiding behind a chair with their Batman masks, ready to say "surprise"

Me and Heather. Heather wore her mask for at least the first hour of the party.

We played a different game for each of Cameron's requested themes. First we played "Dinosaur, Dinosaur, who's got the Dinosaur?"

Then for star wars, we played "Pin the Anakin on the Starfighter."
Finally, we played "Batman Hide and Seek" where Batman was "it" and the other kids were "bad guys" from the batman comics.
Always sure of what he wants, Cameron asked for a "store bought chocolate cake with chocolate frosting." I love this picture of him blowing out his candles.

Opening presents

With all that we have been through in the past two months with Cameron, I was so, so nervous about how he would cope with a houseful of children and all of the excitement. It was a RAGING success and I am happy to say that I think everyone had a great time and best of all...ITS OVER!

DRESS UP TIME!

Ewan and Heather have great times at home with what ever they can find to dress up with!

Quite the ensemble...sunglasses, doll pacifier, necklace, mix match princess shoes and rockin' out with a toy guitar
"I'm ready for my closeup!" Ewan wanted me to help him make a "spidah-man" mask with an apricot fruit roll-up.

Heather found some interesting ways to wear water wings!

Ewan was pretty upset that Heady found such a great accessory and there weren't enough for him.

But then Heather was done and he got to gloat!

The BIG day finally came!

Literally the day after Christmas Cameron started obsessing about how many days it was until his birthday. Finally we were able to calm him by putting up a calender on the wall specifically devoted to crossing off the days (for two months). The night before his birthday his said his bedtime prayer and I reminded him (as is our custom) that it was not a blessing on the food, and that this was a night before his birthday prayer. This is the sweet prayer that he prayed...

"Dear Heavenly Father, and the dear Jesus Christ too...help me to have a really great birthday. Help me to not punch anyone, or hurt anyone or make anyone cry to ruin the day."

Oh what a sweet day it was...

Evan had to work late that night, so we decided we were going to have our family party with presents in the morning. I woke to Ewan and Heather sitting together on our piano bench and Ewan was telling Heather which of his most special Star Wars guys he was giving Cameron for his birthday. When Cameron got up, both Ewan and Heather started spontaneously singing "Happy Birthday" and giving him hugs and the whole morning there was just a sweet, loving atmosphere of joy! I can't help but think that part of God's answer to Cameron's sweet prayer was that his brother and sister didn't push any of his buttons:)

playing with his new "Lego Star Wars guys"

As he said he would, Ewan gave Cameron almost all of his most precious Star Wars figures. We explained to Cameron that Ewan loves him so much that he wanted to give him something, and this was all he had to give...Heather eating a cinnamon roll at the birthday breakfast.

Just before we opened presents...
Ewan and Heather got to hand Cameron the presents and they were so sweet about it.
Getting what he wanted most...a "Star Wars Lego Anakin Star Fighter with R2D2" from Nanny and Papa
Cameron's most favorite food in the world is Izzies pepperoni pizza. We went to Izzies for his birthday dinner with our neighbors Marilyn and Emma. You can see he eats very exuberantly there!

Cameron will be six on wednesday. Ewan is obsessed with the fact that it's almost time for Cameron's birthday party. He got invited to his friend Clayton's party (in the middle) on Saturday and this has only added fuel to the fire. He talks incessantly about "butday pahties" and what he wants for his next "butday" he wants a "spidah-man butday" one minute, and a "bat-man butday" the next. and then theirs tha cake...and the presents...

i'm slightly nervous about how he is going to fare with all of Cameron's upcoming festivities. will he just rejoice in all the fun? will he be upset he's not the center of it all? He really does love his brother, and is surprisingly not very self centered for a three year old...i'm hoping it is just great fun for all!

my sassy girl...

I asked Heather the other day, "Are you a big girl or a baby?"

She said "A baby."

I said (sweetly) "Are you mommie's baby?"

She said (sassily) "I not your's baby! I daddy's baby. You a bad mom." -and then smiled as if to say...am I funny?

this cracked me up!

it's been a long hard (2year) struggle getting cameron to dress himself. his shirt, pants, underwear etc are still often on backwords. today the boys dressed themselves while watching Beauty and the Beast and neither one was looking where the tag was i guess :)

Therapy at Mighty Oaks

Cameron and Brendan

When Cameron was diagnosed just after his 4th birthday, we had some friends from church who's son was diagnosed with autism at the same time. It seemed so cooincidental (but we know it was devine intervention) that both boys got on a waiting list for therapy at the same therapy center at the same time and were then signed up for Speach and Occupational therapy with the same therapists at the same two hour block each week. (one boy was in for speach while the other was in for occupational) Eventually someone came up with putting the boys together for a period of time each week and that grew into the whole two hours being a colaborative session with both boys and both therapists. What miricles we have seen from these sessions! We are so grateful for how focused and commited Beth and Martha have been in maximizing the time they have with the boys and creating activities that both stretch the boys and set them up for success!
This past week was their last session all together. Beth is having a baby and the boys will be seeing Martha alone now. We are glad that Martha will have some time to work with Cameron on what appears to be an emerging stutter, but we are sad to not have Brendan and Beth every week! And I will be sad to miss my visits with Brendan's mom, Dawn.

Star Wars!

We have an almost constant star wars roll play going on at our house
Even Heather gets in on it
this morning they were all playing together so funny. Ewan had his light sabers tucked away for safe keeping, Heather came out of the bedroom at one point with four light sabers at the same time. Ewan yelled "Cameron! Look out! It's General Grievous!" (a starwars character who has four arms and four lightsabers) and Heather said "Oh yes, dat's wight. I dievous dat's wight" Cameron came out of my room and I cracked up. He had our hawaiin massage stick and he was limping along on it and anounced he was "Yoda" For so many years Cameron lived in a constant imaginative world of Thomas the tank engine. It's so fun to see the other children meet him and his imagination in his new found passion for star wars.

happy almost valentines day! Heather Cameron Ewan

about two years ago we discovered that swiming had a very calming effect on cameron. we have learned that it can often be a great help for a condition called "sensory integration disfunction" (most people with autism suffer from this). when we moved to portland, we were determined to find an appartment that had an indoor swimming pool so he could swim year round. when school started last fall i began taking the children swimming every morning and we have been amazed at how much cameron has benefited (we notice a huge difference when we don't go). you can imagine what determination it takes for me to have three little kids all bundled up over their swim suits every morning by 8:00 with floaties and towls and dive sticks and goggles. i have some great stories of these (sometimes mis-)adventures. here are some quotes from today's jaunt to the pool.

"Heady's a whale!"
"I wuv you supah doopah!"
"mom did you know the largest creature in the ocean is a whale? mom, did you know the fiercest creature in the ocean is a shark? mom, when i grow up, i think i'll be an ocean psychologist."

scratching cameron's back

Tonight for family home evening we talked about how our prophet, Gordon B. Hinkley died this week and we have a new president of our church, Thomas Monson. We made cookies and talked about what would happen if we didn't fallow the recipe (ie if the oven was too hot, the cookies would burn) and how our prophet gives us the directions for us to have a happy family. We talked about how the prophet told us to be kinder to each other and to serve each other. we then watched a small portion of President Hinkley's funeral where the mormon tab. choir sang and they showed pictures of him. Cameron was so sweet. He cudled up to me and said "this song makes me want to hug you." Then he started hugging his dad and saying how sad he was that President Hinkley died. He started to cry a little and Evan and I were so touched, we started to cry too. After the song, we ate our cookies and the children were all wanting to "fallow the prophet" and be kind and serve each other. They all started sharing their cookies with each other (no small act of service for our Cameron) and then they all wanted to scratch each other's backs. I am so grateful for President Hinkley and for his undeniable goodness and for his challenge to each of us to "stand a little taller, and be a little kinder."

brotherly love...
horray for me, Evan's off today. Cameron and Ewan were driving me crazy. Ewan kept teasing Cameron, Cameron decided to make a "Ewan sandwich"...they really needed an outlet for their energy today so Evan has taken them to the zoo.

My mom called me to tell me some news and Heather to0k the opportunity to go in my bathroom and "wash Heady's hair"
The shampoo? hand lotion.
The Water? from the toilet. (scoop, pour, scoop, pour)

sugar and spice...

and bubbles...
and mom's mascera...

and nanny's lipstic...
never a dull moment :)