Happy Birthday, Annikah! January 2010

Annikah had a wonderful birthday. She turned 8 this year. We decided to wait to get her baptized until we visit family this summer.

Wonderful things about Annikah:

* She loves to help -- make dinner, go shopping, clean the kitchen, whatever it is, she loves to help
* She is very compassionate and worried about others' well being
* She loves babies and small children and follows them around to make sure that they're safe

*She is very loving and forgiving -- Josh scratches and bites her a lot and she always forgives him right away

Week of January 11, 2010

This week, Ashton and I went to the Autism Clinic at Seattle Children's Hospital to get the results of some testing that the doctors there did on our daughter 7, and our son, 9. They have previously both been diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome (http://www.fragilex.org/) and also with Autism, but we were told by our Fragile X specialist (Dr. Glew) here in Seattle that we should go and get them assessed. They both also have a diagnosis of Autism.

I took both kids separately for 2 visits each so that they could take IQ tests and a test to see if they are Autistic. The testing was a little tough for our son 9 because he doesn't really work well with people he doesn't know. The Autism test that they gave him took him about 5 minutes to complete because he wouldn't answer any of their questions.

Anyway, when Ashton and I went to get the results, it was interesting that they found that our son, age 9, has the IQ of a two year 7 month old and our daughter 7 has the IQ of a 5 year old. That's what I've been telling people, so I guess we were better on target with that number than I thought.

The specialists gave us some advice on therapy that would help 7 and 9 to succeed. We are going to do a social skills group for our daughter to help her learn to interact with people better. The drs said that she has high functioning Autism. They said that 9 could use some behavior therapy to help him overcome some of the anger issues he faces when asked to work or transition.

I pray that I am up to the challenge. Therapy takes a lot out of me as I do a lot of it at home -- they teach us how to do the therapy and then we implement at home.

Interestingly, this week in seminary, I taught about the premortal existence and how all of us who are here on the earth are valiant and chose Heavenly Father's plan to come and be tested. 7 and 9 are being tested in other ways than the rest of us -- they don't really see good or evil, just people, and they are innocent. Their trials will be more overcoming what is happening within themselves than what is happening around them. Our trial as parents is seeing how others treat them and seeing how different they are and not being sad that they can't do what other kids their age do. They are teaching me to accept everyone for who they are and what they can do and joy in it.

Halloween 2008

We had a great time picking out pumpkins at Fred Meyer -- we went for easy this year and we didn't go to a pumpkin patch. Jacob's pumpkin weighed 25 pounds. He and Ashton made a chameleon template and he carved it into his pumpkin. The chameleon is currently his favorite animal.

Did I mention that I colored my hair red? I did -- here are some pictures of me with red hair! Kinda crazy -- it's my mid-life crisis.

I dressed as a witch for Halloween, Ashton dressed as a Regae man, Jacob as Harry Potter, Annikah was the Little Mermaid, and Josh was Mr. Incredible. For weeks after Halloween, he had to wear his Mr. Incredible costume on Sunday after church.

We trick-or-treated at the trunk or treat at the church, at Ashton's work, and in our neighborhood. All told, we got 15 pounds of candy!! I weighed it on our scale. We still have some left, and it's December!!

Annikah

What can I say, she's a beauty, isn't she?

Here are some Anni updates. We started potty training her when she started preschool, when she was three. She was pretty well day trained when we moved here 2 years ago, but totally regressed after the move. We've been focusing on the potty training for the last couple of years and she's been doing great. She's been wearing underwear to school for almost the whole school year and the last few nights we put her in underwear to sleep in and she's been dry, Hooray!!

We've just been laughing about some of the things she's said lately. I bought her the dress she's wearing in the picture in November and she started wearing it to church then. The first time she put this dress on, she said, "Ho, Ho, Ho, I'm Santa." Then she said, "Mom, come and sit on my lap." We laughed and laughed.

Last Sunday, we were watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics (we DVR'd it). To preface this story, you need to know that Anni watches Jacob play a lot of video games and some of them are shooter games. His current favorite is Star Wars Battlefront for the XBox. Anyway, we're all on the couch, watching the closing ceremonies. On the screen, we see thousands of men playing big round drums. Then, all at once, thousands of women wearing dresses and hats covered in bells run into the stadium. Annikah looked at me and said, "Are they going to kill them?" We laughed and laughed. That's kinda sad/scary that she thought that was what was happening, but funny too.

Halloween

My 35th Birthday

These are pictures from my birthday. As usual, Ashton outdid himself and gave me some lovely presents- - a new jacket I wanted from Eddie Bauer, and some cute socks that I needed. My friends also took me out to eat. I invited so many people (friends from the ward) that we split it up into two events -- lunch and dinner. It was so fun to be there and laugh with the girls. I feel bad I forgot to take my camera -- maybe next year.

Order Another Round, Cause We're Staying Here!

Yes, the house is off the market, we decided it's better to stay for the school year. It was with a heavy heart that we took our house off from the market. I know that I need to wait for the Lord's time, so we'll stay here another school year. The house is small, but lovely and the Spirit is here, so I can't complain.

I'm on Facebook now -- you can find me there too.

(Oh, and the title of this post, it's a quote from a Pixar Movie. Do you know which one?)