our little super hero turned four

our little(or i should say big) super hero, Chase, turned four on monday. FOUR! that just seems so big to me! and well, he really is big and mature and this fun little boy that has always seemed bigger and older then he really was. but wow... just thinking back to four years ago when i was snuggling him in the hospital and memorizing his chubby cheeks and tiny hands and thinking of the perfect name to give this sweet boy. Chase. our lovable and funny boy who is now four and asking when he can be ten. 

Chase is currently our little superhero. he is obsessed with anything DC or Marvel. Batman or Ironman. the superhero changes daily but he loves them all. he likes to make his little sister be the hulk and Fisher is always captain america but it's fun to see them play together. Chase is also the bossy one in the group and the other siblings usually fall suit into Chase's demands. But he is nice about it and fair and is truly an amazing brother to his siblings.

  the day before Chase's birthday we decided to have some friends over for cake and candles. i found these fun little mask for the kids and Chase just took to Ironman. He truly is meant to be a super hero! 

Chase got to help me make his cake. He loves being in the kitchen with Wayne and I and always asking to help. he likes to tell me what he thinks we should add, which usually is eggs or milk or cheese. he was a little dissapointed that the frosting on the cake wasn't red. red is favorite color because both Ironman and Spiderman have red in their costumes. i tried to explain that the blue frosting was for batman and spiderman but he wasn't convinced. however, add a lot of brightly colored fish and you have solved that dilemma! 

singing happy birthday.

Chase got a fun little hat from his teacher at school. he was so excited to celebrate his birthday with his friends there. he loves going to school and when he got to bring treats for his birthday he was so excited. he also didn't want to take off his birthday hat either. 

for his birthday dinner Chase picked the T-rex Cafe. it's such a fun place for the kids with huge moving dinosaurs and volcanoes and fish everywhere! 

Chase also requested that he open his presents at the restaurant which we all agreed would be a fun idea. he was so happy and so excited, as were the other kids. it was such a fun night for our little family. 

happy birthday Chase! 

we love you so so much and are so grateful for the many blessings you have brought to our family. you are the biggest helper with such a sweet love for your brothers and sisters. you are always the first to invite them to play with you. you have the biggest imagination and your knowledge and love for animals has become such an amazing talent of yours. you are so supper smart and i can't believe how much you know and how fast you grow. i just love watching you grow! you are going to be so amazing and you already are! we love you so much!! 

 

naps

she tells me she is too big for naps now. after all, she tells people she is three instead of two. apparently three year olds don't take naps.

this little girl brightens our day everyday. i love her little personality and her little sense of humor. she is full of energy and life and we just love her to pieces! 

i guess sometimes "three year olds" do need naps every once in awhile! 

oliver :: seven months

our little blue eyed, blonde hair boy is seven months now!
  i can't believe how much he is growing! he is trying his hardest to crawl and i love watching him scoot his little bum up in the air when he is trying to move. i can't believe that he will soon be on the move! well, he already is with his rolling and when he is on his stomach he turns around full circle. he definitely doesn't stay still for long! 

but man oh man am i in love with this sweet little boy! 

seven months and growing! 

Oliver stats: 

wearing size 3 diapers 

wearing size 9 month clothing 

eats everything and just loves it if you give him real people food!

our adventures :: instagram

hello spring!

so happy that spring has finally decided to show up and bring its beautiful weather, warmer temperatures and of course the sunshine! we have had such a long winter and although snow and rain are always appreciated, we can't help to scream and shout with excitement once the sun comes out!

we have been keeping our weeks full with lots of walks, and park days and trips to our favorite farm and of course the zoo!

we have definitely been going on lots of walks since the weather has warmed up. we love going to our favorite park, black hoof park, and walk along the lake and trails. 

little Oliver loves it in his stroller when he can sit up big and just take in the scenery. he loves watching his older siblings play on the playground and loves even more giving complete strangers his big gummy smiles. 

spring is just the best time to go to our favorite farm, Deanna Rose Farmstead. it's so much fun to walk around and look at all of the tiny baby animals. our favorite thing to do is feed the baby goats. it's a must if we go and visit! 

  and chase just loves to ride the tractor bikes. 

we also took some friends to the zoo to see all of the animals, now that they are out and enjoying the warmer weather too!

  our favorite is the polar bears. they are always out and playing and just so much fun to watch! 

  so we decided to have a picnic lunch at the zoo and found a nice little spot a little of the trail next to the lake. we thought it was perfect till four geese decided to arrive and start a little quarrel. after trying to shoo them away FOUR more geese arrived, making eight geese in all and surrounded us. they were not affraid and even tried to take food right out of sabrina's hand. we quickly decided to pack up and move. note to self... next time stay close to the crowds of people when eating your lunch. 

we are so loving spring and so happy for the beautiful and warmer temperatures. we can't wait for more fun in the sun and more adventures to explore!! 

 

april 2nd

this post has been a work in progress for awhile now. it's been something i have wanted to share for awhile and why i would have loved to have it all written and done on exactly april 2nd, which just happens to be autism awareness day, i still want to share why that day is so important to me. 

last year i wrote this post about how we like to celebrate autism awareness day. i also shared fisher's story that i wrote for icnn. this day has become a big deal in our household and each year it becomes more of event then the year before. next year i am thinking of blue food and balloons and more reasons to celebrate. 

this year i want to share with everyone exactly why spreading the word on autism awareness is so important to me, to my family, to Fisher. i originally got this idea from an amazing writer/blogger/mother and autism advocate Laura Shumaker. i read her book "A Regular Guy, Growing Up with Autism" and could just relate to so many stories she shared, mostly the ones with her son's diagnosis. She also posted on her blog the top 12 reasons why Autism Awareness Day Matters to her and I thought it would be a good idea for me to share too.
this day is important to me because i strongly believe that early intervention is the best thing possible. without it, i don't know how far Fisher would be today, but i do know that he has made such huge gains developmentally and socially and just amazes us every single day. to that, i owe it up to early intervention and the AMAZING teachers and aids he has had since his diagnosis.

it's important to me because i have learned so much from my son, and i know he still has so much more to teach me.

it's important to me because of the amazing people i have met, his teachers, his aids and advocates. i have gained so many wonderful and incredible relationships with these people, i cry when they leave and i love when they keep in touch. Fisher's teacher now is such an inspiring and wonderful person and i will be sad when he moves on to kindergarten, but she is someone that i will keep as a part of our family for as long as she wants... they are all that special and i thank them for their devotion and service.
it's important to me because of the love and support i have from our families, from my friends and neighbors. i get choked up thinking that my sister convinces her whole neighborhood to put in blue light bulbs in their houses for the whole month of april, to see friends and cousins text me pictures of them all wearing blue. i can't express how awesome it is to have so much awesome and amazing support for our one little guy. to know that he is just as special to them as he is to us is just hard to put into words... it's just awesome!
  it's important to me because the number of kids being diagnosed with autism is increasing dramatically and yet we still have no clue as to why or what causes it. more and more families will go through the same experience our family has and yet there is still so little support and help for these families. it's important because we need to get more resources out and help to these beautiful children.
it's important to me because i know one day, Fisher will ask about autism and why he is "different" and i will have to find all of the courage inside me to explain why he is perfect and amazing and wonderful without bawling like a baby. or maybe he wont ask or wonder, but i am sure his brothers will and his sister will and i want them to know just how special their big brother is. i want them to learn about compassion and understanding and the strong love they have for him.
  it's important to me because he is my son. he has part of my soul that no one else does and i love him. i love him so much that i will be his biggest fan and biggest advocate and i will urge others to support him and celebrate him and his uniqueness. he deserves that from us.
  i love how Laura Shumaker ended her list, "On World Autism Awareness Day, prominent buildings all over the world are shining a light on autism by lighting it up blue. That is terrific, but I know what my son Matthew could use today (and every day) is a smile, a joke, a compliment, a connection–a friend."

i could not agree more with that. all fisher wants is to be loved. he loves people, he loves being around them and i know more than anything that if he had a good friend, he would be the happiest kid alive.

i am so proud of our Fisher, of his accomplish and his growth. i honestly can't imagine life without him.