Surfing Week 3

Week 3 of Waves of Change, and I missed it.

I had to work due to July 4th and I hated every second of it because I knew I'd be missing this:

I mean, come on, how awesome is this? He apparently had no hesitation this week and was all about Steven. In short, he did amazing, and according to Rich-Steven said he 'may' be up on his knees on the board soon. I can't even imagine it.

I'm so excited but petrified.

I'll assume this is called being a parent.

Here are the photos!

Week 2 of Waves of Change and Marco Popo!

Friday was Owen's 2nd week of Waves of Change and it was HOT!

We go to the beach and the sand was burning hot, Owen looked annoyed and I was a bit worried. We found Sarah and Keri and Steven arrived very shortly afterwards, and Owen had NO reaction to Steven.

I got scared.

I want this to work so badly and Owen to surf this summer that I had to control my panic. But, Steven came up with the game plan and off they went.

And the boy did Fan-tastic!

He did more runs than before and actually got annoyed when Steven did a run solo-he started to run into the surf to catch him. It was so cute! Steven would pick him up to take another run and Owen was beaming every time. Here are all the photos that were in a word-the best.

And in other O news, he was in the pool and other kids were playing Marco Polo and Owen started to say Marco "Popo". Seriously, how cute is that?

Better late than never, Hippotherapy Show 2012

This year I missed Owen's riding show.

It wasn't my fault, I got scheduled on a work trip-- and yes, I was miserable about it.

Normally, we aren't super busy on weekends, but the weekend of May 19th, I had to go away for work to Florida, my mom had hip surgery and then the Riding show.

Totally, totally, sucked.

But, the boy did wonderful, from what I was told.  He was really attentive, paid attention and was all about loving Miss Maureen, his PT.  Owen rode at 230 in the afternoon and all the "fun" stuff was already packed up for the day, so no games, food--nothing.  Just riding, so that may be why he did so great being that there was less distractions.

Here are the best photos that were taken!

Cheesy Face!

Smooching Miss Maureen!

My Little Surfer

Summer is here and it's Owen's favorite time of year.  The boy loves water.  Baths, showers, pools, puddles, the Ocean and SURFING.  Yep, the boy went surfing, and it was wonderful.

Our fab ST Sarah and her fiance Steven are starting up Waves of Change and we were super eager to get on board.  We met them yesterday in Asbury Park while praying to the rain gods that it stay clear for the hour.

And it did.

And the boy was THRILLED.

We got on the beach, and Owen was excited to just be there, then Steven took him over to a surfboard on the sand, with NO trouble from Owen, had him walking on it a bit to get him started.  He really liked it.

Then, Steven just took him by the hand, and off the went.  Owen did a bunch of runs, he loved it and then he was done.  I think he was so overstimulated that he just needed to run around on the beach.  He was so happy and excited Steven thought he was cold, but Rich and I both feel he was vibrating with excitement.  The pictures speak for themselves, and we go back next week on my birthday, and I can't think of a better thing to do then watch the little man be so stinkin' happy.

I got more pictures from Renee, a PT that works with Sarah at Abilities, so I'll be putting up more soon!

Mother's Day, a Birthday and More.

Mother's Day. My last post was in April for Autism Awareness. And then I stopped. Again. Bad Mommy. We've been busy, and there have been words, and there have been behaviors. First off, April was Autism Awareness. The boy wore blue, I wore blue nails, people we love changed their Facebook profile photo to a puzzle piece. We felt the love, it's great that more and more people and helping to raise awareness. More needs to be done, but it's a start, and we think it's amazing. Then, we had a birthday. The big SIX! He's six years old. I can't believe it. Birthdays and Christmas are really the only time that I still have a rough time with Owen's Autism and Apraxia diagnosis. It's really hard when they don't have an interest in opening a gift. All kids love gifts! They love that their birthday is their special day, it's a big deal. But Owen doesn't have an interest and he can't tell me what he wants for a birthday gift. It really does stink. But, he's happy, healthy, and a super cute boy so we made sure we did lots and lots of celebrating. For his birthday, Grandma and Pop Pop bought him a bike. A BIG BOY bike.

We took him shopping a few times to test out bikes and he was really into it! Here are some photos of him testing out a bike.

Then we had Easter and jelly beans and chocolate and did I mention, Chocolate?  This will give you an idea.

So, back to his birthday, we decided to NOT do a party this year.  I just don't think he's ready yet.  So, we took him out for a day of fun and spoiling which in Owen's world is Turtle Back Zoo + Chili's.  We had gorgeous weather and Owen did amazing.  He sat like a champ on the train, looked at the animals a lot, listened beautifully.  Really, it was a like a birthday present for me.

Also, during his birthday week he spent some time at Aunt Neen's house getting spoiled.  Here are a few photos from his little trip.

We also celebrated Owen's birthday in school.  The theme of Owen's birthday was "Curious George" as he's just crazy for him so we got him cupcakes from Little Sweet Cakes in Point Pleasant.  They did a fantastic job!  

Rich and I went into school to celebrate and it was that freak day in April where it was 90 degrees.  His classroom was an INFERNO.  They have no air and everyone was dripping with sweat.  I wrote numerous letters about this to the school and the last letter I wrote has gone unanswered by the principal and the Director of Special Strides.  Nice, Huh?  Here's a picture of Owen in his classroom, not a great shot, but I didn't want to post one of anyone's kids as I don't have permission.  

We've also had a bunch of words.  Very spontaneous, but great.  He's been saying his name when asked MOST of the time, and it's usually coming out as Oh-Pon, or Oh-Won.  Adorable.  He also is saying UP, alot and Baby, which is more like BEBE.  

I need to update more.  I really do as there is always something I forget.   But the last thing to show is the boy's annual Tee photo. Here it is!

Light It Up Blue! It's April 1st, Autism Awareness Month. We are Lighting it Up Blue as much as possible. Blue clothes, blue fingernails, and blue lights to start. So remember, light it up blue for the boy and all the other kiddos on the spectrum. More to come on the boy!