ya-hooooo SF zooooo!

we wanted to sneak in a quick little family vacay before caden started summer school. so we had daddy take a day off, headed to the San Francisco Zoo a first for us and stay in a hotel and swim (a must for caden, that's his definition of a summer vacation). then we had our first visit at raging waters and got our season passes their first usage.

oh my goodness the peacock!! what a crack up, the boys were so excited when it hopped right onto the sidewalk.  they got up close and personal with plenty of fun, stinky, but cool living things.

why does my sweet little ray ray have to love the huge cricket things and the tarantulas??? ewww

they loved every minute of every aspect of the zoo.  the train was a huge hit.  penguin island was brady's favorite, kendra loved everything, caden was in a constant state of jumping and humming,and raylee liked the cotton candy--what sillies, but i love em and it was a big BIG success for this family.

his baptism--brrrrrrr!

we've thought about and discussed this day for a long time now.  we didnt know how caden would respond to being baptised but he interviewed with the bishop and we just kept the process moving.  saturday june 4 it was.  one of the most perfect days EVER.

he picked out his white jumpsuit and scurried off to get dressed. the excitement level was building big time at this moment.

we were off setting up a little display table and a second table for everyone to sign in at.  grandma vofo and big papa flew in that morning and helped out with the festivities.

big sister showed him around and was quite excited herself. they have a special bond these two.  kendra's expertise with special needs kids has even rolled into her own classroom at school when an autistic boy got placed in there.  she explained things to classmates and yelled at them when they were laughing AT him. what a sweetheart huh?

after lots of lovin, his little hiney was too too adorable in that jumpsuit, so as soon as i could stop squeezin him we got things started.

he was so ready, he kept walking up to guests saying, "hello, welcome to my bath-tism".  absolutely the perfect host.

the program itself was simply, utterly, plainly PERFECT.  it started off with caden so sweetly singing "i am a child of god" and then my dad giving the opening prayer with the gentle spirit that he has.  yeah, i was already GONE at that point.  actually i was a bit nervous for what caden was going to say when he came out of the water, so my nerves kept my tears at a minimum. 

auntie heather gave the talk (we combined both topics to save on time and attention span) and she EXCEEDED my expectations.  i knew months ago that she was the one to give the talk, and she had cute cute caden come up and hold pictures (great visuals kept him listening--i think) while she beautifully taught both principles of baptism and  the Holy Ghost.  we had 3 nonmember friends attend so we were thrilled for them and know they were well taught.  at one point caden was still doing his job of holding the pictures but he decided he needed to add facial expressions. so for about 30-45 seconds his eyebrows were doing a little dancing.  we all giggled and just loved every minute of  it. 

so the moment came.  jared led him to the "secret door" as he called it.  daddy took him down into the water and on the third or fourth step caden let out a relieving "ahhhhhh".  i guess it was nice and warm.  when he came out of the water he let out a tongue rolling "brrrrrr".  so i guess he got cold suddenly.  the crowd chuckled. and i was grateful that he didnt demand for his popsicle, since he knew that was coming. 

the confirmation was tender and powerful.  the spirit was very strong and there was a lot of love in the room that rainy june day.  he got hungry and started to whine, "i dont wanna do all that!"  so i quickly got him a piece of gum so he could make it thru.  he did.  jared and i were holding it together quite well too UNTIL caden, with all his might, tried to sing every word of the closing song, "baptism".  and bishop's closing remarks reminded us that simple obedience brings the best kind of happiness. i was wiping jareds tears-- it was a marvelous marvelous day.  i turned around and just saw rows and rows of people i love.  it reminded me of the overwhelming feeling i had on my wedding day.  our sealing room was full of people who mean so much to me.  this was the same great feeling just 11 years later.   the gospel is such a blessing, to have wonderful brothers and sisters to share special moments with.

cadens refreshment of choice was popsicles so we licked and mingled and headed home.  he recieved fun gifts and the love just continued. friends and family are so very kind and generous. 

when everything settled down he needed some computer time and to have a little wrestling time with one of his buddies.  it was a great ending to a great day.

good job making a good choice buddy, you are SO VERY loved.

ooo ooo an update finally!

it has been a couple weeks because i was having trouble with blogger.  i reset my format settings so i think we are all good now.   it was one of my soul sister's 40th birthday so we had to celebrate and capture this moment.  jenny asked me to make her a crown so there it is in all its glory.  then i framed the picture of the dinner out together we  just had a couple nites before.  it created quite the moment--since she is moving away. we wiped our tears and tore up the dance floor with a little bit of salsa-ing.  tammie and i are heart broken but very excited for what is ahead for this amazing woman. 

Saturday May 21  was quite the day.  i had been half dredding it(only because it was a lot of planning, coordinating kids etc) and totally looking forward to it for a long time now.  the anticipation i had in surprising my sweet katie with our Autism Walk t-shirts was HUGE.  she was thrilled with it, as was the online company i ordered thru.  they were so "impressed with my design and message" that they overnite shipped it to me (on them of course) so i could have them as soon as possible.  katie and i were so SO proud to wear our shirts and attend this great event in the autism community.

the morning of the walk was also the annual 5K/10K race held right here at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital.  so i had to squeeze it in.  this is my 3rd time at the event, the past two years i did the 10K.  its a fun challenge and very cool to do something good for yourself with people who enjoy it too.

well that was the last couple weeks.  we had a flu run thru all the kids except kendra.  so accomplishing and enjoying all this in the midst of puke, endless laundry, and being a 24 hour nurse is pretty dang good i think.

i know, i know but it's his birthday!!!

i freely admit that i talk a lot about caden. i try really hard to not show favoritism. it's just a whole different world with him. anyway, yesterday he turned 8 and he wanted certain things so i will highlight those and add a couple cute specific details.he insisted on popsicles for his class at school (a repeat of last year). he properly introduced us (brady and raylee came with me) to his schoolmates, i showed them a couple baby pictures and a preemie outfit he wore as a baby. they licked, laughed and tore into their goodie bags from caden. once we brought him home he had a little quality time on the computer with his gift from his teacher. the only thing on his birthday wish list was a parrot. thank you teacher kim for coming thru for me and for it being the low maintenance kind. the time came for his scary scooby doo party to begin. he wanted everyone to be in a costume. "mommy we need to go to kmart to get the terrifying werewolf mask!" as you can see we compromised on the scooby suit which only stayed on for about 4 minutes. most of us were done up in some sort of way. jared was the 'ghost of hyde' and i was the haunted clown, both from specific scooby episodes. caden loved it. i loved the pictures of caden on the back of the hanging scooby signs. sometimes its the little things that make us happy. a few of my favorite moments were: munching while talking to uncle jeffie on the phone, willingly giving his favors and being so gracious when opening his presents. a couple gifts into it he paused before opening one and said softly, "hmm this is gonna be good!!" and in true caden climatic fashion, after blowing out the candles the crowd let out a collective "awwww" when after he exclaimed, "i wish to go fishing with my daddy". we managed to sneak in one party game. he let us all know several times that we had to play a party game. so i made a big scooby poster and they all pinned the tail on him. he gave em goodies and the official party parts were complete, (i had him stand on a chair and give a thank you speech too. uncle ryan said it was sappy but i love those forced thank yous). a few close friends came and made the day even more special. tanner, rob and katie just mesh right in with our family and we appreciate their adoration for our little guy. everyone gave great gifts which all the kids are enjoying. big papa and gramma vofo sent a card and caden was so excited to get "a dollar!!!" (it was a check, i got a good chuckle out of that). he felt loved and was so excited and pretty cooperative the whole time. it made for a very happy birthday.

"it's gotta be a good life" with my caden

my new favorite song is by One Republic titled "Good Life". yesterday was our big triannual IEP meeting with Caden's 'team' so i've been evaluating him leading up to it and then was filled to capacity with more Caden-isms. while driving around i play and replay the song just appreciate the blessing caden is in our lives. how could you not just love this adorable gentle little boy??!! in the meeting with all the professionals that work with our autistic child, jared and i found ourselves grinning, giggling and cracking up at some of the stories they shared. he definitely beats his own drum in his own unique band. my favorite was hearing about when he starts to get frustrated in class he takes off his shoes and hangs them on his ears saying, "i cant hear you, what are you saying?". he's the master joke teller and keeps everybody smiling and laughing all day long. as a toddler he found his fair share of mischief. he developed very typically and did everything a 2, 3 year old should do. looking back now, knowing what we do, there was an excess of jumping, going to his own little world, and running off that could've clued us in. but we have no regrets on any of the assessment process and feel grateful how much intervention and help we have received post-diagnosis. our smart mister man is testing about grade level in most areas. which we are THRILLED with. his academics have come so far, it was interesting to measure his success from his past goals. this is the boy who couldn't answer the questions, "how are you, what did you do today?'" in the past you would get some scene of a spongebob episode recited to you. now he always answers, "it was great, i did everything!!" i can get more details if i probe him at the right time. we used to have to tag-team all our errands and outings, but with a lot of preparing and coaching we are able to do many more family fun adventures. daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning, going to siblings' sporting events etc have all become much more bearable. he doesnt sit and watch and he always got some gummy worms to keep him happy but we can at least attend them now as a family. society in general is still tricky for him. this past winter, following the rules while sledding down a hill caused a big meltdown. we are always prepared to exit early or split up if situations are too tough for him to handle. his brother and sisters are accomodating. but lately brady keeps huffing, "why does he...., how come caden...???". kendra understands and sweetly explains it to her friends as well. we can only hope that the other two handle it as gracefully. as his parents we have so much to learn. the nbc show 'Parenthood' is a good portrayal, i cry at every episode. it has become distinctly clear that he is a dominantly visual learner. he doesnt want to listen to us go on and on about anything. one or two questions is all you get at a time. but he could sit with daddy on his tab (like an ipad) and stay engrossed in just about anything. his current obsessions are the smurfs, scooby doo, and his love of animals could never go away. there's a health insurance commercial on tv right now with a dad stating that his son has autism and he is ok with that, he loves him just the way he is. i was so happy to see that. theres so much science and speculation about theories and cures and its easy to get wrapped up in that. but at the end of the day i just wrap caden up in my arms and love and accept all that he is and isnt. do i get sad sometimes? for sure. do i wonder if he is going to do this or that? of course. this picture of him and i at the aquarium makes me sad and happy at the same time. i asked a stranger to take the shot for me, (it was a nice looking lady) and she was trying desperately to get caden to look at her for the picture. he didn't, of course. after a couple of attempts i told her its ok, it'll be fine. she frustratingly commented that she just couldn't get him to look at her. i reiterated that it was OK!!! she didnt know. but i do. and the people around him do. and that's gonna have to be ok. at the end of the day, meltdown or not, running off by himself not always needing or wanting us, socially successful or not as much, it's gonna be alright. when i squeeze him at nite in his bed, i tell him, "i love you, you are my heart and my soul". we love him so undescribably much, we will make everything ok. it's gotta be a good life.