Thankful Tuesday

Yikes. Has it really been a week since I last blogged? That just shows you how crazy - and busy - things have been.


Well, it's Tuesday. And while I'm not sure if I'll do the Ten Things Thankful Tuesday list every Tuesday, I'm going to do it today.


First of all, check this out........

LOOK WHO'S SEVEN!!!

Isn't he just the cutest? Such a stunner. I wish I could take some of the credit but, alas, I cannot.

Noah had his birthday last Thursday, so in honor of that I'm going to do a 10 Things Noah list. These all occurred in the last week.

I'm thankful that:

1. Noah has started eating with a fork. This is huge! One of those "is it ever going to happen things". He mastered the spoon a few months ago, but now he's mastered the fork, too. And that means... no more spaghetti sauce fingerprints on the walls!

2. This is the first year that Noah has actually acknowledged his Halloween costume. My parents bought the kids costumes this year and Eli and Nandu got theirs first. We didn't think Noah would even notice - but he was SO excited and proud when he got his Spiderman costume. He grinned and grinned and clapped his hands. It was so awesome.

3. This is the first year that Noah has acknowledged his birthday. I mean, he didn't blow out the candles or open his presents, but it's the first year that he's shown recognition on his face. He smiled when my mom lit the candles on the cake. He smiled when we opened the presents for him. And, man oh man, does he love the slew of pillows he received.

(Remember? He wanted eight pillows for his birthday.)

4. We were able to cut Noah's toenails for the first time without actually having both of us (me and Sim) sit on him. I have no idea what happened, but he just stuck his foot out and let me cut them. Completely normal. No wrestling. No holding down. No being afraid that CPS is going to waltz in and see you pinning down a screaming child while your husband is trying to trim said child's toenails without actually cutting off the toes.

5. Noah watched five minutes of a Winnie the Pooh cartoon. When your child has spent 6 years watching the same Baby Beethoven and Elmo video 10 times a day, you get excited the minute he turns his attention to something else.

6. Noah continues to be a cuddly little boy. The other day - again, a first! - I woke him up, opened the curtains and then felt a pair of arms around my waist. He had gotten out of bed to give me a morning hug! Those of you who have children with autism know how amazing that it is...

7. For the continued clarity that Noah is experiencing. Just this past week, he started taking us to the cupboard, lifting his arms to be picked up and reaching for the cereal. Then, he walks to the fridge, opens it, gets the rice milk, and brings it to the table. These little step-by-step sequences are so new for him. Yay, Noah!

8. He no longer throws his glass down when he's finished drinking. Just last night, he took his cup of rice milk to his room, drank it, and then brought the cup back to the kitchen table and sat it down. I cannot tell you how many broken glasses we've had over the years because he used to just toss his glass on the floor when he was finished. Not anymore!

9. I'm thankful that we've found out a way to give Noah a bath/shower. He's absolutely terrified of the bath. So, now I put on a swim suit (because, hey, I don't want to scar him) get in there with him and give him the quickest shower you've ever seen. He clings to me like a spider monkey, and I'm certain that one of these days he might actually suffocate me (he wraps his arms around my neck sooooo tight), but I can honestly say that since I've started getting in there with him he is clean as a whistle.

I actually have no idea what that saying really means. It's kind of a creepy saying if you think about it. Clean as a whistle. Eww. What does that even mean?

Okay. I'll stop. Does anyone really want to hear my stream of consciousness?

10. I'm thankful that he's a small guy. I sometimes worry about being 80 years old and having to carry a 58 year-old Noah out of the bath. But for right now, he's only 40 pounds and I'm young and sprightly (ha!), so we're managing.

There. There's my top 10. Not bad. It's made me realize that we had A LOT of great things happen with Noah last week. A ton of firsts. And for that I'm VERY thankful.

Oh. And we've started seeing all these changes since we started using essential oils on him. One of Noah's homeopaths recommends specifics ones for him to take and we order them through Young Living. Right now, he's using three: Hope, Abundance, and Nutmeg.

He smells like a Christmas spice ball. Seriously. Like a Glade air freshenser - expect natural and better.

And way more expensive.

Be sure to give him a sniff the next time you're around him. It'll give you visions of sugar plums dancing in your head.