gosh its been 4 months since my last update.

It has been far too long since I updated last...things have just been so busy with back to school, sports and generally just having a busy life! oh and the foot surgery has had me more laid up than usual....

Lexi is doing fantastic, she is going to school 5 mornings a week, her teachers and therapists adore her....who doesn't? She has an incredibly busy schedule. Here is how a day in Lexi's week looks for a toddler that has just turned 3.

Wake up at 7 am
Have Breakfast & Milk, Get Dressed
On bus to school by 7:45am
Back home by 11:40 am, lunch & milk.
quickie nap between 12:30 & 1:30pm
Sarah comes @ 1:30pm & stays till after 4 pm
finally Lexi gets some quiet TV time in the form of Dora~
Dinner, Bath, Bed!!!
PHEW!!! this makes for a very busy schedule for Matt & I as well!

So some of the things Lexi's team (which includes us btw) is working on with her....

*encouraging Lexi to make eye contact requesting items or actions.
*picture exchange for things Lexi wants or things she needs to do... Milk, Ginger, Cookie, Washing hands, brushing teeth etc...
*working on learning "stop" & "go" more for safety concerns
*practicing first do this...then we will do that....
*picking up the toys/objects Lexi throws around ( her siblings are very happy that she is learning she has to clean up after herself.)
*learning lots of singing games...if your happy and you know it....head & shoulders, row row row your boat are amongst her favorites.
*we are working on some sensory activities to settle Lexi down so she can focus on some of her tasks. Brushing her hands & feet with a little brush, squishing her with pillows, trampoline play and when weather permits...flying high into the sky on her swing set.
*practicing sitting on the potty, we need to aim for 10 minutes at a time, currently we get about 10 seconds!!

its a crazy life for us & Lexi but we see her changing each day. Her reports from school have been fantastic as well...

*she is practicing counting to 3
*practicing her name and letter A recognition
*Lexi sits for up to 20 minutes at her circle time with the rest of the class...last year she would sit for less than 2 minutes so huge improvement.
*kicking balls & jumping with two feet landing
*Lexi can walk up an entire flight of stairs now with out holding a rail or a hand.

Our little princess turned 3 earlier this week and had a fantastic birthday with many of her friends, 9 all together. We went to Playtopia in Okotoks which btw is a great play center for the under 5 crowd because it is a bit smaller and much more manageable for the little ones. We had Dora cupcakes and Lexi got many great gifts...(mostly Dora) and she really loves everything that she got this year. Its nice to see her playing with her toys and seeing the enjoyment she is getting out of them.

As many of you know Lexi has be recently diagnosed with some allergies. So peanuts and cats are the big ones and we have had to learn how to inject an epi pen. Fingers crossed we will never have to use it. She also has sensitivities to Beef, Chicken, yeast, oranges, to name just a few...I hope she out grows all of her allergies.

Things on the home front are just plain busy...two boys in hockey now. Michael is doing very well and playing for Pee Wee 1 and Adam is now in his first year of Novice and also doing very well and enjoying every moment. Billie is in her first year of High School & Jordan is in her last!! where does the time go??!!?

Jordan plans to take a year off and travel which i am extremely nervous for of course but so excited for her and encourage it 100% She is a straight A student and plans to attend U of Victoria when she returns.

and me? I am almost fully recovered from Bunion Surgery now 6.5 weeks post opt and am finally in runners!! Soon I will be able to join my Friends at Hot Yoga & get a Hot Body~ work is going good, I look forward to the end of this year, and the start of a brand new 2011!!

xoxo

Summer Time!

Yippee summer is here!

This is Lexi's favorite time of the year cause we are on the lake tons and that kid is a water baby!! I can't wait to take her tubing behind the boat...our little thrill seeker.

So what's new with Lexi? LOTS!

She complete her first year of school at Providence and we were quite pleased with her progress this year. When she first started, she did not know any words at all, now she says quite a bit...Momma, Dada, Nana, Milk( ilk!) Adam, Jordan, Woof Woof, bye bye, all done, what's that, yes and duck...to name a few. She is learning sign language which helps her communicate with us, she can learn a sign in minutes which astounds me. Her signs to date are more, baby, bath, cookie and milk, mommy, and all done. We are working on duck, bed, and a plethora of signs daily.

Lexi has many changes coming up in the fall, she is staying with Providence but is moving to the Midnapore location and will be getting bussed to and from school 5 mornings a week. She will also be working with a team of professionals hired specifically for Lexi from the LEAD Foundation here in Calgary, 3 afternoons per week to start. We are very excited for Lexi to get all of this specialized treatment at such a young age and can't wait to see even more progress! We have requested an aide that will have a special drivers permit so she/he can take her on field trips to the YMCA etc...since Lexi loves the water so much we thought why not have some of her therapy in the swimming pool!

Some changes on the home front include changing day homes from the loving care of Chantelle, to the loving care another good friend Char. Lexi has known Char & her family since day 1 and she gets to hang out with her buddy Alex who is only 2 days younger than Lexi. I hope they have a great summer together. We moved our trailer to a lakefront spot in Windemere, BC and we are in heaven...it's so great to just hop in the boat and go for a ride on the surfboard and watch the kids learn to wakesurf & kneeboard. We have already had plenty of guests out to the lake and look forward to the summer of friends & family.

cutest blue bunny....

so April 2 was World Autism Awareness day, City Hall here in Calgary turned on Blue lights to show support...I thought that was really cool...

Lexi has been doing really well since I last posted, she is really trying very hard to communicate with us. She has learned a few words...Adam, yes, banana, cup & Ginger. Lexi also takes my hand to lead me to something that she wants, and now points to things she is curious about in books and her surroundings. You can almost ask Lexi to do, show or get anything and she understands it which is so encouraging. I was looking at her while feeding her today, and she is so quiet when she stares into my eyes, and my thought was gosh I wish I knew what she was thinking, or wanted to say!! It breaks my heart that I can't read her mind! ...but we are getting there...

I came across this group Racing for Autism on Facebook and joined it immediately. If you send some info about your loved one that is diagnosed with Autism, they then to honor them, by proudly carrying their names on individualized puzzle pieces on our race cars and support vehicles. So I sent Lexi's photo in and got a personal note from the foundation creator Julie, turns out their daughter is also Alexis and diagnosed with Autism.

We all had a fabulous Easter and Lexi really enjoys the cadbury mini eggs...she wasn't sure at first but gave the sign for more as soon as it was done...

Hope you all enjoyed Easter!!!

FSCD

We met our support worker, Erika from Family Support For Children with Disabilities. What a wonderful addition she is going to be to Lexi's team of support & learning members. She had some great information about the process that we are about to undertake. Our next step is visiting some schools and deciding which program to enroll Lexi in. Because Lexi has communication delays & safety concerns...for example: she will teeter on the top of a set of stairs and not understand the danger if she were to take that one step. She has no concept that it is harmful. Also, if we are walking to the park and she runs ahead, she will often not stop when her name is called. Another big concern of mine is Lexi is such a happy child, she does not shy away from strangers and will often let newcomers into her life pick her up and is not the least bit upset if she has never met them. (this is a huge concern of mine for Obvious reasons.)

Because of safety concerns and the language delay, Lexi qualifies for Specialized Services. What this means is in September she will be enrolled in a morning Preschool class 5 days a week. She then will either come home or stay at school for a total of 97 hours of multidisciplinary child support services per month. The breakdown that they have proposed for Lexi is 3 hours per month Psychology, 5 hours per month Speech Language Pathology, 4 hours per month of Occupational Therapy and over 20 hours per week with a Therapy Assistant....that is a lot for a little girl that has yet to become 3.

Erika was both surprised and extremely impressed about our commitment and knowledge about the path that our family was about to take, Lexi was asleep for most of the meeting but woke up for about the last 15 minutes. I am fairly confident that Erika fell in love with Lexi the minute she met her, she was bright eyed, smiling, and engaging. Erika commented numerous times about Lexi's eye contact and how she was laughing and smiling a playing a game with Adam. On the way out she mentioned how she thought Alexis would flourish and do so well with this program. (we have known this all along) but it did feel great hearing it from a professional that takes care of over 100 other families.

I have spent the last 7 weeks in Lethbridge from Monday night to Thursday at around dinner time, so really 3 .5 days per week away...but I notice every single time I come home to her that she has learned something new...this week away she has mastered ma or rather mamamama...(thx to Chantelle & Matt) I have waited along time to hear my Alexis utter the sound mamamamama so I couldn't be more pleased...

Keep up the good work Lexi!!! Mommy is very proud of you and I know you work very hard for everything you learn!! xoxo

kindness...

I thank all of the wonderful friends that have posted warm messages. I have received many personal notes to both this blog and personally to my email and facebook account telling me your own stories about how Autism has touched your own lives. Apparently Autism is not as rare as I thought, I did not know how many of you have been touched or know someone special with Autism that is in your own lives. When I first found out that Lexi was diagnosed I felt like I was the only one that had a child experiencing these challenges....I now know many friends that I can turn to for answers to my never ending questions. I know that everyone is different but I am starting to feel as though I am part of a community of friendship and guidance.

One thing Lexi has taught me is ....Love... Unconditional Love...and...

We (Lexi & I ) love you very much !!!

firsts...

Here is a photo of Alexis in her new Princess toddler bed...she has settled into it quite nicely. She has slept thru the night since introducing it to her Friday February 12/10.

Alexis turned 2 in November, some may think what is the big deal? a 2 year old out of the crib, but our Alexis isn't your typical toddler...Alexis has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. What this means to our family is that Lexi is going to require extra help for language and communication. She has been enrolled in school since September 2009, and will have ongoing speech/language therapy and specialized services to help her achieve all her milestones.

I wanted to create this blog to record all of the wonderful achievements that we have in store for us with our amazing little girl. She is a gift to our entire family & all of the wonderful friends that have had the pleasure of meeting her. As for the blog address http://www.gingersbestfriend.blogspot.com/ that little red headed lady pictured with Lexi is her best friend Ginger that she takes with her everywhere. I truly am amazed at Alexis' development and changes even in the last few months and look forward to what this next chapter brings.