Ryan's first day of school

So this was Ryan before we left:

And this was Ryan when we got to his classroom


We walk in and Ryan exclaims "Oh Wow". Everyone laughed and thought it was adorable. He walked in like he had been there a million times before. They have a great set up. A pretend play area with a kitchen and toys, fine motor area with puzzles & crafts and Ryan's favorite, a Little Tikes climber & slider, complete with a small ball pit. As soon as Ryan saw that, he was off and running. They also have a great playground that is completely fenced in and they have a door from their classroom to go out. I stayed for about 15 minutes so I could talk to his teachers. I told him goodbye and off I went to spy on him through the one way mirror. He did start to tear up once he realized I wasn't there anymore but his teachers said he did great for his first day. He did cry off and on throughout the day but as long as he was interested in what they were doing, he was fine.

Here are some other pics from my short visit with him:





And his first masterpiece from school:

Tomorrow is the day.

Ryan starts at Easter Seals tomorrow. He will go three days a week, for 3 hours in the morning, for the next 9 weeks. During the summer, it is mostly a structured day camp with teachers that work with special needs kids. We are hoping we can continue this placement in the fall where he will also receive occupational & speech therapies, as well as the structured teaching setting.

My nerves are shot though. I was packing his new little Diego backpack with his clothes and snacks and I couldn't hold back the tears. He is so young. How do I know he won't cry for me the whole time? How do I know that one little kid won't come up to him and totally set him off? How do I know we are doing the right thing for him? Deep down, I know this is the best thing for him. All of his teachers & therapist tell me that but it is very hard not to be there, to hold him when he needs me. He seems to adjust to adults faster then the kids so I am hoping he bonds with one of his teachers quickly.

I am expecting lots of tears tomorrow, from both of us, but I am hoping Ryan has fun. I told myself I am not allowed to cry until I get back to the car. The good thing is that Ethan also has vacation bible school this week so I will have a couple of hours to compose myself.

Our baby isn't such a baby anymore.

Ryan has decided it is time for a "big" boy bed. He has climbed out of his crib a couple of times when I had put him in there for a time out, so we knew it was getting close to time to move him. When he decided to climb out and come down to our room at 5:30 yesterday morning, we really knew it was time to move him out of the crib. I went out and bought him a new toddler bed, something I said I would never buy but we just didn't think Ry was ready for the BIG big boy bed. I completed the ensemble with the very loud and bright Diego bedding that I knew Ry would just love.
So here is a pic of my "baby" in his new bed.

Fun in the sun!

These were taken last week (when we were all healthy). Ethan, Ryan, Ella & Silas LOVE the Slip & Slide. So much fun, on a hot summer day.

My sick boy

Doesn't he look so sweet when he is sleeping!?!?!

Here we go again...

Now a stomach virus has hit our house. We went a whole 2 days without one of us having something. Ryan and I both have it and I am waiting on Greg and Ethan to get hit with it.

And another x-ray

This time for Ryan.
Ryan and Ethan were playing in our bedroom last night and Ethan jumped off the bed which of course, made Ryan jump also. Screaming ensues and he refused to walk on his left foot. This morning, it was very swollen so off to the doctor we went. She examined his foot and sent us over for an x-ray. After several hours of waiting for the results, it is good news! It is not broken! She thinks he over extended a muscle or tendon in his foot, just like Ethan did with his arm.
So, we have had our fair share of possible broken bones and sicknesses so I am expecting everyone to be healthy and in one piece for the rest of the year!

And now I have bronchitis....

I have been getting worse since going to the clinic on Friday and decided to head to Urgent Care this morning. I have bronchitis. He said, if I am not careful, it will develop into pneumonia but we are hoping the new, very large antibiotics will kick it. If I am not feeling any better in 2 days then I need to call my regular doctor. But, I think the new meds are already working. I have been out of bed for almost an hour. I don't think I have lasted more then 5 minutes the last few days.
And the boys all have something too. Poor Greg has been such a trooper. He has not been feeling 100% either but has taken complete care of the boys since Friday. Ethan & Ryan both have coughs and runny noses but we are hoping it doesn't get worse for them.

Apparently, I missed the memo

on everyone staying healthy. I started with a fever on Thursday and it just got worse. By Friday morning, I couldn't breath and my whole body ached. Greg stayed home and I went off to the Minute Clinic at CVS. Very bad sinus infection. I got some antibiotics, mucinex, more tissues and sprite and have been in bed all day. Thank goodness Greg was able to stay home today.

For those following the saga.....

We decided to go ahead with a second opinion on Ryan.

I know something is "off" with him and I just don't feel like it is just sensory issues. He flips out at anything new especially people & places. He flips out when someone comes too close to him. We actually had to leave a birthday party at a park because a little kid got too close to him and he reached his "point of no return" as I like to call it. His language is developing but he is still not putting two words together on his own. Some kids hand flap. Ryan does this thing with his hands when he gets nervous. Greg and I call it the Mr. Burns (from The Simpsons) look. And his new favorite thing is to line up his cars on the table. He screamed today when I moved one, picked it back up and put it back where it was.

The "not on spectrum" diagnosis has never set well with me and this weekend I really realized it. I had to take him to urgent care for what I thought was strep (test came back negative so we are thinking hand, foot & mouth). The doctor was great with him but Ry screamed the whole time. New person, new place, screaming ensues. I expected it and explained everything to the nurses. The doctor was examining him and asked if I had any other concerns. I knew he was referring to Autism and told him about our experience. He was very receptive. That was the push I needed. I needed someone else to say hey, this isn't a typical reaction without really saying it, kwim?

So I called another place and they told me they work closely with the doctor's at Children's and told me to wait until he is three. Why on earth would they tell me that? Everything says, don't wait but they are telling me to wait and see if "he comes out of it". We have been in OT & Speech and he hasn't come out of it.

One of my friends recommended a private psychologist who diagnosed her daughter and I called her and got an appointment for July 9. She has come highly recommended by several parents so I already see a good fit with her.

I was looking through our paperwork from our original Autism eval and going through some of the numbers and how they scored him. When they went through the forms that I filled out, he scored "average". Not average, typical 2 year old average but on the spectrum, middle of the spectrum, average. They scored Ryan a 4. Anything over a 6 is on the spectrum. The doctor made it seem like Ryan was as far from the spectrum as a typical 2 year old with a speech delay could be.

This is hard. Some days, I really wish there were a manual on parenting. I have never doubted my decisions as a parent until Ryan came around. I guess he is just keeping me on my toes. :)

June will be known as.....

Everyone in the Syferd household staying healthy!

In the month of May, Greg hurt his back, I had shingles and a migraine that landed me in the ER, Ethan *almost* broke his arm and now, starting last night, Ryan has a really high fever. He is acting fine though but last night it was 103.5 and this morning it was over 102. He doesn't have any other symptoms so I am guessing it is one of those wonderful kid viruses that they all pass around.

Hopefully, Ry will be better in a couple of days and we will have a nice, healthy month!