What is going ON in the bathroom?

One quick Molly story before I get cracking on my day.

Molly has been A LOT more verbal in the last say 6 months. And by verbal I mean louder. There are many summer days when I wonder what the neighbors think who are walking their dogs by our house and hear her noises emanating out of her bedroom window as she plays on her i pad and listens to music. Do they wonder if we are abusing our daughter or do they know, like most in our little town, "That must be Molly's house"?

It's hard to describe her sounds for those that don't know her. She doesn't modulate appropriate sound levels so often it is too high pitched or squawky sounding. But she IS repeating everything you say to her which in autism world is called "echolalia" (echoing). I say "How are you?" and instead of answering, a child with echolalia will say "How are you?". Remember how Molly's boyfriend Spencer does this too and I always say to him "You look very skinny today" so that he'll say it back to me?

Just kidding....I still don't make him do that.

Sometimes I love that she is attempting speech more. Sometimes it's just annoying and loud. But I recall my daily prayer that she could one day communicate with her mouth and so I try and be patient. And then I ask if she wants a bath as she will always be quiet in there ;)

I got such a kick out of her after a bath last week. She always takes a bath with the lights off and her music on low from her iPad . It's always Bob Marley that she starts with. She adds hot water every now and again and her baths last for an hour or so. If it's too quiet, I peek in to see if she is still alive. Or do the token sound through the door "Oooo"or maybe it sounds more like "Ew"?... and she responds "Ooooo" "Ew". Good, she's alive.

After a long bath last week, she was making all kinds of loud noises and I couldn't decipher if she was happy or upset. I pulled myself up off of the sofa and walked back to the bathroom and peered in. The light was on and she was standing naked in the empty bathtub. She looked at me. I said "What are you DOING?". And she looked at me like I was crazy and said with her mouth "I'm SINGING!" It came out pretty clear and it made me laugh. Of course that's what you were doing :) I have NO idea what song that was or that she even knew that people sing in the shower, but I loved it.

And then last night she had her first Special Olympics volleyball practice. 3 out of 10 hits actually went forward (instead of backwards over her head) so there is a lot of room for improvement but she smiled the whole time!! More on that fun as we move through the season!

Happy Hump Day!!

Senior year of the "typical" sibling.

That means Jack :)

I have every intention of being more consistent with this blog, and then life gets in the way: I AM still script writing for Gemiini, while trying to balance the life of a family. Why does everyone need to eat and have clean laundry? Why does the lab dog hair take over so quickly? And what exactly IS that smell that we can not seem to clean out of the refrigerator despite scrubbing every nook and cranny? The first month plus of school for Jack has been super busy/fun and it being his senior year of high school, I am trying to take it all in and savor every moment. I get a little teary when I think of his fun presence being gone to college and off into the world.

A quick drive by of highlights from this month: Attending soccer/football and ultimate frisbee games to watch Jack's pals and then him play frisbee. He played both football and soccer the first 3 years of high school and has migrated to Ultimate Frisbee this fall for a fun change. LOTS of running which will get him in shape for lacrosse. He has Captains' practice one night a week for a fun casual gathering of all the boys' high school lacrosse players. It's a chance for the older guys to get to know the younger ones before tryouts in the spring.

Broncos are doing well. Our CU Buff's are looking a little better this year..... and we have needed a "little better" for a lot of years now!

Homecoming week had Jack SO busy with all the Student Council involvements from coming up with a theme: Mardi Gras, to decorating the school, to building floats for the parade. To then practicing the seniors Powder Puff cheer (hilarious and for some reason I can't post a video via this blog so I sadly can't show you), to the Homecoming Football game (we lost), to shopping for an outfit last minute Saturday morning,  to finally showering, dressing up, having dinner with all his pals and their dates and then going to the dance.

Do you know what I admire most about Jack and that entire process...is that I had NOTHING to do with it. He is SO good about managing his very busy schedule. He has gotten himself up since elementary school and I rarely have to see if he has over slept. My job is to try and keep the boy fed because he is always hungry!!

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words so here is a glimpse of our life so far this fall.

Ralphie (BEST mascot there is!)

Jack and Molly before his fun Homecoming night!

Boys being goofy!

The beautiful high school kids all ready for the Homecoming Dance.

Jack's stunning girlfriend. She's beautiful on the inside too!

The Senior's Powder Puff outfits. The dance routine was even better! :)

Senior Photo shoot with the amazing Katie Work.

Jeeping getaway to check out the changing colors.

My handsome senior!

He loves the jacket. I love his short hair.

He successfully made me laugh (as always)!

College applications, campus visits, another round of ACT testing and hopefully by Thanksgiving, Jack will have all his paperwork finished and he can relax a little more into enjoying the rest of his high school experiences. So far they have been fun!

Molly is SO busy too with work, speech therapy, music therapy, being assessed for a job, starting Special Olympics volleyball tonight (THAT should be interesting....will update you later) and hiking whenever possible. I'll give you a few quick Molly stories next time.