Molly's 18th Birthday!

It was a beautiful, sunny President's Day 18 years ago when I went into Labor with Molly. She was one week over due but I was intent on a natural labor so we weren't getting induced. Brooke and I strolled around and around and around Boulder Park by our home near Memorial Hospital hoping to get the labor really moving. We were SO ready to be parents! When I tired of walking, we headed home to watch my guilty pleasure Oprah on TV until the contractions finally got too tough to weather at home. We headed to the Birthing Center at Penrose Community Hospital. 3 Hours later Molly was born; a peanut at 6 lbs 2 oz. An easy, no complications labor with only a touch of demerol (for ME, not Brooke :) to take off the edge.  I remember her pediatrician saying "She's perfect. 10 fingers, ten toes and all of her systems are working. You have a healthy baby". We were elated. Relieved. And yet naive to think that we were out of the woods. The ugly reality of autism is that you don't know your child has an issue until years after birth.

And what a ride we have been on. I really can't believe that she is 18! She can now buy tobacco products and win the lottery! She also is the age that now requires us to fill out tons of paperwork to submit to the courts to become her legal guardians. I was shocked to hear this. Just because we are her parents doesn't mean that we naturally continue on the same parent path. Kinda doubt anyone will be rushing to the courts to beat us to the punch :) We now need to apply for Social Security for her. We apply locally to the Resource Exchange to help with services too. We are one step ahead in that she already receives Medicaid (only because NO insurance would take her when Brooke was self employed and Medicaid was the only insurance option for her).  Wohoo....I have never been one step ahead in this autism confusion world ever! So we are entering a whole new world of Government services (and a lot of paperwork) and luckily there are folks still holding our hands and moving us along.

Here are some pictures from our sweet girls life. We are in awe of how hard she works at everything that she does. What comes easily and naturally to others, she toils over. She also works hard to please. You can see the happiness on her face when she has success. She is finding her voice and using the word "No" an awful lot now which we and her team at school LOVE to see. We might get sick of it soon, but for now we are overjoyed that she is setting boundaries for herself and not just being the obedient child she has been for so long. Have I spoken too soon? :)

We love you! We adore you! We admire you! And we know that you feel that way about us too. Happy 18th Birthday, Molly!

Senior picture

5 months old

18 months (she was diagnosed 4 months later)

14 months

little

6 year old snaggle tooth

10 years old

These are our favorite pictures of a smiling, happy child. I will reserve the others for a non celebration day. The awful eczema shots and every other picture where she won't look at the camera.