More to Say

Some days, like today, I pause for a moment and realize that progress is still being made...

ex:

K: I'm going down to the garage to get some Cottonelle wipes...be back in a minute.
J: For me?
K: Yes. I'm getting them for the downstairs bathroom. Do you need any in the upstairs bathroom?
J: No, we don't need any upstairs. There are still some left up there. I just need them downstairs. You know, the bathroom I always go in? But bring some for later for upstairs, too, Mommy, ok?
K: Ok. Got it. I'll bring some extra!

Unusual? Not in the least. Except that not too long ago, that conversation would have looked much more like this:

K: I'm going down to the garage to get some Cottonelle wipes...be back in a minute.
J: For me?
K: Yes. I'm getting them for the downstairs bathroom. Do you need any in the upstairs bathroom?
J: No.

There just wasn't much dialogue. It's not something an outsider notices, of course, but when you are around other kids you hear how much more they add to their answer. The back and forth. And then one day, we had it too. I don't think I'm quite used to it, as every once in a while it still takes me by surprise. Just an ordinary moment that isn't so ordinary at all.

Don't Poke His Eye Out (well, just this once)

Pumpkin carving at the Halberts...gotta love days like these!

First Sleepover

We're making memories over here at the Halbert house...Jack is currently having his very first sleepover with his friend Jayden. Jayden and Jack became fast friends while in Kindergarten and, though they are not in class together this year, have stayed good friends. They even get to ride the bus home together on occasion, and both think that is a real treat!

So, when I say that the boys were eager to have their sleepover during Fall Break, that might not do their excitement justice. As we picked up Jayden this morning at 9:30 a.m., both boys were beaming from ear to ear. And their excitement never waned today. They played together, ate together, and played some more. They tolerated an interested toddler little brother, rode bikes, played Wii and in general, had a blast.

Lunching and gaming...

This was the view for a good part of the afternoon...no Mommies or little brothers allowed!

After dinner and a little more playtime, the boys changed into their pajamas and went to hang out in the den. Guess who had to be right in the mix? Little brother Tyler, who adores Jayden so much (that he'll poke him in the eye!)

The boys enjoyed being in front of the camera and decided to try out some different looks. Not sure which one is my favorite, but I think I'm leaning toward silly!

Best buddies!!!

After a quick "Cars" story, the boys were headed to bed. Jayden called "top bunk" and Jack was excited to let his friend have his choice.


They were asleep by 9:15 and as of midnight...not a peep! It doesn't come as much of a surprise that the boys are already planning their next sleepover...though Jack admitted he was not exactly ready to sleep at Jayden's yet.

I'll call this a major milestone and proudly add it to the list of Jack's accomplishments! I'm so glad that Jack has a friend like Jayden and so happy for the excitement of little boys and sleepovers.

May I Introduce You To...Wall-E!

The upcoming holiday, celebrated each year at October's end, is not a favorite of our little guy. Sure, he's participated in most years, but it isn't the holiday that he counts down toward with gusto. So, as the discussion turned to costumes, there was some waffling. I started to think that, perhaps, the time had come to end the ritual of trick or treating for our eldest. What IS the age that it becomes child fodder?

So you can imagine our delight when Jack proclaimed that he thought he might like a Wall E costume. We discussed creating the costume out of a cardboard box but then decided to peruse the internet...and stumbled upon this beauty!

From the moment it arrived, our little boy has been completely enamored with this costume...







And here's the actual costume in action at our church's Trunk or Treat event, accompanied by a sweet little tree frog.



And again on Halloween night with his friend Clarissa and her family and neighbors.




We're glad to see that trick or treating is alive and well again this year for Jack. It was wonderful to see him enjoying trick or treating with friends (he didn't get excited about Halloween until Clarissa invited him to T or T with her!) and we had a long fun night of neighborhood strolling in the near-rain.

Yesterday's BIG Accomplishment

A kid rides the bus. What's the big deal, right? Millions of kids do it every day. Well, it' a big deal for THIS kid. This kid said last year that he would NEVER be a bus rider. He'd just be a car rider. In fact, it took a lot of convincing that riding the bus to the Pumpkin Patch field trip was a GOOD idea. Whenever the topic was approached, the response was always the same "I will NEVER be a bus rider." So, you can imagine my surprise when Jack told me that he might like to ride the bus TOMORROW, on his way home during the first week of school.

I don't know what happened to change his mind. Bus riders do get to leave school the earliest, and he might have been told (by me) that you get home faster when you ride the bus, but I'd like to think it was one of those moments where you decide to kick the tail of one of your fears. I don't really know. All I know is that I found myself calling to find out where the bus would pick up my 1st grader and, just a few days later, I was sitting at home at dismissal time, biting my nails just a little, praying that he was happy, content, and traveling home at that very moment. I don't know what I expected, as things can go either way with Jack. I figured that either he'd love it emphatically or else he'd find it wasn't what he expected and he'd never ride again. I sure didn't expect the response I got, though, as he arrived at the top of our driveway yesterday...

Double click on the video if you want to see it without part of it missing...

School Days...Welcome to First Grade!

Summer's over. School's in session! No longer at the bottom of the totem pole, Jack is returning to school with a notch in his (proverbial) belt, comfortable with his surroundings and routine on day 1 because he's done this all before...but now he's a First Grader! Woo hoo!

Friday was the official start of school with a warm up consisting of a 3.5 hour day. Just enough to get your feet wet but not a full commitment to the program! Jack and I drove to school, outfitted in a selection from his newly expanded assortment of Standard School Attire (think uniform) and sporting his excellent "rock star" coif.



Though nervous, he put on a brave face and walked confidently on the school grounds that seemed as comfortable as last year's bathing suit at the start of the next summer. A little unfamiliar but still a good fit...



Already mapped out and committed to memory, we found Mrs. Stark's classroom right away. She is a sweet and inviting teacher and made all of the students feel welcome immediately!


We found Jack's cubby, #10, and his DESK (this is new!), where he was seated beside new friend Reid and across from his Speech Teacher's daughter, Natalie. Though no old friends were in sight, Jack seemed to welcome this new experience and sat comfortably, attached his name tag to his shirt and checked out the papers on his desk.

Oh my goodness, textbooks!!!

Mrs. Myers stops by to welcome Jack to school.

His sweet friend Jayden came over from the classroom across the hall and, ever so brotherly, told Jack that he'd be right across the hall if Jack needed him. My heart melted!!!

I stayed for a few minutes longer, soaking up this moment and all of the nervous drama that was NOT occurring (no clinging to my leg, asking me to stay, with big eyes pleading) and then kissed him and assured him that I'd be back to pick him up at the car rider line at 11:30.

That was it! Wow. How easy! What a brave, sweet, big boy! I went to the parents' reception for a moment and then, on my way out, stuck my head in his doorway and peered in the room. I found the class, seated on the floor at Mrs. Stark's feet, captured by her every word. And in the middle, quiet and attentive, was my amazing little man.


The report that followed at pick up was short and positive. It was a 'great' day. He was only nervous for the first part of the morning. He sat with only 1 friend at lunch (because he was at the end of the table). He got to be the line leader on the way to the cafeteria, which he loved. And he received a "Perfect Day" behavior rating from the teacher. He was quick to share with me her scale for the class:

1. Perfect Day
2. Warning
3. 5 minute time out
4. 10 minute time out/note home
5. You blew it! (principal's office)

I am thrilled with the start of the school year for Jack. He has 2 full days under his belt now as well and is still enjoying it. I am so excited to watch him learn and grow this year in a new classroom with new academic challenges! I think it is going to be a great year.

First Grade Preview...Roster Sneak Peek

Last night Jack and I (with Tyler and Grandpa in tow) headed over to school to see the 1st grade rosters that were posted on the school's front door the same day. Finally we got to see who Jack's 1st Grade teacher will be!

Jack scanned the list and found his name. His new teacher is the awesome Mrs. Stark. She's a perfect teacher for Jack and I know he's going to have another fabulous year! He found his friends names scattered about in other classes and pretty quickly had seen all he needed to see and was ready to head to the new and improved playground!

As we were walking to the playground he said "There are 19 friends in my class!" How ever did he count all those names so quickly? That little stinker!

Today was full of apprehension, as the reality of tomorrow is closing in. He said that he was scared. That he thought he wouldn't do well. He is nervous that the fans will turn on in the gym. So we talked about the fact that there wouldn't be PE tomorrow (it's a 1/2 day), what to do when the fans come on (cover your ears), what we expected the day to be like (my best guess), and how awesome it is that he already knows where his class is, where all the specials are, where the cafeteria is and that he knows 3 kids already in his class. This seemed to calm him a bit, and he enjoyed it when I prayed at bedtime for a great day with no nervousness.

I also reminded him that I will be taking his picture because tomorrow IS the first day of school...and it's a rule. Hee hee!

Good luck, our sweet boy! We know you'll win over all your new friends with your sweet spirit. Enjoy first grade! We are so proud of you!

Chicken Nugget Hiatus

If you know me well, you know that I grumble about making homemade GFCF chicken nuggets. I make them because I love my child. And, that child will ONLY eat the same homemade chicken nuggets that I've been making since he was 2 or so. That's 5 yrs of weekly chicken nugget making. Surely even Truett Cathy and Colonel Sanders got sick of frying chicken, right? I digress...

It seems that of late Sir Jack grew tired of the same old nugget. But, in his stubborn rigidity and resistance to change, he would eat basically no other dinner entree. We had gotten, this summer, to a success of sampling a bite or two of hamburger here and there, and he would actually eat baked chicken every now and again, but the chicken I was slaving over and offering each evening was going untouched on his plate. So, like all good mothers, I offered an ultimatum: Eat what is on your plate tomorrow night (of chicken nuggets) or I'll stop making them. Well, long story not so long, he refused to eat them on said night and agreed to a week w/o chicken. He really had grown sick of them after all!

So, the week drug on, with a few painfully long nights as we waited up to 1.5 hours for him to eat 4 bites of hamburger...and some better nights of 10 bites of 'white' (baked) chicken. And, surprisingly, at the end of the week, Jack declared that he's "tired of Mommy's new chicken (as he calls the nuggets) and only likes Mimi's new chicken, which tastes just right."

So I suppose I've received a chicken nugget cooking reprieve. He's eating more and more baked chicken but hasn't expanded his dinner repertoire thus far to include any other new entree. We'll keep plugging away at one of the biggest issues we have at this point.

I leave you with a picture of Jack, nearly 3 yrs. old, eating the chicken he has finally grown tired of. I can't even imagine how many days he has eaten that chicken!!

Can You Hear Her? The Tooth Fairy Is Coming Tonite!

That's right, tooth #2 has finally departed from the sweet smile of my 7 year old. We waiting long and hard for that tiny tooth to vacate the premises! It fell out as Jack was getting his teeth brushed, rather aggressively, from his impatient Mommy!

I love Jack's reaction to this event. Both times he is excited and absolutely petrified at the same time. There was no crying, but his bottom lip quivered ever so slightly as he reflected on the blood trickling down the water glass after a rinse. He didn't want to talk about it much. He said he was tired and had to go straight to bed "so he could get plenty of sleep." He did say that the blood was terrible and was thrilled when I explained that the blood had, in fact, stopped flowing.

Relieved just a little, he happily went to bed, tooth placed neatly beside his bed in easy reach for the Tooth Fairy to make her return visit with his treasure. He hopes for $50, he said. Sadly, not in these economic times, my friend!

I believe that the Tooth Fairy was quite pleased with the location of said tooth, so as to save her from all that wrangling about with the pillow and slumbery boy and all.

Bittersweet moments, watching your children grow up right before your eyes. I just know that in a minute he's going to be asking for my car keys. It makes me a bit weak in the knees, the speed of all of it, to be honest.

Trash Talking

Explaining "trash talking" (we won't even go into why we were having this discussion) to our literal, logical 7 year old is difficult, at best. He walked away with an unconvincing understanding that it is "inappropriate" and not something that you should do.

However, in the process, here's how his attempt at "trash talking" went:

"I think you don't want to, um, I think you don't want to suck something..oh, I don't know." (I think he was loosely emulating the ever popular trash talking phrase of "You suck!") Thanks, Wipeout for yet another life lesson we are having here at the Halbert house, thanks to Season 2.

...another discussion this evening started with "Mommy, what's a "cheap date"? We might have to go back to "G" only programming!!!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Not too long ago Jack decided that, just like Nemo, he would now call his Daddy "Dad". And just like that, "Dad" it was. Dad doesn't seem to mind...but I am reminded once again of just how fast our little guy is growing up!

My Dad, by Jack (7)

Daddy is all grown up. I like it when he plays me in chess. My favorite thing about my Dad is that he tickles me a lot and I love that! - Jack

Here are a few of our Father's Day presents for dear old Dad... We love you Dad. Thanks for always showing the boys how much you love them and for tickling and playing crazy in a way that Mommies just can't do!!! I love to watch you and the boys together...thank you for being their dad. We love you! Love, Mommy, Jack & Tyler

Chess Camp - What a SUCCESS!

This week Jack experienced his first summer "camp". We wanted something that was of interest to him and wouldn't be too big of challenge for him. We introduced the idea of Chess Camp to him earlier in the Spring and were thrilled when he decided it sounded like fun! The camp is a national traveling camp, hosted at BGA, and has the option of a week long daily full day or half day session. We chose the half day, not knowing how it was all going to play out. This was a big test, of sorts. We did NO preparation with the camp...no notification in advance, no shadow/friend to go along, just Jack and his chess skills and some prayer!!!

Jack arrived on Monday afternoon quite nervous, not knowing what to expect. There were 10 other kids in his afternoon session, and his instructor, Matt, was amazing. The kids ranged in age from 6 - 13. Jack was not the youngest but he was certainly the smallest! Skill levels ranged as well, and Jack placed 9th out of 11 in skills at the start of the week. Lots of room for growth, right?






By the end of the week, Jack was really enjoying camp! He had learned a lot and Matt encouraged us to keep Jack involved in chess. He's a natural, Matt said, and he shows lots of promise! Jack is proud to have attended Chess Camp and we are excited to have a little boy with a first summer camp under his belt!!

Our proud chess player with his trophy!!!

The Burden I Carry Is Light...

It's been a while since I posted of much other than the sweet happenings of our little life. And much, oh so much, of it is sweet. I am enjoying watching the bond grow stronger and stronger between our two boys and I thank God every day for giving me a heavy heart for a second child and for the strength to forge ahead amidst the fear. Tyler is a huge blessing to Jack, and vice versa. They spend many hours in the day together just playing and laughing. They look for each other as soon as they wake each day. And I am happy.

Many days, I must admit, I am blessed to have such a feeling of normalcy within our home. Jack is doing amazingly well. Dare I admit that some days I barely remember that he has autism? It is true. And for this I am also happy beyond measure.

And maybe that is why, on days like today, it catches me off guard a bit, when the autism rears its head and punches me in the gut. A phone call from my parents, keeping the kids overnite, as Mom shares that Jack was uncharacteristically "not himself" and threw a toy at their entertainment center with, seemingly, no reason. He was difficult to engage at times and was, overall, just 'off' for part of the stay. And I'm reeling from the blow.

Then a reminder that tomorrow starts an entirely new program at church for Sunday School. 3 grades (1st - 3rd) together all summer for a Scripture Memory type class along with lots of changes to come on Wed. nights (including a Drama program - drama? Could he even DO drama?) and for the forseeable future...and again, I'm hurled back into our modified life. I have to find someone to attend with him at least for a few weeks (it will be me)...there will be a lot of changes, no warning, I fear the class will be way over his head...and I'm not prepared. What if he can't handle it? There is no where else for him to go...and just like that, I'm back to where I've been so often before. Hello, darkness, my old friend...

In reality, the burden that I carry is light these days. And for that I am grateful. Not happy, but grateful. I'm not a whiner, I do not wish for a life that I cannot have, and I know that my lot in life in general and in specific could be so different than it is. But when it sneaks up behind me and whacks me in my knees, I wish, just for a minute, to blink and have our version of "normal" back, whatever that is. More and more, we deviate just for a minute or two or three, and then back to our normal it goes for a spell. I'm hoping those stretches will continue to get longer and longer as the whacking in the knees never feels good.

I love this boy, and his little brother, more than life itself. Here's one of a million reasons why...how could you not love a boy who loves icing off the beater???

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

The countdown is on! Just ONE more day until our Disney vacation starts. Jack is thrilled but is currently quite disappointed that he managed to get strep throat just moments before our big trip! He's been medicated for 24 hours now and we're hoping he'll be back to feeling like his old self by flight time tomorrow.

Jack and Disney. They go together like milk and cookies. It is hands down his favorite place to go on the planet. He's been there too many times to count. He had been to all 4 Disney World parks before he turned 1. With Mimi and Grandpa both working at Disney, we were spoiled to have frequent and free access to the parks. But since Mimi and Grandpa's retirement and move to TN, our trips have been much less frequent and, consequently, more sacred. We pack a lot of "Disney" into our trips now.

This will be the first time we'll take little brother Tyler to WDW. It sure will be interesting to see how a nap-needing-want-to-walk-alone-toddler will impact our usually fast paced trip. But Jack is excited to show him the ropes and wonders what Tyler's favorite ride will be. I'm sure it will be the fastest, wildest ride that he's allowed to go on!!! Our little daredevil!

I'm going to need big brother's help on the plane tomorrow. We're both hoping Tyler won't be too wild on the 1.5 hour plane ride!!!


Jack is a veteran air traveler. Has been flying to FL and various other states (CA, MA, IL to name a few) since he was a tot. He's a pro.


Does this look like the kind of toddler that will sit quietly in his Mommy's lap for nearly 2 hours?





Here is a look back at Disney with Jack. I don't have the oldest pictures on my computer, since it was before we went digital. I think I could chronicle his entire life through Disney pictures. Maybe someday that would make a good photo book. I can't wait to see what new memories we capture with both boys this trip!!!












We plan on having an awesome time at our favorite stomping grounds. Jack is ready to show Tyler the ropes of his most favorite vacation place of all time! I hope the park is ready for US!!!!

"See" ya when we get back!!!