nostalgia

Remember this?!? Sweet because it's the original We Are the World. Bitter because it makes me feel old. A lot of the artists singing are younger in this video than I am now. (Well, with the exception of Kenny Rogers.) And I remember thinking when this came out that all those singers looked so old.

Levi's birthday is coming up next week. Time to get down to business and figure out how to ring in his 6th year. We've been overwhelmed with several rounds of illness, jury duty for me (2 full weeks in a criminal trial), trying to catch up at work, blah, blah, blah. Hoping, hoping, hoping to resume "normal" life and schedule.

my custom bed (unstaged)

harriet here. ruby had an inspirational thought when she woke up this morning and looked out the window: "it would be so wonderful to fly like a reindeer or a bird or a butterfly." the photo is for christina. you totally called it. the bed actually gets made maybe twice a month tops.

my custom bed

Hi gang,

Its me, jeff.

Mom, here are some pictures of the custom bed I designed and had built for our bedroom. I was going for a quirky mid-century look. I love how the bottom end turned out, with the angled, inset legs. The headboard turned out a little more... um.. cartoony than I imagined. Oh well, at least it's unique.

tis the season for urgent care

Ruby charted new territory on Friday at her preschool Christmas party. In the kids' pre-party rush to the bathroom to wash their hands, some kids already in the bathroom thought it'd be fun to keep Ruby out of it by closing the door on her. To be exact, they closed the door on her thumb. By the time I got there, she'd mostly calmed down and was finding comfort in the lap of one of her loving teachers as well as a Peppermint Joe cookie. We spent the next few hours at an urgent care clinic because her pediatrician didn't have a same-day opening. Lots of waiting (i.e., torture), but once a doctor came around, Ruby finally got some decent medical TLC: x-rays, a cast, and a referral to a pediatric orthopedic who we'll see on Tuesday. She's got a fractured thumb, but she's such a trooper. Apparently this was the first medical emergency her preschool's experienced since they opened 20 years ago. A first medical emergency for Ruby as well. Not exactly a milestone to celebrate right? Man, the whole thing just sucked. Keeping our fingers crossed for a very uneventful orthopedic visit in a couple days.

The photograph's romantic soft haze...compliments of the dirty lens on my phone's camera.

literally digesting the diagnosis

We finally got a call from the Regional Center psychologist last week. Diagnosis: mild autism. Not a big surprise, but at the same time a shock to the system to have this official label attached to our child. We're still digesting the implications. As far as Levi's eligibility for services is concerned, it's out of our hands. The psychologist has gone back to the Regional Center with her diagnosis and recommendation of services. Now Levi's file has to make it's way through the bureaucracy and we'll hear back from the RC when we hear back. In the meantime, I've acquired a growing stack of books that I hope will help Levi and us overcome his challenges. One of the things we're diving right into is a gluten-free casein-free diet. Please chime in if you have any experience with GFCF. In the meantime, I'll be in the kitchen trying to make some wheat and dairy free food that Levi will want to eat. I didn't know it until this last week that GI issues are very common with autistic kids. Yet one more area where Levi falls in line quite nicely with the autistic profile. Not sure how the GFCF diet will help with his behavioral challenges, but I sure hope to find a solution to his chronic diarrhea. Sorry if that's too much info.

this one's for the grandparents

Hi everyone, it's me, Big Jeff.
first, thanks for all of you who still read this blog and comment on it. I keep thinking nobody looks at it besides our parents, but then we post something and you're all still out there, our loyal friends and readers. we love you.

This is pretty much just kid pictures. Not much to report lately. We had Aunt Elisa stay with us for a bit to get a taste of kitchen life working with Harriet at the bakery. While she was here, Uncle Sam, Aunt Marielle & cousin Hadley came down, and we went to Disneyland! It rained ridiculously, but that didn't stop us. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that -- they're all on Elisa's camera. :(

Sometimes I take the kids on hikes on the trail above our house. here are a few pictures from one of our trips.


...throwing dirt in the air and letting it rain down on their heads...


For Levi's picture day, Harriet styled his hair into a "fauxhawk". Unfortunately, it collapsed by the time they took his picture.


Here they are with their Aunt Elisa. They love her. Ruby cried when she left.


Here are the kids on halloween. Ruby was a princess, and Levi was a pumpkin. That means an orange shirt with some black duct tape.

arrrrrrrrrrrrgh

Yesterday we went to the regional center for Levi's psych eval. I wish I could say that we walked away with a definitive diagnosis and are on our way, but no such luck. We sat there with Levi and the psychologist for a couple hours while she alternately tested him and interviewed us, followed by her saying she needed more information. The next step is for her to observe him at school. Apparently Levi is high functioning enough that he comes across as superficially typical in his development. It's a double edged sword isn't it? It seems like someone in Levi's position would benefit the most from a minimal level of services and intervention. The trick is getting the gatekeepers to realize that he does indeed need these services. Let's hope these guys are on top of their game.