Summer has Come and Gone

With my first day of kindergarten less than 24 hours away, I figured it's time to share a few thoughts about my summer (Especially since I've written nothing about it at all!).

We've had a very good summer, kickin' it off with our end of the year school picnic and barbecue at Contra Loma State Park where I got to do some fishing with my Dad, and my graduation from Jr K!




We didn't catch anything, but Dad said not to worry about that. He said it was more about learning how to fish. It was my first time using one of his poles, so the whole experience was a lot of fun. Maybe next time we can try and catch some fish.

Graduation from Jr K was pretty cool. There was a whole cap and gown thing that was pretty neat. Grandma even came out to see it.



We also took Cole to the Oakland Zoo for the first time. We had a pretty good time. I love zoos and aquariums, any sort of wildlife habitat, really. I just love animals. I can't wait to go to Safari West with my school! Anyway, here's some of the pics we took at the Oakland Zoo.




Oh, I forgot about the animals! We saw all the usual suspects (my favorites!), lions, tigers, and elephants, oh yes!




There were zebras, flamingos, and a warthog!




And, of course, meer cats and giraffs.



With our summer zoo trip behind us and June fast approaching, it was time to get ready for Ethan and Caleb's return home from school and the Big Vacation...Disneyland!


Probably the biggest news of the last five years came during this summer as well (other than the news that I'd be getting a little brother of course). That news we got when we went down to the Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic in San Jose to have my diagnosis re-evaluated. For those of you who don't remember (and I doubt many of you who actually read this blog could or would ever forget), I was diagnosed with Autism right around my second birthday at this very same clinic. Three years ago! It's been a short but long three years for everyone and we hoped, beyond hopes, that all the work we've been doing, all the sacrifices we've made, and all the dreams we've had to put on hold, were about to be justified. The medical professionals around haven't always believed in the things we've chosen to do to try and win this battle, but they've always been supportive of our decisions, regardless. That was a blessing, to be sure. So, we headed down to San Jose, had some fun at our hotel...



And then we headed over to the Clinic the next morning. It was a worrisome morning. I know my Mom and Dad have worked very hard to help me overcome a lot of the obstacles I've come up against, and while the progress I've made has seemed so very obvious to those around me, nobody was sure what the professionals would say.



After almost four hours of talking and interacting and testing of all kinds, what the psychologist said, with tears in her eyes, was that in all the years she'd been working with Autistic children, in every aspect of their therapy, from early intervention to clinical diagnosis, she has never been able to tell a family their child had improved so much, that she could no longer uphold the previous diagnosis. She had never been able to tell parents their child no longer met the criteria for a diagnosis of Autism or any of the other associated disorders. I am recovered!! The joy as we left the appointment was palpable, thick like banana yogurt. Thanks Mom and Dad, and everyone else for being so patient with me and my Mom, who probably terrified you all during these last few years.

So, what does a child look like that doesn't have Autism? Well, he looks sort of like this...


What's next? Well, Disneyland, of course.

The Rest of our Crazy Month...

Somehow, my last post got posted before the post was completed so I'm back for the rest of the post, a continuation of our crazy month.

So, after Frog Fest, we had our field trip to Clayton Valley Farms to learn everything we could about worms, bugs, and growing things. It was a super fun field trip where we learned about making compost (soil), worm factories, and worms in Wormville...




Then we moved over to Sproutopolis and learned about the miracle of growing plants. We even got to plant a sunflower seed!




After Sproutopolis, we took a little train ride through the farm to Bugland and got to go a lookin' for bugs...




One of the coolest bugs we learned about was the bumblebee, a bug very important to the farm and plants because of its role in pollination, the process by which fruiting plants get fertilized and are able to produce the fruits that carry their offspring. Dad even got a picture of a bee carrying out its pollination responsibilities.

Then along came Easter with an egg hunt and a giant white bunny. Cole even got to join the fun!





That last pic is of me and my Jr. K class at Willow Wood School. Ms. Tiff was in our picture too. She's a great Jr. K teacher. To finish the month off, Mom and I took an afternoon trip to Blue Goose Park, a park near our home where you can run, play, and get a little wet to cool off on a hot day.





So, that was the crazy month we had, loaded with fun and school stuff, and just a lot of good memories. But, it's not over yet. No, my peeps, we're just getting started. So, stay tuned for more exciting stuff.

How much can YOU do in a month?

Alright, so here we go.

First there was our bimonthly assembly at school. My class and I were bugs for the assembly and had to share a cool fact about the insects we represented. I was an ant.


Yes, that's me on the end pulling off one of my own antennas. It was hot on the stage and we were all in black. Did you know an ant can lift twenty times its own body weight?

After the assembly we had Frog Fest. Yes, a celebration of everything frog. We at Willow Wood celebrate life in all its glorious forms. Frog Fest is one of the ways we continue to appreciate the world around us. And how'd we do it?



Frog legs, yum. There were more frog legs than you could imagine and they tasted surprising chicken-like. I like frogs, not necessarily the eating of their legs, but frogs in general, as a creature of our fine world, frogs are pretty dang cool. We have a frog pond at the school...


...with turtles and Koi. Maybe it's a Koi pond with turtles, or a turtle pond with Koi. I haven't seen the frog since the end of last summer.

Farewell to Nissa and Feeding Therapy

It has been a long time coming, but the end of so many of my parents worries is coming to an end. Since I was five weeks old, I have fought to whole idea of eating, a condition that worsened with the onset of severe acid reflux and the poor medicinal practices of my first pediatrician.

I'm now five and this was my last meal with Nissa, my feeding therapist for the last two years:



If you're having a hard time figuring out what's on the plate, well, let me help you. There are three items on this dinner plate of mine: Fettuccine in Alfredo sauce, cheesy broccoli, and beef frank.

It has been a lot of hard work, worry, and patience, but I think everyone would agree, it has really paid off. In fact, I'm doing so well, it's possible my G-tube could come out this summer or early fall (hopefully before school starts).

I just wanted to take a moment and thank all those who have played a part in getting me to this wonderfully fun part of my life. I am trying all kinds of new foods, almost daily, and discovering things (you can eat) I never thought I would enjoy. And I'm not just thanking those who have had an active role in getting me to eat, but all those who cowered in the dark corners of their own houses for fear of invoking the wrath of my mother should you somehow interrupt my feeding (you know who you are). You had a very big role to play as well. I will never forget the patience and understanding you showed my folks as they struggled to help me eat.

I have a good family, the best, and I thank you all for helping me get this far. Now, I've got a bowl of Lucky Charms and a fruit cocktail cup to eat for breakfast. Chow for now, my peeps.

Party on. Hunter.

Random Family Photos

Life moves along, faster for some of us than for others, and here's a look at how life has been moving for me and mine...




Things you should notice in these pics:

#1 In the pic of my beautiful Mama, sitting on top of her never-left-at-home notebook is a tube of Buttpaste. No joke. It's really called Buttpaste, isn't that the coolest name of a product you've ever heard?! Buttpaste.

#2 Yes, that's me in a swaddle. Ah, reminds me of the good ol' days...

#3 The wedge Cole is on is designed to get him ready for American Ninja 2030!

Alrighty then, more pics.





Daddy's working on a pillow fight video but he's having some issues with the USB streaming feature of his laptop. Apparently Microsoft felt it necessary to make streaming video through the USB port less than easy. But for now, enjoy these random family pics.

Hunter out.