Christmas at the Youngman Home

After opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's house, we made our way over to Auntie Gaye and Uncle Jay's house for lunch, which has been our tradition for as long as I can remember.  The house was full of boys, until Miss Maddy came and sprinkled the room with a little feminine charm.  She and Josh came later in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, Angie was sick and Danielle couldn't make it.  We missed them!

Since I took so many photos and had a rough time narrowing them down, I'll just get right to it...

Auntie Beth and Logan, who is the spitting image of his daddy!

Our little giggle man

Me with my adorable Godson, Cash

Aunt Debbie and Logan

Beth and Aunt Debbie

Uncle Ry and Logan

Can you tell we're related? ;)

Matt, Jess, and Logan

Auntie Beth and Owen

All the ladies (minus the aforementioned Glodo ladies who couldn't make it)

Beth and Sarah

Grandma and Grandpa posing with their gift from all their kids.  Yes, my parents have a Wii.  Rumor has it that Grandpa can make you laugh til you nearly wet your pants while you watch him hula hoop on the Fit.

Owen and Cade got matching race car helmets and had a ball with them.

It's fun for all ages! ;)  This is Uncle Jay's dad, who is in his 90s.  I caught him playing with Logan's toy and thought it was so cute!

Uncle Josh and Logan

The Three Stooges

Maddy and Josh

A big thank you to Auntie Gaye for being such a wonderful hostess and making an awesome dinner.  We had such a wonderful time and, as always, were sad when the day came to a close.  Already looking forward to next Christmas!  Until then, I still have a few more cute photos from this Christmas (I bet you didn't think that was possible!) so stay tuned!

Christmas Morning

Oh my goodness!  Where does the time go?  I've been meaning to get back to this blog for days and finish up with photos of our time in the 'boro over the holidays.  We all got bad colds, we had lots of bad weather, and Cody went to Ohio for business for a few days.  Thus, I just didn't feel much up to blogging!  Anyway, back to the matter at hand...

We had, dare I say it, a perfect Christmas.  I really don't think there could have been much to make it better.  Cameron adjusted SO well to the travelling.  Much better than I ever thought he would, which was a huge relief to all of us, especially me.  (Not sure if you know this, but I tend to worry about nearly everything in my life. ;) )  We spent Christmas morning opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Here are a few of the highlights...

Owen with his Collapsing Sodor Suspension Bridge from Santa.  Nearly everything this child got had something to do with Thomas.  At least he is consistent. ;)

It's a bird, it's a plane....No, it's Super Owen!  Santa brought him just what he asked for--a super hero cape complete with power cuffs and  mask.

Super Owen checking to see if Santa filled his stocking.

A Muhs Christmas is never complete without Bears gear.  Grandma & Grandpa got Owen an Urlacher jersey just like Daddy's.  I'm not sure who was more excited about that one, Owen or Daddy.

Seeing this face makes all the shopping and late nights spent wrapping worth it.

We can't forget our Cammer Jams!  He didn't want to have much to do with opening the gifts, but he fell in love with this tractor when Owen opened it for him.  All the animals make sounds when you put them in the wagon, it moves by itself, the Farmer sings "Old McDonald", and the horn honks.  What more could an animal-loving 2-year-old ask for?

This boy makes me melt when he smiles like that.  The car he's holding in his right hand is one of those you shake up and it goes by itself.  We got him an elephant and a gorilla and he LOVES them.  For awhile, he would just bring them to us to do it because he couldn't figure it out himself.  We kept trying to get him to do it himself but he wouldn't.  (Which is very typical for Cam.)  Last week he figured it out and we were so excited for him!  He shakes it up saying, "Shay (shake), shay, shay," sets it down and says, "Reh-y (ready), seh (set), yoooooo (go)!!!!"  Such a big step for our little guy.

I guess that wraps up Christmas morning.  Stay tuned for more of our Christmas celebration!  Maybe I'll get them in before February gets here!

Motherly Instincts

I still don't know what it is about being a mother that suddenly makes so many women so instinctual.  I guess carrying someone with you and having them grow inside you for 9 months gives you a certain insignt into a person.  Not to say that Dads don't know their children well.  But there's just something about that bond between mother and child.  I've always seemed to have this with all of my children, on both a small and large scale.  I can look at Owen and tell you when he's about to be sick.  As strange as it sounds, when we lost our second baby, I knew that something was wrong the night before.  I never said anything because I knew Cody would think I was crazy.  I even told the doctor when he told me there was no heartbeat that I wasn't all that shocked because I felt like something was wrong.  And when I when I went to my appointment shortly before Cameron was born, I told the doctor that I knew Cam was coming early.  He even commented after Cameron was born that he listens to those Motherly Instincts all the time because, as odd as it sounds, so many mothers are right.

Even though I've experienced it with all of my children, my instincts with Cameron seem to be very strong.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because he has had so many issues in his short little life that I feel it's especially important for him to have an advocate.  It's almost like my instincts are on overdrive so I don't miss any important signs or signals with him.  For the better part of 6 months, those instincts have screamed at me that he is on the autism spectrum.  I can't say that I was necessarily ignoring my feelings, but I hoped like hell I was wrong.  As we went through therapies with Early Intervention, I clung to the hope that he would start to catch up.    Seven months later, he hasn't caught up.  Yes, he has come a long way and he has learned so many things.  But there are still so many things missing.

We went to the doctor for his 2 year well-check yesterday and shared our concerns with her.  She decided that it's time we head to Iowa City to the Child Development Center for an autism evaluation.  She could sense our frustration in what to do next, which is why she thought we should just go there and let the experts help us decide what our next course of action should be.  I asked if her she thought we were dealing with autism and she said she couldn't say for certain but that she was pretty sure he is on the spectrum.  But she did say that she has kids that they caught it this early who are now older and you would never know they are on the spectrum.  She said he does have a lot of red flags but that he also still has a lot of good points, too.

I called this morning to get his appointment.  The earliest they could see him is March 30th.  I'm not all that happy that we have to wait that long but I've heard stories of people waiting a year to get into a Developmental Pediatrician so I figure a couple of months isn't so bad.  The evaluation will be a team effort with a Psychologist, Speech Pathologist, and a Developmental Pediatrician observing him.  It takes 4 hours but thankfully we will start at 10am, go for 2 hours, give him a break for lunch, and then finish up the last 2 hours.  Grandma Debbie is on Spring Break that week, so she has offered to come up and stay with Owen that day so that Cody and I can go together.  Iowa City is about an hour from here, so it will be a full day for all of us.

I'm still working on what we're going to do until then.  His behavior has already changed from just a month ago and I'm afraid if we wait around another 2 months til the evaluation, he will be even worse.  So much research shows that the earlier the better with these kids.  So I think I'm going to call our case worker with EI and see what she suggests.

Please pray for us that we get the answers and direction that our little guy needs in order to achieve anything and everything he wants to in life.

Cameron Turns Two!

The very next day we geared up to celebrate my baby boy's second birthday.  Oh, these holiday babies!  We started off the morning of his birthday by letting him open up his presents from Mommy and Daddy.  It was then that we discovered he really had no interest in opening gifts.  He did at least enjoy looking at the characters on the wrapping paper.

I don't have many good pictures of him opening gifts since he wasn't really into it and we let Owen open most of them!  That night we had a few family members and close friends over for cake and ice cream.  We tried to make it as low-key as possible for Cam because he just doesn't like crowds.  I'm pleased to say that he handled it all extremely well and actually enjoyed himself!  I made him an Elmo cake, his favorite character of late.

He wasn't quite sure what to think about it.  I think he knew it was Elmo but he never would actually say it (which he usually will anytime he sees ANYTHING with Elmo on it), try as I might.  He just stared at it wondering why we wouldn't let him touch it!

We opened his gifts, this one being the biggest hit.  It's a Thomas See 'N Say from Auntie Gaye and Uncle Jay.  He just kept giggling at it!

The next day a package arrived from Grandma Lynn, who sent all our Christmas gifts and a birthday gift for Cameron.  So we let him open it that night and he was instantly in love!

She got him something called Let's Go Thomas!  It's a Thomas train who moves by himself, talks to you, and responds to your voice.  He was mesmerized by it.  As you can see in the above picture, Owen loved it too.  It's no wonder one miraculously showed up for him under the tree the next morning.  So now we have two!

Daddy couldn't get it out of the package fast enough for our little guy!

And as you can see by his shoving of Owen's hand, he did NOT want to share his new love!

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty great birthday for our boy.  I still can't believe he's two.  He's been through such a journey in the last two years.  We're still not sure where the rest of the journey will lead us or what surprises may be in store.  But one thing I do know for sure, as long as I see that smiling face and hear that adorable laugh everyday, life will be good.  Happy Birthday, Cammer Jams!  We love you more than words could ever express.

Cash Turns One!

On December 20th, our adorable Godson, Cash, turned one.  Beth and Ryan had a few close family members over to their house to celebrate and we were so glad we were able to be part of the celebration! 

Grammy got him his very own chair for his birthday.  As you can see, he loved it!

I don't think any other two people are more excited than Beth and me about Larry's House of Cakes adding a bakery in Carbondale.  Look at the yummy cake they made!  It perfectly complimented the invitations she sent.  They also made a cupcake for Cash to destroy to his heart's content.

Clapping for his cake.  He did a lot of clapping that night! ;)

He wasn't quite sure of what to think of the cupcake.  But once he had a bite, he LOVED it.  Beth had to hold it for him though.  It was almost like he didn't know he could pick it up.  Then once he realized he could pick it up, he really went to town on it!  It was all so cute!

Cake Happiness

Of course, you know my children will find a DVD player if they are within a 1 mile radius of it.

Sing it with me now, "Sisters, Sisters!"

And here's the birthday boy giving Uncle Matt & Aunt Jess a kiss over the phone when they called and sang to him.  He was so cute listening to it.  He was wide-eyed and loved it!

Happy Birthday, Cashers!  Here's hoping the next year is as good as your first one!  We love you so much!

Surfer-in-Training

Now that Owen is reading fluently, his love of the internet has grown.  He loves to sit in the living room chair with the laptop on his lap "just like Mommy & Daddy," going to "his websites."  One of his favorites is this blog.  In fact, he's probably reading this, as he will sit for upwards of an hour reading our blog and reliving all the memories.  So, hello, my Owen!

Sometimes, if he's checking out something especially interesting, he'll get a little buddy at his side.

I wonder how long it will be before they both surpass me in computer knowledge?

Getting a Boost

My adorable little Cameron has a new love of step-stools.  I'm pretty sure he's not exactly certain of their intended use, but he gets quite a kick out of standing on one just for fun!

Get used to it, kid.  I hate to break it to you, but I'm afraid you are going to have a life-long relationship with one of these! ;)

Owen and Santa

Owen enjoyed playing with our "Polar Express" plush Santa this year.  One morning after breakfast he was sitting with Santa and asked me to take his picture with him.

Upon inspection of the photo, he said, "Oh wait!  You can't see Santa's eyes!  Let me move him so you can see them better.  There. Can you see them now, Mommy?  Ok!  Take another picture, please!"

Ah, my Perfectionist-in-Training.

Under My Tree

Owen told me one night that he wanted to be a Christmas gift under the tree...

If a cuter gift exists, I sure don't know what it is!

After that he said he wanted to play Santa so he started gathering a bunch of his toys and leaving them under the tree.  He came to me and said, "Look at all the presents Santa left under the tree, Mommy!"

It is always so much fun experiencing Christmas through your child's eyes!

Trimming the Tree

What better way to celebrate New Year's Day than with photos of trimming your tree?  I really can't think of any, so without further ado!

We tried to get Cameron to nap while we were decorating the tree (thus, the pajama pants), but he had other ideas.

Not too shabby for a 4-year-old, don't you think?

"Here, little brother, let me share the Christmas Spirit with you by yanking your neck!"

Christmas kisses from my baby boy!

Stay tuned for more Christmas photos in January!  You know how I love to drag out the holidays!  And who knows?  Maybe you'll even get to see Cameron's birthday photos before Owen's birthday in March!

Watching the Snow

Oh, how my boys love to watch the snow!  When we got some of our first snowfall this year they kept going to the back door and watching in awe.  Cameron would look at me with wide eyes and say, "Snow! Snow!" 

It's moments like these that no matter how hard you try, you just can't truly capture on film.