First Day of School

Doesn't he look thrilled? The look says it all. This is how he felt about going back to school. The good news, he had a HUGE smile on his face when he got off the bus and has had an awesome first week! Still not happy. He did tell me that he felt nervous.

I got a little smile.

But it didn't last.

We feel very blessed! Haiden has an amazing teacher, Mrs. Beard, and we are looking forward to a successful school year! He has been telling us about kids he sits with at lunch and plays with on recess...this is huge for Haiden!

Football

Our football obsessed son is now playing football! Those of you who have followed my blog or personally know Haiden, know that he is a football maniac! He memorizes lineups, scores, and plays. :) Football is really good for his attention because he has to always be paying attention to the coaches in order to know what is going on. (This has been a real test for him.) I was nervous about him playing since he is small but after his game, I feel much better! He always makes me so proud! Look at that stud!

Go get 'em #21!

It is hard to see but he is blocking #11.

He thought is was so cool that he was so sweaty after his game. :)

Educate Before You Vacinate

If you care about your health and the health of your children then you will read this
http://gfcfautismomma.blogspot.com/.

Diet Comeback

Well we have been home for a week and I can already tell a difference in our little man. It amazes me how much food can affect a person. Although, I'll admit, I did enjoy eating junk for a couple of weeks but it feels good to be home eating healthy again.
Vacation was an absolute blast! I loved getting to spend so much time with my family since we don't get to see them a lot. Thank you Mom and Larry for such an amazing vacation!Getting ready to go to the beach!
Ella keeps saying that she wants to play golf golf golf a.k.a putt putt golf


Riding go carts!

I think Haiden made it around the go cart track once. He had such a hard time trying drive, steer, push the gas, push the brake. Needless to say, he didn't like it :)
So after 5 years of hating the water...Haiden is finally swimming! I was a competitive swimmer for 10 years and have always loved the water so it has been difficult for me to see my child absolutely terrified of water. Last summer I told myself that I wasn't going to push it anymore and that I would teach him to swim on his own time. I am so glad that I back off because now he loves to swim. In fact, he said that was his favorite part of vacation!

BIG MISTAKE!!!

We have been vacationing for the past two weeks and strayed from our diet...BIG MISTAKE! After the first few days I didn't notice much of a difference in Haiden but now, almost 12 days in, even Grandma has noticed a difference! My talkative, outgoing, spunky little guy is now quiet, withdrawn, and disconnected. We have had a great time on vacation but I am ready to get back home and start our detox diet! For people who don't believe in what we are doing to help Haiden, just follow along as we get our little guy out of this funk! Food = Medicine!

Tacos, IMA, and Football...already?

Taco Night! Thanks to Food for Life tortillas and Daiya cheese, we can have gluten free, casein free, egg free, soy free tacos! I like to sneak in some chopped organic spinach and black beans.

Top with organic grilled chicken and Daiya cheddar cheese.

Cook in the skillet with a bit of olive oil and voila!

The past week has been filled with play dates, trips to the library, gymnastics, drum lessons, swimming, doing puzzles (Haiden's newest obsession), coloring, reading books, turning our couch into Jump-N-Play, watching movies, playing doctor (Ella's new favorite make believe activity), going to the park, and visiting the IMA (Indianapolis Museum of Art). Whew, and I don't think that is all! I love the IMA and they now have 100 acres of outdoor art. We didn't get to see all 100 acres but here are a few pictures of what we did see. (And yes, I planned their outfits.)

Someone wasn't too thrilled with taking this picture. Can you tell who it was? (Mom, didn't I have that similar pouty face?) :)

Anytime I turn the camera on Mason gives me a HUGE smile.

Two weeks ago we signed Haiden up for football. Tonight we went to pick up his gear. This is big stuff folks. When we got there and signed in they confirmed he was in the Rookie Tackle League (up to 80lbs), then they weighed him (a whopping 48lbs), then I said a little prayer that went a little something like...Dear Lord, please don't let my baby get hurt. Then he got pants, fitted for shoulder pads, and then fitted for a helmet. We were informed that the "draft" would take place in a few weeks and our coach would notify us. Then we will start practicing the last week of July, there's no playing around here, which consists of 2 weekly practices and a weekend game. Oh what have we gotten ourselves into?! Haiden could barely carry his gear out to the car :)

Gluten Free, Casein Free, Egg Free, Soy Free Pizza

We can have Friday pizza night again! Thanks to Namaste pizza crust, organic pizza sauce, and Daiya cheese, our kidos can enjoy a gluten/casein/egg/soy free pizza! Our little guy had pizza for the first time recently. Can you tell he really liked it?

Playing peek-a-boo and smearing pizza sauce all over his face.

A fantastic find at Target? Oh yes! These are Ella's Kitchen Organic Baby Food pouches. (Ella thinks they are all hers since it has her name on it.) These are great for when we are out and about and Mason needs a little snack.

Our little princess before gymnastics!

Haiden started drum lessons this week and loves it! He is looking forward to going back next week. He did so well at his lesson!

We've had an eventful two weeks here in the McKinney house! Now that Haiden is on summer break, we are even busier (I didn't think that could be possible.) During Ella and Mason's nap (which use to be my quiet "me" time) Haiden and I read books, do math activities, puzzles, and play games. I do take about 20 minutes during nap time and let him watch TV so I can warm up for Round 2, lol. Even though he is very independent and plays well on his own, he wants to talk to me all the time...all day long. I just remind myself that it wasn't that long ago that his main form of communication was grunting, yelling, and crying. I have to laugh sometimes...we worked so hard to get him to talk and now he won't stop :). I should say he worked so hard to talk! Another BIG event that we celebrated was Mason's 1st birthday! I can't believe my little man is already one! (Time for another one, right honey? hehe) This past year has just flown by way too fast. He now says Dada, Mama, done, and signs more. He is cruising along furniture, throwing things (not always a ball), climbing up stairs, waving bye, giving high fives, dancing, and singing (aka yelling just to hear himself yell). The past year he has had 3 illnesses (compared to Haiden and Ella's 12) consisting of a runny nose and cough. (I think two of those illnesses were from me eating cheese and him teething. He already has 8 teeth!) Oh and have I mentioned no vaccinations?! He is such a healthy boy!

No, this is not an organic, gluten free, casein free, egg free cake. About 12 hours after eating this cake he got a runny nose. Food sensitivity? Not for sure but I do not think my kids are ever going to handle cows milk, which is just fine. There are plenty of other ways to get the calcium they need.

He loved it! I wonder if he was thinking, "Why in the world do I only get to eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains? This stuff is great!"

He just melts my heart!

I can't leave out my little princess!

Ella started gymnastics and loves it. It is also a fun Mommy and Ella time. We also found out that maybe all of her emotional breakdowns are from sleep deprivation! Her tonsils touch her little hangy thing (I know, there is a medical term for it) in the back of her throat. So our doctor thinks she may have sleep apnea. It makes sense, she wakes up a lot during the night. We have an appointment the first of July with our ENT and are hoping to get some answers.

I also want to give a shout out to my husband! He got a promotion at work and I am so proud of him! We are so blessed!

Rookie Run

While waiting at the start line, Haiden broke out the moves as the song "I Like To Move It' blared over the loud speaker. A few years ago he would of had his hands over his ears.
Look how far ahead my little man is! Go Haiden Go! Yes, I was that parent...yelling and cheering.
He even had enough energy to wave at me! Go Buddy! Keep it up! Yay!!!
After his race wearing his medal proudly!

My little man always amazes me! Before autism recovery he would of never been able to go downtown, leave his mommy, and compete in a race. Now after autism recovery, he went downtown, left his mommy, and competed in his first race.