Since not everyone is on Facebook (including me!) I thought I’d better give an update here of what has been going on with the Prebble boys lately.
Gareth continues to use his alphabet board to talk a ton. We have varied conversations–Gareth talks about the big things in life (”What’s church?”, “I hate CP.”) as well as just enjoying being part of day to day conversations. He’s also letting us see and hear a bit more of his attitude lately and the other day he reminded me of why I need to watch my language a bit more these days. He spelled out “Dam mom.” When I asked “What are you trying to say?” He replied “Bad word. Dam.” He proceeded to tell me he was mad that I was asking so much about his day; he just wanted to get to video games! Despite the attitude and the heartbreaking questions he asks at times, it continues to be an absolute joy to watch Gareth talk to us so much. All else is going well for Gareth these days, too. He’s had a stellar year at school and he only has 7 more days until summer vacation. He still loves video games and riding his bike–he’s pretty much a smaller version of Travis. And our weekends are back to being consumed with baseball games. Gareth loves have a cheering section, so feel free to join us for a game some Saturday!
Collin has become a bundle of energy. As you can see from the latest video, he’s booking it around the house in his modified crawl. We had to buy a baby gate this weekend to try to keep him somewhat confined at times and he no longer likes hanging out in his exersaucer or bouncy seat–he wants to go, go, go!! Collin is really a happy-go-lucky guy most of the time, and spends his days playing, smiling, cuddling and eating.
Life is crazy busy but there are so many things to enjoy and celebrate these days, that I can’t complain
It might seem like nothing is happening here, and that’s largely true. Unfortunately, I’ve been posting most of the latest happenings at Facebook and forgetting about the family blog. So if you want the latest and greatest, sign up there and we’ll get you settled.
But I didn’t just come here to post and run. Here’s a video for you.
Gareth told Brandy yesterday that he wanted to write a letter to the President. When asked if he knew who the President was, Gareth replied “Obama”. When asked what he knew about the President, he said, “He is black. He is good.”
Having established his knowledge of politics and race, Brandy then asked what he wanted to write to President Obama.
Gareth wanted to write asking that the President stop all the mean people. What mean people? The mean people at school who call him a freak.
Apparently, there are some bigger kids at school that call Gareth a freak when they see him eating via syringe, tube, and button.
We don’t know that the President can do much about it, but we’re certainly going to mention it to his teacher.
This is new for me, the whole soliciting donations thing. But I’ve joined Team Minitab to ride in this year’s Keystone Country MS-150 ride to benefit MS research and support.
But to ride, I have to raise at least $250. That’s where you come in!
Visit my ride page and, if you feel so inclined, donate some money via my registration. I can also accept cash or checks directly if you don’t want to use an online form.
And keep going back to the page to see how I’m doing in my run up to the ride. I will be updating it regularly to talk about my training and what my chances of survival are.
“Mom needs to relax” - Gareth’s sage advice for Brandy.
He has been typing a ton now that he is able to ‘talk’ to us, and we are regularly tickled by what he has to say. For the first time, we know that he has picked up our speech patterns. He uses “Absolutely” and “that’s a plan”, both things that Brandy and I frequently say.
He can now also share his opinion of not being able to play videogames (”That stinks”) or can ask what a hypocrite is.
Gareth has a true voice now, and it is amazing to hear what he has to say.
We won’t say how exactly, but we had access to an IntelliKeys system over the weekend.
And we’re going to buy one immediately.
Gareth was able to type out exactly what he wanted on several occasions. He went so far as to type out a message to wake me up so I could play video games with him.
And then, later, he wanted to play video games with his cousin Keegan.
But it’s not all game playing. He typed out a short message to his Nana to tell her he loved her.
We couldn’t be more proud of Gareth right now. He’s finally able to tell us what’s on his mind. The $600 for the keyboard and associated software is a very tiny price to pay in order to know our son’s thoughts.
Gareth went an entire week with minimal fighting due to his new sticker reward system. He now has a grid of tasks (be good for the nurse, get ready for school without fussing, do homework, et cetera). For each tasks he completes, he gets one star sticker. When he reaches 25 stars, he gets a reward. Last week, it was a Thomas the Tank Engine storybook CD.
This week, it’s a remote control car that flips over.
The deal is, however, that he must get all of his stickers in a single week. They don’t carry over, so if he misses the mark, he has to start at the beginning again the next week.
The chart seems to be working for the most part. He has really pulled things together now that he has an interest in doing so.
Sibling jealousy has arrived in the worst way. Gareth has started throwing tantrums and whining/crying for every little thing, having learned that Collin gets immediate attention when he cries.
For a brief moment, Brandy and I considered using the “I’ll give you something to cry about” threat we often heard as children. No, not really… we’d never resort to that. But there are those times when the crying is so illogical and then, on top of that, to have it coming from a child who literally can’t tell you why he is upset. It’s frustrating and maddening.
Today was the first day in a week that Gareth wasn’t just being awful, but he still reverted to bad behavior a few times. It’s not easy for the kid, spending 7 years at the center of the universe and then getting bumped out of orbit. We’ll do what we can to help him through this.
Speaking of his nemesis (Collin), new photos are up on the Flickr site.
