31X34 from 14... what does that mean? That is one way to quantify how much Cole has grown since last year. This past fall, I got spare clothes back from his school. I originally sent the size 14 jeans in September of 2012. Fast forward to January 2014 and he's gone through sizes 14, 16, 18, 20, 30x32 and now he's wearing mens 31x34 jeans. 5 sizes in 16 months. I can easily slip on his shoes to run and grab the mail and yes, I officially look up to him when he gives me those sweet kisses. (Did I mentioned he's only 12?) Crazy. Even those I cherished every moment with him when he was a baby, I have a hard time imagining him at just over 7 lbs. Now he weighs more than I do.
I'll give you an quick update on our family over the past several months.
PAT: He's doing great. He is very busy at Hartfiel. He's been in his role as President for over a year and it's going really well. I'm so proud of him. He started there 8 years ago in sales and has since worked his way up to President. I can honestly say I've never been around someone as driven as he is. He's always been that way. Ask my sister... Before we started dating at age 14, Pat came up to Tara and introduced himself. It went something (exactly) like this... "Hi, I'm Pat. I'm going to marry your sister one day.". Obviously the fact that it actually happened is quite amazing, but he has that attitude about everything he does. He sets his mind to something and he is going to do it. Period. Luckily for the boys and I, Pat is just as committed to us. I swear he must have more hours in his day. I don't quite know how he gets everything done with his job and still makes plenty of quality time for of us. He still manages to find plenty of time for coaching football, snowmobile rides, playing catch, bikes rides, wrestling around, boating and so much more. We couldn't ask for a better husband and father.
ME: Not too much is new with me. In my role as the household CEO I am kept incredibly busy as well. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am still teaching group fitness at the YMCA. It's a wonderful outlet for me and I love having a "job" that truly impacts people's quality of life. It was out of my comfort zone. I've never been one for getting up in front of a group of people. Teaching classes has completely changed that. I wish I would have done this years ago!
COLE: Besides growing faster than we can keep up with, he's a had a good year. He's in 7th grade now. If you were to see Cole in person, you would also hear how much lower his voice is getting. He keeps asking when he's going to get his other voice back. Yes, puberty is a tough thing to explain to an Autistic child. We literally take it day by day. Cole has crushes on girls. Although this is nothing new, he's always been a ladies man. Seriously though, we do work very hard with him to give Cole boundaries in this regard. He is a very touchy person and loves to touch necks. He even touched the neck of a nurse while my dad was in Mercy Hospital this past fall. The difficult thing is the more attention we draw to something, the more Cole tends to do it. It's a tough balance.
That brings me to YouTube. Good ol' YouTube. I swear if I had the time, I would make it my mission to mandate MUCH improved parental controls on YouTube. You can't even block a video on there- are you kidding me? I rant because YouTube is how Cole was introduced to a few swear words. We have our computer in our kitchen, facing out where we can see and hear what's going on. Cole was innocently watching a guy fix his lawn tractor. All of the sudden, the guy shouted, "oh shit, what the hell?". Our first instinct was to immediately tell Cole to watch something different. Bad choice. We should have ignored it. Instead, Cole got a reaction from us and took close note of what caused it. Now he's blessed with a much more colorful vocabulary and we have no idea how to stop it. It's making it hard to take him places because we have no idea what might come out of his mouth. And it's not just swearing. While learning opposites at school, Cole learned the opposite of skinny. You know where this is going. Yep, in public he will tell people they are fat. Not in a mean way, just matter-of-fact. There is nothing like checking out at SA with your perfectly handsome, normal looking son as he tells the cashier she is fat. Good times. At least it was Pat who was with him when Cole asked a man if he had a baby in his tummy. It's times like this when you realize just how severely Cole lacks social skills, empathy and theory of mind. We love him no matter what. And most often, Pat and I share our stories and can't help but laugh.
We took the boys to Chicago in August. It was Cole's first plane ride. He did fantastic on the plane. He even got to go into the cockpit to meet the pilot and wear his hat. He was patient in the airport and had great manners on the plane. Things even went well on the way home. Pat had to stay in Chicago for business, so I took the boys home alone. Cole did fantastic. It was like he was a diamond medallion member. Needless to say we are hoping to do it again and possibly go somewhere a little further this time.
We also had a few trips to the Noble Family Farm. This year, Cole got to ride Grandpa's 4-wheeler for hours and even visit another farm to pick sweet corn. We are so blessed to have the Noble Family in our lives. They adore Cole and treat him so well. Their kids are wonderful with him and the weekends at the farm are always some of the most fun we have all summer.
We went on our annual Cooney Family vacation to Cabin O Pines. This year, Cole insisted on staying the entire week. We were nervous, as he can get tough to entertain after a few days, but again, he did fantastic! He rode Grandpa's 4-wheeler a lot and spent time kayaking, boating and swimming. Pat actually got to spend a lot of time fishing and we had a huge fish fry late in the week. Cole was thrilled that his friend Alli was at COP this year. Alli is the girlfriend of Brittany's cousin, Coyer. (are you confused yet)?! She is a delight and has so much patience with kids. Cole adores Alli. He was excited when Alli and Coyer surprised Cole at the Twins game and they even stopped by for a visit this fall. He of coarse is constantly asking if she's going to be at COP this year! :)
You'll see a few pictures from Cole at hockey. The one of him alone is one of my absolute favorite pictures of our handsome boy. The other hockey picture is from a practice where Cole's barber, Jerry, came to work with him for the hour. He's cut Cole's hair since he was a baby and is so good to him. *check out how big Cole is compared to Jerry!
Cole's really into sending iMessages to Grandpa Denny. He's even learned how to send him videos. Cole will talk to Grandpa about his day, smile into the camera, tell him he loves him and send it off. Then he sits and anxiously waits for Grandpa to reply, which he always does! Technology is amazing!
CONNOR: Our wonderful, amazing, smart, kind boy. I know I've said this plenty but it should be repeated.. he is BY FAR the BEST brother on this planet. We could not have asked for a better young boy to be Cole's brother. He is simply incredible with him and often at times when Pat and I are about to lose our cool. He knows how to interact with Cole, how to calm him, when to give him space and how to make him laugh and smile. I've always worried that Connor doesn't have a neuro-typical sibling, but when I see the boys together it's obvious Connor doesn't see it that way. They truly love one another and seldom fight or annoy one another. They have their own language- literally. Cole can make funny sounds and somehow Connor has figured out a way to make those sounds part of the way they play. He's amazing and Cole loves him for it.
Connor is in 5th grade. Sniff sniff, the last year of elementary school. How can the boy I've been driving to and from school every day be ready for middle school? Connor loves school. He has a wide array of friends, great kids from wonderful families. He had fun playing football with the same group of boys. He loved having Pat coach him and bring out his aggressive side. He also played traveling baseball and will again this spring and summer. He still does gymnastics. He practices year around and competes during the winter months. This year we've been to Chicago for a meet and we travel to Las Vegas next month. This past weekend, Connor placed in all 6 events and won the all around for his age. We are proud of him.
Thanks for checking up on us. I'll try to post again soon with more than just a family update. I could write for hours on Cole's Autism and all of the things we go through, some wonderful and some really difficult. In the mean time, stay warm, cherish your loved ones and quality time with those you love.
