Fall/Halloween 2009

For a little family together time we went to Fort Gordon Army base where they were having a OctoberFest so we went to check it out. They had a Flea market & a mini carnival right by each other. We didn't go on any rides but it was fun to walk around plus get some Carmel Apples to snack on (Yummy). I've never really been into Halloween but having a kid makes it more fun being able to dress up & go Trick or Treating. We decided to go to our church's Halloween party, there was lots of little games for the little kids to play and trick or treating door to door inside cause it was to cold to do a trunk or treat outside. It was neat to see all the different costumes and ideas people had. The Weather decided to make it rain on Halloween Day so there wasn't too many people out, luckily it stopped for a hour so we weren't completly wet. When we returned home with our load of candy,we dumped out Alex's Elmo bucket. Alex sat down by all the candy and threw a side all the chocolate and picked out the suckers and gummy candies and ran off with them so his mommy/daddy couldn't have them. Alex doesn't like chocolate so I'm happy to eat the chocolate leftovers. Overall we had a good time and we're now looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas Time. Happy Holidays to Ya'll! Angel Emilee, My little Indian Boy Alex and Devon as Indiana Jones

Walk for Autism

Alexander's Speech Therapist had mentioned that there was going to be a "Walk for Autism" so we decided to go and check it out. There was music playing and tables set up with T-shirts you could buy, Pizza, kid toys, information on Autism and people you could talk with about Autism/different methods of therapys. We were able to get some good info. With Alex having mild autism its nice to learn more about it so I'll know how to handle it better. It was a nice day and Alex loved being outside. We walked a little around by the lake and just had a good time.

We tried to get Alex to have his face painted but he wouldn't sit still so the girl just painted a black bat on his hand. Alex wasn't thrilled with that but he kept looking at his hand trying to figure out what is this thing that was put on my hand.

The Giggles

I just thought this was so cute. I love listening to Alex Laugh, I hope this Brighten's your day!

Hi Ya'll

I'm sorry I haven't been very good with updating our blog for a while, My busy weeks have become extremely busy. My little boy Alex and I are hardly at home, only to Eat, Nap, sometimes able to clean house, and then bedtime. We spend most our days running around to Alexander's therapys. I always look forward to Saturdays cause that is my only day off to stay at home,Relax and do nothing but sing and play with Alex. Devon recently took a big test that he's been studying for awhile that deals with his line of work and he passed it. Hooray!! His Air-Force supervisor had told him that it he failed the test he would only have 1 more time to take it and if he failed it the 2nd time they would boot him out of the US. AF. So we are so glad he passed the test and doesn't have to worry about taking another one until 2 years.

On one of Dev's day off we decided to take Alex to a place called Monkey Joes. Alex liked going down the slides & running around.There was a little car he climbed into that with 50 cents would move back & forth , he loved that. He cried when we finally had to pry his fingers loose to get him out so another kid could take a turn. Alex even got to met Monkey Joe when a person dressed as a purple monkey came out to greet the kids. It was a fun place, I'm thinking of having Alexander's 3rd birthday party there, he seemed to really enjoy it. Here are a few pictures..

Americus, Ga .Trip

We are back from our short trip, but everything went really well. Alex didn't get car sick probably cause we stopped often. We stayed two nights in Americus Georgia. Our hotel room was right by the pool so we were able to go swimming which I think was Alex's favorite part. He's my little fish, loves the water. We arrived a day before Alex's doctor's appointment so we could just relax after a 4 hour drive & go see some sites. Here is some history stuff we learned about our trip to Americus Georgia. It is the home of the former President Jimmy Carter,It has the Civil War prison site in Andersonville was open in February 1864 and only in operation for 14 months. During this time more than 45,000 Union Soldiers were confined in the 26-acre stockade. Of these, almost 13,000 died of diease or poor sanitation.
We went to the Habitat for Humanity International Discovery Center, They had full-sized models of Habitat houses from around the world. It was quite interesting but It really made me think how blessed & thankful I am for the home we live in and everything we have. We were told we had to go see the Windsor Hotel so when we got there it was really neat. The Windsor Hotel was built in 1892 it is believed to be haunted by 3 friendly ghosts, a house keeper and her little girl who were pushed down the elevator shaft and the doorman who supposively haunt the 3rd floor of the hotel. The front desk person told us the ghost hunters from the tv show came to there hotel and filmed some stuff, the ghost hunter also said they did feel a presence and saw ghostly imaged on there screens. We explored the 3rd floor but didn't see anything.
We took Alex to his Developmental specialist doctor, to me it was mainly a follow up visit and update him on everything that's going on with Alex and overall his Doc said Alex is still to young to diagnois anything,usually you can tell more once they are in the age group 3-5yrs. The doc said to continue with all Alex's therapies and that Alex shows signs of having Mild Autism which with therapy could just wear off the older he gets. I HOPE! We are all doing good, it just can get extremly stressful & overwhelming at times. I'll put some pictures of our trip on my next post.

Have a Ball

I decided to get an exercise ball, been wanting one for a while and now Alex thinks he has found a new toy. I thought He had plenty of balls of his own but when he saw my exercise ball his eyes got really big & he got so excited, he just couldn't help but give the ball a big hug. I think Alex uses it more than I do.
I went and saw the movie "The Proposal" I thought It was really cute & funny. If you really like chick flick movies I recommend to go see it. Devon is going to see the New Transformer movie tomorrow with some friends from work. This Thursday we plan to drive to Americus,Ga. for a few days to see some sites & the main reason is Alex has a doctor's appointment with his Developmental Specialist Doc. , which is 4 hours north of where we live. I'm just worried how Alex will do with the long drive cause he tends to get motion sickness if he is in the car longer then 30 minutes so we'll see what happens. Not much else is going on. Tah Tah 4 Now!

Alex ( I Love this Ball )

Hair No More

Emilee with Long Hair

and

Emilee with short Hair



eI've been wanting to cut my hair for a while now and finally did it. I chopped 14 inches off and donated it to Locks Of Love. I'm still trying to get use to the new look but short hair seems to be a lot easier to take care of and cooler now that the weather has been in the 90's here in Augusta,GA. Not much going on here. Devon is working days 8am-4pm while Alex and I play at home, go to the park and run back and forth from all of Alex's therapys. Our little family is doing well. Hope everyone is enjoying there summer.

10 years Past Already!

I got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago telling me that my 10 year high school reunion is this summer. I can't believe it's been 10 years since we've been in school. I'm sad that we're not able to attend the reunion cause with living so far away and expensive to fly 3 of us there. But amazing how time flies by so quickly and how so many things that have happen since then.

*Devon and I both serving a full time mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. (Brazil/San Diego)
*Getting Married in the Logan,Utah Temple
* Devon a Domino's Pizza Man and Me a full-time Cashier at Macey's grocery store
*Devon joining the military (Air-Force)
*My father Elmer G. Larsen passing away (Feb. 19,2007)
*Being blessed to have a handsome baby boy Alexander who is now 2 yrs old
* Moving from Utah to Texas and Texas to Georgia
* Devon been in the Air-Force 1 1/2 years and Me a full-time mom

And lots more stuff in between. I was going thru some books and came across one of my favorite poems that I really liked in High School and thought I'd share it with Ya'll.
It is called.........."Homework! Oh Homework!"

Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you
away in the sink,
if only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're giving me fits.

I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework
my teacher assigns.

Homework! Oh homework!
You're last on my list,
I simply can't see
why you even exist,
if you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh homework!
I hate you! You stink!

My Little Birthday Boy!

Alex at 1 year old
Alexander's 1st Birthday!

Alex's 2nd Birthday!
Alex now 2 years old!

Happy Birthday Alexander!! My April Fool's baby! He actually did fool us cause my water broke and I started to have slight contractions on March 30th so I got to watch general conference in the hospital and then at 2:48 a.m. on April 1st 2007, our little Alexander Neil Belliston came into our lives. It's amazing how much kids change in just a year time. We decided to do a quiet birthday with just the 3 of us this year. Alex still not into the whole birthday stuff yet. He had one bite of his Pablo Backyardigan's cake and that was all he wanted. He's not really into the sweet stuff mostly just wants Veggies and Fruits. I wish I could be a healthy eater like him but I like Chocolate to much. Alexander has only been 2 yrs old a week but he's got down the terrible two's perfectly. I think that something clicks on in their cute little brains so when they turn 2 yrs old it says okay now it's time to start throwing tantrums, whinnying, stomping around, throwing things, begin with all the kicking and high pitch screaming and everything else. I think I realize why people call it the terrible two's, now that I'm experiencing it. Anyone want to borrow a 2 yr old for a little while?? No I'd miss him to much. Alex has been such a blessing and Joy in our life even with all the stress and challenges we're facing. I Love You Alexander! Everything is going pretty good with us. We send our hugs and kisses out to anyone who needs them. Love ya'll!

We are Moving!

Well this coming week we will be packing up our stuff and moving out of this apartment we're in now. And soon be living into our new place. We figured that because we will be living here in Georgia for 2 more years we wanted a nicer place to live so we found a townhouse which is bigger, in a quiet neighborhood, is $100 dollars less rent and has a backyard. we are both really excited. Here is a picture of our new home, our townhouse is the cream one in the middle. Alex loves being able to run around on the grass in our backyard.
The townhouse has a fenced cemented patio that opens up to a big backyard, which we share with the 2 other townhouse next to us. We've already met the neighbors and there both really nice. We will be living in our new place by the end of this coming week. Hooray!!

No more Doctors Please!!

I don't know about doctor's these days, So far we still haven't figured out what is causing Alexander's development delays. We've been to Genetics & done 2 blood tests, had a MRI done, all those came back normal which is good. We went to Neurology for Alex to get a EEG done to check his brain waves and to see if he is having any unknown seizures. It will be 2 weeks before we get the results back. Genetics wants to do 1 more blood test. Plus Alex has Occupational therapy, Speech therapy, and Physical therapy 2 times a week. We are seeing improvement slowly and I 'm sure all his therapy's are helping. We love our little boy so much!! It's a joy to watch him when he learns something new, he gets so proud of himself and has a huge smile on his face. He is so special and fun to have around. I've been feeling lately that my son Alex may have some kind of autism, and I'm okay with that. All his doctor's wanted to do different testings to see if the development delays might be caused by something else before they diagnose it as autism. If it is, I know it will be challenging but working together with Devon and with the Lord's help we will get through this. Here is a couple pictures we took when Alex was getting his EEG done. He was not a happy camper. The nurse had to strap his arms down and wrap him up so he couldn't move for 20 minutes long. Poor Kid!