Pure Miles Consumption

This morning, I was driving into work and getting a good smile over Miles' car seat sitting all quiet in the backseat. It was just another sign and testament to how much Miles is growing on a daily basis. The old car seat is out and the newer, trimmer version is there for his growing body. I love watching all of these milestones (no pun) stack up in the busy weeks that fly by like melting butter. This was all on the heels of putting Miles on the bus for his final day of summer school. It was also on the heels of getting the first e-mail of the day from an editor that wants me to proof a bio piece for a special needs newsletter that is profiling Miles. This is also on the heels of me writing a 5,000-word essay on the growth of Miles for a book that will be published in 2009. Finally, I have to note how cool it was to see a construction paper sailboat project Miles brought home in his back pack this week. It is profiled on the right sidebar of this blog and it blew Carrie, Zen and I away at how nice it was. When I see his little name on his artwork and how he strives so hard at school, it always cracks the largest smile I can concoct. An all consuming Miles morning and the enormity of things around us all really come down to that small kid car seat in the back seat. It's always a joy to watch our boy grow and evolve into a sparkling little kid that he is. Until next time - godspeed.

Miles Has His First Twinkie

Speaking Miles

While picking up a delicious plate of cold sushi yesterday at the best Sushi house in the KC area, Siki in Lee's Summit, Miles said 'hi' to the woman getting our food. 'Oh!', she exclaimed excitedly. 'He can speak now, huh?' I told her 'a bit' as I looked over at Miles wondering where that spontaneous 'hi' had come from. It was always there looming, along with him occassionally saying 'bye' as well. Since he is so gregarious and open in public with saying things and waving, it's beyond words to hear him speaking to people in hello/good-bye. It's when you least suspect it, as I did, that Miles will bust something out and floor you with his ability.

Summer Harvest

It's hard to believe that Summer is getting to be about half-way done. Miles continues to make solid strides in school. Though, it was hard for him to begin the process again. The learning bug is firmly engrained in his bones. At home, Miles is getting giddy about all the fruit that is growing in our backyard. We have grapes, raspberries, apples, peaches and a couple of pears. For the last several days, he has been going down to get his mouth firmly full of raspberries. I have put a video below showing the excitement Miles has for his new home full of fruit.

Miles Catches His First Fish

Swinging Good Times with Miles

The Amazement of Life through Miles Child

Today, I was working with my Superintendent's wife, Becky, on converting some video of their daughter's wedding onto a DVD. A rather easy thing for me was quite a relief to them. Through this process, I remembered that Becky had a history of working with children in the autism spectrum and special needs. As we discussed special needs children, Miles, modern research and how folks perceive autism, I was again amazed at what Miles has done for Carrie, Zen and I. As challenging as it can be (an understatement at times), Carrie and I realize and acknowledge on a regular basis what an amazement Miles is. Through his perception of the world, joy, daily evolutions, fixations, habits, quirks, coolness and so on, I have gained an amazing view into a world I never knew. It's a world constructed of wonder, love and pure amazement that something as cool as Miles exists .. and he is our boy. Carrie and I feel that to the elemental fiber of our cells, soul and collective heart. He opens chambers of understanding and fascination that I never knew were remotely possible. This is the flipside to how parents describe what it's like raising a child with special needs. Usually, we are approached by a variety of folks that ask, 'How do you do it?'. Our responses likely don't capture the magic of what we get to experience in this life of ours because we have a beautiful boy like Miles to enrich every breath we take. I want to make sure that was voiced, known and resonates through this blog and our continued dissemination of our journey with Miles. We love him madly. Finally, I felt hugely compelled to write this missive after getting several books from Becky on a woman named Temple Grandin who wrote several books on Autism from an adult's perspective. She is a fully functioning autistic woman who has a Ph.D from the University of Illinois and is viewed as an expert on animal sciences in America. It's uniquely cool what can come out of a conversation, what can come out of love and what can come out of the gift of a boy like Miles on each step we create in this hugely interesting life.