We went to a trampoline park called Hang Time in Orem.
Max and Dexter both had a blast.
Max enjoyed the bouncing.
Noah's party was a success.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Hang Time Fun!
We went to a trampoline park called Hang Time in Orem.
Max and Dexter both had a blast.
Max enjoyed the bouncing.
Noah's party was a success.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Mother's Day Talk
I had the privileged of speaking in church on Mother's Day. It was a hard talk to prepare for. I wanted to make sure I honored all types of mothers, not just those who physically have had a child.
TALK:
Good Morning! Happy Mother’s Day! I pray that each one of you have a glorious day and celebrate motherhood, all types of motherhood, with your families and friends today.
My name is Tiffany Strong. My husband, Will, and I have two adorable boys Max who is almost 3 and Dexter who is 9 months.
I grew up in New Jersey. I have a younger brother who lives in New York. I came out to Utah in 2001 after joining the church in 2000. I ran Cross Country for BYU and was studying to be an elementary school teacher. I actually never thought of myself as a wife, but I did picture myself to be a mother. I wanted children more than anything, so what did I do, I became a teacher. Automatic Children. And for the first 3 years after I graduated I mothered 6th graders. I loved them. They became my children, my family, and honestly my whole life. I loved teaching, I still love teaching. It is the one thing in my life I know I am good at.
In 2007 this bald headed man walked into my classroom. He was my new reading tutor. At first I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with my students, but as I got to know him I grew to love him. I married this amazing man in June of 2008. And guess who were most of the guests at our wedding? My students.
Motherhood is something that I wished for that I dreamed about. Even though I was a teacher, I still wanted to have my own children.
Motherhood is giving, Motherhood is hard, Motherhood is full of joy, Motherhood is full of long nights, early mornings, and a lot of worry. Motherhood is charity.
President Howard W. Hunter said:
‘Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind.’ The priesthood cannot work out its destiny, nor can God’s purposes be fulfilled, without our helpmates. Mothers perform a labor the priesthood cannot do. For this gift of life, the priesthood should have love unbounded for the mothers of their children.
Mothers give of themselves each day. They do acts of love in the largest and smallest ways to help their children and to keep their family strong.
In President Monson’s talk in 2010 “Charity never Faileth” he states:
Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.
Think of a time in your life when your own mother accepted something that you did just because she loved you? It could be as simple as a haircut you had, a friend you made, or accepting your career path when no-one else believed in you.
My mom did this over and over with me. She accepted the many different paths I took until I found the one I was sure about. When I joined the church in December of 2000 my mom was the one who supported me, she took the missionary discussions with me, and she took me shopping for my baptism dress. She wasn’t sure of the new religion I was joining, but she trusted me, and accepted my decision. My mom could have said no, could have talked negatively about the LDS church, and could have been mad about my life choice, but she instead put her feelings aside and made me feel good about the decision I made.
What a huge blessing!
President Monson goes on to say in the same talk:
In a hundred small ways, all of you wear the mantle of charity. Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing her best to deal with the challenges which come her way, and may we strive to do our best to help out.
My Mom passed away five years ago. She had stage four melanoma cancer. The ironic part of my mom’s illness is that my mom was a nurse and worked in radiation oncology for 25 years. So it was very hard to keep anything from my mom when she was in the hospital because she knew all of the doctors and the terms of cancer. What was amazing to me was even though my Mom was the patient she never acted like one. She was concerned about every single person that entered her hospital room, asking each individual about their family, their life, and how they were personally doing. And you know what, people told my mom! They shared stories with her, and she listened. This happened day after day, month after month. My moms room became a room of comfort.
My mom was a nurse, she was charitable each day, she was a mother to many.
The greatest blessing my mother did for me was to leave me a very detailed baby book. When I became pregnant with Max I had so many questions. My Dad would try to answer them, but a lot of things he didn’t remember. He found my baby book and inside was a week by week telling of how my mom’s pregnancy was and how she felt. It was such a comfort to know that my mother when through the same hardships being pregnant that I went through.
Now…my mom wasn’t in labor for 54 hours like I was…only the truly lucky can be in labor that long…
Max made me a mother almost 3 years ago. I would sit and hold him and pinch his chubby cheeks and wonder what I did to deserve such an amazing boy. Max has sure given me many days and nights of worry, but I wouldn’t take any of those days back. I would do it all over again.
Mary F Foulger stated that:
As a mother I have made mistakes. Regardless of culture or country, we all make mistakes in our mothering. But through repentance and the atonement of Jesus Christ, and by continually communicating his love, miracles can happen, wrongs can be righted. Never give up. Never let your arms hang down.
Will’s mother has showed me time and time again that giving up isn’t an option. She truly has faith that miracles can happen. There have been so many times since being married that Will and I have called his mom to ask for advice, to ask for prayer, and for her love to guide us through a tough time in our life. She has six children, who I know are all doing the same!
In December we called Will’s parents and told them we had something important to discuss with them. Our son Max was Autistic. This has been one of the hardest thing for me to deal with as a mother. What did I do wrong? What was life going to be like? I knew that I needed to be strong for Max, just like my mother was for me, and just like Will’s mom was for both of us.
Again, motherhood is tough, it is giving, it can be so hard, but with prayer and repentance motherhood is joy.
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate not only your mother, but the women in your life that have influenced you. These women could be a grandmother, a family friend, a teacher, a church leader, an aunt or someone who only entered your life for a small moment but made a huge difference. Women are amazing.
I know from the bottom of my heart that the church is true. I know that mothers all over the world can influence people for good. Prayer works in so many ways. I pray that each one of you have a wonderful Mother’s Day and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
TALK:
Good Morning! Happy Mother’s Day! I pray that each one of you have a glorious day and celebrate motherhood, all types of motherhood, with your families and friends today.
My name is Tiffany Strong. My husband, Will, and I have two adorable boys Max who is almost 3 and Dexter who is 9 months.
I grew up in New Jersey. I have a younger brother who lives in New York. I came out to Utah in 2001 after joining the church in 2000. I ran Cross Country for BYU and was studying to be an elementary school teacher. I actually never thought of myself as a wife, but I did picture myself to be a mother. I wanted children more than anything, so what did I do, I became a teacher. Automatic Children. And for the first 3 years after I graduated I mothered 6th graders. I loved them. They became my children, my family, and honestly my whole life. I loved teaching, I still love teaching. It is the one thing in my life I know I am good at.
In 2007 this bald headed man walked into my classroom. He was my new reading tutor. At first I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with my students, but as I got to know him I grew to love him. I married this amazing man in June of 2008. And guess who were most of the guests at our wedding? My students.
Motherhood is something that I wished for that I dreamed about. Even though I was a teacher, I still wanted to have my own children.
Motherhood is giving, Motherhood is hard, Motherhood is full of joy, Motherhood is full of long nights, early mornings, and a lot of worry. Motherhood is charity.
President Howard W. Hunter said:
‘Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind.’ The priesthood cannot work out its destiny, nor can God’s purposes be fulfilled, without our helpmates. Mothers perform a labor the priesthood cannot do. For this gift of life, the priesthood should have love unbounded for the mothers of their children.
Mothers give of themselves each day. They do acts of love in the largest and smallest ways to help their children and to keep their family strong.
In President Monson’s talk in 2010 “Charity never Faileth” he states:
Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.
Think of a time in your life when your own mother accepted something that you did just because she loved you? It could be as simple as a haircut you had, a friend you made, or accepting your career path when no-one else believed in you.
My mom did this over and over with me. She accepted the many different paths I took until I found the one I was sure about. When I joined the church in December of 2000 my mom was the one who supported me, she took the missionary discussions with me, and she took me shopping for my baptism dress. She wasn’t sure of the new religion I was joining, but she trusted me, and accepted my decision. My mom could have said no, could have talked negatively about the LDS church, and could have been mad about my life choice, but she instead put her feelings aside and made me feel good about the decision I made.
What a huge blessing!
President Monson goes on to say in the same talk:
In a hundred small ways, all of you wear the mantle of charity. Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing her best to deal with the challenges which come her way, and may we strive to do our best to help out.
My Mom passed away five years ago. She had stage four melanoma cancer. The ironic part of my mom’s illness is that my mom was a nurse and worked in radiation oncology for 25 years. So it was very hard to keep anything from my mom when she was in the hospital because she knew all of the doctors and the terms of cancer. What was amazing to me was even though my Mom was the patient she never acted like one. She was concerned about every single person that entered her hospital room, asking each individual about their family, their life, and how they were personally doing. And you know what, people told my mom! They shared stories with her, and she listened. This happened day after day, month after month. My moms room became a room of comfort.
My mom was a nurse, she was charitable each day, she was a mother to many.
The greatest blessing my mother did for me was to leave me a very detailed baby book. When I became pregnant with Max I had so many questions. My Dad would try to answer them, but a lot of things he didn’t remember. He found my baby book and inside was a week by week telling of how my mom’s pregnancy was and how she felt. It was such a comfort to know that my mother when through the same hardships being pregnant that I went through.
Now…my mom wasn’t in labor for 54 hours like I was…only the truly lucky can be in labor that long…
Max made me a mother almost 3 years ago. I would sit and hold him and pinch his chubby cheeks and wonder what I did to deserve such an amazing boy. Max has sure given me many days and nights of worry, but I wouldn’t take any of those days back. I would do it all over again.
Mary F Foulger stated that:
As a mother I have made mistakes. Regardless of culture or country, we all make mistakes in our mothering. But through repentance and the atonement of Jesus Christ, and by continually communicating his love, miracles can happen, wrongs can be righted. Never give up. Never let your arms hang down.
Will’s mother has showed me time and time again that giving up isn’t an option. She truly has faith that miracles can happen. There have been so many times since being married that Will and I have called his mom to ask for advice, to ask for prayer, and for her love to guide us through a tough time in our life. She has six children, who I know are all doing the same!
In December we called Will’s parents and told them we had something important to discuss with them. Our son Max was Autistic. This has been one of the hardest thing for me to deal with as a mother. What did I do wrong? What was life going to be like? I knew that I needed to be strong for Max, just like my mother was for me, and just like Will’s mom was for both of us.
Again, motherhood is tough, it is giving, it can be so hard, but with prayer and repentance motherhood is joy.
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate not only your mother, but the women in your life that have influenced you. These women could be a grandmother, a family friend, a teacher, a church leader, an aunt or someone who only entered your life for a small moment but made a huge difference. Women are amazing.
I know from the bottom of my heart that the church is true. I know that mothers all over the world can influence people for good. Prayer works in so many ways. I pray that each one of you have a wonderful Mother’s Day and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Monday, May 5, 2014
9 month stats
Still a little Teapot.
Mr. Pudge is so short and stout.
Weight: 20 pounds (80%)
Height: 27.5 inches (7%) short little guy
Head Circumference: 19 inches (89%)
Such a pudgy guy.
Mr. Pudge is so short and stout.
Weight: 20 pounds (80%)
Height: 27.5 inches (7%) short little guy
Head Circumference: 19 inches (89%)
Such a pudgy guy.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Dexter is 9 months
Dexter turned NINE months on Saturday.
Nine new things about Dexter:
1. Dexter says "Mom" and "Mama" consistantly now. With meaning. He also has started saying "Up" as in pick me up and hold me!
2. He is eating solids like a champ. He LOVES to eat anything we are eating. He had Lasagna last night and devoured it.
3. He still is nursing up to 8-10 times a day. He loves to snuggle and put his hands in my mouth while he eats.
4. We got a mini trampoline for Max and Dexter loves it.
5. Loves Bath time because it is warm, hates to go swimming because it is cold.
6. His favorite show is still Winnie the Pooh.
7. He thinks Max is the coolest person on the planet, and enjoys pulling on his hair.
8. He is wearing a helmet and we can already see progress. He doesn't like wearing it to sleep, but we are working on it.
9. Dexter got his first tooth the day before Easter and now has both of his bottom teeth.
1. Dexter says "Mom" and "Mama" consistantly now. With meaning. He also has started saying "Up" as in pick me up and hold me!
2. He is eating solids like a champ. He LOVES to eat anything we are eating. He had Lasagna last night and devoured it.
3. He still is nursing up to 8-10 times a day. He loves to snuggle and put his hands in my mouth while he eats.
4. We got a mini trampoline for Max and Dexter loves it.
5. Loves Bath time because it is warm, hates to go swimming because it is cold.
6. His favorite show is still Winnie the Pooh.
7. He thinks Max is the coolest person on the planet, and enjoys pulling on his hair.
8. He is wearing a helmet and we can already see progress. He doesn't like wearing it to sleep, but we are working on it.
9. Dexter got his first tooth the day before Easter and now has both of his bottom teeth.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Easter Weekend 2014
For Easter this year we had two very handsome visitors. My Dad and Brother flew in from New Jersey and New York to spend the weekend with us. It was a very fun weekend and we accomplished a lot in three short days. I am pretty sure we wore Uncle B out!
We went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Draper, Utah.
We hung out, watched cartoons, went to the park, ate at some of my favorite Provo restaurants, and just spent the weekend laughing and having a great time.
We dyed Easter Eggs.
Dexter had ice cream for the first time. (loved it!)
And we played basketball while Dexter slept in the sun.
And Brandon and I realized how much fun the swings were.
And at the end of three days Dexter still had the cutest legs around!
What a fun weekend. Can't wait to see my family again.
HAPPY EASTER!!
Here are some movies from the weekend:
We went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Draper, Utah.
We hung out, watched cartoons, went to the park, ate at some of my favorite Provo restaurants, and just spent the weekend laughing and having a great time.
We dyed Easter Eggs.
What a fun weekend. Can't wait to see my family again.
HAPPY EASTER!!
Here are some movies from the weekend:
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Max's World
Max was born after a long 54 hour labor. He had a large head, chubby little body, and a very small amount of blond hair. He looked exactly like his dad. He was a very quiet baby. Hardly cried and slept through the night at a very early age. He was a tank and was never sick his first full year of life. Still to this day he has only really been sick once and has had two ear infections.
Max was a big boy. By his first birthday he was 28 pounds and 31 inches.
At Max’s 2.5 year check up Max took the MChat. It is a preliminary test to see if your child might have Autism. Max didn’t pass. We then took him to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake to get more help, diagnosis and a plan to help Max learn and thrive.
Max has Autism. He is still Max. He is still my little boy who loves music, Phineas and Ferb, cars, trains, and Winnie the Pooh. Max is very loving and gives awesome hugs. Max is going to thrive, and be successful. He isn’t broken or sick. He has Autism. I don’t feel sorry for him and don’t want others to feel sorry for him either. What I want is for people to be accepting, to try and understand him, to realize that he might not learn or develop like the typical child, but he will learn.
"A child with Autism is not ignoring you, they are waiting for you to enter their world."
Will and I have decided to start a separate blog for Max. We want to post things that have helped us, and how Max is progressing. We hope others can find it helpful and informative.
Max's Blog: http://spaceshipmax.blogspot.com/
He stayed chubby and happy until he started to walk, and then he stretched out although he is still thick and tall. At 2.5 he was 38 pounds and 38 inches.
Max was a little late developmentally but we were never really concerned.
At 11 months we went on a trip to California. Grandma Strong has an amazing collection of Disney CARS. Max was in heaven. That was the first time he really played with so many cars. He would play for hours. Lining them up, ordering them, and specifically looking at how the wheels moved. Everyone thought it was amazing how he would spend so much of his day playing with and looking at cars. He wouldn’t want to do anything else.
For his first birthday we had a huge party. It was fun for everyone except Max. He was so overwhelmed. When we sang happy birthday he just cried and cried, and wouldn’t calm down. Ever since then any time happy birthday is sung he still cries.
At around 14 months Max started walking. He would run on his tip toes. He loved being mobile, but still didn’t want much to do with anything besides cars and the occasional train. Max wasn’t talking hardly at all. He signed, but no words. He would yell to get our attention or have a major break downs. This is when I started to wonder if he couldn’t hear. I looked up online about hearing loss or deafness in one or more ears. At his 18 month check up we had his ears and eyes checked. No problems. The doctor told us boys talk later and to just keep reading and working with him at home. So that is what I tried to do. My teacher in me came out, I made flash cards, got books upon books, looked up apps on our iPad to help him talk, and we started watching the show Word World on PBS. He wanted nothing to do with his mom and her crazy ways, he wanted cars. This was upsetting for the teacher in me, I wanted him to like learning, I wanted to teach him. He wasn’t talking he was frustrated, he would yell at us and cry. He wouldn’t point to things or ask for help, he would just yell or cry. Will and I were also getting frustrated.
At 18 months Max was able to go to Nursery. In our church Nursery starts at 18 months and is for two hours each Sunday. Basically the toddlers play with toys, sing songs, and enjoy being social for the first time in a huge group setting. In Max’s nursery class there were about 10 toddlers, and 4 adult leaders. Max would go and play by himself with cars. During the transition from toys to singing time there was always a meltdown. The nursery leaders would try to calm him down, but he ended up having to be taken out and calmed down by Will or me. This happened week after week. When we would look at him while he was playing, he wouldn’t even notice the other kids, he would be by himself playing with cars. When singing time started he would go into a corner and rock and sway by himself. This started to concern me. But honestly I kept being told by others that “it is normal, social situations are hard, he will learn to play with others, and don’t worry.” Max was my first child, so I was not aware of things I should be concerned about, but in my heart I knew something wasn’t right.
At Max’s 2 year old check up I was 33 weeks pregnant with our second son. I had a rough pregnancy and I was excited to be done with being pregnant and give Max a little brother to play with. Dexter was born three weeks early on July 25th, 2013.
Having two boys at home was fun. I was so excited to see how Max was going to react to Dexter. But he pretty much ignored him. His sleep got worse than it had been in months. He was lethargic during the day and taking longer than normal naps. Will and I tried so many things to get him to sleep better at night, even taking away naps. But the weeks of bad sleep turned into months. With a newborn and a toddler who wasn’t sleeping it became a whole family problem. Max was staying up until 2am. Something wasn’t right, we had to get help.
Around my birthday in September I started having a lot of anxiety about Max going to preschool. I knew it was a year away, but I started getting so worried. How would he be able to play with other kids? How would he eat while he was there? How would he go to preschool without his Dad? Potty training, Heaven help me? I started to think this just wasn’t going to work.
Max was also displaying other concerning behaviors. He was having tantrums. Not the typical 2 year old tantrums but ones that would last for hours. He would hit his head against the door, floor, and anything hard. He would throw everything in sight. He would ONLY calm down for Will. Will learned early on that he liked to be held tight and rock in place. That was the only way he calmed down. Max only wanted Will. It was heartbreaking. I was his Mom, why couldn’t I give him enough love to calm him down? He also couldn’t be in large groups of people without having a huge breakdown. He still wasn’t talking much at all, saying maybe 10 words. And if he gained a new word he lost one he had the day before. Max also loved watching running water and the fan, something I thought only newborns did. He still wasn’t pointing when he wanted something, and was getting more and more difficult to parent.
Food was another whole issue. He drank milk and apple juice. He lived on those two things. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. We offered him everything, he just wouldn’t touch it. He sometimes would eat WHITE bread, WHITE cheese, Popcorn and randomly raspberries. But those were seldom. It was heartbreaking. People would always say to us “WOW Max must have a great diet and eat a ton, he is so big.” And we would shake our heads and explain that his diet was milk and apple juice. I am pretty sure people thought we were lying.
Around November of 2013 I started doing research on Autism. At first I would make mental notes of what was going on with Max. Then I started seeing correlations of what was going on with Max and what I noticed online. One of my good friends worked for the Alpine School District in Utah, specifically she worked with the Autistic Kindergarteners. I called her. I cried to her. I told her my concerns. She was so loving and supportive, but encouraged me to get Max help and to go and talk to our pediatrician. And that conversation was the turning point for our family. I told Will my thoughts and feelings and he was too on board. We also told our parents, and they too noticed things in Max that was concerning.
At Max’s 2.5 year check up Max took the MChat. It is a preliminary test to see if your child might have Autism. Max didn’t pass. We then took him to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake to get more help, diagnosis and a plan to help Max learn and thrive.
After a lot of prayer, love and support from friends and family, and a lot of information given to us by doctors, speech therapists and phycologists we finally felt like we had a direction for Max. We finally felt that after months and months of wonder, we had some answers.
Max has Autism. He is still Max. He is still my little boy who loves music, Phineas and Ferb, cars, trains, and Winnie the Pooh. Max is very loving and gives awesome hugs. Max is going to thrive, and be successful. He isn’t broken or sick. He has Autism. I don’t feel sorry for him and don’t want others to feel sorry for him either. What I want is for people to be accepting, to try and understand him, to realize that he might not learn or develop like the typical child, but he will learn.
"A child with Autism is not ignoring you, they are waiting for you to enter their world."
“If they can't learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn”
Will and I have decided to start a separate blog for Max. We want to post things that have helped us, and how Max is progressing. We hope others can find it helpful and informative.
Max's Blog: http://spaceshipmax.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Busy Busy
The last two weeks have been so busy...
Between two ear infections - one for Max and then for Dexter, Surgery for Mom, and a new Helmet for Dexter life has been a bit crazy.
A long update is due.
But Until then, pictures of the boys...because everyone loves pictures.
Between two ear infections - one for Max and then for Dexter, Surgery for Mom, and a new Helmet for Dexter life has been a bit crazy.
A long update is due.
But Until then, pictures of the boys...because everyone loves pictures.
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