Wyatt = Amazing, Sweet, Smart, Strong, Handsome, Incredible Little Boy

When I see how long it has been since my last post, I almost end up in tears.  My lifelong goal of keeping a journal was finally realized, and now I feel like it has gone down the toilet.  However, I refuse to give up.  I am hoping that when things calm down (ha ha) that I can get back on track.  I have, however, been keeping notes of journal worthy things so that I don't forget them and will be blogging about them all in good time.

As you may have noticed, I have always worn too many hats, but lately it is insane.  I am trying to be a mother, a wife, a project manager on a construction site, an interior designer, a business owner, an employer, a chef, etc. etc.  I absolutely love to be busy and wouldn't have it any other way.  However, when I put this much on myself, I spend my time thinking about how I am failing at all of the above listed jobs.  I know I am not actually "failing" and things are actually going really well.  But I feel like I am falling... always falling behind.  I still accomplish so many things and am so excited about the direction my life is going.   But I am so hard on myself because I set such high expectations and when I don't reach them (since they are unattainable!) then I beat myself up.  Why do I do this?  If anyone has an answer please let me know.

So since I couldn't stand to listen to me beat myself up anymore, I am here writing a blog when I have a list with 2000 things on it - literally.  So here we go.

Wyatt = amazing, sweet, smart, strong, handsome, incredible little boy.

Brain Balance= The amazing program that continues to help said little boy grow, change, learn, mature, improve and become what I know he was meant to become.

Let me just share a few stories from the last couple of months.  Some of these things may seem small to some of you and may seem huge to others.  For me, each time these things happen, I am in complete awe and shock, yet at the same time I am not surprised at all.  I make a lot of sense don't I? :)

I just went over the notes that I have and realized how many I have!  I would be up for days blogging if I wrote about them all.  So for tonight I am just going to touch on a few and then hopefully I will be back soon.

Overall Wyatt has just been communicating more.  Before Brain Balance, every word and every phrase he said was memorized.  Now, he comes up with things on his own and communicates spontaneously.  He came in the other day and said "Thomas snow movie".  I had never taught him that phrase before, nor had I ever said it.  It is so amazing to see him now be able to take that information that is in his head and use it and express himself effectively.  He would have just said "movie" before and I would have had no idea what movie he wanted.  He also says "James and the red balloon" which is another movie title and a long one at that!

Wyatt can tell me he is hungry - he says "eat food" or just says "I want cookie" or "hamburgurgur". (Yes, he says it like that and it is so darn cute!)  He also tells me "car".  He used to say that and we would drive around trying to figure out where he wanted to go.  Now if I asked him where he wants to go he will reply with "park" or "wal mart" or "library", etc.  

There are many, MANY more examples I could give you, but we must move on.  Let me just say that
I LOVE that he is able to actually tell me things and express his wants and needs.  I have been guessing for so many years.  Then I think of Wyatt.  How AMAZING AND WONDERFUL it must be for HIM to be able to FINALLY tell his mama that he is hungry, thirsty or that he wants to go to the park.  Such simply little things that children as young as 18 months can express, but they mean the world to our family.

Now lets talk about something even more amazing - receptive language and auditory processing.  What is that you may ask?  The ability for Wyatt to actually process and understand what is said to him.  He has improved at this somewhat over the years, but the improvements were so small.  We could ask him to "touch cat" and he could touch a picture of a cat.  He could do this with letters, numbers, objects, etc.  However, if the phrase was more like "Wyatt can you show me where the cat is?" then he was completely lost.  Not only because he couldn't process that many words and that much information, but also because it was not the EXACT phrase he had been taught and had memorized. 

So what is going on now?  I have a child that I can talk to and he UNDERSTANDS me and actually FOLLOWS directions.  Don't get me wrong, he could do a few before like "get shoes", etc.  But it is so different now.  Example:  Wyatt came to me and said "cereal".  (That alone is great!) So I said to him "go get me a bowl".  He quickly went to the drawer and got me a bowl.  Then I asked him to get me the cereal (which was sitting on the counter).  He went and got the cereal and brought it to me!  Then I said "go put this back on the counter" and he ran it back to the counter!  What was so amazing about that is that I was talking to him like he was a "typical child"... If that makes sense.  I wasn't using one word phrases or phrases I had taught over and over so that he would understand the meaning.  I just spoke to him like I would my other children and he listened, understood and followed.  Amazing. 

He has done this in many other instances now, but one is my absolute favorite because it combined the above mentioned skill plus some great self help skills....

A few weeks ago Wyatt came to me and asked to watch a movie.  I responded like I was responding to any typical child again and said "You can have a movie if you go potty and get in your pajamas first."  When I say these things to Wyatt they just come out.  I find myself not really expecting him to do any of the things I say at all.  However, when he does them I am SO amazed and surprised, but then I have also come to expect it as "normal" now which is truly a miracle.  So I went on cleaning the kitchen and next thing I know Wyatt is taking his clothes off and running to the bathroom!  Shortly after that, he runs into the pantry (where we keep all of our clothes and not our food - strange I know) and so I follow him of course.  I peak in the door to see him putting on his own underpants, and getting his own pajamas out of the drawer and putting them on!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  Now he has gotten pretty good at dressing himself, but usually we get his clothes and set them out for him and then keep redirecting him to stop jumping on the couch and to get dressed.  But this time was different.  He had heard those instructions that I gave him and he IMMEDIATELY followed them.  On top of that, he didn't put on normal clothes but he put on PAJAMAS like I had asked him to and he did it all by himself.  He came out of the pantry all dressed and asked me for the movie I had promised him.   Really was one of the happiest moments I have ever had. :)

There are so many more things I could write about.  So many more amazing changes that I have seen in the kids since we ended our Brain Balance sessions.  This is just more living proof that the program works and works like they say it will.  Functions are first, development follows.  Since the Brain Balance program improved the actual functions of Wyatt's brain, he is now able to develop and grow like he needs to.  So although he has been behind in some areas of his brain, he is catching up and will continue to do so.  He will continue in the Brain Balance program until all of his functions are where they need to be and then he will continue to develop even more over time.

Seeing all of this first hand has given me so much hope for my own children and the future that they now have, as well as so much hope for all of the other children out there who are struggling.  They too can and will grow, change, learn, mature, improve and become what they were meant to become.  And their mothers will cry tears of happiness just like I do.

Goodnight!

A recent picture from the park.  Wyatt was cold (he never used to even notice) so a friend gave him her coat.  Doesn't he look so cute!?

CONSTRUCTION HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED!

After 6 months of lease negotiations, plan design, engineering and city approval, we are finally starting construction!  That was the hard part, this will be the easy part :) Things should be able to move along very quickly!

Here are some "before" photos.  I am so excited to track the progress along the way and document with photos.  I think it is always important to be able to look back at the road you traveled so that you can see how you got to where you are.  

Tomorrow we start cutting the concrete floor so that we can put in additional plumbing for our 2nd bathroom, drinking fountain, etc.  Then we will be patching the concrete and starting framing!  

This truly is so exciting for me for many reasons.  I am obviously SO happy to get Brody and Wyatt back into the Brain Balance Program so that they can continue to progress and grow into the smart, happy BALANCED little boys I know they can be.  Also - I can't wait for other families to start experiencing what we have.  I have already talked with so many wonderful parents that have been doing everything they can to help their children.  I feel blessed and honored to be able to work with these amazing parents and children.  I know how much they have been through and how much they are going through - because I have lived it.   But because of the Brain Balance Program, our life gets better and better and easier and easier every day and so will theirs. 

I have some GREAT updates about the kids and my goal is to post them by this weekend!  Enjoy the photos! (Okay they probably are really are not that exciting to you - but they are to me!)

We LOVE our contractors - Lucky 13 Construction! They are good, honest and are working hard to get this center open to help the children in our community.

Our Empty space! (Not for long!)

Snapping lines for framing!

Our coming soon sign!  Looks like we may need a few more of them and maybe bigger! 

 Goodnight!

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR PARENT PRESENTATION!

You are invited to our FREE PARENT PRESENTATION! Come learn more about how the Brain Balance Program has helped thousands of children reach their social, behavioral and academic potential.  Please see the flyer below for details.  Feel free to contact us for more information via phone or email.   Also, make sure to RSVP to reserve your spot.  Share this post with others you think may be interested in attending!

See you there!

COME AND SEE US!!

Tomorrow is our FIRST big event!  We will be at the..... 

What Women Want Expo!

Dixie Center - St. George, Utah.  It goes for two days:

Friday from 10-8  and Saturday from 10-6.

I have posted a few photos of our booth below.  You can't see behind the table well, but there is a couch, a mini trampoline and a little table and toys for kids to play with.  We will also have balloons, organic suckers and lots of drawings where we will be giving away Brain Balance t-shirts, copies of Disconnected Kids and even a FREE ASSESSMENT!

I am on NO sleep this week after a quick jaunt to California! (Post to come later...)    Not to mention all the work we have been doing to get ready for this event!  My staff has been amazing and is exhausted too, but we are all so excited for this weekend!  If you or someone you know will be in the area, send them over to our booth.  Just for coming by to say "Hi", you will receive $50 off an assessment which you can use for your own child or pass on to someone that may need it. 

We are seriously SO excited to start sharing the Brain Balance program with our community.  This program has changed my life forever and our children have a future because of it.  I really can't wait to see other families experience what I have.  If you would like to read more about the improvements our boys  have made, please feel free to browse this blog - there are a ton of posts with amazing stories.  You can also "Like" Brain Balance of St. George for great information, articles and to follow our progress!

I have a list a mile long of posts I am dying to do!  Hopefully after the event this weekend I can share some fun stories.  So many wonderful and amazing things are going on around here :)  The kids are doing very well and loving school.  We are moving right along with getting the center opened.  We start construction next week and I will be posting pictures and updates along the way!

If you know a child who could benefit from the Brain Balance Program, please refer them to their nearest center by going to The Center Locator  -  I PROMISE it will be worth it :)


See you soon!

Our homey Booth :)

Book Display, pens, DVDs, etc!

Closer view of our Left Brain and Right Brain symptoms.

GOODNIGHT!

OUR FIRST FLYER WAS SENT TO THE PRINTERS! 

We have a big women's event coming up next weekend and we are so excited to start sharing Brain Balance with the families in our community.  

I want to thank my amazing staff for all of their hard work lately.  Also thanks to our family members who have helped so much and have been so supportive!

What do you think??

 

I know I have been gone awhile and it actually makes me so sad.  I have so many posts in the works, but with getting this center running, taking care of my children, etc. there is just not a lot of time!  I will be back soon :)

Tammy

LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

I LOVE my children, my amazingly supportive husband and my family!

I LOVE my amazing Brain Balance Employees!

I LOVE Brain Balance and what it has done for my family and I LOVE that I get to share that with other children and families!

I could go on, but you get the picture :)

So - I know I have been gone awhile and I apologize.  Since school started, life has gotten even crazier! 

We have to leave by 6 am to get the kids to school.  I work all day getting things going for the center and then pick them up, head home only to go to bed and start again the next day! 

I have so much to write and can't wait to do it - maybe this weekend! 

BUT FIRST.......!!!!!!

MY BABY SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED!  

We are headed out of town tomorrow just in time for a Thursday wedding.  Maybe once we get back things will calm down - Ha ha... they will only get worse :)  But by worse I don't mean bad, just crazier!  Construction should be starting soon and we have a to do list 3 miles long but I won't bore you with the details. 

So for a little light entertainment, please enjoy the cutest Engagement video I have ever seen!  I must be really old because these didn't exist when I got married :)

Aren't they the most beautiful couple!??

Talk to you soon!
Tammy




Amanda + Booker {Date Video} from Jesse Felter on Vimeo.

The Angels on their First Day of School!

Besides Brody's 6 month jaunt to a Pre-K program at a private school, none of my children have ever been to school.  (Okay, Brody and Haze did go to preschool, but I am talking REAL school).   So this day was HUGE!

Before Brain Balance my husband and I literally wondered if the boys would EVER be able to go to school.  As you have read before, it is not because of a lack of intelligence :)   They are both very smart and even above average in a lot of academic areas.  Where they have fallen short are the areas of focus, attention, hyperactivity, distractiblity, impulsivity, as well as multiple sensory and processing problems.  **Otherwise known as a right hemispheric delay** 

After only ONE session at Brain Balance, we knew Brody was ready to go to school.  He still has a few things that we will be addressing in an additional session once our center opens.  However, he is SO DRASTICALLY FAR from where he was only a few short months ago.  His teacher says he will do great!  However, after he went to meet her she told me what he said and it gave me quite a laugh.  She showed him around the room and at one point showed him some crossword puzzles (which we have eliminated due to their strengthening of the left hemisphere...).  He promptly said "I can't do crossword puzzles - they are bad for my brain".  :)  He has also been known to tell other friends that the pretzels they are eating will hurt their brain, etc.  He is quite funny.  Needless to say, we have had many conversations about how each family is different.  I also ensured him that his wonderful Montessori school was doing enough things for his right brain that it would balance out a crossword puzzle here and there :) 

Brody absolutely LOVES school and said he is having so much fun.  I know he loves the social aspect for sure.  I also know he is so much more confident now because he is not worried that he won't do well, that he will get into trouble, etc.

Three fingers for 3rd grade :) 

Wyatt - darling, darling Wyatt.  You are so much fun and so much work at the same time! The first day of school Wyatt did amazingly well.  His aide has been taking very good care of him and making sure he does what he needs to do. 

Today when I went to get him from his room (at 5:30 am!) He jumped right out of bed and I asked him if he wanted to go to school and he smiled and said "school!"  He LOVES it there which is awesome.  After 3 years of being one-on-one in his room for ABA therapy, he is loving being around other kids, being out of the house and in a different learning environment. 

However, today was not as good as the first day.  For some reason he got off on the wrong foot at school and it seemed to stay that way.  He was more loud and disruptive and had to be taken out a few times.  

All children take awhile to adjust to going to school so I know that means the process is even longer for Wyatt.  It is only day 2 so I am not going to worry!  However, a few months ago I would not have even considered putting him in any type of school program.  Since Brain Balance, he follows directions so much better, he is more calm and more focused, he is more mature, etc. 

Prayers will be said tonight to help us have a better day tomorrow. 

So happy and excited to go to school. 

And then there is little Hazel...  She loves school as well.  She behaves very well and does exactly what her teacher asks her to do.  I will have to get some lessons from the teacher...  She seems to do great all day, but as soon as I pick her up she starts the whining.  She is SO exhausted and hungry.  Yesterday she fell asleep in the car on the way home and today she just cried and whined for what seemed like an hour...  We will have to make sure she gets enough rest so she is not so tired and also bring food to give her for after school! 

I am very happy that she is starting off her school career in a Montessori school.  I love their methods and know she will do very well there. 

 Some random shots of them together!

Brothers!

All three in the same photo??!!

Hazel is not in 4th grade folks - she is holding up 4 fingers for how old she is.  Brody was a little confused as to why Hazel was saying that she was older than him.. :)

I am so grateful and amazed that our boys are able attend school.  Brody LOVED his teacher Mrs. Tony (as did we!) and said he wanted her to teach him forever and he never wanted to go to school.   I was shocked that in such a short period his feelings totally changed and now he is so excited to go to school. 

Although Wyatt still has a long way to go, he is continually improving and is more connected to the people and the world around him.  I am excited to see how he excels in this new environment.

Thank you Brain Balance for allowing these sweet, smart boys to experience what it is like to go to school.  It may seem small to some, but it is not small to us. 

Goodnight!