Thought I'd share another example of Michael's laps. The video quality is a bit yuckier. Sorry! Michael and his daddy were sitting on the ground at the end of the slide. It's a game Michael and I started playing awhile ago. We would put mulch onto the slides or steps at the playground and then slowly pick it all off. He loves to clean his play spaces. He picks the leaves up out of the yard and shoves them out the fence too :) We can only hope he'll want to clean his room this well as he grows, right? :) So, in between cleanings he would run laps around Daddy.


So proud of his mulch art



the construction men behind him were very distracting



time to put more up!



and clean again



and the always present and supportive big sister :)  
trying to see if she can still squeeze into the little kid equipment



We were fortunate to have a beautiful weekend. We went outside before dinner today. Michael did his laps around the front yard. He does these laps (routes, circuits, etc) anywhere we go. If we can find a continuous loop he is thrilled.

He loves pinwheels so we have quite a few around the front of the house. This one was angled wrong and not spinning today. He was frustrated with it until Mommy fixed it  

 We don't usually put hats with chin straps on Michael. After sometime outside he decided enough was enough and unvelcroed it.

 It you look at the tree in the background you can see a few sticks in the ground. Elizabeth and her friends put them there yesterday. Michael, unsuccessfully, attempted to do the same.

 Daddy saved the day by putting another stick in the ground for him. Crisis averted and now he could continue running laps.

You can tell it is time to go inside soon and plate dinner when the melt down begins.

Play-Doh

Before Pre-School started Michael only used play doh as a food source (or tried too!) :) Even at school he had to frequently get his teeth brushed to get it out of his mouth. Around Christmas break he discovered it can be used for so much more!

Tonight he enjoyed smearing it across the table and breaking it up into tiny little pieces.

The camera got put down when he made the closed eye mommy-stop-taking-pictures face :)



Seizure Free Anniversary Dinner

Yesterday marked 2 years seizure free for Michael :) He was a big ol' grumpy butt yesterday :) So we elected to be lazy on the couch together as much as possible. Not a bad day! Tonight we went out to a place we were positive he'd find something to eat: Dairy Queen! He gobbled down a grilled cheese, a couple reluctant bites of apple sauce and thoroughly enjoyed his ice cream.

 

He had an Elmo ribbon that said "Hooray for me" on it. He was NOT interested in it at first!

After his sister modeled the ribbon some (and he got half a grilled cheese in his belly!) he was a little more cooperative.  Yay!

Elizabeth ordered a vanilla ice cream popsicle with chocolate fudge for Michael. He would not eat it off the stick but he had no problem chowing down on it when it came from a spoon!

 

THANKS BIG SIS!

Time to head home. He was pleasantly stuffed and ready to aim for another seizure free year!



Just one of those days...

 

We all have them. A day where we just don't feel like functioning. Where it takes a lot of effort to energize us, make us happy, or even want to eat. I think they're especially hard on Michael because he can't explain to us what is wrong or what might make him feel better. He didn't want to let go of Daddy to go to Pre-K this morning. This is only the second time we've had days like this at school. He was a grump for his teachers and even cried for the last 40 minutes. When we got home all he wanted to do was stand around moping.

It took a lot of this to get him to smile again. 

But after a lot of Mommy and Daddy snuggling we finally got....

It is a good thing we got some smiles today because today marks 2 years of no seizures for Michael :)

Stacking

I love when our mornings start off entertaining. Michael doesn't have school on Monday and Wednesday so he was with me while I cooked breakfast. He is pretty impatient. He could eat his own breakfast but Mommy's is always yummier. But Mommy's takes so long to prepare and cook. He either complains at my side or I find some odd way to amuse him.

I'm known for giving him whatever is handy to use as a toy and never know what he is going to do with it. Today it was the spices. I let him pick out a few while I made breakfast. Since he just recently figured out how to stack blocks, that was the goal with the spices.

Today was a good day for Michael. He went to SPED (Special Ed preschool) this morning. When I picked him up at 11am he came to me on his own, reached up and gave me a kiss. Normally, I take him from his teacher and kneel in front of him for a bit. I talk to him and he slowly notices me.

After school he ate a fantastic lunch. Though he finally became a picky eater (and we're actually thrilled about that!) he still eats a good amount of healthy food. He ate carrots, celery, potatoes and applesauce. Hes not a big meat eater!

He has also started showing an interest in the dishwasher and washing dishes. Its crazy what things he seems to pick up. He knows when I hand him a dish that he needs to put it somewhere in the dishwasher. He puts them wherever (but my husband can be guilty of that too sometimes!) and then rearranges them a bit. He likes to hold the dishes in the soapy water in the sink too and take them in and out of the water.

It was a beautiful day so we spent a lot of it outside. We briefly met our new neighbors and we're excited because they have two little girls, about 2-3 years old. We're hoping to get to know them and maybe Michael will have other kids his age to observe, other than at school. Michael's new thing is: PINE NEEDLES! It is wonderful watching him sit in the grass and be fascinated by them. He sits so calmy for so long. It is not so wonderful wiping sap off his face later! He isn't so thrilled with me then!



Learning to give... and take :)

One of the big lessons we have been wanting Michael to learn was how to hand us something when we asked for it. It has been slow going and a lot of the time he would simple drop it when we asked. He seems to have finally figured it out ...as long as we make sure we give it right back afterwards :)

He has also mastered the lollipop. He never understood the concept of them before. He would cram as much lollipop and stick into his mouth, choke, take it out. Or put it to his lips and not understand that it was edible.

All these little things make us so proud. Like, tears in the eyes, can't form words, proud ... of a lollipop.

Tennessee Aquarium

We try not to let Michael's disabilities stop us from doing activities as a family. Even though we know the day may be challenging we feel it is worth it. The hardest parts of these days is that Michael doesn't understand the WHY of some situations. "Why can't I run wherever I want?" "Why can't I drink or eat in this room?" "Why can't I be noisy here?" "Why do I have to sit in stroller, hold hands, not run..?" "Why doesn't that random stranger want to pick me up?" :) Since he has no verbal communication (speaking or understanding it) we cannot reason it out for him. Over time we have stopped worrying about the stares and comments from the people around us and just focus on our kids and making the day as fun and worthwhile for them as we can.

Yesterday we visited the Tennessee Aquarium. This is Michael's second visit to an aquarium. He went to one in Boston in October. We had an idea of what to expect. He wants out of his stroller as much as possible, doesn't pay attention to the people he bumps and weaves through and rarely stops moving for more than a few seconds unless there is water available to touch. This time we would be experiencing an aquarium without the aide of my parents, which we had in Boston.

Our first stop was to the sting ray exhibit. We knew he would enjoy this since he LOVED it in Boston. He doesn't really notice the sting rays. The appeal is the water. We have to watch him closely to make sure he doesn't try to climb in :) He is usually content to touch the water and we think he see the rays when they swim close and that is enough for us. Convincing him it is time to LEAVE is a bit of a challenge.

The next exhibit was the Butterfly Garden. Since butterflies are so small and move too quickly he did not notice them at all. He had to stay in his stroller in here and he was not thrilled with that. It was also very warm in there and he does not like being clothed when it's warm. We had to repeatedly put his shirt back on which made him cranky and noisy. We got the usual looks from people not understanding what was going on. You know the "Why can't they control their child?" look. We didn't want to leave the room since Elizabeth was having so much fun in there so the other onlookers would have to survive. 

We had quite a few moments when Michael did not want to go where we wanted. Nor did he want to be confined to a stroller. He would run about, weaving through people and Daddy would patiently follow. Occasionally Daddy was able to find a quiet corner to briefly sit with him and other times he had to be held and would pout over it.

Overall, fun was had :) We gained knowledge about oceans and rivers and what all lives in them. Michael got to practice holding hands and walking with us. He had to avoid bumping into people because he does not seem to notice they are in front of him. He also had to deal with the disappointment of not getting his way. Each time we have one of these day trips they seem to go smoother and smoother. We are excited for our next one!