One Month with Adeline
Adeline is over a month old now! She is starting to smile, coo, laugh and giggle and makes good eye contact which is always fun. She loves to cuddle, snuggle, bounce, be worn and sleep on Momma's chest. My shoulder is hurting, but my heart is full.
Finnigan's Third Birthday!
Finnigan turned three on Sunday. The thursday before his birthday Finn's friend from nursery also had a birthday party, which Finn was included in which was very nice. Then on Saturday we went to an indoor playground in Ankeny where Finn was able to run and jump, his two favorite things in the world. From us he got three small toys - a Mater car, a Dusty the Cropperhopper airplane and a Thomas the Train - plus a new Dr. Suess book (his favorite!) and a backpack. I also got him some school clothes which were on clearance at target, but I just put those in his closet because I knew he wouldn't care.
He had a blast at his party. I was nervous he wouldn't be able to climb the slides on the inflatables because he always wants to, but never was able to in the past but after getting over his initial nervousness and falling a few times, he managed to figure it out. It was funny because I got permission to go into the bounce house to help him climb up the ladder - so I went out to put my shoes up - and when I came back in he was going down the slide by himself. Colin told me for the third time! He obviously needs me less than I thought. =) Although, on the tree house structure he needed my help, because he was scared of the rope bridge. I don't blame him, I had to give myself a pep talk to get over it too! At the end, bubbles came out of the tree house structure, which was also a big hit. Everyone knows the kid loves bubbles.
Finnigan Started Preschool!
Finn started preschool on Monday. He goes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 am - 11:15 each day. We choose the smaller classroom for now, with an integration as soon as we can into a larger classroom. Finn's first day went well. He was pretty excited, and rushed right in to the classroom and didn't even look up to say goodbye. He teacher said that he did a spectacular job, was happy all day and even sat when he was supposed to sit for activities.
Today, was a little more rough. At least at the start. There was an ice storm this morning and Finn wouldn't hold my hand and slipped on the ice on the way into school. Finnigan began to cry when I started to leave and kept wanting to hold my hand and have me pick him up. He didn't necessarily want to leave, but he sure didn't want me going anywhere. It was hard to leave him, he kept throwing himself on the ground when I would try to leave. I am fine with the fact that my kid flaps his hands, runs around in circles, and squawks like an orangutan most of the day - I just let him do his thing. But the hardest part about his ASD is when he screams and slams his head into the floor or bites himself when he's throwing a fit. Luckily, the teacher had a padded area of the classroom with pillows and such and I carried him to that area where he could safely carry out a tantrum without injuring himself. It's nice to know that he has that area in the classroom because I am sure it's not the last time he will need it. The teacher said he cried for 20 minutes after I left, and then had a good rest of the day. Apparently the highlight of his day was chasing some kid who was riding a bike around the gym. She said he verbally asked for more snack, and more water which is nice. He has been eating a lot better lately - I think partly because he snacks less at preschool then at home, and partly because he works up more of an appetite at school.
I have met the other parents of students in Finn's class. There are five other students in his class. All boys. All autistic. They invited me to a support group for parents with kids on the spectrum, so I will try to go to that, if possible, next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment