3/9/09

Yeah..this is Tyler's happy face and for good reason...things were finally back to normal this past weekend, woo hoo. Grandma came down for a visit which was really nice. Whenever grandma is around, I get a lot of good one on one time with Tyler. We worked a lot on signs this weekend for animals, objects, help, all done, etc. Tyler is also back to eating like normal, although Ben has a bit to go in that category. I wonder what it would be like to have kids that like to eat! Speaking of eating....

At the boys birthday party, I'm planning to have all GFCF food and I'm super excited cause I made GFCF cupcakes this weekend and they were fantastic! I also made GFCF ranch dip for veggies and it was also really good, although not quite as good as the cupcakes of course. I'm really looking forward to the boys party this year. The first birthday was tough for many reasons, last year was good because we just had a small party for Ben and we had Tyler at a babysitter's house so that he didnt' have to deal with all the chaos in our house. So this year I feel like I'm finally meeting the needs of both the kids and allowing them both to participate and celebrate their birthdays in a way that will work for both of them. We worked realyl hard to find somewhere that would have entertainment for Tyler, that woudln't seclude us to a room with chairs w/o anything for him to do during present opening (we do not force Tyler to sit and open presents) and somewhere that is not open to the public during birthday parties. Luckily we found somewhere in Tecumseh that could accomodate all those needs. They were open to the reasons we did not want their food and allowed us to bring in our own food to accommodaet Tyler. We don't really expect Tyler to eat much of the food (he wasn't so fond of the cupcakes, however, being able to control the environment, which includes the food on people's/kids hands, will allow us to relax and enjoy the event worry free. we also hired a sitter to chase Tyler around and watch him for signs of frustration, etc. so that we could be there for Ben too. I'm just thrilled with the way it's all coming together as it's so important to me that both boys get what they need/want for their birthdays!

we took grandma out to eat on Sunday.. I think we've gotten her sick twice while this winter and it had been a while since she'd stayed with us. The bo ys were fantastic! Our favorite table was open and it accomodates our needs very well.. Both Ben and Tyler did great. In fact, Tyler had asked to get a down a few times (he grabs our hand and throws it towards the ground essentially) and we told him we had to stay and we'd give him something new to play with or interact with him in a new way to keep him content. Anyway, he was staying so well regulated, I asked Dad to let me push him a bit. So we were actually ready to leave before we left. I know this may seem weird/or mean to some of you, but essentially I wanted to push Tyler just past his point of comfort before we left.. he did great with this.. even when putting his coat on I kept saying wait, wait.. and then said ok we'll go in 20 seconds and counted. This all will teach him coping mechanisms when he's in a situation he isnt' fond of and it will also teach him to sit for longer periods of time which is very hard for him. it's so nice to be able to go out as a famiy and know that Tyler can stay regulated through a whole meal and usually he's ready to go before we are so pushing him just a little bit more here and a little bit more there, will help extend those periods of time while teaching him that we will eventually leave and everything is going to be ok if we stay just a little longer. Oh...he did so great, we were all very produ of him and ben!

That's about all. Monday's tend to be long days for us as every other week we have a parent support group at Ty's school. It's great for Ben though because Ben gets to "got to school" just like TY. They have babysitting available and the kids get to play in one of the classrooms so they enjoy it. We just get home pretty late and it makes for a long day.