Wordless Weds: Singing Well

How sweet is it to watch your child on the spectrum (who also has verbal delays) go up to Snow White's wishing well and sing back to her echo?

Very!

PS: His sister fell in love with Snow White from seeing the movie on DVD. James fell in love with her from all the video game-like special features on Disc 2. Go figure -- he still knows and loves her.

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Swinging Into Summer

James is two weeks into his summer, and already he's been on a road trip of 1,100 miles, gotten a stomach bug, and finished his first week of summer school. He's been showing the stress, but holding it together so well. I am proud of him.

I could tell that he was getting anxious over the end of Kindergarten. There was bedwetting almost very night (after staying dry for about 2 months) and it was harder to keep him on-task. He really started testing by trying to wander away. During this time I was filling out a behaviour form that a consultant needed and realized that a lot of the acting up (e.g., getting into things and breaking them, making messes, etc.) on James' part was a result of his being bored. The toys that used to focus or interest him just weren't cutting it. Still searching for the Next Things ...

The day after the last day of school, I started cleaning our van and packing for our week-long trip to parts down south. James might have been a little excited/anxious about that. Hard to tell. He did ask a few questions and I tried to plot our trip for him on the calendar, because his class has been studying the days of the week. I packed lots of changes for my laundry-creating guy. I brought some books and a pad of paper/box of crayons. I figured we'd be on the go most of the time and we were.

At 5:30 am I put the kids in the loaded van and off we drove. I figured they'd nap for a bit, but nope -- I had chirpy kiddos with me on the road. They were very good travelers through the rain, detours, burst of hot sun, and more rain. We visited family, with lunch at Grandma & Grandpa's and afternoon/dinner with cousins. In between, we visited a mall and played with the stairs and fountain.

We finally rolled into the motel parking lot at 10:30pm, just as James announced "Mommy, I gon' be sick." Whoosh! Opened the doors to let in the fresh air (and a little rain). Calamity avoided.

Rested the next day, and discovered the pretty motel pool was not heated -- yikes! Still, it was fun splashing for half an hour. The afternoon was spent at the beach, followed by pizza dinner with two of our favourite aunties. The two exciting days at Disneyland ... the beginning of constipation central. I continued to spike his milks with Miralax.

Then we took a slow drive up to visit with friends near San Luis Obispo. Luckily we had a wonderful place to stay, because James finally passed the BMs but then lay on the sofa the rest of our stay. Gas, six-year molars pushing through, *and* gastroenteritis. My poor guy! He was a trooper, playing with the stairs and chatting a bit with our friends. I was so happy that I'd learned my lesson from a previous trip and packed the essential OTC meds from home so I could start getting him what he needed ASAP. I felt guilty about him getting sick, but each time we go on the road, the problems change and seem to get less drastic. And he loves going on the trips.

I kept him home a couple of days and then off to summer school. Wow. Some familiar faces with students and teacher, but no one where James was used to seeing them. Also, the school was at a new campus for James, and it is LOUD. I can tell it's stressful for him because he clings a bit at morning drop-off and cried when he saw me again the first two days at pick-up. More on the school later. More learning and growing for us.

There and Back ... Again

We are back from an early second trip of the year to visit family and friends in SoCal. Excitement, new experiences, and I am happy to report that that there were no incidents of either car sickness or constipation. Progress!

Early on a Friday morning, we hopped in our van and made our way to I-5, which became our friend for the next 5 or so hours. The kids and I were able to enjoy a late-afternoon nap that ended with the start of the Grapevine. Could that connecting segment be any rougher? It's almost like a speed bump and comes right before the CHP station, which is probably a good thing.

This was quite a different trip for me. We've been doing this ~1,000-mi R/T thang for over 7 years now, but this was the first time I hadn't had to pack an extra bag of white noise machine, diapers, and small children toys. The portable CD player, for the first time, went completely unused. This was liberating for me. Less to fret over packing and tracking the entire way. What entertained the kids? Books, a pad of paper & crayons, and for James, a Magnadoodle:

If his smile looks different, it's because he lost his second tooth on the trip. The first one disappeared at school before we left. My buddy is growing up!

I loved how well the Magnadoodle worked. It focused James when he was at loose ends. It had no batteries or cords. He could use it anywhere and it occupied him for hours, allowing him to indulge in his latest obsession, Writing His Letters and Spelling His Own Name. Take that, Bembridge Scholars!

The trip was to visit family, help a family member move, and meet up with friends at Disneyland. We sure got our money's worth out of this trip, and it will take several posts to cover it all.

Safe to say that on the trip back up, we'd had our fill of fun, and were happy to enjoy the ride home as we unwound from vacation overdrive and rested up for more school.

SOOC Saturday: Picnic, Land's End & Beyond

Last week I brought the kids to San Francisco to meet up with my husband and our friends. Despite an amazing bout of car sickness by James at about mile 50 in to the trip down, we enjoyed the afternoon and evening out (thank goodness for towels in the car, an emergency stash of clothes, and a good gas station bathroom).

We started with meeting our friends and their kids at the DeYoung Museum. We have a family+ membership this year, and we all treated ourselves to the Birth of Impressionism Exhibit. James was more interested in the baby that was traveling through the galleries than most of the paintings, although he did like the Monet train stations ("oooh, Thomas!").

Next up was a picnic lunner (lunch + dinner). We fetched our bags from the wonderful (if pricey) underground lot and feasted on the lawn just outside the museum's cafeteria. The kids were hungry, happy to play tag on the lawn, and gave their Daddy an enthusiastic welcome when he joined us.



I wanted to take the kids back in, but the Friday night family music session was in full swing. Very fun music (kind of French Celtic-Zydeco-Folk), but way too loud for James and his sister, who both can't stand loud noises. My husband stayed to visit with our friends and I took off early.

As a consolation prize, I took the scenic route home with them. Nice and slow for James, with the windows rolled down on all the non-freeway roads. Good heavens, we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Land's End, brooding through the fog & sunset (with lots of wind):


Literally up the road and around a bend, the wild outpost of West Fort Miley, bathed in sunshine and natural glory:





Legion of Honour -- so gorgeous and dramatically lit by the fading light:






And winding down into the Outer Richmond, where the roads got even twistier and more interesting, but likewise were less conducive to me pulling over the whipping shots off out the driver's window:




Apologies for being long-winded, but it's all SOOC, and a great reminder of a wonderful day trip together.

The Slurping Life offers wisdom and support. Visit Melody and check out SOOC Saturday/Sunday entries past & present. No cropping or fixing -- it's life, straight out of the camera.



  

SOOC Saturday: Dit Fromage

I hope I have not warped my son too much. Out comes a camera and his first response is to face it and say "Cheese!" Last weekend we visited a wonderful park in So Cal. It had a skateboard park, ducks, teen-aged goslings, & a dog park. Oh, and a playground for just the age groups of James and his sister. Of course I had my camera out to record this wonderful park, why do you ask?

The Slurping Life captured some drama of its own. Visit Melody and check out SOOC Saturday/Sunday entries past & present. No cropping or fixing -- it's life, straight out of the camera.




  

Being Away

We've just come off a roller coaster of end-of-school activities and a road trip to Southern California and back. After days of being off schedule and waking up in new places and seeing people not in his usual routine, James is settling into his last summer preschool session for this month.

I could tell that James both liked the change-up and missed his comfort zones. I think it's good to keep stretching him a bit so he doesn't get used to a set routine, group of people, and environment.

The long car trips were tough for him, but he hung in there, happy to travel (and fight) with his sister. He loved all four of us together in one hotel room, but missed sleeping in his own bed at night. Because James rolls off a regular bed (he's quite the physical sleeper) I've resorted to putting his old crib mattress on a picnic blanket on the floor of the hotel room and letting him sleep there with his beloved blankies. The good side of picky eaters is that there are few foods to pack and store, and they eat from our stash for almost the entire trip.

For an entire day he was on his own with his Dad. It was a Learning Experience (or 10) for them both. He got to reconnect with cousins, aunts, and his Grandpa. I could tell when he was getting tired, but he still faced every situation with a smile. Unless it was a trip to the bathroom that he did not instigate. Can't win them all, I guess. But hey! His potty training held firm. I was so proud of him (and relieved; last trip south we took was when he started holding everything in).

He got to walk, watch skateboarders, run & play at the beach, and explore new things. His face lit up with a wonderful expression when we got home late one night and he saw his own bed, waiting just for him.

I Am a Boy Who Loves ...

Family. Friends. Playing. Life. Apple bars & milk in the mornings. Being silly.

And lest we forget, It's a Small World ride at Disneyland!

SOOC Saturday: Train of Thought

Last month I took James and his sister to go see the Disney Train, aka The Disney Christmas Carol Train Tour. It's a cook promotional gimmick for the movie coming out this fall. The train is free to the public and tours the U.S. this summer into fall (schedule).

I know that The Slurping Life is on hiatus at the moment, but I found some great SOOC photos from this trip while looking back at my pics.

I can't decide which is my favourite, so I'll share them all:
* The cool conceptual art car, framed to look like moving pictures in the HP movies with a sunset ceiling:


* The rendering car, which made me feel like I was in a scene from Tron:


* Catching the transitions from warm and florid Victorian decor to 21st Century Hi-tech:


* James, being excited at his first visit to a Real Train!



Enjoy!

Togetherness

I am thankful to be together, on a road trip, for a family vacation.

James had lots of words, and he used them for hours all down I-5. What's new on this trip is that he is starting to express ideas, and try to retell fairy tales, just like his big sister.

He did super great with bathroom breaks -- dry pants all the way down!

Tomorrow: the beach, with GrandMama!