It’s a Wunderful Life – February 20, 2012
What a fun week! First – thanks to all you other bloggers who share so much! I love reading your blogs!
The kids had such a fun time at their school parties and it was neat to see how excited they got with all the Valentine’s Day festivities. One of the things I’ve been wanting to do is ‘heart attack’ my parents. Being that they live in Hawaii and obviously we aren’t there, it took a bit of coordinating but we are EXTREMELY GRATEFUL to a good friend who helped make it possible. Thanks Malia!
Cutting out hearts his 'own way'
So, I didn’t know what a Valentine’s “heart attack” was until a few years ago but basically, cut out a bunch of hearts, write messages, and plaster someone’s house. . . . car.. . . mirror. . . .whatever. The kids had a ton of fun – the picture below is of the half completed ‘attack.’
Happy Valentine's Day!
The kiddos also had fun making their own presents for Mommy. The kids and I planned our own shopping trip and ‘homemade’ presents and it ended up being a total blast.
Making their present for mommy
My daughter decided that she wanted to make chocolate covered strawberries. She did a good job and I have to admit, I think I ate more than half of the strawberries.
YUM!
The boys also had a blast at their school activities. They came home with their own little bags and it’s so neat to see them go through their bags and decide what they want for a snack, etc. It’s also good that since they are in different classes, they got different things so they learned to respect that their sibling may have a candy / sticker that they didn’t have. Can’t say it went perfect (not by ANY means), but still – it is a concept they are getting better at.
Twin A examining his goodies
Accomplishments: It seems like we did a TON this past week. From seeing one of the boys make friends with another boy at the bounce house this week to their excitement of Valentine’s – it was a fun week. Also, we did a TON with scissors, playdough, and other activities that I’m hoping they make some big strides in the OT sessions.
My personal favorite moment of the week was tonight, as we did ‘family bed’ downstairs and were watching a movie, both boys asked me to lie down and watch the movie with them. They both cuddled and talked to me. Twin B always calls me by saying, “HEY MY DADDY” or “I LOVE YOU MY DADDY.” I can’t tell you how much my family means to me.
Family Bed!
Opportunities: Man we had a few meltdowns and we need to work through both boys ‘accepting’ things that they may not want to do as a first priority. . . sharing in particular. I was also really bummed when walked to a friend’s house and the friend looked at them and ran away. I get it – little kids don’t understand that their friends have ‘autism’ and what that means but still, bummer. Poor kid doesn’t know that HE’S THE ONE MISSING OUT! Sucker! You may just find a random snowball flying at you this week. Ok – yes, I’m bad but I love my boys. Ok, enough negativity. 🙂
Tip of the Week: So, this is our speech homework for the week below- getting the boys to understand the differences in taste. It was great that my wife had brought home a small bag of sour Skittles that I used with the boys for this. We still need to work on helping the boys understand that ‘sour’ or ‘salty’ doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily ‘bad.’ Twin B was trying to use it to get out of eating his dinner tonight – he said it was ‘salty’ so he shouldn’t eat it. Buddy, I wasn’t born yesterday. Anyway, have a great week!
Taste Worksheet
It's a Wunderful Life 
I love the heart attack idea. The preschool has told us that my son enjoys using scissors, so that might be a great idea for next year.
I also want to say that I like the way that you organize your weekly posts, especially the way that you divide up the accomplishments and “opportunities.” Autism can be so overwhelming, so I admire that you are always looking for the positives.
Keep sharing and thanks for stopping by my page, too.
Our boys have been doing well at OT with the exception of scissors and buttons so this was a good way to get some scissor practice in . . . and the heart attack works anytime of the year! 🙂
Thanks for the comments!
Grandson really does not like scissors. I keep trying and hoping! Great blogs, I read a few! LOVE how you love the family…and it’s easy to see why, they are all simply perfect! I love the blog on kids running away when you show up, I’ve seen that a little bit. It’s usually the parents though, taking their kids away. I want to smack them with more than a snowball! This child is a blessing and more fun and interesting than any I’ve run into…so as you suggested, THEIR LOSS!
You got that right! Thanks forthe comment!
I love the taste ad smell symbols. I put the hearts the kids cut out in my journal and around the house. Perhaps it will still be here when you all come. Thanks again!
Hadn’t heard the “heart attack” idea before. Love it!!!! Will be looking for an opportunity to “attack.”
Blessings,
Alyson
What a find your blog is: I am a parent living on a different continent with a very different autistic child, but also like to see the positive side of this complex and challenging condition on our family dynamic. It is also great to see a dad take such an involved role in his son’s life. Also never heard of “heart attack” for Valentine’s Day, simply must spread next year here in South Africa!
Thank you so much for visiting! Glad you liked the ‘heart attack’ 🙂