Spring Break and other Updates
I started this post back in April to share spring break but I let life get the best of me. So here are a few updates from April to now. Enjoy.
Spring Break
Since we're not going on vacation this year, I decided to take the week off and do some fun things with the boys. As a mom of a child with special needs, there's a lot of planning involved above and beyond the norm. There's Plan A and B just in case Big Kid has a meltdown or if the weather was cooperating. It took a lot of prepping and reminding the Big Kid of what we were going to do, weather permitting. With that being said, we had a wonderful week. We went to the park, the library, City Island, the Bronx Zoo and the Museum of Natural History.
Big Kid LOVES animals and dinosaurs. That is his thing. He is in his element. While we had fun at the zoo, our trip to the Museum of Natural History is what I'd like to share. We went with Pollito's friend and his family. Two moms, a teen with Autism, 2 kindergarteners and 1 toddler, navigating the four floors of the museum on spring break! (We survived, so did the kids).
Since he was little, Big Kid loved everything about dinosaurs. I can only identify approximately 10 dinosaurs. Big Kid is a walking encyclopedia who can pronounce every name with the ease of a doctor spewing medical terminology. He was looking forward to this trip for weeks. Each day he would count down the days until we were going to visit. "I can't wait to go to the Museum of Natural History!" he would exclaim daily for over a week. The day arrived and he was ready, for the most part. Big Kid sometimes has anxiety about being around large groups or people he's not familiar with. In this case, we were going in our friend's car and he was a little reserved about it but handled it pretty well.
We get to the museum and he was in paradise. Thankfully I had comfortable sneakers on because he was moving pretty swiftly from one exhibit to the next in awe and amazement of all the dinosaurs rattling off the era they lived in, what they ate, how long ago they lived. We then saw this "newly" discovered dinosaur that was 46 feet long. It was so big it continued into the next room. When we got to the exhibit, there was guide standing there ready to give anyone information about the dinosaur. We decide to approach the guide to get more information about this exhibit. Niko and the guide exchanged information back and forth. I was so proud of my boy. We then picked up that the guide might have been on the spectrum. It was subtle but a mother knows. He gave us facts, asked some questions to big kid, had some eye contact but the way he went back to the facts is in a similar fashion when big kid wants to get back to talking about the topic at hand. At that moment, I pictured big kid potentially being a guide at the museum in the future. My eyes started to well up. You see, I don't know what the future holds. Will big kid go to college and become a paleontologist or wildlife expert? Don't know. What I do know is that I will make sure he gets some kind of experience in the area of his liking so that one day, he could work in the very same environment that he loves. I want him to be able to love going to work (to whatever capacity) and enjoy what he does. He loves dinosaurs and animals. He could very well end up becoming a paleontologist or zoologist. He could also just work in a museum as a tour guide or a volunteer at the zoo. Either way, he will be in his element.
Summer
It's already late July. Can't believe the summer is pretty much half way done. I just want to share some other updates about big kid. Back in December, he had his shunt revised. This was his first revision since birth. So it was a very big deal. While it wasn't exactly malfunctioning, it was only a matter of time before the catheter snapped and he was getting headaches. So we decided to have it replaced during winter break. We have seen so many changes with big kid since the surgery. He's more willing to try new things, he's much happier and excited to be at his after school program and has improved academically at school. He even achieved ALL of his goals this year. Perhaps the shunt had something to do with it or a combination of onset puberty, time and revision. Whatever the case may be, I am happy to share that big kid is thriving. Most improvement: trying new foods. Big kid has trouble eating a variety of foods. For a long time I could count on one hand the number of foods he'd eat. He has been making such wonderful progress. Just this past weekend he ate an entire banana. Yesterday I packed applesauce in his lunch bag. The teacher texted me later in the day to tell me that the class quieted down and waited in suspense to see big kid try the apple sauce. He tried it, and yelled "I LOVE IT!" His class cheered him on! He's in such a wonderful environment at school. The kids are all unique and loving as well as the teachers, counselors, therapists and staff. We are so incredibly proud of the young man he is becoming. It truly does take patience, love (LOTS of it) and a village to help our children become the best person they can be.
Spring Break
Since we're not going on vacation this year, I decided to take the week off and do some fun things with the boys. As a mom of a child with special needs, there's a lot of planning involved above and beyond the norm. There's Plan A and B just in case Big Kid has a meltdown or if the weather was cooperating. It took a lot of prepping and reminding the Big Kid of what we were going to do, weather permitting. With that being said, we had a wonderful week. We went to the park, the library, City Island, the Bronx Zoo and the Museum of Natural History.
Big Kid LOVES animals and dinosaurs. That is his thing. He is in his element. While we had fun at the zoo, our trip to the Museum of Natural History is what I'd like to share. We went with Pollito's friend and his family. Two moms, a teen with Autism, 2 kindergarteners and 1 toddler, navigating the four floors of the museum on spring break! (We survived, so did the kids).
Since he was little, Big Kid loved everything about dinosaurs. I can only identify approximately 10 dinosaurs. Big Kid is a walking encyclopedia who can pronounce every name with the ease of a doctor spewing medical terminology. He was looking forward to this trip for weeks. Each day he would count down the days until we were going to visit. "I can't wait to go to the Museum of Natural History!" he would exclaim daily for over a week. The day arrived and he was ready, for the most part. Big Kid sometimes has anxiety about being around large groups or people he's not familiar with. In this case, we were going in our friend's car and he was a little reserved about it but handled it pretty well.
We get to the museum and he was in paradise. Thankfully I had comfortable sneakers on because he was moving pretty swiftly from one exhibit to the next in awe and amazement of all the dinosaurs rattling off the era they lived in, what they ate, how long ago they lived. We then saw this "newly" discovered dinosaur that was 46 feet long. It was so big it continued into the next room. When we got to the exhibit, there was guide standing there ready to give anyone information about the dinosaur. We decide to approach the guide to get more information about this exhibit. Niko and the guide exchanged information back and forth. I was so proud of my boy. We then picked up that the guide might have been on the spectrum. It was subtle but a mother knows. He gave us facts, asked some questions to big kid, had some eye contact but the way he went back to the facts is in a similar fashion when big kid wants to get back to talking about the topic at hand. At that moment, I pictured big kid potentially being a guide at the museum in the future. My eyes started to well up. You see, I don't know what the future holds. Will big kid go to college and become a paleontologist or wildlife expert? Don't know. What I do know is that I will make sure he gets some kind of experience in the area of his liking so that one day, he could work in the very same environment that he loves. I want him to be able to love going to work (to whatever capacity) and enjoy what he does. He loves dinosaurs and animals. He could very well end up becoming a paleontologist or zoologist. He could also just work in a museum as a tour guide or a volunteer at the zoo. Either way, he will be in his element.
Summer
It's already late July. Can't believe the summer is pretty much half way done. I just want to share some other updates about big kid. Back in December, he had his shunt revised. This was his first revision since birth. So it was a very big deal. While it wasn't exactly malfunctioning, it was only a matter of time before the catheter snapped and he was getting headaches. So we decided to have it replaced during winter break. We have seen so many changes with big kid since the surgery. He's more willing to try new things, he's much happier and excited to be at his after school program and has improved academically at school. He even achieved ALL of his goals this year. Perhaps the shunt had something to do with it or a combination of onset puberty, time and revision. Whatever the case may be, I am happy to share that big kid is thriving. Most improvement: trying new foods. Big kid has trouble eating a variety of foods. For a long time I could count on one hand the number of foods he'd eat. He has been making such wonderful progress. Just this past weekend he ate an entire banana. Yesterday I packed applesauce in his lunch bag. The teacher texted me later in the day to tell me that the class quieted down and waited in suspense to see big kid try the apple sauce. He tried it, and yelled "I LOVE IT!" His class cheered him on! He's in such a wonderful environment at school. The kids are all unique and loving as well as the teachers, counselors, therapists and staff. We are so incredibly proud of the young man he is becoming. It truly does take patience, love (LOTS of it) and a village to help our children become the best person they can be.
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