Homecoming

AJ celebrated homecoming this past weekend with friends including playing in pep band for the football game and going to the homecoming dance. It definitely feels real having a high schooler when they're getting dressed up for pictures and heading to a dance!

I also saw pictures from a couple friends in other states whose children were celebrating homecoming as well and loved seeing what inclusion looked like for their high school freshman. It already has me thinking about what to ask and how to advocate to enable Teddy to join the fun at homecoming and other dances because he's a social butterfly and loves dancing!

One of the things I enjoy most about AJ's group of friends is how chill they are with Teddy and how much he adores hanging out with them. He has his moments where he's seeking sensory input by kicking his feet against them as they're all flopped out gaming, but for the most part, it works out well most of the time. It makes my heart happy to see both my boys happy.

Can you tell how much Teddy likes to join in the fun with AJ's friends?

Oh, and a random sidenote, Teddy got his face painted this weekend as well. He did really great sitting for it, and the local celebrity face painter Whimbubble was amazing with him! She did such a great job talking through the process and engaging with Teddy the entire time. 

Teddy shark!

Spring Concert

It was such a big deal to us when Teddy was included in his school's concert the first time. His second-ever performance was this month, and it was an equally big deal. Teddy absolutely loves music. He will spontaneously burst into dancing when music catches his attention, whether on the radio in the car or a commercial on TV. He dances like nobody's watching, and yet his moves ensure everybody is watching. He loves music with such joy that it's contagious, which you'll see in this post.

I know it takes effort to include children with different needs in mainstream concerts. It requires coordination with the music teacher, the traditional 4th grade teacher and Teddy's amazingly patient and calm special education teacher. It allows others in his class the opportunity to step up and help everyone be successful, whether that's redirecting away from the microphone when it's not their turn or being a partner for a song that includes rhythmic stick whacking (for lack of a better term). 

Might as well dress to impress when you know all eyes will be on you.

But the effort yields amazing results. It gives Teddy the sheer joy of being included, dancing and being with his peers. It gives us as parents and family such joy and pride in what Teddy can do. (It may not seem like much, but Teddy remained in his place for almost a full minute without any physical redirection. That's a minor miracle, especially with so much exciting activity.) It provides the opportunity for the community to experience the joy and abilities of all the children. It allows Teddy and his peers to practice appropriate social skills. 

Perhaps the most amazing thing, though, is that it normalizes Teddy and his peers with different needs in the eyes of their classmates. There were a few of Teddy's classmates who wanted to grab the mic to get more applause because they were doing such a great job (I mean, they were right). Teddy tried to take center stage to show off his dance moves. There were kids who's singing is non-existent aside from excited noises, like Teddy, and others whose dance moves rival Teddy's yet don't quite align to the program. Yet, despite all these differences, the other students weren't phased. They know their classmates and their unique qualities and embrace them for who they are. There was one little boy whom I was so darn proud of for intentionally partnering with someone who needed some extra help and being such a great helper, and I made sure his mom heard that. 

When we include everyone, it doesn't make the concert more perfect. It would be less distracting without children like Teddy. But we're all perfectly imperfect, and our differences make life what it is. I'm so glad that Teddy's classmates are learning to embrace and include from early on, as it's not the case for all children. It was clear which classes have children with different abilities who integrate and which ones don't because it looks strange and weird to those who don't see Teddy's excitement on a regular basis. (I swear I didn't speed up the video. Teddy really was moving his arms that fast because he was that excited.) Inclusion normalizes our differences and quirks ... because we all have them.

Inclusion is a beautiful thing. It doesn't take away from anyone, yet adds to the enjoyment for all. 

Can't Stop The Feeling!

Teddy loves music, as long as it's catchy enough to grab his attention. When he hears the infamous "Baby Shark," he immediately stops what he's doing to find the music. When a song starts playing during movies or television shows, he often stops everything else and starts dancing.

Dancing for Teddy looks a lot like jumping, which is one of my favorite things. A few years ago, jumping seemed so far out of reach for him because of his balance and coordination, but now he jumps to show his excitement, to dance, and to convey all the joy inside his not-so-little body.

We discovered a few Christmas seasons ago that Teddy really enjoyed those annoying toys/characters that play music. So now we have a collection of about a half dozen that play various songs. When we first pulled them out of storage, Teddy couldn't contain himself as we loaded them with batteries and started the songs. It's been two weeks now, so they're not the constant obsession anymore, but they're still high on his list of likes.

I'm sharing both videos because they're just so fun!

Party All Night 'Til the Break of Dawn and Then All Day

Welcome to my life.

I'm quite terrified for our upcoming vacation given Teddy's current track record for sleeping at his grandparents' houses. You might recall Easter or any example from my parents' farm. If he sleeps this poorly on vacation, I expect a very stressed family.

So this past weekend we headed to De Pere for a wedding rehearsal and left the boys with Dave's parents. We headed back to their house around 10 to sleep there until the alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. for Teddy to participate in the Bellin Run with myTEAM Triumph.

Well, the Teddy alarm went off at 2 a.m. instead. Teddy woke up, and instead of falling back asleep, he decided he was wide awake. Dave took him for a drive to keep him from waking the rest of the house and hopefully reset him to allow him to fall back asleep. One bright note from their hour of driving is that Teddy knows where our sitter in Green Bay lives. He recognized where we exit for her house, began pointing and making sounds until Dave drove past her road. Since he doesn't talk, it's often hard to know what he knows, but this was pretty obvious and neat to know.

Unfortunately, that drive did not calm Teddy down, so I took over shortly after they returned and booted Dave to bed. (Dave was the best man at the wedding that day, so getting some sleep was pretty important for him.) Teddy and I played in the basement, although he was upset to be down there instead of upstairs by all the people, went for a drive, attempted to lay down a few times and then went to pick up donuts for all the kids once it was 5 a.m. When we returned, AJ and one of the cousins were awake and excited to see the donuts. Teddy was just happy someone was finally awake to play with him. Teddy ate a quick breakfast, and then we headed off to the Bellin Run, a 6.2-mile race.

Teddy was in a really good mood, considering his early morning. He enjoyed the run, smiling and making friends with two angels who were new to us. I've run the Bellin a number of times but enjoyed the opportunity to spectate to watch all the crazy fast runners as well as a bunch of the myTEAM Triumph teams cross the finish line.

When we got back to my in-law's house, all the cousins were awake and ready to play. I sent Dave back to lay down for a bit because he wasn't feeling well. After he came back downstairs, I decided to try napping for 20 minutes before showering and getting ready for the wedding. But then Teddy's cup went missing, which meant I ran to the store to buy another one since there are only a few cups that he can drink from easily. Dave managed to get Teddy down while I was gone, so at least Teddy got a much-needed 2-hour nap.

The wedding went well, and Dave's folks kept the boys until right before dinner. Teddy wanted little to do with sitting for dinner but enjoyed exploring the hall. As soon as dinner was done, I let him free from his chair to explore. He put on 2 miles (seriously, 4,000 steps) during the 2 hours after dinner. He loved the freedom to run all around the reception hall, grabbing random people to try to take them places and sitting at tables with people who I didn't even know.

Teddy's new hobby? He'd like to be a wedding crasher.

Once the music started, he began dancing in his own goofy way. He definitely loves music and likes to dance. Dave got a short video of Teddy dancing, but you can see the video ends when Teddy beelines to Dave to have him join our dance party.

Dave's folks came to pick up two exhausted, dance-weary boys around 9 p.m. Dave and I stayed until the end (since that's the expectation when you're the best man). It really was a fun wedding, but I was so ready to go to bed when midnight arrived. I do believe that's the only time I've ever been awake for 22 hours, and I'm good with that remaining the only time in my life.

But the next day, Teddy managed to sleep until 7 a.m. He had enough energy to explore and enjoy a dairy breakfast before heading to our house for a (remarkable, yet needed) afternoon nap.

This kid loves his tractors!

I Can Dance If I Want To ...

Ah we can dance if we want to, we can leave your friends behind
Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're are no friends of mine
I say, we can go where we want to ...

That last line is certainly true when it pertains to Teddy and the dance floor. We attended a wedding reception this weekend, and both boys were extremely excited to hit the dance floor. AJ has dance moves I'm not quite sure that I've ever seen before in my life as well as near perfect renditions of others I never expected to see my child perform, such as running across the dance floor and dropping to his knees to slide across it or learning the Cupid Shuffle in one night when I haven't mastered it after all these years.

Teddy's dance style is a bit less refined. It involves a lot of face-paced walking around the dance floor, using other people as bumpers to redirect him. Hey, look at this pretty, sparkling white dress! I should touch that! He did some foot stomping and quite a bit of upper body shaking and swaying, complete with holding onto his shirt while he danced. He was rather intrigued by the stage where the DJ was, so we had to provide some redirection there. He was also interested in the photo booth (until we went to actually take photos, which is when he wanted to return to the dance floor). And the garland around the dance floor was rearranged a few times. Hey, I should hold onto this while I dance. Oh, it comes with me? Cool.

I watched with a mixture of pure enjoyment at their happiness and amazement at how far Teddy has come in roughly the year since the last wedding we attended. Then, Teddy needed significant handheld assistance to walk, was carried a portion of the night and spent most of the night walking around the DJ booth because he was fascinated by the lights there.

This time, Teddy could go where he wanted and do what he wanted, as much as we would allow him. Seriously, the child made a beeline for the dance floor every time he could. Sorry, but you're not the groom or mother of the groom. Nope, not the bride or father of the bride either.

Teddy had an absolute blast and was in his element, surrounded by people, movement, lights and music. Oh, and cupcakes. ;-)