S'mores

Teddy has never liked s'mores. He has attempted them and handed them back to us, made faces and refused them. 

So, we've adapted and given him deconstructed s'mores minus the marshmallows, which were clearly the culprit because the kid devours chocolate, graham crackers and peanut butter. (Hey, peanut butter is a s'more staple in our household.)

It's not that he's entirely against marshmallows. He's eaten them on occasion plain, and he definitely loves rice crispy bars. I think it's a texture thing with melty marshmallow, so we've just adapted and it's worked just fine ...

... until the other weekend when he kept trying to make a s'more. Since Teddy doesn't talk, there's always a little bit of trying to understand if our interpretation is correct. At first I thought he wanted a deconstructed s'more, but he clearly wanted to cook a marshmallow. So we did that and made a s'more. 

And he shocked me by eating it. (He still kept holding out his hand to have me wipe off the extra marshmallow stuck to him, so I think there's still a texture thing he's not completely loving.) Then he proceeded to make a second s'more and eat it.

His first-ever s'more that he actually ate!

He repeated this the following weekend, so it's safe to say he now enjoys s'mores. 

We joked it was peer pressure because we had a friend along the first weekend devouring s'mores. It's neat, though, to see him enjoy something in a new way and be a full part of the campfire experience.

First Day of 4K

Tuesday was Teddy's first day in 4K. He's in the Intentional 4K class, which means he's with 5 other children with significant needs. His class is right across the hall from a traditional 4K class, so Teddy and his classmates will be integrated as appropriate into the traditional classroom. Teddy loved his meet and greet with his teacher and speech therapist, who happens to be Teddy's first male teacher/therapist. (His PT and OT haven't been assigned yet.) He was extremely eager to go explore his school on the first day of school, willingly taking his teacher's hand and walking off to see what fun he could find.

Hey, Mom, there's people over there!

It makes it easier for me that he's so excited for school. I told his morning bus driver and aide that they'd be hard pressed to find someone more excited to see them than Teddy will be every day because they drive the bus, which he loves. I think he's already won over both sets of bus drivers and aides ... and hasn't had the screaming episodes (yet) that happened last year.

This couldn't have happened  last year. He's made so much progress!

He's had a great first week, despite being tired each morning and exhausted most evenings. Hopefully he'll figure out to either take a nap in the morning, which he did one day, or to enjoy sleeping in since his bus doesn't come until 11:40.

Look how fun it is inside there!

The only downside to Teddy's first day of school, aside from the bus fiascos, was that I learned that evening that someone made fun of Teddy. Now, I recognize all children will be picked on ... but that's still not fun as a parent. As a child with special needs, I know it will happen more often to Teddy than other children. The extremely positive aspect is that one of Teddy's friends (and my goddaughter) goes to the same school, and she stood up for Teddy when the other child made fun of him. That's not an easy thing for a 4th grader to do, especially when it was another friend of hers doing the teasing. I'm extremely proud of her, and I also love that she gave Teddy a hug on his first day of school.

Now, once our new sitter starts Monday, my anxiety levels should go back to normal ... as if I'm normal. 

Bellin Buddies

If you're familiar with our family, then you know about myTEAM Triumph (MTT) and I Run 4 (IR4). Both are non-profit organizations that aim to build relationships and foster inclusion through partnering athletes with people with disabilities. MTT focuses on in-person relationships within local communities, and IR4 takes advantage of technology to build an online community. Both have had a tremendous impact on our family, and this past weekend combined the two together for  the first time.

Teddy's running buddy Heather, from IR4, made the (extra) long drive (thanks to horrible traffic) from Michigan to our house in Wisconsin. She and her husband Steve had volunteered to be Teddy's angels through MTT for the Bellin Run this past weekend. That meant they both fundraised a minimum of $100 (to cover entry costs for themselves and ensure captains like Teddy can race for free). They took time off work. Then, after spending most of Friday driving here, they got back in a car at 5:30 a.m. to head up for the race.

Captain Frumpy Face Teddy

Teddy was a bit sleepy, which actually worked out well because he wasn't trying to escape from his race chair during the pre-race preparations. (He was in his chair longer than usual because there were a record 41 MTT teams, which required a bit extra coordination.) He perked up about a third of the way through the race and realized he could play with the balloons we had attached to his chair. (I'd definitely do that again because it let the runners passing us from behind know Teddy's name to cheer for him.) Teddy got stopped by Davon House, one of the Green Bay Packers, for a photo opp (that unfortunately didn't turn out but was still pretty darn cool). He loved every sprinkler we went through, which was quite a few. Teddy shared a freezie pop with Heather. (It was so hot that several people along the route were handing out freezie pops out of their Midwestern hospitality and generosity. We passed up the free margaritas, though, because we thought we perhaps shouldn't tarnish Teddy's and MTT's image.)

Teddy flying with his MTT (and IR4) Angels

Each race with MTT has been incredible in its own way. This race literally flew by, even though it's the first time Teddy's done a 10k instead of a 5k. I've done the Bellin more than 5 times, and this was by far the most fun I've ever had doing the Bellin. I think my PR (personal record) from last year will stand for quite some time because I don't see myself running the Bellin again without Teddy and MTT. Not only did Dave and AJ join us, but we also had both sets of grandparents cheering on Team Teddy. (And his speech therapist found us before the race, which is remarkable considering that we were among 13,000 people there!)

The rest of the weekend spent with our family and Heather and Steve was equally awesome. After Teddy took a much-needed nap, we  headed to the waterpark in town. He led Grandpa through all the sprinklers in the kiddie area while the rest of us watched in amusement. AJ loved the lazy river, and so did Teddy, especially all the sprinklers. We went down the waterslides a few times, which is Teddy's favorite part.

This is one of my favorite photos of the weekend!

It was incredible to meet Heather, who's basically a celebrity among our family because of how supportive she is of Teddy. Now Teddy knows there's a person behind the photos I show him when Heather shares pictures with us. Teddy adored her and was a bit infatuated with Steve (probably because he convinced Steve to give him a piggyback ride). This weekend reaffirmed our desire to get to Michigan to meet my running buddy Luke and AJ's running buddy Miss Bridget. We'll see ... we already started plotting doing the Detroit marathon in 2018 as a relay team of running buddies!

So Proud

I'm not sure I could be more proud of both my boys than I was today.

AJ and Teddy were playing nicely together when all of the sudden AJ runs out of the room without an explanation. He comes back with a Kleenex and proceeds to maneuver around Teddy for 30 seconds trying to get all the snot out of Teddy's nose and then throws the Kleenex away. Seriously, how many 5-year-olds wipe their own noses, much less the noses of their little brothers? Especially without any prompting? (Don't worry. There were plenty of moments they weren't playing nicely together, too. I won't pretend that they always do.)

And that snotty-nosed Mister Teddy? Today he walked all the way to the end of our road and back, holding only one of my hands for support (and for me to keep him from exploring every open garage door). That's nearly 1/4 mile, and he didn't fall once. Although Teddy's been walking independently for more than 6 months, this is a significant milestone for me because this was a goal we had established for Teddy during the Birth to Three program. I was so excited that I e-mailed his team from that program, even though they no longer support him.

To top off that amazing walk, Teddy helped Dave open his birthday presents. For the first time I can recall, Teddy opened not one, but two gifts, by himself with absolutely no assistance. In the past, he's opened presents with some prompting and help getting things started and redirecting him when he loses focus. Tonight he deliberately opened two gifts.

So proud. Not much more to say than that.

First First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for both my boys: 4k for AJ and early childhood for Teddy. Someone asked me if it felt like the years flew by that AJ was already heading to school. I joked I'd been waiting for this day for 5 years (even though AJ isn't even 5 yet) since it was really difficult for me to leave work when he was born. And then I said the emotions about AJ going to school were really overshadowed by Teddy because Teddy alters our perspective on everything.

If we didn't have Teddy, I'm sure AJ's first day of school would have been more emotional for us. Instead, nearly all our nerves were wrapped into worrying about Teddy. We're excited for AJ, but it's easy because he's thrilled to go to school and has had so much fun the past two days. He comes home ready to show off anything he has, even a piece of paper in his folder that I need to complete, and rattles off everything he can remember about his day (which still doesn't include the names of anyone from his classroom, even his teacher).

It's harder with Teddy because at best I'll get a note or a quick statement of how his day went. He can't tell me anything about what he did, if he got hurt (like AJ who had someone step on his foot today) and who his friends are.

All smiles before school!

But, I know in my heart that he will love school. He will learn amazing new things. He will win over his teachers and therapy team with his smile, charm and personality. He will make new friends and learn to play with them in at least a somewhat socially acceptable manner. His smile as I picked him up yesterday told me that he had fun. (It did help to hear from his teacher, though, that he had a good day.)

I love how much these two love each other!

And another positive note: given their track record in day care settings, I'm quite proud to report that neither one has been kicked out of school yet. (I'm serious ... they've both been booted from day care ... and almost got booted together for a second time before we pulled them.)