Keeping the kids occupied during the summer is probably first on the list for most parents. As I've said before this summer has been very busy with lots of family in town. But really, priority number one is what the kids will be doing...or not doing...or doing with a babysitter so we can get out.
We have a fair amount of parks in our city. We found a new one next to CC's school and it's their current favorite {plus we get to roam around the campus, which is a plus; we take advantage of every chance to promote feeling comfortable at school}. Little Miss Lilly Belle is becoming the new ham sandwich around here, so good smiling for mama.
And also maybe cracking me up most of the time.
Do you see her shirt? Have you seen The Lego Movie?! It's awesome. In fact, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME. But really, it's super funny. And silly. And the kids are now obsessed with Legos {yay for fine motor development}.
When Uncle Joshua and Uncle Matthew were still here, we went to Boomers for some mini-golf. Caleb's got the hang of it. Lilly just waits her turn to toss the ball in the hole.
Target trips are always an adventure. Nothing like bringing AUTISMAWARENESS to isle 11. He wasn't kicking or screaming, just lounging. I took the picture and made him get up.
We had a really fun time at the Irvine Spectrum. Lilly was slightly overwhelmed by the loud music in Dave & Buster's {she isn't usually...oh ya and she's suddenly afraid of the dark at bedtime...sigh}.
This was a pretty huge moment. From my FB post...
One of Caleb's earliest signs of Autism was his sensitivities to sounds. I was unable to do blow my nose, raise my voice to call to TJ in the other room, use my hair dryer, the garbage disposal, the microwave, or even change my tone of voice to talk on the phone. Vacuuming was another thing I couldn't do. He's been getting more and more used to it now {he can handle all of those things I just listed}. But today, he actually helped me vacuum...while it was on. And he was so proud of himself and all of the chip crumbs he picked up. What a bug.
A certain Uncle Yuke turned EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. How is this possible?! Isn't he still a five year old little blondie, playing couch wrestling with TJ and naming the dinosaurs while wearing his hooded grey robe after the tub? ...too much...? Sorry Luke ; )
Oh and if you haven't had Mary's sugar cookies, you HAVEN'T LIVED.
Homemade angelfoodcake and a little help from Bug.
I just can't get enough of TJ-tossing-Lilly-photos. If you're on Instagram, just search #TJANDLC. Sometimes I look through them just to smile.
All summer long Caleb had wanted to make latkes with Uncle Matthew. Why latkes, and what are they? I'm glad you asked! The Learn With Homer app has Caleb learning about a lot of different things. His favorites are rhyming stories, folk songs, and holiday songs {but they also have more academic content like reading and spelling}. In the holiday section they sing a song about making latkes during Hanukkah. According to my internet research, latkes are potato pancakes, similar to hashbrowns, typically consisting of shredded potatoes, flour, egg, and onion or garlic {sort of like hashbrowns} topped with sour cream or apple sauce. There are a few other cultures that make their versions of potato pancakes, and I guess since I didn't make these with Matzo meal, they weren't exactly Kosher, so maybe I should stick to calling them potato pancakes...? Sorry. I'm clearly not the authority on the Jewish culture!
Caleb had been begging me to make them, and so we did last spring. Ever since, he wanted to share the experience with Uncle Matthew. So he did. And kicked me outta the kitchen.
And just like that, our Uncle Matthew was back to Virginia and starting the 9th grade.
I can't really explain why Caleb gets so excited about Uncle Matthew. I think it has to do with him being the youngest family member, closest to Caleb. He's also incredibly sweet, kind hearted, and patient. He looks forward to seeing him every summer, and he stays with his grandma for over a month.
This summer Caleb had an exceptionally rough time saying goodbye to him each time he left our house. When we said goodbye for the summer he was calm and had no trouble at all, but then a day later his emotions got the best of him and we've been trying to wrangle them ever since. He gets upset when he recalls not having told Uncle Matthew a story, or a part of his day last year. Caleb's very fascinated with dates now {they're also a source of comfort to him}, and he's still upset that he "didn't give Uncle Matthew a hug or a high five on August 3rd." <---word.for.word, every time he's upset. We're working on having him be flexible and not knowing exactly when he'll see him next {or exactly when he'll get his next root beer or sticky hand toy for that matter}. We help him out by letting him send text messages and letters in the mail. It seems to be helping.
We might never know what exactly is in his mind, but we know his ridiculous obsession for his uncle is out of unconditional love and we were so blessed to see him again this summer.
He is so sweet.
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