I survived the day. It wasn't too bad but there was a lot going on. Nikko was awake before 8 so I went to tend to him before the other kids. Breakfast went by ok. At 10:30ish Peter came for Ronin's speech session. We were in the living room so that Ronin could get used to Peter, and we ended up working in Nikko's corner so Ronin could stay focused. Peter could see that Ronin was able to repeat things and made sounds, so I'm sure he's happy to work with him. Peter suggested putting objects up to my mouth so that Ronin can see my mouth when I pronounce things. That was one part of our home program for Ronin. Other things he jotted down were to repeat words often, use emotion when saying words, use books/flashcards, songs/rhymes, continue with sign language (Footnote: Peter said that while he is an advocate for sign language, he wouldn't recommend we show Ronin more than 10 signs. He said that Ronin may start to just sign and not speak. I heard Peter say that, but I don't understand why that's the case when everywhere else is touting that using the spoken word along with the sign is an enforcer. I'll have to ask Peter about that one again.), get a hearing evaluation through Early Intervention, an use simple single words when communicating with Ronin. I also wonder, regarding the sign language, why it's ok for Nikko to learn it while it will be a detriment to Ronin. Peter did say that sign language is helpful in bridging the gap of communication, so maybe he means that while Ronin CAN speak but would choose not to if he could sign, Nikko CANNOT speak and therefore using signs can help him if the words are not coming out but he wants to communicate what he needs. Does that make sense to me??
There was a short window between speech and DT for Nikko, and Bo arrived early. Good thing I didn't start lunch yet. Good thing Audrey had a longer than usual nap. Nikko's session with Bo wasn't stellar. Ronin was in and out of our circle, and that can't be helped for the next three weeks. Nikko wasn't very cooperative with the puzzles, pegs, stacking cups or books. He was fighting me to get out of the circle again, and Bo put the ball/mallet toy in front of him to whack at it and get some frustration out. Sadly, I don't think Nikko got anything out of his session today. I told Bo I wondered what I could do with Nikko so that he would be better prepared for therapy. She told me she was often disappointed in her own performance, but that I shouldn't get obsessed about it. Nikko has some bad days and some good days. She also blamed it on the blah weather and told me I should note whether or not his mood changes are affected by the weather. Honestly, I have no idea. After she left I got lunch for all the kiddies and then attempted to get our bags in order so we could run out to OT. We were running a tad late, but then Nikko had a bathroom-worthy poop and I had to wash him up and change his outfit before leaving. Poor little guy was falling asleep when we almost reached the clinic and I had to wake him up when we got there. He didn't fall asleep again all day, but I think he needs some more sleep. I'll try to coax a nap from him tomorrow afternoon if possible. At OT, Nikko had a better session. Shelly had her obstacle course that he navigated along with Ronin. She took the swing platform out and Nikko also rode on it for a while. She was pushing him in different directions and was disappointed to hear my report that the swinging she did last week didn't have any calming effects on Nikko. It didn't cause him to crash less or to be calmer in the day or two afterward. We proceeded to use scented Play Doh, which Ronin seemed to like more that Nikko. Instead, Nikko seemed determined to take the red mini table we were using and stack it against other mini tables to walk on top of. We did that at an earlier session so he probably remembered how they were used. We didn't want him to do that. Convincing him to work on another activity was hard. He seemed to like painting with the foam soap on the mirror. So did Ronin. When it was time to go home and I sang the Socks and Shoes song, he was very good about getting into the stroller. As we were leaving, there was a lot of commotion with kids and people behind me in the main hallway. When I got to the Pilot, I realized that in the Expedition two spots away from me was the lady (and her brood) who sold me the triple stroller. I almost wanted to go say hi, but she seemed busy trying to get everyone into the car (six toddlers). Some guy was with her, too. I wondered what she was doing at Clearbrook and what services she might be getting, but it didn't matter really and I got us packed up and off to Costco. We got some provisions (Chicken nuggets, Veggie straws, the important stuff) and when I was in the checkout line, my good old friend Jennifer Ruhe (Jenni-fuh!) called me out and we got to chat for a few minutes. She invited me out, to get away for a bit, and I really hope I can swing it if it's not on a Friday we visit the in-laws. She was so awesome because she helped me unload the groceries into the Pilot and was super cool to the boys. Ronin didn't even cry at the sight of her. That's progress.
When we got home I let the boys play outside and took Audrey out of the car seat to burp her. I put her in the umbrella stroller to watch the boys. I had an idea, went inside and got out the sidewalk chalk. The boys scribbled for a little bit. Ronin liked it and got dirtier than Nikko. Nikko tried it but preferred to look on while holding an outdoor mop. I drew a car, airplane, Elmo, tree and a bird. It was fun, but the chalk goes fast. No worries, we have a lot of chalk! When it was time to clean everyone up I hauled the boys inside and had to take off all the chalky clothes, do some diaper changes, and then find a moment to relax before dinner. I gave Ronin some rice with adobo sauce and MAN he's a messy eater! Nikko has a habit of eating his mac cheese and wiping his fingers all over his shirt, and some of his pants. Lately he's also been sipping from his cup sideways so juice comes out of the corners of his mouth and spills on his shirt, too. I'm not loving the cleanup. Thank goodness the bath and bed routine was simple. The aftermath has taken me a while, but I've also been chatting on Facebook with both Fran and Lea so that kept me at the laptop longer. Cyndi the Social Services person called to say she wasn't coming by tomorrow and maybe we'll do a makeup session or meet next week because she's on vacation this weekend. Our day just freed up, but since I didn't straighten up the living room tonight I will try to make that my mission tomorrow. It looks like a disaster right now. I had no motivation to clean it.
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