Clinginess was paramount today, especially when I tried to take the chilluns outside for a bit. The weather was just beautiful and Denis came home early to meet a furnace contractor. Nikko was clawing at the door wanting to go out, so I made an effort to try to take everyone outside. I put Audrey in the Bjorn, changed the boys' shorts to jeans (because I knew they would fall, especially Ronin) and ventured to the backyard. I opened the garage and hauled out the baby gate but didn't rig it up to Atz's poles. There were no escape behaviors. I worked on the triple stroller, trying to take out the front passenger tray because Nikko would want to climb into the front seat without a hindrance. I also wanted to give the stroller a test run before possibly using it at the Botanic Gardens on Sunday, weather permitting. When I managed to get it set up, Nikko suddenly found an interest in the covered sand box. I wouldn't let him go in it because we need to change out the sand. He started a tantrum but I just put Audrey and Ronin into the stroller and started driving it around. I decided to take everyone for a walk and tried to segue Nikko into his seat but he staunchly refused. I moved the baby gate and proceeded forward; Nikko followed us in protest but decided to let me put him in. We walked for two blocks, and my suspicions that the boys wouldn't want to sit in a stroller for very long were almost confirmed. I heard Nikko protest that we weren't going to the school to play. I ignored it and went in the opposite direction. It wasn't hard to push the stroller; it's just long. It certainly glides well. Audrey even fell asleep during the ride. I was glad that my back didn't hurt when I walked, but I wish I could say the same thing in regards to when I run. We came back and I gave Audrey to Denis. The boys came back to the garage to "help" me clean up, then I ushered everyone inside for a snack.
During breakfast I tried to break out the pictures for our first foray into picture therapy. Um, it didn't quite work. Nikko wouldn't point between two pictures for what he wanted. Instead he pushed the pictures aside and led me to the fridge where I stood trying to guess what he wanted while he ran back to his chair signing More Please. He wanted crackers. I already knew that. I took the picture of the box of crackers, put it next to a box of Cocoa Krispies, and asked him to pick one/choose/which one does Nikko want? I got the box of crackers and put the identical picture up to it so he could see it was the same thing, but he ignored it. That's when I realized that Nikko doesn't understand that the picture is a representation of the real thing. He didn't get it when, months ago, we tried to use the drawn PECS pictures, and now when he sees the real picture he's not getting it yet either. Perhaps the picture is not as concrete as the real thing. It's not. But he doesn't understand that the picture is a symbol. He also doesn't understand that if he picks the picture of the crackers, he'll get the real thing. If it's not the real thing, it's not the REAL thing. Hmmmmm.... how to remedy this?
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