Sunday school and pool

Denis decided this morning that he wanted for us to try to make it to Sabbath school in Hinsdale. After the kids were dressed I was scrambling trying to find something to wear. They came into our room and I told the boys they looked so cute in their khakis and collared shirts. I looked at Nikko, who stood in the doorway, and he was neither happy nor sad, just standing there. He looked like a cute, big boy, but for some reason I felt enormous sadness because he was not talking or saying any words. I am still reading that Overcoming Autism book and am on the chapter about speech. It's telling me to get him to talk by encouraging him with something that he is really motivated about, either a toy or food. This is probably where FS could come into play. I'll write more about this tomorrow, but I am coming to the conclusion that Nikko is not going to just start talking on his own, as we sit here waiting for him to start talking. I am going to seriously have to work with him harder so that he will learn how to talk. I do this with Ronin, and he catches on because he's NT (neurotypical aka normal toddler). Nikko is going to take more work, that's all.

The craft portion of Sabbath school didn't start right away. I guess church was running late. The boys wandered in a big rec room, peeking their heads into the craft room. When the people running the activities finally came in and kids congregated, we sat down at a table and started working with crayons and butterfly printouts. Someone had made Nikko a paper airplane to entertain himself, but he also found a popsicle stick with pipe cleaners wrapped around it very interesting. Nikko enjoyed the open space and did some running around, but it was getting crowded as the service ended so we had to go. My MIL wants us to stay for the potluck, but we didn't today. A lady asked me why we don't stay and I honestly told her that it was too hard to take care of my three kids, it would be easier if we go. And it is hard, even though you might think with people there who know us it would be easier. Nikko runs around a lot, doesn't sit still, and would start bumping into people around the tables. Not everyone thinks it's cute when a little boy runs into your legs or bumps you accidentally from behind [into your behind]. Another problem area is that Ronin is allergic to dairy, egg and peanuts, and with the abundance of food at the potluck I would not be able to police every bit of food that comes in his path. Someone could give him a treat, he could pick something off another's plate, or the floor. Milk is like acid to him, so anything buttery would not be good for him. Finally, while Audrey is easy to feed with the bottle, she is harder to feed without a high chair. Needless to say we didn't stay. We had lunch at Portillo's where the boys were in high chairs, Audrey had her bottle, we did diaper changes, I ordered Ronin a plain baked potato, and Nikko had chocolate milk with his pasta.

We came home for a short while and then headed back out to meet the Creens at Meadows Park for a romp in the zero-depth pool. The boys had a fun time, and Audrey was even more mobile than before. She enjoyed crawling in the shallow water, but kept heading toward deeper pastures. She was harder to watch after than Ronin was! Nikko was very self-sufficient, gliding on his belly in the water like an alligator. He would come up to me at times and look me in the face, smile, and then go on his merry way. He still very much enjoys going to the pool and so we'll probably continue his swim classes with his dad in the fall.