Fuddrucker's

There was nothing on tap today until we had to leave to meet up with Atz and her family to celebrate Tristan's 15th birthday at Fuddrucker's. The restaurant setting is always a challenge with the three kids, and seeing how Nikko will be adds another layer of the unknown. He isn't scared off by crowds of people or high-decibel noises, but sometimes he brings an upsetting moment with him into a room or is relentless about one singular thing. He was almost always at my elbow when we walked around. For dinner I picked mac and cheese for him and he went to town on the bowl. He was very well-behaved during dinner. I had packed a toy bag and then left it behind on the kitchen counter, but luckily there were 25 cent gumball machines that had silly toys instead of candy so we took a few turns and got some play food and a little rubber monkey. The first food to come tumbling out of the machine was a mini sandwich. The second food was a box of french fries. The third was a hamburger, which Ronin quickly adopted. Nikko claimed the french fries and there was peace for now. After dinner, the kids got restless so we let them stretch their legs nearby. Nikko started doing some dashing back and forth from one end of our long table to the other. He would actually run a long way, curve around a table, and then pause... he could hear me call his name, the sharp "Ni-KKO!!" and then turn back to run toward me again. As long as he could see me from afar, he felt safe enough to venture just as far. It was the start of the bedtime routine when we got home so little else happened after that. Tomorrow we have no school and no therapies since Melisa will be switching her session to Fridays. I plan to buzz the boys' hair again since Nikko is working himself up into a sweat just by dancing and cajoling in front of the living room mirror.