Chasey-Plug

We had dinner at Chik-fil-a tonight, which is super fun now because Chase is finally independent enough to play on the indoor playground by himself.  We can sit at our table and he and Ian go into the play area and have at it while Bryan and I enjoy adult conversation.

Well, kind of adult.  A lot of our conversations revolve around what the kids have done that day, how many poopy diapers Chase has had, and if Gavin has projectile vomited on anyone lately. 

But that has nothing to do with my story.  

Anyhoo.  The play structure has one giant step/ladder thingy going up to some tubey-crawl thing on top and a big yellow spiral slide going down.   Chase is just too short still to make it up the steps (they are big and platform-like), so he discovered on his own that he can climb all the way UP the slide to the top.  It is totally cute.  The only problem is, he jams up traffic going down the slide.  

So, at one point, we notice that we can't see any kids anywhere.  Chase and Ian are gone, as are the 6 or 7 other kids out there.  Then we realize that they are all trying to go down the slide, only there is a Chasey-plug at the end of it.  

I am almost out of my seat, ready to go save him from some kid who will probably just muscle him out the end of the slide onto his head, when I hear a voice from another table who has a direct view of the end of the slide.

"Look!   They are all giving him hugs!!!"

Yes, all the kids were trying to get out of the slide, but one at a time as they passed Chase on the way out, they were hugging him.  Not pushing or shoving.  They were all taking care of him.

Admittedly, I have fears of kids ridiculing him, mocking him, even hurting him, when I am not there to protect him someday.  But maybe the rest of the world will be a little bit like the big slide at Chik-fil-a.  

*sigh*

Chase and Lindsay

I've been trying to post these photos, but my blog has some problem with them.  They are photos of Chase and his BFF Lindsay, who we've known since they were both teeny.  Our families got in contact through our Down syndrome association, way back when.

Anyway.  Check them out here, over at April's blog.

Bathtime to the Third Power

We put all the boys in the tub tonight.  Here are pictures of the ruckus:

After bath faux-hawk :)

Yipes. Because I need one more thing to worry about.

Chase is literally all over the place, constantly.  But he showed me a new trick today to add to all the fun.

As I was cooking dinner just now, he was playing at my feet, emptying the tupperware cabinet, banging the muffin pans together, etc.  Then he stands up, grabs the knob on the front of the stove, and ignites the burner.  It's not child proofed, but you do have to push the knob in and turn it all the way to the left to spark it.  And he did it.  I think it was on accident, but who is to say that he won't accidentally do it again?!  Oy.  

I wonder if there is a box to mark on his developmental evaluations for this.  

Does your child attempt to cook dinner or burn the house down?  

On a scale from 1-5, how well does your child put himself and others in danger in the kitchen?

A Day in the Life....

Ian loves telling Gavin about all the stuff he knows about.

A full breakfast table, every morning.

One of my favorite Gavin photos now.

Spacey Chasey!!

Almost a smile :)

Baby Boot Camp

I happened to catch this moment:

If you look closely in the background, you can see a Rollaround ball flying through the air towards an unsuspecting Gavin, courtesy of one of the monkeys playing behind him.  Luckily, neither Will nor Chase have any type of aim yet, so it didn't actually hit the baby...but I'm sure something will in time. 

Gavin is going to be one tough little kid.

Plate Throwing

I need some advice here.  

One of Chase's favorite things to do is to throw his plate off the table when he is done eating.  And not just drop an empty plate on the floor, either.  Most meals, he takes 2 or 3 bites and then turns the plate upside down, shakes it to make sure every last piece of food is out, and then tosses it.  He's broken one plate and I've cleaned up more meals than I can count off the floor.  

He does have good days.  It's not all the time, but it is definitely enough to drive me almost all the way to the looney bin.  And it has made me very cautious about what I put in front of  him.  Big chunks of sandwich?  Ok.  Rice?  Nope.  Red jello?  How about yellow instead?  Yogurt?  Um...no.

And he knows exactly what he is doing.  He waits for the moment that I look away.   I usually sit with one hand on his plate while I eat with the other hand.  The other night, he waited until I took my hand off his plate in order to cut Ian's potato-- and then he struck.  Like lightning.  He is incredibly fast.  And sometimes, he has the audacity to take my hand off of his plate, then get upset with me when I won't.

I've tried those bowls with the suction bottoms.  They work for a little while, but then he pulls so hard that eventually they give, and then we have added mess because the food is propelled UP as well as off the plate.  I've given him a few pieces of food at a time, sans plate, and if he is not interested, the pieces are swept to the floor.  We work on positive reinforcement.  Even Ian cheers like we're winning the House Cup when "Chasey is eating soooo good!".  And always, when anything is thrown, I get him out of his chair and make him clean it- and he does.  Happily.  La la la.  Like it is a fun thing to do.  Oh- and we've been exercising the parental right to end dinner time for him if he throws anything.  Doesn't phase him.  He's not a big fan of eating to begin with.

He is driving me freaking bananas.

So what do I do?  On one hand, I feel that it is important for him to have a plate in front of him and to teach him to eat off of it.  On the other hand, life is a hella lot easier when I don't have to prepare 3 meals and 2 snacks every day and then clean them up off the floor immediately after serving them.

Halp.