Doing chores together!

This morning Andrew helped me fold a load of clothes.  I laughed as he folded towels and T-shirts.  One of Andrew's teachers had told me he could do it and I just had to see for myself.  Later I held Andrew's hand and together we chopped the tomatoes for tonight's chilli.  I got out the tomato juice and the chilli beans and asked my elder daughter Anna to come take a picture of Andrew and I opening the cans however, I must have spoken too loudly near Andrew and he pinched my arm.  (Insert sigh here... )  

At lunch I had Andrew help make his burrito and he loved it!  If only we could have skipped the pinch that left the bruise on my arm. 


Sleepy

I woke up this morning at 3:27. Andrew was awake and making noises in his room. We went downstairs where I put in a video for Andrew and mindlessly played a Nintendo 3-DS game.

At six I went upstairs to get ready for the day and my kiddo ate half a pepper, half a cucumber, several handfuls of spaghetti and three pieces of baloney. (This was all in about seven minutes.)

Later, about eight, My middle kiddo came down stairs and switched Andrew's music video to Toy Story 2. Aparently Andrew was sure this was the worst thing ever. The fit that insued was rather epic.

I talked to the doctor and she is raising one of Andrew's meds. The recent downward turn in his behavior is frustrating as Andrew was doing so well for a while.

The saddest part is that when Andrew is "good" he is honestly a real sweetie. Last night our family went to a local metro park and we had a delightful time. Here's hoping we can even out the mood swings.

Ouch!

My arm hurts. About a half hour ago my son bit me. I guess the joke's on me as I told the behavioral heath specialist at yesterday's meeting that Andrew didn't bite other people when he was upset.

It all started after we put the paint away and Andrew and I were looking at his communication book pictures to choose his next activity. Andrew was choosing the " walk the dog" token as well as the, "bus" picture. Not only do these two activities not mix, but we already rode the bus yesterday and bus adventures are expensive, so we usually only ride the bus once a week.

I was trying to put the dog walk token on Andrew's schedule when he became agitated And started to bite his hand. I retreated across the kitchen and told Andrew it was ok and not to bite himself. In response Andrew ran across the room to grab and headbut me. I put up my arm to deflect the blow and Andrew growled but retreated. I stayed across the room because to exit would have required walking past him and perhaps having him follow me to the living room where Andrew's sisters were sitting.

After Andrew stopped growling, I walked to the other room and got paper and crayons. I have been writing things for him to trace as I sit here recounting the event. Andrew doesn't seem to even remember he was mad.

I am at a loss...

Apparently if I block an attack bitting is now a possibility...

The bruise on my arm hurts... sigh

Will he even notice if he doesn't get to go out today? Would he even make the connection? I think I'm going to email one of his teachers and see what they say. (Andrew's speech teacher works all summer and is very helpful.)

Choose your own adventure

Today Andrew and I hopped on the bus for a ride downtown. Or perhaps I should say I hopped on the bus to go downtown, Andrew had other ideas.
Our ride downtown was unadventful and soon we approched our normal stop and I motioned to Andrew that it was time to get off. To my surprise, Andrew shook his head, "no".
I pointed to the Tim Hortons as we passed, thinking he didn't realize where we were but still Andrew did not want to get off the bus. I chuckled and told Andrew, "o.k.". The trip was solely for his amusement so I figured I'd see where he wanted to get off.
We rode the bus out of downtown and through several neighborhoods, finally emerging in a more commercial area. Seeing a Wendy's off in the distance, I quickly got a picture card with the Wendy's symbol out and convinced Andrew to disembark.

Much later we returned home. I swear Andrew looked rather pleased with himself.

NO!



Here is my son's response to being told it was time to stop playing in the creek.  (About an hour later he decided it was time to leave.  No amount of pleading could get him out.  This was in early June, our compliance is sometimes a bit better now.  However, all bets are off when the request involves leaving the water.  Andrew loves water, in any form he can get it.)



Drywall

This morning, while Andrew was at school, I fixed his drywall. This has been an ongoing struggle since Andrew was just a few years old. I have fixed so many holes, albeit poorly, that I wish I had stock in a spackling company. Lately Andrew hasn't been banging at night very often. I can not express how happy I would be if this time the walls could actually stay intact.

Friday

I find myself frustrated by my inabilty to easily upload photos. My computer is "dead" and if I want to blog at the moment I must use my family's Wii. As my eldest would say, This is a, "First World", problem. I yearn to post pictures of my guy at play. He is silly and endearing when he is happy.
These past weeks with my son have been interesting. We have painted, walked, cooked, cleaned and even played in the yard together. Most days my son has been pretty happy and has had angry out bursts only two or three times instead of daily.
I am hopeful that we are headed in the right direction. I dream of a day when I can have our drywall patched and it will stay "hole free". Maybe... just maybe... some day.