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Leo and I had the worst day ever.
Leo and I had the best day ever!
Why does Leo always wake up so early? His sisters sleep until we shriek at them to get up, like self-respecting children should. I'm so irritated that he's sometimes wet in the mornings. He's never going to be fully self-sufficient.
Leo got up at 6:30, but that's certainly better than yesterday's 6:00, and then it was his dad's turn to attend to our early riser (snicker). And how amazing that Leo now spontaneously asks to go to the bathroom when he gets up, and is frequently dry. If you'd told me three years ago how well he'd be doing with his self-care at age eight, I wouldn't have believed you. He really will become a wonderfully self-sufficient young man if he maintains this steady progress.
None of his clothes are on correctly. His shirt is on backwards, and it's tucked into his underwear, and THOSE are poking out above his pants. And nothing matches. Good thing no one else can see him -- how embarrassing.
He dressed himself completely! All I have to do is say, "Leo, get dressed, please." He takes such pleasure in choosing his own clothes, can get everything out of all the different drawers (and shut them) by himself, and then puts everything on independently. I no longer even have to be in the same room. I remember the years he spent acquiring the motor skills and learning the individual steps required to put on pants, sock, and a shirt -- now he gets dressed so fluidly. He even understands what "Dude, your shirt is on backwards" means, and how to fix it. What a thrill to see him succeed! Once we help him fine-tune some garment positioning, he'll be set.
I can't believe he has a six-week break between summer and regular school, with no daytime support. This sucks. I'm going to be exhausted.
His schedule is usually so full that it's hard to shoehorn in the activities we really enjoy doing together, like hiking and going to the beach. We've got the time now, so let's pack in the fun while we can! I really need to be careful about getting enough sleep, though.
Big sister Izzy's friend Jodie wants to spend the day with us. I'm worried that Jodie will think Leo is weird, and gossip about him to the other kids at Izzy's school. That could really hurt Izzy, and Leo too.
Jodie wants to spend the day with us! I used to worry that Izzy's friends would be uncomfortable hanging out with Leo and his autism, but that's obviously not the case, most of the time anyhow. The more they hang out with Leo, the more they'll understand him and be comfortable around him, and hopefully stick up for him -- and Izzy, too.
Great. The beach is completely overcast, and it's freezing, and where are the paragliders? My friend said there would be paragliders.
I can't believe I've never been to Mussel Rock Beach before. It's so beautiful, and there's hardly anyone here! The kids are all loving running down the gravel paths, and looking at the birds and waves and seals, and Mussel Rock itself. No paragliders, though, hmmm. Perhaps I should have checked the wind report first. Oh well, next time -- today we'll have plenty to do hiking these easy trails, and exploring the beach.
Oh, crap. There's no path from the trails to the beach. Do we have to climb down all of those rocks? Those are really big rocks.
Excellent, we get to clamber down nice big rocks to get to the beach! Leo loves bouldering. He has such a great sense of his body, about where to put each footstep and place his hands, and this is exactly the kind of activity that reinforces those skills. Another opportunity for him to feel successful!
Oh, no, the sand is wet and clingy and Leo's going to get it all over himself!
This is really nice soft damp digging sand. Leo loves it, and doesn't even need tools. He really likes the way it feels -- what a great sensory experience.
