Courage

On the advise of our OT, we decided to sign Rocket Boy up for hockey. She said it was perfect for a Seeker who likes to fall and jump and be rough.

Our hockey boosters does a "free" session for four year olds, and all you pay is the equipment rental fee of $15. For an organized sport, that is a steal! So we signed up, tried on skates and pads, and showed up for the first practice.

Did I mention Rocket Boy has never skated? Yeah.

We were told at sign-up that it was totally normal for the kids in this session to not know how to skate yet and that they would get the "walkers" and learn to skate as a group.

Well lets just say that wasn't the case. It was totally unorganized, and most of the kids were older than four and already knew how to skate and move a puck around. We were a bit surprised, but made the best of it.

Making the best of it was basically Lumberjack and I taking turns trying to teach Rocket to skate. And um, it didn't go well. The few times he did get on his feet, he was so excited he would madly giggle and fall over.

Forgot to mention I was on the ice with a 25lb baby strapped to my back. In slip-on shoes. And very unprotected from flailing skates. Ouch! I would say, "look, see this picture!" but I'm sure you can guess that I didn't have much time for photo ops.

After the first ten minutes, Rocket was in tears. I was trying to be very positive and offered that we take a break (since he wasn't really in the class at this point - any non-skaters were left behind, much to the confusion of myself and other parents who were told the same as we were).

He was not interested in taking a break - he kept at it. Again and again he fell. Again and again he got up. He had total joy when he managed to stand up for even a second. He said again and again "I'm brave, I'll keep trying". Even though this is a rote phrase for him that we hear often, randomly, this time he really had passion behind his words. He refused to give up.

That courage - to get up again and again - it inspires me. That joy - to celebrate standing for even a moment - it makes my heart glow. And I realize in moments like this that basically every day is a test of courage for my Sensory Kid. Every outing to a loud place, every interaction with other children - all of that takes courage for Rocket.

Other people might not notice. In fact, some people may judge us, our parenting, or our kids. But parents of Sensory Kids can see this miracle of character each and every day. We know how brave our kids are, and I know it inspires me every day.

An InLinkz Link-up

Baymax Amigurumi - DONE!

I couldn't wait to share - this is my first ami figure ever, and I am so pleased! Rocket Boy is just in love with Baymax and I can hardly wait to give this to him on Valentine's Day. 

 

I replaced his normal little chest emblem do-dad with a heart - for Valentine's of course. I also think, in my head, that is how his nursing mode should look anyway! 

He is a little guy, as you can tell from the picture with my hand in it, but I think that will make him perfect for cuddles. I already have a friend requesting one for his son as well, so I'm glad these work up fast! I shared the link to the (free!) pattern in my last post. Happy "hooking"!

Valentine's Gift Underway!

Rocket Boy has only seen Big Hero 6 one time, but he is pretty obsessed with Baymax. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of four year old friendly merch out there yet (ever?! Maybe when it comes out on bluray there will be more). 

He has a hard, armored Baymax to play with, but he wants a plush as well. I'm not willing to shell out $25 for one, so I decided to make one!

I crochet, and many people have probably seen amigurumi before - crochet figures. I found a free pattern for Baymax. It's about half done! 

I don't have safety eyes so I found some buttons. They weren't black (how do I not have any black buttons or beads?). So I painted them black with nail polish and made his adorable face. 

I can't wait to finish him up, and then I can start on a present for Rocket Baby. I'm excited to be making something handmade for their valentines presents. And this week I need to start on the valentines for Rockets class too! Crafty fun to come in another post, I'm sure. 

New Year, New Sensory Equipment (Pt. 3)

We have a lot of new fun things here in the house for Rocket Boy! Most are from Christmas, but some are just being added (or gifted) to grow our repertoire and create an environment that Rocket Boy thrives in.

The first major piece to be added was a crash pad. Now, there are high priced (and large) crash pads out there, some are like gym equipment, some are made for therapy. But bottom line is that our space and our budget don't allow for those options. So I had to wrack my brain a bit for an alternative. 

What we ended up with was a sleeping bag (found at the thrift store for $3 - and I couldn't resist the retro MLP print) and an assortment of blankets and pillows to stuff it with. Most of the stuffing is just extra things from the linin closet that don't get pulled out much. 

Now, it's not perfect, but it does the job for now. Ideally, I will get some upholstery foam scraps to stuff it with and sew it closed and make a dedicated cover for it. But for now we "fluff" the stuff inside every couple days and cover with a spare blanket to give it a washable cover. 

Rocket Boy loves this thing. I could not begin to guess how often this is jumped on. He jumps from the couch to the pad, from the floor to the pad, from the pad to the couch...jump jump jump. But I'm not complaining - it saves my couch from some abuse. He has a dedicated spot to jump into instead of jumping on the couch, all over, all day (which is what he did previously). 

I never thought I would be encouraging him to jump on things, but you change your idea of "good parenting ideas" when you have a sensory kid! 

While it will be nice to upgrade to upholstery foam in the future, this was a quick and almost free solution I'm pretty proud of. What sort of diy contraptions have you made for your kiddos? 

New Year, New Equipment (Pt. 2)

I'm going over some of our new sensory equipment and toys that are making our lives a bit easier. Everything has been a hit, but we have a current favorite:

The trampoline. 

Never in my life did I imagine letting my kids have a trampoline in the house. Honestly I hate trampolines. That might have to do with seeing multiple accidents from them as a kid (teeth knocked out, broken arms, pinched skin the springs - not pretty). Even as a kid I was cautious of them. 

Now I have one in my living room. 

We were gifted this unexpectedly from my sister in law, who had it sitting in her garage, unopened, for a long time. We mentioned that we missed the Black Friday sale on this item and she offered it gladly to us. 

It was an immediate hit with both the boys, but especially Rocket Boy. For a sensory seeking kiddo, this is heaven. Movement, joint compression, hard work - all rolled into one compact bouncy gizmo. 

I really like this model, though I do wish it folded up for storage. But luckily after we moved the tree out of the living room this was able to be tucked into that corner perfectly. It would be nice to put a side table there instead, but oh well. Such is life with kids! 

Not only is this fun for Rocket Boy whenever he randomly decides to bounce, but it is also proving effective for redirecting energy and impulses. When he starts to get too rough with Rocket Baby, I can redirect quickly and say "I see you need to get some wiggles out - lets do 15 big jumps!" He gets to jump and get out the energy that was about to get him in trouble, he practices counting, and we are all happier and have no injuries. Win win! 

A lot of parents of sensory kids have a trampoline, so this may not be the most creative bit of equipement, but it sure is effective! 

New Year, New Sensory Equipment (Pt. 1)

I mentioned before Christmas that we were waiting on a Sensory Pod/Sock. It came in, and I have to say I am impressed with it! 

The quality of this sensory pod seems very sturdy and nicely made. The seams are holding up perfectly, and Rocket Boy plays hard in this thing. The color was also just as bright and vivid as showed online, which is always a nice surprise. 

The pod is easy to use - it's sewn envelope style and you just slip in the long end, and if you want you can slip the short side over your head. This gives the full experience of wrapping in blankets or being enclosed. 

For Rocket Boy, this is used as a replacement for his ritual of "blanket tornados" - basically destroying a bed in about a nanosecond, wrapping in the blankets, and going nuts. He has even ripped holes in sheets doing this! 

So this for him is an active therapy item. He jumps and rolls and stretches the material as far as he can (hello joint compression!). He can see through the Lycra type material pretty well, even though it is pretty thick. 

For other kiddos (and maybe for Rocket one day too) this could be a very calming item. It envelopes you, and while it doesn't shut out light or noise, it does give a quick safe space. It folds small, so it would be good for traveling, a portable safe space if you will. 

We only use this a few times a day, for five or ten minutes at a time since it is so stimulating for Rocket Boy. As he gets more able to regulate he will be able to use it more on an on-request basis.

Mini Sensory Experiences - Mess Free!

Lately I have been adding a sensory experience to an unexpected place - the fridge door. 

I wanted to make "squish bags" (or some people call them discovery bags) for the kids to explore, but Rocket Baby has some amazing chompers and I knew I would end up with busted bags. Since you usually put non-edibles in these, that wouldn't be good! 

I made some around Christmas that I didn't get shots of, but I have added some new ones since then. My first bags were slime, water/oil, and paint. The paint bag was taped to the window, and when you run your finger on it you can "write" in the paint. That was a pinterest idea, not mine! The slime bag was just a way to get a little more life out of the slime we made previously - I just stuck it in a bag, and taped it to the fridge door. 

The oil/water bag was the favorite that week - vegetable oil, colored water, and I added some glitter and foam beads too. I taped it to the fridge VERY WELL and covered it in a layer of tape. I did mention Rocket Baby had major biting issues right? It needed protection.

The slime bag and water bag had very different sensory experiences - the slime was hard to push around and was opaque and made no noise. The water/oil bag was super squishy, easy to push, clear, and made noise when you whacked it. You could see the boys comparing them as they walked up several times a day to push and poke. 

This past week I made a new bag in honor of the New Year. Stars and glitter and gems - and I put hair gel in it this time. Squishy but still not water like. And a steal at the dollar store. I stuck the foam star stickers to the inside of the bag before adding the gel and other things - this way the stars stayed still and the rest of the contents moved. I thought that would add something new. The boys loved this one too!

I am working on a new series of posts...all written out right now, but I am having the hardest time getting photos! Have you tried to get your sensory seeker to hold still during their favorite sensory activities for a picture? Yeah, it's working out real well.