Weekend pictures

We had a fun weekend with Mason.  It was low key.  Uncle Jason and cousin Bo came over Saturday. Sunday we enjoyed the fall weather at the park.  Here are some pictures:

Mason loves to go to his bedroom after we get home from daycare/work or when he is overwhelmed by something.  He just puts all his blankets on himself, has us read books, and just snuggle.  It's pretty awesome.

I don't even know if Mason knew he was playing with the cats.  He just enjoyed biting the string of the cat toy.

I just think this is the sweetest of Mason and Yoda.  We were actually in the other room and heard his "kitty voice" saying "hiiiii."  Glad we caught the picture in time.

 Mason was so excited to balance his light up toy.  Random.

 Yoda snuggling with Zach playing video games.

Trying Mason in his Halloween costume.  He didn't want to move in it though.  I had to cut out the feet of the costume since they annoyed him.  Hoping he will wear it happily this weekend...

So Mason is obsessed with cereal.  He loves the crunch.  He picked out Captain Crunch himself this week...and proceeded to hug the box and point at the captain on the box the rest of the time at Meijer. Funny boy.

 So he saw a balloon at Meijer then I made Zach get one for him because I love spoiling Mason.  The kittens loved it too.

 Mason loved his dominoes this weekend.  He kept putting them on his face and eyes.  Something about all those dominoes.

 Uncle Jason left his sunglasses at our house.  Mason had fun with them...sorry about the smudges Uncle Jason.

 Yoda!

 I know this is the most terrible quality picture ever, but I am just happy I (kind of) captured Mason giving Yoda a hug.

 Mason loved the time at the park in the swing.

 Mason's face is so cute and sweet in these next two pictures that I had to share.

 Mason and his love for sand.  There is a sand volleyball court at the park we go to.  He rolled around for a while there.  Put his face in the sand.  Then had a huge tantrum when we had to go.

 Today, I had a late meeting at work and didn't get home until 6:30pm.  Zach said he sat at the window saying "mama" over and over.

 When I got home, he grabbed my hand, pointed to the couch, and said "sii" for me to sit and snuggle him on the couch.  I was happy with how clear all of his communication was with me. He sat with me the rest of the night until he went to bed. He seriously is the cutest boy ever!

Kittens, appointments, and so much testing!

Every day when we come home, Mason does this...

He looks for the kittens.  It's cute even though the kittens are still scared of his loud movements and voice.  Yoda is the braver kitten.  She loves when I hold her and then Mason can pet her to his heart's content.  Using the kittens as a distraction was great the other day as he was going into an insane tantrum zone over wanting to go outside.  We couldn't go outside because it was too cold, and it was dinner time, which he, of course, didn't understand.  Usually Mickey is the only that can distract him from this zone, but bringing a kitten to him was able to distract him.  It makes me so happy to use less TV and have a much better distraction tool.

Mason only had two appointments this week as his speech therapist had to cancel the appointment. The first OT appointment was pretty usual.  He is getting much better at slowing down and noticing things and people around him.  He even tolerated wearing headphones for around 15 seconds to help him with therapeutic listening music.  He usually lasts 1 second at most with headphones on his head, so we were happy with that.

The second OT appointment was today.  It started rough.  He had just woken up and was cranky when I picked him up from daycare.  This resulted in the insane tantrum zone in the waiting room and in the therapy room for the first 15 minutes. He starts off just being cranky in the car, but as soon as he you shut him in a room and shut the door behind him, that's when the insane tantrums begin. He threw any object that came near him, even his usual comfort objects (bunny, kitty, blankie, pacifier).  He tried to hit the therapist and I.  He threw his body around.  He almost throws up from crying so hard.  He just points to the door and tries to leave. It's so so hard to watch him through these tantrums knowing that there is no way to help him or communicate with him. When he hits us, we just calmly, firmly say "No hitting mama.  That hurts mama." We also sign "no."  In the past month, he is actually starting to comprehending what it means to hurt mama.  Even saying that to him in the middle of his tantrum, he puts his face in his hands because he feels bad.  One time he even signed "no" to himself through it.  I feel so bad because when he gets in this zone, he can't get himself out of it.  I can read when he is calm enough that his comfort objects will help, and then when I put his pacifier in, he can calm down the rest of the way. It feels nice to be with a therapist who understands him when he is in the insane tantrum zone.  She is always so calm, and she says that she feels so bad that his body is so off, which makes it hard to regulate himself.  After he calms, he is pretty exhausted for a few minutes.  The OT is able to do a lot of "body work," which can help get his body feeling better and then he can regulate better.  I know this "body work" sounds weird, but his calm reactions to this shows me that it works.  After he recovered, he played in the lycra hammock, climbed up the slide, really engaged with the OT, and let her continue doing other body work.  After the really rough start, he definitely ended the appointment really well.

The past two weeks, Mason's special education preschool has been doing a lot of testing to measure where he is at developmentally and to help set goals for him.  Our speech therapist measured his receptive communication (how much communication he understands), expressive communication (how much communication he says/uses), and his social skills.  They also had a physical therapist watch his movements to see if he also needs physical therapy.  The two therapists went to Mason's daycare to observe and work with him.  It was hard for me to let go and not be there, but I knew it was best that I didn't interrupt his routine at daycare or else he would have wanted to leave with me. I also had to spend an hour on the phone with the speech therapist completing the "parent report survey" where I had to answer questions about my observations of Mason's abilities.  I am glad that all of this testing is done!! His IEP for preschool is next Tuesday where they will share their results with us.  My speech therapist did tell me that they will recommend physical therapy for him because of his problems with balance and feet while walking.  I am not surprised at all about this although it is adding another therapist to Mason's repertoire. I really am so thankful for so many great professionals working to help Mason develop and grow.

Thank you to anyone still reading the blog.  I know I write a lot of details about everything Mason is going through.  It may seem simple that you are just reading a blog, but it really means the world to me that you care enough about us and our Mason to understand everything that he is going through.

Typing is a little more difficult with the kittens but definitely much cuter.

He loooooves his bed, books, and blankies.

Mason's first kiss, weekend update, and of course kitten pictures

I'm so happy.  It's the little things.

Like I've said, we always ask/push Mason to do many normal social interactions for an almost 3 year old. One such interaction is to give momma or dadda a kiss.  His only response to this thus far has been occasionally he puts his forehead towards your mouth to give him a kiss.  Today after bath time, we were brushing his teeth, which strangely went really well.  I was talking to him, and he was really engaged with me and just happy.  I said "Momma loves you" like I have many times before.  He grabbed my face, which he has done many times, and he usually screams happy noises in my face or points to my teeth. This time he puts his lips together and gave me a kiss right on the lips!!  Without asking, just becuase he wanted to. I looked at Zach and wondered if I had only imagined it. Of course we tried to replicate this, but he didn't care.  It doesn't matter.  It is the first time Mason has ever given his momma a kiss!!

Mason has had a great last week since I updated about his behavior and appointments.  At his Thursday OT appointment last week, he didn't scream as we entered the building or tantrum in the waiting room too much. He walked himself into the appointment instead of having to be carried kicking and screaming.  I will give credit to the fact that we took his doggie plate into this appointment as well. (=  He did struggle with engaging with the OT at times when he just wanted to do his thing and ignore the fact that we were trying to play with him.  He also wanted to leave the room multiple times.  No matter how fun the room is, he can't handle being shut inside a room.  The OT was also able to do a lot of "body work," which is based on the Masgutova reflex integration method.  It was a great appointment because he was mostly emotionally regulated...that is always considered a win in my book!  Obviously, the kittens were a huge hit on Saturday!!  He just wants to have them by him all the time.  The kittens are getting more and more comfortable, which has been fun since they run around chasing each other and play, play, play.  The other big thing this weekend is that he did really well with transitions.  When he had to share the swing at grandma and grandpa's with his cousin Bo, he did not have one violent tantrum.  When I had him and Bo share the trains, he only put up a normal tantrum.  I can take normal tantrums any day.  Granted we stayed within his routine this weekend and didn't take him anywhere new, but it still feels good to have him be in an emotionally regulated place.

Not knowing what the "prognosis" is for Mason's future can be difficult to work through emotionally as a parent.  It's weeks like this past one, where he is generally emotionally regulated and able to learn/communicate much more, that I feel like he can overcome some of these sensory processing issues and overall delays.  Then there are the rough weeks where I feel like he is never going to comprehend certain concepts or be on track developmentally/socially.  I wonder, maybe he is autistic or maybe has something else going on.  It's like a roller coaster.  The unknown can be scary especially when you don't know when or if you will have an answer. I truly can't imagine what other people and parents go through who have much more difficult prognosis'.  My heart truly goes out to them. Just have to take it day by day...which is hard for a control freak like myself!! (=

Okay, now for some cute kitten pictures:

Kittens are home!!

It's amazing what can happen in one week. One week ago, we went to a fall "fun" place that turned out to be no fun for us with Mason.  It was just another bad outing with him where we lasted 10 minutes. It left me crying on the way home. These situations happen often.  It wasn't exceptionally bad at all, but it was another common frustrating social/public situation.  I felt emotionally exhausted and defeated because I felt lost on how to deal with Mason or just sad that he can't deal with many new situations that most toddlers enjoy.  Fast forward one week later, AND we have our kittens for our Mason.  I know these kittens aren't going to magically make everything better, but it's a positive thing for him.  It feels good to have positive things happen when it can feel overwhelming to have a lot of negative situations.  It's amazing to reflect on how much can happen in a week and how much support and love we felt this week. I'm so excited to watch the relationship grow between Mason and his kittens.

This morning we bought all the kitten supplies.  Then we met the wonderful breeder in Lansing (https://www.facebook.com/www.siberiankitten.webs).  I wish we could have talked with them more, but it was so cold!

Zach is very excited about getting all our supplies especially since Mason was awful in Petsmart, so we had to complete the errand quickly.

Kittens on the way home.  They just snuggled in the carrier and barely meowed.

My dad watched Mason while we picked up the cats, and he was napping when we got back.  That was really nice since the kittens were scared enough being in a new place.  We set the up in our laundry room and played with them for a while.  They were both very playful and felt comfortable in that room.  They did not want to leave the room though.

Here is Yoda:

Here is kitten #2 because we can't decide on a name yet. (=

Right after Mason woke up from his nap, we brought him into the laundry room.  He was still really tired but sat right by the kittens.  We let him say hi to them and check them out for a little bit then we gave the scared kittens a little break. Later, Mason turned off Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and came upstairs to see the kittens.  I know, I can't believe he turned Mickey off in the middle either!  He was much more energetic this time.  The kittens were definitely scared, but they let me pick them up to show them to Mason.  They would run into their kitty litter for safety, which we tried telling Mason to let them be.  He did pretty well with it. He does not comprehend that these kittens are actually his, so it'll be fun once the kittens are comfortable in the house and start playing with him.  It will definitely take some time for the kittens to adjust to their new home.

Next is a link to the video clips of Mason and the kittens. It is a bunch of clips mashed together (don't mind the loud fan in the background for the first 10 seconds, that goes away).  Thank you all for making this possible for us!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=xoMhzJB4I-4&app=desktop

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Exciting therapy cat update

Words can not describe how the last few days have felt for us.  Many days are filled with a lot of stress, but the last few days have felt amazing with all the support and love.  I can't tell you how much it has been needed!

It's unbelievable to me how quickly the gofundme goal was reached and even has been exceeded!  The money will all go towards the kittens and their expenses for Mason.

Now for the exciting news.  I found an amazing Siberian Cat breeder that I contacted last night.  They have kittens available for pick up, so we Skyped to meet the kittens.  As we talked, we discovered that their daughter also has SPD and having the cats has been very therapeutic for her.  They were so generous to offer us a special deal because of our special boy.  We will be getting 2 kittens for Mason on SATURDAY!  It's just another amazing part to this journey that we have been on.  We are so grateful and thankful.  If anyone is looking for a Siberian, we would love for you to check out this amazing breeder:  https://www.facebook.com/www.siberiankitten.webs


Here are the two sister kittens:

We will be sure to update you all with Mason's reaction to his new kittens!!

Two good appointments today?!

I think it was the dog plate, but for some reason, Mason was completely happy and emotionally regulated walking into his speech appointment.  He hasn't had a really good speech appointment in over a month.  I'm not joking about the dog plate.  It's my parents plate that he has brought everywhere with him the past few days, and it may have helped him deal with it.

There are some pictures of Mason with his plate at the appointment.  And no, I don't usually dress him in pajamas every day.  It was pajama day at daycare.

At the speech appointment, our therapist took pictures of Mason doing various things to help create an adapted type of social story to help Mason deal with coming to speech appointments (and future preschool).  The idea is that seeing pictures of him at school and reading through the book often at home can reduce his anxiety of being at school.  Hopefully it will help.  Mason had a lot of different ideas during the appointment.  He included his therapist in a lot of his play.  We are really focusing on increasing the "circles" of his engagement with people, which means that his social engagement last a longer time (a lot of back and forths).  He may include his therapist or I in his play and engage us (whether through eye contact, words, passing a block to us, etc.), but he tends to lose interest or change ideas quickly.  This leads to decreased social engagement and can lose a lot of communication.  Our therapist always gives great ideas on how to try to engage more.

Mason's next appointment was with his OT in the big gym.  He loves this place so much.  When we first started going in June, he would run from place to place in the gyms.  He never stopped to look at anyone or even notice steps/dangerous ledges.  Our OT and I discussed how far he had come.  He now slows down and notices stairs or high ledges (yay for less danger!).  He noticed some of the other kids playing and was interested in them.  He adapted well without crazy tantrums when we changed room or when the bubbles didn't work.  Both of those things elicited insane head banging tantrums back in June.  Near the end of the appointment, he was so engaged with the OT and bubble game they were doing that our OT said she was going to extend the appointment for 10 minutes because she couldn't stop the great engagement they had going.

All in all....I am so happy that I did not have to watch my Mason thrash in a tantrum today AND it was so great reflecting on the progress that he has made.  Yay for two good appointments!

Top 10 Mason-isms

I think a hard part about writing this blog about Mason's SPD is that I feel like readers may only see the difficulties of Mason.  That's difficult because there are so many funny and great parts to him. So today I am going to tell you about my top 10 current favorite Mason-isms.

#10 - Swing face
Mason loves swinging.  Loves it.  Never wants to leave the swing.  When he has been swinging for a while, he sometimes goes into the "swing face."  He closes his eyes and/or squints then does a silly smile.  It is the face that says to me "all is right in my world."  I love seeing him so relaxed and at peace.  It's also really funny to watch him, so naturally, I start laughing.  Then he starts laughing and gets the giggles.  It's the best.

#9 - Messing with Mama and Dada
Mason really has a funny sense of humor that comes out in different ways since he doesn't talk beyond some words.  He loves to mess with Zach or I while we try to change his diaper.  I lay him down then he looks directly at me and smirks.  As soon as I see the smirk, I know it's not going to be an easy diaper change.  He will lock his legs or put his hands down his diaper, so I can't change him. The best part is how hard and how much he laughs.  He can't breath after a while because he is laughing so hard.  As much as this annoys me many times (and encouraging it makes it worse on us and our daycare provider - sorry), I LOVE the focused engagement and laughter coming from him.

#8 - Bedtime dances
If you are friends with me on facebook or instagram, you have probably seen some of the videos of Mason in his bedroom.  We have a video monitor, which can give us a lot of entertainment. Sometimes at the end of the day, he needs to dance or run in place.  His room is a total safe place for him.  He loves being in there.  He walks up to his room anytime we tell him it's time for "night-night." Then...he lets loose.

#7 - TV Dancing
Mason has an obsession with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and has recently added Little Einsteins to his repertoire. He doesn't sit and watch TV...he dances the majority of the time to the show.  He burns more calories watching TV than I have in the last week!  As sick as I am of watching these shows, I can't get enough of watching Mason.

#6 - Animal "hiiiiiiii"
Mason doesn't notice or say hi to many people.  If he sees an animal, he follows it until he can get in their face to look them in the eye and say "hiiiii."  It's sometimes strange to me because many of the animals don't run away or freak out like I would expect them to do.  I believe there is something innate in the animals allowing Mason to be by them.

#5 - Blow Kisses
This is a new one, and it's getting more consistent.  Whenever we leave someone, we try to get Mason to say "bye-bye" or blow kisses.  He usually just wants to move on and not acknowledge the person, but he has finally taken to blowing kisses.  Now that he figured this out, he doesn't just blow one kiss...it's usually like 4 or 5 times. When he blows the kiss, he says "muah."  Mason will never give actual kisses no matter how much I try to get him to, so I will take him blowing me a kiss any day!!

#4 - Books
Mason loves certain books obsessively.  His favorite book is "Splat the Cat." He works himself up in excitement until the very end of the book when Splat falls in the fish tank, so he can slap the book when we say "Splat."  It never gets old to him....or us.

#3 - "No way" and "Yeah"
I remember very clearly the month where Mason could finally comprehend our questions.  It was June.  It has been the most helpful milestone that he has reached in developing his communication.  I don't know how he came up with saying "no way" instead of "no," but it's hilarious.  Whenever we figure out what Mason wants and ask him if he wants it, he says "yeah" it is with the highest level of happiness. Example: "Do you want fruit snack?" "Do you want to watch a Mickey?" "Do you want to go see grandma and grandpa?"  These will all elicit the happiest "yeahs" that you have ever heard. The video doesn't get a very clear "no way" or "yeah," but I think you can still get the gist of it.

#2 - Snuggles
Mason is the best snuggler ever.  Because he is sensory seeking, he loves a good snuggle.  I can't even tell you how many selfies I have taken of Mason snuggling with me.  The snuggles are especially important to me after he has had a rough day or tantrum because it helps me remember why it is all worth it.

#1 - Mason smiles
Most people have a nice smile.  I know that I am not biased at all in saying that Mason's smile lights up his face and the room he is in.  There is just something about it.  Okay, okay, I know every parent has this same feeling, but I just love Mason's smile!