Zoinks!

Yesterday we celebrated the end of summer by going to Zoinks. I thought the kids would be thrilled to play on all the giant bounce houses, blow up slides and play equipment. A sensory child's dream come true.

Upon entering the room Beans threw his hands over his ears and proclaimed the place too loud. Should have been my first indication we should try something else. He got used to the noise and discovered a slide and little monkey went to town. He even found another boy - his age even! - to play with and they romped around together.

Little Man didn't show any apprehension at first. The equipment was really hard for him to climb up but he still was able to maneuver it. He found this spot with all these squares that he squished himself inside of and was in heaven. He didn't do much climbing or sliding after the initial couple of times down but he liked being squeezed by the different obstacles so he found himself some "nests".

I settled down in the wonderful parents' lounge into a lovely leather recliner, free wifi and the company of other parents. This is the life I thought! The kids had to walk past me to get anywhere plus their wristbands had to match mine or they couldn't get out. The bouncies were soft so I didn't have to worry too much.

I logged into AIM and started chatting with Uncle J. Then it was time to feed Beans. Track him down and smile at the fact that he's playing with another kid! Get him fed and send him back to play. Shortly after I get settled back in the recliner, Little Man comes up and asks to leave. He'd definitely hit sensory overload and was on the verge of meltdown. While I quickly scooped up my stuff and grabbed Beans, Little Man could take it no more and the meltdown started. We made a quick escape at that point. Beans was upset to have to leave so soon and so suddenly but was a good sport about it.

Personally, I was a little disappointed. I had these grand images of taking the kids to go play with other kids while I interacted with adults. Relaxing for at least a couple hours. Illusions, illusions. It may not have worked out how I had planned but they each did have some fun there, even if it was short lived. I figure they'll never learn to adapt if I don't keep exposing them to things so regardless of the outcome, each time is worth it.

In other news, Beans got a new mask and nebulizer cup. It's so cute! The cup is purple and green and the mask is a dinosaur. He's been needing it pretty often again so having a nice new one is great.

Thanks to Aunt C and Uncle M I was able to pick up the kids' school supplies for this year. I can't believe how much they needed or that they start in just a couple weeks. Wow!

In upcoming appointments, Beans sees immunology on August 4th, both boys see genetics on August 17th, and both boys see ENT on September 25th. When we see genetics I'm hoping they can answer the question I'm terrified of right now and that is whether the boys are showing some signs of progressing (getting worse) or whether they've both just hit bumps in the road. My biggest fear right now is things that I've been shrugging off are actually signs that things are going downhill.

There are multiple issues in each of them I'm concerned about but let's just hope the geneticist has some answers and we're just at a bump not a downhill slide.

And finally, in exciting news especially for Beans, our backyard tadpoles have started growing their rear legs! As of yesterday at least two had them. I haven't checked yet today. Here's a pic of one of our tiny little friends with his legs. They're very white so hopefully you can see them. They almost look like tiny white sticks right where the tail meets the body.