Good times

I am happy to write that we have had an incredible few days. 3 birthday parties- 2 of which Robbie was invited to and went- and SUCCESS!! The first party was at a lake near us that we never go to. One reason we have not spent time their is- Robbie generally freaks out when we pull in the lot, secondly- it is a little further away. I explained to Robbie where we were going in hopes that would ease his anxiety, but like many times, I'm not sure he even heard me. We packed up the car and headed over to Beach 3. As soon as I pulled in to park Robbie started screaming "No." The party was for a friend of Lexi's, and I knew she'd be heartbroken if we couldn't go, and I was on my own. So I made the decision to get out of the car and start walking. Robbie screamed a few more times but followed me. The minute we got there, the birthday girl said hi to both kids and gave them buckets with goggles and water shooters. Awesome!! That was it- he went straight to the water and had a great time for the next 4 hours. Success number 2 was another birthday party. I was pretty sure Robbie would be fine because it was at a friends house we've been to multiple times. And- they have a pool. The tough part can be the amount of kids and people that come to their parties. I've had to take him home other times because he just couldn't tolerate it. Rob suggested we park in back of their house- so we could avoid the initial crowd and go in by the pool. (Water- a favorite) The kids were in the water immediately and even as the pool became crowded- Robbie was all smiles!! About 2 hours in he told me he wanted clothes and was hungry. Easily solved. At cake time he did stay with the group for happy birthday but as soon ass the song ended looked out of sorts. I asked if he wanted to go back outside- as we were in a tight space with a lot of people. He said yes- I want to jump, and out we went. Success number 3 happened at our local lake- beach 1. Robbie was actually playing with another little boy. I have to give extra credit to this boy and of course Lexi who helped with the communication. Usually kids will come up to Robbie, try to start a conversation, get frustrated by the lack of response, and walk away. You can't blame them- but it hurts to watch. This boy- who is a little older, it turns out has Asperger's. According to his father he is different than most, he is very social. He looks for kids to play with and many times the kids his age don't want to play with him. Also painful to hear. Watching Robbie and this boy interact, talk, swim, and just be kids almost brought me to tears. It reinforces what I have thought all along, Robbie does want social interaction with other kids. He just struggles with how. Things I have learned about my son in the last 2 weeks most of which he has told me. 1) His prefers Blue over Green. I always thought green was his favorite color and would tell people if they asked- usually in front of him. 2) He thinks the new game I downloaded for him ,and his sister, is stupid. 3) He does not like to wear pull ups at night. This I totally understand but because he can't seem to fall asleep without melatonin- we have no choice at this point- unless I want to change sheets every night, at least once. 4) If you listen to him, he will tell you when he needs to spin, jump, needs water( swim, shower, etc.) 5) He is becoming very independent because he wants to be. Pouring his own drinks, wiping in the bathroom ( yeah!!) helping his sister with her seatbelt. While things can are still challenging, the more we understand our little puzzle (Robbie) the better things are becoming. I am so proud of the work he has done and continues to do. It's nice to post about situations that make me happy :)