Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Ice, Ice and More Ice... lol!

Laced up...
Oatie's PreSchool retirement is going well!  On Monday he has his skating lesson and insanely... I took him Swimming afterwards!  I know... I know!

Well considering we arrive about 45 minutes before he's due to go out to his lesson to put his skates on.  His skate are great... they open almost to the toe, just because of the spascisity in his feet, It takes about 10-15 minutes to put the skate on his more spastic foot and about 6-10 minutes on his not so spastic right foot.  I have to say that I am getting better at putting them on and this time after I took his skates off his feet felt like mine and he said "ahhhhh Nice Feet!"  before they became stiffer again... Did I mention the changing rooms are downstairs? so there is the bumping of his stroller down the stairs with his frame with mine and his skate bags?  Then the 20-25 minutes to put skates on Oatie... his harness is really easy to put on so maybe 5 mins and then I put my skates on and navigating the doors etc... so we do fill the 45 minutes arrival right till we step out.  My friend giggles as the lesson is 30 minutes and We spend 45 to get ready for it.

About to catch the Beach Ball... look at his Smile!
Anyhow... after that... we step out and Oatie is being a pickle... he doesn't want to stand around and sing preschool songs... (I couldn't agree more....) but when he shouted out NO Rudolf Pokey Hokey at the top of his lungs and NO!  I WANT SKATE NOT STAND HERE, not Rudolph's Hoof! !!! (they make a Christmas Hokey Pokey version about Rudolph putting his Right Hoof in etc), I was lost for words I was in agreement but he was a tad rude and then I was trying NOT to laugh at Rudolph Pokey Hokey as just how he said it was comical.and the extra detail of the Hoof... (he didn't have detail in his speech a while back so I was also smiling at his language development albeit a bit rude but honest at the same time).

Then he had his distaste of going around the pilons...(Cones) and literally stuck his pic in.  Now he can Steer too.. So I'm now encountering a new era with him.  Totally fascinating as well obviously he's his own person and has his own ideas and thoughts most of which he didn't have the ability to converse or convey... but now he's beginning to and it's really intriguing when you think you know someone and then they either back it up with words or contradict what you thought they might like or do... like Oatie.

Oatie Caught it!
Then there is the uncharted territory with Oatie for example at Skating on Monday.... and I... I his Mum and his majority caregiver....and now his physical aide... have the new dynamic of which role.  Like Rudeness I will always take him up on it, which ever hat I'm wearing... He might have a point but he can convey it in a more polite manner.  But his resistance of the pilons....   I had to take a step back and think well... if he was like my older two, if they resisted they'd either sit down or protest.  Here I have a hand through his harness and he can't sit down or protest like they did.  So I said that your teacher would like you to go through the pilons, do you understand and he said yes.  Then I said that I am here as your method to skate, to be your facilitator your aide,... as your mum I would like you to go through the pilons (none of the other kids wanted to go through the pilons either and sat on the ice...).  I said that you can now steer well enough to decide where you want to go... so if you choose not to go through the pilons your teacher will have a word with you and there might be consequences such as not getting a sticker for weaving through the pilons... do you understand? he said yes... so he just pootled off (me in tow) in the other direction by which his instructor came over and said no pilons not pilon sticker... so Oatie Huffed and turned his ice walker and weaved through he pilons and went and claimed his sticker.  It was an odd changed in balance of our relationship but I had to remind myself that if he could stand up on his own I wouldn't be out there with him, he would be him boundary testing,,,.  Obviously I wouldn't let him go off into a path of danger... but I felt he had asserted his "me" and wanted to test the boundaries like any other 4 year old.

I did say that if he worked hard in class, then we'd go for a swim after... so he did, he waited his turn, and did great.  He did cry when he dropped the pilons when it was time to clear up... he almost passed them to his instructor after carrying them 10feet and then dropped them 6inches shy of her hand.... which made him cry.  So after I explained that the pure fact that he wanted to tidy up and it didn't matter that he dropped them... the very fact he had a go was just amazing and I said just as amazing as his older brother landing his big fast jump... and Oatie just said ok and smiled.  I told Oatie he was too hard on himself... and he should be proud of how far he's come on his skates.  All this extra interaction with Oatie is all NEW...

Post Skating Snack... pulling a funny face for the camera...
Swimming was nice after, I do encourage him to develop his swimming kick and arm pulls as I really think he has the capacity to swim unaided one day.... or with a boyancy aide but without me holding him up.  He usually likes these plastic boats but when we couldn't find them instead of crying he found a ball instead to play with in the pool.....

After lunch we did 2hours of ABR before taking my older two skating.  At the moment Oatie cries if we're out of the house and he's hungry so I've been saying that he just needs to say Food or Hungry instead of howling and not using his words and we don't know what's wrong.  So he walks along the bench snuggled his head on my arm and said "Snack Mummy?" and blinked his cute eyelashes at me - another change another difference.

I have to say that after taking him skating and swimming and doing his bench taking the older two skating and doing all the normal chores I was looking forward to my bed later on in the day !!! but he does love his swimming and skating.

Our ABR has been going well... apart from the ski days we've been getting in 2-3 hours Monday-Friday.  At the weekend we've had Xmas parties to go to...

Today Tuessday, my older two had a ice dance test which they both passed, I was relieved as they both worked so hard, i've never seen either of them practice as much or as hard as they did for this one... so not passing would have been a bigger blow than if you don't practice as much isn't it.

We got in 3 hours of ABR which was good...



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4 comments:

  1. I sit just me or is he getting bigger too? He seems bigger!

    That is such a delicate balance we walk with our kids. Trying to be there as their advocate but yet giving them enough space to be a kid and to grow up without interfering too much. Sigh. It's a tough job, isn't it?

    But I have to say you are doing great! And I would have been ready for bed after a day like that too!!!

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  2. Just simply and absolutely amazing.....

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  3. What a full, rich life! Congratulations on all fronts - lots of ABR too. I love these posts, keep them coming. . .

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