Last night Cooper refused to eat dinner. (What’s new, right?) There was kicking, screaming, head hitting, throwing, etc. The whole ordeal lasted a little over an hour. I got it into my head that this kid was taking one bite of pasta. And I wasn’t giving up. After the first time-out Cooper took a bite. And then pulled out the gagging. And spit it out. He shoved his plate, threw his fork, dumped out his milk, and dropped a few handfuls of pasta on the floor. I went about my…
Read MoreWe had a victory and an epic fail today. And all in the 3 hours after work. Nothing like cramming a full day in a few hours. Cooper is afraid to ride our lawnmower. It’s hard to explain. He loves it and wants Jamie to drive it. He even wants Sawyer to ride with Jamie. He gets super excited and amped up when it is going. But the second you try and put him on it he loses his shit. Lately I have been noticing that he is afraid of…
Read MoreLife has been crazy lately. And again, in a way, I love it because I don’t dwell on the little things. I ran a half marathon yesterday and I’ll tell you that one thought crossed my mind a dozen times. ‘One more step and maybe Cooper will talk.’ So silly, right? I can’t help it though. It’s the way my mom brain works. I am his voice. I am strong for him. When the running gets tough I always think of him. Like maybe in God’s spare time he is…
Read MoreWhen we bring the boys to a store we know that Cooper is a wildcard. And if you saw us you would probably have two thoughts….1. That mom is freaking insane and/or 2. Her kids are so well behaved. Why is she running around like a sweaty lunatic? Funny, right. When I bring Cooper out I know that I will be the one that needs to manage the situation. Jamie always takes Sawyer. I will be armed with multiple kinds of snacks, a drink, a sucker, a phone, etc. If Cooper gets…
Read MoreWhen Cooper was (mis)diagnosed with a moderate hearing loss in both ears at age 2 I thought the world was ending. Dramatic…YES. But, I am an honest person and that is how I felt. I kept picturing him getting teased. He had just turned 2 and it was the beginning of the bad. (although I didn’t know that at the time.) I had a new baby and I was fighting the baby blues and nursing and I was told that my 2 year old would never hear birds chirp or…
Read MoreI can’t even put into words how great Cooper’s teacher is and how amazing his IEP meeting went. I fell in love instantly. She was the perfect combination of calm, fun, loving and educational. This is the FIRST time throughout this school evaluation positive that I have felt happy. And positive. Jamie and I met in his future classroom with his teacher, 2 speech therapists, 1 occupational therapist, the special education director and 1 classroom aid. First, we sat at a tiny table with tiny chairs. I loved it. I felt…
Read MoreIf you follow my blog you know that I have SEVERE anxiety over the fact that Cooper won’t play with me. Sounds funny, right? Case and point. We went to a friends cabin over Memorial weekend. Totally laid back with zero expectations. Our friend has 2 little kids so we knew we were in good company. Cooper spent most of the weekend in the back of our Yukon watching movies. It was really hard to watch. The other kids played outside the whole time. They played with squirt guns and…
Read MoreI have been hiding out. And insanely busy. I can honestly say I sorta like when that happens because I don’t dwell on little things. Like dirty houses or unfinished projects. And then life slows down and I am standing in chaos. So typical. Cooper’s IEP meeting was last week. First, it was 2.5 hours long. In a tiny room, that was way too hot, with 4 people. The people were very, very, very nice. But, it doesn’t matter how nice they are when the focus on the meeting is…
Read MoreJust a few updates. Cooper has had a couple tough therapy appointments. Speech and OT were a bust this week. But one positive is that we were able to redirect him a few times when he started throwing a tantrum. Which is a positive:-) We are really starting to feel the financial strain from his OT appointments and although he loves going…I wish I saw more of an improvement. Another amazing update is that summer is here and Cooper is LOVING being outside. We spent almost all day yesterday swinging,…
Read MoreWe are having a SERIOUS problem with throwing. And by serious I mean dangerous and annoying and frustrating and exhausting. Cooper throws everything. Whether it be a toy, food, sand or rocks. I have determined that this is 100% a sensory thing. He likes the sounds these items make when they hit stuff. And usually the sounds evoke huge laughs from Cooper. He NEVER throws out of anger but he is strong so often other kids (Sawyer) get hurt. We try to discipline this but honestly we would be saying…
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