I love my family. Each member of our family is so very different and unique and fun. We have so many funny stories, some of them almost hard to believe that they are even true. One day, I will have to do a blog about some of those. But for some of you wanting a small nugget, here are some quick things I have learned over the last few years. Desitin (bottom cream) makes excellent hair gel. It can keep a curl FOREVER. Dawn detergent makes LOTS of bubbles and is VERY slippery when all over the kitchen floor. Baby powder all over my clothes closet is incredibly hard to clean up. In fact, I still ocassionally put on a shirt and see the white powder. It takes about 45 minutes to wet vac my kitchen when SOMEONE overflows the kitchen sink (of my former home). Flushing kid's underwear down the toilet WILL create a massive clog, but the plumbers find it amusing. A 6 month old can in fact, swim in a huge puddle of apple juice (almost a full gallon of it). By the way, that takes about 15 minutes to wet vac up off of the kitchen floor. Any dessert sitting on the kitchen counter, even if it is wrapped up, IS fair game to any passersby. The wet spot on the wood living room where I cleaned Chocolate brownies makes Cami slip and fall. Having 3 boys in diapers makes for a lot of smelly moments. All that said, I love my kids and I can now laugh hysterically at those times.
I like to laugh. No, I love to laugh. I am thankful that all of my kids have provided many moments to giggle. However, usually laughter didn't occur at the very MOMENT some of the above mishaps took place, but now they are funny. As proud moms, we all enjoy celebrating the sweet milestones in our kids' lives. First time rolling over, first steps, first tooth, first birthday, first day of school. Such precious and proud times for parents. And I am no exception. We have tons of pictures, however, by the time we got to Carter, the pictures are fewer and further between. But we have still been able to capture important times with him. The Bennett's have passed all of the 1st birtdays with our boys, but I know many more milestones are to come with each one and I am really looking forward to sharing those with them.
However, sometimes the large milestones just aren't as important as they once were. Please don't misunderstand. ALL milestones are monumental, but sometimes there is a need to celebrate the small stuff. When it comes to Oliver, we have to do just that. We are in the beginning stages of realizing that he may need some additional help and there may be a diagnosis by the time we finish this whole process. But in the meantime, we are learning to find ways to encourage, nurture, and love Oliver the best way we know how. His favorite pajamas are Batman pajamas. Not any Batman pajamas. But ones that used to belong to Zander, so that makes them about 7 years old. At first, Beau and I were trying to soothe Ollie by allowing him to wear them EVERY SINGLE night. They are getting too small, the elastic is wearing out on the waistband, and quite frankly, they just are not that pretty anymore. But recently, Beau and I decided that we would lovingly explain to him that we can't always wear the same pajamas. Sometimes, we have to do things that we don't like or don't feel comfortable doing. Afterall, the world does not allow us to wear our Batman pajamas everyday. Teachers do not allow us to do what we want. Bosses don't put up with "our" way of doing things. So, we felt like we were helping Oliver. Let's just say we had about a week worth of nights with total meltdowns. I mean, the crying, throwing fits, screaming, begging, kinds of meltdowns. They never lasted under 30 minutes. But finally, Oliver has completely submitted to saying bye bye to the Batmans. This is a milestone for him and we are soooo proud.
We use different colored plastic plates for our 3 youngest boys. At first, it was fun. Each child got to pick their color for their meal and everyone was happy. Then, at one point, Oliver decided he would only use a green plate. That's fine, as long as nobody else wants that green plate. At first, we again tried to keep peace and comfort Ollie and allowed him the green plate. It was becoming easier to reason with Carter, our 2 year old, why HE couldn't have the green plate than it was to reason with Oliver. But again, Beau and I felt we were does a disservice to Ollie. He can't function in a world when he always gets his way. So, now when we put out the plates, each boy gets the same color. Oliver no longer gets to choose a color and we no longer have meltdowns. Another milestone. And we are soooooo proud of him.
This past Saturday, Ollie got to play for the first time on a soccer team. Beau and I were bracing ourselves because we really didn't know what to expect. Was he going to cry? Get mad? Run off? Be confused? There were so many possible scenerios and Beau and I were trying to be prepared for all of them. But then something amazing happened. Oliver had the absolute best time. With a huge smile on his face, he kicked that ball all over the field and he even scored a goal (however, he scored the goal for the opposing team!!). But the point is, he had fun. He didn't hold back. We saw a side of Oliver that was fun and "normal". What a milestone. And we are sooooo proud of him.
I heard a friend say recently that in dealing with her autistic children, she has finally learned that she must change her expectations. I think I am there. However, I also know that with every small milestone that Oliver passes, it is reason for huge celebration. And each time, I will be sooooo proud.
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