A fun day out with my boys

Lots of interesting quirks today.

The boys and I went to the zoo. JP and I used to go a lot. We have a season pass so we can just go walk for a couple hours and not feel like we have to "recover the outrageous cost of admission". We went for the exercise and the view. But last year was different. It was just too much to keep track of JP. T now got to use the stroller and JP has had to learn to be a big boy and walk. We had lots of new issues ranging from sensory to just plain wildness. DWAM took off a couple times so that we could go as a family but it still wasn't the same.

Well, here it is late June and we still haven't been there. Our schedule is crazy as JP has activities all day Tuesday and Thursday and pretty much every morning. Now, we do have 3 afternoons open but I am not going to walk through the zoo when it is 100 degrees outside and outrageously humid.

So today after OT I decided we would just wing it. OT was over at 10am and we could still get in a couple hours before the afternoon scorching began. I really must say that we had a very nice time. I enjoyed both boys and it was a relaxing and exciting event for all of us!

JP is not really allowed to "walk" much. I still plop him in the shopping cart most of the time just so he can't get away! We work on it but before today I would have said that we have a lot more work to do. However, today he did amazing keeping up with T and I. Now don't get me wrong, he still would just keep walking and not even notice if T and I were nearby. But he did listen when I told him to stop and even came back! He was actually very well behaved. It is these changes in his behavior that I am thinking about most tonight.

Usually we travel to zoo in the same format. Jungle...aquarium... gorillas...carousel... home. Today, however, he chose for us to go through the desert first. Personally, I think this exhibit is kind of boring but he has been scripting a desert storyline lately (I think it is Thomas but I don't know for sure yet) so he was very interested to travel through the desert. Since we were already at that part of the zoo we proceeded to go... desert... gorillas... carousel... aquarium... jungle. He was totally okay with the changed pattern! Wow! Now I know that he chose the starting point. But when we finished the desert he wanted to go to the jungle. He didn't get upset with my rational about switching it up and doing the gorillas next!

We did have one meltdown. I don't need a behavioral assessment to identify this one--it was pure anxiety. We were walking through the desert talking about the orange sand and the prickly cactus plants when our path led into a cavern. This is how they transform the display into a different type of desert scene. Well, I made the mistake of saying, "Oh cool JP! We get to go through a cave!". He dropped down shrieking and practically tripped the gentleman walking behind us. He was hysterical BUT after only a few seconds he verbalized his fear! He said, "NO BEARS!". That is when I realized that in JP's world, bears live in caves. I assured him that there were not bears in the cave and he picked himself up of the ground and took my hand. (Thank God they didn't have any bears in cages inside the cave!!!!) Together we timidly pushed T in his stroller through the caves. Here is the funny part...the caves didn't have bears but they had displays of all kinds of yucky critters... snakes, spiders, bats. These creepy critters didn't bother JP. (They give me the creeps!) It was the fear that he was going to run into one of those pesky bears! (Even though he absolutely loves Pooh bear!)

Another anxiety road block was moved a little bit today. We also got to actually enter the carousel line so we could watch the ride up close! I guess I should state for the record that JP is terrified of moving rides. We have never succeeded at a carnival or amusement park ride. He won't even sit in the Ferrari car at Walmart (even if I swear I won't put a quarter in it). Last year we spent a lot of time watching the other children enjoy the carousel. Today we actually entered the ride area and watched at the gate. He proceeded to tell me that "in August when I ride the carousel I will ride the horse like Bob the Builder does in Build to be Wild". August seems to be our "far off date when I have to be a big boy" because that is when Kindergarten starts. I don't think he realizes that August is just around the corner.

I should also state that T's favorite was the aquarium. (Unfortunately, much of the zoo isn't really visible in a stroller.) JP likes the aquarium too but he was ready to move on after a few minutes. But T was still loving the sights. I was thrilled that I was able to explain to JP how much T was enjoying looking and shrieking "fish" every time one of the sharks or manta rays swam over our heads. JP seemed to understand that since T liked it we needed to indulge him a little longer. This made Mom feel better about her concerns from yesterday's post.



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As a side note, this is probably not something JP will want to read about when he gets older but I can't help but preserve the scene. We had just gotten home. T had fallen asleep in the van. JP asked if he could go play with his train downstairs. I told him he could but he needed to go potty first. I explained that I had to take T upstairs and then I would come downstairs. So I take T up and JP heads to the bathroom.

When I come out of T's bedroom JP is walking down the hall naked from the waist down. (He has no modesty) I asked him why he was changing underwear? Did he have an accident? This has been an issue lately because he isn't doing a very good job cleaning himself up after a bowel movement. I almost always catch him after the fact and have to make him change his underwear. Nope, no accident he assures me. "Did you go potty in your pants?" I ask. "No, I farted" he said. I wasn't sure how to respond to that and the underwear did appear clean when I inspected them...