Well, my 43rd birthday came and went this week. I have to say, it was not the best birthday I have ever had. The weekend was nice - my sister came down with her husband and my nephews, so we had a birthday lunch at my parent's house. Arley was a bit overwhelmed, and immediately climbed underneath the coffee table, so we got him playing my phone with his little headphones on, and he was all good after that. Afterwards I even got in an afternoon nap, so Sunday was good. Then on Monday, my birthday, I had organised a play at Narrawallee for the kids and their friends. One of my friends brought a cake, which was sweet. We had a kayak and a canoe, and Carmie and Arley and Ness had me canoeing them up and down the inlet for ages. Arley just loves sitting in a boat on the water! Carmie tried kayaking for the first time, but she got a little scared when the current started taking her away, and then she got beached and had to get rescued. It was a lovely morning. Arley wasn't terribly social, and he still wouldn't take his sandals off. When we got home, he was really out of sorts. And that's when my birthday went south. He had several meltdowns over the course of the afternoon. I am practising being nonreactive to him, which can be very difficult when I just want to throttle him! In saying that, it is easier when I remember that none of this is his fault, and he gets calmer faster when I remain calm. I guess now is a good time to mention that Arley has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD, however just yesterday his paediatrician told me he wants to hold off on the ADHD diagnosis for the moment because he is hoping this changes as Arley ages. It has been a rough few weeks going through this assessment and diagnosis, but we are already underway with the therapies we are supposed to be doing, and I just have to keep reminding myself that nothing has changed, we just have more knowledge now. But it really does explain SO much. His occupational therapist has noticed that his tactile defensiveness has gotten worse, and she said this could be causing a lot of his anxiety and aggression, so she has us brushing him again. This means we have a special brush, and we have to brush his little body a certain way, every two hours (while he is awake), for the next two weeks. It is pretty hard core! We can't skip a session or be late for a brushing, because it can make his nervous system worse than it was before we started. So fingers crossed we get through this! He doesn't particularly like it either, so I have made him a sticker chart, and at the end of two weeks, he gets a new train to add to his collection. One good thing to mention is that his assessor said he has very advanced verbal skills, and all of his therapists have let me know he is crazy smart. His assessor told me never to argue with him because he will always win, he is that smart and that stubborn.
Anyway, Carmie is doing well. She is pretty understanding of everything that is going on. I have bought her a bunch of 'my sibling has autism' books, and they are arriving next week. This is the best way for her to learn as she is such a bookworm. She is missing her homeschool buddies - everyone has taken off on holidays. But we have seen her schooled friend Ness, with more schoolie playdates scheduled for next week, so that makes up for it.
This week the kids and I also had lunch in town with Aunty Georgia, and she took them to the bakery for treats. And then today, Jeffrey got them to the park while I was at the gallery. Other than that, we were homebodies :)
On that note, I'll just say that I am fairly shattered. I haven't been sleeping well, and I have a whole lot of painting to do for my November show. I'll be done in three weeks (whether I like it or not, I will have just run out of time!), and then I'll cut myself some slack and maybe even get a massage :)
Here are some videos of Arley. I realised that I have so many more videos of Carmie growing up, I felt guilty and quickly shot these :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya3qExMsJPQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q99MD1Ws-pQ
At Narrawallee Inlet on my birthday
Arley and his true love Ness
At the bakery
Park play with Dad
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