Eye Doctor

Today we took Quinn to the eye doctor. That was fun, not! Going to the eye doctor involves waiting, followed by struggling (eye drops), then more waiting and even more struggling when the doctor finally examines him. The good news is that I liked this doctor a lot, he is new to us, even though I think he examined Quinn in the NICU once. Also, Quinn's perscription has not changed, so we only have to get one new pair of glasses (since I decided we need a backup). The best news is that the doctor doesn't see any need for surgery at this time or in the future, but that could always change. That is much better than hearing he will need it in the next few years like our last doctor said. This doctor feels that Quinn's eyes are in good shape and actually unusually good for a child with Down Syndrome. As usual, Quinn's eye condition is the opposite of what most kids with DS have. I guess Quinn never got the memo....sigh.

Cooper is still singing his heart out everyday and driving me crazy with worry. The good news is the tune seems to be changing a little everyday so that makes me feel a little better.

Okay, not so cute....

So that little song Cooper was singing is not so cute anymore. He has been singing it repetitively and obsessively for the last two days. Jeez, just when you think things are going good the kid comes up with the strangest behavior!! I have been advised by his speech therapist to ignore it because we don't want to encourage it. So we are ignoring the fact that our son suddenly is singing "Na na na hey hey" 300 times a day. Isn't Autism fun! Not!!! I am hoping and praying it is just a phase, which it probably is (fingers crossed).

The good news is that Cooper has started saying "up" when he wants to be picked up with no prompting whatsoever. The bad news is he is so big only his daddy and his freakishly strong ABA therapist can lift him :) Also, Matt has been doing this little bedtime chant with Cooper for at least two years now. It goes like this "What time is it? "Bedtime!" For the past two years Matt has had to say both parts, in the last week Cooper finally decided he can handle taking over the "Bedtime" part! Yay Cooper!!! It is so cute, and it is about time!

Quinn is still Quinn :) Not much going on there. He really missed going out with his grandparents tonight. He was cranky and whiny which is unusual for him, I think it was his way of saying "What happened to my fun Saturday night with Grandma Jan and Grandpa Don?" Don't worry Quinn, I am sure you will get to see them next weekend.

Cooper Cuteness

I wanted to share a couple of really cute things Cooper has been doing lately.

He has a new favorite word..."awesome"! It isn't a word I use that often, but I said it once on Monday night and he started repeating it. He has just popped out with it a bunch of times this week and it is so cute!

Whenever I use the microwave, he runs into the kitchen and starts counting backwards from 20 (no matter how much time I put on it). When he gets to zero he makes a loud "beep" sound! Adorable!!

He must have had a song stuck in his head today. I didn't recognize it so it may have been something he made up, but he sang it over and over all day today!

The Dentist

Cooper went to the dentist today after school. Matt came home from work for the occasion since he is my muscle. Cooper was so happy to see his daddy and really excited to be going somewhere just the three of us. It is so cute because on the rare occasion we go out without Quinn, Cooper always insists on holding both of his parents hands the entire time :) He was even still happy when we got to the dentist's office. Then he saw the special playhouse that the dentist has in the waiting room. Cooper remembered the playhouse (and what happened after he played in it last time), and immediately burst into tears. He cried pretty much the whole time we were there :( He calmed down a little when Matt put him on his shoulders and walked around, maybe he felt safe because he knew the dentist couldn't reach him there? Oh well, it was a really difficult appointment and I am so glad Matt was there to help. The dentist said everything looked good with his teeth, except of course his 90% overbite, sigh. Maybe Cooper will mellow out a bit before he has to go back in 6 months. I just hope he gets over this fear of dentists before it is time for braces, because he is definitely going to need braces :(

In other Cooper news, his ABA therapist went to observe him at school today. His teacher thought he did well, but his ABA therapist knows better. She told me she has never seen him act like that. She said it was like he was a zombie. Yup, Cooper acts like a totally different person when he is at school. He is so reserved and uncomfortable there. I don't know what it is, maybe extreme shyness? So his ABA therapist is going to start working with him at school some too which hopefully will really help. He is such an amazing little boy when he is at home and in his element, I just wish he could show some of that at school too.

Not much new with Quinn today. He did stop and give me a huge hug when he got off the bus this afternoon. It was very sweet and was very obviously just a hug, he didn't try to get me to pick him up or anything. He is doing really well lately, I love that little boy!!!

A Video of Cooper identifying actions...

A video of Cooper

Here is a little video of Cooper. If you listen carefully you can hear him count to 20 as he walks in circles around the ball!

Cooper had a bit of a rough day today. Apparently he was very whiny at school, even the bus driver told me he was crying when he got on the bus. He pulled it together and worked really well with his ABA therapist, but then his private (and not free) speech therapist came over and he fell apart! It is so frustrating when he does that! Today it was because he went and looked in her basket of toys and of course found one with numbers all over it. It was an older Leapfrog toy that had all the numbers up to 20 on it and he was in love aka obsessed. His therapist will not be bringing that one over again, he refused to do anything else! Unfortunately, they don't make it anymore but I have a bid in on a used one on Ebay.....wish me luck :) The good thing is that the speech therapist gave our ABA therapist lots of ideas and tips which I know she is going to implement, she even took notes!

Quinn came home from school and peed on the potty like a champ. I don't know what happened but two hours later he was a totally different child, refusing to sit on the potty and managing to get his hand in the toilet twice!! Yuck! Oh the joys of potty training...not :( Besides that he was a pretty good boy tonight. Grandma Berta brought over one of her good silver forks for him to use at dinner. She says only the best for her grandson, but in reality it is sharper than my forks and made it a little easier for him to spear his nuggets. It also lead to a conversation about the classic TV sitcom Silver Spoons, cause that is just how my husband thinks. I was surprised to hear that Ricky Schroder was gay, but it turns out my husband was just thinking of the guy from Doogie Howser. Yup folks, this is what you talk about at dinner when you have been married for 7 years, lol! FYI, According to Wikipedia, Ricky Schroder has been married since 1992 and has 4 children. He is also a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and a member of the Republican Party, so it is unlikely that he is gay. At least not openly, and you know what I am talking about if you watch Big Love :)

Tomorrow, if school isn't canceled or delayed, Quinn is going on a field trip to the fire station followed by lunch at Burger King. His trips almost always involve some kind of fast food, lucky kid!