Is Yellow too Bright for You Today?

 It looks like today is Yellow day.....but, it's not.  He just happens to be wearing yellow, playing with the yellow connect 4 chips and eating buttered popcorn.  :D
Do we have color coordinated days?  Oooooooh heck yeah we do!!!  Kaden will strike a mood and decide he can't eat this because it's not a primary color or it's too bright.  How the heck can food be to bright?  To Kaden it can be, it's not a normal thing for Kaden to just out of the blue decide something is not on his food to eat list.  These are aversions we have dealt with since he was almost 2.

He is almost 6, so I try to pick battles and I have gotten pretty good at determining what is 5 year old behavior and what is an Autism stumbling block.  His eating 99% of the time is a stumbling block.  Most of the time if he says to me my broccoli touched my chicken I can't eat it now.  I will say to him.  Ok, finish your potatoes for me.  Then I would ask him could he have at least 2 bites of both the broccoli and chicken.  Most of the time he will say ok, but that it would hurt.  I would acknowledge him and tell him he needs the nutrition.  He is very rule based, so I use that to my advantage.    Sometimes he will try and wheel and deal with me.  He will want 4 bites of broccoli and no chicken.  He loves most veggies, thank goodness.
I do not cook special meals for him, unless I know he can't tolerate something.  For instance soup freaks him out.  Maybe it;s everything hanging out in the same liquid.  I don't know.....  But, if we eat that I will probably make a little something for him, but still present him with a small serving of soup.  He has surprised me before and taken a bite or two.

The Quiet Basket!

I find several times a week just needing a moment to fix dinner or put some laundry in the wash without Kaden following me or worrying about what he is up to.  So, to fix this problem I have this lightweight basket filled with quiet activities.  It's filled with small puzzles, mazes, dry erase baords and markers, magnetic boards, small toys and a note pad with pencils and small thing of crayons.  One of  his favorite things in his basket are the Bendaroos, he loves Bendaroos!!!
Here is a video of us playing with them.  I like that they don't dry out and you can make a little dude and then take it apart and make something else.  Check them out and see what your kiddos think.

Look out, the Chef is in the House!!

What's for Lunch???  Kaden pie, Pizza Pie...Kaden style!!!  Back in November we made pizzas at home, they are always better when cooked with love.  Kaden helped make a couple of his own "little" pizzas and then helped make a few Big ones for everyone else.
So, on his he used little mini peperoni and sausage.  These are great for kiddos who are picky eaters.  I have mixed them in Kaden's eggs, fried rice, soups, even salad.  I don't use them all the time, but I do find myself picking up a little bag every few months or so.

 He did so well spreading the sauce and sprinkling the cheese!!!! 

Seal of Approval!

 He was careful with each peperoni and then SPLAT went his hand right on top of them.  That's ok buddy.......It's all your pizza.  HAHAHAHAHA

Add some sausage and off to the oven!  While his was cooking we had him help with the big pizzas.  We warned him no hands could go Splat on top of the pizzas.  He agreed....HAHAHAHAHA!

So Proud of his Pizza!

He was so proud to be able to help out and measure out the ingredients for us Big people.  I love when we do this together, just the kids and I.  And every time while I'm laughing and enjoying that quality time I ask myself over and over," why don't we do this more".  I honestly don't know why.  Maybe lack of time, probably poor planning on my part. 
I have to make it a priority in 2013 to do this more.  My kids are so worth the extra time of planning.

Here he is enjoying the "fruits of his hard Work"!!!! :D

Makin' some Snow!

Kaden and I had a blast making snow today.  He is very sensory needy so any time I can do a craft or activity that will meet that need I am ALL over it.  :)
This activity required very little.  Just 1/3 conditioner and 3 cups baking soda.
We used sauve lavender scent and the snow was still white even though the conditioner's color was purple and just regular generic baking soda.
Give it a try and see how your kiddos like it and post some comments to let us know how your snow turned out.

The "What If" Adventures!!!

I wonder what goes on in little Kaden's head sometimes....how does he see things?  Or, I guess I should say how does he interpret things?  I say one thing to him and he processes it differently then I do, comes up with a blank stare and goes about his business.  Is he being rude or disrespectful?
No, he just listened, computed it in his mind and decided by his "own" scale whether it was worthy of a response or not.  How does he determine, what are his guidelines?
I'm thinking of this today because Kaden has an unusual fixation about death, numbers, organization/rules and all questions that begin with what if.  No matter what I reply he will always say, well what if this or what if that.
You can always count on Kaden for an extended conversation about whatever is on his mind at the time.  That's my Boy!!!! Everyday I learn more and more from him.
Yesterday he learned about the Hubble, Copernicus and NASA.  He soaked it all in and into the wee hours of the night he was still talking about them, mulling over possibilities for the future and mistakes from the past.  A lot going on in a 5 year old mind.....especially when it's after midnight!  LOL
I want to know what his future will be like sooooo bad, I wonder who he will become and what great things he will accomplish.  What will he fight for and how will he work his way through struggles he will be sure to have.  While I try to drift off to sleep at night I have to wash all those thoughts away and focus on the here and now.  One day at a time, because I know from the previous two kids that life goes so quick.  I don't want to miss one single opportunity to watch him grow and discover this world around him.  We will take it one fact at a time, one adventure after another.  I will remain in the now and take every day as it is, "what if" questions and all!!!!

Only My Toes are Blue.........

Kaden wanted to do something nice for me today.  

Sweetest Boy ever!

Is This Your Favorite?

Here is a video of my Sweetheart, Kaden!!!!!!  This was taken back in September before he was introduced to Risk and Agricola.  I'm sure one of those would be his fav board game now!!!  And I didn't ask which computer game was his fav, I'm sure we could all agree it would be Star Craft.
Kaden does not have a lot of Favorite things and has trouble selecting one.  This goes for a shirt, show, food or even toy.  So, I was very pleased at his progress over the past 6 months or so.