Today was a pretty relaxing day.  We let Deeds open a present from his cousin this afternoon and then this evening he got some jammies and books from Grandma and Grandpa.  All my siblings were with their in laws this year and since Jeremy’s family lives in Houston (WE MISS YOU) we spent a very quiet evening with grandma’s and grandpa’s.  Deeds Great Grandma even helped him decorate his cookies for Santa.

When we got home a special package had arrived in the mail for Deeds and Gwen.  Mommy quickly wrapped what was inside and let the kids unwrap this special gift before bed.

I love how at the end of the video he says “Magpie that’s you and that’s me.”

Thank you to the amazing Animated Woman for not only doing the original for deeds but for updating the picture to include our miracle Magpie.  It was wonderful of you to take the time to do that and he is SO proud of his new shirt.   (PS if you guys haven’t seen her blog before it is a lot of fun, you really should go check it out.)

Tonight before bed we drove around and looked at Christmas lights.  Deeds even told me that there were so many because “Santa turned them all on.”

Could it be, did my little guy with autism actually grasp the whole Santa thing?  I mean we watched a nativity story tonight and he understands who baby Jesus is and he knows Santa is someone who you sit on their lap and gives you candy but that’s about it.  I explained that we open presents from Santa to celebrate Jesus’ birthday and a he understood that.  Birthdays are something he has always adored.  I’m just worried tomorrow he is going to ask where the cake is.

Watching the Nativity Story

When we got home he would not go to bed so Jeremy found a link to make a personalized video from Santa.  We did it and played it for Deeds and it actually worked.  It was so cheesy we tried not to laugh too hard while he watched it.  I think at first he thought he was in trouble when Santa called him Jacob.  Honestly I couldn’t get it to say JD or Deeds and since his first name is actually Jacob we went with that.  He changed the milk we left out to chocolate milk and then went RIGHT TO BED because he wanted a surprise.

Sometimes things surprise me.  Tonight was one of those times, I never would have thought he would react like that.  It was pretty awesome.

I’ve already mentioned how hard the holidays can be for us, and many families that have children with special needs in them.  Changes of routine, over stimulation everywhere, lots of visitors, outings, parties, presents… you get the idea.  With school being out we’ve been trying to keep Deeds occupied at home, some days are better than others.  Thankfully he actually enjoyed himself at a Christmas party the other day.  A friend of mine invited us up to have waffles and share Christmas stories.

Jeremy had to work so I got the kids and Magpie ready to go and we headed up to the party.  It was about an hour from home and Deeds decided to spend that hour screaming.  Once I got to the party we sat in the car for a good 5 minutes while I decided if I really wanted to go in with both kids and Magpie by myself or just go back home.  I decided to at least go in and say hello and was pleasantly surprised when Deeds calmed down.  At one point I heard him talking quite a bit to some people there.  I walked over and asked if he was talking about Little Big Planet and they told me he was.  It wasn’t hard to guess since he was actually conversing with them what the topic would be.  Little Big Planet, Angry Birds or the alphabet are all his favorite topics to talk about right now.  Catch him at a good time and ask him about one of those things and he may start talking your ear off.  Catch him at a bad time and well, he’ll yell.  We are working on it.

Magpie sleeping by the Christmas Tree during the party.

My friend let me know that Santa was going to be stopping by.  I let Deeds know and he wasn’t so keen on seeing Santa again.  This Santa however was different.  It was the first time he’d seen a black Santa and he was so much more comfortable with him than any other Santa we had seen (including Grandpa Claus).  Even little sister sat on Santa’s lap.  The day before she literally made Santa toss her the candy he had for her since she wouldn’t get too close to him.  What a change.

Even mommy had to sit on Santa's lap.

Deeds being such a good boy. He's on the nice list for sure.

Little sister is ready for that candy!

We stayed much longer than I expected too, Deeds even laid down with his blankie and Magpie at one point to listen to some stories.  Feeling the normalcy of the evening after hearing him scream all the way up there was wonderful.  I’m so glad I didn’t turn around and go back home.  I’m thankful for loving friends who open their homes to us and take us as we are.  When an entire roll of toilet paper was found unwound (we still aren’t sure who’s child was the culprit) she didn’t even bat an eye as she wrapped it around the tree to make it look like ribbon.  Even Magpie got a warm reception.  Thank you.  It was a fantastic evening.

Story Time

Deeds inspecting the toilet paper ribbon on the tree.

Santa Claus is a staple for many who celebrate Christmas and yet can be a nightmare those of us with special needs kids.  Lets be honest most small children are terrified by the jolly man in the bright red suit.  The holidays in general can be something that families with special needs children plan months for and know will be an adventure regardless your best efforts.

Over our past couple holiday seasons we have learned some things.

• Never attend any kind of holiday party without giving Deeds a 2 day notice and constant reminders.
• Once at said party make sure you have his blankie so if he wants to disappear he can hide underneath it.
• If he finds a quiet corner do NOT make him come join the “fun” or no one will have any fun.
• Remember to have a phone or his iPad fully charged for when he becomes overstimulated from the chaos.
• Do NOT attempt to open all presents at once.  Even if each child only has two this will be too much stimulation.  Instead either do a present a day leading up to the holiday or set a timer for every hour or two the day of Christmas and open one present when it goes off, one person at a time.  Even this method can cause stress for our poor little dude.
• DO NOT under any circumstances attempt to get Deeds (or little sister for that matter) within 25 feet of Santa.  It will not be a pretty picture.

This year we had been more daring with staying at holiday functions because Magpie calmed Deeds down and he could lay next to her when starting to get over stimulated by the festivities.  This past Saturday was our annual family Christmas party and we were worried about attempting it without Magpie.  Thankfully she’s been doing so well we took her with and used it as a test run to get her back in public.  She did wonderfully.  She’s gotten out of the habit of listening to us give her commands so it will be something we are going to have to work on again but she really was fantastic.

The highlight for all the kids was when Santa made a surprise appearance.  Now this wasn’t any normal Santa, I called him Grandpa Claus because it was my father.  When Deeds saw him he took off for the door.  I snatched him up and through the screaming I told him (I know, I ruined the magic) that it was just Grandpa helping Santa.  We waited in line and I’ve never had my son hug me so tightly.  I joked with my sister that I was going to have everyone go in front of us so that I could keep getting hugs from Deeds.  I knew it was because he was stressed so I didn’t, but it was awesome while it was happening.

Magpie and Deeds approached Grandpa Claus and Mag’s sniffed at him and then curled up at his feet.  Deeds took this as a good sign and let me put him down.  When my dad started to talk Deeds relaxed even more and was thrilled when he walked away with a candy cane.

All night he told me that Santa gave him a candy cane.

Thanks Dad, you made this mommy really thrilled that her little guy got a chance to participate in a popular Christmas tradition.

Can't forget little Gwen