Fruit Loop

no not these!

but this.... HOOD RIVER FRUIT LOOP

With all of the great progress we have had with B's behavioral and social interaction issues we decided to attempt a family trip to Hood River for the day..... now you think, who cares... right?!? but when one has a child that does not process the idea of people around, plus the element of not knowing what to expect~ let alone not being able to eat (say... pie, Caramel apples, BBQ, Fritters.... all that great harvest treats) the foods around him..... we dont normally go on trips like this as a family. Bjorn's social issues have grown and changed as he has begun to learn to cope and process things in relevance to his self.... but, we still have our struggles (especially in new situations). But, if we never took him places~ the experience would never have a chance to become familiar.... thus creating a cycle of inability.

So this trip was an experiment as well as a fun time out and about. And we are sure glad we did. Both boys were amazing. They were patient, kind, full of wonder and joy. I cannot tell you how proud I was, as a mom, to see my two boys hold hands and talk about apples, pears, pumpkins.... they loved the corn maze, and shared the experience together~ like brothers (which is one of the first times we have had the cohesive bonding between the two of them). In the past it has been one parent with one child~ one parent carries the role of autism manager, as the other parent share the experience of the environment. Two very separate but shared experiences..... minimal to a family experience.

This trip, this day, was different.... and as I share this I have tears of simple joy.

What a gift yesterday was.... what a gift.

Odin was very aware of Bjorn's needs and talked everything through with him...

Bjorn even yelled once "Odin come look at this"... wanting to share a moment with his brother.

Odin understood he could not get a caramel apple because his brother couldnt.... but accepted the bag of popcorn as an alternative. Bjorn, knowing we had a bunch of pumpkins already, accepted that we did not need to buy another one for our house (that was huge people... HUGE!).

As a Mother..... yesterday was a glimpse.

As a Family.... yesterday was a miracle.

tractor ride.

double fruit fisting!

"hey Bjorn show me how happy you are" (this is what I got)

making apple butter

helping make apple butter

corn~mazing!

hood river waterfront park