Lincoln Park Zoo

The Lincoln Park Zoo is in downtown Chicago, free to the public and open 364 days a year! It's fantastic and full of cool animals. Maggie and I ventured downtown to explore the new gorilla habitat. No surprise Mags liked running free with the wind n her face and licking rocks more than the gorillas but it was fun getting out and having a new experience.

I never knew how geologists could be so fascinated by rocks! Apparently Maggie understands...
The gorilla was as fascinated with Mags and she was with him :-)

Anything in water is a winner for this lady!
And of course... SNAKES. She loves them. As long as they are behind glass I'm fine with them too. But hear my words child - No pet snakes!
Then She mouthed everything! I have given up on germs. The fact she is not constantly sick reminds me she has an amazing immune system and with all her other challenges I am grateful for an iron immune system!

Her awesome pointing skills! Makes me smile to she her progress!

Caught in the act

Sleep, Sleep. One of Maggie's cutest signs that she uses often. She loves her sleep. And when she is ready to sleep - that's it! She is done! However sometimes she is just cute and wants alone time or when she is really worked up and on the edge of meltdown, she will even give herself a timeout. So when she asked to go to sleep...

It was adorable finding her sleeping on a pile of pillows softly snoring in her cute girly way.
Still breathing, I checked.
But then after a short time I heard laughing. I hear active sounds as if she was playing.... hmmm now pillows and a bed have never sparked active time for children before right?!? HAHAA




This was the look she shot me when I opened the door - Deer in the headlights... busted!

Play Date

A Play date is a strange activity where typical children want to play together... A play date between two autistic children... is a tolerance of each other in the same room playing with similar toys and maintaining each others personal bubbles! Mags has a friend from school, Maxwell who is just the cutest child on the planet, who is her perfect play mate.

1. He loves Trains!

2. He doesn't like to be touched.

3. He will make eye contact at least once an hour which is enough for Mags!

4. He has a house full of trains, cars and airplanes (all things Maggie loves)

Today we spent several hours enjoying Maggie and Maxwell playing together. And by together I mean in the same room and making occasional eye contact :) They are sweet together. And being around other parents who experience the same situations that I do make it seem.......... REAL. Real in the sense I'm not the only parent who has these experiences. both kids were 'Stiming' on the floor. Mouthing everything! Throwing, crying, melting down over nothing and chewing on my clothes and crying then laughing all while I am trying to understand her 'signs'

It's not easy - But I'm not alone!

Maggie AKA rapunzel

A Haircut is usually a simple, non-eventful activity. Nothing is uneventful or simple with autism. Maggie has had two haircuts in her life, both something out of a horror movie. SO... her hair is longggggggggggg. Something out of a movie long. And surprisingly minimal tangles. 'Tangled' - clever name for a movie :)

But hey, she's cute and she always lets me put it up in a messy bun or ponytail even braids. So Im not going to lose sleep over the issue.

The girl pulls it off!

Car Rides

Do you dread taking your child for rides in the car? Have you ever referred to your child as a 10lb terrorist? Well then do we have a lot in common! When I brought Mags home from the hospital as a baby, she cried but everyone knows that's what newborns do! However as time went by and with each excruciating road trip, changes had to be made. I would plan trips to the store while she was at therapy or have my parents watch her if I needed to run to the bank. Even short trips were miserable. Now I don't have any brilliant solutions but I can tell you, when she was finally big enough (20 months) to change car seats to a forward facing seat, life got better. I mean not drastically at first but gradually. Baby steps! And I am happy to say there is light at the end of the tunnel - this sweet child was happy the majority of the road trip from minneapolis to chicago! What more could a mom want?

Cookies

Vegan, gluten free cookie decorating? Why, yes! That sounds like a fabulous and fun idea... Of course after being creative and trying to figure out an activity Maggie could participate in, she had no interest. The adults though, had a highly enjoyable time! We made stars, trees and other nontraditional creations.

The creative process

Urlacher, defensive player for the Chicago Bears - Can you see the resemblance?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season. Happy New Year!

Hockey!

Being the Minnesota girls that we are... We love hockey! I don't know if it's the ice and cool breeze or if it's the names we can't pronounce or spell. Cute boys who can skate. The fights! Well duh it's the fights! It's all about full contact sports with Mags. She likes action. My Dad and Kelly were able to get us Chicago Blackhawks tickets (13th row near the goalie- sweet!)

The Wee fan excited for Hockey!

All decked out in proper attire including a smile.

And she was so happy during their warm up! She loved the straw in her drink, impromptu chewy - very clever little girl.

Hockey @ Madhouse on Madison

Everything was going well until... National anthem. Load noises, louder music, weird lights... It was all down hill from there.

She just couldn't take it. My little fan wanted to get out of there so fast it wasn't funny.

But watching the game from the bar inside the arena was perfect...

What did I take away from this experience? Well...

1. Nothing ever goes as planned - So What? That's life! I'm not going to stress or get mad over it but I think a babysitter will be arranged for next time.

2. Recognizing what the world is like through Mags perspective is complicated and I need to work on understanding it.

3. Maggie looks darn cute in a hockey jersey!