Stuff

We had a great soccer weekend. Mckenna is awesome and had a great time. She played with her whole heart and is doing a great job hanging with the boys. Ayden Jane loved the playground at the fields so it was a win all the way around. AJ would climb the rock wall, cross the bouncy bridge and slide her little heart out for about an hour before the game. Then during the games she ate some pistachios or almonds, played nearby or (usually for the last 15-20 min. of the game) climb all over me.

Ayden Jane officially does not sleep well in cars or in hotels! We left about 5:30 am and she barely slept 45 min. of the 4 hour drive. No nap all day through 2 games and about 3 hours total on the playground. At bed time she managed to fall asleep about 9 and was ready to go by 4 am!! Ugg. I just told her it was not time to get up and after a few tears she fell back to sleep til about 6:30. You would think that she would have slept the whole way home after another full day of outdoor play but, you guessed it. 45 min. to an hour.

I psych myself out sometimes before I travel with Ayden Jane. Not sure if it is the food, gh/supplements, the nonstop talking needing attention in the car, potty issues (see below) or maybe just the combination. When it is over, I am always amazed and how great AJ does. We just figure it out as we go and, of course, I know what things to bring with us to help.

Potty issue. Ayden Jane was out right scared of the pottys at the soccer field. Now that may conjure up visions of nasty out houses, but actually it was quite the opposite. They had brand new automatic toilets. Problem was that the bathroom was big and a bit echoy. That's enough to overwhelm AJ's sensory system and make it hard to concentrate. Add to that, the potty keeps flushing every time she moves and it is loud! I had plans the first day for between games, but it was so bad that we had to go check into our hotel. Ayden Jane's little bladder just grew and grew... She told me she needed to go and was unsuccessful 3 times. Uggg! Once in our hotel room, she settled down and we just ignored her as she went into the potty. I found another potty the next day at the field that was just a 2 seater. It was calmer ect. and problem solved! Weird how these things pop up along the way.

Probably most amazing to me is that on Monday, I was exhausted. Mckenna called from school and she was so tired she couldn't even make it through the day. Ayden Jane? Hit the ground running and has had a GREAT week so far. The more AJ and I hang out the more I think she truly does better with ridiculous amounts of activity. I feel like I spend my days trying to wear her out so that the next day is a great one. I guess her sensory system needs all the input and somehow her metabolism is 'set' best that way as well. Not sure how many years I can keep this up, but I definitely see swimming and long distance running in her future. Hmmm. Maybe a triathlete? That would be fun!