FIVE!

Boy and cake, happily met!  Happy birthday Hugo.

Santa's Boys

It was a very fun Christmas this year, full of great food, thoughtful friends, and two brothers who now totally get the opening-gifts-and-playing-with-toys concept.  It has taken Hugo a while to learn appropriate play, but give him some Transformers and Jake and the Never Land Pirate figures and he's chatting, playing, and even fighting with Dash over his favorite toys.  Dash has been all about race cars and his new orange track.  Daddy played Santa at Max and Philip's house: at first the boys were stunned, but then they caught on.  Evan kept the act going with the ho-ho-ho's and asking about good boys.  And really, they've been so lovely this holiday break.

Merry Christmas

For those who sent gifts for the boys: thank you!  They had a ball!   Merry Christmas.

Too cool for school.

Snow days. Who brought this Chicago-like weather?

Dash enjoys a snowy day while Mom's feet freeze. He came home toasty warm.

A Discerning Customer

Here, Dash is giving the Barber the hairy eyeball!   Lucky for Ralph he got it right (big suckers also help).

Not pictured: Hugo's haircut meltdown...he got through it though.

Behold, a star

Holiday Frida

(from a couple nights ago)...sometimes she's got to be right on top of us...I think the jets taking off from LaGuaria make her anxious.

Pre-loved toys...

...Are newly-loved toys in the Brown house at the moment.

Appropriate play

Always a big thing with ASD kids....are they playing appropriately with toys?  Here, Hugo constructed a house from Lego blocks, forming a little town, chatting the entire time, talking to the pieces he is building.  Great to see.

How do I look?

Dash curious about what he looks like in Mommy's headband.

Rolling With The Kids...

I recently answered a request from a group I follow on Facebook.  Transportation Alternatives.  They were looking for parents who cart their kids around the city by bike.  The result is this article:

Afternoon Nap

Rough Afternoon on the Trail

If it's not one it's the other...always some grumpus on a hike.   Guess who today.

Trip to park in Nassau County

From last weekend

November Hike

Lots of crying and whining and then.....the boys started walking hand in hand

A boy for each knee...

Favorite Songs

Daylight savings made for a long day...why not sing, sing, sing!

Movin' and Shakin"

Dance lessons from the park today...

Hugo and the Turbulent Sea

Two kitties needed to manage this vortex.  ;)

Old School Batman

Dash at Lots-of-Tots with Jennifer this morning.

50 lbs baby!

It's Not A Party Unless They All End Up In The Tub

As the weather gets cooler, we're enjoying more indoor play dates with friends from Hugo's school.  The kids are at an age where they're really connecting with friends and find new places exciting (last year at this time Hugo struggled with social anxiety, making outings tough).  Not sure if this is just a NYC thing, but a really good play date ends with everyone in the bath tub!  Nothing better than clean kids in jammies ready for bed to cap off a wonderful day.

Fly Guy

...that's the book Mommy is reading in this picture.

America's Got Talent?!

Here's a video of Hugo singing in school today.
Hello, pop star!  :)

 

My Recent Ride To Work

Z

For reasons too lengthy to explain, Hugo lost the use of his school bus this past week, so I have had the pleasure of biking him in.  Although, things did not start out as any great pleasure.  Biking Hugo into the city meant a change in routine ("I want bus"), which in turn means a couple full-on ragers until Hugo warms up to the idea of something new.  Thankfully in this case, he did. 

For instance today, when we entered Manhattan, I could hear him behind me, counting the cars when we stopped at traffic lights;  his count would always start slow, then get faster as he counted into the teens, and then break off in jibberish numbers after 18 (even though he knows numbers beyond this).

Anyway, the best part of all this for me has been the drop off.  He's immediately greeted with elation by teachers who care for him, and he greets them back, remembering all their names, keeping their identities straight.  He get's into the classroom, puts his coat away and engages in something immediately, today it was Legos.

A sense of ease and peace is not something our son comes by readily.  So to see him so comfortable, engaged, and aware as he starts his day, as I part with him and head to work, fills me with simple yet undefinable happiness.  It's back on the bus tomorrow, though, and I will miss saying goodbye in these moments (if/until another bus issue comes up).

Dash with Pals

At Alley Park Playground.

A boy and his duck

At the Alley Playground in Eastern Queens.

Hair did

Much needed grooming for F and D.

Time-honored tradition

The consuption of RediWhip goes back a few generations on Jennifer's side of rhe family.

Boy Blanket Soup

With our friends Max and Phillip.

Couch Potatoes

Pacifying Screen Glow

Picnic in the park

Jen got this great shot of Dash and his girlfriends from this morning...had to post.

An Afternoon In The Orchard

We can never know what the future holds, but there's nothing like an afternoon on a bucolic hillside orchard in New Jersey picking apples to help Jen and I appreciate the wonder and delight of being in the moment with our boys (notwithstanding the odd flaming-hot tantrum here and there).   If you can't view the slideshow below, click here.

Some mornimgs are more entertaining than others

Just photos