Our Weekend of Milestones

We had a lot of positives happen this weekend. I mean, we try to make sure every day has a bit of positive in it, but this weekend we’re celebrating some pretty huge milestones for us.

On Saturday, Shamus and I decided on a whim to take the kids to a sit down restaurant. They both did amazing! I am going to break down as I go, because it is such a big freaking deal and we’ve been working up to this for forever.

Both kids came into the restaurant with no issues and sat in a booth. This is a big deal for Penny because she often struggles with going to new places  – she’ll cuddle into me or put her hat in front of her face so she doesn’t have to see where we’re going.  Rory took off his hat, coat, and boots. Penny didn’t want to take off of her outdoor clothes, but she told me “nope” when I asked if she would be more comfortable. Great decision making on her part – no fuss.

While Rory danced in the window next to the booth (he was very excited to be there) Penny and I looked over the menu and she picked out Chicken Nuggets. To explain why this is such a big deal requires a bit of backstory. The kids have a hard time trying different foods. There are a few items that they will eat, but for the most part it’s the same things over and over again. About a year and a half ago McDonalds took their grilled cheese off the menu, so Penny reluctantly tried their chicken nuggets. We’ve been working to expand the hell out of that ever since. The kids had their first “different” take-out chicken last March when Shamus bought them chicken tenders from Dominion after gymnastics (I remember it well – I made a specific facebook post because I was literally crying with excitement), and that opened a lot of doors for us.  Different brands and different shapes – even small pieces of cooked chicken dipped in ketchup (and for Penny, a bite of turkey over Christmas!). We were able to try food trucks this summer and Mary Brown’s etc. Rory actually won’t eat much chicken anymore, but we have learned he will eat basically any french fry as long as it’s dipped in ketchup. We’re trying to use this to expand on his food at the moment, but not having much luck – although, I hear he eats a lot at daycare.

Anyways, so when the waitress came, I told Penny it was time to order. She first got confused and said, “I want IPad, please” (they were taking her order with an IPad) but then remembered why we were there and said, “I want Chicken Nuggets, please”. She used her eye contact with the waitress, and spoke quietly but very clearly. So proud of her for this.  She used her eye contact to connect to the lady, which she sometimes struggles with, used a full sentence (with prompting) to order when asked, and used her words even though she’d prefer not to. 

Both kids waited patiently for their food – Penny looked at me a few times and calmly said, “I want chicken nuggets” because she was hungry, but she didn’t get upset. I think it was just her way of asking if the chicken nuggets were ready yet. All through this Rory was dancing and colouring. When I say he was excited to be there I really mean he was really excited to be there. He doesn’t often do well sitting at a table and likes to be running around, but he just kept standing up, sitting down, looking out the window, dancing, and cuddling his dad.

The food finally arrived. Penny’s chicken nuggets were shaped like dinosaurs and I initially panicked internally because we had never tried that shape before. Penny tried to eat them and announced quite loudly that they were “TOO HOT!” But she blew on them and then bit off the legs first and then the head to make the nuggets into a shape she’s used to. Excellent life hack, and no tears or screaming.

Rory was too excited to eat his grilled cheese, but he held it in his hand while loudly declaring that it was a “SANDWICH”. He also stole the carrot from the meal Shamus and I were sharing so he could loudly declare that he had a “CARROT”. He did eat the french fries that Shamus gave to him without any fight, and he drank every last drop of his chocolate milk.

Altogether, it was an amazing experience and so stress-free. The last few times we’ve tried it there’s been upset because of having to wait for food and them not understanding, or even just going into a new environment. The fact that they actually ate some food astounded me (although, I think Rory doesn’t necessarily need his own meal yet – noted for next time). We often try to avoid places where they’re likely to have a meltdown because unlike tantrums or general upset, meltdowns are very, very hard to get under control.

Overall, best experience ever. It is a small stepping stone for several things – even as far as possibly travelling with them some day! The sky is the limit, and the kids are constantly surprising us!

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Our second very big weekend news is that Rory had his first big birthday party today! We invited friends, family, and daycare friends. Altogether, including my two, there were 27 kids! 

Rory didn’t necessarily play with anyone, but he did bounce in the bouncy castle and just ran around and enjoyed himself. He also fell in love with a croissant which was both strange and hilarious. He didn’t eat it – he just liked playing with it.

I was a bit nervous about Penny because she tends to wander quietly away, but she didn’t try to today. When she needed a break she just went to nanny (my mom) and got a squeeze. She even did headstands with her cousin Anna. We came back to the house after to open presents and she didn’t want to participate in that because she was peopled out, which is fair.

Rory didn’t open his gifts (we may look into a program for this later because I think he would enjoy it) but he did play with most of the toys after they were opened for him. The cutest was when he collected about 8 cars in his arms and under his chin and tried to put them on the dining room table (which is where a lot of his cars live now). 

I couldn’t be prouder of both kiddos. I love when they surprise me with all they can accomplish. A bit selfishly, I’m also so incredibly excited to go to restaurants that aren’t McDonald’s now!