Now swimming, more of the same

Jill took Liam swimming Thursday and remembered when she got there that Liam did not have his lesson that day. Miss Karen was out for the day. Jill anticipated Liam would not understand get very upset because he could not swim. Jill just told Liam Miss Karen was sick and wasn’t there. Liam easily understood that and was ok with it. When I got home from work Liam must have told me Miss Karen was sick 20 times. It was nice to see he that he handled it as well as he did. Normally when Liam’s routine gets disrupted he can get very upset, and that can lead to a complete meltdown.

Friday Liam had his typical day at home with his brothers. He would have his repeated fits throughout the day. Liam did not have a nap all day and he really wanted to go with Seamus, Grandpa McCourt, and I to the Olmsted Falls vs. Avon Lake football game. I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to take him. This game was going to be jam packed. He ended up going and overall I would say he did great. With 4 minutes left in the first quarter Liam started with “I wanna go home” and “I wanna see mommy”. I just kept telling him how much more time was left. I also told him to look for his teacher who was no doubt at the game. I would even talk to him about what was going on out on the football field. We made about 4 trips to the concession stand and one to the restroom. I was especially proud of Liam as we just sat down and they ate a hot dog and drank some pop, he had to go potty. It was the middle of half time and off we went. We got to the restroom and there was a long line. I kept coaching Liam to hold it and keep being a big boy. After being in line for about 15 minutes Liam made it. Whew! Overall I thought Liam did great. Comparing him to a couple other kids that were 6 & 7 around us, and how they behaved with their fathers, Liam was better than they were. When we got home Liam got ready for bed and was asleep quite quickly.

Saturday Liam and Seamus had their soccer game. Seamus was first and as usual he had another great game with 4 goals. His team actually started to pass the ball like his coach and I have been stressing with them.

Liam’s game was right after Seamus’ game. Liam had another pretty good game. He was not difficult to get out on the field at all. When he was out there he was running right along with the other kids. When the ball would get in front of him he would kick it like he should. You can still see his foot being limp when it makes contact with the ball, but it has gotten better. Liam still is distracted on the field by all the noise from people cheering. Liam seems to hear something specific and he will start looking around the sidelines for where it came from. When a child gets hurt Liam shows a sincere concern and will continue to look at the child on the sideline. This distracts him as well when he is playing. I don’t know what to do about it. I’m inclined to just let it go given that this is first season and it is all so new. The best part of the game was when Liam was standing right in front of the goal. The ball rolled right in front of him and he just kicked it right in! His first goal. Liam was quite excited as he held his hands up and Coach Carr slapped him five. When he came off the field he so proud to tell us about it.

Saturday night Jill had to work so it was just dad and the boys all night. It was a beautiful evening and pretty quiet in the neighborhood. We ended up going down to our friends / neighbor’s house after dinner. The kids played on the trampoline and in the yard while Sean and I played a few games of cornhole. When it started getting dark the kids wanted a fire so Sean lit one for them. They had a good time at the fire. They even got to enjoy some roasted marshmallows. At 8pm we all went in the house to watch the Notre Dame vs. Purdue game. The whole time we were there, Liam was very well behaved, mainly because he knew everyone and it was quite active. We went home right before half time. Liam and his brothers were exhausted so I skipped the bath and put them to bed.

Sunday I was home with the boys most of the day as Jill went shopping. Liam had his usual fits when things didn’t go his way. I organized the cart a tv they use is on for him today. I took all his videos and put them in there for him to swap out as he needs. Liam was quite excited to have this done.

When Jill got home I went to cut the grass and Liam wanted to come outside. He was told no and a fit ensued. He was screaming, crying, and banging on the screen door when I went out. He ended up settling down in a few minutes. I noticed that when I went by dining room window and he was there to greet me. When I finished the lawn he came outside to play. The rest of the evening he was actually pretty good. He and bunch of the boys played football and were tackling each other. Nice large motor activity is right up his alley. That activity coupled with no nap during the day had him in bed by 8pm. He needs the sleep as another week of school is waiting.