egg hunting

Last Saturday was our third annual egg hunt at our good friends', the Robertsons, house. I don't remember exactly how our egg hunt began, but I know it was during a rough time for us. Luke was 2, and we were just realizing the extent of his developmental delays. He was in therapy, but we didn't have his autism diagnosis yet. It was a time of a lot of unknown and worry. And his anxiety was really beginning to manifest. So, I remember talking to Lisa about how the church egg hunt was just out of the question. He couldn't handle 200 excited, screaming kids running for eggs, and I couldn't either. And then Lisa came up with this great idea for an egg hunt at her house with just a few friends. And now it's a tradition.



Here's Luke with the cupcakes we made. Note the Easter theme (green sprinkles for grass and jelly bean eggs). My original design. Also, note the official Tupperware cupcake carrier. That's right. Look out Martha Stewart!




Here's some of the kids ready to head out and find some eggs. Luke was so excited waiting at the door (don't let his expression in the picture fool you). I asked him, "Luke, do you know what you're going to do outside?" He said, "Um, nope!" I told him to find eggs and put them in his basket. I really should have practiced beforehand. Slacker mom. But he figured it out really quickly.

See, he's got it down. Even looking at camera with a smile! This was the first year I didn't have to walk around carrying his basket for him and giving him specific instructions on each egg. Woo hoo!

Alison (aka Miss Ellen. Luke gets those names confused all the time.) helping Luke stretch for an egg.

Aiden was very sweet to help Luke find some eggs. I just can't believe how grown up these kids are! Luke is really into following the lead of peers, doing what they're doing. It's a skill we've worked on, as in when you don't know what do, look and see what your friends are doing (standing in line, sitting down for circle, etc.) So he did this very literally at the egg hunt, following his friends, going exactly where they were going, reaching for the same egg. I was able to explain that he needed to find his own eggs though and he got it.

Luke and Carley running for more eggs.

The kids and their loot.

And the moms and the kids. These ladies are great friends to me. The past two years I've met lots of moms of other kids disabilities and delays. And those ladies have been a lifeline to me and I'm so thankful for them. But these ladies here were my friends prior to even having children, and they've really tried to be supportive to our family, despite not knowing what it's like to walk in our shoes. And I'm so thankful for them too. Their children are some of Luke's favorite people in the world, and he is so comfortable at their homes. And boy has that taken some work. There was many a get-together that Lamar and I did nothing but tend to Luke. But I'm so glad we kept trying, and I'm so thankful for my friends who hung with me through those really tough times.

And then of course there was some jumping. The kids sure loved the trampoline. I suggested the kids play Simon Says while they were on the trampoline. (Luke practiced that game at speech a few weeks ago). So the kids (all 3's and 4's, and one 2) took very brief turns as Simon, and they all gave the same direction, "Simon says hop like a bunny!" (which I guess makes sense given it was an egg hunt and they were on a trampoline). Luke typically just copies the same directions when he's the leader too. But when it was his turn he said, "Simon says touch your toes." I think he really understands the game on an age appropriate level.

We also played Duck Duck Goose. Luke really likes that game too. He has a hard time remembering when to sit down and stop running. I think we need to practice that on the floor with a marked circle or pillows to sit on, just some visual cues I think would help.

I think the egg hunt was a big success this year. It just warms my heart to see Luke enjoying time with his friends.

The next day as we looked through his eggs, I asked Luke if he wanted to eat some of the candy. He opened the egg and pretended to eat it. I guess it makes sense he thought it was pretend food. The plastic eggs look a lot like our play food. So I opened a mini bag of Skittles and ate one. He looked at me in shock, and then tried one himself. Then he devoured the bag and asked for another. I wonder why I thought he needed to learn it was real candy.