4th of July, Cole's favorite holiday

Cole waits all year long for the 4th of July. He LOVES fireworks. This past weekend was no exception. 

We had a great time on the 4th. We hosted a get together for our families. Everyone brought food and drinks to share and we enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon and evening together. Cole did really well having 15 people at his house. He played with the kids on the new water slide (more about that later) and spent time mowing the grass and using our blower to clean off the paths around our yard. Cole loved it when Pat did his mini-fireworks show in the back yard. And Cole was giddy with excitement at the caravan of cars who followed us to the fireworks. 

Cole sat on the blanket and snuggled us for 40 minutes while we waited for the show to start. He did amazing. Never once did he get upset or even ask when they were going to start. He sat on the blanket and took turns snuggling with various family members. He ate his Doritos and drank his grape juice box- happy as could be. When the show started he was thrilled. He loved the John Deere green fireworks and sat and watched in delight. It was so fun to see him so happy and just loving the show. He waits all year for this day.

The day didn't start out as well. As I've said in previous posts, days off from Cole's regular routine are always a challenge. Cole needs a consistent routine. He needs to know what to expect. If you deviate from that, there are always ramifications. 

Cole had the day off from MAC on Friday. We had a great morning together. I took him to Home Depot to see tractors and to CostCo to buy things for our get together. He was so well behaved and loved spending time with me. I even surprised him by taking him to Sears so he could sit on the Craftsman tractors. He was elated. I don't think he knew how to tell me just how excited he was, so he said, "ta da.... Merry Christmas!!". It was so cute. He checked out every single tractor they had, engine and all. I love seeing him smile like that. After our shopping excursion, he spend a few hours with Auntie Katie, who had just returned home from six months abroad.

At 8pm that night, Cole really wanted to go to the park. He wanted Connor to come and to bring their scooters. We tried hard to persuade him otherwise, but it didn't work. The anxiety level was way too high. We hurried and got things in the truck and I took the boys to Lions Park. It was fun, with the exception of me having to run through the trails chasing the boys in my flip flops and skirt. Clearly I was not prepared for this! Luckily Connor was with me. He is such a life saver for me. He did an awesome job keeping up with Cole and getting him to slow down or stop so I could catch up. Somehow we made it through safely and ended up having an ice cream treat before heading home.

The next morning was the 4th. Cole woke up and wanted to use his water slide. The boys have one of those inflatable water slides that you attach the hose to. They climb it and slide down. It has given them hours of entertainment over the past four summers. Pat got it down from the rafters and set it up. It usually inflates in about 30 seconds. Not today. Pat found several holes from critters. He patched them but there were still countless tiny holes from the vinyl getting stretched over the years. It soon became evident the water slide was done. Cole was irate. I mean really irate. 

We calmed him down and told him we would try to find another slide. Great... nothing like buying an inflatable slide after writing a huge check to fix the Tahoe this week! Isn't that how it always goes!?!? After trips to several stores and a lot of anxiety on Cole's part, we finally found a new water slide. Cole was beyond excited! We set it up and the boys had a wonderful time playing with it. We kept it inflated all day and the cousins were able to enjoy it, too. It is so nice to have an activity that Cole enjoys with other kids.

The get together we hosted went really well. Cole was happy to see everyone and he did a great job at finding things to entertain himself when he needed time alone. Typically when Cole is at a family gathering, he'll play with everyone for a while but then take time to himself. On this day, he mowed the grass and used the blower all over the yard! Later on in the evening, everyone sat in the back yard while Pat set off fireworks in the back yard. Cole loved it. 

Soon enough it was time to go to the fireworks. Cole could not contain his excitement. Everyone got in their cars and we headed to the fireworks. Cole loved the line of cars that followed us. He was waving out the window to his relatives, it was so cute! Everything about the show was great. Cole was incredibly well behaved. He was patient as we waited for 40 minutes. He just wanted to snuggle with Pat, Katie and I. He loved the fireworks and simply sat and enjoyed himself. What a night! 

July also brings the anniversary of Cole's Autism diagnosis. July 1st was the 5 year mark. It's hard to believe five years have passed since we learned of Cole's disability. It brings with it many mixed emotions. As difficult as it is to think back to that sad day and what it means for our family, I reflect on how much progress Cole has made and it gives me so much hope for his future. I plan to dedicate a blog entry to this subject later in the month. I've been looking over old video of Cole and it's been pretty amazing. 

We are getting family pictures taken tonight. Pray that things go well. We have only one family photo from the past eight years. We hope the session goes well. I just want one decent picture of the four of us together. Cole doesn't have to be looking at the camera, as long as you can see his handsome self with the rest of us I'll be a very happy mom.

I hope you enjoy the video below. It was taken this past week by Cole's PCA, Haley. Haley takes Cole to the Mall of America where he meets one of his friends from Fraser Academy. They have so much fun together. I'm so proud of Cole and the play date he went on!!!