Birthday Lists, 2013

Yes, it's Birthday Season again! Well almost. But it is coming. So here's the annual list of things that we collectively would like.

In general, we're looking for a low-stuff or stuff-free season. The boys have lots of toys, and we're well into an awkward phase where Alex where age-appropriate toys are far too fragile for him to play with, while Nathan is similarly approaching a point where age-appropriate toys for him will be too fragile for Alex to play with.

Things to keep in mind:

• Soft plastic toys will be chewed and destroyed. Alex loves the feeling of chewing soft plastic. 
• We're not big on toys with lots of parts, as Alex will pick out a few and then stim on them. They also tend to get dumped on the floor so he can sort through them. Right now he's going through a phase where he's destroying Playmobile pieces.
• We do collect regular-sized Lego and MegaBlocks, and access to them is regulated so that we can avoid both the stimming and dumped-out-on-the-floor problems. 

If you have any questions about suitability of something, just ask Jenn or me.

Alex likes:

• firetrucks
• buses (school and city)
• people figures (action figures)

Nathan likes:

• cars (including Disney Cars)
• dinosaurs
• Iron Man
• trains

In general, we would like some donations to help subsidize the cost of the summer activities:

• Alex is doing soccer, riding, and a bi-weekly speech therapy camp 
• Nathan will be doing several one-week day camps with names like "Junior Jams" and "Fun In The Sun"; he's also signed up for riding and soccer 
• There's also going to be skiing (for both boys) and hockey (for at least Alex) coming next winter 

Jenn would like some gift cards for books, clothing, or iTunes. Jenn is also looking for

• House DVDs, season 3 and up 
• Fringe DVDs, any season 

David would like some gift cards for Marks Work Wear House or iTunes. David also likes Iron Man, see this list of the collection and wants.

We're also always looking for DVDs on our VHS-to-DVD list, so if you can find any of those in the $5 bin somewhere that would be nice.

Thanks for looking.

One Last Word On The Zamboni

I realize that people may be getting tired of the whole zamboni thing, but there's one thing I did want to point out.

(Oh yes, if you missed it here is Jenn's post on last night.)

If you watch the video we linked to, you'll see that Alex watches one of the skaters go by the Zamboni, and then says something to him.  I don't know what it is, but Alex is initiating with someone.

If you watch this second video that I've just posted, you can see that as the Zamboni goes by, he studies the ice at the side of the Zamboni and then turns and comments on something to the driver.  The driver responds, and there is an exchange of thumbs up.

I think this is great, he spontaneously initiated a conversation with someone who was essentially a total stranger (although he was a total stranger with a cool job).

Alex frequently looks totally cool about things that he likes, but today when he came home his first words were "Alex would like to ride the zamboni tonight, please."

I hope he gets another opportunity in the future.

I'd like to add to Jenn's thanks to Canadian Tire and to the Ottawa Senators for the evening, I'm sure it will be one that Alex long remembers.

My Son, The Unintentional Comedian

At school.

Teacher: Alex, can you think of something that is rough?

Alex: [silence]

Teacher: OK Alex, can you think of something smooth?

Alex (instantly): Operator.

Brief Update

We had a meeting with Alex's first-grade teacher last week, and right now it looks like Alex will meet the academic standards for graduating grade one! This is despite him missing four afternoons a week from September through the end of February when he was in the Transition program.

Of course this would not be possible without the hard work from the people in his school and class, and the tutor that has been seeing Alex once a week as well.

Alex has worked really hard this year and we are all very proud of him.

Hotwheels

We were playing with the track on Saturday. Or rather, I set up some track, Nathan played with it, and I played with the camera.



(That jump was landed.)

Sesame Street Live

It isn't clear, but the blue blobs are Alex and Grover.

I think the picture of Alex smiling is one of my favorites, ever. It is rare to see Alex so genuinely engaged and happy and enthralled; it is even rarer to capture it with a camera.

Thanks to Ave and Meme who made this afternoon possible.

2010 Christmas Wishlists

Jennifer writes (and David posts):

Dave:

Dave is requesting a non-stuff Christmas so he'd rather get options to go out and do something rather than a physical present. If tickets, etc, seem too pricey, then a cash donation is always acceptable.

Ideas for tickets: Australian Pink Floyd Show, Hockey, plays at the NAC, etc (he tends to enjoy the classics more than the moderns), concerts at the NAC (he enjoys the pops series).

Other ideas: gift certificates to restaurants, movies, Chapters, Tip Top or the Bay.

Jenn:

I'll take a second ticket to an event that Dave wants to go to as my
gift (except hockey). Anything at the NAC would be a nice evening for me.

DVDs: Blindside, Connie and Carla, Easy A

Gift Certificates: Chapters, Future Shop, Addition Elle, The Shoe Company

Alex:

For the boys, we're also asking for a reduction in the sheer amount of stuff that comes home with us. Alex is very much enjoying playing soccer at school and he's enjoying music, so if someone would like to help cover the costs of some lessons, that would be great.

He would love to have an iPad of his own.

Clothes: Tops: size 7/8 Pants: size 6 or 6X Shoes: size 13

Books: He's doing very well with more complex stories and seems to really like the more scientific stuff, like geography or nature books.

Interests: Sesame Street, Elmo, Wiggles, science, numbers + math

Gift Certificates: iTunes (he likes a lot of music and videos and has his own iPod)

Nathan:

We're asking for a reduction of stuff for both boys but for Nathan, we'd also like to skip the clothes. His drawers are literally bursting
with stuff.

Nathan really loves to dance so if anyone would like to help with the cost of lessons, that would be great.

Interests: Sesame Street, Dinosaurs, music, animals

Toy ideas: musical instruments (of reasonable quality and simple to play), toy figures or animals.

Our dollhouse has been broken in disputes and Nathan would love to get
a new one.