Trial Run

What an exciting weekend we've had! Friday afternoon we brought Sunny home to stay the night and then planned to spend all day Saturday with her so she can spend more one on one time with us and we can all get to know each other better.  Sunny needs to do this so she can start seeing us as part of her "pack" and learn to trust us more.

Friday evening was definitely different...for all of us.  Sunny spent a lot of time exploring and sniffing around the house, getting to know her surroundings.  The boys were super excited to have her with us.  We spent some time outside playing and relaxing.

We decided to take a walk to the park to let the boys run off some energy.  We took a longer route to the park so we could practice walking with her. 

Walking to the park

She did wonderfully as did Charlie (and Dad).  It's fun to see that she looks to the side every so often to see how Charlie is doing.  She wears her vest whenever we go out so she knows she's working and has a job to do (and others won't see her as just a family pet and approach her).  And she takes it seriously.  You can see a slight shift with her when you put the vest on as she goes into working mode.  

Waiting for the boys at the park

Night time was interesting.  We knew not to expect her to sleep with Charlie the entire night, and she didn't.  She's not used to us, our house or our routine so of course she needs to have an adjustment period.  She laid in his bed for short amounts of time during bedtime but eventually slept most of the night in the living room on her dog bed. 

We knew we would have all day Saturday with her but didn't have much planned.  We were running really low on several staple food items so decided we were comfortable enough to try a Costco run with her.  We had a short list and knew it wouldn't be a long trip.  Plus, Tyler and I were both there for reinforcement if something didn't go well.  But it did!!  We got what we needed and we even stayed after shopping so the boys could have a quick lunch.  Sunny did marvelously and so did the boys.  No meltdowns from Charlie while shopping, he was so much more regulated!  We even had a couple people stop and ask us about her being a service dog asking us how long we've had her (umm....today's the first day, HA!) or overheard some mamas telling their kids that they couldn't touch the dog because she was working (wonderful!  Thank you!).

Cruising Costco

After Costco we hung around at home.  Laid around, played outside, went for walks, played fetch and just spent time together.  We knew Mike would be around to pick Sunny up in the evening but things were going so well we asked to keep her for another night.  We usually go to church on Saturday's to avoid the Sunday crowd so we thought we'd give it a try.  We need to try it at some point, might as well be now!!  It couldn't have gone any better.  I'll admit...I felt a little strange walking a dog into church but everyone that came in contact with us embraced the change.  

Transitioning Charlie to his Sunday School room is usually a challenge.  It takes a lot of time, a lot of coaxing and sometimes a few shed tears.  But this weekend Charlie walked into the room with Sunny, introduced her to all his teachers and told them how much he loves Sunny.  Since Charlie is unable to handle Sunny on his own right now, we will take Sunny to service with us.  And we talked with Charlie about this before we left.  We reminded him that Sunny would come pick him up in a little bit after church before we left his room.  He accepted that pretty well and gave her a hug goodbye for the short time they'd be apart.  WOW.  Big difference.  Huge difference!

During the service Sunny did great.  She walked into the isle we were sitting in and sat down right away.  After a couple minutes she made herself comfortable, laid down on the floor and fell asleep.  

Night 2- Saturday Night:  When we got home from church it was time to get ready for bed.  We knew it would take Charlie awhile to settle down and be ready to go to sleep, it always does.  Tyler helped Easton and Christian get into bed while Charlie and I read some books in the living room (Sunny relaxed on the kitchen floor).

When Charlie was ready to lay down we brought Sunny in his room with us.  She jumped up on the bed and settled in right next to Charlie.  However, whenever Tyler or I left the room, Sunny wanted to leave with us.  Since Charlie wanted her in there I decided to stay with them until they fell asleep.  I snuck out once they did and Sunny stayed in there for a short time.  She did eventually come out and sleep on her dog bed again.  Around 4am Charlie woke up with a bad dream.  Tyler took Sunny back in there to help soothe Charlie.  They both fell back asleep with one another!  Again, I don't expect things to be perfect the first time she's with us.  It's a learning experience for all of us.  But you could tell she really did help him through the night.

Sunday has been a lazy day at our house.  We don't have many of these so it's a welcomed change for us.  Sunny enjoyed a marrow bone on the deck while I enjoyed my coffee out there.  The boys eventually joined us on the deck to eat their breakfast as well.  

Bonding

We've enjoyed relaxing today, getting caught up on housework, budgeting, playing outside, going for walks and just being together today.  And Sunny was all a part of it.  You can definitely tell she's become more comfortable with us in just a couple of days.  We've been able to practice some commands and things she will do to help Charlie calm down.  

Important work being done here!

It hasn't been just Charlie bonding with Sunny, we've all had time to do some snuggles and bonding with her all weekend.  The boys are learning some of the commands we use with her and have had plenty of opportunity to give out some treats (everyone's favorite thing to do).  At one point today the boys were playing in the front yard.  Sunny was in the house with Tyler and I.  I went out to check on the boys and see what they were doing.  I was followed closely by Sunny who was wondering what I was doing.  I let her come out front with me (without a leash- as she doesn't go far without you).  We could see the boys a few driveways down playing with remote control cars on the sidewalk.  Sunny spotted the boys and began walking towards them on her own.  I followed behind her- kind of amazed that she had that interest.  We got to the boys and she checked in with each of them.  She approached each one individually, sniffed them or licked them and then went on to the next boy.  She wanted to see what they were up to and see that they were ok!  I think we may be part of her pack now!

Christian giving belly rubs

Just getting to know one another

The original plan was to get Sunny around the beginning of October.  We all want to see Sunny be able to start school with Charlie which is August 31.  Plus things are going really well training wise so the goal is to have her full time by the end of August!  We'll hopefully have an update on how things are going to work with Charlie bringing Sunny to school with him after next week (we meet with the school again Aug. 2).

We know she's an amazing dog, but we've really been able to see that by spending the last 2 days with her.  She's truly a blessing to us and we think she'll fit in perfectly with our family.

From One Autism Mom to Another

Pretty exciting day today.  We met Sunny and her trainer at a local restaurant for lunch today.  We wanted a test run to see how to handle situations in a restaurant while Mike was with us to give us tips and pointers.  The Canadian Honker graciously gave us half the restaurant to ourselves so we could try things out in a less chaotic environment.

Sunny got situated right next to Charlie.  She had to scope things out first before she settled in under the table.  Charlie did well by checking in with Sunny every few minutes and scratching her ears.  And she kept him calm and interested in his coloring page.  No meltdowns.  No trying to walk away from our table.  No running around the restaurant.  It went really well overall.  The boys each got a kids meal and Tyler and Mike ate a meal as well.  I ate leftover kid food (c'mon moms, you all know what I'm talking about!).  Everyone was filled up and we got to enjoy some good food without it being a total disaster.  Normally one parent is at the table with 2 boys and the other ends up walking around with Charlie or takes him outside.  Today we got to eat as a family.  And then this happened and totally blew me away....

Our waitress, Cassie, delivered this note along with our bill- which she had paid for in full.  I was totally speechless.  It's people like this that make a difference in today's world.  People with compassion and grace.  

Cassie, we can't thank you enough for your service and patience during our meal.  You truly made our first time out with Sunny a great experience.  Your kindness and compassion will stay with me forever.  Thank you.

Learning Curve

Sunny came over for more training with us tonight!  Sunny knows what her job is and she knows the commands, but now she needs to start transferring those skills to Charlie.  So tonight we worked on that a bit.  We showed Charlie how Sunny can help him if he's feeling scared, overwhelmed, angry, upset or sad.  Sunny is trained to lay on Charlie when he needs that support and reassurance or sometimes that deep pressure from Sunny laying on him.

Sunny doing "lap" when Charlie is sitting in a chair

Sunny will get up onto Charlie's lap when he is sitting to help calm him down when needed.  This can be helpful at school, church, out to eat (we rarely eat out) or at home when Charlie is having a difficult time.  

We also practiced the same thing while Charlie was laying down.  This will be helpful when Charlie is already in meltdown mode and needs more heavier pressure and reassurance. Also will be huge for bedtime to help Charlie get to sleep and hopefully sleep more soundly.

I think this is my new favorite. Sunny settled in with him quickly

We also wanted to get a little experience riding in the truck with Sunny.  We know this riding arrangement isn't ideal- we'd love to have a little more space for her to ride, but this is how we'll roll (literally) for now until we can save up enough for a new vehicle.

Wait....I see 2 dog heads.....

We know you might wonder why Sunny needs to ride IN the truck with us.  Well, car rides have always been a huge stressor for Charlie.  Being on the road for an hour is about his limit.  We've had to get creative if we are going on a longer road trip.  And we'd love to start doing more traveling as a family.  We hope traveling by plane is a reality in the near future as well- and yes, Sunny will go on the plane as well. 

Oh, you see 2 dog heads too?!  Ha! Well, Sunny's friend, Thor, decided to go for a ride with us too!  To say we had a full vehicle is an understatement!

Sunny's friend, Thor

Tyler and I will continue 1:1 training with Mike on Tuesday next week and will likely come over another day or two next week to work with Charlie as well.  We may have an opportunity to take a test run at a restaurant with Sunny soon.  Mike has some connections in Rochester with a restaurant owner who is willing to let us come in during "off" hours to try eating out as a family with Sunny along.  This will be the biggest change and learning curve- getting comfortable having Sunny with us EVERYWHERE.  But we're excited because we know this is going to make a difference for our sweet boy.

We're Getting Closer!

Hit the ground running today with a few hours of training with Sunny.  Tyler and I spent some time with Mike and Sunny today to start learning how to handle her, give commands and just be comfortable with each other in general.  We walked with Sunny downtown Rochester as well as inside Mayo Clinic to be exposed to different scenarios and situations.  Sunny knows what she's doing, it's Tyler and I that need to learn what to do!

Learning to trust each other

We spent time learning a few different commands, navigating elevators, escalators, stairs, and different ground surfaces.  Mike gave us some pointers on how to handle different reactions that Sunny might have in different situations.  Later this week Sunny will work with Charlie on a few different commands that will benefit Charlie, especially when he's going into meltdown mode.  Today we were able to witness and work with Sunny on the command "block" where she will stand in front of Charlie and block his way from entering traffic or keep him safe from potentially harmful situations.  We'll start bringing the boys (one by one initially) out with us during these training sessions too as well as possibly trying to go out to eat as a family (with Sunny and Mike) so we can learn how Sunny can help Charlie in that capacity (we rarely go out to eat as a family as it is extremely overwhelming for Charlie).

Walking downtown 

Tyler and I will be working intensively with Sunny the next few weeks to become more familiar with each other and we'll start incorporating the boys soon as well.  In a couple weeks we look forward to Sunny being able to come spend full days with us at home where she will learn that we are part of her pack and we can have trial runs with her at home and in public.  We're getting closer!

Charlie Needs You Sunny

Charlie needed you tonight, Sunny.  It was one of those nights where everything took a turn quickly.  The boys played outside all evening and had fun with sparklers.  Before starting sparklers I told the boys that when we were done with them we were going in to go to bed.  You see, Charlie especially, needs lots of prepping for the next step or next activity.  Transitions are hard for him so something as simple as going inside the house from playing outside is tough.


The boys finished their sparklers and played around a few minutes more.  When I announced it was time to go in Charlie immediately became upset.  He began pacing, screaming and then walking away from me into the yard.  When I followed he became even more upset.  I was able to convince him we could have a snack before bed and got him in the house.  Like usual, Charlie evaded getting his jammies on.  He chose a snack and ate that while goofing around with his brothers.  As soon as snack was done, he was off doing something else to avoid getting ready for bed.  This is pretty typical for Charlie.  Bedtime and sleeping has always been a struggle.  When Tyler announced he was going to help Charlie get his jammies on and into bed, Charlie melted down even more with screaming and banging his head on the floor.  Of course, we're trying to wrangle the other 2 boys into their jammies and other bedtime routine activities. 


Pretty normal night in our house, but for two parents who are already exhausted from a long week, its the last thing we want to be doing at almost 9pm.  We were finally able to get Charlie into his bed but he was still distraught.  He cried for Tank and how much he misses him.  He cried that he wanted to keep Sunny.  I ended up laying with him, rubbing his back and eventually laying half way on him to provide deep pressure that he was needing to help him calm down.  And it worked.  He fell finally fell asleep.  I'm sure Charlie would have preferred Sunny to lay on him rather than his mother.  Charlie needed you tonight, Sunny.






Charlie with our previous dog & best friend, Tank.  They had an incredible bond.



Re-united

Between our crazy schedule and the schedule of Sunny and her trainer we haven't been able to spend much time with Sunny lately.  And Charlie has let us know he doesn't like the long wait between visits.  He's actually been verbalizing that he misses Sunny and asks when he'll get to see her again.  For Charlie to verbalize what he's thinking and what he wants is great.  Many times he can't express what he is feeling and instead it comes out in frustration and ends in meltdowns.  

Our standing appointment each week is Thursdays but with the long period of time from our last visit with her, and Charlie's stress level from having an unstructured Summer, we asked if Sunny could come earlier this week.  And she did!!  Thank you, Mike, for being so flexible!!

We've had a busy Summer so far with lots of unstructured time and lots of camping.  All of us love camping, but it proves to be tough for Charlie.  Usually by the first full day he's asking to go home.  We find ways to get us all through the trip, but sometimes it can be tough.  This weekend's camping trip seemed a little more difficult so a visit from Sunny was just what we all needed.  

See that grin? That grin says it all.

The boys enjoyed playing with Sunny this afternoon and having some fun with her.  Mike showed them how to give her some simple commands and then give her treats/praise for listening.  Charlie got to walk around the living room with Sunny while holding the handle on her vest.....and LOVED it.  The boys even got her to crawl through their play tube a few times!  They were so excited that they got her to do it.  

Sunny wasn't so sure about the whole thing at first.  Took a little convincing, but she did it!  And had Charlie to greet her at the end.  

We'll be getting into the "meat" of training starting next week.  Up until this point, Sunny has been doing all the hard work and training.  But starting next week, Tyler and I will begin to spend several hours a week with Sunny and Mike so we can learn how to give commands and handle her, especially out in public.  We'll do this for 3-4 weeks and then start to slowly incorporate the boys into those training sessions as well.  Tyler and I look forward to these sessions and know we are blessed to have this opportunity.  Not everyone with service dogs gets to be this involved with their dog's training.  

We were told Sunny gets to fly on a plane this week during a business trip Mike needs to make.  Mike knew one of our requests was for Sunny to be familiar with flying as we'd like to travel as a family in the future.  We're excited to hear how that goes!

Sometimes Mike will let the boys give Sunny some treats during her visit.  Charlie has come to love laying down, setting the treats on his torso and then have Sunny eat the treats off of him.  Charlie calls it "being a table" for Sunny to eat off of.  It's pretty funny to watch.

Hugs goodbye for this week

All the fun must come to an end at some point (for now).  Goodbye's are tough.  Especially when Charlie whispered in my ear during Sunny's visit today, "can Sunny come live with us now?"  It's so hard for him to understand the time frame.  We keep reminding Charlie that Sunny still needs lots of training so she can do so many wonderful things with/for him.  He seems to understand that part, but how long it will take is harder to grasp.  Until next time....they sealed it with a kiss.

Seal this goodbye with a kiss

Back by Popular Demand

Our t-shirt fundraiser was such a hit and we've had so many people ask to get shirts that we've decided to open it up for a second round!! If you'd like to get a shirt to help support Charlie and his service dog, Sunny, you can order here:  T-Shirts

Please feel free to share this fundraiser with others. We will have this open until July 29. But don't wait until last minute to order, that's how some people missed out last time. And this may be our last time doing this fundraiser.

Thanks for all your support!!

This Is How We Roll

4th of July has come and gone.  We love this holiday.  It's one of our favorites.  Lots of family (either on Tyler's side of the family or mine), good food, tons of fun.....but it's a little tricky for us as well.  With all of the fun festivities come overstimulation, lack of sleep and sensory overload for Charlie.  All of which result in massive meltdowns.  But we've learned a lot in the last year and we tried to be as prepared as possible.

We knew we were going to a parade.  And in the past he has had a hard time sitting through them.  He just get's too overstimulated with everything to look at, gobs of people all around, candy being thrown, people yelling "go get the candy", and the noises of all the cars/trucks/tractors/fire trucks/police cars, etc going by.  One word people......earmuffs.  These handy dandy tools have made all the difference in 2 parades so far this summer.  He was reluctant to put them on at first and even asked me "why do I have to wear them but my brother's don't have to?"  I reminded him he didn't need to wear them if he didn't want to, it was his choice.  And here was the result.....

This was at the very beginning where the police cars were flipping their sirens randomly and the service men were firing their guns.  Poor guy.  I reminded him that he could put his ear muffs on if he wanted to and that no one would mind if he had them on.  He finally put them on and started to enjoy the parade a bit.  

He was reluctant to go get the candy at first.  He didn't want to leave mom's side.  As soon as mom sat on the curb with him he became more interested.  And he sat for the entire parade.  Over an hour of taking in the whole parade.  

We didn't plan to go to fireworks.  It would end up being too late on a weekday night when we all needed to get up the next day.  Plus, after such a busy day we were surely in for some meltdowns if tried to stretch it too far.  But, all in all, the 4th was a success.  We had other tools to use if the earmuffs were a bust, but luckily we didn't need to get them out!

Charlie and Dad rocking sunglasses and earmuffs at the Spring Grove Parade 2 weeks ago