birdhouse

I got my Easter present today, I think! We decided to take the boys to Lowes this morning for the kids clinic project. They were going to build birdhouses, and we thought that'd actually be a cool project to have both the (bigger) boys do. Of course we never expected Jman to actually do it THERE.

And yet, he did. Wow. Seriously, Wow. Habeeb and I think that our building the jewelry box just a few days ago in the peace and quiet of our home probably was the biggest help for his success today. I think another piece that supported his participation was that they had the clinic in a small room with tables and chairs all set up in an organized way, rather than passing out mats to sit on in the back storeroom like at another Lowes he could never quite handle. Truly, scaffolding the environment like that can make a huge difference (better lighting, better acoustic even though it was still loud, tables and chairs for ergonomic comfort). And 'previewing' the event successfully is priceless (successfully making the box at home a few days prior, recent enough for the memory to be fresh, but far enough away for it not to be TOO fresh!).

Habeeb and Sly worked on Sly's birdhouse (with SB3 snoozing on Habeeb's back). Here's Sly with his finished birdhouse. Sly got a glimpse of the next project (a toy hang glider) and already put in his request to go back for that one (in two weeks).

Jman sat himself down at a seat at the table with all the supplies set out ready to go. I joined him and helped him open up and build his birdhouse. He was all over it! At one point I asked him if he was using a 'long' or 'short' nail. He didn't answer (no big surprise there!), so I hinted "sh-sh-sh-" and he looked up and finished, "Short." Very nice! I asked him that question a few more times, not to practice the words but because I really didn't know which nail he had grabbed and wanted to make sure he was using the right one. He always was. He never 'answered' again verbally, but he'd move his hand to show me what he had and that it was the right one.

The very last piece we had to put on was the bottom, and that required turning the birdhouse upside down. I didn't think anything of it, but as soon as I had it flipped and Jman grabbed the bottom place to put it in place, he said, "Up." Jman has an issue with "down" or "upside down." Things have to be "up" and they have to be right side up. You can drive the poor boy crazy by trying to drain the last of the ketchup out of a bottle! I acknowledged his "up" comment, and then he went ahead and nailed the bottom in place.

And as soon as he was done, he freaked out. I don't know if the success was too much for him, or if his noise capacity had finally reached tilt mode, or if the upside down was just too much, but in any case, he freaked out. Yes, we got some strange looks, but that's okay. It was a strange sight, after all. He'd been GREAT up until that point. But here's the good news: He DID finally calm done, after just a few minutes. It really wasn't THAT long, nor THAT bad. He calmed down, not quite enough to carry his birdhouse and certificate out of the store, but enough to walk out nicely with us while dad carried Jman's stuff. Once in the truck, Jman willingly and contentedly held his birdhouse while we drove off. Honestly, that recovery was a wonderful success as well, but not as fantastic as his building the birdhouse at the clinic in the first place! Way to go, Jman!

And here is Jman checking out his finished birdhouse, all ready for some feathered inhabitants to move in!