Eddie's first sleep over

I tried to document as much as I could without constantly being on my phone etc. Eddie was so excited about his sleepover with his best friend, little Daniel.

The night of the sleepover, Eddie was super anxious, excited and hyper. I was a little concerned because he was slightly out of control. I had a talk with him an hour before Daniel arrived, about what my expectations were of him that night. But when Daniel got there, he just lost it. He was all over the place, trying to get Daniel to do what EDDIE wanted. After a while he was getting frustrated that Daniel would not cooperate. His frustration led to him acting out and I had to send him to his room for 15 minutes. He was crying in his room and I honestly felt like such a monster, but it was his consequence.

After the time out, he was able to return to the "party" and spend time with Daniel. The video shows Eddie and Daniel having fun.

The next morning, Eddie was on his best behavior. He was much more relaxed and more himself, being sweet to his friend. I told Eddie that I was proud that he was behaving well this morning.

The boys were sad to say goodbye. Little Daniel even wailed and bawled at the front door, after Eddie gave him a hug and said goodbye. About 20 minutes after Daniel left, Eddie was moping around saying he missed his friend. I told him to Facetime him (as they both have iPads.)  He did and now we are planning another sleepover at our place and their place soon.

Here is the video from my Snapchat.

These kinds of videos make me laugh

My Mother's Day gift

My gift made me cry tears of joy! 

Edward received an award today!

Edward had a difficult time adjusting at the beginning of his first grade school year. The family has been in agreement, including grandma and grandpa, in helping him improve his behavior.

This award is a wonderful reminder that all of our efforts are not in vain!

We are all so proud of Eddie!
This is the first award he has ever received. :)

When Darth Vader removes his mask

Eddie's brother from another mother

This week, we learned about managing problems, disagreements or situations in the following steps...

We gave the kids scenarios that typically upset them such as:

• "Recess is over when you are having a lot of fun" 
• "Time to leave a birthday party"
• "Mom or dad ask you to stop playing and clean your room"
• "You feel bored during class"
• "Someone snatched a toy from your hand"

Then an opportunity to use the steps mentioned above.

After that, they had a "real-life conflict": When they were playing together, they both reached for the same toy. During their disagreement, we reminded them to try the method above.
They decided to choose to take turns. They each did well with this method.

Eddie really responded well to it and I practiced with him for the rest of the day, each time there was conflict between us.

Eddie gave away one of his hats away to his best friend yesterday, after we had our weekly behavioral lesson. His friend was super happy about it, he really wants to be like Eddie and is even letting his hair grow like Eddie.
These two really care about each other and are now calling each other "brothers," as they are in an "only child" family and each wish they had siblings.