Puddle Jumping

When the princess was small it was a given that if it rained she was going to be out the door running through every puddle she could find.  With Little Man it is a different story.  There are so many factors in a puddle to not be liked by someone with sensory problems.  First, there's the cold, then there's the squishy mud, then there's the pesky grass that tickles your feet, and then to top it off there was the wet concrete you have to walk on to get TO the puddle!

We came home from running an errand on Friday after a monsoon and Little Man had pulled his shoes off in the car.  When you pull him out of the car with no shoes he tries to climb up your body saying "up" the whole time because he doesn't want his bare feet to hit the concrete.  But, we always put him down and make him walk if he chooses to take off his shoes.  He usually tiptoes in the most direct route to the door and the safety of carpeted floor.  

Yesterday I put him down and watched him start his tiptoe, but then he saw the puddle.  He kept looking at me  and then the puddle.  He didn't ask, I just said,  "Sure, go jump in it." I thought there was no way in God's green earth he would do it.  But, he tiptoed ever so carefully to the puddle.  Then he stood right at the edge trying to decide if it was going to be worth the effort, but once he got his first foot in he never looked back!

No, Doug didn't do any picture doctoring here, Little Man actually has some ups going on! How else are you going to get a big splash!

And these are the challenges with a kid who is sensory challenged.  He is now covered in water and mud from the knees down and his wet jean shorts are sticking to him, then he gets something on his finger.  You can see as he tries to get it off and it checking out his finger like it might bite him!  Within minutes of this he was in a warm bath getting off all the gunky stuff, but this puddle jumping was a big victory for Little Man.