The Move, Part 3

Sorry for the interruption, but we only have one real computer (it's pretty tough to blog from the iPhone, though I've done it in the past) at the moment and Monster is having a blast playing games on it.

We had thought we had a place all set up for us in RI before we ever left CA. However, the owner decided he didn't want a dog on the property and Mr. had the un-enviable job of finding us a new place to live in little to no time. He did spectacularly-he found us a rather quirky place not to far from the water. It has a finished basement (with kitchen and spare bedroom), a huge deck and a beautiful open backyard that came with a tree swing and swing set (that we have added a slide to since moving in).

Move-in day was extremely hot and humid. We started out late; both the owner and the moving van was here before us. Monster was a trooper-playing in the house and deciding on the downstairs as "his" place for the day. He also fell in love with the outside swing. IN fact, he has tried to sneak out several times (and succeeded a few heartstopping instances) in order to get back there and play. We seem to spend a lot of time back there in the mornings rather than his playing with DVDs.

Since moving in, Monster has had a difficult time of things. As usual, it manifests in his bedtime routine and sleeping habits. He has never been an easy kid when it came to going to bed. He and I have had some epic battles in the past when it has come to sleep. Recently (as in before the move) his nighttime problems seem to have subsided quite a bit. However, the move seemed to have instilled a whole new host of problems.

One thing Monster has been doing lately, which is both pretty remarkable and difficult to deal with. Monster has taken to reciting entire Go Diego Go episodes. I realize that in the scheme of Autism, that's fairly typical, but for Monster, he hasn't done this before (partially because he couldn't or wouldn't speak) and it is pretty cool to hear him utter entire sentences, even if he is just is reciting something. On the other hand, this is just another way for him to tune out the world. He seems to start reciting things when he is either upset, or overwhelmed or doesn't want to listen to us, which these days is often.

I realize that set backs are going to happen, especially when I've completely turned his world upside down. So I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. He has found another way to check out from us, but at least he is speaking when he does it.

Hopefully he will settle in more and get more comfortable with the new place and we can build on this.