So we went to a carnival the other day. Johnny hasn't been to one since he was about a month and a half old, and back then I covered his little sensitive ears. Who wouldn't with a 6 week old baby? But on Saturday we went on down to old Boalsburg's Memorial Day Parade & Carnival. (They claim to be the birthplace of the holiday, along with 11 other towns in the U.S. -- did you know?) I was soooo impressed and proud of my little dude. There were several times when a baton group or the marching band went by that I knew were going to be hard for him noise wise, but I gave him plenty of heads-up when they started to approach and he did great! He covered his ears and screwed up his face, but no tantrum and no freaking out. I couldn't be more proud.
I'm the same way in that if you give me advanced warning, I am usually able to handle loud noise. However, I have never seen that in my son. And that's not the only thing I've been pleasantly surprised by with him this past weekend! When we were at the carnival, not only did he ride the carousel on the horse, (he usually insists on sitting on a bench that isn't high and doesn't move, but with this one there was no option of that) but he also rode the "dragon ride" that goes up and down and around in circles. I expected it to scare the crap out of him and was anticipating having to tell the ride operator to shut it down 30 seconds into the ride, but he just grimaced and held on tight. When he got off he was just as happy with himself as I was.
Next was the fun house. With a good 10 kids stuck behind him while he moved at a snail's pace, he pushed onward and climbed up a very steep cargo net, went over a swinging bridge, and slid down the long and tall slide. When he came out at the bottom, he was so thrilled. "I DID IT!!!" Yes buddy, you did. You actually did. We did go on the big yellow slide, (one of those ones that stands like 3 stories high) but for some reason those ones never freak him out despite his height thing. My sister (the COTA) says that it is a depth perception thing when it comes to what he is willing to attempt most of the time. The big slide has stairs up that are so close together that there aren't any gaps. It looks like you're barely moving upward, and then when you are at the top, it is a long sloping decline. He can handle that, but he can't walk over a grate on the road. With the "dragon ride" he was in a large enclosed dragon-shaped seat that could have fit 3 of him. He couldn't really see the ground from where he was, only the movement of seeing me from eye level to having me disappear. Nevertheless, he wouldn't have gotten on the ride last summer with all the other kids his age.
So really, Johnny took a lot of bold steps this past weekend. He has been pushing up against the sides of his comfort zone. Proud mama, right here!
I'm the same way in that if you give me advanced warning, I am usually able to handle loud noise. However, I have never seen that in my son. And that's not the only thing I've been pleasantly surprised by with him this past weekend! When we were at the carnival, not only did he ride the carousel on the horse, (he usually insists on sitting on a bench that isn't high and doesn't move, but with this one there was no option of that) but he also rode the "dragon ride" that goes up and down and around in circles. I expected it to scare the crap out of him and was anticipating having to tell the ride operator to shut it down 30 seconds into the ride, but he just grimaced and held on tight. When he got off he was just as happy with himself as I was.
Next was the fun house. With a good 10 kids stuck behind him while he moved at a snail's pace, he pushed onward and climbed up a very steep cargo net, went over a swinging bridge, and slid down the long and tall slide. When he came out at the bottom, he was so thrilled. "I DID IT!!!" Yes buddy, you did. You actually did. We did go on the big yellow slide, (one of those ones that stands like 3 stories high) but for some reason those ones never freak him out despite his height thing. My sister (the COTA) says that it is a depth perception thing when it comes to what he is willing to attempt most of the time. The big slide has stairs up that are so close together that there aren't any gaps. It looks like you're barely moving upward, and then when you are at the top, it is a long sloping decline. He can handle that, but he can't walk over a grate on the road. With the "dragon ride" he was in a large enclosed dragon-shaped seat that could have fit 3 of him. He couldn't really see the ground from where he was, only the movement of seeing me from eye level to having me disappear. Nevertheless, he wouldn't have gotten on the ride last summer with all the other kids his age.
So really, Johnny took a lot of bold steps this past weekend. He has been pushing up against the sides of his comfort zone. Proud mama, right here!
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