Road Trip

Last weekend, my dad graduated with his Doctorate of Ministry degree. He has been working towards this goal for as long as I can remember. I remember going to his graduation for his Master's degree when I was in high school....that was more than 10 years ago. Well, I was NOT about to miss this momentous occasion.

The question was whether or not to take Ethan. Traveling long distances with Ethan in the past has not been the easiest. It is hard for him to sit for that long. But we decided that we should try. So, being the annoyingly organized & plan ahead type, I got to work. I was reading & doing all I could to prepare for the trip. I bought & wrapped dollar store toys for Ethan & his cousin to open every hour (or as needed). I bought new DVDs of Dora (his new favorite show) in order to keep him entertained. I packed an abundance of OT items. I even got some great advice from the mom's at our church's weekly playgroup. I was ready for anything!

And guess what! ETHAN DID AWESOME!!!! He barely needed his OT items except for sleeping & during the graduation festivities. But traveling in the van, he didn't have any behavior problems! He just chewed a lot. But, he was super content with his DVD player (which is strange because he doesn't really watch TV at home), and his iPad games/books. I am so glad that we took him with us! We had a great time, and it was a victory for our family! YEAH!

Here are some pictures from our trip!

Corey driving & Uncle Scott navigating

Aunt Rachel reading & Ethan. He has a pacifier because he was chewing on his fingers & this was the only oral toy that I had in my purse at the time.

 

Ethan watching his DVD player. The cookie sheet idea was from my friend, Jessica. She directed me to this website where you can do all kinds of things with the cookie sheet for travel. It was the BEST IDEA EVER!

Ethan's cute feet!

 

Both of the boys had their own DVD players & headphones. Here they are enjoying a snack (with magnets on the bottom of their snack containers to keep them from spilling) while watching their favorite DVDs.

 

My nephew hamming it up for the camera...I love it!

Both boys were restless before the graduation ceremony started.

Corey took them for a walk around the gym's walkway.

Ethan playing with stickers during the graduation. He only needed his headphones during the music.

Dad is showing Ethan the words on his degree cover...and Ethan is reading it! We were trying to get Ethan to stand next to them for a picture.

The whole clan!