We were really blessed to have beautiful weather during October, and Halloween was no different! We've been wearing fall jackets for most of the month, and just had our first "real" snow last night. If we're lucky, it will melt :-)
This year, Halloween fun lasted more than two days. G and L had pumpkin days, dress-up day, and lots of fun activities at school. Our daycare had a fall party, and the kids had lots of opportunities for dress-up and games! I wasn't too sure how G would handle trick or treating, given that most people don't give out treats that work with a gluten-free, casein-free, and sugar-restricted diet ;-) We did come up with a plan ahead of time though. G decided that he would give the treats he can't eat to his sisters, and we would give him treats that he can eat. He was most excited about a great big puzzle book. The girls, of course, we ecstatic about the hordes of junk food they gathered. We stayed in our neighborhood to trick or treat, and our last stop was at the personal care home. It was really nice that the kids were able to brighten the day of the residents, just by being their cute selves.
Halloween night was the last of our fun for a while. I wasn't feeling great when I went to bed, and developed a fever and flu symptoms over night. I spent the next two days in bed, feeling terrible. Then L got the fever and symptoms for 3 days, and then G got it. We were all just laying around. M was under the weather, but not nearly as sick as the rest of us, the following week. Thank goodness for Grandma... without her help, I would have missed over a week of work!
G ended up getting the sickest, with his fever returning after one day back at school. He ended up getting treated with antibiotics. Between his illness, and the antibiotics, he experienced a major setback. His attention, coping, anxiety, and level of engagement were all affected significantly. It was pretty scary and sad to "lose him" like this, but it was also a good reminder and highlight of just how far he's come since February! We've had to remember and re-instate many of the environmental accomodations that were part of daily life before February. One gift, though, is that the developmental gains he's made through RDI stuck, even with the regression. He's coming back to us now... still not quite back to himself, but almost there. Hooray!
