Routine

For a lot of kids with special needs, routine is one of the most important aspects in their lives. For Kyle, routine is a little different. Sure, he has the same morning and bed time routine, but I think that's common for not just individuals with special needs. Kyle is very go with the flow and likes to go out and be active. He hates sitting in the house (unless he's listening to Luke Bryan or watching Air Buddies on his iPad), and he adapts well to doing something different every day.

Kyle is always hype for family pics, but don't expect him to stand still or look at the camera. 

One thing about routine with Kyle though is he does not like when the five of us aren't together. After being away at school, it's something that I've noticed more and more now that I'm home for the summer. When I was at school, he would call almost every day or my mom would text me telling me he was asking for me. 

But it goes for the same with everyone else. My mom is a teacher, so she's home currently, but my dad works at a bank, so he's not home from about seven until four or five. Kyle will walk up to me or my mom with one of our phones and ask us to call "Uce" (my dad's name is Bruce, so it's pretty close). So we'll call, and as soon as we hang up, he asks us to call again. The same goes for my sister when she's at work or out with her friends. He asks for her until she's home. Even when I would pick him up from school before summer break, he would want to call "momma" until she came home from school. 

Kyle and "Uce" are inseparable

We think he just likes us to all be together, which is sweet. When we're all home or at least not away from each other for more than a few hours at a time, he seems to be more relaxed. A lot of the time he won't even acknowledge us when we're actually all at home or all out together, but as soon as someone isn't present for more than a few hours, it seems to throw him off. 

It's not the typical routine that everyone thinks of, but to Kyle, it's what routine is. It's not a matter of waking up at the same time, doing the same things, or eating certain foods, but just being a family and being around each other as much as possible. 

Story Time:

Going off of the caption from the first picture, it is nearly impossible to get Kyle to take pictures. Not because he doesn't like taking them, but because he will never be still long enough, smile at the right times, or look at the camera. It definitely makes for some interesting Christmas cards every year.

Another one of his favorite things is photo bombing. He always keeps you on your toes, and makes appearances when you're least expecting it. And he likes to have fun with the Snap Chat filters. Here's a few examples:

Kyle was not impressed.

The classic photo bomb, featuring my college roommates