Dinosaurs!

Ready to go and see the dinosaurs

It was such a fun day today. Nathan and I took Aaron, Bekah and Felix to see the show 'Dinosaur Petting Zoo'. We rarely do anything like this, but when we saw that the show was coming to our small local theatre, we jumped at the chance. I mean, who doesn't love dinosaurs?

The Herbivore

A lot of children with Down Syndrome feel stressed and overwhelmed in crowded, noisy places. I was a little apprehensive to see how Felix would cope with it. We took him to a friend's party when he was only a few months old and he was so distressed by the loud music we had to take him home. Other times when he has heard kids squealing he has sobbed.  Part of the reason for this reaction is because people with Down Syndrome have much narrower ear canals, increasing their sensitivity to loud noises.

Eyes wide watching the big dinosaur

Thankfully, Felix loved it the second we arrived. There were so many people to look at and different things to see. Children were laughing and running around. He thought it was great. We went and sat in our seats which were in the front row; perfect for seeing the dinosaurs up close. While we waited for the show to start, Felix discovered the  stairs in the theatre and wanted to climb up and down and up and down. It kept him occupied until it was time to start.

Just after the show started, the woman who was hosting it asked all the kids to scream really loudly like they would if a dinosaur was chasing them. Thankfully we were able to pre-empt this happening, so Nathan snuggled Felix in close and covered his ears. Good thing he did because his bottom lip dropped and he looked a bit worried there for a second.

Patting the baby dinosaur

The whole show was fantastic. Felix sat wide eyed, taking it all in. The dinosaurs were so convincing that it was easy to forget they were puppets. The host engaged the kids attention and there was constant noise, so we didn't have to worry about Felix 'talking'. When the baby dinosaurs were brought out on stage, they were making a noise similar to a cat. Straight away Felix started signing cat and saying "Ahh" which is the sound he makes when he knows he has to be gentle when he pats the cats at home. The biggest dinosaur was roaring and thrashing about only a couple of metres in front of us. Felix wasn't the slightest bit bothered by it at all. In fact, he couldn't keep his eyes off it. It was a fantastic experience for all of us!

The big Carnivore

I hope so much that Felix goes through a 'dinosaur phase' like the other boys did. I've already got ideas going through my head for an awesome dinosaur themed birthday party! Knowing our independent little Felix, though, he'll probably be fascinated by something completely different!