Max's First School Field Trip!

Last Friday was a pretty big day for Max as it marked his very first school field trip! I spoke with the teacher ahead of time to create a game plan and I decided that it might be fun for him to have the whole experience. Therefore, I let him ride the bus with all his little friends there! I know that doesn't sound like much, but riding the bus for over an hour in his wheelchair for the first time was a big, big step for him...and let's be honest here, for this momma too :).

He was very nervous and uncertain at first, he mostly sucked his thumb for the first 45 minutes, but then his teacher said he relaxed more and started to enjoy the ride. His pre-k class took a trip to Johnson City to visit their Exotic Zoo. It turned out to be a bad weather day and rain/misted the whole time, but the kids had an absolute blast. We loaded up on trailers and roamed around their 137 acre wildlife park.

The best part of the tour was that each kid was given a cup full of food to feed all the animals...

Let's just say these animals knew what was going down and were waiting for us at each stop. They would bombard the trailer all excited about their grub. Some even decided to peak their heads into the trailer...

Max stayed most of the time in his chair. He was nervous at first and would only rock and suck on his thumb, but eventually became more comfortable with the movement and started to enjoy himself.

The first time I ventured to have him stand at the rail and see the animals was a big fail...he balled his eyes out trying to crawl up my body. Therefore, I would give him breaks in his chair before trying again. The second time was much better. He wasn't interested in touching any of the animals, but he loved pointing at them and when I handed him food, he thought it was quite hilarious to throw it on the ground. Max's sweet teacher Ms. Shea even took turns with me so he could see the animals on the other side of the trailer.

Since the zoo was a big muddy mess and Max doesn't eat lunch, we didn't stay for the picnic and petting zoo...to be honest his wheel chair was already completely covered as it was.

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around that this is already happening with him because he seems so young...but I love, love that he is a free man now and gets to have these experiences! As you can see, my little cheese ball and I had such a fun time together on his first field trip!