Brothers at Play

This year the boys have gone from observing each other at play to actually playing together.  It has been interesting to watch as both of them have progressed - Ephram into being able to play with others as part of a toddler achievement, and Charlie as he learns how to be appropriate in play and show consideration for another person's wishes.  It has been great for both of them.

Here are just a few pictures from the boys playing together in January.

The boys started playing their own version of hide and seek/chase.  You can't really call it hide and seek as they don't have the patience to wait for the other to hide.  But they still find it very entertaining.

Charlie also invited Ephram into his sleeping bag... which is probably Charlie's very favorite place in the house.  (I think it's a sensory thing, he goes way down into the bottom of the bag and makes his own little cocoon.)  Ephram was so excited... he climbed right in and started zipping up the side.  He was not interested in burying himself inside though!

Finally, Ephram discovered video games with this old handheld Tetris of mine.  He loved climbing up on the couch and being just like his big brother.

New Reading Materials

We went from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to...

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Because that's just a little step up in reading material, right?
They are both pretty good books.

And yes, I did read him a page.
And yes, he did listen.
And laugh.
Hysterically.
While doing a little dance.

Then he sat back down.
He took the book from me.
Gently, he opened the cover.

Carefully, he turned a few pages.

He seemingly beamed with pride at his ability to copy Mommy and Daddy.
And I was just glad that we've modeled this behavior enough for him.

Because, if not for books, I believe this life would be pretty darn boring.

So what if the book was upside down and sideways?
A 12 month old toddler doesn't care.

I wish I had my camera near, but I didn't.
Not wanting to miss the moment, I grabbed the iPod next to me and took a few pictures.

At first he hardly noticed.
He kept thumbing through his book and babbling contentedly.

Until I laughed.
Okay, I chuckled.
For at least a minute.

What?  I shouldn't be reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
He immediately dropped the book on the floor.
Stumbled to his feet.
And grabbed the iPod out of my hand.

At least he hadn't figured out how to delete the pictures yet.

Student of the Week

In January, Charlie was picked to be the student of the week at his preschool.  He was so excited to make a poster to share with his classmates.  He sat with me at the computer going through all the pictures we had taken of him since the beginning of the year...  And picked out the ones that he wanted to include.  Then we printed them out, along with some pictures of his favorite things, and had fun assembling his poster.  Okay, I'll admit I had a lot of fun doing it too.  Is it weird that I'm actually excited for the day that he gets to start putting science projects together?

Charlie loves being in the spotlight and did a really good job at preschool all week.  January was also the month that there was finally an opening with an Occupational Therapist so that we could start doing some work on Charlie's sensory processing issues.  The turnaround was remarkable and nearly immediate.  For the first time in the three years we've done preschool activities, Charlie started doing consistently great.

He started looking like this on the way to preschool...

What a relief it must be to start to understand the signals that your body is sending you.  It was like a calm came over him, and he just knew that he could do a great job.

He even got a certificate for being able to say our phone number.

I noticed differences at home, too.  Among them, we started making real progress with our work at the piano.  Piano has become a great daily constant for Charlie this year.  It is a nice thing for us to work on together as well.  It is possible that I am biased (understatement) but I do think that he has a great musical ear.

As the month wore on, Charlie became more and more calm.  I could tell that the word that he lived in was just a little less frantic.  At that point, we still had a little over a month to wait for our chance to see the experts on autism.  I am so grateful that we were able to start working on things while we had to wait for his Autism Center appointment.  (Even if I occasionally feel frustrated that he wasn't seen in the heat of it all, because he does look less autistic now... I feel the need to advocate for the impact that continued therapies will have for him.)

I think Charlie was grateful too!

35

I turned 35 this past January.  I cannot believe that I am 35.  I swear I was just 25 yesterday.

I am a lucky girl though... life just keeps getting better for me.  I had to wait awhile longer than I wanted to have my family... but patience won out.  My boys are making my 30's way better than my 20's were!

We had a nice relaxing day.  We went shopping and then headed to a new burger joint that just opened near us - it is one of the Five Guys chain.  I had never been there before, but I love burgers so we decided to try something new.  It was super tasty.  Everyone else, including Ephram, loved it too!  (In fact, I think we went back the next week.)

After gorging ourselves we headed home to have some cake.  Andy got me a nice traditional cake this year.  Andy knows that I like nothing more than a bakery-created white cake with buttercream frosting.  I know, I'm probably too old to like it as much as I do.  But the cake was really, really good.  Charlie was excited that it had purple flowers.

Then it was time to open presents.  Andy gave me a nice Le Creuset stockpot that I have wanted for years.  I also got a New Balance jacket to help keep me warm on my early morning runs.  It has served me very well for the past several months.  I also got a book and some music that I wanted.

After I was all done and we'd spent some time just having fun, Charlie and Andy realized that they still had a card to give me that needed to be signed.  Charlie was eager to put his signature on it.  He is getting much better at writing with a ballpoint pen.

I had a great 35th birthday... and can't wait for the next one!