Stair Master

Here is a little montage of James' stair accomplishments.  Last night Mark and I went upstairs to do some cleaning to prep for Rita and a minute later James popped into the room.  It is so nice that he has the freedom to get around!

He still throws fits every once in awhile.  I took this picture a couple Sundays ago.  We were back from church and making breakfast.  James had climbed all the stairs except two when he decided to boycott the last ones.  He sat there peaking into the kitchen for ten minutes until he finally decided to join us.

These clips are a few weeks old, but give you an idea of how hard he is working.  He is really a pro now!

With love.

Snow!

It is March 30 and we are waiting for spring to truly start!  At least someone in our family still likes the snow!  This was taken about a week ago, although it could have been today, we ended up with a wintry mix!

He looked so grown up in this shirt!

He loves this scarf he got at school!

James does really well sitting in the chairs at the special tables at school.  We found the wood chair a couple weeks ago (it is just his size and has good arms to keep him stable) and Mark just made the table for him.  It has a half-moon shape cut out of one side so he can slide right in and not worry about falling out as he uses his hands.  He likes it!  :D

With love.

Stairs

As promised, James and the stairs.  We got him to go up the entire flight of stairs by himself the other day.  We both went upstairs and he was so upset about being left behind that he put his reservations aside and followed.  He struggles with leg strength and balance, but he is doing really well.  Oh, and stubbornness.  He sure is a 2 year old!

With love.

Control

We are all super sick here and hoping we will get better soon because this baby could be here in a couple weeks!  I am super-interested to see how James reacts to his little sister.  He loves babies, but I don't know if he will love having a baby taking up time with his mommy and daddy.

Luckily, James is gaining more independence and control over his life.  He has hit some important milestones in the last couple weeks.  He knows how to pinch cheerios with his left hand (hopefully his right will follow):

He is taking initiative to explore and entertain himself instead of following us around whining when he is bored:

He is doing a good job eating his food even while sick!  It can still be a struggle, but he tells us when he wants to eat and we give him more "control" over feeding by asking him whether he is ready for another bite now or wants to wait a minute.  He seems to really like choosing when he gets his bites.

He also learned how to go down the stairs all by himself!  He will still fight us a bit, but he is becoming a pro!  Video to come soon!

With love.

Belly Art

There has been so much going on these last couple week, I need to start documenting it!  James' attendant started working with him, going to school and therapy a few times a week and helping out at home.  It has been wonderful.  It is so nice to know that he is getting therapy even when I can't work with him.  We have been working really hard to get him up and down the stairs on his own and having another person to help me through that has been so helpful.  We have been working on this skill for a month, making him climb or slide down at least half the stairs if not the whole set.  He is doing well, but can't get up on his own.  It is hard form him to get enough strength without his orthotics, but wearing the orthotics limits his range of motion and makes it harder.  He likes to fight us and today he fought me so hard that he actually fell asleep on the stairs.

It is just one of those skills we are going to have to work on the hard way.  When the baby comes in a month I won't be able to carry all 25 pounds of him along with the new little one.

We have also been brainstorming new activities that James would find exciting.  We got him a fun coloring mat that works with a special water pen - no mess!  He hasn't gotten the concept of drawing on paper yet.  However, he had a fun time drawing on himself:

Hopefully more soon!

With love.

Making Breakfast

Even though school was cancelled yesterday James' educational therapist was able to come to the house for a session.  It has been awhile since we've seen her and it was very beneficial!  She pointed out that James is bored with his toys because, occupationally he is still working on the skills associated with the toys, but mentally he is farther ahead.  So, for him to have a longer attention span he needs more imaginative play.  So, this morning, he made me breakfast:

Next time we may try "cooking" with something in the pot (like applesauce) for him to taste.

With love.

Communication

James is learning so much and my favorite thing to see is his communication progress.  He picks up signs so quickly.  In the last week or so he learned "dad", "car", and "thank you" (and how to use his hand to blow kisses, thank you awesome school teachers for giving my son another flirting tactic :D).  I need to make it a point to teach him a new sign each day.  He is also making new noises, babbling like crazy, and solidifying his words.  He always said "hi" well, but it is now much more distinct and he also added "hello" ("hawoah") to his greetings.  Today I read him "Go, Dog. Go." and when we finished he handed it back to me and said something that sounded like "again".  So I read it again.  He handed it back to me and said "again." So we read it a third time.  I think he is realizing he is rewarded when he communicates.  That, however, has become a problem with eating.  He uses his "eat" sign and then refuses to eat.  We are in the process of breaking that habit.  We realized that we have to transition him from "yay, that was new" to "now you know how to use it, use it the right way."  I think we are getting better at it.  It is also difficult when he uses the sign for "please" so well (and adorably).

Signing "dad".

One of the best ways to teach James new words is to affirm him when a sound resembles a word.  For example, I went upstairs tonight while Mark was cooking dinner and James shouted something at me that sounded like "come back."  So, I responded "Come back?  I will be back in a minute."  It seems to really help him connect his sounds with actual phrases.  That is how we affirmed "hello."

We are off to start another week.  I hope to have more for you soon.

With love.