So many words

Andrew has, in addition to the bodyparts I mentioned in an earlier post, come up with so many amazing words recently. He's still learning how and when to use them but they are there.

He'll say "bye" to just about anyone who says it to him (though he does get frustrated that everyone wants their own bye, he thinks one per room should be enough), he'll say "hi", he's got "more", "bowl" (which we make him go after when he wants a snack), "go", "night", "no" (of course), "juice" (though sporatically), and I'm sure some I am forgetting.

Like I said, he's still learning how words work. Just yesterday, he handed me the flashlight he likes to play with (a little black one, with a push on/off button at the base of it) because he couldn't get it on. Come to find out, the batteries were dead, he'd left it on the last time he was playing with it. I tried to explain to him that it was broken, that mommy didn't think she could fix it right now (mental note, keep more batteries in the house), anything I could think of. Finally he looked at me and very clearly, very definitely told me "more". Now more is the word he always uses when he wants more snack, more juice, more of something. He's never used it in another context before. I was so pleased, I managed to come up with two batteries to get his flashlight working again. :) (yeah, I know, I'm a pushover)

So we're moving slowly, but we're moving! And let me tell you, progress is such a blessing in our lives.

Riding the Bus

Well, we've had a very busy few weeks, which is part of the reason I haven't posted in a while. Lots to work out, getting Andrew set up to start school.

One of hte newest things Andrew has started to experience is riding the bus. There have been a few issues (the war over 20 feet is what we dubbed one issue), but overall, the bus has been a tremendous experience.

I have a 3 year old who absolutely LOVES the bus. He likes to get on it, he likes to sit down, he likes everything about being bussed, which is a tremendous blessing. He gets ready in the mornings, and he cannot wait for the bus to get to the house. One day, he actually went outside and sat on the porch waiting for the bus, then got aggravated at me that the bus didn't come fast enough.

He looks soooooo cute, putting on his little backpack and trooping right up to that bus. He climbs the stairs, and often doesn't even look back at me. He has his own carseat on the bus, and he just follows the aide back to his seat and climbs right up and in. It's the most wonderful experience. :)

Bodyparts!!

Remember when you start here, Andrew is 3, and is essentially nonverbal (but getting better!). What seems like a small triumph for a lot of parents, and one that should be old news to us now that he's three is really very big, and very amazing and special in a child with Andrew's challenges.

That said, I'll tell you about the evening we spent on our porch with Heather. Heather's a friend of mine, and a wonderful one. She came over to hang out and we ended up sitting on the porch with Andrew. We were discussing bodyparts, and which ones Andrew knew. I told her he knew his head, shoulders, knees and toes (a great song that many parents already know) but that most others were sketchy at best.

So Heather started in, quizzing Andrew. She asked him where his nose was, and he said "Noe" and got it right!! Then she asked about his mouth, which he couldn't find, but he did repeat her with "Mofh" (or something close to that). We went on, and by the end of the discussion (with lots of practice) Andrew was repeating and finding his Eyes, Ears, Mouth and Nose with generally good consistancy. Admittedly, all he knew about his ears was that if he moved his hands around on his head long enough, we'd cheer for him, but he had the idea! :)

The Camera

As I mentioned earlier, Andrew loves the digital camera. I don't think he would like a traditional camera at all honestly. What Andrew likes is that a light goes off, and then he can run up beside me and see himself on the little screen.

He's got a great memory and eye for details. For instance, if he sees a TV in the background, he'll stare at it and get kinda confused that what is in the picture isn't what the TV is showing now (remember this is on the little screen that comes with a digital camera), or he'll look to see if his surroundings still look like they did in the picture. It's adorable actually. :)

Now this does create one little problem in terms of taking pictures. Two actually. :) The first is that the moment you take a picture of Andrew, it interrupts whatever he was doing, because he has to stop and come look at what you just took.

The second is that if he sees the camera, he wants to stop what he's doing anyway, run up to 6 inches from the camera, and wait for you to make the light flash so he can see himself. Therefore taking a picture like the one in the previous blog involved a lot of prodding to convince Andrew that he really did want to sit down, he really did want his hand on the mouse, and he really could look at me afterwards without moving so I could take a shot. :)

Also, he hates professional pictures, because they don't show him anything after the flash . . .hehe.