Things to Celebrate!

I have covered quite a bit of ground with

my posts on this blog.

A lot of the stories i've shared

have come with some backround

and end up being quite lengthy.

I'm sure there will still be long posts in the future,

as i am a woman of many words... in case

that hasn't been obvious. lol.

But today, after a pretty typical week,

I'd love to share some happy stories.

Simple stories... simple moments

where i was proud of my son,

where he was proud of himself...

where only happiness was found.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marshall does not dress himself,

well, i guess it's better to say that he can't.

He has tried to pull up his elastic shorts once or twice

and he kinda got them on.

He will push his arms through his shirt

himself, but has no idea how to even start to

put it on over his head himself.

If i hold up his jacket, he will put his arms in the right

holes and then wait for me to zip it up...

if he grabs a jacket himself, he is quite lost with it.

He will jam his feet into his shoes and then

whine for me to push them in the

rest of the way...

rarely does he even try to close the velcro.

So, i suppose it's fair to say that

Marshall is incapable of dressing himself -

a question i have been asked often

in all of the recent testing.

He doesn't show a ton of interest in wanting

to be independant in the area of dressing...

and his sister D never was either.

I have just always done it...

and perhaps hindering the kids from

learning? I dunno.

I will say though, that Marshall has

NO problem taking his clothing off! lol.

Well, Marshall had a big day this week.

I guess he prefers the other image of

Toy Story pullup (there are 2)

than the one i had just put on him.

I watched him (without him realizing)

as he removed the diaper,

walked to the carpet and sat down,

opened the pullup wide enough so

his little feet could fit through the holes,

wiggle it up his legs,

then stand up and continue to pull

the rest of his diaper up

even over his bum until it sat perfectly!

Yeah!!

Of course, this big accomplishment is only big

for a child with developmental delays.

It is not a moment i ever remember

celebrating with my little girl...

but that's one thing

that is so different with Marshall.

Each little step is such a milestone for him...

and that's ok,

and because of the big-ness of it for him

at this time, i will make note of it,

and share it with the world...

and smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marshall has limited comprehention.

Well, i guess it's better to say that due to his

lack of language (in large part),

i have no idea what he does and doesn't understand.

I mean, i have some idea,

but M probably gets away with a lot because i

have trouble being stern with him

in times of tantrum behaviour...

because i don't feel it's fair to 'punish' him

when i'm not even sure he understands

why he can't have something,

or why he can't go somewhere,

or why he can't eat or drink what he's asking for.

It's been a struggle.

Anyways, i'm getting off track here...

and while i'm talking about getting off track,

i should just go ahead and take back

my earlier comments about how

this was going to be a shorter post. lol.

SO... back to comprehention.

I was in the kitchen getting D's medicine ready

before bedtime.

Marshall came running up to me holding a

container asking me to "open".

I didn't mind if he played with it for a bit

in his bed while he wound down,

so i opened it for him.

I watched him over the counter as he went

back to the peg board that he had placed

on the floor of the livingroom

and was about to start playing right there with it.

Now, i talk to Marshall all the time...

and not just simple one word phrases to him

either. I do use one or two word phrases often,

but i will use a sentence and kinda feel like

i'm mostly talking to myself.

I wasn't even looking at Marshall but was still

dealing with the meds on the counter, but

i said out loud,

"No no Marshall, you play in your bed."

I didn't expect anything.

But out of the corner of my eye,

i watched M place his container of pegs onto

the peg board, pick up the peg board

and walk down the hall.

My jaw dropped.

What??!!

Sure enough, i follow my son down the hall

to find him in his bed with the toy...

like i had asked him to.

Big moment there folks, big moment.

I went into his room and hugged him and praised

him with simple words i hope he

understood... he was all smiles :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So those were the two exciting things for this week!!

Things that a lot of parents take

forgranted that their 3 year old children can do...

pull up their own diaper (clothes)

and follow a simple instruction.

There are going to be so many more

big moments in Marshall's future

and i will be recording all of them!!

And for once, it is quite refreshing for me to

journal with a joyful heart :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I posted a while back about swimming at my Uncle's pool...

how each time we go, Marshall gets more comfortable,

and how the last time, he even came

into the water with me.

Well, today was the best day yet!!

Marshall wore his life jacket and one of

those floaty rings and he was in the water for

majority of the time... and

not clinging to me either!

He floated around in the pool like he was

just chillin and taking in the sun. lol.

He looked like he should have a drink with an

umbrella in it in his hand!

I am so proud of him.

A good day... a good week!!

Thank you Jesus,

in all things we give You praise.