Graduate

This Jelly Faced boy right here is my little graduate! Today he officially graduated out of the Birth to Three program. What was actually written on his paper is he is age appropriate in skills and has met goals. Yippee! I am so proud of him. A little sad that we won't have that reassurance anymore that he's getting there and doing okay, but mostly happy. I know he's doing great. I worry because I'm his mother and that's what we do, but I know he'll be fine. We still have the Parents As Teachers visits from the FRC. I am about to do his 18 month Ages and Stages questionairre so we can see where he is and then when September comes we will do it again to make sure he's still progressing. If not we can call his therapist again. No one thinks this is going to be necessary though. He has grown and changed so much in the past six months. Six months ago he wasn't walking at all. He had just really started crawling. Now he's almost running, climbing into everything, and generally pushing the limits where ever and when ever he can. Last night he reached up onto the counter and took his plate down while I was serving his sisters. I had no idea he could even reach the counter.

He tries to climb into the bath tub for baths, he picks out what toys he wants in the tub, he says uh-oh, thank you, ball, bob (his nickname for his pacifier), go, mama, dada, and NatNat (he's getting ready to say Kate Kate I can tell). He makes car noises and shooting noises. He'll even click his tongue to call our pet gerbils just like daddy does when it's time to feed them. He will point to what he wants to eat or drink in the cabinet. Sometimes he has even managed to help himself to some Cheerios in the cabinet. He pulls tissues and wipes out of the containers and scatters them everywhere. Everyday he pulls the books off of the shelves and occasionally will stop to flip through a book or two. He goes into his sisters room to check on them during homework time. He screams if you tell him no. Don't ever tell him no because he'll just break your heart. He scribbles on paper with a crayon. He closes my computer desk for me when I'm not at it. He begs daddy for soda every time he has a can and daddy always gives in and he'll plop down on the floor and patiently wait for that straw. He'll get a diaper and the wipes for me when it's time to change him. He'll get "bob" and go to his bed when it's time for bed. He waves bye bye when he wants to go and then goes to get his coat. He gets mad when anyone leaves the house without him. He will feed himself with his fingers and a fork and spoon. He drinks from a sippy cup or a cup with a straw. He has even gotten the "it's mine" concept and doesn't like when another child even looks at a toy that he has claimed as his own even if he's no where near it. He can put simple shapes into a shape sorter. He can throw a ball. And I think most importantly for me he can now walk away from me to go play for a little while and know that I'm not leaving him. But he still comes back to get some cuddles.

So yeah, I think he'll be okay. Keep up the good work CJ. I love watching you grow and learn new things.