Such a Little Man

Brady P. is going through some changes right now. 

He is not a toddler anymore.  He is maturing and developing in ways that continue to shock and awe me.

For one, his sleeping habits are different.  It used to be that I got him all ready for bed, we'd run and jump on his bed, he'd snuggle in, I'd give him a kiss and walk out his door, closing it behind me with a sigh of relief.

That doesn't happen anymore.  Now he is getting out of his bed around 1am nearly every night to come snuggle with me.

I was very resistant to this as first because I worked so hard to get him to the point where he would stay in his room all night, and I wasn't going back.

But he is changing, and having dreams, and he wants to feel protected.  Once I gave up the reins and let him snuggle with me until wake-up time, we both slept better and he was much more accommodating to me throughout the day.

Like, every day.  I am grateful.

In another area, he is eating a LOT.  And growing in all directions.

He is also starting to use full sentences.  "This one is big!" when he points to his ice cream cone.  "What does this say?" when he sees new words in a book he's reading.  "Let's go, guys!" when shouting for his favorite hockey team.

Each time he busts out a new sentence, I am amazed.  It's all so new to me, that it still blows my mind when I realize he will speak like an adult someday. 

I think his passion for reading has a lot to do with that.  What a gift!

He is even working on spelling words himself.  Wow.

And he wrote his letters like a champ in school today!

These are all things I've been noticing and adjusting to in our life.  But when his coordinator from the ISD came to see him yesterday, she was floored.

She looked at me with huge eyes and said, "He is just blowing me away!  We're going to have to amend his IEP because he has already achieved many of his goals for this year."

We looked through his IEP, and, sure enough, he has checked off some important goals in speech and fine motor skills.  When we set those goals in June, I thought they were pretty lofty, but he is surpassing them!

Do you know how proud that makes me?

It's so fun to hang out with him and watch him interact with other people, observe objects and processes, entertain himself and interact with me.  We definitely have a beautiful relationship that just took a new turn for the better as I watch him understand more about his surroundings and I let him take the lead.

He has opinions and preferences, and when I follow him around, I learn a lot myself.

Our children are definitely our teachers.

One thing that hasn't changed is his compassion for people.  If he sees you crying, you will get a hug.  If you hurt yourself, he will kiss it.  If you are sick, he will tell you to be happy.

It's nice to have a little angel around.