A Mother's Reflection

So I've been meaning to do this post for a while, but today, we're watching Wall-E and it hit me: Bug has grown so much in such a short period of time!

We used to watch Wall-E all the time when I was pregnant, because I was sick and Bug loooovvvvesss Wall-E. We thought he liked it so much because there wasn't a lot of talking, so it was easy to follow. He used to get so excited, he would be glued to the screen the entire movie, usually flapping and jumping in excitement. But he wouldn't say anything, barely even make noise.

Today, he asked to watch "La-lee". He's been repeating words and sounds he hears. He turns around to tell me things he sees. He pointed out a letter or two. He asked for crackers as a snack while he is watching. And we're only about 35 minutes in! Yes, he's still flapping his arms and jumping, but he is far more engaged than he's ever been before.

When we started therapy, Bug was typically in his own little world. It was hard to get his attention, nearly impossible to get him to follow even a basic instruction, and he almost always was chewing on something.

We still struggle sometimes to get his attention. But I am quite certain he hears me and understands me now. I think it just takes a bit longer to process sometimes, especially if it's not a predictable or common request. He is so helpful with putting things away and will put some things away without being asked. And we very rarely have issues with him putting "inappropriate" objects in his mouth anymore.

While we still haven't seen a ton of improvement in his ability to make sentences, he has increased his vocabulary and "old" words that were only one syllable are slowly becoming longer and clearer. He is able to tell us whether or not he wants something, and that is HUGE! He also will point to things in books and will follow our line of sight if we point to something.

The changes have been noticed by our family and friends, our therapists and even Dr. Marks noticed when Bug was at the doctor last week. Bug is far more verbal and socially engaged than he's ever been, and it's wonderful! We still have goals we'd like to accomplish, and there's always room for progress, but I thought I should take a moment to call attention to and give thanks for how far we've come in just 3 months! This momma couldn't be prouder!