Some New Things

AJ blew raspberries on Saturday. 

I know, to most, not monumental.  But to us...it is.  I actually had to physically stop, listen to the sound, and then look at his mouth to realize what he was doing...because he's never done it before.  He continued down the hall, sputtering sweet raspberries out of his mouth all the way into the living room. 

I heard them again yesterday, and today in the car.

One of his very first goals for speech @ school was to blow raspberries.  At first, I thought it was such an 'odd' goal to have.  I mean, really, who thinks blowing raspberries is essential to life?  I knew why it was a goal, although it is a little funny to see the word raspberries written in regards to your child's education. It is a huge step in oral motor strength and a whole bunch of other things having to do with his mouth that I won't explain...but trust me, this is awesome.

He's responding to more and more verbal prompts...close the door, sit down, no (followed by putting the forbidden object back before I even motion for him to do so), climb up in your chair, put it down, bye-bye, turn it on, turn it off, I could go on. 

He's decided that bathtub (sans water) is his new play area.  Which rocks, because it means he's crawling in and out of the tub all.on.his.own multiple times a day and my PT brain is doing a happy dance all the while he's collecting toys in his new sanctuary.

AJ's breakthroughs are momentus.  I mean, its almost as if Zeus is calling down to us with lightening and thunderbolts to get our attention-HEY! This kid is making progress.  It is a gentle reminder of how sweet it is to not take anything AJ does for granted. 

As we were heading home from feeding therapy tonight, I heard a sound from the backseat that made me slam on my brakes and turn around (no worries, there were no cars around me). 

"AH-BEH-BEH"

Yeah.  How awesome is that. 

All of these new things, combined with an "AJ had a good day" report from school and a nice long hot shower have made this wicked crazy day end on a good note.