first post in a while
10 years today. 10 years ago today Ben and I started well...what we have now. How lucky am I?
I realize I didn't post a birthday entry for Charlie. I should have. The guilt of not posting one is mainly why I haven't been around. Charlie's third year was a scary one for him, and a wonderful one as well. Right before his second birthday, Charlie essentially stopped talking. He stopped smiling, making eye contact. I talked to his doctor, got a recommendation for early intervention.
Charlie was always a peculiar kid. Scarily bright, an early talker, very perceptive. But there were...things. He wouldn't get messy at all. He could hear things miles away that no one else could. At 18 months, he could tell you the names of 10 musical instruments and point them out to you by sound. When he stopped interacting, we feared he might have had autism.
Charlie is not autistic. He's not on the spectrum. at all. In fact, he's very in tune with others. He does, however, have a processing disorder, which he's growing out of. At 2, I guess it all just became overwhelming. Working with an early childhood specialist and an early intervention playgroup as well as an occupational therapist (there were physical ramifications to this) has helped pull Charlie out of the place he went to when the world became too much for him. Sometimes it still is too much, and I suspect that he will receive some kind of therapy for a while, but I feel like we have him back about 90% of the time. I missed him terribly. I still don't know where he goes when he's off in his own world, but at least it's only a short amount of time that he's there.
So here goes, 3 weeks late. Charlie can now:
walk backwards
hop on one foot
climb steps one foot at a time
play candyland, and take turns
Cheat at candyland ("purple purple, mommy!")
throw a ball to another person (this is a big deal)
talk on the phone without being prompted
sing any song you ask him to. Even Minnie the Moocher and Boombastic.
recognize his name in print
draw the letters "C", "G," and "O"
tell the whole universe that mommy has a baby in her belly
pick out his own items while shopping (sometimes mommy allows this)
get dressed on his own, though he needs to be reminded
stay dry all day long
sleep in a bed
give 10 explanations why mommy said no to something ("because it's dangerous!")
ride a tricycle, albeit slowly
play by himself for an hour at a time
operate the CD player by himself
operate the remote control
go to the potty by himself, though he insists that we help him
crack an egg into a bowl without getting any shrapnel in the bowl
mix cookie batter for baking, without spilling
paint with watercolors
set up whole imaginary worlds with his Little People toys
tell you which books are his favorites, and "read" them to you
set up a movie for himself in our portable dvd player
ride down to Connecticut without getting carsick (I do count this as an accomplishment)
count to 10 in Hebrew
count to 10 in Spanish
respond to people in Spanish without being prompted ("gracias!")
tell you where the moadon is in your house
recite the Sh'ma, and does it every night before going to sleep
There are many more. Charlie has come so far in the last year. It's amazing how he can scare us and enchant us at the same time.
I realize I didn't post a birthday entry for Charlie. I should have. The guilt of not posting one is mainly why I haven't been around. Charlie's third year was a scary one for him, and a wonderful one as well. Right before his second birthday, Charlie essentially stopped talking. He stopped smiling, making eye contact. I talked to his doctor, got a recommendation for early intervention.
Charlie was always a peculiar kid. Scarily bright, an early talker, very perceptive. But there were...things. He wouldn't get messy at all. He could hear things miles away that no one else could. At 18 months, he could tell you the names of 10 musical instruments and point them out to you by sound. When he stopped interacting, we feared he might have had autism.
Charlie is not autistic. He's not on the spectrum. at all. In fact, he's very in tune with others. He does, however, have a processing disorder, which he's growing out of. At 2, I guess it all just became overwhelming. Working with an early childhood specialist and an early intervention playgroup as well as an occupational therapist (there were physical ramifications to this) has helped pull Charlie out of the place he went to when the world became too much for him. Sometimes it still is too much, and I suspect that he will receive some kind of therapy for a while, but I feel like we have him back about 90% of the time. I missed him terribly. I still don't know where he goes when he's off in his own world, but at least it's only a short amount of time that he's there.
So here goes, 3 weeks late. Charlie can now:
walk backwards
hop on one foot
climb steps one foot at a time
play candyland, and take turns
Cheat at candyland ("purple purple, mommy!")
throw a ball to another person (this is a big deal)
talk on the phone without being prompted
sing any song you ask him to. Even Minnie the Moocher and Boombastic.
recognize his name in print
draw the letters "C", "G," and "O"
tell the whole universe that mommy has a baby in her belly
pick out his own items while shopping (sometimes mommy allows this)
get dressed on his own, though he needs to be reminded
stay dry all day long
sleep in a bed
give 10 explanations why mommy said no to something ("because it's dangerous!")
ride a tricycle, albeit slowly
play by himself for an hour at a time
operate the CD player by himself
operate the remote control
go to the potty by himself, though he insists that we help him
crack an egg into a bowl without getting any shrapnel in the bowl
mix cookie batter for baking, without spilling
paint with watercolors
set up whole imaginary worlds with his Little People toys
tell you which books are his favorites, and "read" them to you
set up a movie for himself in our portable dvd player
ride down to Connecticut without getting carsick (I do count this as an accomplishment)
count to 10 in Hebrew
count to 10 in Spanish
respond to people in Spanish without being prompted ("gracias!")
tell you where the moadon is in your house
recite the Sh'ma, and does it every night before going to sleep
There are many more. Charlie has come so far in the last year. It's amazing how he can scare us and enchant us at the same time.