Snaps for the E-man!

The weekend was a full one.  The much needed momma time didn't happen, but I am more than ok with that.  We spent the weekend together. Family. Every minute. All day.  We were inseparable. My love tank full.

We spent Saturday morning at the kids health fair at the local hospital.  E and daddy checked out the fire truck, the helicopter and the ambulance while momma was on a mission - to seek out and talk to the OT specialist.  We have some concerns about mild SPD - Sensory Processing Disorder - and just want to get an evaluation.  The SPD is more oral than anything else...little guy still puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, chews on things, bites his nails, grinds his teeth when he sleeps....so we want to see about an evaluation and what we can do to help him.  There are a few other things, but with the things we have already done and made changes in our house and the way we do things, it appears we have those issues under control.

I made my way and found the table - the OT was not there, but the speech therapist was so we talked at great length.  She wondered if we had any speech issues or food/feeding issues and she asked me a lot of questions. None.  He is good there. Praise God!  We talked about his speech (he was a late talker...but let me tell you, he has more than made up for that delay!) :)  She told me from what I was telling her, that meeting with our Pediatrician for a referral to the OT would be a good idea. She said then we could just see where we are and go from there and have peace of mind.  She also told me to remember he was premature. She said, remember he really isn't what his calendar age is and to expect there to be delays.  She then handed me a check list of things to review and see what he can do, what he can't do.  We are doing "supervised gum therapy" as I call it...I taught him how to chew gum and that is helping...he's not putting other things in his mouth or his fingers when he's chewing the gum.

We got in the car to head to go look at vehicles. Again.  I read the list out loud and our smiles grew bigger and bigger and bigger.  I read the things that are in the 3-4 age and he can do every single thing.  Cut with scissors, recognize one or two colors (he can recognize 7-8 colors!), dresses with supervision, unbutton, sort shapes, knows a circle...

So I read on to 4-5 years...appropriate prehension on utensils - yep!; Able to buckle (almost!); screws lids on (yes!); removes pullover (yes!); places objects by size (yes!)...there are only 3 things in that list he cannot do.  So I read on! 5-6 years - count to 10 - he can count to 20! uses a knife to spread (yes - with supervision- he likes to help make PB&J and we use a child knife to do so); catches a ball - (we are working on this now...he can with concentration and concerted effort! He and daddy are playing catch too!)

He can blow his nose!! This is something he's been doing since he was about 17 months old...that is something listed in the 6-7 year old list.  I like "picks up objects with tweezers" in the 6-7 year list.  I told Will, I like a challenge.  That looks good to work on.  He laughed at me.

So after reading this list - we exhaled.  E is a smart, smart cookie.  He has shown a lot of interest in learning things so we show him, work with him and ecourage him. Never pushing him.  He does everything at his own pace and we are right here to help him, guide him and encourage him. He loves sports too - he is going to be a great soccer player, golfer and baseball player.  He's athletic and is showing a lot of skill right now. He has incredible balance - he loves to walk across a 2x4 on the ground like a balance beam and he seeks out curbs to walk along. Did I tell you that he can swing a golf club!? Will found a child's set of golf clubs at Goodwill for $5! That was for the bag too! Nearly brand new clubs...and little man loves to play in wide open spaces!

(He's a Southpaw too!  YES!!!)

Ok. I guess I am done braggin' about our boy.  It's hard not to.  He has overcome soooo many obstacles and health issues.  Here's a child who was barely breathing when he was born. We weren't sure he was going to make it.  And now - he's an active, healthy, beautiful toddler.  Thank you, Lord.  Thank you for this precious gift. Your baby.  Our son.  Your son.  Thank you.