OH MY GOODNESS...Where has the past year and a half gone?

Here is what is going on it "Benjaminland" - Physically, Developmentally & Spiritually.

PHYSICALLY:

I am now THREE years old!  December 4th came and I had so much fun digging in my cake!  I have decided that I LOVE CAKE!

I weigh about 27 pounds and boy and I getting tall!   I've done pretty well over the past few months gaining my weight, but my mom is so giving, she keeps offering  "to cut" a few inches off her "reserves" for me.  Not sure how this would work, but I think it makes her feel better to offer it anyway.

I got a new adaptive stroller - and it is the cream of the crop!  I look pretty stylin' in my new ride (now if my parents can convince me of this because all I do is cry when they put me in.)

This new chair allows me to take the bus to and from my pre-school.  I stuggle getting on the bus, but my teachers tell my mom that I am okay once I am there.  (Of course she wonders.)

My teachers tell my mom that I have so much fun at school with song-time (even though I don't like the HB song) snack time (even though I am not eating anymore) and story time.  They are starting to work with me on an eye gazer and they want my parents to make one for me at home.  It is a way for me to learn how to communicate using my eyes.  It's a pretty cool concept and I do like doing it.

I am also working on PT and OT at school and my mom is trying to get me into new appointments this fall.  

Over the summer, I found my most favorite activity.....SWIMMING!  My mom found a neck ring from Water Way Babies and I love it!  It gives me so much freedom to move around.  My daddy says we will put a pool in our next house, just for me.

We are still working on my fine motor skills.  When I pick something  up, I still use my whole hand, so I make the GREATEST messes while I am eating.  My family loves it!  In fact, they love it so much that they installed a vacuum cleaner hose INSIDE the wall and they can pull it out at a moments notice to clean me up in a snap!  (((I love cords and hoses so much, I got a hold of the hose and gave myself my first HICKEY!  My mom was mortified, but I just think...you gotta start somewhere, right?

Eating has become a challenge again.  It's been like 5 steps forward and 10 steps back.  I am still "tube fed" at night, and now in the day I am tube fed too.  I gag on anything that gets put into my mouth and refuse to swallow.  I still like "tastes" but you can bet your bottom dollar that I will spit it out.  So....every 2 hours, I am tube fed and this is highly discouraging to my parents because they worked so hard at getting me to eat.

I had a tooth that turned "black" so they had to perform oral surgery on me and extract the tooth.  While they were in there, they had to do 2 root canals and cap all my front teeth.  My dentist says it is because of the formula that I drink.  Since I have a hard time swallowing, it takes me all day long to drink about 8 ounces of formula and this sitting on my teeth was rotting them.  They wanted my mom to go back to 90% tube feeding, but my mom just couldn't do this.  I have worked so hard to be able to eat through a bottle and to take that away seems like it would be going backwards.  But...eating this way is also causing a new problem because my teeth are rotting.  Sometimes my mom feels like it is a vicious cycle and she just has to do the best she can and trust the outcome will be just fine.

I'm getting pretty strong at being on my stomach.  I can even go pretty high on my forearms and my knee isn't far behind me.  It's so fun to hear my family say:  "up, up, up, up"....I go higher and higher when they encourage me.  I still like KISSING, but I have gotten kind of stingy with "who" I give kisses too.  They have to deserve it.  I still LOVE LOVE LOVE to PULL my mom's hair, scratch her face, pinch her arm and if it inflicts pain, I like to do it.   

My method of transportation is still ROLLING - - - and I AM FAST LIGHTENING!  I will eat paper, chew a shoe and get lost in the bathroom before anyone knows I've left the room.  

I still LOVE to arch backwards...that is my all time FAVORITE position.  BUT...I am liking more and more being up against my parents shoulder.  I still prefer to be forward because I always want to "see" what is going on.   

My neck is getting stronger.  I can sit for about 30 seconds with the criss/cross apple sauce position and then I tumble over.   I can also get into the "crawling" position and stay that way for at least 30-45 seconds before I face plant into the carpet.  But no one cares about that.  They are just so excited that I can hold that position.

My legs are also getting stronger.  For a few seconds, I can stand up against something if someone helps to balance me.

This "balancing" thing is still a tough one 

With occasional tylenol or ibuprofen, I am still OFF all medications!  Yeah!! 

HOW OLD IS YOUR BABY is still the family favorite?  This has become a fun "game" to my family.  When someone asks this question, my parents answer "well...how old do you think he is?"  Most people automatically say:  10 months.  My parents laugh and say "you're close.  He's three!"  It's always a great conversation starter!

I sleep pretty good every night too.  As long as I have my "ocean waves" going I am off in dream world.  My parents are so grateful for this!

Since I am such a loud breather, my mom had a hard time blocking me out so she could sleep (as I am in their room) so the ocean waves make all the difference for us all.

DEVELOPMENTALLY:

Everything still goes in my mouth.  (My dad has a strange habit of "smelling" everything and I have a strange habit of "eating" everything.)

I love to bite and I love to touch hair.  I love to touch faces.  I am soothed by "sensory" things.  In fact, my newest thing is to HIT MY OWN HEAD all of the time.  And, if you aren't careful, I'll take my head and hit it against yours.  I love this for some reason that my parents can't figure out.

I still love to "wave."  I love to clap and say "ma ma ma" and "tha tha tha" - my parents love this sound because it sounds like I am saying their name, but I really just use these words for pretty much everything since they are all I know.  

I still make a "growling" sound to laugh and if you make a sound to me, I will usually say it back to you.

I like to bang things around and we are working on placing blocks "in" and taking them "out."  I get a little distracted because I HAVE to eat them.

I am very happy 99.9% of the time.  I still don't like to be left alone and I am thankful that my mom and dad work from home so I can be with them all day long.  They've gotten pretty good at staggering their schedules so I rarely am not with them or my "babysitters" (Zachary & M'Kayla.)  Yes.  My brother and sister have really stepped up and learned everything they can about me and sometimes they will watch me if my mom or dad needs to run somewhere.  It works out great because I love to be around them and them and they love to KISS ME!

SPIRITUALLY

My parents still refer to me as their little angel baby.  You will often find me rolling back and forth on the floor - looking to the sky and talking to "someone"....laughing and kissing while I clap to them.  My family has no doubt that it is a special friend who has come to see me.  My family loves it!

They say that they look into my eyes and see a piece of heaven right here in their own home - I arrived to make them into the people that they were supposed to be.  My mom often reflects on how her life has never been the same since I arrived.  She used to "believe" that there are no accidents and now after living with me for three years, she "knows" - beyond a shadow of a doubt that this fact is true.  These past three years have been an amazing opportunity of growth for my whole family and we are truly blessed.

I love you so much my sweet friends and I thank you for your continued love and support.

Thank you for continuing on this amazing journey with me.

With All My Love, 

Benjamin