Tony did wonderful today! When I arrived, he was sitting in a chair eating a waffle. He waved and said “hi” and then patted the seat next to him for me to sit down! I sat by him for a little while, then he got done and said/signed “open” for me to open my toy bag. He, of course, picked through every toy in the bag until he found what he wanted to play with, which was the MagnaDoodle. He really enjoyed scribbling with the pen and would try to follow in what I or Elizabeth drew. We worked on repeating names of shapes with the shape magnets, but Tony mainly wanted to line them up and count them. He did great letting either mom or Elizabeth know when he needed a break. He would grab their hands and take them outside to swing or say “all done” or “bye bye.” I cannot believe how calm and focused he was today. He is like a completely different kid from the one I met in August. He did a lot of imaginary play today, including pretending to sleep (way to go Jill!). It’s so great to see him play with other people…he really wants to interact and that is such a huge step!

On a side note, as I am sure all of you already know, we are changing OTs. I spoke with the current OT today who was extremely understanding and said that she felt as though Tony does need someone else. Sometimes people just don’t mesh well! We are looking into getting an OT from Jill’s agency, which will definitely be a good thing. I’m excited to see how Tony reacts to a new person. Other than that, everything is going smoothly. When was the last time we could say that? I should have said this at my visit today, but Marlaina, great idea taking Tony to Chik-Fil-A. It’s so important that he gets exposed to as many social situations as possible, even at this age. Eventually he is going to need to know the appropriate way to act in public social settings, and it’s never too early to start teaching him that. You guys amaze me every day with your willingness to sacrifice and do what ever it takes to help Tony.

Great job today! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Only a few more weeks until Christmas!
Talk to you all soon!