Day Twenty Eight

Something was hinky in my browser and I could not get into the site for a few days, sorry.

Here is what is going on with my boy.

Two days ago, for the first time, he said his name. We were looking in the mirror and I was, for the millionth time, trying to get him to answer the big questions, "Whose that"? and he said, "Chandler". My boy said his name.

His eye contact and language is getting better. Today he added "Tri" for triangle to the shapes he can name (circle, square up until now), and this week he said his first color. Purple. This also marked the first time he has combined words in an original way. We were looking at the magenta light during one of his treatments, and he put his hand on it and said, "purple light". Up until now we have always called it "light" and had not ever referred to its color.

He is also saying DADDY really clearly now. We have suspected that he was saying daddy many times, but he was not really using it in a context or saying it clearly enough to make us sure that he was really saying daddy, but now we know.

Two of the coolest things for me in the past few days is the interaction we had a few nights ago. Chandler woke up in the middle of the night, which he NEVER does, so we gave him another light treatment. Well afterward he was completely wired and would not get back in bed and woke his brother up. So at 3am they were ready to party. I tried to just leave them in the room, but Chandler was wailing for me, so I came back to check on him, and each time I tried to leave, he got really upset. He usually is not that adamant about me staying in their room and before going to the center he could not care less if I was in the room. So I got in bed with him, and he put his head down on the pillow facing me, and we just gazed at each other and smiled. He just lay there looking at me in that loving way that kids do when they are so excited that mommy is laying in bed with them. Webster and I do that all the time, just lay on the pillow and smile and talk, and I have often thought about how sad it makes me that I might never have those moments with Chandler. And then God gave me one. It was really beautiful.

After a few minutes he got antsy and stood up on the bed and started playing with a toy. I said, "ok... if you are all done with me, mommy's going bye-bye", because I really was exhausted, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me back on the bed and lay back down on the pillow looking at me and smiling. This happened two or three more times.

Web was getting a bit jealous and wanted me to lay down with him, so when Chan got distracted with a toy again, I got up and went over and lay down with Webster. After about three minutes, apparently Chandler began to feel left out because he went to the foot of the bed and crawled up in between us, then sat down and looked at both of us as if to say, "hey guys, what are we talking about?". He was really making long eye contact with Web, more than he had ever done before, so I encouraged Web to talk to him and touch him. Chan was actually interested in Web and; looking him in the eye and listening to him. That went on for two or three minutes and then he went his way.