First Official Visit

After weeks of waiting for Dylan to get started with Infants & Toddlers, the person helping him with his speech finally came today. The first time I met her I had some reservations about how she would be with Dylan because she didn't try to talk to him or anything. Today she jumped right into it with him, which I loved. He caught right on with the toys she brought, and somewhat paid attention to the words she was repeating. But honestly, who can pay attention with new toys around? Here's what she had to say about today:

"Dylan had a wonderful session. He warmed up quickly to the provider and was very interested in the bag of toys. We worked with the shape sorter(triangle, square, circle). Initially Dylan needed hand over hand to help him place the shape appropriately. On his 2nd and 3rd trials, Dylan used trial and error to complete the task independently. Dylan was very attentive while working with the peek-a-boo blocks. Initially he only covered the base but with encouragement and model he stacked the blocks. He responded to requests and followed simple directions. Dylan was very quiet today, he used actions/gestures to get his needs met."

That last part was so cute. Anyone who spends time with him can agree that he's a pretty quiet little kid, but he's making up for it physically. Whenever he got all of the shape blocks inside the container he would grab my hand, raise my arm, and set the container in my hand. He'd then pull off the top on his own as if to say, 'Thanks, I got it now.' I felt like a robot. When I put my hands behind my back he went looking for them when he needed my help again. It's so cute to see him from somewhat of an outside point of view. I try to just sit back and let his 'teacher' do her thing, which gives me time to really watch the little things he's doing, like when he raises his eyebrows or clenches a hand while he's using the other one. He's a quiet dude, and we love him!

He's finally attached to something, and I'm jumping for joy! He was never a pacifier kid and still isn't attached to any toys or stuffed animals, and to a degree it worried me. I like knowing if he has preferences at all, outside of picking between Blue's Clues and the Backyardigans. Before he was born we bought two little green 'softy' blankets that I fell in love with. One is green with lighter polka dots, and this one is brown and green checkered with little elephants. The elephant softy has become his cape. He loves dragging it around and brings it to me so that I'll wrap it around his shoulders. Man I just wanna scoop him up and squeeze him. Cute little snuggly dude.