Day Ten: Challenges of Communicating!

Well the Kansas City Royals pulled out Game One of the ALCS, in typical Royal fashion...extra innings!  So between them and chaos pulling free reign in the house, I was starting to think that if I did find time to blog today, it would be too late at night (which it is) and more than likely I would draw a blank.  Luckily, events earlier in the day provide me with fodder!

Turns out someone in the house is just a wee bit sassy.  And though the word to use about it should not be Awesome, nonetheless, Awesome is the word of the day.

The last week we have seen more signs from Bradley, we get a lot from him, but right now he is repeating more emotional signs.  When I sign to him "No" and "stop" he signs back both and verbalizes part of each word.  When I am getting him ready for bed at night, I sign as I talk to him and tell him: "Bradley and Mommy will sit in the chair for bed time."  It's "bed time", "no hitting", "no hurting Bradley or Mommy" and on and on.  And mostly, I thought he wasn't listening but this week he's been trying to repeat the signs back to me.  I think he's listening.  And we've also seen better bedtime behavior.  I don't know that we're out of the woods yet by any stretch of the imagination, but on nights he's had some trouble, I've warned him and then taken him to bed.  This can make for long nights, but in the end I think it's worth it. Sometimes, Bradley just needs the quiet, darkness, and the comfort of his own bed to settle him down on some nights.  I am hoping that there is a chance that at some point he will start to put himself to sleep faster and even without me in there, or one of us holding him.  Hey, everyone should have a dream!

Regardless, our communications have been improving in the past week and in a lot of ways that is pretty exciting.  I have a son who is almost five years old and barely communicates with anyone but me.  Seeing him signing with his sisters, or trying signs and words at pre-school, that's pretty amazing.  Having him choose "Signing Time" videos and coming to sit in my lap to watch them, encouraging.

And then there was this afternoon...

There are five bar stools for the kitchen bar, and they are relatively high, but in the last week Bradley has been starting to climb up on them, obviously, he would like to sit with his sisters at the bar.  So I strapped his booster seat into one and tell him that's his chair and most the time he is relatively compliant about sitting in his chair to eat.  Other times, he just wants to climb and try to fall out and try to give me grey hair.  I don't know that he gets this stubborn streak from me so much as from my hair, as my hair is stubbornly refusing to go grey.  We'll see what happens tomorrow, but for now...it's just kind of weird... I believe it will just happen all at once over night.

Back to the bar stools... he's trying to climb up on one with his Murray Wiggle doll, but Madison has her feet on the stool to keep it stable and is in his way.  She starts to move, but I tell her to stay put, I don't really want him to climb up there as I was in the middle of something else and couldn't stand right behind him right away.  Frustrated by his attempts to climb up, Bradley moved away from the stool and with Murray still in hand he looked up at her and just started to angrily jabber at her.  We couldn't make out one word or syllable, but his tone was clearly very angry with her and not pleased that she wouldn't let him up.  Once he had said his peace, holding tightly to Murray's hand, Bradley made an abrupt about face, then he and Murray flounced down the hallway.  We watched him go in a moment of stunned silence, the only sound the flapping of tiny bare feet on the laminate flooring, then Eric looked at Madison and said: "I believe he just cussed you out."  And we all started laughing.

Who knew our little boy could have so much sass in such a little package!  He gets those words lined up with the rest of his emotion and look out world, I think we're all going to be in for it!  :-)

Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month!  Tomorrow will be a beautiful day and this year's Buddy Walk!!  Hope to see you there!