What's New With Rex?

I can't believe it's been over a month since I wrote anything about Rex's developmental progress.  Time is just flying by and it seems that he is learning something new each day.

At school, there has been a lot of focus on verbal imitation which has resulted in Rex now being able to purposefully repeat a few words.  He says cracker (gra-gah), purple (puh-puhl), yellow (well-woe) after being prompted.  I remember when Rex learned to sign, it took a long time before he used his signs spontaneously, so we are being very patient as he works on his speech which is definitely more difficult for him due to being cleft-affected.  Rex is much more willing to speak at school than at home, so I plan to sit in on one of his speech therapy sessions this month to see what's being done there and how I can apply it at home.

Kicking back

Rex is also doing a great job with matching objects and has mastered six.  Once he can do ten, the skill is completed.  He has become a big fan of the weekly swims at school and gets visibly excited when it's time to change into his swim trunks.  He can now throw a ball into a box from one foot away, so the distance has been increased to two feet.  He has also mastered supporting himself for at least five seconds on both hands while prone over a therapy ball or while wheelbarrow walking as well as propelling himself forward with his hands while lying down on a scooter board.  Rex still struggles with pointing to his own body parts and certain gross motor imitations, but he does a great job labeling objects and photos of people when presented in a field of three and being asked to "touch [insert item here]."

Rex's therapists are in process of updating a developmental test (the one I have previously described as being columns made up of bricks where each column represents an area of learning and each brick represents a skill).  I happened to get a glimpse of the first column in Rex's data folder the other day and saw that Rex has gained about ten new bricks in it.  Go Rex!  I just can't wait to see the completed update to find out what progress Rex has made since late June.  His note yesterday said that we would love all of the new boxes which are getting colored in.

Showing sister how it's done

At home, Rex has been giving us some trouble with eating as he is definitely going through what I hope is a picky phase.  There are not many foods left that he accepts (sandwiches and toast but with less variety toppings, avocado and banana, yogurt, pizza, pancakes, some crackers, almonds, cashews, icecream, and some cookies) and he usually does not eat when we first offer a meal or snack.  We suspect this is a typical toddler behavior trying to control an aspect of his life that he feels is in his hands, so after attempting a few other strategies, we decided  to downplay the entire issue rather than let it escalate to a power struggle.  We usually offer Rex two options that we know he likes or has liked in the past and if he refuses them, we do not force it.  We simply allow him to walk away from the food.  Sometimes he comes back for it later, sometimes he doesn't.  I am sure he has gone to bed hungry on a few nights, but that's okay.  He does not fuss and keeps himself very well hydrated which is most important.  And at school, he always polishes off at least 90% of what's in his lunch box, so I know he has some healthy calories in his system every day.

Speaking of going to bed hungry, Rex is definitely stretching in height and losing some of that buddha belly.  He looks quite a bit trimmer and more muscular to us and he is almost tall enough that his entire head is above the bathroom counter.  A couple of pairs of pants are too short now, too, even though they fit at the start of fall and he is in a bigger size shoe.  And his legs are getting hairy which, based on tales of other parents of little Armenian guys, is not an uncommon aspect of their Armenian heritage.  I think Rex must somehow feel that he is growing because sometimes it seems like he is ready to burst out of his own skin as he lets out primeval grunts and tries to lift heavy stuff.  Very hulk-like.

Rex with his wonderful therapist, Ms. Cassie,
who has, unfortunately, transferred to a different location now,
but helped Rex have a successful first quarter at preschool.
Both Ms. Cassie and Rex were very sad to say good-bye.

In general, Rex seems to be in a period of growth.  Change is good but can also be hard, so I think this is why we are seeing a few of his less desirable behaviors resurface.  It's not often and definitely not what it used to be, but every once in a while he has a moment.  We understand and we support him through it.  We know that after every storm, Rex will shower us with his sparkling laughter, great curiosity, and boundless joy again.