The Weekly Review: Week Eighteen

Great Blog Posts this Week

• Amy at Amalah.com shares an anecdote about her boys. I loved the entire story. Perhaps I loved it because our household has also been through a Wonder Pets stage. Or maybe because it was such a wonderful example of imaginative, creative play. Anyway, check it out and enjoy.
• WaldenMommyandFamily is another blog written by a mother with a young child with apraxia. She wrote a post this week about being an advocate for your child and using your voice to speak up for them when they cannot.

Website of the Week:

I don't remember how we stumbled across the Alphablocks website, but my children love it. Michael and Ava spent at least an hour the first time exploring it. I sat down with them becuase it was really that engaging. The characters are little alphabet blocks and the videos are all about phonics, but truly entertaining for both adults and children at the same time. After playing some of the games, I found that Michael was spelling words on his own. He already knew the sound/letter correspondences, but was not yet trying to make words. After playing on this site for an hour he can find the first sound in a word, the last sound in a word, and often guess the vowel in the middle. He's also picking out blends with some help. Wonderful site. Check it out.

The Weekly Michael

A couple of days ago, when I went to get Michael from his room in the morning he told me the following story:

"I slept with some friendly ghosts. They are little. They are a mama and papa ghost. I let them sleep on my pillow because they were sad because their children died. The ghosts are following me because they like me because I am nice to them. They want me to read this book to them. They are sitting right next to me."

And then he picked up a little book off his nightstand and plopped down on the floor and read it to the ghosts. All day long he mentioned his ghosts and how they were with him doing various activities.

Then I never heard about them again. Strange. Perhaps he had a really vivid dream about ghosts or something. It was cute though.

Ava this Week:

Wow! Ava is really, really in the midst of Mama Stage 2. This time she's more articulate, louder, and a better performer. She's also more resistant to change. Sigh. I will perservere. We will be patient. This too shall pass.

Baby Kitty

This is Baby Kitty.

She is precious to Ava. Baby Kitty sleeps with Ava during naps and nighttime. Baby Kitty often accompanies Ava downstairs during the day or on a car ride. She was named Baby Kitty because she was smaller than Mama Kitty (we had Mama Kitty first).

When Ava first became attached to Mama Kitty, we got a couple of backup Mama Kitties just in case... We have needed one or two of those upon occasion (one Mama Kitty spent an accidental night at the mall, another needed a run through the laundry). Baby Kitty was a gift. A very loved gift. However, Baby Kitty has no tag or identifying markings. There was probably some sort of tag that I cut off when she first arrived, but I have no idea what it was. Therefore I cannot order backups for Baby Kitty. That makes me nervous.

Yesterday, at nap time, Baby Kitty could not be located. I managed to distract Ava with a soft snuggly blanket she hadn't seen in a long time, but it was a glimpse of how sad she would be if Baby Kitty disappeared. I found Baby Kitty in a corner after Ava went to sleep, but what if I can't next time? I know she'll survive, but I'm kind of attached to Baby Kitty too.

Glimpses of the Future

Until recently, our house has been full of two babies. Or a baby and a toddler. Or two toddlers. Or a preschooler and a toddler. At all of those stages the children have been very parent focused. At first it was just crying, and then came the "Mommy, Daddy, come play with me stage." It was as if they had no toys or space to play in unless an adult was at their side. They simply didn't seem to know how to play on their own. (Notable exception: Michael can play for over an hour in his room if he is supposed to be falling asleep.)

Recently I am beginning to see glimpses of a more independent future. Michael in particular will occasionally become absorbed in a self-directed activity for 30-45 minutes at a time. When an older playmate comes over, they will all disappear for half an hour at a time. They are beginning to see each other as playmates instead of always depending on me. Michael will "whisper" something to Ava that he doesn't want me to hear. (His whisper needs some work, I can pretty much always hear what he is saying.) They will converse with each other in the car. As long as they are not the one causing the other to cry, they will try to comfort each other when someone is upset. When Ava is away (at her grandparents, taking a nap, off to a therapy session, etc.) and returns home, the first person she looks for is Michael.

It is wonderful watching their independence and relationship as siblings develop simultaneously and in an interconnected way. This is what I was hoping for when I made the completely impractical decision to get pregnant when my first child was only 6 months old.