Boston, here we come!

We made our annual pilgrimage to Boston last week. We've been a few times now and each time it has been so wonderful to see our boys and how they've progressed. My friend, Donna, has 3 boys now. The oldest is 6 and was diagnosed on the spectrum before he was 2. Her middle boy just turned 5 and her new baby was 3.5 weeks old at the time of the visit. Jack had a wonderful time, as usual, playing with the boys and interacting with them. He loved playing on the big waterslide with the oldest and playing chase around the house with the younger boy. This visit was the first time that we saw Jack and the younger boy gravitate toward each other, sometimes leaving the older boy out of the mix. It was heartbreaking for us moms to watch. Her eldest, not able to navigate the boys' interactions at times and my son, oblivious to the dynamic of exclusion. They still have a lot to learn socially. But they had moments of greatness and were so thrilled to be together. Here's a couple of great pictures of the boys together from the trip!

Jackisms

Jack is completing "My Book About Me" by Dr. Seuss. In it, the book has lots of questions and fill in the blanks that he completes. In the section about eating it says to choose either "I eat like a bird" or "I eat like a horse." I asked Jack which one was true for him and he said "But I eat like a PERSON!" True.

Jack also said that when he grows up he wants to be either a doctor or a Jungle Cruise boat captain at Walt Disney World. Oh to dream!

Books Are Great - Babies, Not So Much

Jack went to our local branch of the library on Monday with me in search of Shel Silverstein books. He loves The Giving Tree and wanted to check out the books featured on the book's jacket. So off we went on an adventure. Historically it has been difficult to get Jack interested in new books without a common theme, character or plot, but on this day he was an avid book collector. He checked out 15 books in all and as of Tuesday nite, a mere 30 hours later, he has read, all by himself, 11 of them! He also is the proud owner of his very own library card, complete with lanyard and key fob! This is NOT your Daddy's library card!



Here are the titles that were of interest to Jack this week. Perhaps I can get him to review a few of them soon.

The Missing Piece Meets The Big O
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros
A Giraffe and a Half
(all by Shel Silverstein) and...
No Haircut Today
Busytown Collection of Stories
The Baker's Dozen
When Sophie Gets Angry...Really, Really Angry
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing
I Love School
Who Needs Donuts?
Percy's Chocolate Crunch
How Much Is That Doggie In the Window?
No, David!
The Best Mistake Ever and other stories


Then, after reading Mother Cat's Busy Day (from the R. Scarry Busytown Collection) and Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry we talked about how much we missed each other while he was at a sleepover at Mimi and Grandpa's house the night before. I asked him who he missed the most and, of course, he said Tyler. Then he said "I'm so glad that I love my brother. But I really do not want a sister, PLEASE!" Here is a peek at Jack being an awesome big brother to Tyler.