1) My kids were playing with dart guns...this may not seem like a victory but loading these guns requires fine motor skills and shooting them is actually quite challenging. The first time Isaac picked up one of these toys it caused an hour long melt down (for him and for me) because he simply could not do it himself. He didn't have the strength or the precision to get it down. NOW I find darts EVERYWHERE! He finally has the hand strength to pull the trigger and the fine motor skills to reload.
2) We went to Wal-Mart today. When Isaac first came home almost two years ago a simple trip to the store overwhelmed him. He would reach for me from the cart and beg for a hug. We often had to stop several times in the same aisle to take a hug break and reassure him that he was safe. Perhaps it was sensory processing disorder or the motion of the cart or just the enormity of it all. A trip to the store was never easy, rarely quick and often meant leaving with only half the items on my list. TODAY Isaac was like any almost five year old...distracted by super heroes on the waffle boxes, begging to buy lunchables and fighting with his sister. We left with everything on the list and the whole trip only took 30 min.
3)We have two dogs. If you haven't heard the story yet of how Bacon entered our lives, you should. It is a victory in and of itself that we made an 18 hour car trip with two kids and one (then two) dogs without any major difficulties. As seen above, we have had worse trips to the local store! However, if you have been following our story since the beginning you will remember that Isaac had a paralyzing fear of anything with fur. He has completely overcome his fear and he is adorably in love with Bacon and Reeses. He helps take care of them. He races to be the one who gets to feed them. Petting Bacon even helps to calm Isaac when he is upset. VICTORY!
Because it could take days to fully explain the ins and outs of our journey I'll leave the rest of our victories as a simple list but know that each item represents hours and days and months of effort. Isaac is showing us all that nothing is impossible with God:
- Isaac can use scissors
- he knows the alphabet, he can even write most letters!
- he can say the word "THirteen" and "THeater"
- he can use S and ST sounds
- Isaac tells me about his day at school and what games he plays
- We all share about the best part of our day at dinner each night.
- We also share about something that may have been hard that day...Isaac participates.
- Isaac prays to God for help when he needs it
- Isaac can dress and undress himself
- he can stand on one leg
- he can feed himself with a fork
- he can use a straw
- when you ask him his name he says "Isaac" loudly and clearly. He may even look you in the eye.
- Isaac helps to set the table for dinner (and clear it!)
- Isaac loves to dance and sing
- he can talk to his Daddy on the phone and have a back and forth conversation without needing anything "translated"
- Isaac loves counting
- he can tell a creative story
- he colors in the lines
- he can blow his nose
- Isaac can ride a bike and a scooter
- Isaac went down the bounce house slide by himself at back to school night
- Isaac made it through all of back to school night
- Isaac can swim and jump and almost dive
- he can whisper
- he can bounce on the trampoline
- he can play uno and win!
- he can communicate his emotions (love, fear, anger, sadness, frustration, excitement)
- he can take a deep breath to calm down
- Isaac can fall asleep in the car
- Isaac can take a shower
- he can communicate clearly the thoughts going through his head "Mommy, look at that girl with the pink backpack, she is walking away from us now but there was a Minnie Mouse on her shirt and I liked it."
- Isaac can have a substitute teacher teach his class and still have a good day
I know there is more, but you get the point, in two short years Isaac has seen A LOT of victory.
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