Circle Time and Water Play!

 Lucas continues to enjoy his time at the Mommy and Me classes three times a week through the Centro de Ninos and Padres. His favorite activity is circle time when everyone sings together.  He jumps up and down and has the biggest grin on his face.  He also loves dance time when he gets to shake shake shake his bootie! He is also very aware of the classroom setup now and will make a bee line for the kitchen sink to play with water.  When I pull him away, he throws a cute little tantrum.  It is soo cute when he throws his tantrums.  He must get so frustrated with me as I laugh and smile while he is in misery but I can't help it, it is the cutest thing I have every seen.

Within the past month he has improved so much in his walking.  I have stopped using his walker everywhere we go and have started to have him walk independantly.  He is still wobbly and will fall often, but he is improving in his balance reaction.  I noticed that he pushes himself forward using his trunk instead of his legs. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that he would push himself forward with his trunk when he was using the walker.  This is one reason I stopped using the walker as it seem to be training his brain the wrong way and starting a bad habit of walking improperly.   Now, he is forced to improve his balance and learn to propel forward using his legs more. We also got our second set of DAFO braces for his legs.  I donated the first set to our PT who will use them as demos for other parents who are curious to know how the braces work.  I also donated the Dup15q 2014 calendar to the therapy center and The Centro classroom.  I think it will look great hanging in the classroom where other parents and teachers can become aware of the syndrome and learn how to better aid parents of special needs children from its monthly tip section.  I am kicking myself everyday for not having sent Luki's picture for the calendar...maybe in 2015..

Some therapists say they noticed Luki pointing at objects he wants.  I have not witnessed this myself but noticed that he does use his index finger better at pushing buttons of his toys to turn on the music.  Another noted improvement in fine motor skill, yay!  Speech and communication seem to be the area where he is now lacking so far behind.  Although, he tends to cry more when he doesn't get what he wants -(such as more water play) I hope he learns better ways of communicating such as hand -over-hand, pointing or sign language.  This goals seems so far off in my mind, but then again, his walking seemed nearly impossible just a few months ago, so who knows?

What I want most though is for him to acknowledge me when I call his name and respond to me with at least a "mama" or "mommy".  I so desperately want to hear him say this....