"Merry Christmas Mommy"

I can't believe Christmas 2011 is over and in less than a week it will be 2012! Where does the time go? I'm always amazed at how much things change over a year and JD's progress is no exception. I remember last Christmas pretty vividly. JD was all into dinosaurs because Nick Jr. just came out with a new show called "Dino Dan." I think I can easily say he got about 50 dinosaurs for Christmas and spent the entire day lining them up from smallest to tallest across the room. Jason and I have always laughed at the fact that JD could name dozens of dinosaurs (some that I can't even pronounce!) before he could ask for a glass of milk - but that's the interesting part of autism. Their special brains just focus on one specific subject and can soak it in like a big sponge.

But what made this year so special was the exact opposite - JD didn't hone in on a specific toy or organize them instead of playing - he jumped right in and played "appropriately" as they call in in therapy. See most kids just do that naturally. They get a plane, they pretend the plane can fly. The get a car, they start making racing sounds. But a lot of kids on the spectrum don't do that, JD being one of them. I'm a little bit of an organizer myself, so his OCD about keeping his toys nice and organized makes me secretly smile inside, but this year it was so good just to see him play and have fun with Ashley and Kyle and his two cousins. His favorite toys were still the Thomas trains, but he also loved his new bounce house, motorcycle, and Cars racetrack. It was really such a wonderful feeling to watch him play.

This year was extra special for another reason. It's the first time Jason and I took all three kids to the candlelight Christmas Eve service. As hectic as it was, it was so nice to finally go all together. JD loved it - he was mesmerized by the music and the candles. Ashley was wonderful  and Kyle, our two-year-old, was not quite as happy to be there and cried through 90% of it. BUT we did it and we did it all together. We just went with the flow. The kids are growing up so fast.  Here's my post from Christmas 2010.  I can't wait to see what next year brings for JD!