Asher

Asher's first school picture! (minus his adorable glasses which were being repaired)

There is one similarity between Asher and Axel. That is the fact they are both very well behaved for me, pretty well behaved for Dean, but kinda naughty for everyone else! And that, my friends, is where the similarities end.

I keep having to remind myself that no two kids are alike, and the (minor) things that cause me to be frustrated with Asher are just that: minor. I also have to remind myself that "slow and steady wins the race!" because Asher is on his own schedule when it comes to hitting developmental milestones.

It IS a lot of fun watching him go through all the developmental stages. I could put a developmental timeline in front of me and mark exactly where he's at. It's very interesting to see stages that I never knew were so critical, or that my other kids went through without my noticing or remembering.

Last week Asher learned how to get something he wants. Think of a not-quite-talking toddler who points and grunts, and that is where Asher is now. It's FUN to see because it's so new for him. Before he would just wait until someone finally gave him something, and now he can reach out in the general direction of the desired item and kind of milk the air to show us he wants it! YAY ASHER! This then turns into a game of guessing what he wants! "Is it this? or THIS? Did you want this?" to figure out what it is he wants, then we show him the sign for whatever it is. When we finally get it figured out he LAUGHS a full bellied laugh, so excited that this communication thing gets him what he wants!

Asher's sign vocabulary is increasing rapidly! He's also putting together two signs to say things like, "More please" and "Bath please". He can request a toy being turned on/off by signing "On please". Also, Asher is no longer silent! He has found his voice and is playing around with sounds all the time. He is able to verbally say "more", "mama", "dada" (sounds like nga nga) and "all done".

Asher is very shy about making new sounds. He likes to practice in private or when he thinks nobody will notice. I remember how oh-so-very difficult it was to get him to imitate sounds. Now he does, but in private. LOL Like in this video, he's sitting on the rocker with his back to me, which to him means he's alone. He's making sounds we've spent weeks trying to get him to do in therapy. LOL



Then there is the part that is frustrating to me. As much as Asher is changing and growing, (and he has grown A LOT!)  he really has no desire for knowledge. Right now we're working on matching colors - which he can consistently do - and naming them. Apparently Asher has ZERO need for this kind of information because getting him to do it is very difficult. Really, Asher doesn't want to do anything that requires any kind of thought. I honestly don't know how to get him motivated. I also don't know if this is just a developmental thing or just Asher being Asher.  When he came to us he was like a 6 or 9 month old baby who could walk. Now 11 months later he is very much 2- 2 1/2! That's a lot of development in just a few months time. I'm anxious to see what changes the next year brings, and am hoping one of those changes is a desire for knowledge.