Two-Thirds Years Old

Imogen turned 8 months old yesterday. Woo hoo!! She is now sitting up like a champ, pulling herself up and scooting slowly sideways, and spinning herself in circles while on her tummy. She's pushed up to her knees a couple of times, but she gets frustrated very quickly when she's on her tummy, so we'll see how long it takes her to learn to crawl! Still no teeth yet, but we can see the first little white nub just poking through. Here are the 8-month comparison photos of Elliot and Imogen.



This week I attended a presentation through our parents' support organization by two young women with disabilities about what they wished their parents had known when they were kids. The first woman was 28 years old and has Down's Syndrome, and the second woman was a 31-year old with Asperger's who is also deaf and has a 3-year old with autism. Elesia Ashkenazy is a truly incredible, articulate, and kind individual, and I learned a great deal from listening to her explain what was going on in her head as a child on the autism spectrum. I took several nuggets of information away from the evening that I know will be of immense help to us right now in being the best parents we can be for Elliot.

Elesia spoke about how important to her it was to be able to indulge her "special interests" as a child (ok, we'll have to stop trying to get Elliot to play something other than the "elevator game"), and how it helped to keep her happy and calm. She also said that when her parents were calm and centered, that she felt safe and was compliant, even when she disagreed with them (Elliot's mama needs to work on that one!). Elesia wasn't diagnosed until she was older, and she said that if she had had the help of visual schedules as a child, it would have made all the difference in the world. Elliot's MECP teacher, Jessica, is going to help me make some of these for him for our more difficult routines at home (he loves the one he uses in class). Finally, she said that one of the best things parents of children on the spectrum can do is to read as many books as they can by adults with autism. Great advice that I will be taking!

Nana and Atman arrived for a week-long visit yesterday, so stay tuned for pictures of our adventures this week! This afternoon we are going to brave the unusual 85-degree weather and head to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens to see the gorgeous flowers and feed the ducks. And speaking of ducks, Joey is doing great, although we're still not convinced 100% that she's a Buff Orpington duck. I think we're going to have to bring a picture of her to the feed store for a positive ID. Pippin, on the other hand, is definitely a Light Brahma bantam. And female. Hooray!