Bad Dog

A rite of passage for any kid with a dog is being able to blame things on the dog. Right? I never had pets growing up but I think I could have used "the dog did it" to get out of more than one mess. 

A few weeks ago, Conor spilled his water glass in the living room. When Keith and I looked, he exclaimed, "Bad dog!" As I have noted before, Conor struggles with speech. Two word phrases are especially difficult and he doesn't often string words together. Hearing "bad dog" fly from his mouth had Keith and I cracking up and beaming with pride. And of course, we reassured Morgan that she was a good girl.

Conor has been making a ton of progress lately. Last night he even brushed his own teeth, something we have been struggling with for over a year. One of us would pin him down while the other wiggled the toothbrush around in his mouth as he screamed. We always clapped and cheered when we were done to indicate that he had done a good job (no matter how hard he fought). He loves when we clap for him so even if he was screaming moments before, his mood would turn around immediately. Slowly, he started to anticipate the clapping and tolerated the whole process more and more. Lately he has been grabbing the toothbrush and "helping" us while we brush his teeth. But last night...last night he grabbed the toothbrush when we finished and started doing it himself. It may sound like a small thing, but it is huge for our little Fragile X guy as sensory issues in the mouth are extremely common and especially challenging.

We are also working on transitioning Conor to a big boy bed in a big boy room. We started with naps on the weekend and were shocked by how well it was going. Last night we were on such a roll that we decided to try the new bed for the night. And you know what...it was a success!

Then, just this morning, Conor counted to 10 while I was getting ready. He held up both hands with his fingers extended when he said 10. He smiled with confidence and I clapped and cheered (and maybe shed a tear or two).

While I realize that one night doesn't mean we are done with the transition out of the crib and counting to ten isn't going to cut it in kindergarten, these are steps in the right direction. And the more steps we take forward, the more confidence I have in myself. I can do this. We can do this.

XX, Bev