Little Man loves home-made lemonade.
Even better, he loves to help make home-made lemonade.
So tonight, we made lemonade.
hard at work
pleased
Public Service Announcement #1
spokesman #1
Consider yourselves informed.
Today? The Library
choosing wisely
children’s reading room
He was right.
So, today we went to our local library and he checked out six books.
We are a big fan of our local library and go there often.
Little Man read early and is an advanced reader at school and I am sure it isn’t just a coincidence that he also loves going to the library.
If you visit the International Literacy and Reading Blog, you can find entry after entry about how important libraries are to children’s literacy.
http://blogs.ifla.org/literacy-reading/
I also love the library so I am very happy (and a little bit relieved!) that he also loves the library and that this is an activity we can share together.
Now, our pre-bedtime ritual is that he reads me one of his library books and then I read to him from The Hobbit.
Life is good.
More Baseball
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my first Major League Baseball game.
Little Man wasn’t with me so when I returned home, I showed him some of the photos I took that day.
He sat, mesmerized, and all he could say as he looked at them was, “Wow!”
Wow, indeed.
This family is definitely ready for summer and more baseball!
major league
Take Me Out To The Ballgame
When Little Man was four years old, one day, out of the blue he said to me, “Mommy, some day, I will play baseball as my work.”
At this stage, Little Man wasn’t really speaking a lot in full sentences. So, when he told me this, I was thrilled, to say the least.
So, I said to him, “Is that right?”
He said, “Yes, because I already have the ball.”
Little Man, like a lot of little boys his age, had the beginner baseball equipment set: bat, ball, and mitt.
Sure, it was a very cute and heart-warming exchange to have with him but more than that, it was an interesting view into how his mind works.
That thought process? Highly logical. Not to mention, quite efficient.
Little Man still loves baseball. He’d like to play but it’s hard to find a league that is more about fun and less about grooming the next major league MVP.
So, we make sure to go to baseball games during the summer as often as we can.
This past weekend, Little Man and one of his friends got a pre-season behind the scenes tour of a baseball stadium.
He later told me that this was his favorite part of the weekend.
the dugout
baseball mitt chair
Why Be Normal?
A few days ago, a friend of mine asked me what I thought the future held for Little Man.
So, I answered in the best way I knew how and I will share the gist of it with you now.
Do I think he’ll get married? Well, if the little girls in his class are any indication of this part of his future then yes, I believe he will.
Do I think he’ll go to college? Yes. He loves learning and has so many supports in place when it comes to education that higher education appears inevitable.
Do I think he’ll be happy? Yes. I am not sure I have ever seen a happier child. Most children are joyful but his intensity of happiness is unique even among his peers.
Do I think he’ll ever be “normal”? Absolutely not.
And thank God for that!
punk rock
Playgrounds Solve Everything
climb
About 10 minutes before this picture was taken, Little Man was still in the car, ready to be done with this day of exploring, saying it was time to head home.
Then we saw this playground.
Suddenly, he was once again interested in being an explorer.
A Review of Why I Write This Blog
In the last month or so, there has been some increased focus and/or scrutiny over blogs written by moms about their children.
I thought a good first post for the new year would be to remind everyone, including myself, why I choose to write about Little Man.
So, why do I do it?
Well, first, let me say that my most favorite thing in the world is being a mom. On top of that, I get to be Little Man’s mom, which is even better. He has been an amazing child since the day he arrived. He is sweet, funny, affectionate, smart and just an overall tour de force of awesomeness.
He also just happens to have Asperger’s.
This diagnosis is not something we “suffer” from nor is it something that defines him.
No one gets to tell Little Man who he is or who he will grow to be someday.
Not the professionals who evaluated him.
Not the school system.
Not the people he interacts with on a daily basis.
Not society.
Not even me.
Little Man gets to make these decisions.
My job, as his mom, is to make sure he gets the supports he needs for the issues that Asperger’s can create without refusing to let him do what he does best. which is just be Little Man.
So, I enjoy sharing little slices of the life that I share with him.
For every smile Little Man inspires in those who read my blog, he inspires about a million more than that each day in me.
outside
Dance Party
On an extremely sunny winter’s day recently, Little Man and I took a walk to enjoy the outdoors.
While out and about, he noticed that his shadow was quite prominent on a concrete wall nearby. So, like any self-respecting 6 year old, he started to dance.
He went through the entire choreography of his favorite song on the Wii game, Let’s Dance 2.
I stood there, patiently watching him and waiting until he completed the song playing in his head.
While watching, I had a thought.
The saying goes that we should dance like no one is watching.
But maybe, we should dance and not really care if someone is watching or not.
do this.
and this.
and definitely this.
The Right Attitude
Today, it was unseasonably warm for December.
Like most people in the area, Little Man and I took advantage of the weather and played outside for a bit.
While walking at one of our favorite spots, Little Man stopped to play on the trees. He is very interested now in climbing trees, although he hasn’t quite yet mastered the skill.
He walked up to one of the largest trees on our walk and after pondering it for a bit he announced, “Hmmm. This tree is still too big.”
Admittedly, that thinking seems a bit inverted and yet, there also seems to be wisdom in that perspective.
the too big tree
