Feeling very grateful....

Logan, as many of you know now, is (what I'm going to personally diagnose as his mother), high functioning autistic.  Anyone who is involved enough in our lives on a daily, weekly, or frequent basis can see just how far Logan has come in the last two years. We've decided it isn't necessary for him to receive an official physician's diagnosis because I honestly believe that over time, he may have little to no lingering attributes of his condition. 

Logan will be turning 4 years old in just a couple of weeks.  It's so strange to think that in the last 22 months, he has gone from saying absolutely no intelligible words, to more than we can count.  First off, he's definitely able to repeat nearly anything he hears, and most of the time very articulately.  We rarely (rarely meaning maybe 2-3 times a week instead of 2-3 times a day) have to deal with the frustration of a communication block anymore; he is so much better at communicating what he wants or doesn't want.  We're still working on emotions with him - but just as with any child, if he's crying, we know he's sad, and if he's laughing or smiling, we know he's happy, even if he's not yet saying "I'm happy" or 'I'm sad" yet. 

He talks so much to us, telling us what he's doing or what he sees.  He often points to the sky and says, "Look Mommy, the sky is blue."  I cannot begin to describe to you how much emotion I felt when I first heard him say that. 

He tells us what he likes: I like pasta,  I like meatballs,  I like apples and bananas.

He tells what he sees:  Cows!  Horses!  Dog! Cat!  etc, etc...

He tells us what he hears:  (Erica cries from her room) Erica is awake!  Mommy, Erica is awake!  The bus is here!  Daddy is home!

He tells us that he loves us:  (In the morning) Hi Mommy! (he waves).  I love you Mommy!  (As Tyler leaves for work)  Bye Daddy! (waves again).  I love you Daddy!  (As I take Erica upstairs to bed in the evening)  Goodnight Erica!  I love you Erica!

His favorite game lately is Hide and Seek.  Luckily for me, Erica actually keeps quiet when it's our turn to hide.  And Logan does follow through with counting to 20 before he comes looking for us, even though he counts what should be 20 seconds in the span of merely 7 or 8.  Gives the game a little bit of excitement - how fast can Mommy haul Erica up the stairs and get in a good hiding spot?!

He READS books.  He's mesmerized most of the ones we have, but he actually does recognize a lot of words when he sees them outside the pages.  He knows pretty much all basic shapes.  He knows how to count and write numbers up to 100.  He knows every letter of the alphabet, both upper case and lower case, and writes them legibly. He knows how to spell and write his name as well as a few other small words. He's finally started drawing things.  This morning he drew a fish.  "Shish" he calls it.

He amazes me so much.  What a sweet little boy we've been blessed with.  He's taught us so much about appreciating the little things.  He's taught us how to be patient and observant.  We still have the occasional "bad" day, but often it's because I've allowed myself to be selfish and let the situation get the better of me.  He still gets overwhelmed in unfamiliar places and might throw a mini tantrum to deal with it, but it's loads better than it used to be.

I just feel so blessed to have Logan as my son and wanted to share some highlights of his wonderful progress with you all!

PS.  I have been working on a bunch of crafts lately.  I'm excited to finish a few things and take some pictures. :)