Lila and Ian... an astounding connection

I know I've mentioned this many times before. But daily I am so taken by the connection these two precious children have. Lila is so enamored with Ian, she can't get enough of him. She is just about as connected to him as I am. She goes from reading to him, to responding to his placement of her hand on his "piggies" over and over again. "Really, again?" she says as she happily goes through this little piggie time and time again. And then back to reading to him. It has got to be some of my most treasured moments. Her love for him and his response to her now is just so touching. I want it to last that way forever.

On the note of Ian and his piggies... he's truly obsessed by them. All day long, over and over, he takes hands and places them on those cute little toes to ask for "this little piggie..." and his sign for "cold" again, is all day long. I'm trying to understand what he's telling me with it. He truly associates the word cold with the sign. Whenever he hears the word, he'll do the sign. But he does the sign all the time not associated with the feeling. For instance when he wants something (like piggies) and he's not getting it, he'll sign cold and get upset. In his mind it seems he's being clear about what he's telling me but I'm not always getting it.

Hopefully our new speech therapy will help with this. We've actually been able to go to 3 sessions so far and it feels like things will be different here. They do things differently and will be prompting him (manipulating his mouth for various sounds) and teaching me how to as we go. We are also trying word cards for a few things like eat, drink and read.

I think they are already getting a bit frustrated with me because I'm trying to work out scheduling for after he's done at UCLA and moving on to his next program. Which I believe will be Pediatric Minds. The one-on-one program that runs 8-12 weeks 5 days a week for 3 hours each day. It'll be intense but I'm hoping it will be good for him as a push to get progress happening a bit quicker. They have morning and afternoon slots. Working out what will be the best fit for his other therapies, as well as with Lila's schedule, is the trick. And Splash only has a couple coveted spots in the mornings so guess we'll have to go with afternoons.

For now the plan is to finish at UCLA, do an intensive at NAPA for 2 weeks, then begin at Pediatric Minds. After which he'll begin the next program. I'm trying to work out what that will be. There are a few schools that might be a good fit. It's just a matter of seeing what happens with the IEP and what we just end up covering because it's the best fit.

It seems a bit much because he's just going to be 3 but I really feel the school environment is what he needs to continue to make progress. I hope I'm right. I just have to find the right fit. So much trickier than with Lila, although at the time I thought it was so stressful making the pick for her. And I guess it was. Everyone's stress is what it is at the moment, no matter what you're dealing with.

It's so crazy... he's barely been to UCLA this year, maybe has been 3 days total. So much sickness in our home! When one starts tapering off, another begins. It's really quite comical at this point. Frustrating but I've got to look at it with wonder. Or I'll just cry at the thought of more all day breathing treatments, saline and suction (or sinus rinse in the case of Lila) and cancelled appts. One more month, our ped reassures us. I hope she's right.