Day 10

One year ago, Josiah was an active participant in our town’s Challenge Baseball League, willing to step up to the plate each week and knock one out (okay, more like graze one off of the tee) for his team, the Heroes.  It only took us 4 years to get him to that point.

The first year mostly he just cried. The second year we bribed him with beads. The third year he tolerated it with lots of encouragement, plenty of praise and a little bit of bead bribery. This year we can’t get the boy to put on his uniform; not the shirt, not the pants, not the socks and most certainly not the shoes.

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Day 9

How foolish could I be to put pillows on the couch?  Of course they belong in the sink!  Josiah was determined to move every single pillow this afternoon.

As each one landed in the kitchen, I threw it back into the living room.  One by one, he put them in the sink again. This little game continued until finally I encouraged him to put the pillows in the closet.  Out of sight, out of mind.  At least for the time being.

I’m just grateful he didn’t think to check the bedrooms.

Day 8

Not a big deal really.  We are used to things breaking around here.  But at the end of a very long day of aggressive and self-injurious behavior battles, this just brought me to tears!  So very grateful for a wonderful husband who lovingly raced home from work to rescue his damsel in distress.

Day 7

Such a little monkey, creating his own indoor jungle gym! Haven’t seen Josiah do this in years. The last time was when he was 4 or 5.  I found him swinging from the chandelier, buck naked and giggling.  Not sure what’s gotten into him, but lately we’ve noticed quite a bit more climbing activity. He climbs on the counters, he climbs on the back of the couch and now he’s back to climbing up on the kitchen table.

It’s kind of like having a toddler in the house.  Josiah requires constant supervision.  Turn your back for a second and he will get into something. Most recently he’s been hyper focused on closing doors and clearing the area around him.  Yesterday while I was scrambling eggs, Josiah got up from his seat at the table, opened then quickly closed the bathroom door, and returned to his seat.  A few minutes later he did it again.  Exactly 3 minutes later he did it a third time. It was as if he was compelled to open and close that door.

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Day 6

Sometimes he bounces.  Sometimes he stays awake all night long.  Sometimes, he just takes his good old time getting out of the van.  Who knows?  One day this boy may invent a new and improved seat belt system. And you can say you knew him when.