As of today he can count to 32, knows his ABCs, is talking in a few short sentences, will sit and watch an entire movie, has stopped headbanging completely, maintains eye contact, is an internet junkie, does 50 piece puzzles in a matter of minutes (starting from the center and never looking @ the picture), knows all his animals, shapes, colors, and is beginning to read beginner reading books. He is currently obsessed with all things Dr. Seuss, Richard Scary, and Mercy Mayer (in other words he's very much a book snob like me). A year and a half ago I would have thought you were insane if you told me he could have come this far, because at that point he was completely non-verbal. I realize a 5 year old knowing their ABC's & learning how to read seems like no big deal to most people, but he learned it all in a year & a half, starting from nothing, like an infant.
Today I'm happy to say he's doing even better. He can count past 100, he can now tell us all his wants & needs (even if we sometimes have a hard time understanding them), he uses short sentences, he has amazing manners (yes, my child who can hardly speak says please, thank you, bless you, and excuse me because that's important), he can type his name, he can type anything if you put the words in front of him, he knows our (actual) names for in case he gets lost, he can read over 100 words, he can do 100 piece puzzles still with no need for the box. Right now he's obsessed with YouTube & watching old 90s Nickelodeon cartoons. He keeps coming up to me & saying things like "AHH REAL MONSTERS!" so I can add it to his chart. I made him a chart so that he can learn to type his favorite things by himself, all his favorite charaters/cartoons/things are on it and he just looks at it & types them into Google, Amazon, or YouTube and surfs to his heart's content. He is an absolute ninja when it comes to balancing & swinging. He would swing for days at a time if I'd let him. He still likes video games but he's beaten all of his favorites already (to 100% completion even) so he hasn't been spending too much time on them lately. His progress is always so awesome to watch and I get so excited when he does new things. Every single new word he says is an amazing hurdle and I get so excited. The sentences are my favorites though.
Now that he can talk a bit better I've decided to start documenting his favorite things each year.
color: yellow
2nd favorite color: red
TV Shows: Doctor Who, The Office, The Big Bang Theory
Cartoons: Ren & Stimpy, Chowder, Tiny Toons
Movie: Star Wars (he hasn't specified which one but it's definitely one of the old ones)
food: potato chips, chicken
activities: swinging, internet, Netflix
bands: The Beatles, Foo Fighters
song: This is Sparta Remix (he found this on YouTube & listens to it CONSTANTLY, Yellow Submarine, ABC
So that's our annual update for this year. :D
