Moving Forward

My two biggest concerns with Kellin are his communication and his total lack of motivation to do things (or try to do things) on his own.

Although his progress with communication continues to inch along S-L-O-W-L-Y, I have seen some pretty cool things in terms of his motivation lately!

Kellin has walked across a room, many times, to get a favorite toy or person.

Once, he was standing at the couch playing with a musical toy, got bored, got down on the floor, crawled a few feet away, felt around, didn't find anything he wanted, crawled back to the couch, and stood up again to play with his toy.

He heard Daddy reading a story to Pooh, and he crawled across the room to join them.

A few times, he has fed himself his whole snack (baby puffs in a suction bowl so they are easy for him to find) by himself.

He signs "blankie" all the time, without prompting and without using our hands.

He has had a few genuine temper tantrums. Not "I don't understand this" or "I don't know how to do this," but just plain old "I don't want to."  This is not particularly fun for me, but it really shows that he is moving beyond being so passive and starting to assert himself, like a toddler.

He reaches for me and wants me to pick him up. He has been reaching for Daddy for quite a while, but it's been pretty rare that he reaches out for me.


You know that Kellin loves water, so we decided to use some of the gift cards Kellin received at his baby shower to buy him a water table. He LOVES it! I wish I could interest him in playing with toys in the water, but he is only interested in splashing and getting water all over himself. He even loves splashing water into his face!

I wanted to insert a picture of Kellin with his water table here, but I guess that isn't working right now. I will try to include pictures next time.



And another plea for precious little Quinntavius - he needs a family so badly! This little boy is stuck in a not-so-great orphanage and it's suspected that he is largely ignored and neglected. His diagnosed special needs are minor - but it's clear from his videos that he is scared of people, unfamiliar with toys, and probably emotionally traumatized. He needs help! He needs love and acceptance and patience.

Quinntavius http://reecesrainbow.org/93916/quinntavius