Update from Christine - April 11

Holland stopped crying within seconds of Cindy leaving yesterday morning. Since Cindy was telling Holland he was going to the park when Sofia was going to school, I wanted to follow through and get to the park in a timely manner so he could make a connection with his mom's words and the realization of that plan. He peed before we left and we got to the park about an hour early. He seemed a little tired in the car, even on the way there, but was energized once we got there. Holland has become a lot more aware and confident of his body's abilities since the summer. I used to have to shadow him to make sure he didn't do anything dangerous like sneak through bars and walk off a step/high surface, or go down uncontrolled on a fast slide. However, now, I can stay in one area and he will explore safely, checking in visually with me every so often. He knows when something doesn't seem safe to do on his own, and will look, but decide not to try. Everything he did today was within his range of ability.

Holland is doing much more climbing than months past. He still is incredibly interested in birds, but directed his activity mostly to the equipment today (and trash/things out of place, when he saw them). He felt safe going down short slides, but generally not long/tall slides. He would say, "Ready, Set, Go!" before going down a slide, and would walk back around to repeat the process over and over. He was interested in the other kids at the park, making eye-contact with one younger boy in particular (kind of like peek-a-boo) while doing rounds on a slide that he was playing near. He is considerate of other kids, making sure to go around them. One thing that was really interesting to me was an interaction he had with another boy and his mom/nanny. The two boys were both putting pebbles on the slide, watching them slide down, but the other boy started throwing the rocks. His mom/nanny was on the phone and would every so often tell him not to throw rocks, but quickly direct her attention back to her phone conversation. Every time the other boy threw rocks again, Holland would stop and look at the mom/nanny. The mom/nanny had no follow through with her words, but Holland seemed to be looking for it. He is sooo aware and interested in people's reactions, I've noticed. It seems like he's looking for consistency and boundaries and feels more sure of things when he knows what to expect. Holland mainly dropped/placed the pebbles on the slide and didn't engage in the throwing. He threw once after the other boy left, I explained how that could be dangerous (and safe alternatives he could do instead), and then went back to dropping them on the slide.

Holland told me a little after 10:00, "pee," so we went to the restroom. He apparently was just reporting to me that he had peed in his pull-up. He didn't have anything else for the toilet. He was really interested when Thomas I. came to the park and was saying, "Thomas," "big brother," but didn't really play with him. He's doing a lot better with his purple Crocs. We've been talking about big toes and where they go to make sure the correct shoe is on, and he's had some success with getting the strap on the back of his heel (though it's still a challenge for him). We left at 11 to take a quick trip to the farmer's market before a nap. Holland fell asleep on the way there, but I woke him up and he was happy to look in the coolers for the vegetables. Afterwards, we took a trip to the bathroom and he went pee and poo. When we got home, he was still awake, so we had some lunch before peeing again and taking a nap, a little after 1:00.