I saw a special needs mom's blog that said she always had Santa write her son a letter listing his accomplishments for the year since there were never toys that were appropriate for him that he didn't already have.
So, I asked Santa to do this for Kelsey. He is still working on it, but here is his draft he sent me.
----------------------------------------------
Dear Kelsey,
Santa is so proud of you this year. You have worked so hard learning new things everyday! Santa is so very glad you get to go to school and play with your friends and also have so many teachers come to play with you!
This year you have done soooo many things.
You learned to roll over from your tummy to your back. You can push way up on your tummy and are even on your elbows some now. You are kicking your legs and moving your arms more and more on your tummy.
You tried solid food for the first time. You did so good with it and now you enjoy so many different textures and flavors. So far, you have not found a food you don’t like. You also learned to take your bottle much better after your Mommy had to go back to work. You like “chicken and vegetables” and “turkey, rice and vegetables” baby food best, but also like bananas, the real and the baby food kind. You can eat a few kinds of crackers and like most soft table foods. You have even had little bits of chicken nuggets and some Christmas cookies!
You have learned how to play by yourself. You have done such a good job in your piano seat playing music. Santa was so proud of you on Easter when you first played your piano and watched the lighted keys go at the same time.
You are getting so good at opening your hands to touch things. You are fun to watch with your crinkly paper. Santa especially likes to watch you and Mommy play peek-a-boo with it. Santa also likes to watch you play with your toys while you lay on your side with your nice open hands!
This summer it sure was fun when you first scooted across Mommy and Daddy’s bed. And just recently you again are interested in scooting both on your belly and on your back under the Christmas tree. Now you are using your legs more and more to help you push.
I had fun seeing you at Disneyworld with Mommy and Daddy. It sure was nice to see you really look at the lights and listen so intently to the music. Small World was so fun to watch you look at all the little children and animals singing to you! It was great to see you enjoy all the pretty, bright things to look at and all the fun music and people.
Santa really thought you were something on Thanksgiving at your Uncle Chuck’s house. You sat in his highchair like such a big girl and played with your crinkly paper while sitting up!
He was watching you at school in December when you played in vanilla pudding with Mommy and your OT Kristen. You moved your hands and arms so nicely! You almost got your face to your arm for a taste yourself! More and more you are trying to be involved at mealtimes by “helping” Mommy grab the baby food jar or pushing away when you are done with your bottle.
You have learned to prop sit using your hands for short periods of time. You also know if you are leaning to far and sometimes try to fix yourself. You are lots better at balancing your trunk. At the beginning of the year, you were still working on your neck control and now you can sit like such a big girl on your Mommy’s lap without any help at all.
You know the meaning of lots of words including up, kiss, love, bye, hi, Mommy, Daddy, Kelsey, Grandma, Grandpa, Grammy, all done, more, smile, open, eat, bottle, lights on, hug. You can say one – “un.” Santa even heard you tell Mommy “aaa un” when you were finished with your bottle one night. You can say hi – “i.” You like to “talk” by making lots of vowel sounds. Santa is hearing you make more and more consonants though including Dad – “aaaaaD,” Mom – “aaaM,” and naaaaaa which your Mommy swears means NO sometimes! I saw you in December with your Mommy singing songs. Your Mommy started singing “Mr Sun” and you started singing along by saying “Un” at the appropriate spots and sometimes extras “un’s” too. When Mommy was done you would say “un” to start again. You also are playing a 1-2-3 kissing game with Mommy and Daddy now and can say one – “un”, two – “ewwww” and sometimes even three. Santa is so proud of you!
You are so smart, Kelsey. You amaze Santa at your ability to figure out how to do the things you want to do even if your body isn’t listening to you. You continue to amaze Santa and his elves with all the new things you are learning all the time!
You were even in your first Christmas program for your school where you did the song – “Shake my Christmas bells.” Afterwards you sat on my lap and were such a good girl for a picture. Then I gave you some bubbles. I saw you again later in December at the Infant-Toddler party and you smiled so big for your picture with me!
Santa can’t wait to see you continue to learn and grow and he is so very proud of you and knows your Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you too!
All my love,
Santa Claus
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment