Itsy bitsy spider

At the end of the day, I was holding Audrey in my arms as she entered la la land and Denis sat on the living room floor watching Ronin play with cars and Nikko zip back and forth from kitchen to sofa. Typical evening for us. I had spent a good portion of the afternoon at the chiropractor getting an adjustment as well as an hour of theraputic massage (felt great! May need it again, but don't be fooled... lots of pain involved as well). Nikko had a smooth day, and I am finding that as long as I announce in an animated way that diaper changes are taking place, he doesn't try to avoid them as much. It's a game for us because he'll come close to me and then run away as I try to grab him/tickle him for a diaper change. I think it diffuses any angst over being held down against his will.

Anyway, as I sat on the couch, Nikko came over to Denis and sat on his legs facing him. Then he took his right hand and ran it up his left arm, mimicking how Denis trails his fingers up his arm when singing Itsy Bitsy Spider. We looked at each other incredulously because Nikko's imitating was spot-on, plus he was directly communicating with Denis that he remembered the song and possibly wanted to sing it now. Of course, we praised him loudly (Audrey slept through it all) and sang it enthusiastically. All that repetition paid off, finally. Will he ever repeat this? We hope so. We were so proud of him!!!

In two weeks Nikko will have his "transition" evaluation. This will involve the therapists as well as a school representative from the district. I believe we'll discuss Nikko's progress and assess whether or not he'll be going to preschool, and/or if he'll be in a special needs program. I think he will have to go the special needs route at this point because he has no words at all and his comprehension is still pretty dusty. He is improving his communcation skills with me but simple concepts are still fuzzy. He definitely understands NO and expresses his disdain at my decision by stomping his feet and crying. At least he's not like Ronin, who will now throw things to protest his disapproval of all my decisions. *sigh*