Right now as I'm typing I'm listening to the chug-chug-churn of our new portable dishwasher. It came today, and it's a relief to know that I won't have to stand in front of the sink for a long time, washing dishes while my back is aching. I'll have to reorganize the layout around here to make it feasible to work around this dishwasher, which is on casters, because it isn't part of the countertops/cabinet layout. This house didn't have one. Doesn't have a 2nd bathroom either, but we'll work on that in the years to come.
Nikko's speech therapy technically wasn't very productive because he roamed around the room and didn't really participate in our activities. Gloria thought he looked rather content when he chilled out in my lap, or on the sofa looking at a photo album. She didn't want to bother his contentedness, so perhaps this session was kind of a waste. She took out her pictures of bread, banana, hot dog and toaster, and Nikko immediately recognized them and lined them up. He has an affinity for the banana picture overall. Later, he was making some gestures in the mirror such as eat, ball, more, sleep.
It wasn't a very eventful day, unfortunately, because we didn't get a chance to go outside (we had to wait for the ABT guys to deliver the dishwasher between 4-7p). I didn't want to be playing outside with the boys when the dishwasher arrived because I'd have to leave them unattended to get the washer situated, or they might roll over one of the boys. It was a Hi-5 day instead. Chinny was around too, so I sent her to Costco and Jewel for me, which was a really big help for me. Our window to play outside was so small, and it was cloudy today. Inside, Nikko was really interested in watching Hi-5. He wasn't always sitting still; he'd venture to the window, or run to the kitchen, and mostly danced in place in front of the mirrored corner. He would move his hands in front of him like Superman, or put his arms straight out to the sides and lift up one leg like a figure skater, or do some random signs. The way he was making signs to himself looked like mute gibberish; he had some words but they were jumbled in his head/hands. Nikko and Ronin coexist, but Ronin pushes Nikko around a lot. Sometimes Nikko is in his way, but other times Ronin just starts pushing Nikko and I warn him to stop because whatever Ronin is doing doesn't look very fair. Nikko could also squash him like a bug if he wanted to. Gloria and I had talked a lot about Nikko today, of course, and she thinks that Nikko is really starting to come around, he's thinking and exploring much more. His understanding of pictures in general is emerging, and Gloria thinks that he'll get the hang of PECs once he gets the idea of pictures. She noted that he seems to like pictures a lot. He likes carting the pictures I've taken of things around, even lining them up, so she encouraged me to continue taking pictures. I didn't tell her that I've got a slew of pictures, just haven't put them out in an organized fashion yet because it's all so daunting. Gloria said that she thinks Nikko will do fine; it's ME that she's worried about, hopes that I will make time for myself and that I won't stress too much about Nikko. She definitely thinks I should take advantage of respite care. I know that Clearbrook offers that, but wonder how Nikko would be around strangers for a long period of time. Well, preschool will answer that, I'm sure! Nikko came up to me many times today to look into my face, to let a part of my face touch his nose or his lips, and probably just to connect with me. When I checked on him in the late afternoon he had taken a bunch of pillows, blankets, and the Boppy pillows and made a comfy seat for himself in the middle of the floor to better watch Hi-5. He had no meltdowns today, and I'm glad it was peaceful for him.
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