Babbling, babbling

6a Nikko is whining in his bed and it wakes me up so I go to him, click off his night light and doze next to him. He also dozes off, and then at 7a Ronin calls out for me. Nikko is still sleeping so I go get the other two and hang out in the living room. Nikko stirs 10 minutes later and joins us. It's not a bad start to the morning, especially since Ronin didn't wake up at 5. But for some reason I was a bit cranky and barking at them up until we got to breakfast. I think the night before, at Atz's house, the smoke from the fireplace had gotten to my eyes because when I took out my contacts, my eyes were burning and tired. It probably transpired into this morning. I think Denis sensed my irritation and mentioned that maybe I should take a break in the afternoon while Ronin was napping. Lucky for us, Nikko fell asleep right before Ronin's 2p nap so I was able to leave the house quietly. I went to T-Mobile to question the texting services I suddenly didn't have, then to Mitsuwa to get a replacement scrub towel, then to Costco and Jewel for whatever was on the grocery list. When I got back 2.5 hours later, all the kids were sitting in the kitchen finishing snack. I was amazed they weren't teary-eyed, but Denis told me that I had missed all the fireworks, especially from Nikko. I think Nikko had slept for 1.5 hours. Before dinner I took the boys downstairs to run around, while Audrey took a nap, and both Ronin and Nikko followed a simple obstacle course I made using the trampoline and the foof chairs. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough exercise to tire out Nikko. I put melatonin in his juice, which he drank, but at bedtime he wasn't entirely sleepy. I've become chicken again and sat with him, singing to him and stroking his forehead until he fell asleep. It was 8:35p when I left his room to finish tucking in Ronin. Ronin was still moving around and called out to me at 8:50, looking for his toy food in the bed. I retucked him in and told him to go to sleep. Then around 10:15p I could hear Nikko talking to himself. He was babbling quite loudly until he heard the floorboards creak in the hallway. At 10:27 he was wailing. I gave him four minutes and then went inside. He was still in his bed, awake, so I retucked him in and said my good night mantra, emphasizing the STAY IN BED. STAY IN BED part. I hope it worked because he didn't erupt into tears when I left. And I could still hear him talking to himself a half hour later. Poor Nikko. I wonder if the long nap offset his sleeping, meaning that he wasn't sleepy enough to sustain a deep sleep, despite the melatonin (which I know was just supposed to help him fall asleep, not stay asleep). I wonder if he'll still wake up early (probably) and will be cranky tomorrow (possibly). I'll have to warn Melissa about potential crankiness, since he has therapy at 2p.

I've given a little more thought to how I've been saying that Nikko has been acting different lately. Not just the physical stuff, mind you, because there's definitely something going on there and I don't know if that's sensory or whatnot. But I feel like Nikko's been different, in his mannerisms and his intentions. He's definitely comprehending more, understands when we're going somewhere or when given direction, even if he doesn't always follow it. He understands when I say No, even if he doesn't like it. This may not be different "wrong", but perhaps Nikko is just growing up, or growing out if you will. Reaching a different level, maybe? The fact that he has words and the ability to repeat words is so huge and is making a difference in requesting. There's still lots of work to do here, but there's no denying that his speech is going to be the cornerstone of his communication. The one area I am having some difficulty with (among others) is that his attention span is so short. We sat at the table and I held up a car, said Car, and he said Car. Next was Spoon. There was one more object which I forget. But after the third one, I lost his attention and he ceased to repeat anything I said or held in front of him. This short attention span makes it hard to read books and to teach him how something works. With Nikko on spring break this week, I'm going to have to find things to engage his mind, or he might go back to crashing and stimming.