Imaginative play

Matthew is a little "stuck" in his play, and we are working on showing him how to use his imagination. I know its in there somewhere! We are working on talking about who lives in his house with him and that we are a family. Along with this, we talk about animals living in a barn and people living in houses. These are basic social situations and settings that most kids catch on to naturally. Matthew's brain though, is just wired a little differently than most, and he'll have to learn these another way.

This week we visited my sister who has a dairy farm and saw the cows in their barn. I wish I would have taken pictures! Matthew was fine about being in the barn, but didn't want to touch the cows. After we came home, we got out his play farm set and played with the animals, and pretended to feed the animals some hay, etc. He did pretty good, and was engaged for a short time, but then started to line up the hay bales. I snapped a picture of it, because it was clear what mommy did and what Matthew did. I hope no one gets vertigo from our crazy 1970's kitchen carpet!

When we ask him if people live in a barn, he now says "No way!" Each night, before bedtime we read a book that talks about baby Jesus laying in a manger. The picture in the book has animals gathered around the manger. I talk about Jesus being born in a barn where the animals live, because there was no room in a house for him. He never comments on this, and I don't know if he "gets it". He hears that Jesus loves him and came to die for him, but I'm not sure what is soaking in his little mind.

Puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles...

Matthew LOVES puzzles. Its something he can figure out easily and makes sense to him. And the "answer" is the same every time! His Aunt Norma (or Nooma, as he says) got him a construction floor puzzle that he loves. We do it several times a day, and he knows all of the equipment on it. I like it because its a little more difficult for him and he still needs our help.

I may need to invest in some Bob the Builder toys. Since he got this puzzle, we love to see big equipment when we're on the road. Its very exciting!

I snapped these just this morning. I love Saturday mornings when we're all at home!

Getting a little distracted by the tv...

Reflux

Matthew has always struggled with acid reflux. Last fall he had a scope at Akron Children's Hospital to see potential causes and what damage his reflux has caused so far. He had a little inflammation in his esophagus, probably due to the fact that he couldn't be on his meds prior to this surgery. He is still on meds, and hopefully we'll be able to wean him off of them soon.

He was a trooper that day and did amazingly well! By the time we got home, he was running around and playing like normal, but his mommy and daddy were collapsed on the couch! I did ok that day, and held it together at the hospital, but was cranky the next day. It is quite a feeling to have a nurse take your baby from your arms and take him to surgery.


Here are a few pictures of Matthew in recovery. I thought he would be very interested in these someday...