Our dear, wonderful Arkansas friends came to visit over the long weekend. They are some fabulous people who took me under their wing when my husband was deployed for four months, and who kept us afloat when Charlie was born so very sick. They are balm for my soul and it is so nice to have them around.
They have two little girls that I'd like to call fabulous, but I seem to have used up all my adjectives in the first paragraph. They're good kids--polite, cute, kind. They're not greedy/grabby, they listen to their parents, and you can actually go places with them and not wish you were dead, which can be rare with young children.
They are especially great with Charlie. They ask questions about what he likes, they try hard to make him smile; they get down on the ground and play with him like it's the most natural thing in the world.
I love to see how Charlie responds to them as well. The whole non-verbal thing makes it hard to tell what he's thinking. But he cried when they'd run off and leave him behind, so I took that as a good sign. He also allowed one entire hour of Wonder Pets to be played on the DVD player, which is nothing short of a miracle. "If it ain't Miss Rachel, it ain't worth watchin'" is generally his motto. He seems mild-mannered, but that's just because you haven't messed with his Signing Time.
Today I noticed that he was playing with toys that he used to ignore--but that the girls liked.
He also kicked some serious booty in speech today. He made purposeful choices, answered yes, and did this for the entire one-hour session. This is a kid who hated Speech so much I'd have to put him in time out half-way through a session just to get him to calm down.
I can't help but wonder is the girl's visit didn't have some effect on him.
A delightful visit that leaves my child full of new interests and skills? I'm calling that a win-win.
