January 4th, 2005

My vacation with Jakob was amazing. There’s nothing better than seeing that smiling face first thing in the morning (especially when first thing is 7am!). It’s so nice those few weeks out of the year when all I have to do all day is be a mom.

We had so much fun…he was in such a good mood, laughing all the time…that big belly laugh that just kills me. I sorta got him interested in opening presents, obviously some things he liked better than others. If it had lights and made music, he was all about it. He wasn’t too excited about books…not a big shocker.

My parents were in town for a week and Jakob just loves them. My Mom has such a calming effect on him and Dad just makes him laugh. Dad’s 6’4, so Jakob loves it when he picks him up…he’s so far off the ground! Dad loves to tease him and get him all excited…Jakob gets frustrated but always comes back for more. Mom bakes him cookies and gives him anything he wants. They do exactly what grandparents are supposed to do…spoil him rotten.

One of my favorite moments…I was taking down the Christmas decorations and on the fireplace I had hung a sign that said “We Believe in Santa”. I had the sign in the kitchen and I was getting ready to put it away in the basement. Jakob grabbed the sign, handed it to me, took my hand and walked me to the fireplace. He was making it pretty clear that he wanted me to hang it back up…so of course I did. He started jumping up and down and squealing… “We Believe in Santa” is now a year-round decoration…

We’ve started Jakob in the Sensory Learning Program at the Therapy Learning Center in Lebanon. The results that we’ve seen so far are amazing. There are so many things that he’s doing that he’s never done before. The easiest way to describe it is he’s “with us” more…he’s more interactive with us, not just off in a corner in his own little world. He’s running up to give me hugs and kisses…something he rarely did and now it’s a regular thing...I can’t even count how many times I’ve gotten teary-eyed. At this point, we’re only 9 days into the 30-day program and I couldn’t be more excited about the changes I’ve seen. I can’t wait ‘til we’ve completed the program and I can write all about it…I look forward to sharing all the results with other parents who are desperate to help their kids who may be having sensory integration issues like Jakob. There is no greater joy than working so hard with your child and seeing positive results. There’s no greater reward than a giggle and a big bear hug…

-Jenn