Update.

Pretending to buy stuff in a store.

As promised, an update for all of you who are curious about my little, already 7-uears old boy. Cos my, it’s been a long time since I wrote about Pelle in English (8 month!). So where should I begin? We had a wonderful summer holiday. We stayed at a campsite for two weeks and it amazed me how independent my boy gets. Biking on his on around the grounds, doing chores, keeping himself busy. What a difference with last year (2011) when we where at the same place. He hardly left my side. Unlike last year, he enjoyed the theater the animation team put up every night. Singing songs, doing sketches, telling yokes. He was there waiting for the bell to toll every day at a quarter to seven, announcing the activities. It was a great two weeks, and for the first time in all these years of raising him, it felt like a holiday for me, too.

Back home, we intensified our Dutch version of the Son-Rise program. Dutch meaning, among other things, that we don’t emphasize on being happy so much, as is the case with the American approach. I think it’s important for Pelle to learn about emotions and that they are all equally important in a human’s live. Off course I want him to be happy, but if he’s not, that’s also OK. I try to teach him how he can cope with anger, frustration, anxiety and so much more a person can feel. I try to be patient, embrace and reflect what he is feeling and if it’s necessary, talk with him about it. I’m very happy with Pelle, but I do have my moments of being grumpy and tired, and that’s OK, too. Most of the time I enjoy playing with him very, very much. It makes me so cheery.
After the summer we continued with three players. I felt so very fortunate as I could contract a male student, after quite a search. He was one of the guys from the animation team from the campsite and Pelle and he chase each other a lot, play tiger, running games and do more boy stuff. Mart is very expressive and loves to act funny. Lila stayed on, my trusted companion and the one with whom I discuss our goals and the way we try to accomplish them. She’s doing a lot to try to engage Pelle in drawing and other artistic expressions. Tamara also stayed. Pelle and she did a lot of board games and small role-plays.
Pelle's really learning to play like a kid, now. It's wonderful to see.
After the Christmas holidays his imagination started blossoming. What a huge reward for all of us. He is now enacting things he sees on the television or on You Tube. If you’re curious, take a look here on my Dutch blog. Although in black-and-with and with a bit trouble with our handy cam, you can see him pretending to be a reporter and doing the children’s news. It’s about a crocodile that died (by an ice spark). I am interviewed (and impersonating 2 characters) about the matter. Off course I’m glad, because I’m scared of the crock. He’s also doing two other items (about skating and the weather) and vocalizing the tunes.
We keep working on our goals, like playing together (flexibility, eye-contact and non-verbal expression), enjoying yourself (playing alone and trying to cope with delayed attention) and drawing (he’s not making much progress there, but we continue anyway). Later this year, we will start introducing play-dates as he still has minimal contact with other children.
At school he’s doing fine, with some aid of a student who comes twice a week for an hour to help him with his writing and to teach him how to do the tasks he is supposed to do on his own.
I am still loving him to bits. He’s my sweet, sweet, joyful and vivid boy and he is unfolding his potential in a wonderful way. And as I see how people are taken by him, I'm so proud to be his mom.