Day 25: Rochester, Beaver, Changes

We've spent the afternoon reading books and then walking, walking, walking the hallways of the hospital.

John is changing every day. Each day he finds new things to look at while we walk, and leaves old fun things behind. For a week he's been running behind the columns and up the Leid center ramp, today neither was fun and he was off to find his way outside to the big circle by the entrance on the other side of the hospital. I notice that he's getting stronger each day, has more endurance, and is more ready to run, run, run. He's changing with his books too, the thing that I've noticed the most is the change with which book is his absolute favorite, it used to be Where's Spot? by Eric Hill and now it is Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson. He's also different about each book. We still read Where's Spot? everyday, but now instead of eagerly opening the flaps and telling me whats in there, he'd rather knock on each of the flaps that look like they have latches of some kind, and tell me what is in there before they are opened, then he doesn't necessarily have to open them, sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. The other thing that is different is that he's signing 'hippo' and 'alligator' and doing them in such a way that the difference is obvious, even though neither is really done exactly correctly, and both of them are very similar signs. The thing that's changed, and amazes me about John and his new favorite book, Bear Wants More, is that he is looking at the details of the pictures. We read this book 2 to 5 times a day, and he's finding new things in the pictures all the times. We, Amy, his speech therapist at home, and I have practically begged the child to please look at the pictures and tell us things about them and now he will hold the page down and not let me turn it until he has shown me all the things that he's going to show me on the page, and it's not always the same things so there's no predicting it and I just have to wait.

You're thinking what the heck does Rochester and Beaver have to do with any of this. Well, it's partly my tv riddled childhood and partly John being silly today. All day he has been running around with one hand under his chin, if you've never seen Jack Benny do this on his show, maybe you've seen Radar do an imitation of him on MASH. Honestly I remember Radar more, and that is the voice that keeps running through my head every time that I see John doing this and it's been a lot today. The Beaver, well today is the day that John has been sticking his hand up the change return of every machine he could get too, I just kept thinking of the Beaver getting his head stuck in the fence and the firemen having to come and rescue him. Now John would be upset that his hand was caught, but the firemen would be so cool, he'd do it again!

My little boy seems to be getting to be more of a daredevil every day and frankly is starting to scare a few adults. But really the kid is essentially in a roll cage, no automatic door could close hard enough to even touch him, much less hurt him. John has spent every moment that he was allowed to do it today irritating the automatic doors at the front of the hospital. He wants to be the one to make them open, he has to run through them, and it's oh so much more fun if they close on him, especially the ones that swing, if they close on him and shove him out of the doorway he is literally squealing with delight. At some point I need to get a warning beacon and signal horn on his gait trainer to warn those people who are coming up ramps, around corners and not watching where they are walking when they are getting on elevators. Maybe I should also get him a bumper sticker that says "I'm nearly 4, I'm all boy, Be AFRAID!"