Autism part 2: things I love

I have been working on this for a few days, and after last night...I felt I needed to post this first because I need to remind myself of positive things.  Bub had a VERY BAD TERRIBLE AWFUL NO GOOD NIGHT last night, which culminated in me scrubbing poop off his floor for about an hour and a half.  I was feeling pretty discouraged.  ok, WAY more than pretty discouraged.  but I've had some sleep, I got most of the poop covered items cleaned by now...just some bedding to rewash to ensure it's really clean.  I work tonight and the next 3 days...so poor Joe is going to be dealing w/ any Bub fall out by himself...and I really feel bad about that.

So here is my attempt to remind myself of all the wonderful things of Bub.  I'll post part 1 when I'm not ready to bang my head on the wall repeatedly....

I love the focus autism give Bub on the things he loves to do.

I love how he loves doing artwork to express himself.  I don't care about the paint on his shirt, markers on his face, crayons hidden in his bed, stickers on the windows, glue on the floor.  I love it.  I love watching him focus on cutting strips of paper like he is making the best masterpiece in the world.  And he is.

I love his "Elaborations" 

I love how he remembers things.  He has his favorite Baby Einstein episode memorized, he goes up to the TV and points to where the next toy is coming out, or to show the order the things are going to be moved.

I love that he knows how to write his name and that it means him.

I love that deep compression soothes him, so snuggling w/ Momma is a cherished commodity to him.  I love that he needs big hugs not just for the sensory stimulus, but also for the love.

I love that Bub is able to connect to people.  He remembers people even if they're not sure he does, he does.  He knows who loves him and who is "afraid" of him, and treats them accordingly.

I love that bub likes to read catalogs, even if he doesn't care for books except as building material.

I love how he tries to be helpful...even when it's not.

I love how he sneaks my coffee away in the morning. (tho I feel bad for his teachers when he does it before school)

I love how he is trying to be gentle with people who are smaller than he is.  and trying to be patient with people who have less patience than he does.

I love when he learns a thing, he knows a thing.  You can't trick him about it.

I love to see how proud of himself he is when he masters a new skill.  His face beams for days and he constantly does the skill over and over to show the world what he can do.

I love that he likes to be held when we're singing hymns in church.

I love the humming songs he makes when he's playing by himself, even if it is just a stim

I love how he buries himself in his blanket when he sleeps, and pulls me into his cocoon when I try to wake him up in the morning.