Milestone...

For anyone that knows our story and situation you know that a lot of big things to us, are little to many others.  Milestones in our house are different, especially in reference to Zachary.  I have no idea when or how he learned to read, I simply know that by the time he was 4, he was reading and telling time (not on a digital clock).  He has no problem grasping academic stuff, it is a lot of the other parts of life that have been a struggle...making friends, fine motor skills, language, understanding simple concepts (like giving people personal space)...and one big one.  Toys.  Since he was little he has never really played with toys. Not in the traditional way that you and I probably did as kids or even as I watch Erin.  She plays with her dolls, the train set, blocks, you name it.  Alone, with me, she plays.  Zach...not so much.
When he was little I was in denial I am sure...I would continue to buy toy after toy, convinced that it was the toy, not him that was the problem.  It never changed. As he got bigger he grew to love books, the computer, workbooks, the Wii, DS...you get the picture.  Toys, not on the list.  We bought, they sat.
So tonight I was done...making my usual sweep of rooms to clear out things...I had just discovered that while the consignment sale I used in the fall was cancelled for the spring sale, there is another one on the other side of town next month...YEAH!  The pile in the garage is huge and I am ready to purge.  I didn't want to do the consignment store bc they take so much...the sale, you price it yourself. Anyhow, I digress...I explained that some of his Imaginex toys would be in the sale pile since he never plays with them.  This after hours of whining and going on about how bored he is (he is grounded from all things electronic after an awful two weeks of behavior at school).  So, i told him, if you want toys, you have to play with them...I took out some Lego sets we have had for years and started to add them to the pile and stopped...he showed interest...I asked if wanted to sit and try to build something...4.5 hours later this is him....

I am tickled pink..I can't tell you how much this trills me...fills my heart with such happiness.  He is taking his time and working so hard to follow the directions...using his fine motor skills (skills that are a challenge for him)...he is so proud of his work and what he has done...I am too...Most of all to see him engaged in something that is not a computer for his long is beyond a thrill...Milestone day for us.  Sometimes the garbage bags have to come out for us to move on and that is okay. We have had a rough few weeks, so today is huge...
So for some, watching their kids spend 4.5 hours on the floor building Lego's might seem like nothing to most, but here, this was a monumental day for us and I can't wait to see what this new love brings...