Beadi

I dedicate this report to my friend Sue Linnell who always tells me when she reads these and asks for more...

It is a year since my last post here on Charles blog and that is for a very good reason; I have forgotten the need to put things up here!

Well let me put it another way, Charles is being so utterly normal the normal parents around me do not seem to be doing things like 'post progress updates about their children' and I want to follow suit - at least by doing these less often.

I was reminded this week how much of what we do in life is affected by our formative years when I read an update from 'EPICURE' using statistics to assess needs in premature infants as Emily was.   Emily took part in the studies and the reports are yielding some powerful trends.  The point is that we forget she is carrying this disadvantage due to those early years.  We treat her as 'normal' when in fact there are things we should be putting a bit more effort into spotting and compensating for or getting help with.

It will be same with Charles; already we are pushing the memory of the story told here into brain archive or 'loft storage' as we don't think we need it anymore.  The fact is we need to resurrect a little more tolerence and understanding of his sometimes extremely strong willed outbursts.  His brain is probably still healing and in any case he is offspring of two stong willed people.

What is he up to now well here are some snippets:

Regularly stays up to 10 at night or later and wakes with the birds at 7.

Counts things unprompted up to 20

Writes his name with a bit of help and types it on a computer.

Loves CBeeBies Internet site and plays by himself on the computer.

Is miles better than us and gives his sister  run for her money on Wii Games.

Has moved on from playing football - almost lost interest.

Can't paint or draw for toffees, but can do basic shapes for a treat!

Getting to know his alphabet, sounds and some short words.

Has no suggestions what to get him for Chirstmas...   is that wrong?

Wants more and more to have friends round or go to theirs.

Chooses ITV violent/naughty CITV over and above BBC CBeebies (my observation is ITV show a great deal more misbehaving characters in their childrens TV than BBC)

Other parents and carers tell us 'he is lovely' yet he drives us round the bend sometimes.

Utterly fearless when out and about - he will just go ...

Wonderful WONDERFUL SON, we are over the moon and that is not meant to sound ironic or tongue-in-cheek.  He is 'normal', and will never be average in our eyes.