Keep your eyes open: you will see some really neat things

I just never know when to expect a new skill or ability. They sometimes appear on queue while I have a planned activity. That happened with a lot of signs after we began watching Signing Time. But gross motor skills have arrived on the spot after much gnashing of teeth and screaming and fussing. In fact we have suffered through weeks and months of painful and difficult physical therapy sessions before some gross motor skills arrived. Things like crawling, walking and climbing stairs required really painful, long, drawn-out therapy sessions and lots of practice before they emerged. In fact, they even required changing therapists and approaches to therapy.

But then, there are some things that just surprise you at unexpected moments. Tonight was one of those times. We had a swim meet at our old swimming hole: the YMCA's waterpark. We were members of the team last summer and have lots of friends there. It is a 30 minute drive from our home and less than 10 minutes into that drive we pass a county pool with a swim team. We chose to try that team out this year as that shorter drive helps me with potty training Ellie. However, we miss our friends. That made tonight's meet a real treat and we sat with our old team instead of our new team. The kids had a blast. Alex got to hang with his buddies who also swim year round with him, and Ellie got to sit with some old friends who brought a bucket of Lego. Well she kept handing me little pieces of Lego connected together. I didn't realize at first, but she was putting them together herself. I caught on to this idea after a few minutes, and then she finally tapped me on the arm so that she could show me how she does it. Watching her master this fine motor skill made my heart leap with joy! She has over-pronated her hand for all grasping and drawing and eating activities since day 1. (Imagine holding a spoon with your thumb under the handle) However, watching her hold those Lego correctly I realized she CAN hold a pencil correctly and manipulate it for a proper writing grasp. I have been doing more work with her this summer and I think it is finally paying off. Yea!!!!!

Lego Rocks! And for those of you who didn't know this: looking for little Lego pieces in a pile of Lego builds your brain's synaptic connections (still searching for the link). So keep your eyes open for two reasons: you might miss something really amazing and you can get smarter looking for Lego. :D