Growth Measured In Years

Often I find myself measuring Brian's growth in years. As in, comparing this years Christmas to last years. Sometimes day-to-day we don't see all those little milestones that he picks up- but definitely looking back over a whole year I will notice some changes.

We took the boys mini-golfing on Friday. We attempted this several times last summer. Our biggest mistake last year was taking them to the course that involves a lot of water. Brian was hooked, obsessed, stimming off of that water. I believe him and I had to leave the course in the middle and let our family finish out on their own.

Later in the summer we took them to a little one that involves NO water. He did MUCH better on that course but still by about the 9th hole he just lost interest. He also stimmed off the windmill there and was very upset when we had to leave that hole. He wanted to hit everyone's balls, not wait for turns, and jump and dance on the green while others were having their turns.

As always, we learn from our mistakes- and this year did not even think about going to the water course but went back to the one that he had some success at. First sign of change- when asked what color ball he wanted he shouted "YELLOW". Never, in my wildest dreams, last year would I think he would've answered that question.

During the course, Brian successfully only hit his ball, actually getting a couple of twos in the beginning. He waited for all of us before venturing to the next hole. He sure was excited about that windmill- I let him stim for a couple minutes- then said, "Okay, no more stimming, time to hit the ball." And he complied, no questions asked, or tantrums thrown. He finished out the whole course, interest never waned. At the end of the course the lady gave us a ticket for a free game because the boys were such good sports! Last year I think we left there getting nasty glares from the same lady as I carried out my screaming four-year-old.

It's so nice to enjoy family activities like that with all of our family members. So nice to see him happy and WANT to participate with us. It was a very fun day for all!