Wes has made two major breakthroughs! (And no, I’m not taking about teeth, which we’re still waiting for…)

Friday we went to Tucanos for lunch. Oh, the yumminess. I had brought a PB&J sandwhich for Wes so I could enjoy my own lunch without having to share much. I ripped off small pieces and put them on the (Wet-Wiped) table surface for him to pick up and eat. After a while John pointed out that Wes seemed to be rubbing the table with his hand when his PB&J pieces were gone, like he wanted more. I’ve been doing the “more” sign to Wes for months and months, and although this wasn’t the actual “more” sign he was doing, he appeared to be doing it deliberately. I had ordered a smoothie with mango and pineapple and banana blended with ice cream. I poured a little into a kid’s cup and helped Wes drink it. Have I mentioned that Wes looooooooves ice cream? Giving him this drink kicked his sign-making into high gear. Whenever I pulled the cup away he’d start rubbing the table top like crazy and smiling. I wish we had our camera with us. We were so proud of him.

Yesterday at lunch we gave him more pieces of a PB&J, and although I had to leave mid-lunch for an appointment, when I came back John said that Wes was still doing the table-rubbing. So maybe he’s finally learned his first sign! Even if he did make it up himself.

The other good news is that Wes seems to be getting the hang of turn-taking. His speech therapist first visited him five months ago when Wes was ten months old and asked if Wes would mimic sounds or actions. That answer was a big fat “no.” But turn-taking is one of those skills that kids need to have in order to be successful with speech, so we’ve been working on it and working on it (without much success; he’s really good at staring at you, though). But the other day Wes was making noise and I started making noise back to him. He’d yell, then I’d yell back. He thought this was the funnest game ever, and it made him giggle. He was purposely “talking” so I’d talk back, and he thought it was hilarious. I’ve tried this game in months past, but he didn’t seem to get it like he gets it now.

Several months ago I took Wes to library time where they were learning baby signs. There were babies there six, seven, eight months old who were making the sign for “milk,” and I thought that was amazing. The director asked me if I’ve been doing signs with Wes, and I said, yes, ever since he was about a month old. Then she asked if he’d ever done them back to me, and that answer was no. Never. She recognized his Down syndrome and said that kids with DS get it, but they get it when they want to get it.

So maybe things are starting to click for Wes. Two big milestones this week. Maybe the next one with be a tooth….