Polite

Noah and I skipped ST this past week. We rarely cancel, but we had a playdate at the zoo with some friends, and I think exposing Noah (and the other kids) to as many kids as possible is just as beneficial as ST, and Tripp understood. My kids had a blast at the zoo--Katie had never been before, and even though Aidan and Noah have been before, they still enjoyed it immensely. While we were at the zoo, I was dreading taking Noah out of his stroller. We've been going through power struggles lately when it comes to Noah sitting in the stroller, and I figured the zoo would be horrible. Oddly enough, I was willing to let Noah walk, and he requested to get back into his stroller! One of the big differences in Noah vs. the other kids around his age is that they tend to tell their moms what they want, and their moms ask them what they want. I realized that this is my fault--I had assumed that Noah couldn't speak much that I didn't need to ask him what he wanted to do. Several of my friends also have speech-delayed children, yet they do still included their kids in decisions. I made it my mission to focus on asking Noah his preferences this week.

As I started asking Noah questions, he began answering me. One aspect of parenthood that I have always focused on as my children began speaking was being polite. I try to always ask my kids to please do something, and then I thank them. As a result, Katie, and especially Aidan, are fairly polite. I mean, they're still kids, so they can be demanding, but overall, they understand that I am more willing to comply to a request if they are polite. Well, I began asking Noah to please sit in his car seat. Surprisingly, he began happily climbing in and letting me buckle him up! But the biggest surprise was when I thanked him--he said "You're welcome"! As the week progressed, he's been saying thank you to me when I give him his sippy cup, when I give him food he wants, or when I put him in a shopping cart or stroller. If I tell him thank you for behaving, he will always reply with "You're welcome".

On Friday, I had a bad day and desperately needed some intense retail therapy. We went to MOG, and Noah climbed into his stroller easily and told me "You're welcome" when I thanked him for behaving. After buying some things at Old Navy, Bath and Body Works, and Yankee Candle, we went to the soft playground. I let the kids play for about 45 min., and when it was time to leave, all three of them easily left, and Noah easily got back into the stroller!! I was beyond amazed! Maybe I've been making things harder than they had to be..............

Needless to say, I have learned an important lesson about communicating with Noah. Even though we skipped ST, he has come a long way in a week!f