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This guy, Sam edition



My mom guilt senses were tingling letting me know that I have not been giving my younger son his fair share.  As a middle child I have spent the better part of my life bemoaning everyone else getting more than me.  So you would think I would be better about it for Sam.
Sam doing his Sam projects

Well.  I'm not.  I am not better than my parents all those years ago who would go on cruise control with the younger children. I thought I was better but life has proven to me time and time again that I don't know jack about jack most of the time.

Here is Sam at 8months on the inside.  My chest is 32 years old in this picture and the reason I have chronic back pain. HeeeyO
LYLAS Evalena and Amydelle 

Boys are a little less than 3 years apart.  While I was pregnant with Sammie we started to come out of denial land about Calvin being on the spectrum.  We were fully kicked out of denial land when Calvin was kicked out of his first 3 year old program when I was 4 weeks postpartum.

Fun times.  Whenever I think I am having a bad time I should close my eyes and click my heels and say "There is no place like fall of 2012.  There is no place like fall of 2012" and I should count my m-effing blessings.
Sam 10 hours out in the world.

Squishy

Cal and Sam first contact.  I swear I didn't color coordinate this



Ack
This picture is enough to make me think we should have a 3rd.

I could probably handle 3 of them right? 

Also this one.  OMG look at them

If we had a 3rd do you think they would have this hair?
2 years old is disappointed in this breakfast


So Sammie B oh my Sammie B.  He is slightly sassy and massively stubborn.  But in a quiet I am going to be over here doing exactly what I want and I will filter out anything that doesn't align with exactly what I want.  He gets away with this because he is an adorable engineering genius.  He is over there making whole universes from his head to legos and stickers and magnatiles and dirt.

Sometimes I go to get him to clean up or some such nonsense but I see what he is building and I think "damn he's making next level art. that's so worth the mess he is making," than I slowly back up and get out of his way.
Pleased with this turn of events

He came up with this on his own.  With painters tape by himself.

With him it's just getting out of his way and letting him be great.  It's not going to look like everyone else but he does amazing things.  Sam didn't speak until he was 4. He is 5 now and in pre-k. Sam wasn't really bothered by not speaking in the way that it clearly bothered Calvin.  He wanted us to get out of his face about it.  He started talking because he wanted to talk about cats.  We went fully over the top for the cat theme.  To encourage him


Sam's love is intense
His favorite cat Dexter.



We got a new cat, we got him all the stuffed cat toys, backpacks,blankets, tee shirts.  Anything that would make him laugh and entice him to talk.  He is coming along at a good clip nowadays with language development.  He probably is tracking about 2.5 years behind his same age peers.  But he doesn't have a lot of the associated behavior and sensory processing issues so we just let it come to him in the way that it comes to him

See.  I am like my parents.  Cruise control with the younger kiddos.  Hippy like. 
Self contained

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