When Kailey was first born, Chris and I were anticipating that her and Colin would immediately become the best of friends. Instead, Colin basically acted as though she weren't there aside from the occasional photo we posed with the two of them. We started to wonder when we would see him doting on her and if it was even normal for him to not even care either way if she was there.
With time, we did start to see that transformation take place. While there are lots of times that Colin deliberately steals toys from Kailey, she won't share her babies with him, they can't decide on the same show to watch, they push and shove and scream and cry, there are MANY MORE times that they are the best of friends.
One of the things we have always observed about Colin is the fact that he often parallel plays with other kids his age instead of actively participating with his peers. Most of this is due to his lack of effective communication when playing. We know this will change with time as his communication skills improve, but what is most amazing to me to watch now is Colin and Kailey deciding on an activity together, setting it up, and playing together for an extended period of time while communicating in their ways. He does not have the same kinds of struggles in playing with her that he has with other kids.
Kailey deserves a lot of this credit due to her incredible patience with him and her guidance/positive reinforcement during activity. Just the other day, I sat and watched them discuss bowling, set it up, take turns and play for a solid 30 minutes together. They cheered for each other, gave high fives and at the end, hugged when they were done. I sat there with tears streaming down my face because I was just so excited to see how their relationship has progressed.
I look forward to seeing this friendship of theirs grow and grow and I am thankful that they will always have each other.
1 comment:
This was beautiful :)
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