Peanut

I feel like it's been awhile since I wrote anything specifically about Pacey. He's pretty averse to having his photograph taken these days, so I have to sneak up on him if I want to get a good shot. He's also had a less...I'm trying to think of the right word...momentous? few months. He's good and potty trained, his speech is coming along slowly and steadily and he's kind of outgrown the years of constant change and milestone achievements. Still, he amazes and frustrates and confounds me every single day so I thought I'd gather a few tidbits about him.  

He does not let short stature prevent him
from getting his mitts on whatever he pleases!

* I took Pacey to the Down syndrome clinic at the Children's Hospital and learned that he is not only in the 50th percentile for height and weight on the Ds curve, he is actually ON the typical curve. Not bad for a kid that weighed three pounds when he was born. He's finally wearing 3T (and even some 4T!!!) clothing and his feet grew, enabling me to fulfill my shoe fetish and purchase him some new kicks. He's definitely still smaller than most kids his age, but the gap is less noticeable.

* He absolutely cannot WAIT to go back to school. I have never known a kid that loved school more than Pacey does. It was awful watching his devastation on Tuesday when we dropped Brighton off at school and he realized he wasn't staying. He's always been the one to be dropped off so it was new for him. Since he's in afternoon preschool this year he'll have to get used to it...



* Although he has his moments of being a bratty older brother, he is amazingly kind and gentle with younger kids. He almost always goes up to toddlers and gives them hugs, and although I try to keep his grubby boy hands off tiny babies, he loves to gently rub their heads. I love seeing the expressions on other parents' faces when he treats their kids so nicely.

* He's also completely in awe of older boys. He doesn't generally try to tag along with them, but he does watch what they're doing so he can imitate it later. This is a little worrisome as he sees much older kids doing some fairly dangerous things at times, but for the most part he's aware of his own limitations in play. I'm constantly surprised by how much he watches some of the games older kids play and, frankly, how well he is able to emulate them.

Getting a ride from Papa in his wheelbarrow

* He is extremely generous at heart. I used to worry that he was too complacent and would just let other kids take from him because he didn't know how to stand up for himself. Now, though, I know he is totally capable of standing up for himself and he really doesn't mind sharing most of the time. When he comes up from the playroom to request a snack or drink, he always asks for one for Brighton as well (and in the case of snacks, he always gives her her share). I will say that he has been known to stealthily help himself to his sister's plate if she's not eating her chicken nuggets fast enough :)

I think Pacey's all-time favorite activity is
jumping.

* He's pretty good at getting me to do things for him by pretending he can't do them himself. For instance, if I am standing there while he gets undressed for the bath, he'll give up on taking his clothes off almost immediately and refuse to try unless I help him. I have a really hard time allowing him to experience frustration and try/fail at things so I generally step in pretty quickly and help. HOWEVER, nearly every single day when I get this kid up from his quiet time he is either buck naked or dressed in a completely different outfit (often swimwear). Not only can he undress himself, but he is perfectly capable of dressing as well!! I will have to be aware of not letting him pull the wool over my eyes with this sort of thing in future.

* He not only figured out point-and-click technology, but Chris and I watched him the other day as he woke the computer out of sleep mode, opened a browser and navigated to the website he plays games on. I know every parent experiences moments of amazement when they discover a new ability or skill in their child - it's one of the coolest things about being a parent. But when you've been prepped all through your kid's early childhood for all the ways they may NOT meet typical expectations, these achievements are that much more mind-blowing.

I always feel like it's impossible to paint a picture of Pacey with words...only to know him is to fully appreciate his magic. He's infuriating at times, but can charm almost anyone with an open mind. I can't wait to sit back and see how he'll grow this school year.