I Love You Daddy

Gregory turned 5 this past December, and the bulk of his words are parroting what he might hear rather than sourcing his own communication. To us, an actual conversation with him has been elusive. Lately, we’ve been having some breakthroughs. Today was his best day ever, and in a world where progress is measured in inches, Gregory ran a mile. 

I’ve been prompting Gregory to say “I love you Daddy.” He’ll parrot it, but never say it when it would fit. 

Until today. 

This morning, as I luxuriated in a few free hours prior to my Sunday appointments, G-man walked right up to me, put his hands up for a hug, looked me in the eye, and said “I Love You Daddy!” There was nothing unconscious or robotic about it- total presence. He did it several times during the day as well, in equally appropriate ways. This was on the shoulders of him saying “I’ll come” the other morning when I woke him up and he wanted me to know he didn’t need to be carried. Later in the day, he played catch with his sister, which was another first. I had to work a chunk of the day, but Ann saw progress as well, and she chronicled it here.

Big stuff. We are grateful that in the midst of the hard stuff that we’ve had such a burst of progress.