Have your cake, and eat it too

One of the best things about being a special needs parent (yes, you read that correctly) is that you don't take the little things for granted. Small advances, so minutely incremental in the development of typical children they go practically unnoticed, is the stuff of miracles for a parent that has been praying for progress.

This past Sunday was full of such miniature miracles, and a lot of zucchini. Actually it was the zucchini that started the marvelous episode -- I had a plethora of the veggie lying about, so I decided to bake it into a chocolate cake (something everyone will eat!). As I leaned over the oven to check the done-ness of the cake, Simon wandered into the kitchen and the miracles started rolling.

Miracle #1 (which actually started a couple months ago), Simon ASKED A QUESTION;

"What are you DOING Mommy?" He asked.

"Baking a cake," I replied.

Miracle #2: Simon expressed interest in the task, and MIMICKED what I was doing. He took some oven mitts and put them on his hands, and he peered into the oven expectantly.

"Look, Mommy! Wow, cake! You want to make a cake!" (sometimes he gets his pronouns mixed up)

Miracle #3: Simon PRETENDED. Since the cake was already in the oven, I pulled out some play food and pots and Simon "made" a cake. "Look, Mommy! I make it!"

Miracle #4: Simon told me he wanted to add sprinkles to the cake, but he SPECIFIED that he wanted to do this on "Mommy's cake." I quickly iced the real cake and pulled out some rainbow sprinkles. I put Simon on a chair and handed him the sprinkles and he HELPED decorate the cake. Afterward, he was PROUD of himself. "I did it! I make it!"

Miracle #5: We cut the cake, and Simon ate the whole slice WITH HIS FORK. Slowly and carefully, he speared each bite and even closed his eyes as he chewed.

Miracle #6: To wash down the cake, I'd given Simon some milk. Instead of grabbing the cup one-handed as usual, he actually grasped it with BOTH HANDS and raised it to his lips, taking a long sip (an appropriate reward for a job well done). Then he set it down, carefully and evenly with both hands.

Best cake ever, don't you think?