Eli - Boy Wonder

I wonder what Eli's knight name would be? Sir Eli the Great? Sir Eli the Conqueror? Sir Eli the Boy Wonder?

We have seen so many changes take place with him these last few weeks. It is truly mind-boggling.

Now, I won't go into the therapies we're doing with him just yet - I'll save that for another post. Ya'll know by now that I can be a bit of a jabberwockey, so if I don't cut to the chase then this post will quickly turn into a novel.

Okay. So, a year ago Eli tested in the bottom 1% of all 5 year olds in the nation for coordination. He couldn't kick a ball, couldn't crawl on his hands and knees without falling, couldn't even draw a circle.... the list goes on and on.

Fast forward to now. In May we started taking Noah to a new therapist and we had to buy these expensive glasses that flash lights into your eye (I'll get into that in another post.) Anyway, they were, like, a hundred and fifty dollars so we decided to get Nandi and Eli tested to see if they could use them, too.

Might as well be able to use the glasses on all three kids....

So we got them tested a few weeks ago and Eli started wearing the glasses for 3 minutes a day. In the LAST WEEK, Eli has learned to..... insert drum roll....

1. Ride a bike with training wheels

2. Ride a bike withOUT training wheels

3. Cross the monkey bars start to finish at the park

4. Swim 18 feet in a pool.

5. Joined a basketball and soccer game in session at the park WITH other kids - whoo hoo!

If this hasn't soaked in, then let me explain what Eli was like a week ago....

1. He was afraid to ride a bike - any bike - because he thought he might fall.

2. He couldn't even hang from the monkey bars. Didn't have enough strength.

3. Couldn't swim AT ALL. I mean, just this past Tuesday he was too scared to swim 3 feet into my arms. The next day, he swam 6 yards.

4. He had never, ever, ever joined a game at the park. He's always been scared of failing and has awful anxiety.

Now he has this super duper confidence and he's even asking about playing soccer next year. What??? My Eli? Really???

Anyway, he still has a looooooong way to go. We just saw a pediatric ophthalmologist yesterday who specializes in visual processing disorders and he's going to start Eli on a regime of exercises that will address his learning issues. And we're still seeing the attachment therapist - who let me lay on the couch for an hour yesterday and pour my heart out. Ahhhhhh, it felt goooooood. We were meant to be there for the kids, but she could tell I was ready to crack.

Man, I left there feeling like I'd just had a hour long massage, a facial, and a huge dose of lipo.

In other words... I was a brand new woman.

The point is... (see how I ramble) is that Eli is doing great. We still have a lot of issues to address, but Eli is slowing climbing his Mount Everest and I really think that one day he'll reach the top.

So. Have I piqued your curiosity? Are you wanting to know what all we've been doing to turn him from Eli the Scared to Eli the Brave? It's quite lengthy and I want to make sure I do it right because I feel so strongly about it. But I'll post about it soon. I promise!!!