It takes patience to let him do it himself.

Ryan has started dressing himself. This is a skill that has been evolving for some time now, but it was only recently that I figured out that he can do it himself.

Most of us don't give getting dressed in the mornings a second thought; we spend more time trying to pick out our clothes than actually putting them on. (Okay, maybe that's just me.) But tonight I watched my son methodically approach a mundane task.

I handed Ryan his pajamas and told him "You put them on." He smiled at this. I sat back and made up my mind that I wasn't going to help him....not even a little bit. He was able to put his pajama bottoms on without any trouble. He sat down on the side of the bed, put one foot in, then the next and pulled them up.

I give full credit to his occupational therapists at the Meyer Center. They have taught him a sequence for putting on his clothes and he follows it precisely. I heard him muttering the regime under his breath, "Foot." "Leg." and then as he went to pull his pants up in the back he said out loud "Back." He seemed to struggle with this last step, but was determined to get them up.

He moved on to his shirt. He had to study this a bit more. He made several wrong moves, you know, tried to put his head in an arm hole. He then placed the shirt on the bed in front of him and picked it up. I believe he was looking for the bottom because it was only seconds after he did this that he pick it up, ran his hand through the bottom and pulled it over his head. As he was searching for the right hole I can heard him say "Head." He popped through with yet another smile for me and proceeded to "Arm." as he put one and then the other through the sleeve. He finished by pulling his shirt neatly over his tummy and jumping up and exclaiming "Ta Dah."

I know, he just got dressed; it isn't rocket science.

It is hard to explain why I am overjoyed at each of his successes. It sure isn't because I thought he'd never do these things for himself. I think it is more because accomplishments are harder for him. It's true. Just about everything Ryan has to learn is a harder for him. He has to be shown something over and over and then he has to practice it over and over to master it. So once he gets it, there's more of a WOW factor I suppose.

My little boy continues to WOW me every day. I can't wait to see what he can do next. Potty trained would be nice.