Life in this house is not at all like I thought it would be a year ago. God has blessed us with a continual growth and improvement in Jacob's behavior. Last night we were actually able to go trick or treating with him and not only did he tolerate it but he was begging to go and loved every minute of it. It's these simple moments that I take comfort in. In the past few months he's done new things that once would have sent him into a whirlwind of emotions.
Last month he was able to ride the little train at the zoo with no meltdowns or anxieties and he was able to enjoy a train ride with his cousins. In the past years, going to a pumpkin patch was fun but most of the time you have to ride on a hay ride to get to the pumpkins. Here's how that would go down, we'd talk about the hay ride and Jacob would say he'd want to ride then when that time came he would act like we were about to chop his head off with an ax. So, we would end up following the hay ride, walking behind and it was very awkward. This past week, I'm happy to say, Jacob was begging me to get on the hay ride to go get his pumpkin and reluctantly I bought the ticket. As we were walking over to get on the trailer the negativity started to over take my thoughts and I knew that this was going to be another throw down. Another embarrassment, another time when I have to ignore the stares and the ugly remarks. To my uttermost surprise, Jacob ran onto the trailer!!! He was the first one on and he said "mom, we're going to get a pumpkin." I felt so blessed in that moment.
He's also been taking his medicine with minimal fights. I used to have to hold him down and put him in a headlock and force the medicine in his mouth and scream "swallow." He's taking his meds like a pro now!! He's come such a long way in the past year!! I can't wait to see what the next year holds for us.