A Major Breakthrough

This post represents a major "high-five" moment for Kaleb. As I have mentioned before, Kaleb is extremely shy when he is at church, or school or anywhere else "social." The boys have had LOTS of playdates recently, and I'd have to say that 9 times out 10, Kaleb doesn't say a word. Seriously. He'll run around with everyone, some of the time, but nothing comes out of his mouth. In fact, today, it was funny... I was reading to the boys about Alma the Younger, and how when the angel came to reprimand him, Alma couldn't speak. Kaleb, piped up just then and said,

That's like me. I can't speak when I'm in class.
Sure you can! You just have to try.
No. I can't.

When I went to his Halloween party at his preschool, I felt so bad for him. He was like a statue. He hardly even moved a muscle. He never breathed a word. I waved to him, but he just stared at me, and stared at the ground. No smile. No wave back. When the kids went to their table to eat a cupcake, he just sat there in his seat. He wouldn't even move his arms to pick up the cupcake. Finally I think the sugar called to him, and he slowly lowered his face down to the cupcake and licked it. It was the saddest thing. I felt so awful. I wondered if he was on the verge of heart attack everyday that he goes to school. He looked so terrified.

One of the girls that he's been having playdates with is Brooklyn. She is the same age as him, and is in his nursery class. Every Sunday I ask Kaleb if he saw Brooklyn today. He always says yes. Then I ask him if he said "hi" to her, and he always says, "No. I don't talk."

Well, today... HUGE breakthrough. My friend, Janica (Brooklyn's mom) came up to me after church and told me that her husband had peeked through the Nursery window during story time, and saw that Kaleb and Brooklyn were holding hands! I was SOOO excited! Kaleb was actually interacting! I asked Kaleb about it later, and this is how it went:

Kaleb, did you see Brooklyn at Nursery today?
Yes.
Did you say, "Hi" to her?
No. I didn't talk.
You didn't say anything to her?
Nope.
Did you play with her?
Nope.
Did you sit with her at storytime?
Yeah.
Did you... hold her hand?
Yeah. (little smile)
Did you ask her if you could hold her hand?
No.
Did she ask you if she could hold your hand?
No.
Did you just grab her hand?
Yeah. (little smile retuning)
And she let you?
Yeah.
Did you like it?
Yeah.
Why did you grab her hand?
Cuz I wanted to.
Do you like Brooklyn?
Yeah.

I realize this may have seemed a little pushy to such a sweet girl like Brooklyn, but I am SO happy that she let him hold her hand. This may have been the first attempt of interaction EVER for Kaleb in a classroom setting. It's funny because with Jaden, I know he is confident, and so when I first saw HIM holding a girl's hand I thought it was adorable, yet I had a bit of a motherly instinct to intervene. (Of course I didn't, I'm not that worried!) But with Kaleb, I am actually hoping that he will do it again. And maybe even build up enough courage to talk to her next time! I have been so worried about him and all the anxiety he feels in a classroom. I really hope this is a jumping point for him.

Here is a picture of Kaleb and Brooklyn at one of our playdates last week.


She is so cute and so sweet to him, even though I'm not sure that he had even spoken a word to her that whole day. But... as of today, all I have to say is... Way to go, Dude!