Happy happy happy happy happy

Fanfare: boom dish boom dish tah-dah. Bright Eyes has made a friend!

I walked in to preschool to pick him up from his first day back on Wednesday last week and I saw him hand in hand with a little boy. The two of them came up to me and the little pal said, "Could we have a few more minutes to play some more?"

Flabbergasted, I said, "Of course (heck, kid, go do what you want)" and made big eyes to the preschool teacher.

"They've been like that all day," she said. "They are playing together and enjoying the same things. They just clicked from the start."

The little fella (and I'll have to name him Buddy I think) is about 4 and was not in the class last year. He loves cars and trains and all the things that Bright Eyes loves so they are a good match.

Day Two was the same. The teacher showed me a photograph she took of Bright Eyes sitting next to Buddy in group time, with his arm around his shoulders. I walked out floating.

This is really the first friendship. I'm going to try to have Buddy around to play if it keeps going. If that happens, it will be Bright Eyes' first real playdate. And you'll hear about it.

Just when I thought I couldn't get enough happy things in one week, this morning for the first time ever, Bright Eyes went to Sunday school and stayed in for the whole class. It's a new class, with only one other little boy in it (also about 4, and looking exactly like Buddy), so that will be perfect for him.

Thanks for sharing my happiness!

Relationships with other kids

Bright Eyes is keen to be friends with other children, but he doesn't really know what to do. He is fine if the game is a basic 'run and hide from the monster' type thing. He can tag along on the end and get excited.

He can also now do a simple "let's go down the slide together" or "let's swing our arms together" or even a "let's build a road together".

Once things start getting more complicated with roles and imagination, he gets lost and overwhelmed.

He is getting the idea of some people being his friends as well. He came in the other day and said, "George is my friend. I just like playing with him. Let's go and see George." And one day after preschool he told me in answer to a question that "I played with Liam. He's my friend. I like playing with him."

Just so you know, he's at RDI Stage 4.

Cute

Bright Eyes had a great day at preschool today. Lauren, a little five year old, who has taken him under her wing turned to him and said, "You're so cute Bright Eyes".

He looked at her and said, "Yes. You're cute too."