Observations

Here are a few of the things I have noticed that I feel are worth mentioning.

Preston

• He now likes pickles and olives.  He wouldn't touch them before.
• He loves guacamole.  It's his new favorite food.  I'm not sure he had ever eaten an avocado before.  He always thought they looked disgusting and wouldn't even try them until now.
• He is asking a MILLION questions.  It's like he can't shut his brain off.  He talks and talks and talks.  When I ask him to do something he says, "Okay, mom.  But can I just ask you a question first?" That happens like 100 times a day.  
• He copies others (mainly what they say, but also what they do)
• He thinks EVERYTHING is funny.
• He is still VERY loving to his baby brother!  He holds him and kisses him and just wants to be around him, but he is almost too rough and too loving with him now.  He was like that a little bit before, but now "loving aggressive" behavior is magnified.  I have to watch him around the baby the way I would need to watch a toddler.  
• His new favorite phrase is "But that's not fair!"  It's annoying, but I still smile when I hear him and realize he has NEVER said that before.  He also says flat out tells me "No!" says "I'm not doing that!" "I don't have to!" and "You can't make me!"  He's defiant, but he's making progress.  Wa-hoo!!
• He has slimmed down physically quite a bit.  He seems to be able to feel when he is full more than he could before.  He will say, "No thanks.  I'm full" and that did not happen much before he started Brain Balance.
• He's also much stronger than he used to be.  His muscle tone is becoming more pronounced.  
• Above all, he seems to have so much more energy.  He can walk and hike and run way longer than he used to without complaining or seeming taxed at all.  
• Preston used to lick things.  It was one of the more obvious ways we could see the sensory issues he had.  I haven't seen him lick anything lately.  But, I've noticed he has been chewing on his clothing lately.  A LOT!  I'm not sure if that's an improvement or just switching one need for another, but it's something I've noticed.  
• He is so chatty!  He won't stop talking for anything.  It's so fun to hear what he's thinking.  The other day he was playing in the sand box.  He came in and said, "Mom, what would happen if we ran out of sand?"  I replied, "We would probably get some more."  He continued, "Where would we get it?  From the desert?  Or maybe from the beach.  Yeah, I think that's what we would have to do.  We would have to go to the beach and bring some sand home with us."  I wish I could write down EVERYTHING he says because it is just so fascinating to see how his mind works.  
• He is also getting to be more and more independent.  Not only can he do more for himself, but he WANTS to do more for himself.  That part is so great!  It's been tough having 4 kids, but only one is really independent in most things.  I feel like I have had two toddler/preschoolers and a baby and just one child.  It's starting to feel more and more like Preston is a kid, not a toddler or preschooler than needs help with everything.  

Dylan

• Dylan seems much more mature in so many ways.  Many times when I tell him no, he will start to say, "But mom..." and catch himself and say (after a sigh) "Okay, mom. Maybe tomorrow."  (Not always.  Sometimes he's even worse, but we have seen a jump in maturity.)
• He is enjoying soccer more and his skills have improved as well.  He was good before, but he is much faster and his skills are tighter now.  
• Overall he is calmer.  
• He is often sad and overwhelmed, but he isn't losing his temper as much like he used to.
• Dylan used to put his shirts in his mouth and chew on them all the time.  We haven't observed this behavior in weeks.  
• Dylan would kind of jump and dart when he was going somewhere in a hurry.  Almost like jump, flap his arms once, and then dash away quickly.  I think it's a pretty typical ADD type behavior.  We have never had Dylan tested, but my guess is he would be classified as having ADD or ADHD if we were to have him evaluated.  This behavior seems to be diminishing.  I've observed it randomly here and there, but it used to happen several times a day.  
• Dylan still doesn't want to eat tomatoes, but he'll eat them in things.  He's eating guacamole with tomatoes in it and loving it.  
• His impulse control and delayed gratification seem to take one step forward and three steps back. When he decides he wants something, it's ALL he can talk about.  And when he has to wait for something he wants, the emotional meltdowns start.  For example, he earned some money and wanted to buy a kendama online with his money.  I told him we were taking a break from spending, but we would look at allowing him to make a purchase  next month if his behavior is good.  Oh, the meltdown!!  All control lost!!  

We're definitely seeing progress, but we're still very much on a roller coaster ride.  Not from day to day or week to week, but moment to moment.  We have some awesome ups every day, but plenty of downs as well.  I'm trying my best to be calm, consistent, and loving.  This is crazy hard!  My stress level has been so high!  Life is just super busy!  But although the program is difficult for me, I know it's even more so for my boys.  They're changing!  It's AMAZING, but it's a lot for them as well.  Imagine going through so many developmental stages at once.  It's exhausting just thinking about it!  So...we're doing our best to let go of the things that don't matter right now and focus on what does.  Never easy, but necessary.