The Miracle of "Pat the Bunny"

BERTRAND PAT THE BUNNY!!!

This was more than a casual brush of the bunny or a whap of the bunny. As we were reading, I asked Bertrand to pat the bunny like I always do, but this time he reached out and, for about a minute straight, he patted, stroked, scratched and played with the bunny. He'd intermittently look up at me to smile. I was hysterical. I called for Matthew. I was smiling so big and sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe.

For those of you not in the know, since Bertrand was born, we've been reading Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt together. Early on, Bertrand would reach out and whap the page with the bunny, but then he lost this ability at about 9 months. Pat the Bunny became a resented symbol for all that Bertrand had lost. For over one long year (14 months to be exact) he has been unable to intentionally pat the bunny... until now!

I wish we'd had the video camera out for this! Except that I was not at my most photogenic. ;) But. Bertrand. Was. Beautiful! Over the past year, how many times did I cry wishing that he could pat the bunny just one more time? And then when he finally does pat the bunny and I still cry. :) There is so much joy in my chest it feels like it will burst! We hope this is an omen of good things to come next week. :)