Proud

Family picture: Easter 2012

The Princess absolutely loves Nana and Grampy's hill.

Don't believe what I said above?  Here's more proof.  :)

You should have seen her, y'all.  My girl, the one who would scarcely make more than a second's eye contact a mere eighteen months ago, flaunted her advancing social skills all over the place on Sunday.

She ran and played with her cousin.

She ran and played with her daddy.

She ran and played with me.

She approached her great aunt and numerous other grown-up family members without prompting, made eye contact, and engaged them in interactions too numerous to count.

She showered us all in smiles and giggles.  The audio from one of the video clips just kills me.  She cackles, sings and squeaks.  She and her cousin scream together in glee as they fly down the hill with Auntie G.

Sure, she spent a good amount of time in her quiet room, but - dammit - The Princess gets better and better at being around our huge, rowdy family every time we get together.

I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of her.

Rambling

Wow.  It's been a while, I know.  Grab yourself a cup of tea - don't worry about me; I've already got one - and let's sit down and chat.

How've you been?  Sorry for being MIA for so long.  A lot has happened around here, and I'm not really sure where to even begin. 

(Buckle your seat belts, folks...here comes a rambling post in which I'll try to catch y'all up on everything at once, and we all know how well that usually works out!)

The Grumps went a little nutso for Christmas and spent too much money on The Princess.  Big surprise, I know.  This year, her present from them involved a trip to the Stride Rite store for new shoes.  Her previous pair of Stride Rites had lasted what seemed like forever, and the Velcro was wearing out, so we had to bite the bullet and get a new pair.  Which she wore a hole in - I'm talking through the rubber and the underlying leather - in just under two months.  Yep.  That's my girl!  This resulted in a funny letter home from The Fabulous Mrs. G., followed by an evening trip to WalMart for a new pair of $10 Garanimals sneakers.  If she's causing blowouts in her shoes that quickly, I'd rather chew on shards of broken glass than continue to pay Stride Rite's prices.

Grumpa.  Oy.  Grumpa.  For those of you who come here to read all about The Princess and nothing but The Princess, you may not be aware of the fact that my pop had a pretty major heart attack eight years ago, at the ripe-old age of forty-seven.  On February 2, he went in for an angiogram and ended up being admitted to the hospital where I work.  On February 3, he had triple bypass surgery.  He was in the hospital for a grand total of nine days before being released into Gumma's care at home.  This past Thursday, he had his first follow-up doctor visit, and everything looks good.

This past week, I got a promotion at work...yippee!  I'm still lovin' the concierge gig, and I sincerely hope it lasts a good, long time.

On January 22, my beautiful, sweet, hilarious sister-in-law (affectionately referred to as Jello in our little yellow house) gave birth to an amazing little girl.  JAKE (Jello's whole family...their acronym is way better than ours - if you put all our initials together, the best you come up with is SCABS) came in to visit from Ohio this weekend, and The Hubbs and I were really, really looking forward to meeting little E and hanging out with our beloved K-Bear.  Unfortunately, The Princess is a bit under the weather, so we were unable to see them after all.  On the bright side, it sounds like they will be back in about a month for E's baptism and Jello's and my combined birthday party.  If anyone is sick that weekend, we're throwing them in a bubble and calling it a day.

On January 31, my ex-work-hubby and his beautiful wife welcomed their first child, a beautiful baby boy.  This is the dude who kept me sane at the end of my tenure at my previous job, when things got hairy.  We don't see each other much (in fact, the last time we all got together in real life was in June of last year), but these people are family.  R, D, and Junior, The Hubbo Family couldn't be more excited for you.

And now, the subject you've all been waiting for...I just know it: The Princess.  Our girl is still the most amazing little person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.  Not an hour goes by that doesn't involve her doing something that astonishes me.  Case in point: the hour-long snuggle earlier today.  My little introvert is coming out of her shell.  Sure, she still spends an inordinate amount of time in her room, but she now makes a point of coming out into the living room every so often, initiating eye contact with either me or The Hubbs, and climbing into one of our laps. 

There are so many other things I want to tell you about our girl, about the progress she is making and about the ways she warms my heart, but my teacup is woefully empty.  And this can only mean one thing: time for bed.

Before we part ways, dear friends, I promise you I'll start trying to post more regularly.  Please note the operative word in that promise: try.

In the mean time, say hello to your families for me...and don't forget to turn off your computers and cell phones every once in a while to spend some precious time together.

Story Time: Part Two

Feeling emboldened by our recent "successful" story time (and by successful, I mean she stayed in the same room with me and the book remained intact), I thought I'd give it another shot.

Around 8:00 on Tuesday evening, I grabbed my Winnie the Pooh treasury, held out my hand for The Princess, and we walked into her room together.  What happened there was nothing short of extraordinary.

She hopped up in bed and snuggled up with Arlington and DP, her twinkling eyes looking at me expectantly.

I started reading.

She smiled and squirmed around a little bit, and - at one point - left the room for about thirty seconds.

I kept reading.

She came back in, surveyed her surroundings, and climbed in my lap.  Arlington joined us, and the more I read, the more The Princess melted into me.

We got through the entire second story in this treasury, one about Pooh and Piglet building a house for Eeyore.  When I stopped reading and closed the book, my girl turned her sleepy little eyes on me and gave me a hug before settling in with Arlie and DP again.

The Hubbs and I tucked them all in, and I'm still amazed. 

Story Time is becoming a nightly occurrence in my house.  No doubt about it.

Today is the Day...and I Done

Graduation is tonight!

*

A few nights ago, The Princess came into the living room holding an unidentifiable object. When I asked to see what she had, she brought it to me and immediately handed it over.

Upon closer inspection, the object revealed itself as a completely harmless piece of paper. As soon as I realized this, I returned it to The Princess.

She took it for a split second, smiled, and handed it back while looking me in the eye.

And then she said, "I done."

And she walked away as though this is nothing out of the ordinary.

Me? I'm still trying to catch my breath.

1...and Story Time

One more day until graduation.

*

The Princess is four and a half years old.  She does not speak.  She will stim all day if you let her.  She rarely (if ever, depending upon who you are) responds to verbal requests, though this particular point is getting better on a daily basis for those closest to her.  She has sensory issues.  The littlest thing can set her off.  Try as I might, I can rarely figure out what triggers her meltdowns.  All I can do is hold her and soothe her the best I can.

All of the autism stuff aside, this has got to be the most generally happy kid I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I consider myself lucky as hell that God chose me to be her momma.  I feel blessed every day for what I have with her, her daddy, and our splendiferous pooches.

But my heart breaks a little every day, too.  Other moms of four-and-a-half-year-olds are taking them to see Santa at the mall, having their pictures taken with their smiling faces reflected perfectly in the camera lens.  These other little ones are writing their names and holding amazing conversations.  They sit quietly in their rooms and read, because they want to.

The Princess couldn't possibly understand an abstract concept like Santa Claus.  She can't tell anyone what she wants for Christmas, because she doesn't speak.  She also has no interest in television or most other things that are marketed for kids her age, so it's a moot point, anyway.  Taking a picture with a stranger in a loud, hot, crowded mall?  Forget about it.  Writing?  Not yet.  We're still in the I'd-rather-eat-crayons-than-draw-on-the-paper stage.  Conversations?  I'd be happy with the ability to say yes and no.  Hell, I don't even care if it's verbal.  Shaking or nodding her head would be the coolest thing in the history of the world.  Reading?  More like tearing the pages out of books and stimming to her heart's content with the scraps.

Our girl has received many books, as most little ones do.  The difference between her and these other kids is that she doesn't seem to understand what books are all about.  After a few misguided attempts to let her figure them out, the surviving volumes have been moved to a safer place, out of her reach and - largely - out of our minds.

The Hubbs and I love to read.  I know a lot of people say this, but we mean it.  When given the option to watch TV or read a book, we'll almost always choose the latter.  Throw on a little bit of classical music and we're good to go for the entire evening.  In case you're interested, we've been playing the heck out of Pandora's Mannheim Steamroller Christmas station lately. 

Sunday evening, The Princess climbed up on the loveseat with me while I was reading, and she snuggled up next to me in the sweetest little hug.  After drinking in her affection for a few minutes, I slipped to the basement where her books are, and I grabbed two choices: the original Winnie the Pooh treasury and Wet Albert. 

I brought both books upstairs and gave her a choice.  She chose Pooh Bear, so I put Wet Albert away for the time being and The Princess, Pooh, and I went into her bedroom.

I read her the entire first short story, one about Piglet and a Heffalump, before bed.  Did she sit still?  No.  Did she hang on every word?  No.  But she paid attention in her way.  She spent those 20 or so minutes in constant contact with me, climbing all over me as I read her the story.  From time to time, I asked what she thought, and she mumbled back at me.  Not in English, but hey...I'll take what I can get.  I stopped a couple of times to either rearrange myself or take a breath, and she went forehead-to-forehead with me until I started again.

She loved it.

I loved it.

Finally.  She's four and a half, and I can finally have story time with my daughter.

2...and Spaghetti-O's

Two days until graduation.  Eee!

*

Remember when I told you about the pistachio pudding?  Well, apparently Spaghetti-O's are right up there.

This weekend, The Princess carefully spooned four bowls (in a row...my little bottomless pit!) into her mouth.  Sitting at her little white table (topless...I'm no fool), she shoveled that stuff in like it was goin' out of style.  Looks like we're entering yet another growth spurt for our little bean pole.

We've also noticed recently that she really seems to favor her right hand.  Seems like we might have a little righty living in the room next door.  :)

3...and the Potty

Three days until graduation.

*

So many things happened this weekend, I don't really even know where to start.  I guess I'll just start at the beginning and split into separate posts for each accomplishment.

Really.  They're all that big.

Well, here goes.

After work on Friday, I looked at The Princess and asked her if she had to go potty.  I wasn't expecting any more of a reaction than simple eye contact.  I'm not new here.  I know how this goes.

Not only did I receive the expected eye contact, but she also smiled, walked across the room, pulled her pants down, sat on her pink froggy potty, and went.

For those of you who may be missing the magnitude of this event, let me spell it out a little more clearly for you.

My girl followed a verbal request.  My girl.  Verbal.  No coaxing.  No leading.  No modeling.  I asked her something, she immediately understood, and she did it.

Now, going on past experience, I'm well aware of the fact that these breakthroughs can sometimes be a shot in the dark.  Some people call them "Elvis sightings," a term with which I am in love.  It's the perfect explanation.  You never know when or where they're going to happen, but when they do, it's amazing.  And you never know if they'll happen again.  Like, ever.

Let me just reassure you here: this was no Elvis sighting.  By Sunday, she was pulling her pants down and walking to the potty herself when she had to go.  Okay, so the sequence is something we have to work on.  We don't want her letting the cat out in public to show she has to go potty, but, hey...this is progress.

Baby steps, y'all.  Gigantic, wonderful baby steps.

First Friend

Every morning, shortly after I leave for work, The Hubbs gets The Princess on the bus. She has an assigned seat with her very own star harness, which The Hubbs helps her into.

Same seat. Every weekday.

There's another little girl on The Princess's bus, about her size, but this kiddo doesn't use a harness. She has the freedom to choose her seat since she doesn't require any special restraints...just the regular seat belt that is standard in all of the seats on this little bus.

Early last week, The Hubbs told me that this little girl had strapped herself in right next to The Princess's seat. When he mentioned it to the bus driver, she said that sometimes this little one likes to sit by The Princess. This entertained him to no end, and as he got our girl settled in her seat, she turned, made eye contact with this other little girl, and gave her a world-class grin.

On Friday, guess who was back in the same seat? Leaning down, he asked this little girl if she liked to sit next to The Princess, which she answered with an ear-to-ear grin. Strapping our girl into her harness, he noticed more peer-to-peer eye contact and great big smiles.

I do believe The Princess has made her first friend.