A Good Week

Gracie has been having a really good week.  She seems to be really enjoying school and gets all smiley when I tell her it's a school day.  She also has been extremely verbal this week.  I'm hearing a lot of 3+ word combinations this week.  I even received an email from her school speech therapist/pathologist commenting on how Gracie is really becoming a verbal communicator at school.  I love it. 

Gracie has missed Jeff this week, but I think she has been coping a lot better having gotten to take him to the airport.  She also got to Skype with him a couple of times.  One of the biggest stressors for me when Jeff travels is getting a shower in.  I've started the practice of gating everything so that Gracie can only travel from her room to the bathroom (which also has a gate at the door).  I put a slippery Tinkerbell sleeping bag (a sensory delight for her) on the floor in front of the bathroom door and her piggie pillow pal, as well as some books.  Gracie just hangs out there if she is awake.  However, when she wakes up after I'm already in the shower and discovers she is alone she used to have a big ole fuss.  This week, she has started to get up and go lay on the sleeping bag, but I don't hear a peep out of her.  When she hears that I am out of the shower, she just gently taps on the semi-closed bathroom door.  One less stress for both of us...YAY! 

Jeff arrived home from Chicago yesterday and was home when we got home.  She was so excited to see Jeff and pretty much didn't leave his side all evening.  I heard "daddy, daddy, daddy" all night long.  It was great to see her so happy.  She was having so much fun playing with daddy, that we barely got her to eat any supper.

Grace has been learning about girls and boys at school.  Just the labeling of them and so last night she was talking and said "girl".  I told her that she was a girl and she got her little comedian face on and said "no, boy".  Then she laughed when I of course told her that she was a girl.  What a little goofball!

Gracie likes her routine, really seems to need her routine at times.  When I pick her up at daycare I always have a glass of Gatorade for her to drink in the car on the way home.  I learned early on that this saves us a major meltdown and the drive home is much happier.  I always use a certain type of sippy glass that holds more liquid, otherwise she drinks it down and wants more immediately...while I'm driving.  So last night, all of those specific glasses were in the dishwasher waiting to be washed, so I used just a basic type of sippy cup that we use at home regularly.  She became very distressed about this and kept insisting she wanted juice, but not that cup.  An all out tantrum was beginning, so I said to her and showed her "Gracie, look it is the same juice."  Then I continued "Mommy is so sorry, I know you like the other glasses better, but they are all dirty and they are in the dishwasher and we need to wash them.  How about if we wash them all up tonight so we can use them tomorrow and tonight you use this one?"  Now just a few months ago, she would not have listened to this explanation, she would have had an all out tantrum, would have thrown the juice, and the ride home would have been screaming and flailing.  She is growing up so much and her listening and reasoning skills are getting so much better...and to my absolute surprise she agreed to use this cup this once.  We had a pleasant ride home.  To those of you thinking that I'm spoiling her, I would argue that you come hang out with a special needs child who has a very hard time regulating emotion and self-soothing techniques, and you would probably come to the same conclusions I have.  You don't parent a special needs child the same way you would a child without those challenges.

Gracie awoke in a good mood this morning and was so excited to see her daycare mom this morning, she ran to the house when she saw her through the window and had a big hug for her.  I think she's going to have another good day.

I hope you have a good day too.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie