10 Things That Are Good

As promised, I do have some gumdrops and lollipops...Here are 10 Things That Are Good...

1)  Elise made her second fashion request in almost 11 years.  Twinkle Toes.  (In case you are curious, her first was little fuzzy "ugg" boots.)  I know you are probably wondering why this is a good thing?  Well, first, it shows a personal style preference, indicating that she knows her own mind.  Second, well, she had to put forth a request, and make it understood.  And "hingk hoes" is a little obscure for breakfast conversation...but she totally pulled it off.  (In a related PSA:  putting Twinkle Toes on your kid in the semi dark could easily initiate a seizure.  I felt well beyond weird the other morning, kind of space travel disoriented, but with a little gag-y eye pressure thrown in...)

2) Elise, while making rotten choices with Amelia, is keeping her hands to herself at school this year.  In previous years, it's more 2 no-touch-days in a school week...and this usually doesn't happen for at least 2 weeks into school year.  This year, she is more like 2 touching-days in 2 weeks...and it started with the start of school.  This is amazing.

 

3)  She is not wiping food on friends at school, and only occasionally on her sisters.  HUGE leap forward.

 

4)  She is writing more letters independently and drawing pictures with significantly less coercion. 

 

5)  When she is "writing" letters to people, she is addressing them with people's names...and the first letter is correct, 80% of the time!!  Also her "E"s only have 3 horizontal lines over 60% of the time, unlike her previous "if 3 is good, 9 would be brilliant" rational.

 

6)  She is attempting to communicate whole ideas, experiences, and desires.  I grant you, her speech is garbled at best, and it is still very elementary, but she is striking out past 2 word phrases.  I would like to credit her speech therapists with using her interests in speech therapy instead of sticking to "speech therapy protocol" and thinking outside Dolch words.  Pam and Kathleen, y'all ROCK!!

 

7)  I have started having my girls pick out clothes the night before and put them on the floor laid out like people.  She know what she needs to make a "school person", even if she cannot lay it out smoothly...AND she sticks to the decision in the morning.  BOTH huge leaps!!!

 

8)  She mostly takes her meds without spitting them out.  I say mostly, because there are still some rather sticky days, but she is getting waaaay better!!

 

9)  She is all about negotiations.  Now.  This is driving me bat crazy right now...but it is seriously high level thinking.  She is always arguing with me, that "Daddy say 'YES'!"  (Usually I also get the full body attitude wiggle with it!)  When both of us know, that a) it isn't so and b) he was not around to be asked.  But she is ALL her daddy's girl in the world of negotiations.  She will find every loop hole in a phrase.  She will put up insane options and then back them down to ludicrous, hoping that I will fall for the bait-and-switch as proportionally reasonable. 

 

10)  She is requesting hugs and kisses.  Again, I realize this is not huge to most kids, but for Elise, she used to stand and grunt with her hands out.  Now she demands "Kiss me, please!"  and "Need hug, please!"  And I always comply, even as she invades my personal space and I can't cook for her standing one millimeter outside of my skin.  Because, really, who couldn't use more love?