The Reader

Did you know that Abby can read? Yep, she can - she proved it today when she got home from school. Abby has always enjoyed books, and I've kept an eagle eye out for her emerging literacy practices (how do you like that educational jargon?) I've noticed lately that she is making sure to point out the title before we open the book to read, and even better, she is running her little finger across the words as she tells me the story. She is using picture cues to remember what we've read in familiar books, and proudly exclaiming, "The End!" when we reach the finish. Yes, Abby is exhibiting some wonderful skills when it comes to getting ready to read, but today she topped them all.

As normal, after I got her off the bus and in the house, I opened her backpack and started going through her papers. That's when I saw this paper. Once I got past her name, beautifully printed at the top of the paper, I noticed the words on the page, particularly, the one word that is outlined in red - Abby's first "red word" - the. Now, even though I teach upper grades, I do know what red words are. Those are the lovely words in our mutt of a language that kids need to memorize, because there is no way to figure them out phonetically. So, as soon as I saw that "the" outlined in red, I knew exactly what it meant - Abby was learning her first word. I immediately called her over so she could read the word to me. I pointed to the word and asked her, "Abby, what does this say?" She began talking about the pictures she saw, but once I redirected her to the word she very carefully put her tongue to her teeth and and pronounced, "th-ah". I squealed so loudly that Abby jumped and Bruiser began to howl. We finished working our way through the rest of the paper. She read the red word and I followed with the rest of the sentence - we read the paper together. I think I'm still glowing.

When Jason got home Abby read the paper with him as well, and then made the rounds for some congratulations and hugs. This is something that is huge to us - what a wonderful world awaits our little girl, and it is all starting with one small word, like one giant step forward. So, there you have it - Abby is a reader, no one will convince me otherwise.

Even when Abby was two she could
easily become engrossed in a book -
understandable, this is a pretty good one.

Hermit Abby

Either Abby is on her way to becoming a hermit, or she is ready for summer vacation. Let me explain. Since Monday, Abby has only been to school one day, and other than short car rides, and that one trip to the fabric store, she hasn't left the house. You would think that she would be ready to get out of here, but every day she has checked with me several times to make sure that she would be staying home.

On Friday when Jason went to work it was, "Don't want school. Stay home, Mama." She was still sick, and therefore she got her wish. When I wanted to go out to get some lunch it was, "No Mama, you go. Abby stay home." Saturday when Jason left to play golf she made sure to check with me that she would be able to stay home, and this morning she told me she wanted to say home and watch T.V. all day.

In an effort to prepare her for tomorrow, we've been talking up how much fun it will be to see her friends (who she calls "her kids") and her teachers, but she was having none of it. Each time we brought up school she would hide her face and tell us, "No, stay home!"

Luckily, Abby is finally feeling better, and she will be heading to school tomorrow - otherwise she may never leave the house! I think that we are all looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, but the promise of summer is right ahead of us, and what this last week has taught me is that I'd better get thinking of some serious summer activities, otherwise come September my little hermit may need to be dragged to the bus kicking and screaming.

Abby the Walrus!

Wrestling an Alligator and Snuggling With a Little Lamb

Today was one of those days when Abby's sweet and sour sides made multiple appearance. When it came to the "sour" I couldn't really blame her. She got up once again in the wee hours of the morning - getting sick. It wasn't as bad as the other night, but it was enough for us to lose some sleep. Due to the fact that her bottom was quite sore from the trials of the last week, I felt like I was wrestling an alligator trying to get her to go potty, or in the tub. By the time she was soaking in the warm bubble bath, I was huffing and puffing, but feeling victorious.

I'm happy to say though that the cuddly Little Lamb turned up far more often. I'm not sure if it has to do with the fact that she and I have spent a lot of time together lately, but she wanted to do quite a bit of cuddling and spending time with Mama today. She told me how much she is excited about summer (me too!), and how she wanted to "stay home with Mama." While I was cutting out the pieces of her new sundress, she needed her scissors so she could cut just like me. She even played with the scraps of fabric, trying to make her own creation. She seemed to be everywhere I turned today, and so when I asked if she wanted Mama or Dada to put her to bed I wasn't surprised to hear her say, "Cuddle Mama!"

Yep, there were a few difficult moments today, but those were long forgotten as I snuggled with my sweet Little Lamb at bedtime.

We are all ready for summer time!

The Magical Blanket

Did you ever have one of those tags on your shirt that drives you batty? Ugh, I've had a few of them that I finally just yanked off my shirt - not caring about the holes it most likely would leave behind. And, Jason has this pair of socks (that I'll admit I "borrow" from time to time) that have this annoying pattern that creates these little nubs on the inside of the socks - they bug me, those little nubs. Despite these annoyances I eventually forget about it and go on about my day. Unfortunately, some people don't have that luxury. They suffer from something called Sensory Processing Disorder. Abby is one of them.

Several years ago we noticed that there were certain things that Abby wasn't "getting over" as she got older. Things like clipping her fingernails and brushing or cutting her hair were near to impossible. When she heard loud noises, or walked into large unfamiliar rooms she would experience a sever panic - covering her ears, crying and shaking from fear. There were even times when she would tell me the water in the bath was too hot, and I knew it wasn't. The thing is, I knew from being a teacher that there were some children who's brains couldn't filter things, or who had nervous systems that needed a little more input in order to help them remain calm. I was beginning to wonder if Abby had some of these issues. I was convinced that the things she was experiencing were not due to her developmental delays. We talked with the doctor and were put in touch with a clinic. After meeting with us and talking to the head therapist she had a wonderful explanation that made total sense to me. Abby spent a month in the NICU after she was born, and although she didn't remember that time, her nervous system did. In essence she "learned" to stay on high alert. The therapist asked us to imagine what we would feel like at the end of the day if we were getting constant shots of adrenalin throughout the day. We too would have a hard time settling down.

For a year we drove twice a week (an hour each way) so Abby could have therapy. We tried joint compressions (which helped - and sometimes still does), using a soft brush on her arms and legs to give her more input, a weighted vest, even swinging her in a bedsheet, all in an effort to help her settle down, especially before bedtime. Eventually, the drive became too much and the sessions made our days too long. We weren't seeing any great progress, so we stopped going. That doesn't mean we stopped trying to help her.

This all has been on my mind lately because I believe this inability to calm herself and get enough input has a lot to do with the fact that she is such a poor sleeper. One of the main reasons I got a sewing machine a month ago was so I could make her a weighted blanket. The thing is, I  never got around to doing it, until today.

Since we had a long day with conferences yesterday, today we had a day off of school. I was secretly looking forward to the fact that Abby did have school, because that gave me a day to do whatever I wanted. That didn't work out because she still was sick, so I kept her home. She was in a pretty good mood, and it ended up being a good day, but round about 1:30 I just was too tired, so I convinced her that it would be "so fun" to go up to Mom and Dad's bedroom and turn the T.V. on while we cuddled. My real hope was that she would be distracted by the T.V. and I could get some rest. It sort of worked out, but once again her legs just wouldn't stop. This is typical of her. Often when we are trying to get her to sleep her legs and feet will constantly be moving and her boney little toes will dig painfully into our legs. So after about 45 minutes I made a decision. We would be heading to the store and a blanket would be made.

Each of those squares hold about 3 oz. of
pellets and adding up to 6 pounds total.

She was great in the fabric store, and was so excited to pick out the fabric for her new blanket. We got home and I got to work. I made it as if it were a comforter with a duvet cover. I'd bought some plastic pellets, six pounds worth to be exact, and slowly began "filling" up the blanket in a grid pattern. Then I got working on the outside cover. Finally, by 8:00 I was finished, just in time for bedtime. Abby was thrilled to try it out and we were curious to see if there would be a difference.

The first thing I noticed was that as she laid next to me, covered in that blanket, her legs were still. This was enough to astound me, but what came next had Jason and I looking at each other in disbelief. Within ten minutes Abby was asleep. What!?! Could it be the blanket? I suppose only time will tell, but  the thought that we might have found something that will help her, makes me happy, very happy indeed!

I put buttons on the inside along the bottom so that
it would be easy to take the cover off for washing. Don't you
love the froggies?

Happy girl!

Abby colored a pretty picture today.

She also decided it was time that Bruiser learned to
work on the computer.

Daily Math

Today was one of those absurdly long days - for everyone in the household. I had a long day at work, Abby was home sick again, and Jason held down the fort.

Although I know there were moments of fun for those two, like when Abby very seriously asked him if they could do some "arts and craps" or the moment when he looked up from sending an email to see this:

as the day went on her mood got worse and by the end of it we were all tired. So instead of going into great detail I came up with a few math problems that could sum up our day - I will ask you to excuse my drawings, it has been a long day you know!

Mama Math

Abby Math

Dada Math

And so as my family is all in bed, I think I will join them and be happy that I got everything done before the day was over!
Good night, All!

Love You Too

Abby has a new habit. I noticed it a couple of weeks ago as she was eating her breakfast. It happened so quickly that afterwards I asked myself, Did she just say that? And so, when she did it again the next day I wasn't surprised, but it certainly warmed my heart.

Now, I've shared enough about our mornings around here for you to know that they're a bit busy. Usually, Jason and I are tag-teaming it and I'm running down to get clothes from the dryer, up to iron them, down to make breakfast and lunches, up to put on my make-up and do my hair - you get the drift. It was on one of those quick trips that I zoomed by Abby as she was sitting at the table, eating her Cheerios and watching a program, that I stroked her head as I went past. It wasn't something I thought about - it was just something I did because she was there. Abby didn't miss a beat and without pausing in her eating or movie watching she simply said, "Love you too, Mom." That's when I stopped and turned back to her in amazement. I hadn't said a thing - at least not with words, and yet she knew that by my touch I was telling her that I loved her - even when I didn't realize it myself. Have I mentioned that Abby is a genius?

I turned right back around and put my arms around her and planted a big squishy Mama kiss on her cheek and told her (with words) that I loved her. I think she humored me and then we all got back to business. I remember thinking about it during the rest of the day, and smiling when I did.

Since then she has told me that each day, like this afternoon when she got home from school. The bus driver made it a point to mention to me that Abby had been abnormally quiet on the bus ride. Usually she and her good friend get each other going and I'm sure it is a wild ride, but today she really didn't say much. I noticed it too. She didn't try to get into the driver's seat when she got to the front of the bus, she didn't fight it when Miss Kathy put her backpack on her, and she didn't even try to sneak back to visit with her good buddy one more time before leaving, she just calmly walked to the front of the bus and looked at me with quiet eyes, and Abby rarely has quiet eyes.

I figured this was just residual tiredness from a long day at school, after a couple of days home sick, but I picked her up anyway and carried her across the street to the house. As I walked with her to the front door she curled around me and put her face in that spot where my shoulder meets my neck - my "snuggle spot" and I squeezed her a bit harder. That's when I heard it, softly she whispered, "Awww, Love you too, Mama." Once again she knew that my hug meant love, and she acknowledged that. Despite the fact that it happens often, she still has the power to surprise me with her sweetness.

After some dinner (and some ice cream "with the sauce" a.k.a. chocolate syrup) she perked right up and was once again the girl with the dancing eyes - and feet. We ended the evening by enjoying some Kung Fu Panda, and since she was so sweetly cuddling on my lap I let her stay up a few minutes after her bedtime to finish it.

We went off to bed, and after a short stint of giggles with Dada (at Mom's expense - humph!), she fell asleep in my arms, and as I watched her sleep I kissed her forehead and thought: Awww..love you too, Abby.

The cheeky-monkey found some "buko-gun"
and bold as you please popped it in her mouth
without asking. When I said to her, "Hey, did
you ask for that?" she impudently replied, "No."
and kept shoving it in her mouth. Good thing
she was so sweet earlier - the stinker!

Remembering

Today we had one more day at home, just to make sure that Abby could handle foods. She certainly is feeling better and we both will be going to school tomorrow - whew!

As I was thinking about tonight's post I didn't want it to be another run-down on our day, but I wasn't sure what I was going to write about. Then, while I was out picking up dinner, I heard a song on the radio - When I'm With You by J.J. Heller. I'm sure that many of you have heard it. As I was driving along, so many pictures flew though my mind - and I had my post.

Tonight I'm going to let someone else's words speak for me - they, along with pictures from Abby's first year, are pretty powerful.

You may not be able to view it on your device, and I apologize for the need of a computer on this one, but it just might be worth it.

Blessings.