Life Improves Momentarily

I'm going to quick write about how it's going better, quick before we take two steps back. :)
We have been having Evangelistic meetings this whole past week. That means church every night, and while I haven't gotten there eeeeevvvery night, I think we did pretty good. I was kinda dreading it. Sunday morning wears me out! Why would I want to go more than that? let alone every night!?!?! Well, I am glad to report that G is actually kinda enjoying it, and has gotten much better at sitting still for small periods of time and actually looking at a book quietly by herself for a little bit!! Every now and then I realize that my child has been sitting nicely and quietly, and I heard a few consecutive sentences from the speaker uninterrupted!!! I smile and look proudly at my well behaved little girl sitting or standing beside me. :) One thing that may have helped is that I am trying to be more proactive. I took her to MD the other night before church and had her run and run and run in the playground. that was before it got soo cold! The last few nights I just got there a few min early and had her run laps in the basement before going up to sit.

One thing I may have learned (just in case it doesn't last long) is that she is able to obey better, if I smile at her while telling her what or what not to do. I don't know if this is typical and I'm a slow parent, or if this is unique to her, or if it's because of her fight or flight tendency. Either way, a child who responds the way you hope they will is much more fun to be around, so I will be smiling more!!

Anyone else have crazy cold weather!?!? this morning at 8 my weather app said 19* and it said it feels like 2*!! A few days ago we were going outside with a light jacket! BBRRRR!!

  

The other day, I settled into the sofa figuring I would soon have a little girl bouncing on top of me, but, lo and behold, she picked up my book instead, settled into some cushions and pretended to read! The book she chose was ummm, interesting... I thought maybe she was self diagnosing?

Oh yes, I don't want to forget! she has learned her full name! "Umbreya" Kate Landis. The last two are very clear. I told her my last name is Landis too, and grandma's name is Landis and .... anyway, after going through a long list of people with the name of Landis, she somehow must have decided that anyone with the name of Landis also has the name Kate! When I asked her who gave her the pretty thanksgiving card, she says 'Grandma Kate Landis!!" and yes, Ginny, I got it on video.

Another thing that has/had been going better is morning time. She sleeps in her own bed till sometime in the morning ( anytime between 4-6am) then comes and climbs in with me. I was getting sooo frustrated because she was coming over but now settling down and going back to sleep. Lately (holding my breath) she comes over, I lift her in bed and cover her and we both go right to sleep! no kicking! no wiggling or odd noises, just blissful sleep! Understand why I can right a nice positive blog post?! I'm getting some sleep!

We went to Hershey to see my niece, the children's wing is so nice for children, she loved running around trying all the colorful things.

In the Parking Garage elevator. 1st time she could see outside and see we were actually going up and down. SHe loved it! We may or may not have gone up and down multiple times.

Favorite pastime

My little alarm clock

It all started with an old, old book, called Clocks. This old book is a very, very well loved book by a certain little girl in this house. We read this old book many, many times. Thankfully, there is not much writing in this book or I'd be tempted to hide it. bad momma!
Here on the first page, we need to talk about which clock we would buy, we each pick one and then we need to decide which one other friends and family would buy. Basically anyone we have been with lately needs to be decided for. This is great fun and cannot be rushed!

The next page is where my alarm clock came from. Early each morning, a certain little girl comes in my room, rattling the door knob loudly ( I need to fix that!) and climbs into bed with me. Now this little girl is supposed to go back to sleep, but she doesn't usually. She will toss and roll and whisper to her self, pretty much anything but sleep. Her momma is tired because she usually tries to get work done after her little girl goes to bed, so therefor does NOT want to wake up. Her little girl is very considerate and waits till the sun starts making the room bright ( she did this before daylight saving time too!) and then cheerfully quotes the next page of the book!

She pops up and says rrriiiiiiinnnnnggggg  rrriiiiiinnnnggggggg  rrriiinnnnnngggggg!!! over and over, Once she sees her mommy laughing, she says, "Me alarm clock! wake momma up!!" What momma can resist that?! Even if she really wants to sleep! Well, every now and then this momma can resist longer than the little girl likes, so the little girl pulls out her next trick - kiss momma and wait expectantly for her to pop her eyes open in surprise and say "who kissed me?!?!!" then dissolve into giggles.  I'm awake.
I think I'll go hide that book! :)

The Good, The Bad...

Life has it's ups and downs. Some days lately have had some of the biggest of both. G has grown and changed so much in the last two month that everyday she amazes me. New words, new expressions, new levels of happiness, and right along with that comes the expected extra sensory needs. Her OT was here and reminded me that when a child is going through a growth spurt, you can expect another area to fall behind or get worse. With kids with sensory issues, that means their needs will become more pronounced and more challenging.
Maybe it's because we have both been struggling with colds and sore throats, maybe because of big changes in weather, maybe because life doesn't always go the way we wish, but it's been a difficult week.
I have found that being a mom to a child with sensory processing issues can be extremely challenging. While she loves life and wants to take it all in at once, it can overwhelm her at the same time. She can be loving something to the max, but spazzing two seconds later. flip flopping between over stimulation and needing stimulation keeps me guessing as to what she really needs. Knowing when to be there and help her calm and regulate herself, and knowing when to give a consequence is a very hard thing for me to figure out. Being in public or with friends can be the best and the worst, while I am feeling great that I can finally have an adult conversation, I am also constantly on edge and alert for her next move. She loves going out, begs for it usually, but can't always handle it. I just hope my friends can bear with me while I try to learn the dance of being a mom to my daughter and a friend to them at the same time.
Today is Orphan Sunday. My daughter knew that existence in a very real way and I thank God that she is no longer an orphan!! I want to celebrate her and all the amazing little God given things I love about her. Here are some of those.

I love how the sun lights her hair into so many
different colors of brown.

Her busy little hands

I love her eyes and how they sparkle!

I love her huge smile that I see more and more every day!

I love how athletic she is and how she tries almost anything.

I love how her little legs stick out over the swing as I push her
as high as I possibly can,
even though it's never quite high enough for her.

I love that she looks great in bright colors, and that her big personality
matches her bright colors.

Love her little toes that were never celebrated when she was a tiny baby.
Love how God has set these feet on a new course
in a new country
and in a family.


Thanking God for my amazing child.