For anyone who knows a child that has autism, you know how hard it is to get them to look at the camera AND give any kind of smile!
Monday, December 21, 2009
12/21/09
Well, we've done quite a bit since the last post. My mother came down for a visit for a week to help me get better organized before Lily's sister gets here in March. Lily just LOVED being with her Grandma and often preferred her to me, which is a definite first but also a welcome break! Her Grandpa came into town as well and Lily was so excited to see them both in the same place (a first for her) that she promptly made introductions. She took "Papa" by the hand and brought him over to Grandma and said "Papa...Grandma" and made them shake hands. It was very cute.
The following week, Lily and I went to NY to visit family for the week. Lily was a complete angel the whole time! Lily really seems to excel around family, so I planned this trip after the last time we went to NY. Lily was very engaging and so excited to be around everyone. Everyone could see the difference in her from the last visit. Lily has been really into the movie "Elf" which was great because it's a favorite in my family. Lily's vocabulary and speech often comes from her favorite shows and once she knew what phrases she could say to entertain everyone and make them laugh, she wouldn't stop! Her eye contact and interaction with everyone were incredible. She really wanted to be sure that everyone in her audience was enjoying her performance so she made sure to eyeball everyone and for anyone who tired of laughing after the 5th take, she would look at them and say "Laugh!!". Even on the plane ride to NY she was using her "Elf" words and phrases. She really enjoyed bothering the woman behind us who was clearly trying to sleep. "What's your name? My name is Buddy!" was her favorite phrase. She also liked to tell her "Hi!" over and over again. I tried to occupy her with a DVD and as soon as she put the headphones on she looked at the lady and said, "May I help you?" (McDonald's influence perhaps?") I think my greatest surprise about the plane ride was the fact that we were right by the engine, so it was VERY loud, but it didn't seem to bother her. The noise was even louder in the restroom though and she made it very clear while we were in there that she wanted OUT.
Lily got to play with all of her cousins and they all just love her so much! Lily asked to go home almost every day though, usually upon waking in the morning. One morning she looked at me and said, "Mommy, let's go home." other mornings I wouldn't get the full sentence, I'd get "Home, Mommy". Lily got to experience snow for the first time! She could NOT get enough of it. The first thing she did was pick it up and throw it. She soon figured out how to make snowballs and LOVED making snow angels. Every time we were traveling from one place to another she was always so distracted by the snow that I had a hard time getting her in the car.
After we finally flew home she had a rough adjustment period. She tantrumed quite a bit and seemed to get frustrated quickly. Luckily that subsided after about 3 or 4 days. She LOVED the Christmas tree that Daddy had set up for when we arrived home. She kept bringing us to it just to stare at it and declaring, "Christmas Tree!" She loves it so much I have actually seen her try to hug and kiss it too. She has been taking some of her own toys and trying to "decorate" the tree with them.
We went and saw Santa this week. My poor girl. I wanted to prep her for that ever popular question of "what do you want for Christmas?", so we talked about it and she decided on "Tinkerbell Toys" and I went over that question with her a few more times before she saw Santa. Well, he never asked and she assumed that Santa was going to give her Tinkerbell toys, so she cried when we were leaving the mall and again when we got home. I felt so bad! She has no way of understanding that Christmas is not here yet.
Lily's preschool class had a Holiday party and the kids sang songs and Santa came for a visit. It was truly adorable. When the class walked into the room they went to their seats and each child scanned the audience for their parents. Lily looked around for a while before she finally spotted me and the look on her face when she did made my heart melt. From that moment on I knew that I could never miss any events like this because she would just be so heartbroken if she didn't get to see me. She was so excited that she immediately got up and ran to me. After going to sit back down she kept looking at me with the best smile and waving.
The last time I was there and the class sang songs, she just sat there with her fingers in her ears. She didn't do that this time!! She actually participated (as much as she could, there were a couple of songs she didn't know because we had been in NY) but what she didn't know she swayed to and clapped along with a huge grin on her face. She even looked at me and said "Sing Mommy!". It was wonderful.
Lily just continues to blossom and everyday astonishes me with new words, sentences and skills. Her imaginative play is one of her best attributes. I LOVE to watch and listen to her play. The other day she sat her stuffed animals around their table (a square pillow) and set up a tea party for them. She then fed each of them their "cake". I have a reindeer headband for Lily that I put on her stuffed piggy bank. She started calling him "Dasher" and tried to ride him around the living room, lol.
I can't wait for Christmas day. It will truly be a great time watching Lily get all excited and opening her presents. She has been having such a great time with her Nativity scene and loves all the Christmas stories that we have been reading to her. We will celebrate Jesus's birthday with some cake and this year she will actually be able to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. A birthday party and christmas all wrapped up into one. It doesn't get any more exciting for her than that, (or for me)!
The following week, Lily and I went to NY to visit family for the week. Lily was a complete angel the whole time! Lily really seems to excel around family, so I planned this trip after the last time we went to NY. Lily was very engaging and so excited to be around everyone. Everyone could see the difference in her from the last visit. Lily has been really into the movie "Elf" which was great because it's a favorite in my family. Lily's vocabulary and speech often comes from her favorite shows and once she knew what phrases she could say to entertain everyone and make them laugh, she wouldn't stop! Her eye contact and interaction with everyone were incredible. She really wanted to be sure that everyone in her audience was enjoying her performance so she made sure to eyeball everyone and for anyone who tired of laughing after the 5th take, she would look at them and say "Laugh!!". Even on the plane ride to NY she was using her "Elf" words and phrases. She really enjoyed bothering the woman behind us who was clearly trying to sleep. "What's your name? My name is Buddy!" was her favorite phrase. She also liked to tell her "Hi!" over and over again. I tried to occupy her with a DVD and as soon as she put the headphones on she looked at the lady and said, "May I help you?" (McDonald's influence perhaps?") I think my greatest surprise about the plane ride was the fact that we were right by the engine, so it was VERY loud, but it didn't seem to bother her. The noise was even louder in the restroom though and she made it very clear while we were in there that she wanted OUT.
Lily got to play with all of her cousins and they all just love her so much! Lily asked to go home almost every day though, usually upon waking in the morning. One morning she looked at me and said, "Mommy, let's go home." other mornings I wouldn't get the full sentence, I'd get "Home, Mommy". Lily got to experience snow for the first time! She could NOT get enough of it. The first thing she did was pick it up and throw it. She soon figured out how to make snowballs and LOVED making snow angels. Every time we were traveling from one place to another she was always so distracted by the snow that I had a hard time getting her in the car.
After we finally flew home she had a rough adjustment period. She tantrumed quite a bit and seemed to get frustrated quickly. Luckily that subsided after about 3 or 4 days. She LOVED the Christmas tree that Daddy had set up for when we arrived home. She kept bringing us to it just to stare at it and declaring, "Christmas Tree!" She loves it so much I have actually seen her try to hug and kiss it too. She has been taking some of her own toys and trying to "decorate" the tree with them.
We went and saw Santa this week. My poor girl. I wanted to prep her for that ever popular question of "what do you want for Christmas?", so we talked about it and she decided on "Tinkerbell Toys" and I went over that question with her a few more times before she saw Santa. Well, he never asked and she assumed that Santa was going to give her Tinkerbell toys, so she cried when we were leaving the mall and again when we got home. I felt so bad! She has no way of understanding that Christmas is not here yet.
Lily's preschool class had a Holiday party and the kids sang songs and Santa came for a visit. It was truly adorable. When the class walked into the room they went to their seats and each child scanned the audience for their parents. Lily looked around for a while before she finally spotted me and the look on her face when she did made my heart melt. From that moment on I knew that I could never miss any events like this because she would just be so heartbroken if she didn't get to see me. She was so excited that she immediately got up and ran to me. After going to sit back down she kept looking at me with the best smile and waving.
The last time I was there and the class sang songs, she just sat there with her fingers in her ears. She didn't do that this time!! She actually participated (as much as she could, there were a couple of songs she didn't know because we had been in NY) but what she didn't know she swayed to and clapped along with a huge grin on her face. She even looked at me and said "Sing Mommy!". It was wonderful.
Lily just continues to blossom and everyday astonishes me with new words, sentences and skills. Her imaginative play is one of her best attributes. I LOVE to watch and listen to her play. The other day she sat her stuffed animals around their table (a square pillow) and set up a tea party for them. She then fed each of them their "cake". I have a reindeer headband for Lily that I put on her stuffed piggy bank. She started calling him "Dasher" and tried to ride him around the living room, lol.
I can't wait for Christmas day. It will truly be a great time watching Lily get all excited and opening her presents. She has been having such a great time with her Nativity scene and loves all the Christmas stories that we have been reading to her. We will celebrate Jesus's birthday with some cake and this year she will actually be able to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. A birthday party and christmas all wrapped up into one. It doesn't get any more exciting for her than that, (or for me)!
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