She | April 2011
SHE wakes up happy just about everyday and almost always asks where Simon is first thing.
SHE has started to have opinions about her clothes. We are now hanging clothes in her closet as "outfits" so she can easily pick out one whole package - skirt, top, sweater or pants, top, sweater, etc. The bottom rod is just the right height for her to choose an outfit. It's super cute to see her little outfits all in a row and watch her look through them and say "pretty."
SHE wants to do everything herself. She especially wants to be able to get into the car, sit in her seat, and buckle herself in (she can definitely get in the car and get into her seat on her own but she can't quite manage the buckle - she gets SO mad). "ANNA DO IT!"
SHE loves imaginative play. If you've never had a kid that didn't do imaginative play you might not recognize how amazingly awesome it is to witness. She bakes cookies in her kitchen while chatting away, she creates scenarios for Dora & Diego and the Playmobile people. Every time I hear her creating a conversation my heart feels good.
SHE says "yes, please" more often than not - two of the best words in the English language.
SHE wants to go with Daddy to visit the Capitol. The other morning she was sitting on my lap for breakfast while I was reading the paper. On the opinion page was an editorial cartoon with a picture of the Capitol. She points to it and says "Capitol." Yep, things are a little different around here.
SHE cracks up at stuff. She finds lots of things funny and laughs with her whole body.
SHE is starting to pick up some of Simon's behaviors or at least imitating him. These are not necessarily things we want her to be adopting - upset noises and facial expressions of disappointment and distress at the dinner table most specifically.
SHE loves to look at books and has gotten some of them down. My current favorite to hear her "read" is Brown Bear, Brown Bear.
SHE says "mine" a lot.
SHE still makes that wonderful noise when she eats something she really enjoys. It's goes something like "mmmmmmmmmmmmmm" and it's totally involuntary - we always know when she really, really likes something she's eating because her little "mmmmmm" motor starts running. The other night when eating spaghetti she said, "This is tasty!"
SHE is an awesome little two-year-old.
I know what you're going through with suddenly having a child do imaginative play. I vividly recall taking both kids to Gymboree with Noah's home therapist - she dealt with him (not easy) while my 2 year old Maya played and sang and do everything developmental for a two year old. It was SO healing, as Noah had been dx'd on the spectrum at 18 mo so I missed all that. But I got to experience it with Maya, and NO ONE is more appreciative than mothers who didn't get to experience it the first time around. Such a gift.
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So sweet! And oh, so TWO! :)
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Gosh, we live far apart but definitely have some of these things in common! My Ryan turned two a month ago and has so many endearing behaviors of his own. The one that made me smile is the mannerisms picked up from an older sibling, my daughter teaches him plenty of rotten dinner time behavior.
My personal favorite? I had no idea JUST how funny burps were until I had kids and watched them crack up over them :)
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Love these statements. Will you put these onto a layout?
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I adore Anna. It's just that simple.
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She sounds like a little blessing and I can totally relate. My eldest daughter Simone (now 13) is also on the spectrum and much like Simon didn't engage in imaginative play etc. Then when she was 4 I had Hailey (now 9) and oh my gosh .... she was SO different. I thought she was super brainy when at a young age she put her little arms up for me to get her clothes on. Simone never ever did that, and I don't think I ever realised what it would be like to have a second child that is not ASD.
They are completely different, each with their own brand of specialness.
I love reading your posts about Anna and how she interacts with Simon, it strikes a real chord with me.
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She is a great subject. As I write all the stories of my family life and the lives of my parents and my brothers and sister and all their families I see just how fun and funny and unique and loving we are. I reread the journals I kept and wish I had access to blogs and all the creativity that each of you bring in your replies- what a thing this internet is. I am 57 today and so fortunate to be here to experience the word explosion.
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aw, Love your list. My little man will be 2 in Feb and he is pretty much doing the same. Last month he started giving me fits when he didn't want to wear a specific article of clothing so now I let him pick his own clothes out! LOL. It's wierd having a little person pick out his own clothes :) BUT I LOVE MOTHERHOOD!
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