Ainsley went to a birthday party yesterday at a friends house. Sofie and I went to go pick her up and the end of a party and I was talking to the Mom who hosted the party. Sofie was doing her usual come on lets go this thing is over talk. She doesn't like it when I sit around and chat. She is all business! We were heading out the door and the Mom turned to me and said "it is good that we have such strong willed girls (referring to her daughter, Ainsley and Sofie). They will grow up and be just fine. It will be a good trait later in life as long as we don't kick them out first :)" I loved her honesty. I felt like I had been let into the secret club where mom's are honest and not perfect with the perfect family and perfect kids. I wish more mom's were like that. I wish someone would come up to us while Sofie is having a total melt down in public and comment on her how pretty her shoes are! Something to distract her. Instead people give you the LOOK! Poor Mom just can't handle her kids. Ainsley never had a melt down in public. She waited till we got home, then she had tons of them. This is a new area for me and I am still trying to figure out how to grab the child, my purse and whatever else I am carrying and make a quick exit. So, if you see a mom having a hard time with a strong willed child, don't give the mom the LOOK. Don't give her advice. DO distract the child somehow. The mom will be eternally grateful. Think of it as your good deed of the day.....pay it forward :)
Halloween was a blast this year. Not as many kids out as last year, hence, the large candy donation I made at work this year. Share the calories! Sofie totally got it this year. She was raring to go and didn't want to stop. She had a potty accident toward the end of the evening and had to come home. She went and changed into her night time pull up and jammies and then proceeded to head out the front door by herself! I asked where she thought she was going. She pointed out the front door and said "candy" insert goofy smile here. I said no it was bedtime and temper tantrum #1 ensued as Ainsley was still outside trick or treating and Sofie was not. I swear Sofie is a much older child stuck in a little kids body :)
Ainsley had a blast too! She loved her costume and was floating around on a sugar high all night. The weekend before Halloween, all the grown ups were actually going to go to a Halloween party downtown but our nanny got sick so we ended up staying home and had a family party with our neighbors. We all dressed up in our costumes and had dinner, carved pumpkins and bobbed for apples. Earlier in the day, Ainsley, my girlfriend and her son and I all ran in the Monster Dash 5K. Both kids did super and finished the race right along side of us. The only difference was they weren't gasping for air at the end :)
I have posted a link to some pictures from Halloween.
https://ainsleyandsofie.shutterfly.com/pictures/197
I sometimes wonder if my posts get a little melancholy or whiney sometimes. I can't help it. The happy fun stuff is easy to write about. The tough stuff is the stuff I need to write about. It helps me work things out and I am not good at just stuffing my emotions away. I wear them out on my sleeve for all the world to see and experience. Ainsley is a lot like me. The blog is a way for me to work through things so they don't eat me alive. It is also kinda selfish too. I can vent away and I don't have to listen to anyone's advice. People in general are not good listeners. They feel like when you are talking to them about a problem, they need to come up with a solution for you when there really isn't one. You just wanted someone to listen. You guys are my listeners :)
Last Tuesday Sofie had speech therapy and then an appointment in Audiology so took her to school after and then stayed to observe her class. It was her deaf/hard of hearing class. It was an eye opening experience for all. Apparently she is very well behaved and participates in everything at school and is a good listener, until Mom shows up. Her teacher was amazed at the difference. I think it gave them a better insight into Sofie. Sofie's DH/H class consists of three kids, Sofie and two other kiddos, one has an external Baha hearing device and the other little girl is adopted from China and has a repaired cleft and an external Baha. She is the same age as Sofie. I really try not to compare Sofie to other children as she has had so many different experiences than most kids her age. These two little girls are so alike and then so different. The other little girl was adopted at a much younger age. I am starting to realize how important it was that Sofie was not able to properly hear people talking during the time when babies absorb hearing language. We always try to remain positive with her progress. Any small step in speech for Sofie is monumental. We have been trying to work on the T sound at speech. She has a very hard time with it and has gotten very frustrated with it. She won't even try now so we moved onto a new sound. The other day she came home from daycare and she walked up to me and said clear as day "butt" complete with the T at the end. She said it over and over again. What do you do. We now practice T by saying butt. You pick your battles. I left her school feeling like I had been hit by a ton of bricks. She is miles behind the other kids, miles behind the other little girl. I knew she was behind, but, it just hit home how far behind she is. I pray that she will suddenly blossom and start speaking clearly and never stop. Right now, it is very small steps. Part of me is very hopeful and part of me is very scared. Most of me is so very tired from all the running around that I don't have time to worry about it.
Our lives are so full of so much joy. It is amazing to watch Sofie and Ainsley together. It's as if Sofie has always been here and she and Ainsley have always been together. Some days are just a little tougher than others :)
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