Hanging Out with Her Brother

Today's gift is hanging out with her brother.

Early this evening after dinner my daughter walked into the playroom and sat on the sofa.   Her brother was in there playing Wii and she wanted to hang out with him.

It was the most precious and sincere thing I've seen her done in a while.  She didn't want to bother him, like she sometimes does, but truly wanted to sit and watch him play.

I let them have their time for a little bit, then I went in to join them.  We all hung out where my daughter wanted to instead of us telling her where to sit.  It was the perfect way for us to unwind from the day.

I love watching my daughter with her siblings.  She has a different relationship with both of them and they each help each other grow.  They get along, but they also have "typical" tiffs like "typical" siblings.  Siblings for my daughter have been the best gift to her!

Today's gift was one which is small, but one packed with lots of love!

Here is a quote for today....

In a family love is spelled T*I*M*E- Author Unknown

Knowing the States

Today's gift is knowing her States.

My daughter has been on a roll playing games lately.  The key is catching her when she is willing to sit for a period of time and play.   When she does this she loves playing games.

While I was making the kids lunches today, "Anne Sullivan", my daughter and my son played a States game.  I was curious to see how "Anne Sullivan" was going to introduce this game to my daughter.

The game is played where you roll a die and what is shown on the die indicates where you move to and what type of State question you get asked.  No matter the question, you have to answer with a name of a State.

Right at the beginning, "Anne Sullivan" went to my daughter's iPad and pulled up her States page under social studies.  I didn't even know we had that button!!!!  In my defense, it is not one we would have used often as typically Social Studies is done in school...but now knowing it is there will be so helpful!!!

My daughter would roll her die and then "Anne Sullivan" would ask her a question and give her two States to chose from for her answer.  Would you believe she got EVERY one right!?!?!  I couldn't believe it!

I love watching her be able to play a typical game with her siblings.  I love watching them help her learn.  I love watching them get excited for their sister when she achieves success!  I just love to watch them interact.

This is the second game this week she has played and showed an interest in the game.   Not every time we ask her to play does she want too...and that is okay....as I said you have to catch her at the right time.  But knowing she can play and enjoys it makes me so happy for her.  And what makes me happier, is watching her play a typically game with her siblings....sharing a typical moment.

Here is a quote for today....

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero- Marc Brown


© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved
365 Days Gift

Her Love for Her Brother

Today's gift is her love for her brother.

My daughter loves her siblings.  She truly does.

She loves to be around them, play with them and annoy them....just like any sibling relationship.  My daughters have a closer relationship than my oldest daughter and son do; however, their love for each other is still very strong.

It is just shown differently.

I guess it goes with the ole' saying...girls mature faster than boys.  Or the fact there is a larger age difference between my oldest and my youngest.  Or maybe it is because my middle daughter is like a "little mother" to both her older sister and younger brother, the opportunities are not there all the time for my son to "shine" when interacting with his oldest sister.

Or maybe it is the fact his oldest sister does pick on him...often...because she enjoys the reaction she gets from him....and laughs!

I do not know what it is or why, all I know is tonight the two of them bonded like I have never seen yet!  And it truly melted my heart!

Tonight, it was just my daughter with Rett Syndrome, my son and me.  We were having a nice quiet dinner, when I asked my son if he would get some more dinner for his sister (he had to get it off the stove).  Not only did he GET it, but he asked if he could FEED her!?!?!  Of course.

He has fed her for me before, but literally I can count on one hand how many times that has happened...and usually I asked him to help me.  While he was feeding her, she had the biggest smile on her face.  She knew this was a huge step for him...for her...for their relationship.  And it didn't stop there.

As he was feeding her he was going on and on about how he really liked helping his sister and wanted to know if he could do it more often.

Yes...anytime you want to.

I immediately praised him and told him how happy I was with how he was interacting with his sister and did he notice the big smile on her face.  I told him, he brought that smile to her face!  He was very proud of himself.

Then he asked if he could sleep with her!  WOW!  I almost fell out of my chair!!!  Again never has he asked.  I said, let's plan on tomorrow night...if you still want to.

Before bed, he was sitting next to her on my bed while I was cleaning up their clothes.  He jumped off the bed and said he would be right back.  He ran to his room to get some books to read to her!!!!  OMG...I can't take it anymore!  WOW...huge steps!  He literally is reading now and is so proud of himself for this, that he wants to read all the time!

Seeing their relationship grow tonight, right before my eyes...was incredible to watch.  Seeing my daughter look at her brother with such love in her eyes made my tear up.  It was a look I haven't seen her give him in a long time.  Seeing them actually spend quality time with each other...with no fussing, no picking on each other was refreshing.

I know it will just take time and as time goes on their bond will strengthen.  I know in my heart this is how he always want to be towards her, but sometimes it is hard...especially when his ear is getting pulled.  I know she enjoyed this attention and love from him and she probably will think twice before she picks on him.  I know that tonight was special for me, but I also know they realize how special tonight was for them.

Here is a quote for tonight....

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero- Author Unknown



© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved
365 Days Gift

Fun Snow Day

Today's gift is a fun snow day.

We didn't get the call until 6:30 (ish) this morning that school was closed.  My kids get up early...so they were already up for the day.  However, my daughter with special needs had fallen back to sleep (since she was up at 5:00) and I had just woken her up to give her her medicine she takes before breakfast.

I couldn't believe it...she could still be sleeping...

When I went in to get her up to bring her down for breakfast...at our normal time...she had fallen back to sleep.   I was so excited (and jealous) for her!  At least someone could take advantage of sleeping in.

The kids and I had a pajama day.  It was also a day where we would be helping each other out too and they knew this included helping me out with their sister.

I remembered around 10:00 that I had defrosted a pork loin and I wanted to try a new crock pot recipe. In order to get it in the crock pot, I was going to need the help of all three of my kids...the oldest one to listen and play with the younger two and the younger two to entertain their sister.

Not only did they play well with each other...they did so for an hour!!!  I love when they play with her...they will not do things she wants until she tells them verbally if they know she knows the word.  I think they are tougher with her sometimes than I am!

They were playing so nicely with one another I not only got dinner in the crock pot (it was delicious by the way!), I also made them apple cinnamon muffins for a morning snack!

Dinner!

Here are some pictures I took of them playing with her in the playroom.  She had to count to three and then say "go" and their name in order for the other one to push the chair off the sofa...which prompted a laugh out of my daughter!  Before this game, they were playing pass the ball...and saying a name and then bouncing it to that person.

Here is a video of the action too!!!

My oldest daughter is just like me...a sun bunny...so she and I stayed inside today, while my youngest two definitely earned play time in the snow.  While they were outside playing in the cold, we were cuddled up by the fire, watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the original version), playing games and making hot chocolate for her siblings when they came in!

Snow days don't always have to be about the snow...especially in our house...but we enjoy them nonetheless!

Here is a quote for today...

Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever- Walt Disney

Morning Cuddles with her Siblings

Today's gift is morning cuddles with her siblings.

There is not a better feeling than seeing your children acting incredibly sweet to one another....on....their...own!  I think every time I catch them in the act, I am always taking pictures of "the moment".

Probably, because I do not want it to end.

This morning after I got out of the shower, I looked to see if anyone had made their way into our room yet....and this is what I found....

This one shows all three kiddos

But this one shows all three kiddos....and Midnight on the chair too!

There is no better way to start off your day, than seeing this.  I wanted to jump back in bed with them!  Life is full of little moments....enjoy every single one!

Here is a quote for today...

One of the secrets to a happy life is continuos small treats- Iris Murdoch

"Go up B"

Today's gift is "Go Up B".

You are probably thinking, what in the world is "go up B"?

Well, first "B" is what my daughter calls her sister as she can not say her whole name.  And second "B" takes gymnastics.  My daughter loves watching her sister practice at home and her favorite is a handstand.

Every day B practices her handstand (as we know "practice" well in this house) and her sister laughs every time she does one.  B is a very good teacher to her sister and knows when to make her practice her words she knows and will not give in to what she wants until she says what B is asking her to say.

Tonight she wanted B to do a handstand, so B said, "what do you want me to do"
....and she responded "up".
B said, "you can say more than that"
.....and with prompting from me, I said "what do you want B to do"
....and she said "go"
....then I said "go where"
....and she said "up"
....then I pointed to her sister and she said "B".

Then we made her say it all together before B would do the handstand.  So we looked at her and pointed to B and she said on her own " Go up B"!!!!  And B went up!

Immediately when B came down, she said "mom, I know what you are going to blog about tonight"....my daughter knows me all too well.  I said, "yes I am, because you both made this gift special for me....because without you this gift would not have been possible".

I love how we take ordinary moments in our house, ones which are going to happen anyway, and turn them into a teaching experience....one where the teaching is fun!

Here are two quotes for today....

The best teachers teach from the heart, not from a book- Author Unknown

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery- Mark Van Doren

A little game of hide and seek

Today's gift is the game hide and seek.

There are not many times when my husband and I can have a conversation which is not interrupted by one of our three children......until they are all asleep!  Someone always wants to talk to us....at the exact moment we want to talk to each other.

Interesting how this happens.

My daughter who has special needs requires constant supervision as we do not want her to hurt herself or for her to make a mess by emptying shelves in the playroom.   Either my husband or I are constantly watching her making any conversation we have with one another kinda difficult, as we usually are moving all over the house with her.

There are times when she will sit still for a little bit....either to play connect 4 or to actually "chill" out on the sofa to watch tv; however, we still need to be close by as these times come in spurts.  The amount of energy this child has is impressive!  She is like the energizer bunny!!!!

This evening while I was making dinner, my other two children started playing hide and seek with their sister.  For 15 WHOLE minutes they were playing together AND my husband and I had a conversation with no interruptions!!!!  It was one of those moments were you honestly can't believe you are having this moment.  Both of us in the kitchen....me cooking a delicious dinner...and we are having a conversation....something so little....yet so big.

She loves to play hide and seek.  She prefers to be the seeker rather than hide, and her siblings are ok with this.  If you ever play with her, watch out...she is fast!  You don't have much time to hide.

It amazes me how a simple game of hide and seek can allow my husband and I time to talk, instead of waiting until the kids are in bed.  Hide and seek not only allows us to be able to talk and have some "down" time, but also allows all my children to interact and play a typical game....together.

As far as I see it...hide and seek is a win win for all of us!  Game on!

Here are two quotes for today...

When I am playing hide and seek and the seeker walks past the place where I am hiding, I feel like where's Waldo- Author Unknown

It is the sweet simple things in life which are the real ones after all- Laura Ingalls Wilder