Everything in our life has changed. I used to have one child in school and two at home and now I have three gone. I was not ready for this! I get about an hour and 45 minutes alone each day and I get very lonely! My brother and sister can attest because I call and bug them! Love ya Lex and Ty! We have been laughing at how fast life changes. Our worry years ago isn't the same as our worry today. We not only have mastered military acronyms, but also Acronyms associated with Autism. ABA,BCBA,ASD,IEP,IFSP,VMAP,BMP,NV,DAN and the list goes on!!! We are getting the hang of it and sometimes we feel like we talk in code. :) Payton just started at a new center because her therapist opened her own! She is so amazing and loves our daughter like she is her own which literally is all I could ever ask for. We did get so lucky.
We have had a lot of progress this past month and a lot of new behaviors that we are working on. Payton turns to her name about 30% of the time which I will take because it was 0% a few months ago. She is using her PECS book to communicate so much more. She is a happy girl and that is all I need is a smile on her face and a belly laugh to get through the days. My heart aches for my husband who so deeply wants his daughter to know he is there. She uses me as a tool and sometimes just needs her mommy and usually only pulls me around for things she needs. He wants her so bad to want him. It breaks my heart and we are working on her noticing him and letting him touch and love her. One day it will happen and until then he enjoys her smile from a distance and occasionally tortures her with kisses.
Payton enjoys flipping objects over and over, lining up her mini animals, flipping through books, flipping over puzzle pieces and playing with Mr. Potato head and squishing play dough. She is slowly learning how to do functional play with toys. She is slowly making progress and we are happy about that. She really enjoys being outside and listening to the Tangled soundtrack. She is going to be Rapunzel for Halloween and the boys are a blue power ranger and a ninja! We are blessed beyond words and have such beautiful kids and are grateful for the boys and all their hard work and the love they have for their sister.
