Becoming a Big Family

We have officially crossed the line into a big family. Two is typical. Three is larger than two but we know many three kid families.

However, four children is a large family. There is no way around it. We are very happy to be headed into the large family range.

Anyway, I am 23 weeks pregnant and due on January 25, 2010. No, we don't know what it is. Yes, they do still let you not know. Yes, I'm sure it's not twins.

But don't worry we call the baby: Omega. That means the end.

She's Not!

Me (after Shannon's bath): You are a clean smelling girl.
Shannon: I not cleaning smell girl. I Shannon.

Me: You are a stink pot.
Shannon: I not stnk pot. I Shannon

Me: You are so cute.
Shannon: I not cute. I Shannon.

Me: You are snuggly.
Shannon: I not snuggly. I Shannon.

I guess she knows who exactly she is.

Normal

I'm sitting on the couch listening to Shannon tuck in her babies and singing "twink, twink leetle star, how i wonder what you are, up above the stars twink twink little star"

I don't think you can really appreciate typical or normal development until you witnessed development that veers off course or stalls all together.

Seriously, looking back, how could I have not known when Lauren was 2 1/2 and had a vocuabulary of 20 words with no word combination, that there was someting wrong? I spent my entire working career evaluating children. How did I not know? I guess the answer is simple, I didn't want to know. I couldn't face it in my own child.

The more important questions is when am I going to get over it?

I don't want to smile

Never going again

Ellie has decided she is never going to preschool again. From what I understand of the story, her arms hurt from then monkey bars. She doesn't want her arms to hurt anymore so she's never going again.

I tried to resolve the situation by telling her she didn't have to go on the monkey bars. She sighed and said "oh, mom" and gave me that look. You know the look girls have been giving their moms for centuries. The one that said "you just don't understand nor will you ever".

It only came 10 years ahead of schedule.

Ballerinas reside in my house

We have entered the world of ballet. It took them two years of begging but the big two are now taking ballet lessons on Friday night. I was going to take Lauren on Friday nights and have Ellie take another class. It took me about 15 minutes of Lauren's class to figure out that was a horrible idea.

They do have another class for Ellie and it's AT THE SAME TIME! I only have to chase one child down a hallway. I was thinking tonight that if I never believed that time could stand still before then I certainly do now. It was the longest 2 hours of my life.

The best part is Lauren's class. It is an adaptive dance class. I think there are only a few kids in the class. Her teacher also used to be a special education teacher and will incorportate Lauren's IEP goals into the class.

She is so much more

She is a:
daughter
child
sister
granddaughter
niece
1st grader
girl scout
ballet student
good friend
swimmer

She is:
smart
funny
energetic
full of life
good memory
determined

Oh, yeah by the way she happens to have Autism. But that's not who she is. It simply a diagnosis that allows her to get certain services.

1st day of preschool