How about a little joy for a change?

After yesterday's post, I felt the need to write about something more positive. Last night as I was going to bed, I considered. What is something that is really great right now, something amazing? And I realized that I can't remember the last time we had any "steps back" with Kate NaNa. You know, two steps forward, one step back? Well, we have had a lot of steps forward here lately, but I can't remember the last backwards one.

That's not to say that parenting her is without issues. She seems to have skipped over the terrible twos in favor of the sassy threes. She gives me attitude, and lots of it. Sometimes I hear words coming out of her mouth, but they sound like something Will would say (who spent about 3 years in the terrible twos/sassy threes, and still likes to visit there occasionally). But she usually responds very quickly to requests for appropriate behavior, and behaves a whole lot like my other two.

She is becoming more and more cuddly, coming up and giving me unexpected hugs. She tells me several times a day, "I love you, Mommy," without my prompting. She is even making huge strides with her Daddy. She still doesn't like it when he goes to work (she wants all of us together, all the time), but she greets him happily when he gets home. And last night when I told her Daddy was putting her to bed, she smiled and said, "I love him." Only a month ago that would've gotten a grumpy face and crossed arms, if not a full out cry-fest. She has settled in to our family so beautifully.

Kate NaNa is pure joy to parent. She really is.

And as for medical/speech issues, they continue to be less and less of an issue in our daily lives. He speech is now clear enough that most people can understand her, as long as they pay attention. She continues to receive speech at the local preschool. Her hearing fluctuates depending on how much fluid is in her ears at a time. Her previous tubes are not in place anymore, and so she has some fluid build-up at the moment, but it doesn't appear to be slowing her down. Her vocabulary and pronunciation have continued to develop, despite any mild hearing loss that it creates. She continues to have ear infections, thus the other reason for the tubes. But even that is just normal life at this point, not any big disruption.


She is really just a happy, normal, amazing, resilient, wonderful child. I can't imagine my life without her.