8 ways Sophie's amazed me this week

The tears stream down your face when you start thinking about the future for your child. the challenges she might face in school, her opportunities, and her future.  I remember shedding tears when talking about Sophie's future endeavors. But in those moments, you do your daughter a big disservice.  You don't know what the future holds and you assume the worst is coming.   So I feel compelled to look at some of her many accomplishments and I would like to share several from just from the past week.

1. How she took to the butterflies. She was wonderful at the botanical garden. Had a smile ear to ear and was very well behaved.  She resisted the temptation to prune the flora.  Non stop stimming.  (stimulatory behavior)

2. Sharing, after the zoo on Saturday, I gave her some cheese balls. After I decided (trainer be damned) that I wanted some cheese balls.  I looked at her and stuck my hand out.  I asked if I can have one. She looked at me and gave me one. This is huge.  Although this type of behavior has not generalized into sisterly sharing.  Ask Emmie....

3. How she took to soccer.   Nicole and I are soccer parents now although with  a stylish Buick Enclave instead of a Minivan.  . And she did absolutely wonderful. She complied with directions and she took to it with ease.  Moreover, she enjoyed the heck out of it.

4. Her reading of "daddy calls me doodlebug" was epic.

5. Her vocabulary is limitless, she can roll through flashcards like no other.

6. I called her the "nanner" monster (bananas) like the Cookie Monster, making the sounds of nom nom nom. She found this extremely funny and gets at her sense of humor.

7.  Her reports from school are really positive. Great during transitions.

8. Eye contact has been improving little by little. This is a major issue for children on the spectrum and she is getting much more comfortable.

Next week, next month, and next year there will be more and more of these triumph. If that is the way you look at it, you will suddenly be able to measure how far she can go by how far she has come. And then you can smile and just love your child though you know the path may be arduous, it can and will be traveled.