I have to brag about my daughter

I just have to brag about Mairead.  She has just been so 'on' lately!  She has just been awesome. So much fun, so happy, and, as her teacher put it last week, "so effervescent." How great is that? The other day, I was driving her to school and told her I wanted to get gas first. She said, "No thanks, Mom, I just want to go to my school." This from a child I literally had to drag kicking and screaming last Spring.

I have really been remiss about taking pictures, lately.  I did get this one of her drawing of Thomas.

And this one of her playing dress up.  She's a fashionista.

Recently, she had her first dentist appointment and was amazing. A little nervous, but awesome. When Dave and then my parents came home, she immediately told them, "I go to the dentist and I get a prize." I didn't prompt her to initiate conversation or anything.

Then, she went in the bathroom, peed, flushed, washed her hands, brushed her teeth, and put her pants back on-- all with ZERO assistance or prompting. I was listening from the hall but she didn't even know I was there. This may not seem like a big deal for a 4.5 year old, but a year ago, I really didn't know how she would get to this point. She then asked me to carry her special bears because "I want to go in my room and play with my squinkies and go to bed." This was at 6:50, and she usually goes at 7:30, so she must have been exhausted!

She has just been doing SO many things lately that just blow me away. Recalling things, making great eye contact, talking to adults, answering questions, doing more in terms of self care, etc. I tell her about 20 times a day that I am so proud of her.

At a playdate the other day, she said to a  little girl, "We can go play in my room, Kacey." Meaningful, socially age-appropriate, pointed conversation/interaction. I could not have been happier.

This all means SO much to me- I just can't even tell you. I think about how dark things were for us a year ago when we were fighting with the schools, she was struggling through the day, *I* was struggling through the day, and now she is just making such great strides. I well up with tears about 5 times a day thinking about what a miracle she is.

And, if all of this isn't enough, the other day she told me, "And when I grow up into a mom, I can have a baby in my belly like Katie (my sister)." I cried. I mean, here is a kid who, at the time of her stroke, we didn't know if she would talk, walk, etc. When things were at their worst in terms of her anxiety, social skills, etc, I would think about how all I wanted for her was that she be able to grow up, find someone to love, have a family, and just be happy. I used to fear that these things would be out of reach for her. She just proves me wrong and continues to amaze us. She has a tougher road than most kids and we know that she has a long way to go, but I no longer believe that there is anything she can't do.

Thanks for reading all of this-- and thanks for always being so supportive of her and of us!