Some of my favorite things the kids say are things that I overhear. Either on the monitor or when I am in the next room and they don't know I can hear them; they say the funniest and sweetest things. When they are up in bed at night, we can hear them laughing and talking. Sometimes, Mairead will tell them jokes. Usually, the jokes make no sense, but all three laugh hysterically when she gets to the 'punchline.' Or, she might tell them, "Hey, guys, I have some news for you," and then tell them about something that happened that day.
The kids have been sick recently and over the monitor, I heard Ben tell Mairead, "If you start coughing, I will tell Mom to help you."
They say so many cute things- I wish I could remember them all. For example, Ben didn't want to go to school one day, so Jack told him not to worry, he would 'be-tect' (protect) him at school.
The boys still play Batman and Robin all the time and they REALLY get into character. Jack, in particular, imagines these elaborate scenarios and plays them out with gusto. Since they watch the old Batman TV series with Adam West, they have picked up a bit of the vocabulary, too. It makes me smile every time Jack says, "Let's go, old chum." Recently, he was saying he was going to put handcuffs on the bad guys, but he says 'handcuffs' as 'hiccup.'
Apparently, their Batman obsession has given us quite a reputation. We were at the 99 for a school fundraiser and the boys were, of course, wearing their capes. Our waitress told another family that Batman and Robin were at a one of the tables, and the mom knew it had to be us.
Jack is very sweet to his little brother and takes good care of him. Jack is still clearly the boss... just ask him. He recently knocked on the bathroom door until I came out and he told me, "Mom, I'm having a problem with Ben. I need your help." Turns out, the problem was that Ben did not want to put the Robin cape on. Most of the time, though, they get along very well and it is so obvious how much they love each other. They put their arms around one another, follow each other everywhere, and want to be together all the time.
Christmas pictures are still to come, but Jack was so appreciative of gifts. Mairead gave him a Bat-boat and he said, "I just love it Mairead! I like it! And I like you!"
Ben is a sensitive guy and says very sweet things. He will comment on Christmas lights and say how pretty they are. He tells me that he misses Mairead when she is at school. We were talking about college, for some reason, and he asked if he would go to college one day. I told him that he might go, and we talked about he could live there. He then asked if he could bring his pillows and his blankets, to which I replied that he could. He then asked, "Will you miss me when I go? I will write you letters." Talk about pulling at my heartstrings. My mind flashed forward 15 years to when he and Jack leave for college, and I hoped that Ben does write me letters when he goes. He told me last week that I am "the best mom in the whole neighborhood." I'll take it.
Mairead is so fun lately. She notices everything and takes everything in. She is playing 'pretend' so much more. Last week, she used my phone to take a video of toy cats and had a little conversation with them. She is starting to take on a 'big sister' role, helping her brothers and trying to teach them things. She also has been known to tell them, "I am going to count to three and you will stop that." She throws herself into projects and crafts, and comes home from school every day with stories of her day.
Her IEP meeting just before break went really well-- we were able to increase the number of hours per week that she has extra support, and we brainstormed some ideas to try to help with the issues that are most pressing right now. I feel like she has a great team of teachers working with her, and that they are genuinely invested in her. She is still a mystery in many ways, but we are in SUCH a better place than we were when she started school 18 months ago.
We had an amazing Christmas and I will post those pictures soon. Thanks for reading!
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