I hope I have good breath

Some days I don't know what to write.  Things happen so fast and then I can't remember what I've blogged about.  So here are some things I think I haven't talked about yet.

Not only is Kate getting dressed by herself, but she is putting her dirty clothes in the laundry basket.  She started doing it with quite alot of encouragement and then one day I walked in the room and saw the clothes that she had worn that day in the laundry basket.  She did it herself without me telling her to.  I was quite excited.  Of course, I didn't say anything, just kept my excitement to myself.  She is still sensitive about people commenting how much they like when she does x y or z.

Today we went jumping at the trampoline place with some friends.  It was fun to see her running around the tramps chasing or being chased.  We all had  a great time and most of us were tired by the end of the hour.  Her friend and partner at BB  could have stayed longer!  He has a ton of energy and is in really good shape!  The rest of us are getting there :)

We had a minor setback yesterday.  Kate was shown a car wash video and she couldn't stop talking about it basically for the rest of the day and into today.  It surely stimulated that left side.  It was a really good lesson for us both.  It reaffirmed my decision to avoid carwashes and carwash videos.  She hasn't had compuuter time in the last few months because it was creating such a disturbance.  It was so hard for her to find new things to do and not focus on carwashes for the rest of the day after she had been online.

I learned today that physical exercise helps to clear that obsession away.  Going to jump really helped to take the focus off carwashes and she was able to talk about a variety of things.  Being out of the house helps immensely.

So, since she has been in the program for a while, we are starting to pinpoint the areas that she gets stuck and encourage her to talk about other topics.  Anything that is new will stimulate the right side and that's what we want.  So, when she asks about carwashes or starts to play with carwash stuff, I have to redirect her and help her find an activity to do that is new.  She doesn't like it one bit.  Hopefully soon she will catch herself and not have to depend on me always telling her to find a new activity.  It is very challenging, but very necessary in order to get that right side strong.

The best part about yesterday was that my friend took Kate for a few hours.  I was so happy to have the place to myself.  I watched a video on Spain and pretended I was there eating tapas and strolling down Las Ramblas.  Beautiful.  And then I took a nap.  I had dinner all ready before Kate could utter the words "I'm STARVING!!!!"  That was nice not to hear that for the fifth time that day.  Thank you my friend!!!!

So it seems each week we are adding new things, reaaranging our schedule, putting things away that have been overused, and trying to keep it fun while switching everything up.  I am sorry to say that keeping it fun and positive have been a challenge for me lately, but I am doing the best I can. 

At the end of the day, at bedtime, Kate and I always make up.  We say our sorrys and snuggle, and she says funny things like "Mommy, I can smell your breath through your nose..."