Today is the last day of school holidays. That means all of us {except Reese, the little stinker} are going back to work and school tomorrow. Ryan and I will be going back to in-school coaching and Daly is back to kindy! She is so excited.
Many of you know about Daly's arm flapping. It's something she's done since she was old enough to express excitement...probably about 6 months old. It used to be that when she got super duper excited, she would stop and flap her arms up and down for a few seconds. We thought she might grow out of it as she grew older and more verbal, thus more able to express her feelings with words.
It still hasn't stopped, and has really become a part of her little personality. We've noticed that it happens more often when she's sleepy, right around nap and bed times. Ryan and I have asked two different pediatricians and her teachers about it, all had the same response. Is she social? Does she make eye contact? Does she use her imagination? Does she engage with friends and family? Then leave it alone...just because she has a different way of expressing herself than everyone else, doesn't mean something's wrong.
All of that leads me back to her being excited about going back to school. Daly's doctor in California told us to simply ignore it, don't call attention to her flapping. That was fine when she was younger. Now that she's more mature and more aware of her actions and feelings, we don't feel that ignoring it is appropriate. So every now and then, we'll ask her why she's flapping. What are you thinking about when you flap your arms, Daly? Are you excited? Are you happy? What are you happy about?
When I asked her last week what was she was thinking about as she fluttered her little wings, she replied, 'I can't wait to go to school. I'm excited for school!' I love it. I love that she doesn't recognize her differences, that she's not worried about them, that she embraces them with everything she's got. Now, how can I get her to continue that for the rest of her life?
Wow, this post went an entirely different direction than I intended. But really, that's what the blog is for...preserving the little things, the moments, the words, the actions, the adventures that I never want to forget. And to give the girls a place to come back to when they're old enough to care, and my memory escapes me.
So, being our last few days home together as a family, we decided it was time for a bit of spring cleaning before the craziness of school and schedules and sitters begins. The girls came downstairs this morning to cuddle for a bit before getting the day started. Ryan said, 'Okay girls, should we get up and get some cleaning done?'
Daly replied, 'No, you do it. I can watch you.' Nice try, Little One.
This is what the upstairs looked like after almost two weeks of playing, and very little clean up.
No, no, Reese...don't let me interrupt your phone call with my talk of organization.
After nearly an hour of asking, coaxing, singing the 'tidy up' song from school, zoopity zoo-ing, bribing, time-outing for not helping, and {let's be honest} doing most of the work myself...we turned the room into this. Please note Daly's change of outfit.
Daly proved my point perfectly...when everything's put away, you can find the things you want right away! No searching, no digging, just playing. {See Mom, it stuck. Only took 29 years!!}
Success! Except that then my little Ambassadors of Mess came downstairs and in approximately 17 minutes did this to the living room...excellent.
29 years....You Did IT!
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