She found the purple cat!

Big stuff is happening in our house! I feel like things are really starting to connect for Sofie. She is babbling consistently now. I am so happy to write that. Around 15 months she began to babble less and less. Yesterday Sofie said "Bay" for the first time since mid October. That was wonderful because it was Sofie's answer to "Who is that [in the mirror]?"That was really exciting. It was especially exciting because it was after a few days of Sofie seeming to return to her problematic habits (licking walls, putting everything in her mouth, not answering to her name, not playing). I was beginning to worry that we were losing our footing after so much progress. Sofie's speech therapist reassured me that it was probably Sofie reacting to being away for the holidays and was returning to her sources of comfort. What is more soothing than a nice cold wall to lick?


I wish I could organize my thoughts a little better this evening. Maybe after a good night's sleep I can put something together that is at least a little coherent. Right now I can only ramble. I am all over the place. The video above will do a MUCH better job illustrating how wonderful tonight was. I am going to go to bed tonight hoping tomorrow is half as good.


Going to bed a happy mommy and proud of my Bubu.

Bubu Bounces!

This is actually Sofie relaxing a bit before bed. Jumping calms her a lot. We have read that kids on the spectrum are often calmed by jumping. This makes sense because Sofie will jump for twenty minutes or so before she falls asleep in her crib. We decided to give her a head start on this particular night.

The wonder of numbers: a mommy rambles after a long day

I write tonight's entry in the "happiest place on earth." I have often been asked why Disney World holds such a place in my heart. Aside from many wonderful memories from family vacations, I also happen to love the whimsical side of life. I love pretty. I love color. I love fireworks. This may sound like the incoherent ramblings of intoxicated fairy but it's me to the bare bones. With all my neurosis and anxieties, I am drawn to beauty without getting bogged down by the details. I am obsessed with the ideas that push astronomy but I never even took physics in High School. I am someone who is good with a story but somewhat lacking when it comes to practical-no-frills-linear thinking.

And tonight I am wondering if my whimsical ways can help me with the road ahead with my Bubu. I have done A LOT of reading on autism. And I find it absolutely fascinating. But my usual struggles with numbers and statistics may be a huge positive in this situation. While it's the right thing to educate myself on the 'story' of autism and how it relates to my daughter, maybe its for the best that I have trouble retaining the stats of successes and failures with the disorder. Maybe its like my love of astronomy. I am overwhelmed by this amazing complex and beautiful little star. I want to learn how she works. I want to know how she shines. But reading up on the trials and tribulations of the galaxy won't help me with MY star. It is FACT that NO SCIENTIST has EVER seen my star. They have NEVER studied MY star. So how much can I put into the statistics regarding Sofie's future? I don't think I will put too much thought into that. I am going to focus on her beautiful story.

My little star's story is in the middle of an amazing chapter. She had a WONDERFUL day today. She was completely lucid all day long. We were travelling all day and she didn't 'space out.' She was laughing, babbling, crying and just being silly. She didn't cry when we got to the hotel. That is a really big deal. She wasn't overwhelmed. She didn't cry or act scared when she saw my family out of their usual context. She was just happy. My sweet little star. She is teaching me to focus on the story..our story and not my never ending research on autism. Her story makes the research amazing. All that I have read so far, shows that she is truly a remarkable and unique little girl. I am so grateful the diet seems to be helping her shine a little brighter these days.

And one more note in Bubu's story: We are starting speech therapy very soon :)

Something for us all to remember....

This diagnosis changes absolutely nothing about the sweetest baby ever. It's only going to help us understand her better and HOPEFULLY it is going to help us teach her to share her spark with the world around her. I am going to play this on repeat on the bad days. This video was taken tonight. Our silly little lady was laughing at the lamp and we had to capture that smile on film.