Busy week for me....Spring Break and what a hoot!

Well it was Spring Break for this angel and Aunt J my new daycare provider found me to be quite a treat. :-) My sister showed me how to topple the dining chairs over and Aunt J being of the artistic nature quickly found a way to tie them together with ribbon so I could not continue to topple them! I just love that woman and so does my family. She IS a Godsend to me and Tori. And we all thank Sherrie for finding her for us!

Aunt J has been reading up on Angelman Syndrome so she understands me better as we go along our journey together day to day. My grandma is so thrilled that she has fallen in love with me and sees that though I may be a bit of a challenge at times, I AM A LOVING LITTLE GIRL WITH SO MUCH MORE TO ME. That is the hardest point for my family to get across to others, but Aunt J has managed to see it rather quickly and we like that.

I "get it" more than most realize. And though I do not speak like others do, I do my best to let you know what I want or need. You simply have to pay more attention to my actions. Remember the old saying; "Actions speak louder than words." Well, I AM speaking just through my actions! Please take a few extra seconds to watch me and you will see that I too have wants and needs. That I AM communicating constantly to you, I just express them differently because I cannot vocalize yet. Key word is yet~my grandma is convinced one day I will speak. May not be perfectly but I will speak simple words and get my desires across to others. I love that so many have faith in me. :-)

Aunt J's hubby, Uncle D is already planning our summer time with them when school is out. Aunt J told grandma and daddy that he is planning to fence a section of the yard for us to play in. Grandma was delighted of course to hear that as they have a pond that we all know will draw me to it. After all water is my game and Miss Emma is my name! LOL

Tori was challenging Auntie J a bit in the beginning of our change to a new daycare provider. But it did not last long as daddy, papa and of course grandma sat her down and explained that it would not be tolerated to misbehave or argue with Auntie J. So, needless to say they are nipping that it the bud accordingly and it appears she is catching on fast. The remainder of the week she was a good girl and that pleased all of us greatly. Aunt J even curls her hair for school. How cool is that to have our own stylist???

Oh, I have to share something really neat with you. Grandma and Papa went to dinner Saturday with several parents of Angels in our area! Yes, your reading this correctly. Finally we have found a few angels to introduce daddy, Tori and I too. How cool is this????? They were lovely people and quite joyful to be around as grandma and papa told us. They too see hope for all of us in various ways and Andrea and Matt have created a foundation that will one day build a special home for us to live in when grow up. Can you beleive that? To know for the first time that I too will have a place of my own to live in when I gradudate from school. (And I WILL graduate from school one day). Daddy and grandma will see to this.

My family clearly wants my education to be all that it can be in my situation and intend to fight for such. After all, no child left behind is what the law says. I too have a right to a proper education that meets my individual needs just like my big sister Tori does. Only my needs are a bit more unique than the average child. And that is okay. WE all have our own individual weeknesses and with those we also have our special areas of strength. So we have to include and share both sides of the spectrum specific to me and open up our IEP this year to address all of them more agressively. Especially my communicating with others.

Not going to be an easy road, but one we beleive that can be done with those educating me at this time. Miss Cathy would like to keep me one more year with her so we are leaning towards this if the IEP is directed at offering more challenges than in the past to help me prosper more as a 5 year old and that is what I will be this summer. And personally five years old is an interesting time to move forward with new challenges and goals beneficial to my needs. To be able to communicate and thrive in the real world. Wish us luck as we should be getting our IEP appointment soon.

So as you can see........what a week we had in Miss Emma's world. We even got sent home early from visiting our mother as she called daddy and said she wasn't feeling well and wanted to cut the visit short. Some days it is like riding a yo-yo with our visitation time. We go, we want to go home and now she wanted to cut it early. I hope this does not go on like this forever. Its no fun being tossed about and me I like my routine too much to be jolted about like a doll. I must have a routine to thrive and daddy and I know this to be the best thing for me. I am a creature of habit and consistency. I like 'repeatition" in my daily life and have proven to all who work with me and live with me that it is my best attribute. I am thriving these days and healthier than ever before because I finally have consistency in my home, my school and now in my daycare Aunt J.

Life is good and I hope yours is also. Miss Emma signing out. Big hugs to all the familes of angels tonight.

P.S. My bus aide had a great term for indentifying my personality. She said I am "contagious" and grandma told everyone that says it all....Contagious. I kinda like being contagious to others. Opens a whole new world of freinds for me. LOL