Journal entry by Barbara Bradley — Oct 2, 2011

Our little bug is doing great these days. As each day passes we see more and more glimpses of normal. Her special Ed teacher tells me Katie is stacking blocks and she even pretended to rock a baby doll this week.

Katie’s personality continues to shine. She is a happy little girl with a great sense of humor and a wicked, stubborn streak. It is amazing how a child so verbally delayed can be a jokester but she is just that. She is back to hating the nightly tooth brushing routine. I thought we had moved on from this but I am in control of very little these days.

I carry her into the bathroom to sit her on the counter so I can put toothpaste on her toothbrush. She waits to see if I put the brush down before picking her back up, and just before I can grab it she knocks it on the floor completely loaded with Crest and starts giggling. Then she waits for me to turn the faucet on so she can splash in the water. She leans herself back and starts waving her hand back and forth while I try to wet the brush.

The fun ends abruptly once I start brushing her teeth. We started using a vibrating brush to help with her sensory issues. I can hold her down to brush but I can’t keep her from biting it. She bites down just enough to stop the spinning bristles then looks up at me and laughs while still clutching the toothbrush head. We repeat this about ten times until I give up. Maybe tomorrow is the day for cleaner teeth.

It’s story time. The preferred books are Runaway Bunny and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Just in the past couple nights Katie waits until I start reading then she rolls over and starts trying to tickle me. It is the cutest thing in the world. She tickles me but she is the one laughing a deep belly giggle. Her laughter is infectious and the more she laughs, I laugh. I don’t even think we finished reading tonight.

After story time we sing, “You are my Sunshine” followed by prayers. I started this with Nathan and the tradition continues. The second I start “Now I lay me down to sleep…”, my little angel uses her left hand to clutch “righty” and makes tiny little prayer hands.

Pure joy. She is pure joy.