March 4

This week we got 10 hours of official Sarah-Rise time. While it influences interactions throughout our day, Carl and I are both aware of a different kind of focus and attentiveness that we have when we are doing official time, whether or not it is in the SR room or elsewhere, with Amy or without.

We had a great volunteer team meeting, talking about the three E's (Energy, Excitement, and Enthusiam).

Music class on Saturday again went smoothly. Sarah participated more than ever with one of the songs that includes clapping and waving hands and shaking your body. She laughed gleefully in response to a song with a cat meowing. There was some slightly manic ismy laughter where she is slightly in her own world (or seeing people I don't see!). At the beginning of class the teacher was playing a trumpet and Sarah was totally enthralled and wanted to push the buttons and watch very closely.

At music class and elsewhere I am noticing that Amy is the one who is more of a handful at times (because so many things look tasty and interesting!) I am also noticing that going to stores with Sarah is easier than it used to be (or maybe this is just my relaxing more about things). When we went to buy flip flops for her on Friday we went to Old Navy and after finding her flip flops she really really really wanted to wear them NOW!!!! but I said we had to buy them first. She was very upset. Then I had the gall to say I wanted to try some clothes on before we left. Her storm of upset passed and she sat patiently and happily on the bench in the changing room while I tried on some items (none of which worked).

Today she eagerly helped Carl with a project in the basement. If the shelf wasn't being installed right above a sink she might have held focus for longer than helping screw in one screw, but how can one ignore a beloved sink?

I think Sarah is starting to get in the groove of having people come play with her in the playroom. She is attempting the names of her volunteers and on Wed she lit up when she saw Sh. and hopped out of bed and went into the playroom with her.

I am feeling so supported by my village, so to speak. A few of the parents I did the summer training with have said they haven't found any volunteers yet. I feel so deeply blessed to have wonderful volunteers for the playroom and for Amy.

This week Sarah had two reiki sessions. Reiki is energy work so can't hurt and has the potential to help. For most of the time I am interacting with Sarah while my friend K. does the reiki.

Sarah tends to talk more to me or Carl than to other people (I'm not sure about at school). This may be because so much of what she says is stuff most people won't understand and she knows that we will usually understand. I love our interactions when she starts naming colors and I ask if the tissue (that D. used to blow her nose "D b-l-ow n-o-ze") was in fact pink and she says "no" with a gleam in her eye. We go through all the colors sometimes multiple times and it is clearly play and she is present and making eye contact the whole time. When she says other things like "play wire" and I ask if we are going to play with wires then she also says no. It's a nice way to play with things she says, to ask the question back to her regarding the factuality of what she just said. I can also ask why we aren't going to play with wires (or ride amy) and she says "hurt" (well, "h-t).

The thing that makes me want to laugh with delight is that Sarah now says so many new things so frequently that it almost feels silly to tell Carl the new word she said. Because of course she said something new! She does that every day! How deliciously lovely that we are at this point. This point that had seemed so impossible, as all of her achievements have at one time seemed. Now to remember that whatever is still feeling impossible will also come about.