Stuey and Nora-isms

Lately Stuey and Nora have been giving us a run for our money AND making us laugh. Here are some of their recent phrases...

-Stuey will say, "Mamma...I want to tell you something."
I reply"Yes Stuey?"
He always replies the same thing, "When I was a baby, I say Ba-ba and I drink ooo-eee, ooo-eee (his word for nursing)."
I always say back, "thats right Stuey, you did!". He will say this several times a day-its quite endearing! He gets so excited telling me every time, as though it is the first time he has ever told me.

-Nora started crying yesterday and ran into me saying, "Mom-Stuey gave me the hiccups!!!!!". I had to tell her it wasn't possible for someone to "give" the hiccups to someone else. I don't think she believed me...

-The other day in the pool changing room, I told the kids that whom ever made good choices getting ready with no crying would get a sticker on their sticker chart at home. A few minutes later, Nora started having a temper tantrum and I told her she wouldn't get her sticker. Stuey did great and was quiet. Nora cried the entire way from the locker room to the car and the entire ride home. (It was a headache-making moment). In between her gasps for air, Stuey would look over at her and say, "Sorry Nora. You don't get a sticker. You made bad choices." It was pretty funny hearing him tell Nora this in the back seat. Didn't seem to help matters with Nora, however. Sort of like rubbing salt into an open wound!

-This morning, at around 6:45, Stuey woke up and crawled next to me in bed like he always does in the morning. He didn't say anything for several minutes. My eyes were closed. Then he says, "Mamma, I wike (like) you." Best way ever to start my day!

Nora has been in a bit of a difficult streak. Even the speech therapist noted that Nora has a challenging and sensitive edge to her (in general). I had a chance to talk to the speech therapist for a few minutes in the community without Nora right there. She told me how Nora is a very sensitive child, which has its benefits but also its downfalls. She doesn't miss a beat, which is why the speech therapist and I can NEVER talk anything about progress, home program, etc...with Nora right there because Nora freaks out. The speech therapist says that many kids are quite oblivious to conversations between her and parents.

I am a sensitive person, so I can empathize with the difficulties it sometimes brings. Can't think of sharing examples of that right now, however. Jean and I talked about how being sensitive is good in certain professions and they do the world lots of good, too! Its about giving Nora the correct space and setting to assimilate her world and learn which is the important thing right now. I am seeing that she needs a lot of down or alone time--just like Patrick needs. I think that her stubborness and determination will make her a strong person in the end...but in the meantime, its about how to help guide her strong forces.

One thing that has worked when she starts to get worked up about something, I try to de-escalate her by saying, "Nora, try blowing out some birthday candles" to get her to take some deep breaths. This actually works! I've been doing it for a couple of weeks and she almost always starts laughing as she starts taking some deep breaths. I'd like for her to be able to try calming herself before she goes into full board tantrum. She is a strong willed child at times!

Zoya