A weekend of firsts

We have had quite the big weekend here at the Foster home. Just so we're on the same page, you all have met my sensory child, right. The one who will only wear knit clothes. The one who refuses to wear any material with a seam and/or tag. The one who requires me to carry foam hand sanitizer in my purse because she can't wash her hands with "slimy soap" so if a bathroom only has that I have to have foam hand cleaner on me at all times. The one who was in therapy at the young age of 1 because she refused to touch anything with her hands. The one who literally screamed in agony when we put her halloween costume on because the seam around the belly was so unbearable. Yeah, that one. She has never ever had her face painted. We have been to countless parties where this was an option and you can actually see her have a physical reaction when the idea is even suggested to her. She wanted her face painted for halloween. How do you paint a face to look like a ladybug? It's not like there are a lot of ladybug models to look at. So we bought her the paint and told her to paint it how she thought a lady bug would look and look what she did:

Yes the physical reaction soon followed and she cried when I washed her face because it hurt but it was still a MONUMENTAL moment. And then I totally dropped the ball and forgot the face paint on halloween night. So she got red dots and a black nose with Crayola marker. I think she forgave me because she had an awesome night. She led the pack trick-or-treating. Every other year she is glued to my leg, wouldn't make eye contact, and heaven forbid she say the required phrase or a "thank you" at the end.

In other news, my littlest ladybug made a huge step this weekend:

SHE SITS! This is huge. Up until now she had no desire to sit and would only stand. When she did sit she would tip over. None of that reflex reaction that most babies have where they catch themselves. Nope. Just the 90%ile head smacking into the ground. Her whole little world has opened up. I pulled out all of the "sitting" toys today. She also cries now. Which sounds like a strange thing and what parent is happy when their child cries. We are. Because up until now she didn't. No tears, just what we call "revving" which is the most obnoxious noise you have ever heard. I'll try to record it so that everyone can enjoy it's splendor. So now she cries, with tears and it is so nice. We're actually teaching it. You know how when kids fall or get a little boo boo every adult in the room stops breathing for a second and watches them and waits. Cuz if you point it out they will freak out. Then they just cheer. "Yay, you fell off your bike. Get back on. Hurray!!!" We do the opposite. We make a big deal over every single not so big owie. Because we have to teach her to come to us for comfort. That emotions are a good thing. And she's learning. I honestly think that when she was at the orphanage she tried out the crying thing and it didn't really get her anywhere so she stopped. Now we're showing her that it gets her somewhere. So if you see us acting like we're teaching drama 101....that's why.

So, that's our big weekend. Here is the first actual photo of our family together. Well other than the one at the San Francisco airport right after we landed and we all look totally trashed. That one doesn't count.

P.S. Any bloggers out there know how to make the image open larger in a new window?

xoxo