Conversations with Livie

For a child who is supposed to have a significant speech delay, Olivia talks a lot.

The other day, I received via email all of her school records from the special ed co-op which helped write her IEP for her first year of preschool.

She was two year and ten months old when the evaluations were done to help the professionals determine which preschool class she would benefit most from.

As I read those reports, I was amazed at how far my girl has come in just over a year. One evaluator wrote, "She says one word at a time, but most often, points to make her wishes known."

Another wrote, "Her mother claims to be able to understand most of what she said, but this child speaks so quietly, it's hard to tell if her words have meaning."

These days, strangers in the store can hear and understand the sentences that come out of Olivia's mouth.

On Saturday, she didn't feel good so after Alyssa's skating party, I spent most of three hours on the couch, holding Olivia, rubbing her hair and back.

At one point, I was pulling he hair away from her ears and she ordered me, "Don't pick at my ear."

Tom heard that one from across the room.

For the past four years, whenever O's been sick, we've had to guess what was wrong. She couldn't tell us what hurt.

Yesterday, she told me several times, "My tummy hurts."

Amazing.

I know that parents of typical four years old would think, "Duh, my kid's been doing that for several years."

Yes, but mine hasn't. And some doctors would have told me she never would.

Yet here she is, scheduling her day as we get ready in the mornings. This morning she told me, "Later, I'm going to take a warm bath. And after that, I'm going to go outside with Daddy and Lyssie."

She understands time and sequence. She's aware of the things around her and how those things affect her.

I can tell her, "Just give me a few minutes and I'll get you a snack." And she knows that the snack is coming, but it won't happen right that second.

How freeing! To be able to communicate with my child and have her communicate back is such a gift.

I feel lucky to be understand the importance of it all. I'll never take for granted how blessed we've been with Olivia. I know she's amazing.

Of course, I'm a mother, so I think both my girls are amazing and I'm so blessed to be able to talk to both of them and sure, even blessed that they can talk back.