Other than talking, there have been three major prayer requests concerning Bailey that we have longed to see answered: 1.  that she could be potty trained   2.  that she would sleep thru the night all alone in her room   3.  that she could feed herself using utensils.

We have prayed earnestly for these things to take place.   She will be nine in August and I am glad to say that progress is finally being made toward these major goals. 

First, potty training has been something that has seemed impossible at times.  And believe me, changing soiled pull ups or changing soiled panties on an 8 year old gets quite tiresome.  Well, thanks to the wonderful people who work with her every day at school, I think we nearly have this potty thing whooped!  They gave us a 'potty button'.  It is a button with a picture of a potty on it.  When she pushes the button, it says, "potty".  At first, we would tell her that she was going potty, then walk her over to the button and tell her to push it, sometimes even having to physically make her push it.  Then we would proceed to the bathroom.  Well, now when we ask her if she needs to go potty, she just walks right over to the button and pushes it on her own!  There have been a few times that she has walked over and pushed it without our initiation!  Amazing!  Just think, this is Bailey's way of communicating with us!  We may never hear our sweet girl tell us that she needs to go potty, but because of this button, she has a way of letting us know!  I am overjoyed at this milestone!  She generally stays dry now....if there is an accident, it is usually because of our neglect.

Next, the sleep issue has been a huge one in this household for nearly nine years now.  I really do not think there is any way of describing what it has been like for all of us.  I won't even try.  But ever since Shelby went to Florida for a visit, Bailey has been on her own at night.  I know for a fact that this is a direct answer to prayer and I thank God for it every morning when I wake up!  I know that there are many people who have been praying with us concerning this.  I certainly appreciate all of those prayers.  God has been so good to us...right when we (or at least I) was to the point that I knew she would have to always be sleeping with someone, He passes by at the right time!  Praise the Lord.  Anyway, every night now she kisses her daddy good-night.  I walk her to her room and help her lift her leg onto the bed, then she uses my body to push against, getting the rest of her body on the bed.  She then fumbles around and gets up to the pillow.  She lays down so sweetly and brings her little hand right up to her face with her blanket in tow.  Precious.  She doesn't move or even make a sound when I tell her good-night and I turn off her light and walk out.  She sleeps all night long.  Honestly, when I just sit and think about it, I weep.  To think that there were so many sleepless nights, no many frustrating moments......yet God has delivered my daughter from her sleeplessness and has finally given her rest!

Also, we are making great progress with her feeding herself.  We aren't all the way there yet, but she's doing much better.  I know that in time, she will be able to sit and eat a meal completely by herself with no help at all.  I know that God can do that for her!

So much to be thankful for.  Nothing to be taken lightly or taken for granted.  I find my heart is full of gratitude for what my Lord has and is doing in the life of my challenged daughter!

To date, Bailey has lost 13 teeth....or at least I think she has.  That's as many as I can count before she clamps down on my finger like an alligator and begins the death roll.  Of those 13, only 4 have actually been pulled by me.  The rest have been swallowed, fallen out while eating, and who knows how else they have been disposed of.

The 13th came out this morning.  I brushed Bailey's teeth, which in itself is an olympic sport, and cleaned her mouth out as good as possible....since rinse and spit are out of the option.  Then she kept grabbing at her mouth, like when you have a hair in your mouth but can't find it.  Then she did the cat with a fur ball gag, at which point she successfully reached in pulled something out and threw it on the ground, then commenced to watching Barney as if nothing had happened.  What in the world is that?  A tooth!  GEEZ!  Hmmm....I wonder which one it was?  So I bravely go fishing around in her mouth....at which point I broke out into a small sweat just around the brow line.  A few bites and prying of the jaws later I saw the newest empty spot.....but what is this?  Another loose tooth right beside it?  AHA!  I have found one!  Maybe I can actually pull this one out myself!

She reluctantly lets me in for brief periods of time.  I can feel it just hanging on.  Finally I get a fairly good grip on the thing and I knew that I only had this one golden opportunity to pull.  This was my chance, my moment!  YANK!  The result?  Enormous, geyser amounts of blood pooling in her little mouth and dripping onto the carpet below.  No tooth, that dumb thing was connected on one side.....and connected well I might add.  Ugh!  It's not like you can say, 'Bailey, put this towel in your mouth to stop the bleeding then go to the bathroom and spit out the blood and then rinse your mouth out really good.'  No, it was more like, 'Brody, bring me that sock....hurry.  Now go get the wet wipes.'  A sock?  Yes, it was the closest thing at the moment.  Beggers can't be choosers.

After 3 pints of blood and a very pale Bailey, (jk, grandmothers) I got her all cleaned up and off to school, where for the next 7 hours they will be on tooth duty.  I am sure it will fall out at breakfast or lunch, without Bailey ever knowing that it's missing, or even caring that it is.

I'm telling you, this house is ever full of stories, dilemmas, emotional breakdowns, uncontrollable laughter....but always love!  Have a great day all!

Today Bailey's life skills class went on a field trip to Colbert Ranch in Bertram.  Shelby and I went along....after all, the class is only 4 students large.  I was glad to see that the principal also joined us!  So off we went.  Bailey's teacher bought them all cowboy hats (pink ones for the girls), but of course Bailey was gonna have no part of that!  She did, as they all did, agree to wear the bandana, though.

I went along to watch the kids have a great time, but I left having had a blast myself.  I was amazed at how much they enjoyed touching and riding the horses.  Bailey was the only one who did not want any part of it....although she did ride....reluctantly.  Bailey was actually the only one who really didn't seem interested in any of the events.  She certainly didn't enjoy the small hike.  She hates to walk on any uneven ground...and this was most definitely not even ground.  She was pooped...and so was the aid who was helping her out most of the way.

I took lots of pictures and video, but because I do not have parental permission, I could only upload the stuff of Bailey....but I wish you could've seen the looks on the kids' faces while riding the horses and while throwing rocks in the creek.  Shear joy is what it was!  Innocent, clear, unrestrained, pure joy!

Why is this video so important?  Well, only because my Bailey, who is about to be 9 years old, has just in the past 6 months started feeding herself with a utensil with more going into her mouth than on her clothes or on the floor!  Happy Day

Easter Party At School

Brody's kindergarten Easter Party consisted of:

18 hyper 5 year olds running out to grab up as many eggs as possible.....taking all of about 74 seconds total

Bailey's Life Skills Class Easter Party consisted of:

Anthony throwing a fit all the way to the grass

Ian picking up eggs and opening them to see what's inside before committing to keeping it.  Upon realizing the real eggs didn't open as easily, he simply dropped them back to the ground and commenced to stomping on them.

Bailey picking up eggs, trash, leaves, grass, anything that wasn't connected to the earth and throwing it across the lawn.

Total time:  about 10 minutes for just the 3 of them!

Had a blast.  Needless to say, Bailey's class was much more fun to watch. 

Once inside, Ian immediately opened every egg and began stuffing himself with the sugary sweets. 

Anthony only wanted pretzels.....and Brody's capri sun

Bailey was just like 'whatever'