The Party's Over!

First, let me thank each of you who commented back to me -in my state of excitement -about Maya's little break through. It was really, for all of us here, an awesome event - one we've been trying to get to happen for longer than I can remember now.

Although she will play with an old cell phone of her Dad's - has imaginary conversations on it -if you put the phone to her with a real person on the other end, very rarely will she speak to the other party. She did, one time, sing a few bits from the old song, "You are my Sunshine" to her Poppy (maternal grandfather, my ex) and she has once or twice maybe said "Hello" to "Aunt Carrie" - my older daughter, but as a general rule, Maya and the phone only would elicit her saying "All done, All done!" And when she says that, to push her some more is inviting a meltdown -something we try to avoid as much as possible.

When she screams - and I say she "Screams bloody blue murder" - I do think perhaps the entire town can probably hear her and the neighbors most likely think she must be getting beaten within an inch of her life! Yes, she is that loud - and that shrill too - it does have an ear-piercing effect on ya! I'm already hard of hearing as it is and don't really need her to ruin that last nerve in the ear canal that allows me to occasionally pick up bits and pieces of conversations.

Her teacher was schedule for a home visit this afternoon - supposed to be here around 3:30. She was running a little bit late but when she arrived and Maya spied her getting out of her car, her demeanor changed immediately.

She turned into a very excited little girl and one who was VERY much a little showoff - albeit it trying her darnedest to feign a little shyness at the same time. Dancing around the room, running in circles, squealing happily, saying her name over and over and all that was before Pam, the teacher, even got inside the house!

It wasn't that Maya was actually clinging to Pam - well, sort of - but you could just see the adoration she has for this lady, her teacher - how happy she was to have her come here to see her in action at home.

Pam then told us the rest of the story behind this "big event." Seems Maya has been "holding it" all day prior to this and Pam and her staff have taken to the drastic step of pushing water into the kid. Yesterday, it had taken 5 cups of water before she could no longer hold it and she had an "accident." (They don't wear diapers or pullups on them at the school but do have them available if the child does have an accident for use - after the fact.) Today, they started on her again with the water - and also, timing her to take her to the potty every 20 minutes. She said all the other teachers and their staff there were aware of what was going on with Maya and today, when they happened to get her to the potty before she DID have an accident and then she actually started to let it go, the aide with her had called out from the bathroom to announce this success. And, as they walked back down the hall to the classroom, all the teachers and aides had come out into the hall and applauded Maya, telling her "good job" and "yay, yay!"

She said Maya's initial reaction to that was that she was somewhat stunned, but then happy and excited too. And, later in the day, she actually went again - not once but twice in one day!

After I had posted about this big deal here, I had to talk to someone about this - someone who would understand how much this meant to us. So, I called my son. He's on the road, was somewhere between Harrisburg and the terminal in Tennessee but when I called him, his response was just as excited - and also tearful - as mine had been. Yes, he's a big softy too you see.

Later in the day, when I was waiting for Mandy to get home from work, the phone rang. I picked it up and Mandy was on the other end. Her first words to me were "Your son has a big mouth."

Seems he couldn't keep quiet and knowing about what time Mandy would be heading for the house, he'd called her and told her what happened.

Yes, to some, I suppose we do make mountains out of molehills here in our family. But, knowing what barriers she has in her life already - knowing this is just really two baby steps in a whole long line of firsts yet to appear for her, for us, understanding she has had a terrible fear, for whatever reason who knows, of using the bathroom, this is really just one awesome event and does warrant all the excitement and celebration of the day!

Her little party this evening went well. She got several presents of things of the "princess" nature as well as some Bratz dolls and items too. And, she was happy -excited - to be opening presents and exploring what each item was too. Last year, she wouldn't rip the papers off her gifts at her birthday or at Christmas.

This year, she stood and watched as Mandy put four little candles on her cake and lit them and it was Maya who began the singing too as we all sang Happy Birthday to her. And this year too, she even blew the candles out!!! A big change there from a year ago when as soon as the one candle (a bit 3) had been lit, she went into an immediate panic, screaming and crying in fear!

Not so today!

And when the singing ended, it was Maya who clapped and cried out "Doyay, Doyay!

Yes indeed my little sweetheart. It was truly a "doyay" day, on all fronts, not just one.