Sometimes We Have to Learn to Say No

Wow, I feel like there is somebody new living in our house. On Monday Miriam started saying NO to us constantly, and each time Chuck and I look at each other and laugh in amazement. Who is this person with this voice? We have lived with her for four years and now we are hearing her pretty voice. I used to stand outside her bedroom when she was about one year old, when she woke up from her nap, and I would call, "Miriam!" and wait for her to say "Mom," but she never did, even though she listened to me and knew I was out there. Now after all that time, she calls me Mom, and Dad is Mom, and other people at church are Mom sometimes too (I think that is called generalizing) and it is so amazing. And now she has started to say No in answer to questions, and everyone laughs when we tell them what she is doing, like, that is a typical thing for a little child to do, but for us it is a miracle.

We love that she can say what she wants without crashing to the floor and kicking. Now when she does that, I can say, "Miriam, if you don't want something, just say no," and we love hearing No. We say "Good job saying No, Miriam." I realise this may change, of course, and we'll look forward to hearing "Yes."

Our House Is Spicy

So Miriam is studying about apples in school this month, and I looked up preschool ideas on the Internet. I found a recipe for applesauce cinnamon playdough, and we made it today. It's half cinnamon, half applesauce, very complicated. Mix until it feels like clay. So our house and my hands smelled like cinnamon.

Then I thought I would go on the computer and read my news stories and check out everyone's blogs, and was reading about Sam I Am, and thinking how funny Sammy is (from Catherine's blog), when Miriam came in and showed me her hands, which were VERY SPICY! I said, "Miriam, what did you do?!!" Then I thought about how Smokey Joe came over today and put a brisket on our smoker, and covered it in their spice rub, which is made of seasoning salt, pepper, paprika, who knows what else, but it is very aromatic. The container, a large shaker like the large container of cinnamon we had just "cooked" with, was on the counter, and I went in the kitchen and it was spilled all over the floor! Miriam tried to clean it up with some dry dish towels and then finally came in to get me, leaving red footprints on the carpet from the kitchen to the office. I guess she wanted to cook some more with spices like the playdough we made.

So I swept it all into a large pile and then since our dustpan fell apart a while ago and I got a fancy sweeper vacuum for the floor, I vacuumed it all up! It was like one of those shopping channels on tv, where they show how your vacuum could vacuum up piles of sand or legos. It sucked it right up, but I am sure it will smell like spices for a while or until we change the filter.

When I was done I looked around for Miriam. She was asleep on the couch, and her feet were encrusted with red spices.

Car and Mouse

Last Tuesday I took Miriam to school at 8:30 and then was going up the hill on the way home and the car started to lose power so I decided to move over to the shoulder and that is when it stopped going! I stopped on this wide part of the shoulder and then when I stepped on the gas nothing happened but the car started coasting backwards, which I thought was bad. So I called Chuck and he said to call the dealer for their towing service. When Chuck pulled up I got out of the car and turned around and looked back and saw that the shoulder had been very narrow and as I pulled over it got wider and wider until the car stopped, and we were in a pretty safe area. It looked like an exercise in perspective.

Anyway, later on in the day the guy from the dealer called and said that MICE had chewed up the wires in the car, and that is why it stopped! There was also dog food stored in the car engine, which if you ask me is not the best place to store food. Kind of funny, except for the part where the dealer says this is like an act of God and is not covered by warranty.

Those darn mice. Their days are numbered.

One week later we have fewer mice already, but I took Miriam to school on Monday and on the way home the car stopped going forward again. I got a little further this time, but ended up on the side of the road. A family in our ward pulled over when they saw me. Their daughter knows our car from babysitting for us. But I said I was waiting for Chuck and the tow truck, and they left. The tow truck driver came before Chuck could get there, and as I was standing on the side of the road with the car seat next to me my visiting teacher went driving by and turned around and came back to get me. The tow truck left and I sat in her car for a few minutes before it occurred to us that she could just take me home and Chuck could meet me there. It turned out that not only were the wires chewed up last week, but the transmission has some problem, so they are fixing it. It has been kind of funny and great how last week and this week people from church just keep stopping as we are on the side of the road, to see if we are okay.

Bop Bop Bop Bop Bop Bop Bop Twinkle Twinkle

Does your family have a theme song? Ours does. At least, I thought so and told our friends and Chuck that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is our family theme song, because Miriam sings it at home and at school all the day long. On Sunday morning while Auntie Bonnie was here, Miriam sang it with me for the first time! She has been singing it for a while, but never with me. I heard her singing and joined in and we sang Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop, bop bop bop bop bop bop bop. Amazing, beautiful music! So I said that was our theme song, but Chuck said, "No, that might be Miriam's theme song, but that's not my theme song." I am still working on mine, but I think it might be "Warrior," by Kid Rock, which is a song written for the national guard, which you can download for free. I like it because, now this person might be a questionable role model, but I saw Jennie McArthy and Holly Robinson Peete talking one time about their kids who have autism, and about what they were doing for them, and Holly said that Jennie is a warrior mom, and I liked that a lot and it stuck in my head.

MomMom MomMom MomMom MomMom

I am now MomMom MomMom MomMom. Last Sunday after Church Miriam said MomMom MomMom in the car, and then signed blanket. "It's at home." Mom Mom Mom Mom, sign Dad. "Dad's at church." MomMom Mom Mom Mom. Point at turnoff for school. "Yes, that's where we go to school." MomMom MomMom MomMom dah! Point to the left. "Oh, yes, that's amazing!" Mom Mom Mom Mom! Point to the right. Yes, that's the airport.

This constant talking and conversation has been so productive that we have discussed how traffic signals work, and learned to say "Go!" and sign stop for stop signs and red lights, and have discovered where the airport is and have actually seen a plane flying in the air, and we always notice where we go to Miriam's dance class, and discuss whether we should go to the store or not. It's amazing and funny and I keep thinking about all the people that say, "One of these days she'll start talking and not stop, and you'll wish she hadn't," or something like that, and sometimes I almost think about saying, Okay Miriam, enough with the constant talking,and then I remember how amazing it is! And the thing is, it's not enough to say "Yes, Miriam?" She wants eye contact! How am I supposed to drive the car?

Yesterday we had a baptism and I led the music, and Miriam came up on the stand and went over to the side and stood behind the curtains on the window and was saying Mom Mom Mom Mom, and I couldn't see where she was when I was done. So this girl in the ward pointed over to the other side of the stand, where Miriam had ended up with her friend Jillian! Very naughty. I have a friend who calls walking up to the stand The Walk of Shame and it was her daughter who was up there with Miriam!

Miriam's First Talk

Today Miriam gave her first talk in Primary and we were so happy. She was assigned to speak about prayer, and this is what she said:

I can pray to my Heavenly Father anytime, anywhere.
This is how we get ready to pray.
“We bow our heads in prayer today.
We fold our arms together.
Then close our eyes, and while we pray
We talk to Heavenly Father.” (Do these motions)

There are special things we say when we pray.
“I begin by saying “Dear Heavenly Father”;
I thank him for blessings he sends;
Then humbly I ask him for things that I need,
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

When I pray I thank Heavenly Father for my family,

my home, books, and music.
I ask him to help me in school, and to bless my family.

Hold up family photo; art project of Miriam's house;

one of her favorite books, Click Clack Moo, Cows

That Type (a work of genius); and a CD

I know that Heavenly Father hears my prayers.

Chuck read the talk for her and she held up the pictures. She was very solemn. By the end of the talk she started to move the microphone around a little, and think about saying some exciting stuff, but she did say Hi, and waved at me from under the book she was holding up.

When she was done I walked up and picked her up and she hugged me really tight and I took her back to her seat, but she didn't let go at first, and we whispered about how she gave her talk and how well she did, and she squeezed really tight.