My kid is awesome

There, I said it, really it is just a fact. She is awesome. I was lucky enough to get to spend the day with her today. I took the day off to go on a field trip to Disney on Ice. Jessie from Toy Story has a special place in her heart. When Woody and Buzz came out she asked me for Jessie and I told her she might not be there. When Jessie came out, she hit my arm to get my attention, point to Jessie, and nearly yelled her approximation which is closer to DeeDee. It was so cool. She just glowed.

I let her choose if she wanted to back to school on the bus or hang with mom. She chose me!

So, off we went to pick up a few spring clothes which she picked out herself. She filtered, she put a few back, and made great choices. Then she bee lined to the Disney Store. Her sense of direction always continues to amaze me. She did the rounds of the store and then focused in on a stuffed Minnie Mouse. She showed it to me and held up on finger. It meant "Please, Mom, Can I have one pick?".  Yes, one pick (I am a sucker, sue me). With more wandering she found Minnie Bank, she ran and put back the stuffed animal and showed me the bank with her one finger again, to show me she replaced her one pick.

Then she tried to take us to the candy store. I said no. No fit was thrown. She said "Go?" and we went back to the car.

Next stop was a favorite park. It is 50 and sunny, really, just glorious out.  We played, and spun, and played some more. When she she feel down, she wiped herself off and tried again. Then she practiced until she mastered it.

Not today, look at all those leaves

She is so brave. There is a fence maze with a metal grated stairway you can climb to see the whole maze and direct people. She chose, with no prompting, to climb the stairs even though she was scared. She clung to my leg and climbed to the top, over and down the other side. She did the same thing with the elevator in the nature center.

She got the pond over look before me, and said "Ma, Ff" while pointing at me and then signing fish. I love being included. I love her telling me what she sees.
 I love the damn fish.

It was the kind of day that left me near tears of joy, a little weepy in a good way. Thankful that this smart, creative, assertive, sweet, thoughtful, brave, passionate kid is mine. Yea, my kid is awesome.

Great Bike Giveaway

UPDATE: She won a buddy bike in the raffle!  Watch for photos and videos once we have it :) We are so excited!

Me, an ambassador :)

We feel weird that we entered this giveaway / raffle / fundraiser. We are not wanting to put food on the table or fun in our lives, but we do not have a $3k adaptive bike budget. We still hope C will ride a typical bike someday (and she already has one, that is in the budget), but she has been on the cusp for two years. She can pedal, she can steer when she pays attention, but the balance and the attention span are just not quite there. Bikes give you a new way to see the world, the wind in your hair, the fun of the adventures, the power of the pedal.

I look through the other entrants in the Great Bike Giveaway and see many with much higher need. They do not love riding their big wheels, and the adaptive bike they wish for is very different than the one we want. The goal is to get a bike for all 600 entrants, but if enough is not raised it will be a drawing for those with over 100 votes. I don't want to take anyone else's bike.

This is the bike we want for C to be able to join us on bike rides on the trails by our home

The cool thing about the Great Bike Giveaway is we are not competing. You can vote for every single entrant if you take time. You do not need to choose one child. If it is a cause you want to get behind you can donate. That is what funds the bikes. We donated, we want as many of the kids as possible to get a bike. No guilt! If you are looking for a way to really change a child's life it is a great place to start.

So, please take 2 seconds and vote for my charming, sweet, smart, kind, little girl. If you have 10 more seconds please vote for a few more kids wishing for the chance to ride a bike.

VOTE VOTE VOTE