Mauthe Lake was wonderful. I'm happy to report that Ruby is a natural camper. She was in love. The trees, the hikes, the animals, the tent...she couldn't get enough of it. This, of course, meant to world to me because as a parent you can only hope that your children will find joy in the things closest to your heart, and to have that hope realized was wonderful. I have always felt that the only time I am able to truly let go is when I am camping. Time ceases to exist. The biggest priorities are eating, sleeping, hiking, and reading. Being in nature is certainly revitalizing, and it would appear that Ruby feels the same way.
Anywho...we are back home now and settling back into the rhythm of our life. And although I long for the lake and the woods I am glad to be home. I really missed my friends and it feels great to be around them again. They love me and Ruby unconditionally and that kind of love is hard to come by.
In other news: Ruby is signing more than ever. I can't wait until she speaks, but for now the signs have alleviated much of the frustration she has been feeling due to her lack of communication skills. Every morning she wakes up and the first thing she does is to run through every sign she knows as Dan and I narrate for her. She is clearly so happy to be understood. Her speech therapist reiterated what a smart child Ruby is. She has said that her receptive language skills are at or above age level...it's just the expressive language that has got her down.
Ruby has also been doing fantastic socially. She is far more comfortable with strangers as long as she is not in an entirely new setting/situation. One thing we have all noticed is that she is partial to men. My thinking behind this is that most of the nurses that Ruby has encountered are women. And (sorry to say it) but the nurses are the ones who do all of the "bad" things to her. The few men she has encountered in the medical system are doctors and their role from Ruby's perspective is to pop in a room after she's been molested by a nurse, talk to mom for 15 minutes, and pop out again. I assume this is why she is so much quicker to warm to men.
I am so worried that all of the progress that she has made socially will be destroyed in the next few weeks. We have a barrage of appointments coming up in June, with an ECHO in two weeks :/ Although it is non-invasive it is frightening for Ruby and that is just plain awful. Anything that causes my kiddo discomfort or fear is bad in my book...even though I know it is necessary. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for everything to go smoothly, and for a good report.
Well, I had better go because I can hear Ruby fighting off sleep as Dan is trying to put her to bed. I'm guessing he'll want to be tagged out soon ;)
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