Miss Independence continues to wow me. She knows what she wants and she’s all about ordering me and anyone else around. This weekend she was pretty close to me after I missed most of Saturday due to a work meeting. Today was a perfect example about how Jordan is growing.

While her brother was playing at a friend’s house, she and I spent some time outside. It wasn’t warm, but you can feel Spring trying SO hard to emerge. I sat down when Jordan walked up and said: “Hold my hand.” Then she pulled me all around the backyard. She wanted me to play in the house tent, she wanted me to watch her run… Whatever it was, she made sure I knew it.

A tricky side of this independence thing is the lack of sidewalks in our neighborhood. Jordan doesn’t want to hold my hand so we’ve compromised. She knows she MUST stay on the curb or else she MUST hold my hand. But that hand holding must be instigated by her or she puts up a fuss. It’s SO two-year-old. Oh and when she requires me to hold her hand, I MUST hold her hand with my left hand. She will not allow me to cross over and hold her hand with my right hand. She’ll say: “No. This hand.” So particular.

I know I keep writing about it, but the way Jordan has taken to the stairs is still awesome to me. She’s also starting to really put together the ABC’s song, Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle and of course, Elmo’s Song. Every time I try to get video of her singing, she stops. I have to figure out a sneaky way to catch it.

I’ve watched Jordan move more and more into a very stubborn mode. It’s standard with a two-year-old. The funny thing is it doesn’t make me mad most of the time. It makes me proud.

That stubborn attitude finally has her WALKING UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS BY HERSELF! I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it has not been a skill she could do on big, traditional stairs. She doesn’t have to have a railing. She’s just holding onto the wall if she has to.

Makes a mommy pretty darn proud.

Then there was swim lessons tonight. Oy. Half of the time she would say: “No kicks! No pull! No swim!” She did kind of jump in the pool twice with my guidance – from the edge of the pool, deep down under the water and back up. She came up both times spitting water and feeling excited and scared and a bit clingy all at the same time. She did give high fives to her teacher so I guess that means she felt like those jumps were an accomplishment. It was great hearing her teacher talk about how it was cool to see how Jordan can do anything any other kid can do. Yup. She sure can.

I put Jordan in a really cute outfit today… But her arm was too wide. The wrist was a bit to wide. The dress never really fit properly. She did wear her arm all day — She did all week except Monday. She’s amazing.

Today Jordan stepped up on a stool to get water from the water fountain. She used her prosthetic to help her pull herself up. It was sooooo cool to watch her do that on her own. I just stood back and watched her try and try and try. Then she even stepped back down all by herself. She’s finally catching onto steps! I’m thrilled.

So I did two things today. First, you clearly got to this blog because you noticed that I changed the URL for this blog: bornjustright.blogspot.com
I decided that as my site gets more activity, I should transition out of a URL that includes our last name.

I also asked for special treatment for Jordan for the first time ever. Of course I’ve asked Jordan’s care takers to try to pay attention to her therapeutic needs, but I’ve never demanded that. I’m just lucky to have teachers who love Jordan and who are willing to put in the extra effort. But as she starts walking and gets better at new skills, she’s going to need a few helpful things. So I’m trying to plan ahead. When Jordan gets bigger and moves to the bigger kid room (around 18 or 19 months), she’s going to start going down stairs. At her school, there is only a kid-height railing on the left side when you’re going down. That isn’t very helpful for a right-handed only child. So I asked the owner of Jordan’s school to consider putting a kid-height railing on the other side. I realize this is a change that is solely for Jordan’s needs. But I did talk about it with a couple of teachers and they think it would be helpful for all kids. I still felt a little funny asking.

The semester is wrapping up and my students are FLIPPING out. They have the majority of the class due by this Monday and the Monday after that. Many of them have waited until the last minute. It’s ugly, it’s unfortunate and I’m exhausted thinking about it. I also found out that I didn’t get a provost’s teaching award for the second year in a row. I’m disappointed because I put my heart and soul into my work. I’m also disappointed because we could have really used the money that came with the award. But I’ll plug on, keep working hard.

Here’s a little slideshow of Jordan’s week-by-week pictures for the year so far.

A day “airing out” Jordan’s little arm didn’t really help get rid of her heat rash. So I put some cream on it before bed time and I hope it helps. I’ve been obsessively cleaning the prosthetic, so I know that’s not the reason behind her rash this time around.

The day ended with Jordan seeming more like herself. I can’t see any teeth poking, but I may not be looking in the right place. I do know that she’s madly in love with her brother and the dogs… They make her giggle the most. And honestly, she could sit outside all day and giggle manically and say “dog” again and again and again. I have to get video of the laugh. She has two kinds: hysterical laughter (from tickles and outright silliness) or mischievous laugher (from seeing things she likes or doing something she’s proud of).

Oh and one other thing. Without her prosthetic, my girl climbed up 5 stairs all by herself. It’s cool and scary all at the same time.