Miss G's Birthday: Zippi's First Party

Zippi was invited to her first birthday party this month; her very special friend 'Miss G' was turning 5! Although Zippi is only 3, these two have alot in common and are great mates.

They are both the youngest girls of 5 children.

Tey both have a sibling on the Autism Spectrum

And they both have autism themselves.

They are gorgeous friends.

I'm so pleased Zippi has gotten to know someone who is alot like herself.

To say she was excited, is a HUGE understatement!

The party was for 2 hours, so I fed Zeeki and asked if Brett could watch him (we live one street away) so I could just go with Zippi. We were home in less than 2 hours as it turned out and Zeeki did beautifully.

I wasn't sure which way the party would go and wanted to be able to help her as best I could;

would she freak out at games and people or would she take it all in her stride?

I was thanking Yah afterwards that it was the latter ;)

Some snaps taken of Zip on our lawn in the special party skirt she had asked us to buy the week before especially for this party :)

{Zippi says when she looks at this picture... "hahahahaha Happy Face"}

{On our way walking to the party with some flowers especially picked by Zip for Miss G.}

{All the party girls doing craft together}

{The parents - all mates of mine- enjoying a cuppa and chat together}

{When it was time for Pass the Parcel, I realised that Zip had never seen this game before and therefore wouldn't know the rules and what was expected. I quickly explained to her what was going to happen and she did really well with it and enjoyed the game very much!}

{Miss G helping Zip unwrap her paper. When Liji went to a party by himeself many years ago (he hasn't been invited to one by himself since he was 4 and he's almost 9) he freaked out at some of the games. I couldn't work out then why he couldn't just 'get it' like all the other kids. His reaction was so over the top but looking back the poor kid didn't understand what was expected nor what the rules were. Now, I would do things SO different knowing how his brain works and would help him prepare much better. So obviously, I was really happy that Zip did so well coping at her first party}.

More happy party moments....

{Miss G holding the special birthday artwork that Liji had made for her}

I've included a heap of photos of the cake and things Chelle for you...

{The beautiful and happy Miss G!}

I'll be posting more Fiji photos too soon.

Have a lovely Shabbat and weekend ahead all x

It's All Too Familiar Ground Really

This could be any little girls' bedroom really.
But it doesn't belong to just any girls.
It belongs to my girls.
To two gorgeous girls.
My oldest and my youngest girls.



They are both treasures.
Both very different.
In fact, Zippi has been noticeably different for a while.
Proabably since she was about 5 months old.
But as I voiced my worries and concerns many people said, "I think you are being too overly sensitive" or "she'll grow out of it. Wait and see".

So wait we did.
And now we see.

There is definitely something going on with Zippi.

Our precious almost 3 year old.
Something that reminds us of feelings and days of old.
Something not dissimilar to the road which we walked with Elijah around the time he was diagnosed with Autism almost 5 years ago.

I've said it before but I will say it again.
Lovingly of course.
But if me talking about Autism is offensive to you, then this is not the blog for you to be reading.

'Cause you see this little girl?

This little girl who is one minute wanting to be held tightly in our arms and then the next minute not wanting to be touched?



This little girl who went round and round the circle following the pattern on this mat I don't know how many times saying the colours over and over and over again to herself...

Do you see this girl who often wants to be away from the crowd?

...and off in her own little world, talking to herself, humming LOUDLY, or quoting MASSIVE chunks of dialogue verbatim from random movies?

See this gorgeous little girl who one minute needs the adrenalin hit...



...and the next needs solitude, rocking herself in the rocking chair or hiding in the dark?



This little girl who 'looks so good though' to so many people and yet who we see slowly slipping away? The little girls who is obsessed 'has a special interest' in all things art...

in 'Sulley' (<3)...



...and has gone from just having to have one or two or three or four dummies with her (all to be held in certain positions) to now having to have certain coloured dummies in her collection and having them sit on her bed in a certain way with the teats all facing the same direction?

Do you see this little girl who is so rigid in her play that almost nobody can join in now unless it is on her terms, regardless of how many times we try and explain things to her calmly...

Well, we are fighting right now for this little girl.
Daily.
I am fighting for her to get appointments to see what we can do to simply help her; speech, occupational therapy, naturopathy and other.
We are reaching out to her and wanting to touch her heart.
We are fighting in every way we know how because she is SO worth the fight!



She may not have autism.
We don't know for sure.
We've been told that it does look like she 'fits somewhere on the spectrum' by practicioners but we are still awaiting official diagnosis.
Any why is that important?
Because to us, it is like we are knocking on a door trying to open it and see if behind it lie tools and strategies to help us reach our sweet daughter.
The 'label' gives us the 'key' to help us open that door.
That's what it did with Liji.
And we believe it will be the same for Zip.

Some people reading this may think I have said too much.
Believe me, I haven't told you even the half of it.
But I say ALL this for one reason only....to raise awareness about WHAT life can be like with a child who has special needs...whether they be a sensitive child, a child on the spectrum with Autism or Aspergers or anxiety.
Please don't judge us as we journey this.
Life's already hard enough. 

Despite all I have written, lest you think my life be filled with doom and gloom, please let me reassure you that it isn't!
Sure we face lots of challenges, but who doesn't?
It is also DAILY filled with her cuddles, words and joyous laughter.
She can be such a fun, caring and sweet little girl to be around!

And the best thing we have? Is the knowledge that the One who created our gorgeous Zipster knows ALL the keys to understanding her and helping her understand us.
He also made her perfectly.
He promises us that NEVER will he abandon nor forsake us and we have seen Him prove Himself faithful time and time again.
I am so thankful for His love and grace especially during these darker days.

If you think to pray for us, that would be great.
In the meantime, if this 'desk is unmanned' then you'll know why.
I'm off fighting for my daughter.

More another time,
Lus x

Zippi's First Date

We have a little coupon system that has been running for the past year and a half. I've been meaning to write about it so often but have still not got around to it. Anyway, last week Liji received another coupon and chose an ice-cream date out with Dad. Our kids are completely movitvated by the coupons and LOVE one on one time so much. It gives us a chance to connect in a deeper way and inspires them to reach the goals they are working on.
Anyway, Zippi was really upset that she couldn't go on the icecream date too. She was crying and Brett saw that she wanted some special time with him too.
He gathered her in his arms, whispered in her ear and immediately the crying stopped and was instead replaced by a nodding, smiling, very excited little girl!
He had told her he would take Liji on his own and then come back for her and they could go out together.
She was over the moon!
She doesn't do coupons just yet but why should she miss out? he thought.
So true to his word, he took Liji out (who was ecstatic to get this coupon which he'd been looking forward too) and then came back for miss Zip all dressed up and ready for her first big one-on-one date with her Daddy.
They went to our fam's fave cafe and when he asked her what she would like, she said 'hot chippies' so that's what they shared.
Just wanted to record that so I don't forget!
Very special :)

Toileting Milestone!

Lol! What a title!
Zipporah did her first wee on the potty tonight!
19 and a half months old.
I really think that EC (Elimination Communication) has helped her.
She sat down, made her 'wee wee' sound, hopped up and had gone!
Excuse this mama for being slightly excited over something so trivial...my little baby is growing up!
More another time,
Lus x

Two Words

Masked Lapwing...

nesting here...

Making meatballs...

Tip finds...

Clay play...

Printing Independently...

Mother's group...

Home bbq'ing...

Great copywork...

Happy drawing...

Loving learning...

Messy sleeping!

Ikea visiting...

Watching...

Family Fun!

 Painting together...

Big Bed!

Girls' room...

Man this time the challenge was more challenging than last time!
Ok so some other facts I want to include to remember with this post...

* The books at the tip were in a little room I found there where there is really good stuff that never actually makes it to the tip pile but the workers keep them aside. Anyone can come through at any time and take anything. Wow! All those books! What a blessing! And all in perfect condition!

* Ikea: we went down one arvo to see if we could pick up a bed :( but they sold the last one that day. Teach me to not ring first! The kids shopped the whole way with us + really enjoyed it. When we got to the end we let them go inside the kids area (they were the only ones there) and they loved diving into the ball pit especially! We sat and watched them and they had a play for about a half an hour and they enjoyed it so much. We went to mum and dad's and had dinner afterwards. Love the late closing times Ikea has. Makes an arvo trip down there worthwhile.

* Zippi has had one day sleep + part of one night's sleep in her new big bed (which we were blessed to get from Pete and Tiff when we went to hang out with them recently in Newcastle. So lovely of them to keep it for Zippi and it's special since it used to be little Lus'.) Brett painted the little sleigh bed white + we re-did Stass' room so it is now the girls' room. I might do a separate post another time showing before and after shots and how it is changed...maybe. So who knows how long it will take but over time, the girls will be in together. So sweet. Stass is sooooooooo excited!

Ok, well hope you might consider joining in the Two Words challenge with me! Thanks to all of you who joined in the first time. Hope you had fun!

Here is the linky box for you to add your name to once you have done your own Two Words post on your blog.



10 things I am thankful for today:

1. Hanging out with the Ab + Tob last night + having such great fellowship
2. Yahweh's amazing forgiveness!
3. Learning about Hebrew Roots + listening to the voice of God
4. Even though the masked lapwing is fiercely protecting the backyard because of the eggs, we have the undercover area where the kids can still go and play safely
5. Brett's prayerful leadership which I respect so much! So glad to have such an amazing companion to walk with on this journey of life. Love that I can share ideas, thoughts, new things with him + he prays about them + discusses them with me. It is a blessing beyond words.
6. Hearing Anth's voice on the phone the other night. Ah my friend, miss you so much.
7. The ministries of Eddie Chumney, Jim Staley + others as I learn. These have been such great places to visit + learn from.
8. Sunny weather
9. The boys having a filling each with NO needles! What a great dentist! He made them so at ease as they had their first 'work' done + the boys + I had a date lunch to celebrate.
10. A real move of the Holy Spirit on Sunday at church

Oh and if you are wondering how to vote this weekend + what the parties really stand for, you might want to check out THIS SITE HERE called Australia votes. When the home page opens up, look on the right hand side of the screen and there is a box with a number of topics listed. Each party was asked for their stance on issues such as justice, public christianity and the value of life. I'm not much of a political kind of person but I think it is important that if we are going to vote, that we vote with an informed conscience.

Well, many blessings to you + yours.
Love Lus x