Summertime Progress

Whitney is out of school for the summer and getting into new kinds of trouble.  Melanie and I are usually pretty prepared for most things.  It's when she's doing new things and progressing that she sometimes gives us mischievous surprises.

The first of these has been taking showers.  Not the kind where we help get the water ready and help her get clean.  I'm talking about the kind where Whitney sneaks into the bathroom when we're not looking and turns the shower on herself while she's fully clothed.  She's done this a couple times in the last few weeks.  And by the time Melanie can get to her, Whit is usually soaking wet and smiling about what she's accomplished.  I don't think we mind the interest in showers too much, but it'd be nice if she could learn to take her clothes off first.

But there's progress on that front too.  Melanie has been working with Whit to teach her to take off her clothes at bedtime.  She's made the most progress with her shirt.  We know this because Whitney has taken to running around the house topless.  I'll be sitting someplace reading and she'll wander by with no shirt, sporting a proud smile.  Melanie finally got fed up one day and told her to go find her shirt and put it back on.  To Mel's surprise Whitney disappeared and returned a few minutes later wearing her shirt again.  She'd followed instructions, found her shirt and put it back on all by herself.  Mel says she kind of teared up for a moment just thinking about the accomplishment.  Special needs parents are so good at savoring the small victories.  Who cares if her shirt ended up inside out and backwards?