Ga-Ga-Ga-Gabe.

Anna's OT Alison called tonight to talk about Anna's upcoming IFSP meeting (her annual review of the therapy services she receives and where they decide if she will get an increase or decrease in the amount she gets) and we discussed the past year. It was amazing to reflect back on this year and see how far she has come. (Anna began Early Intervention exactly a year ago this day, pre-diagnosis.) I was telling Alison about this video we found of Anna saying "Dada" over and over again and how I was so happy we had it on video, because it was the last time we heard her sweet little voice say it.

The point of the story was a positive one, because we went from "Dada" to nothing at all to now, lots of babbling, especially at night, to effectively and consistently using YES and NO buttons. And to be completely honest, if Anna doesn't "get back" the ability to say "Dada" or ever says "Mama" I am really okay with that, because I see how awesome she is at alternative communication, and I would much rather her spend her speech therapies and ABA education learning ways to effectively communicate than practicing the same syllable over and over again, for four times at week at 30 minutes each. In the beginning we were working on "Ba" for 2 hours a week with a picture of a ball. This is no longer our goal, as Anna knows what a ball is and on top of that, what color it is. So what use is "Ba" for Ball if she can't express her basic daily needs? Point of the story: Look how far we've come!

So here comes the super cute part of the story...

Gabe was hanging out in the kitchen during our conversation and as I later found out, totally eavesdropping. Once I hung up the phone, I noticed the kitchen table had gone from clean and toy free to filled with Anna's favorite things.

"What's all of this?" I asked. In total sweet helpful innocence, he explains to me, "We are going to get Anna talking again... I'm going to teach her Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-Ace-Car. For race-car. That will be the first word. Then (holding up 2 DVD's) Moooooo-Veeeee. Then Pa-Rince-Sess. Then Jer-Raf. She will be an awesome talker."

I gave him the biggest hug ever and told him he was an awesome big brother, and that if he wanted to teach her these words, I am sure she'd love it. And if she didn't always say it back, she was at least learning new meanings and loving the time she'd spend with him. Gabe's response? "Well yes, of course Mom!"