Fall Update--Kaiya

I have not been the best at blogging consistently lately, so here is yet just another update post....

I can't believe it is December 1st already. Fall just flew by. Kaiya is LOVING Kindergarten and LOVES Miss M. Unfortunately, there hasn't been as much progress as I would like in other areas. Kaiya's Kindergarten year had started off really promising. Not only was Kaiya talking to Miss Maxwell, but she was in the same class as the 2 children in preschool that she talked to. I was really hopeful about the progress Kaiya could make. The school has been helpful, and Miss M. and I are in communication on different strategies to try to help Kaiya, but Kaiya has hit a bit of a plateau right now.

I guess I should be grateful, because at least she isn't acting out like she was at the beginning of last school year. It's hard though because right now I feel like she's really digging her heels in on anything socially.

This school year has been rough for me. I guess I really thought that because she started speaking to her teacher face-to-face, this was the breakthrough that was really going to get everything else going. I naively thought that because she was talking to Miss M, we would easily be able to transition into talking to the rest of the class. After all they were just kids.

Now it's December. She's talking to 4 kids total, though 3 of them she was already speaking with, prior to the school year starting. I truly am grateful with the progress she's had, but I'll be honest, it's been hard.

I feel like I've been doing everything I possibly can, but in the end, I can't do this for her. It's her choice and her trial, not mine. That's hard for me because I'm such a control freak. This has been going on for two years, and sometimes I really feel overwhelmed by all the effort that goes in to trying to get her to talk. I think this fall I've had somewhat of a lack of faith where this is all concerned and have let myself get really discouraged about it---which is not a great thing, especially since I've seen first-hand how Heavenly Father has helped her and blessed her. So while I've been down a bit this fall about this situation, I am finally stopping the pity party I've had, and going forward with faith. I know that she will be able to overcome this. It's just going to take time and I need to be more patient then I've been.

Because I'm with her all the time and see the cute, spunky girl she is at home, I sometimes worry that she's going to miss out on all these great things in life. It's hard to stand by and see all the great potential she keeps bottled up and hides so no one can see them. I had a bit of a turning point in my attitude the other day though. The other day for Family Home Evening we were talking about the things we were thankful for and she replied that she was grateful for Heavenly Father because she prays to him to help her so she won't feel so nervous and he helps her. It was then that I thought to myself, "So if one of the blessings of this trial is that it gets her to truly turn to her Heavenly Father in her times of need and she gains a testimony that her Heavenly Father loves her and answers her prayers then everything is really going to be okay."

We recently had her parent/teacher conference at the school. It was nice to talk to her teacher, Miss M., and hear all that has been happening at the school. I've been so focused on everything that's been happening socially, progress she's making socially, coming up with ideas to further her progress socially, that I admit, I haven't given the slightest thought about anything academically.

It was so nice to hear how well she's doing academically and in this realm, she truly can let herself shine. It's nice to know that she's having confidence in herself in something. She's doing great, loves to learn, and is super sweet. She is loving "publishing" books and has published 3 so far. Miss M says she does great at writing in her journal, has put some Magic Tree House's and Cam Jensen's in her reading box, which Kaiya's super pumped about.

Jared and I came out of the conference feeling like Kaiya was in very good hands. I love that school and it's been such a blessing to have her there.

Outside of the school realm, Kaiya is taking ballet again and also taking piano lessons for the first time. Ballet is going great. She still loves it and loves her teacher, Miss Andrea. They are having a winter recital this weekend so I'll for sure post pictures of it. As for piano, Kaiya LOVES it so much. So far she thinks it's the best thing ever. She loves her teacher, Heather, and I will find her consistently playing on her keyboard and practicing. When we gave her the keyboard for her birthday, she was so excited to open the present because it was a huge-looking gift. When she opened it, she was like, "A keyboard?!" in a not-excited, slightly disappointed, tone. It's nice to know that I was right in my hunch that she would like piano. I guess time will tell though, as most kids like piano to start off with and then slowly but surely, hate to practice and quit. We'll see. All I know is that she is loving it right now.

Hooray! I'm caught up with one kid on the ol' blog. 2 more to go and then I'll be updated so I won't spare you all with boring update posts!