Enjoying

Right now, with Jenna, I am enjoying:

• her laughing at me when I do something stupid  (usually done to make her laugh-- I do what I want)
• clicking wars (click your tongue, it's fun) 
• the way she says "huuuh?" when I say something completely ridiculous that even I don't understand
• learning to communicate and tell the difference between "ma" and "mma" and "maa" and "mamamama". Believe me, they all mean very different things.
• the way she says "yes please" when she really wants something
• the fact that she thinks its funny to jump on my back in the pool and watch me sink. (folks, she's heavier than I am...if she decides to jump on me, I'm going down. She jumped on me today, so down I went. Good thing I can squirm myself out of her arms and swim away if need be)
• the constant battle over the tv. 
• the way she gets all shy and adorable when I tell her she looks pretty or that her hair clips look nice.
• the way she pulls Molly (her dog) in close to her and exclaims "cute, cute"

There's times working with Jenna brings me down and there are times when working with her can be really frustrating. But overall, I love working with Jenna and I am proud of myself for sticking with it- even when there were weeks when I was leaving every day in tears. The good and fun times we have make up for the bad ones, and the good times are increasing more and more and the bad ones are slowly but surely decreasing. I think these last 3 weeks are going to be really fun and I am ready to fully embrace and enjoy them.

And today, I got my first hug. 

( If you have been around people with autism, you know that's a pretty big deal. )