Apologies and an update
I've been incredibly busy of late. I started up a new business and I've been going a little nuts with it (but it's doing well, in case you cared). I have therefore been updating things only sporadically.
Well, I'm doing an update now.
Zoë starts school next week. Most kids are going back this week, but Zoë's school is staggering the new kids entering and so she doesn't start until Monday.
She's very excited about school. She keeps getting her new school clothes and putting them in her backpack and then saying, "I go to school today! I ride a bus!" I think she'll be perfectly happy to ride the bus back and forth, she seems pretty happy with the idea.
She also announced to us that when she goes to school, she's going to play cricket. She volunteered that in a conversation where Nanna was asking her what she'd do at school. Nanna suggested painting, reading, eating lunch, and Zoë added, "And play cricket!"
Her speech is improving constantly. She can answer questions now with "yes" or "no" if she understands the question, and she'll often volunteer information on various subjects (such as "That's my spoon" or "No want cheese").
I'm, frankly, looking forward to getting her in school. Not only will it be good for her, it'll be good for me to get the time away from her. It'll be good to have her come home in the afternoon and for me to be happy to see her because I haven't seen her all day! (I know that probably sounds like I don't like being with her, but that's not quite it; she's just a very exhusting little person, and with this new business, I'll be able to make good use of the time).
So that's the deal with Zoë. She's doing well, behavior is generally pretty okay, speech is constantly improving, and she's very excited about riding the bus to school.
Scientific brain linked to autism
Highly analytical couples, such as scientists, may be more likely to produce children with autism, an expert has argued.
[...]
Other research has found both mothers and fathers of children with autism score highly on a questionnaire measuring autistic traits.
(Let's see, Zoë's dad is a computer scientist and I'm a general all purpose geek... yup, seems to fit the pattern...)
A Conversation with Zoë
(Yes, I know I haven't written in too long; the holidays really take it out of me. When I'm so inclined, I"ll write up an entry on Zoë's holidays and how she handled it all. But in the meantime...)
Zoë: Where's Unca David?
Me: Where is Uncle David?
Zoë: He's gone a Canberra.
Me: That's right. Uncle David lives in Canberra.
Zoë: I go a Canberra.
Me: Yes, one day you can go to Canberra. Would you like to go there on holiday?
Zoë: No. Not holiday.
Me: Why not? Don't you like to go on holiday?
Zoë: No. No holiday. Go a shops.
At which point I burst out laughing, because basically she was saying that she'd rather go to the shopping centre than go on holiday, and given the amount of driving we did on our last holiday, I can't entirely say I blame her!
And then, a while later:
Zoë: Need a dwink a water.
Me: You need a drink?
Zoë: Need a dwink. Have a huckups!
(Note: that'd be "hiccoughs" or "hiccups" or however you want to spell it, but I knew what she meant; I didn't realize she knew you should have a drink of water to help stop them, though!)
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