Friends

Ayden Jane has done a great job at school. She is hilarious at home. She has a terrific little personality. She is active and adorable and her speech is getting more clear. Still, the nuances of making friends are difficult. I see some of the other little kids in her class clearly having some friendships. Of course, not all of them... Ayden Jane has seen her classmates out and about in town and she has no idea what to do with them. It is hard to put a finger on.

Huge changes are afoot in this area. The other day we were at McDonalds (yes, but honestly she only eats the apples!) playing in the play place. A set of twins from her class were there and she went and really played with them. I mean, reciprocal conversations... It was the coolest thing I have seen!

This past weekend at the soccer tournament Ayden Jane played a lot with her friend Lilah. Yes, her friend. Lilah is Jen's (PT) youngest daughter and she is just a few weeks younger than Ayden Jane. So she is a friend because our families are friends. Many times we have gone to the playground or zoo or where ever together and the girls have played near each other. Lilah is definitely ready to form friendships and very capable of pretty much everything. It was so cute to hear her ask AJ to play with her. She wanted to play tag and hide and seek.... It took a little doing, but AJ did pretty well with it all.

In the end, I think all of us, whether our kids have added challenges or are as gifted as the day is long, mostly just want them to be happy. To have good friends who truly accept them for who they are. Just seeing glimpses of Ayden Jane being able to play games and converse WITH her friends makes my heart happy.