A natural.

My daughter that is. She's a natural. I love my daughter and think she is stinkin' adorable and often sweet, but I also see all those moments that most people don't. Therefore, while I'm not completely biased, I just don't ooh and ahh the same way strangers often do.

Today is my prime example. We went to take part in a study offered to families with children who have had trauma at a young age. Generally these are kids who have had surgeries or hospitalizations. But can even include kids who have been in accidents. So the idea is that you screen them before they reach school age, and figure out if there are any developmental things before they get into the school system and start having problems there.

So we started out with a 1.5 hour test. I didn't know until the end it was an IQ test, but looking back it all made sense. Abbi had to answer a number of questions, connect the dots, draw lines, play with blocks, etc, etc, etc. She did incredibly well. I think she was partially interested to see what was to come, as the psychologist was incredible with her and really got her excited about what they were doing. But I also think she just adored all the attention. I mean how often do I give her a high five for building a stack of blocks or drawing a straight line?

I just sat on the other side of the room. Keeping quiet. Although I'm sure some parent's can't keep quiet, and I had a few moments where I wanted to jump it, but I was so impressed with how well Abbi held her own. A lot of the questions were fairly simple, such as, "I am an animal that says meow, what am I?" Abbi obviously got that was a cat. But they also were a bit more abstract as well, such as, "What is a shoe made out of?" Abbi thought about this and said "A shoe is made out of colors and Lighting The Queen." (Yes, that says, The Queen, not McQueen). She was perfectly describing a pair of Gabe's shoes. Not sure if that scored her any marks on the test, but seriously...um, rubber, leather, man-made materials? Who actually knows what shoes are made out of? My favorite answer was when he asked her "What does polite mean?" Abbi replied, "Not talking rude." We were both laughing (the psychologist and I, but trying to hide it at the same time), and he said, "Hmm, I wonder where you got that from."

Abbi also met with a nurse practitioner. She assessed Abbi's motor skills, balance, eyesight, and she even had a full hearing test done. We were taken clear across the hospital to a sound proof room. I've never had a hearing test, so I was thoroughly impressed. On one side of the window the audiologist sat and could speak to Abbi through her ear buds. She was supposed to raise her hand when she heard a sound. I think she was far too pleased with the idea that a bird was chirping in her ear, so she kind of forgot the raising her hand part. But he said he could just tell by her facial expressions that she could hear it as a huge grin would spread across her face. Too cute.

The nurse practitioner works directly with Abbi's heart surgeon. She could not get over Abbi, and repeatedly said, "She is such a delight." At one point she said, "This girl is too adorable. She is destined for the television." Ha, ha. I'm not sure we have a child star on our hands, but I can definitely see her in drama/theatre when she gets older! So this woman was so pleased with Abbi, she is going to try to arrange a meeting with Abbi and the surgeon. Obviously they've somewhat "met" in the past, but I'm not sure Abbi was in her most lovely state, and I'm sure he sees so many children. She thinks it would really warm his heart to see such a happy, healthy child that he has been able to help. I think its a fab idea. Not to mention my cousin and I have a pretty serious crush on the heart surgeon, namely his fab pair of pants he wore during Abbi's stay. A pair of fitted, pin-stripe, dress slacks. Yup, they were great pants. We still talk about them...over a year later!

It was a three hour appointment and took a lot of brain power on Abbi's part. She held up amazingly. With these studies you never really know if its worth your time or effort or blood (or whatever else they might be asking for). Believe me, once you have a heart child, you get asked time and time again to be involved in studies. I'd say this is the 4th or 5th one we've been involved in. Some I would not repeat, but you live and learn. This one not only helped them to see the long term prognosis for kids like this, and possibly identify problem areas as they grow, but it also gave me so much peace of mind with Abbi.

The nurse practitioner was obviously very enthusiastic about Abbi, and it just so warmed my heart. To hear someone else, a professional even, beam about your child and tell you all these lovely things about them. And to have someone explain behaviors that you see as problem behaviors, but put them to you in a positive light. Gosh. Honestly, I left that building beaming and nearly crying out of joy. It was just so what I needed to hear.

I know your Mom should be your biggest fan, and I wouldn't say I'm not Abbi's biggest fan, but I'm probably also one of the biggest critics in her life. I see the ugliest of the ugly. I'm the one putting up with the tantrums. I'm the one getting spoken to by the preschool teachers, repeatedly. I'm the one telling her not to kick or push her brother...again. So today was just such an encouragement to me. Not like Abbi is now perfect in my eyes, but I think it also gave me a better understanding and more grace.

Couldn't we all use a bit more grace? And perhaps give a bit more?
I'm all for a Grace Revolution.