Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Oh Yes, They Call Her "The Streak"

Lily is now in her fifth week of occupational therapy and is finally starting to get more comfortable at the new clinic.

In fact, she may be getting a bit too comfortable.

Typically, when we pull into the parking lot of the clinic, the Bird starts fussing and making it quite clear that she does not want to be there.  Really, this isn't unusual for any kind of kid simply because it's something new and unfamiliar to their regular routine.  I knew it wouldn't take Lily long to settle in and realize that OT isn't so bad.

So when I pulled into the parking lot yesterday morning, I was really excited to see that not only did she not fuss, she got out of the car very willingly and just happily walked inside, holding my hand.

The therapist led Lily back to the gym area and I breathed a huge sigh of relief, thinking we had finally turned the corner.  I felt fairly confident that it would be a good session.

You'd think I would learn.

Those feelings of confidence usually come back to bite me in the... ahem.... fanny.

Lori brings the Bird out to me after the hour is up.  With my voice full of hope, I ask, "Sooooo.... how was it?"

Lori smiles sweetly and says, "Welllll...."

This is not a good sign.

I just dropped my head into my hands.  I say, "She came in the door so nicely.  I just knew today's session was going to be good."

It turns out that Lily is acting like a typical kid and is testing Lori.  I can just hear the little voice inside her head saying:

"Well hello, Lori.  You're new around these parts, right?  So what are you going to do if I run away from the art table?  Or if I eat the crayon?  Or if I jump off the swing as soon as you turn your back?  And if you ask me to do something I don't want to do, I'm going to throw a tantrum.  Ooooo - doesn't that scare you?? You don't want to make me cry now, do you???"

Lily just wants to make sure that Lori has boundaries and that she isn't afraid to enforce them, even if Lily throws a tantrum.  If she just sticks to her guns, Lily will give up and cooperate.  Or at least, for a little while.  She'll continually test off and on just to keep Lori on her toes.

So this is pretty much how the Bird does everyone.  Not much new information there.

But then Lori managed to surprise me.

It turns out that Lily is engaging in a new behavior that she evidently saved up just for OT - and this is where the too comfortable part I mentioned above might be coming into play.

Let's see... how can I put this?

It appears that the Bird decided a fun distraction from participating in therapy activities would be to quickly yank down her shorts and Pull-up and take off running at top speed around the gym.

Nice.

My child is a streaker.

And this did not happen just one time yesterday but three times.

Of course, seeing the reaction of the therapist is what makes this activity the most appealing but tell me - how are you not supposed to react to a naked child running around a gym??

I'm telling you -trying to stay one step ahead of this child requires some serious brain power and creative thinking.

My solution?

I'm off to the outlet mall today to purchase some overalls for the Bird.

Wonder if I can write these off as a therapy expense....

8 comments:

  1. One of your girls is knitting mad, isn't she? If she makes clothes for the Bird, I'd like to suggest Whit's Toddler Overalls. It should be very easy to enlarge to small kid size. They're seamless, and very comfortable. I've made two pairs - one with soya yarn, the other with cotton, and the pattern's original yarn is flax, so just about any soft natural fibre should work well. They're a quick, easy knit and it's a very well written pattern. I just put something mindless on the tv and knit round and round and round until it was done. :D

    http://www.purlbee.com/toddler-overalls/

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  2. Love it! She is so smart and creative! :)

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  3. You've got to give the girl props for creativity. I mean, every kid has eaten a crayon or two right? - and what's original with an ordinary escape??? This girl is a genius I say and to throw in the flawless entrance too??? Give the Bird an Academy award!!!
    Thanks for your great attitude (even on the harder days) and for sharing daily chuckles with us. I look forward to reading your blog each and every day - yup, I'm a fan!

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  4. iamshadow - Love, love these cute overalls! You are correct - I do have a daughter who is "mad for knitting". I plan to show her these tonight and offer her a little cash incentive to knit them! :) Thanks for the idea.

    Kristin - Yes, it's cute, because it's MY kid! How about if Connor dropped his pants to get out of doing homeschool?? Would it be so cute then?? :)

    Darla - I agree, she definitely deserves the Oscar for her performance. Thanks for your sweet words about the blog - it's fun to hear them!

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  5. Oh my. Yes, I could definitely see the Bird and the Little Miss together now... God how they would raise cain together!

    @iamshadow -- I'm gonna bookmark that overall link too -- ADORABLE!

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  6. Mom2LittleMiss - We must never get them together! Unless we leave them with a sitter and you and I go get pedicures.... Then they can wreak havoc to their heart's content and we'll never know. Of course, the sitter will more than likely never babysit for us again.... but oh well, it's worth the risk! :)

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  7. Hi, I had to come check out your blog after seeing you on Karla's. Love this story! We have to put our little boy in overalls (with special buckles I added to the back) to sleep for a similar reason. :)

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  8. I am laughing! Oh, and I have to say, being able to take off a Pull-Up and shorts is a nice demonstration of OT skills. Max is working on that.

    So I just have to ask, as you did not include this information: Does she take after her mama?

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