THE GIFT

 

 
It’s that time of year again when children are busy writing letters to Santa . The Elves have been working hard all year to produce all sorts of wonderful toys. Actually it would appear that Santa’s elves have now moved with the times and display their wares in Catalogues and t.v. commercials, nevertheless it is still a time of excitement and anticipation and the build up to that very special day is just as important as the day itself.

My 6 year old Granddaughter Natalie has already chosen the gift that she would like Santa to bring her. Even when she was too little to express an opinion, it would still be easy for Santa to know what she wanted based on her age and ability.  When she was a toddler she was still able to point out a ‘Santa’ in a shopping arcade and get excited about the Christmas activities, despite the fact that she may not have fully understood the Christmas Story that was performed each year at playgroup, nursery etc.

Christmas for Natalie’s 3 year old Sister Jessica is a different matter. Due to her global developmental delay and the fact that she is non verbal, Christmas can become quite a challenge. Not for her to be honest but for us. The challenge usually begins with the gift.  Because of her developmental delay Jessica’s abilities to play with certain toys have always been limited. It has never been as straight forward as giving her something for her age group. Another problem has always been (and still is) the fact that Jess puts everything in her mouth. It’s a sensory thing and is not unusual but it does mean that everything she is given has to be able to be chewed or sucked safely, no small parts that could be choking hazards, no ‘dodgy’ paintwork or things that could come apart in her mouth. No, Santa definitely has his work cut out.

Last year saw me looking longingly at the little doll’s pram in the shop window, just right for toddlers who were now walking.  Problem was Jess was not walking.  I remembered how my girls used to love their baby dolls and playing Mummies, they would spend ages talking to their ‘baby’ and pretending to feed and change it etc. 

Jess has a baby doll.  She spends ages chewing it’s hands or feet. 

Last year, despite the fact that Jess was 2.1/2 I limited my search to buying things for her that were for children less than half that age and had resigned myself to the fact that this was probably how it was always going to be and thinking that Mr. Fisher & Mr Price should both get Knighthoods.

Awkward conversations arose with shop assistants as I would stand for ages staring at a display:-

“ Can I help you?”

“ I’m just looking for a present for my Granddaughter”

“ Oh lovely. What age is she?”

“two and a half”

“That’s a lovely age isn’t it, they are into everything and want to copy Mummy. How about this lovely dolls buggy, complete with parasol, or perhaps the little rocking crib to put her dolly into, it comes complete with bedding and is just right for a little girl of that age”.

“ Erm no, it’s not that simple, she doesn’t walk, she was born with….actually I will leave it but thank you anyway”.

By then I would have beaten a hasty retreat out of the shop tears stinging in my eyes. The poor shop assistant wondering what she had said that was wrong.

Back to the baby shop.

As you may be aware from previous blogs changes were afoot. Jessica once again proved the Specialists wrong. After learning to crawl she then began to pull herself up holding onto the furniture or anything else that was handy. Soon she was cruising around the furniture, still holding on but getting more confident by the minute. Now, months later she has gone from strength to strength and walks independently from room to room. She now stands without having to hold on to anything.

There is a lovely picture at Jess’s Nursery of her standing painting in front of an easel. She has always loved doing things that are ‘crafty’. Painting, play dough, you name it and the messier it is the more Jess enjoys herself. You can tell when she has been painting at Nursery and what colours she has used, as despite their best efforts to clean her up before home time, she still manages to get the paint in her hair, ears and other places. 

She has a unique style which involves putting the loaded paintbrush into her mouth and then daubing this over the paper or anywhere else she can get it! Very often she will abandon the brush altogether (except for a quick chew of the end every now and then) and just go full on into the paint with her hands. The paint combined with excess dribble creates a most unusual but somewhat pleasing effect and if the ‘artwork’ I have seen on display in the Tate Modern is anything to go by could well be viewed by critics as something quite exceptional in years to come.  Mummy & Daddy would be well advised to keep these little masterpieces somewhere safe for future generations to admire.

Painting at home involves covering as many surrounding surfaces as possible with plastic tablecloths or similar and then letting the budding artist get to work in her chair with the tray attached.
 

THE ARTIST AT WORK

            
Now the time had come for presents to be given once again and you could say that I had a bit of a ‘light bulb’ moment.  Actually given the time of year perhaps it was more of a ‘fairy light bulb’ moment!  Anyway it came after picking Jess up from Nursery recently and being told how she had loved the activity that morning as it was painting. This was quickly followed by an apology about the blue paint that they had just noticed was still in her hair, I was still chuckling about that on the way home when in a flash of inspiration I knew exactly what to get Jess for Christmas.

The next day the scenario was quite different:-

“Can I help you?”

“ Oh yes please I would like to purchase an easel, it’s for my Granddaughter”.

“Oh how lovely. This one is really good, it has a blackboard on one side and a whiteboard on the other and if they want to paint there is a clip to attach the paper. How old is your Granddaughter? This easel is only recommended for use by children aged 3 years and over.”

“She will be 3.1/2 at Christmas”

“No problem then, this will be the perfect gift for her”

“Yes, this year it will be”.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

The stars were shining brightly in Edgbaston, Birmingham on Saturday 16th November.  I am not talking about celestial stars, but stars of the swimming world. 

As referred to in my last post Thankful Thursday Natalie had been shortlisted to receive an award at the Kellogg’s ASA Swimtastic Awards 2013.  This is an event held yearly to congratulate and recognise outstanding participants from the swimming world.

The day started early with Natalie and her Mummy Emma getting ready to travel to Birmingham and to check into their hotel.  A room had been provided for them so they could stay overnight.   Natalie as you can imagine was very excited.

Once they had checked into the hotel a coach was waiting to take those invited to take part in an exclusive ‘swim with the stars’ event at a nearby leisure centre. Here they had the opportunity to swim with some of the UK’s top swimming stars both Olympic and Paralympic.  There would also be photo opportunities and autograph sessions.  Natalie’s Daddy Ben went along to this with Jess as they wanted to see Natalie swimming and enjoying herself.  

Unfortunately, Jess was not altogether happy on the poolside.  As you can imagine it was very noisy with lots of clapping and cheering and air horns were being let off at times, which Jess found quite upsetting.  Children like Jess find it hard to cope with noisy environments as they cannot understand that it is nothing to be scared of.  You cannot explain to Jess what is going on.  Fortunately Ben did manage to see quite a bit of the activities before leaving to bring Jess home.  

It had been decided not to take Jess to the evening’s festivities.  For one thing she would probably have had issues with the noise again and also as she is fed through her gastrostomy button during the night whilst asleep, keeping her up late just means that she does not get all of the fortified milk feed which she needs.  The other thing was that to take Jess would have meant having to give Jess a lot of attention and this was Natalie’s night and she deserved it.
Nanny Joan and Granddad Noel had very kindly offered to look after Jess in the evening so that Ben, Emma’s Sister Sarah and her Husband and Hubby & I could go and watch Natalie receive her award.  

The Gala Dinner was held at Edgbaston Stadium.  Upon arrival we were greeted with champagne (always a good start to an evening) and then we were called into the main hall to be seated for dinner before the ceremony began.  Whilst sipping on my champagne I noticed Sharron Davies on one side of the room happily chatting with guests.  

The dining hall took your breath away.  The tables were decorated with stars and lights and the whole room was bathed in blue and purple light.  Our table was right at the front which was brilliant and each one of us had a place setting which included a programme and a very cute pink duck!  One of the lovely things about the evening too was that various Olympians were sitting amongst the guests at the tables.  We were joined at our table by Katie Clark and Vicki Lucass who were part of the GB Olympic Synchronised Swimming Team.  They were lovely girls and very good company.



We had a lovely three course meal.  For the past week one of Natalie’s front teeth had been wobbling precariously, during the soup course it decided to fall out!  Natalie was fine about it, but it meant that on all photos from now on she would have a lovely ‘gappy’ smile.

Once the meal had been concluded it was time for the award ceremony.  Our host for the evening was Steve Parry, Athens 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist.  He was a brilliant host and had everyone laughing.

There were three awards for each category, Bronze, Silver and Gold and there were 12 categories covering all aspects of swimming related activities. 
When the time came for the Fundraising Award we were on the edge of our seats, although Natalie had been shortlisted we did not know for definate that she would be getting an award.  I am both pleased and proud to say that she was awarded a Bronze and as you can see from the video below went up to collect her trophy like a true ‘pro'

The night went by all too quickly the awards being followed by a disco.  Emma & Natalie were staying overnight at the hotel courtesy of Swimtastic and there were coaches on hand to take them there.

Within the modern Olympic Charter I believe are these  words “The practice of sport is a human right. Everyone should be able to play sport without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”  We should all do the very best we can in life and help others to do the same.  

During the award ceremony we heard of people from all walks of life and of all ages who had lived up to these words.  We heard of people who had overcome their own personal difficulties to achieve their goals and of those who had given up their time to help and encourage such people.  It was a truly humbling experience.

So a big THANK YOU to Kellogg’s, ASA and all those involved in putting together such a wonderful event.  To the athletes who gave up their time to swim with the nominees, sign autographs, have endless photos taken and took time to talk to people and answer their questions.  You are true Ambassadors for sport and the spirit of the Olympics. 

Last but by no means least, an even bigger THANK YOU to all the truly inspiring people who were nominated for these awards.  You were the stars that evening.


Oh yes, there was another magical thing that happened that evening.  The Tooth Fairy came to Natalie & Mummy's hotel room whilst they were both sound asleep!

Charity Award Winners

Proud Mummy & Daddy