Christmas morning every day!
Watching her brother and sister take part in a sack race over Easter, it didn’t occur to me that Maisie would want to join in. I guess I thought she was too young? Well she went straight over and got into the sack and started jumping, the biggest smile on her face! During Toms sports day we were all cheering him on. His class were doing the tug of war and once they finished, Maisie ran over to lift up the rope and began to pull. She wanted to join in with the next big group of boys so I had to hold her back which wasn’t easy as Maisie is very strong! She got a chance to join in at the end with everyone and was delighted with herself. The kids have been having water fights in the garden during the hot weather recently and Maisie doesn’t hesitate to get stuck in, her aim has become pretty good and her dad and I have to duck or run away. It’s great fun to see all three kids getting wet and having fun, preferably watching from a distance!
Every child is different and when it comes to sport I wasn’t sporty as a kid. I had zero confidence and if I tried a team sport I’d give it up soon after joining. Introverted, I preferred lone sports such as cycling and later on in life swimming. I couldn’t even muster up the courage to swim a length of the pool as a youngster, settling for a width and remembering the embarrassment I felt for a very long time. It fills me with joy when I see the confidence Maisie has to give these things a go. I hope she will have buckets of self confidence in all aspects of her life. She is enthusiastic and curious about new things but she can also be shy in new settings or in larger groups but that’s typical for many children. Maisie is starting ballet in Septemberand I reckon she’s going to love it as whenever we collect her sister, Maisie says “me?”. At Evie’s ballet show recently Maisie copied the moves of the dancers on stage which was so cute. When she noticed her brother wasn’t clapping she told him to clap! Maisie is also a natural at yoga but we’ll stick to doing that for fun at home☺️ Swimming lessons also beckon which no doubt she’ll love and I’ll hate! She even had a go at bowling at her cousins birthday party and whilst she was uncertain about the noise levels she kept saying it was her turn!
Maisie is supposed to wear glasses all the time. She’s generally great at wearing them in school but it can be a challenge at home and if she gets fed up wearing them she throws them off. She was on the toilet the other day and I left her to it (sometimes now she’ll go by herself, closing the door and letting me know I’m to stay away!) Upon returning she had just put her glasses down behind the radiator and there’s no way I would have found them had I not walked in when I did.
This is Claire, one of Maisie’s teachers at her preschool which she attended for the last two years and has just graduated from. It’s a school for children with disabilities run by the charity St. John of God and Maisie has attended part time. This year she started ECCE and attends her local Montessori which she also loves and in September she will attend it full time for one year and start primary school afterwards. Her time in Cork St as we call it has been hugely important in helping her communication and gaining independence. The teachers are incredible there and she has loved going. Maisie made friends and loved all the messy play, working on her speech sounds along with trips to the playground, cafe and library. They even had a therapy dog Mojo visit monthly. I will miss the service but feel so very fortunate that Maisie benefited from it.
Summer holidays are in full swing now and it’s lovely to watch the kids having fun together in the garden, and witnessing Maisie’s vocabulary improve every day, turning words into sentences, how proud we are of her. The girls have been singing Christmas songs and it’s July but with the long bright, warm days I’m happy to go along with that.