An encouraging day in the life of Jordan :)

Timothy is amazing me with his speech - both the extent of his vocabulary and his ennuciation. I can't decide if it is that he really speaks that well of if I have become so used to figuring out what Jordan is saying and the length of time it takes her to learn words that Timothy seems ahead of the curve or if he really is. The other option is that we have become so accustomed to translating Jordanese that Timothy seems to be talking early :)

Yesterday was one of the days that in a twisted somewhat frustrated way I was amazed and proud of how far Jordan has come. First after telling her to put her boots on five times as she wandered around with one Dora boot on in her hands I went down to the landing to help her - no other Dora boot.
"Jordan - where are your other boots? - I think you went downstairs when you came in last night"
"yes - they right there" points down the stairs like duh mom!!!
Seems like no big deal right? - except she was trying to follow my directions, had actually located her boots on her own, had determined she wanted to wear different ones AND was looking for them herself, and then clearly understood and communicated her answer - even with age appropriate duh mom inflection!!

After school both boys were napping and I suddenly realized it was WAY too quiet. She has taken to coloring in her bed (sometimes actually on paper - not the sheets and walls) so I wasn't too concerned but I had a nagging feeling I had seen her go in the bathroom. Sure enough I opened the door and got hit full force with the smell of nail polish. Scary part - the glass had broken either when she had tried to open it or it had fallen out of the cupboard- no cuts thought! The encouraging part - Jordan was sitting on the counter (where the girls sit when they use nail polish) and had actually only gotten nail polish on her nails (and some of the surrounding skin) - but not all over herself OR the bathroom!!!!

Later that afternoon when JJ came home we got in a large debate/discussion about how much money I owe him and what he is going to spend it on, donate etc. Let me remind you he is a 12 year old. He is a great kid and I have a wonderful relationship with him BUT he is 12 - and he is as argumentative as his mom. Which I personally quietly like because one of the reasons we have a great relationship is that we fight everything out - everything gets discussed to the end so there are no lingering hurt feelings! Anyway - back to the fact that he is 12 - it was not a quiet conversation. Jordan was sitting quietly on the couch next to me taking it all in. She has some interesting reactions when she knows I am upset with one of the kids or when one of them is upset. (The other day when Jessi was upset and crying, Jordie came over and gave her a huge hug then said, "all better?") Jordan watches the interaction and then picks a side - once when I was upset with JJ for being to physical with his sister, she jumped in shaking her finger at him, telling him "no hitting sisters!!"

But back to yesterday - finally she looks at me and announces "no more talking" and goes over and climbs on JJ's lap.
I cracked up and said, "I can't talk to JJ any more?"
"No - you talk to Jordie - no talk to JJ"
"But JJ and I are talking about his money"
"JJ - you spend daddy's money!, Mommy you talk to Jordie now"
"Okay Jordie"
"JJ okay - you give him daddy's money, he give money, all better"
"that will solve it?"
"Nyah (Jordanese for yes)! You tell Jordie - Jordie talk JJ - no more mommy talk to JJ"

I actually think she was trying to tell me that she didn't want JJ to be upset any more so I should talk to her about it instead. This conversation went on for a little while - which had both JJ and I in hysterics. But more than that I was amazed at her involvement. I have seen all my kids defend each other at different times but rarely does Jordan get it enough to defend anyone - it was awesome to watch her go over to protect and comfort her big brother - who, by the way is her idol!! Also as much as she misunderstood the conversation at the same time she did pick up on a lot of it as well and the thing that blew me away is that she was trying to problem solve. She actually got the concept of cause and effect when she was a baby which was great since it is the early stages of problem solving, and she has always had a high level of motivation and determination to solve physical problems - how does that block get in there, how can I get this shirt on, etc. But this is the first that I have seen her try and work through an abstract problem and communicate her thoughts. I'll take it!!!

And the icing on the cake - she thinks JJ should spend Daddy's money not Mommy's!!! She knows where the money comes from in this house - which again - great that she has picked up on - and I have no intention, even if she understood, of explaining any of it more thoroughly to her!!