A great day...

Today, simply put, was a great day. Ainslee and I did nothing until after she got up from nap at 5PM. Nothing as in, nothing worth leaving pj's or the house. During the day we played, read books, watched a little tv, played some more and then, the highlight of my day.... attempted finger painting with ear-to-ear-grinning success! She did really well and to think I had put her finger paints in a pile in her closet to give away. She did well! She needed my help to hand-over-hand finger paint with her but when I laid q-tips in front of her, she did some painting on her own. I promptly posted pictures and two videos on Facebook and texted pictures to family and friends! She hates to get her fingers dirty but she did it with no whimpering, no crying, no fuss- she was actually really happy about it and she sang to the tubes of paint afterwards (hello, she loves colors). I am so proud of her! This was her first successful painting experience at home but I give a lot of credit for it's inception to her teachers and therapists at school! They do painting and crafts with her almost constantly it seems (which I also love)!

Secondly, tonight we went to Petsmart to get the dogs new beds and some dog food. We let Ainslee walk instead of ride in the buggy. She did AWESOME and while it's second nature for her to reach for our hands when she's walking, we did let her go some and she stayed with us. If we told her to "come here" or "stay here" she listened well. She had moments of happy hopping and jogging away (particularly when she saw the different colors amongst the dog beds). She also had her first moment of pushing the shopping cart (and I must add that it had two dog beds and a 20 pound bag of dog food on it). She was over the moon with happiness doing it! I had to help her steer, but she did it! :) My awesome girl. There are also pictures of THAT on Facebook.

Also, day two into the 30 Day Mom Challenge was completed. Today was easy: Go the whole day without yelling. In general, I don't yell at Ainslee. I don't think it's productive and what kid wants to be yelled at? So, I was successful in today's task. :)

Overall, a fantastic day. It also ended after bath time with her curling up in my lap and letting me hug her. When I told her she could go tell her daddy goodnight, she said "no," remained curled up to me, and then just said "goodnight." I had to call Corey and he came into her room to get his kiss, poor fella. On the inside though, I was elated. I love that girl so much and even though her kisses are prompted and she doesn't say, "I love you," I know that she does love me.