Sophie’s Story: Four Years Old — The Things I Want to Always Remember

It’s been about a year since Sophie finally began using words to communicate her wants and needs. I can still remember so clearly those first few words she spoke in the early days of last fall. I remember every day the activities we did were made into speech therapy. I remember putting together puzzles and practicing SO hard for the simplest of sounds. And I remember success. I remember so clearly taking walks in the evening as a family, working so hard on her sounds.I remember the first time she uttered a two syllable word with a changing sound — “Micah.” So sweet. We practiced that night after night walking around the neighborhood with the kids in the stroller. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the reality that she spoke that word, “Micah,” last October, and now she’s speaking in full sentences! I am so proud of all the progress that Sophie has made in this last year. It is truly miraculous in my eyes, and I am so thankful that her journey with apraxia has been so different than I imagined. God has been good to my girl, once again.

I realize how quickly time is passing, how fast she is growing. And I want to remember these sweet days, the things she likes to tell me now that she has the words to do so. I wish I could capture these things in exactly the way that she says them, because it’s so precious. Like basket is ‘bakset,” and want is “nant” and some of her ee’s and oo’s slide into aa’s — like “I’m saa funnaay!” like an old Italian man. Pull ups are “pup-ups” and spaghetti is “skabetti,” Animals are “amisals” elephants are “ephanants.”
She loves to tell me “I don’t nant to!” and “I need hep!” or “PEEEEEEASE!” when she really wants something. Recently she’s also started saying “I nant to do dit all by maself” which is really actually sweet to hear after so many years of dependence.

When I ask her how school was, she tells me, “Good. I payed [played] at the sensaddy [sensory] table and the block adeeda [area].” Or, “I payed wiff ma fiends [my friends].” Or, “I ike Misses Pool.”

To her brother she says, “I nant a turn peease,” or yells, “MIIIIICAAAAH!” when she’s mad at him for stealing her toy. And in the good moments, she reminds him, “It’s ok. It’s ok. Jesus uvs you.”

She runs into the kitchen when I’m cooking and says, “Hey Mom, watcha makin for dinna?” And when I answer her, she responds, “It’s gonna be so nummaay! I’m gonna eat it all up!”

Most of all I love to hear, “I uv you so much Mom. I nant a hug and a kiss.”
These are my sweet memories of my four year old Sophie, growing so fast she’ll soon be five. I can hardly believe it. There will always be difficult days, days where the differences get the better of me, and the sadness creeps in. But when I step back and gain perspective, when I take it one day at a time, I know these days are precious and I treasure them in my heart.