Dear Kim and Karli,
This afternoon, when we attempted to get Tessa to walk across the room, she turned to John and said “No Daddy, stop it.” Clear as a bell. I’m sure I’m supposed to be annoyed by this, but I bet you can guess that we just burst out laughing because it was a speech victory in our minds!
Later, Little Miss Carnivore asked us to take away her half-eaten brownie and for us to give her more broccoli. We worked for so long on getting her to eat a real fruit or vegetable and look at her now, preferring the broccoli!
We owe so much of what she can do to the two of you. She has come so far… from that little lump of a baby who took an hour to drink a bottle while laying on her side to now happily joining in our full family mealtime, veggies and all. She is going to start preschool with lots of words and signs to communicate her needs. And she’s going to rock it!
Neither one of you have ever used the word “can’t,” nor have you ever predicted anything about her based on Down syndrome. You have never told us that she just does something because of her diagnosis. You have treated her as Tessa, a little girl with as much potential as anyone else.
We are so blessed to have worked with both of you. Thanks for giving us so many tools to help our girl, and for being so supportive of our family. I know that Tessa put you both through the ringer sometimes… especially you, Karli, once we put “persistence through non-preferred tasks” into her ISFP. LOL! I know she can be quite the character during her sessions. You both have just been lovely to spend time with. The new littles that you work with are so lucky to have you.
Thanks so much for everything,
Maggie
Normal (messy) family meal time….
Yo soy La Lay 
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