Hannah Loves Me Now

"Hannah loves me now, Mommy!"  That's what Abby said today.  Abby has always naturally looked up to Hannah and wanted to play with Hannah.  It has been so heartbreaking to watch Hannah these past few years completely ignore Abby, her little sister.  In fact, when Abby came around Hannah would leave.  Abby is little and unpredictable and hyper so I understand that.  One of my dreams as well as every mother's dream is for my children to love each other.  I want them to be friends when they are old.  I want them to learn to be gracious and forgiving toward each other while they are young.  Hannah's Autism has definitely changed how we deal with sibling relationships in our home.  What are we suppose to tell Abby when she says, "Hannah won't play with me. Hannah doesn't love me.  Hannah's mean.  I wish we could give Hannah away."  All of those statements communicate Abby's pain and frustration.  Enough about that.  Here's Hannah hugging Abby today...melted my heart!! As you can see in Hannah's eyes, there is no anxiety, she is really hugging Abby and not just appeasing us with a quick lean into her.     

Here they are again at a restaurant tonight. Abby could not get enough but by this time Hannah was done for awhile.  

Ok, by no means does this constitute that loving relationship that I dream of for them, but hey, it's a start!  They are sharing a room now because Abby wants to be with Hannah (we have an extra bedroom if anyone wants to come for a visit!).  They fight and also even negotiate and compromise in their own way, for instance tonight they traded stuffed animals because Abby wanted Hannah's shark and then Hannah took the shark back but didn't give Abby the elephant and this went on for a few minutes.  They worked it out.