Horses in the Mail

I told you earlier about how Haley started a new chart so that she could buy Daylight merchandise when her money was All Gone.  Well, it didn't last long.

One day this summer Haley came to me all excited and wanted me to follow her.  I did.  She took me to the desk where her laptop resides and she showed me the horse that was on the screen.  She does that sometimes.  She shows me Schleich horses and I say things like "That is a pretty horse." or "That is a Palomino."  or "What color is that horse, Haley?"  

We talk about the horses.

This particular day something new happened.  Instead of being satisfied with our usual banter Haley reached out and tried to grab the horse that was on the screen.  I wish I had known that she was going to do it so that I could have captured it on video. (yeah, right)  

Anyway, I know that she didn't think that she could pick up that horse off of the screen.  She was making a point.  And, when people are trying to make a point they will often repeat themselves.  

Haley did that.  

She tried to "grab" the horse again.  Then she looked at me in a way that said "I want that horse right there and I want it now."  I saw all of that on her face.  She didn't say it, of course.  What she did was walk over to the refrigerator and point at the chart and say "Money."  

See I told you she was smart.

So, picking up her hint, I said "Let's see.  The horse that you want is $5.99 and you have $15.00 on your chart.  So, yes, you have enough money that you could buy that horse."

She got that.

So I said "Are you sure that you want that horse?"

"Yeah."  she said.

"OK, then I will order it for you."

Then I sat down in front of her laptop and I clicked the button to put it in the cart.  Immediately after I did that I realized that it was probably a bad idea.  I thought that if I showed her how to buy a horse online I might have trouble down the road.  So I changed gears and said "Just a minute, I am going to buy your horse on my computer."  I left the room and went to fire up my laptop.  I found the site that she was shopping on and I found the horse and then I put it in the cart.

Then Haley came and got me again.

She showed me another horse that she wanted on the the same site.  I said "OK, you can get two horses, but that is all you have money for."  

She said "Two.  Horses." 

I said "Yes, just two horses."

She pointed to another horse.

I said "You need to pick which horse you want."

She looked for a bit and then pointed at one of the horses.  I said "OK, that is the horse you want?"

"Yeah."

So I went back to my computer and I found the other horse and put it in the cart.  I entered all of the shipping and payment information and then I asked her to come and look at the cart.  

"These are the horses that you want, right?"

"Yeah."

"OK, I am ordering them now and you will get them in the mail in a few days."

"Yeah."

So everyday she was very interested in the mail.  We were very lucky, they came quickly.  She was so excited when her horses arrived in the mail.  We opened the package and gave them both names.  They were her favorite horses for a couple of weeks.  She took them everywhere.  They even got to go to Yoga with her. 

Instead of starting a new chart Haley wanted me to write words on the Magic Whiteboard.  We wrote words like Grandma and Grandpa and tractor ride and marshmallows.  A week or so went by and then one day I asked her to help me take out the recycling.  She got up and came in to the kitchen and pointed at the white board on the refrigerator door and said "Money?"  

I said "Yes, I will give you money if you take out the recycling."

"Horses."

"Yes, if you earn enough money you can buy more horses."

"Yeah."

I think I have created a monster.

~ Haley's Mom

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.