Little McKayla is the second model for the Celebrating Differences calendar. With duplication of chromosome 16p11.2, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Turns out, she was an adorable three year old with the most stylin’ glasses. Isn’t she a cutie? But she almost ruined my perfect streak with kids. Thusfar, I’ve been able to tout my great kid skills. Usually, they really like me, but McKayla wasn’t so sure about me. She would not step foot onto my fake floor, so I gave up on that, but she still didn’t trust me. The first hour was spent either completely attached to either mommy or daddy or giving me the stink eye. The only word I heard from her during this time was a very soft, “noooooo” whenever I asked her anything. “You want candy? Do you like your doll?” Anything resulting in the same response.
So nothing was working. Big brother and the cousins were unsuccessful in getting her to smile and relax. Offers of Smarties resulted in only her holding them and nothing else. What to do?! Well, inspiration struck. While she did not want to eat the candy, she thought it was a great idea to feed them to her brother. Slowly, smiles emerged, and after every Smartie she fed her brother, she would look to me for a high five and more.
After that, McKayla was my friend. The downpour had stopped, so we decided to head outside just for a couple minutes to try for some lifstyle pictures. At this point I experienced a different problem. Now she wouldn’t let go of my hand as we marched through the grass and to her swing. It was a good problem to have.
Thank you, McKayla for being such a delight!
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