“6-7 Boy!”

Colbie turns 7 today, and she has LOVED reminding us that she was 6 turning 7 throughout the year with “6-7 BOY!” And the more it annoys her teenager siblings, the more she will say it. If you count with her, you will also not easily get past 5 without a very enthusiastic “6-7!” I will sort of (sort of) miss this, now that we move on to 7- 8 this year. Though I also imagine “6-7” will still be said regardless.

Basically, the latest trends and songs don’t go unnoticed by Colbie, which is something else I love about her. She doesn’t ever want to watch movies, but can quickly identify Elphaba and Glinda, sing many songs from Wicked and K-Pop Demon Hunters and is the first to enjoy a cute AI puppy video on Instagram. We had no intention of letting her watch IG reels except her own Care for Colbie channel upon her request, yet somehow she discovered the “for you” page and will now request to “scroll.” And the algorithm definitely knows what Colbie likes, and the sillier the better. This started even when she didn’t have the physical coordination to do so, so how could we say no when there was a clear fine motor skill motivation? And it actually did help her gain more! So yes, our little spit fire now quotes many trends from social media and is keeping up with the teenage lingo in spite of all the things they said she wouldn’t do. Presume competence ya’ll because they told us she wouldn’t speak and while she is impacted in MANY ways by KAND, she will be the first to tell you “I’m capable.”

Colbie has always loved joy and continues to answer “How are you?” with “Happy!” 99% of the time. No, she isn’t always happy, and she has her hard, screamy moments too, but she truly loves to have a good time, be with family or her favorite sitters, go to school (thanks to her amazing teacher, paras, and therapists), and for the most part never complains about her limitations. What upsets her most is a lack of pool time and fun when it’s just not possible.

Colbie is very much a 7 year old. She will tell us “I’m not a baby.” And this is easy for us to see, but not for everyone and I know she is eager to try to prove herself and her independence. Cognitively, physically, and emotionally it can be hard for her to “keep up” but that is never from lack of effort. Anyone who knows her, knows she is as self-motivated and determined as they come. She also has mastered the age appropriate and irritated “uh” at the end of words like “no-uh!” “why-uh” and “okay-uh.” 😉

In some ways she may seem younger to some because of her cognitive and physical disabilities, but knowing her as well as I do, I see how her desire to do more also makes her seem older at times. How many 7 year olds insist on flossing (with help) and washing hands? Anything she can try to do on her own, she will request. I adore this about her even if sometimes it’s hard to explain that ice skating may not be an option for her birthday this year. Colbie doesn’t care that she can’t walk, why not try to ice skate? And yes, we will be working on finding a way to make this happen too!

Sass, sweetness, stubbornness, charm, and a true “I can do it” mindset bundled up with an innate ability of comedic timing is how I would describe our girl at this age.

A few more of my favorite Colbieisms:

Commonly heard:
- “What ya eating?” We can’t get anything past her. If you eat something and then go in her room, she will know. So don’t even try to pretend you didn’t just eat that cookie.
- “ASHHHH Toy room!!!” Because she adores time with her big sister every day.
- “Ask Daddy” if I say no to something, ha.ha.
- “GRACE!” – a favorite sitter along with others that she loves dearly. To Colbie, sitters are one on one fun and we are so thankful for these ladies
SOME of her favorite things to do in no particular order:
- Playing with Barbies and babies
- Singing: Current favorite songs include, but not limited to “No Scrubs” by TLC, and “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Credence Clearwater Revival, “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, and many more
- Bathing- she is known to take 2-3 a day upon request, Swimming, Splashing- anything with water. This has not changed over the years.
- Beach- also a constant
- Hanging with the dogs, bossing the dogs, loving the dogs, sneaking food to the dogs
- Sliding, swinging, crawling, “yoga,” walking with walker, trampoline, moving however she can.
- Snuggling momma, playing with daddy
- Playdates with her buddies Theo, Max, Grayson and Charlie
- Ipad- especially the annoying baby doll show that I won’t mention here.
- Shows: Playtime with Tor, Caitie’s Classroom, Ms. Moni , Sing King Karaoke, and Watching Colbie Videos or I did It! Kids (the channel we created) on the TV
- Coloring, painting, etc.
- Hippotherapy, OT, Speech and PT- thankfully she enjoys each one so much even still thanks to her amazing therapists
Favorite foods: macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, strawberries, and desserts of all kinds

I could go on for days about Colbie’s personality about how honored I am to be this girls mom, but I’ll stop there for now. KAND and all of it’s impacts are a reality we face daily, but today is Colbie’s 7th birthday and a day we talked about all year long and she deserves to be celebrated, so that is what we will focus on today!