The hallmark symptom of RS is this persistent hand wringing. It’s been described as a hand washing motion, but I don’t know how ‘they’ can call it that. It so is not. What the girls do with their hands is so individual to the girls. Some clap, some roll and rub, others constantly mouth their hands. Some keep them separate in their habits, others bring them together. For Grace, it’s the obsession with her hands that causes the most frustration when it comes to photographing her. But also some smiles. For every one photo you see of Grace looking at the camera, there are 40 of her licking her hands, running her fingertips across her lips, rolling her fists around like she’s picking a fight (eeeeey wise guy).

I really do love her little hands, though. They’re pretty useless. She doesn’t do anything with them. But I’d venture to say that they’re one of the greatest joys of her life. Her best little friends. Because they’re so often tightly gripped into a ball, her little fingers are a bit bent. They’re so delicate and soft and they always smell good from constantly being in her mouth. She still has that sweet, fragrant newborn breath and it makes her hands smell sooooo good.

Although her hand habits get elevated when she’s anxious, stressed or upset (that’s when she bites her hands and arms in frustration), her hands are also a sign that she’s happy. The happier she is, the more fervour goes into those fingertips as they brush across her lips over and over and over and over and over and…