We've been busy having our best summer to date, so updates have been few and far between - I'm sorry. ..but I'm not! As some of our friends have pointed out, Addie really blossomed like never before this summer, and we couldn't be more proud of her. Lots of fun outside - which she just loves this year - playing in her wading pool, at the water table, with bubbles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. We're working on slides, swings, and tricycles (being pushed, not self propelled.. yet!). Slides and the tricycle, she likes in small doses but swings are firmly on the do.not.like.list. Bless! She's a control freak like her mama. ..sorry, sweet Addie! You come by it honest.
So, here's the update:
Weight: 28+ pounds!
Height: She's grown so much these last few months! She's officially 3 feet tall! She's absolutely all little girl now with lanky legs. ..no more toddler. *Insert sad mommy face*
General Health: Since our 5 day hospital admission in early May, she's stayed pretty healthy! We've had one pretty annoying summer cold that grounded our fun for a few weeks in July, but otherwise, thanks in part to (hopefully) a stronger immune system and probably in larger part to her parents desperate fears after the May hospital stay, we haven't had any major problems **knocking on wood as I type**.
General Health: Since our 5 day hospital admission in early May, she's stayed pretty healthy! We've had one pretty annoying summer cold that grounded our fun for a few weeks in July, but otherwise, thanks in part to (hopefully) a stronger immune system and probably in larger part to her parents desperate fears after the May hospital stay, we haven't had any major problems **knocking on wood as I type**.
PT/OT: So, last time I posted, we were asking for prayers for the transition to our new outpatient PT / OT. ..and we LOVE it! Jones Therapy has been a great fit, and we love Mrs. Andrea and Mrs. Helen. We've stepped back from working on major movements in PT to doing lots of core work. Apparently a large part of her struggles with balance and coordination all root back to weak muscles in her legs and core.. so, yes, we're now doing toddler "squats" and "lunges" every day in addition to stretches for those pesky tight hips. We're also working on coloring on an upright, flat surface to increase arm strength and flexibility. She's doing better than expected in OT, and we actually had to re-evaluate her a few weeks ago because she had met so many of her initial goals with Mrs. Helen! Go, girlie, go! **Since I started this in September, we were loving Ms. Helen (OT) but since I'm just finishing this in mid-October, Ms. Helen has moved to another facility, and we're increasing PT to every week, which is probably how often we need to be doing PT anyway. Gross motor skills are our biggest mountain (besides eating). We'll restart OT once a replacement for Ms. Helen is hired.**
All of that being said, gross motor is still a huge struggle for us. A lot of that has to do with increased tone in her legs and decreased core strength, but another big player in this is her cautious nature. Granted, who can blame her for being a bit cautious after what her sweet body has been through in her short 3 years, and also based on how her body processes movements like falling (not well)… it's just a very real physical and psychological struggle. I can't even tell you how hard she works in therapy and at home every day. ..she does more squats that her mama does, that's for sure! And she rarely complains or pushes back… Love that attitude, sweet girl!
Speech: First, language - She's doing so, so well! So many words, real sentences, and easier and easier to understand. She learns new words every day, understands possessives, male / female pronouns (he / she, his / hers), and is starting to use some past tense with her verbs (sometimes correctly!). We're working on personal pronouns (I, me) and less 3rd person (I go home vs. Addie go home). So very proud of her and our little conversations! I think toddler language is my favorite thing EVER. Just the way she phrases or pronounces things. ..LOVE! Her go to right now is "Be done!!!!!" which she says emphatically when she's over something "Be done FOOD!" "Be done ca' wide (ride)!" "Be done b'ekfast (breakfast)!", etc. etc. She also calls everyone, even if she knows their name and has used it before, "people", as in "Hi, people!!" to her therapists or "Mommy see people!!!" to get me to look at friends we're at the zoo with. She knows their names!! She's used their names before!! She uses the right name for every cartoon character she knows, but real life people besides me and Philip are just "people". Love.
Second, feeding - She's doing so, so well with this, too!! Something clicked with her as far as being willing to eat and with me as far as how to plan her meals / feedings / snacks and how to approach them. I think a lot of it had to do with a less rigorous therapy schedule this summer (we cut back on a few, moving them to every other week, thanks to insurance changes) and with my being able to just focus on her this summer and nothing else. Put all of that together and she's gone from eating 5 - 10% of her calories to nearly 50% of them on days we stay at home and focus on eating! That's right. ..some days she actually has eaten half of her calories. ..by mouth!!! Seriously. ..HUGE.. .HUGE! Don't get me wrong, the struggle is still very real, and we have mountains to climb, but this progress has been amazing.
Eyes: Her eyes still look pretty good!! We had a check up a couple of weeks ago, and the alignment actually looks better than at her last check up - woohoo eyes!!! The vision in her left eye is off a little based off of her eye exam / dilation, so. …we got glasses!!!! Just when you thought she couldn't get any cuter. ..this happened! BTW - she was old enough to start "reading" the eye chart (symbols / shapes) this time around.. .seriously, she's just growing up! She's done amazingly well wearing her glasses so far, and we're a week into them now. At first she thought I had officially lost it, and gave me the strangest looks. Turns out she thought I was having her wear her "sunglasses" indoors now. Ha! "Mommy, sunglasses off???" Love.
Hearing Aids: Aids are a thing of the past, for now! Her left ear is considered "unaidable", and her right tested normal on her last ABR, so out with the hearing aids and in with glasses! If it's not one thing, it's another, but hallelujah it's not both at the same time!
Addie loves: Water! Whether it is the bath tub, water table, pool, or the ocean, she loves the water. Now that it's cool outside, she's just not sure why we can't pull out the water table like we did all summer. I see more baths in our future to pass the long winter days! She loves life. ..I don't know how else to put it. Everything is exciting and fun and often hilarious. She just loves life. .. and people! She loves seeing her "fwiends" when we can, her grandparents and her aunts and uncle. She is a non-stop ball of energy! She loves to run and just explore moving her body. She loves trying to "jump" which is a work in progress, and she loves rolling on the floor, laying on her stomach, bouncing around and walking "low" (kind of scrunched over, knees bent, which gets you some interesting looks at West Town Mall on a Monday afternoon. ..). She is obsessed with all things Disney character, but especially Minnie and Mickey and Daisy. ..and Donald, too! She is starting to tell little stories about Sheriff Callie, Mickey, Minnie, and Little Einsteins. ..it's just adorable!! She is a master of the iPhone and iPad. ..parenting fail, maybe, but she's learned a LOT (like how to count and most of her alphabet) from those apps. She loves exploring at the farm, visiting the goats & horses are a huge favorite, and throwing rocks. ..which is hazardous because more often than not, they go backwards or straight up and straight back down. ..*sigh* I guess it's a gross motor victory but we may need to buy hard hats.. .
This Month Addie DOESN'T love:
Diaper changes OR the potty. I tell her it's either or, but both elicit screams and kicking. ..She's not quite ready for potty training, but we're getting closer…maybe next year. Woohoo! She doesn't love going to bed or saying goodbye to friends / family. Tears generally result if we actually see someone pull out in their car. Eating consistently. Some meals are pretty awesome, others are just a disaster.
All of that being said, gross motor is still a huge struggle for us. A lot of that has to do with increased tone in her legs and decreased core strength, but another big player in this is her cautious nature. Granted, who can blame her for being a bit cautious after what her sweet body has been through in her short 3 years, and also based on how her body processes movements like falling (not well)… it's just a very real physical and psychological struggle. I can't even tell you how hard she works in therapy and at home every day. ..she does more squats that her mama does, that's for sure! And she rarely complains or pushes back… Love that attitude, sweet girl!
Speech: First, language - She's doing so, so well! So many words, real sentences, and easier and easier to understand. She learns new words every day, understands possessives, male / female pronouns (he / she, his / hers), and is starting to use some past tense with her verbs (sometimes correctly!). We're working on personal pronouns (I, me) and less 3rd person (I go home vs. Addie go home). So very proud of her and our little conversations! I think toddler language is my favorite thing EVER. Just the way she phrases or pronounces things. ..LOVE! Her go to right now is "Be done!!!!!" which she says emphatically when she's over something "Be done FOOD!" "Be done ca' wide (ride)!" "Be done b'ekfast (breakfast)!", etc. etc. She also calls everyone, even if she knows their name and has used it before, "people", as in "Hi, people!!" to her therapists or "Mommy see people!!!" to get me to look at friends we're at the zoo with. She knows their names!! She's used their names before!! She uses the right name for every cartoon character she knows, but real life people besides me and Philip are just "people". Love.
Second, feeding - She's doing so, so well with this, too!! Something clicked with her as far as being willing to eat and with me as far as how to plan her meals / feedings / snacks and how to approach them. I think a lot of it had to do with a less rigorous therapy schedule this summer (we cut back on a few, moving them to every other week, thanks to insurance changes) and with my being able to just focus on her this summer and nothing else. Put all of that together and she's gone from eating 5 - 10% of her calories to nearly 50% of them on days we stay at home and focus on eating! That's right. ..some days she actually has eaten half of her calories. ..by mouth!!! Seriously. ..HUGE.. .HUGE! Don't get me wrong, the struggle is still very real, and we have mountains to climb, but this progress has been amazing.
Eyes: Her eyes still look pretty good!! We had a check up a couple of weeks ago, and the alignment actually looks better than at her last check up - woohoo eyes!!! The vision in her left eye is off a little based off of her eye exam / dilation, so. …we got glasses!!!! Just when you thought she couldn't get any cuter. ..this happened! BTW - she was old enough to start "reading" the eye chart (symbols / shapes) this time around.. .seriously, she's just growing up! She's done amazingly well wearing her glasses so far, and we're a week into them now. At first she thought I had officially lost it, and gave me the strangest looks. Turns out she thought I was having her wear her "sunglasses" indoors now. Ha! "Mommy, sunglasses off???" Love.
Hearing Aids: Aids are a thing of the past, for now! Her left ear is considered "unaidable", and her right tested normal on her last ABR, so out with the hearing aids and in with glasses! If it's not one thing, it's another, but hallelujah it's not both at the same time!
Addie loves: Water! Whether it is the bath tub, water table, pool, or the ocean, she loves the water. Now that it's cool outside, she's just not sure why we can't pull out the water table like we did all summer. I see more baths in our future to pass the long winter days! She loves life. ..I don't know how else to put it. Everything is exciting and fun and often hilarious. She just loves life. .. and people! She loves seeing her "fwiends" when we can, her grandparents and her aunts and uncle. She is a non-stop ball of energy! She loves to run and just explore moving her body. She loves trying to "jump" which is a work in progress, and she loves rolling on the floor, laying on her stomach, bouncing around and walking "low" (kind of scrunched over, knees bent, which gets you some interesting looks at West Town Mall on a Monday afternoon. ..). She is obsessed with all things Disney character, but especially Minnie and Mickey and Daisy. ..and Donald, too! She is starting to tell little stories about Sheriff Callie, Mickey, Minnie, and Little Einsteins. ..it's just adorable!! She is a master of the iPhone and iPad. ..parenting fail, maybe, but she's learned a LOT (like how to count and most of her alphabet) from those apps. She loves exploring at the farm, visiting the goats & horses are a huge favorite, and throwing rocks. ..which is hazardous because more often than not, they go backwards or straight up and straight back down. ..*sigh* I guess it's a gross motor victory but we may need to buy hard hats.. .
This Month Addie DOESN'T love:
Diaper changes OR the potty. I tell her it's either or, but both elicit screams and kicking. ..She's not quite ready for potty training, but we're getting closer…maybe next year. Woohoo! She doesn't love going to bed or saying goodbye to friends / family. Tears generally result if we actually see someone pull out in their car. Eating consistently. Some meals are pretty awesome, others are just a disaster.
Prayer Requests:
- Continued progress in her gross motor skills - running, stairs, jumping, and overall balance are biggies on our list right now.
- Feeding progress. She is eating SO MUCH more than she was even 6 months ago. ..but there's no consistency. I feel like we need another big break through to become a true "eater"…we're so close but still so far away.
- Health. We're headed into another cold / flu / RSV season and now there's enterovirus which is incredibly mean to kiddos like Addie. ..so, we're looking at staying in more than we get out for yet another winter. Every year we think it's the last super scary / stay in winter. ..and then it's not the last. **Let me add, this is pediatrician / pulmonologist endorsed caution, not an unhealthy fear of germs on my & Philip's part. Trust me, the fear is real, but as recently as a pulmo visit last week, she encouraged us to stay away from anyone with cold / allergy symptoms, any type of cough, and at the first sign of congestion to start breathing treatments and bring her in. This is serious in our world.** Pray for health and sanity.
- Wisdom as we continue to look for new ways to help her as she grows and develops, especially within the constraints of sick season.
Happy Fall!!
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