We wish you all a merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Happy Friday!
It's been a very long week with Angel being sick and dealing with the ups and downs that come with potty training so when I was handed a copy of Sweet Pea's latest testing results, I was more than a little nervous. Did I want to read them or should I put them in a drawer until the new year. If you know me, you know that I can't put them in a drawer so as soon as I got home and got the kids settled I pulled them out and pulled out the last test to do a comparison. This test puts age equivalents to Sweet Pea's skills in a variety of areas. It's sometimes extremely heartbreaking to read because while I know that Sweet Pea is delayed, seeing how delayed right there in black and white is rough. There are often times when I am surprised by how far behind she is in a certain area, but I'm often pleasantly surprised by how well she is doing in another. This time I was thrilled by most of what I saw! This was called the discharge report, but since she has three more months until she turns 3 I'm a little confused by that. They tried to explain it was due to the holiday, but even still it seems a little early, but oh well.
The specific report they did was the Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP). "This is a non-standardized assessment that examines seven domains of development: regulatory/sensory organization (self-regulation capacities and a child's capacity to perceive and organize various sensory experiences), cognition (mental processess related to thinking, remembering and reasoning), language (expressive and receptive), gross motor (whole body movements such as crawling, walking, jumping, and climbing), fine/perceptual motor and finally self help (oral motor, dressing, feeding, grooming)". Here are the results from the previous test and the current test:
Just writing that out made me question a few things in it, but overall I am extremely proud of how hard Sweet Pea has worked these past few months.
One of the things that gets me frustrated is that she has finally started to sleep better and I wonder if that has anything to do with how strong she is developing in so many areas. I know I do a lot better with sleep! The only two things we changed were 1) putting Angel in the same room as her and so Sweet Pea had to learn to sleep through crying 2) giving her Nexium at night instead of in the morning. I wish I knew if either of those were the magic bullet for her sleeping better, but as long as it continues I really don't care.
I need to try to get the data behind these numbers on Monday as it seems that some might not be completely accurate. For example, in the 28 mth results she was intact on fine motor foundations except for the bilateral and midline skills which would typically be in the 8.5-12 mth range. From what they explained to me last time that meant that she had met all the skills (except for the bilateral and midline) up to the 28 mth level. This time it says she is intact with the exception of grasp and prehension (which I just looked up in the dictionary as "The act of grasping or seizing") which is listed as 23-25 mths. Did she regress? If she was intact up to 28 mth before (except midline/bilateral), how is she now missing this other area?
This is good practice at trying to understand the tests and trying to figure out what they really mean since I'm told I need to learn to do that when it comes time for IEPs. I have a lot of learning ahead of me, but I do enjoy most of it. It's fascinating learning about development! I just wish that my child's education didn't depend upon it!
Now for some random pictures...
The girls are having fun playing together these days and I can't adequately express how much joy it brings me to watch them.
Christmas Parade with Grandma and Grandpa. We are surprised Angel survived as she had 102 fever and was doped up on Tylenol, but she rallied and made it through.
The specific report they did was the Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP). "This is a non-standardized assessment that examines seven domains of development: regulatory/sensory organization (self-regulation capacities and a child's capacity to perceive and organize various sensory experiences), cognition (mental processess related to thinking, remembering and reasoning), language (expressive and receptive), gross motor (whole body movements such as crawling, walking, jumping, and climbing), fine/perceptual motor and finally self help (oral motor, dressing, feeding, grooming)". Here are the results from the previous test and the current test:
| Chronological Age | 28 mths | 33 mths |
| Regulatory/Sensory | Atypical - Concerns are with hypersensitivity to vestibular and proprioceptive processing | Atypical - Concerns are with hypersensitivity to vestibular and proprioceptive processing |
| Cognition | 20-24 mths with scattered skills up to 29 mths | 28-30 mths |
| Receptive Language | 22-24 with scattered skills up to 30 mths | 26-29 mths |
| Expressive Language | 15-18 mths | 21-24 mths |
| Gross Motor | 18-20 mths | 25-29mths with delays in jumping and stairs (22 mths) |
| Fine Motor Foundations | intact with exception of bilateral and midline skills (8.5-12 mths) | intact with exception of grasp and prehension (23-25 mths) |
| Perceptual-Motor Integration | 18-23 mths with greater concerns in paper/scissor tasks | 26-28 mths |
| Self Help | 20-24 mths | 30-34 mths |
Just writing that out made me question a few things in it, but overall I am extremely proud of how hard Sweet Pea has worked these past few months.
One of the things that gets me frustrated is that she has finally started to sleep better and I wonder if that has anything to do with how strong she is developing in so many areas. I know I do a lot better with sleep! The only two things we changed were 1) putting Angel in the same room as her and so Sweet Pea had to learn to sleep through crying 2) giving her Nexium at night instead of in the morning. I wish I knew if either of those were the magic bullet for her sleeping better, but as long as it continues I really don't care.
I need to try to get the data behind these numbers on Monday as it seems that some might not be completely accurate. For example, in the 28 mth results she was intact on fine motor foundations except for the bilateral and midline skills which would typically be in the 8.5-12 mth range. From what they explained to me last time that meant that she had met all the skills (except for the bilateral and midline) up to the 28 mth level. This time it says she is intact with the exception of grasp and prehension (which I just looked up in the dictionary as "The act of grasping or seizing") which is listed as 23-25 mths. Did she regress? If she was intact up to 28 mth before (except midline/bilateral), how is she now missing this other area?
This is good practice at trying to understand the tests and trying to figure out what they really mean since I'm told I need to learn to do that when it comes time for IEPs. I have a lot of learning ahead of me, but I do enjoy most of it. It's fascinating learning about development! I just wish that my child's education didn't depend upon it!
Now for some random pictures...
The girls are having fun playing together these days and I can't adequately express how much joy it brings me to watch them.
Christmas Parade with Grandma and Grandpa. We are surprised Angel survived as she had 102 fever and was doped up on Tylenol, but she rallied and made it through.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Santa's 1st Visit
We are still alive here! In my dreams I would catch you all up on what has been happening with us the last couple of months, but I know that will never actually happen...so here we are with today at least.
Santa and his elves came to visit Sweet Pea at her center based therapy.
She's checking him out...
Angel's first encounter with the big man is red...
Love her face here!
Sweet Pea had a fine time with the big man, but Angel wasn't so sure. She survived, but not by much!
I hope everyone is doing well and I hope to be back soon to catch you up on our potty training saga that is still going...and going...and going!
Santa and his elves came to visit Sweet Pea at her center based therapy.
She's checking him out...
Angel's first encounter with the big man is red...
Love her face here!
Sweet Pea had a fine time with the big man, but Angel wasn't so sure. She survived, but not by much!
I hope everyone is doing well and I hope to be back soon to catch you up on our potty training saga that is still going...and going...and going!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Photo Friday: Potty Training Skills
We've been working on potty training and the accompanying skills for a few months now. Well, yesterday it finally caught up with me...Sweet Pea figured out how to pull her panties down and since she can't get them back up, she just takes them off! She repeated this new skill numerous times during the afternoon, much to Angel's horror...
I can't figure out how to teach her how to pull them back up over her butt. Her short arms aren't helping us!
It's going to be a cold winter for Sweet Pea if she keeps this up!
I can't figure out how to teach her how to pull them back up over her butt. Her short arms aren't helping us!
It's going to be a cold winter for Sweet Pea if she keeps this up!
We Got Shoes On Sale!
Last Friday I asked for help in the shoe department and you guys responded with great ideas! Unfortunately, 6pm.com wasn't having anything on a great sale and so I just kept looking. Luckily, HauteLook happened to have a great Stride Rite sale today!!!!
Check out these cuties:
This is Karlee ($26) and she is a my favorite! I fell in love with her when I took Sweet Pea to the shoe store last week. Sweet Pea really loved them too so I'm excited for them to arrive!
And we had to pick a sneaker also so here is Carlota Sparkle ($21.50):
And Angel couldn't be left out...especially since Sweet Pea's shoes in her size are wides and Angel isn't so she got these cute Maddy Mary Janes ($25):
If anyone likes Stride Rite shoes, you should check out HauteLook today! The sale goes through Monday but they often sell out of the cutest shoes first. To see their deals you have to sign up as a member, but membership is free and very easy to do. Have fun shopping!
Check out these cuties:
This is Karlee ($26) and she is a my favorite! I fell in love with her when I took Sweet Pea to the shoe store last week. Sweet Pea really loved them too so I'm excited for them to arrive!
And we had to pick a sneaker also so here is Carlota Sparkle ($21.50):
And Angel couldn't be left out...especially since Sweet Pea's shoes in her size are wides and Angel isn't so she got these cute Maddy Mary Janes ($25):
If anyone likes Stride Rite shoes, you should check out HauteLook today! The sale goes through Monday but they often sell out of the cutest shoes first. To see their deals you have to sign up as a member, but membership is free and very easy to do. Have fun shopping!
Friday, October 14, 2011
New Shoes Needed
These cute little feet need some shoes that fit! Fellow DS Mommy's, I need your advice. What brands of shoes have been recommended for your kids? Our podiatrist said Stride Rite and New Balance, but I've also heard good things about Pediped. She has little orthotics that sit in the shoes and go from the heel to just around the arch. They haven't seemed to impact shoes fitting in the past.
Sweet Pea desperately needs new shoes and I'd like to try to find some good deals online, but need to know what might work well. Any advice would be great!!!! Thanks!
And just some random photos of Sweet Pea to entice you to post a comment:
And her nose has healed pretty nicely, but it sure looked bad for a while there!
This is her "say cheese" face...actually this one is by far the best version of it!
We're Still Alive
I can't seem to find the time to get anything done...especially blogging! I really should prioritize the blogging above everything else like cleaning, cooking, therapy, etc, but I just haven't been able to do it yet. Just kidding! I know you all understand just how busy our lives are and I'm impressed and amazed at how some of you fellow mommy's get so much done! I'm working on getting more productive and efficient...and working...and working...
Our lives have been filled with the regular schedule of events of therapy, doctor appointments, play dates and just plain old life. I got sick this week and that didn't help, but I'm on the mend and hope to be 100% better soon. Angel is crawling everywhere and is in to absolutely EVERYTHING. I'm not used to this and certainly wasn't prepared for it to happen so fast. Sweet Pea is continuing to be a two year old and loves to cause chaos and watch my reaction. That sweet girl sure has an evil streak in her! She must get that from her Daddy!
The girls are playing together a ton and it is wonderful to watch their relationship blossom. Too bad it's not always in appropriate ways...
Angel is learning to stand up for herself (Sweet Pea barged her way in front of Angel)
Angel continues to pull Sweet Pea's hair as her primary means of defense
Luckily Sweet Pea doesn't seem to mind it too much. I think she knows that she has it coming!
Our lives have been filled with the regular schedule of events of therapy, doctor appointments, play dates and just plain old life. I got sick this week and that didn't help, but I'm on the mend and hope to be 100% better soon. Angel is crawling everywhere and is in to absolutely EVERYTHING. I'm not used to this and certainly wasn't prepared for it to happen so fast. Sweet Pea is continuing to be a two year old and loves to cause chaos and watch my reaction. That sweet girl sure has an evil streak in her! She must get that from her Daddy!
The girls are playing together a ton and it is wonderful to watch their relationship blossom. Too bad it's not always in appropriate ways...
Angel is learning to stand up for herself (Sweet Pea barged her way in front of Angel)
Angel continues to pull Sweet Pea's hair as her primary means of defense
Luckily Sweet Pea doesn't seem to mind it too much. I think she knows that she has it coming!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sweet Pea's First Pony Ride
Mommy took the girls to a nearby hometown fair. They opened the kids area early for kids with disabilities and it was wonderful! We were able to do one of the bounce houses with Sweet Pea before too many other kids came along and made it unsafe for her.
Sweet Pea stared down Minnie Mouse for quite a while:
After the bounce house we went over to the ponies and Sweet Pea had her first pony ride. They strap the kids in fairly securely and so no one needed to be right next to her. This made me worry that she would freak out, but she did really well. I'm not sure what she was thinking, but I think she had fun. She was glad it ended when it did, but it was a long ride and so I can't blame her for that.
She could sense the excitement:
She looks so small next to the ponies! I can't imagine how tiny she would look next to an actual horse!
Look Mom...one hand!
Signing horse:
She's a natural:
I fear that a not too distant Christmas list will include a pony!
It was a fun morning and we will be making sure it's on our calendar for next year when Sweet Pea and Angel will be able to do even more!
Sweet Pea stared down Minnie Mouse for quite a while:
After the bounce house we went over to the ponies and Sweet Pea had her first pony ride. They strap the kids in fairly securely and so no one needed to be right next to her. This made me worry that she would freak out, but she did really well. I'm not sure what she was thinking, but I think she had fun. She was glad it ended when it did, but it was a long ride and so I can't blame her for that.
She could sense the excitement:
She looks so small next to the ponies! I can't imagine how tiny she would look next to an actual horse!
Look Mom...one hand!
Signing horse:
She's a natural:
I fear that a not too distant Christmas list will include a pony!
It was a fun morning and we will be making sure it's on our calendar for next year when Sweet Pea and Angel will be able to do even more!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Bakers Rack 1 Sweet Pea 0
If this is what happens when Mommy watches the girls...Mommy should be fired!
Sweet Pea tried to climb the bakers rack and it's pretty clear that the bakers rack won. I'm hoping she heals quickly!
Sweet Pea tried to climb the bakers rack and it's pretty clear that the bakers rack won. I'm hoping she heals quickly!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
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