Grandma Kris thought it would be so much fun to give Addy a lollipop that matched her outfit. Bet Grandma didn't think it was so fun when she had a large sticky drool spot on her bed when Addy was through.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas
Addy had a wonderful Christmas. We weren't quite sure what her reaction to opening presents would be. To our surprise, she seemed to know just what to do. the cutest part was that she would open each gift and study the box very closely before asking us to open it. So far, the two most popular items seem to be the Dora House (#1 in her book) and the baby tiger. The baby tiger makes tiger noises and drinking noises when you play with him. She also got a cleaning set from Grandma Kris and she loves to attempt to sweep the floor. It's very cute. We are now in pursuit of Dora figurines to fill the playhouse. She has quite a few already, but of course with her, you can never have enough Dora. Aaron and I are going Dora crazy over here.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Santa Party
Addy had a Santa party today at Early Intervention. They have one of the best Santa's ever. I could go on and on about how much fun Addy had, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Equipment Update
I know your thinking that this isn't a pic of Addy. Well, your right, but it is a pic of what her new walker will look like. We have made a change since the last posting. We thought that we were heading in the direction of ordering a "Nimbo" walker, however, we have since learned that they had created new back wheels for the "Kaye" walker. This is the type of walker that Addy has on loan right now, but the back wheels on hers currently are not great. Instead of gripping the floor they have a tendency to just slide even though it has a braking system. Now that they have created new wheels that actually grip we have decided to go with the "Kaye" walker. Addy's walker will have 4 wheels with the possibility of the front wheels to unlock for swiveling as well as a small seat that will flip down if she gets tired. We mostly ordered the seat for daycare purposes.Speaking of daycare, Addy was suppose to transition to the next room at daycare in November, however due to her not walking we have held her back just a bit. She will begin the transition after Chrsitmas to the older room. There is a lot more activity in this room. One of the reasons we did not transition yet is because they go outside to the big playground everyday, even in the winter. With no way for Addy to go other than to crawl, we wanted to give her some time to get up and moving with the walker. We have begun taking the walker to daycare each day for use when walking in the hallways. Mom is a little nervous about this transition. She needs to be in the room cognitively, but I'm worried about her getting run over by the other kids. Being in a daycare setting is much different than being in a specialized room at school. Just because Addy has a disability does not mean that they have to provide extra support. So, it still remains a 1:4 ratio. Sometimes I feel like they just won't have the time to move slower and give her the support she needs. We'll see.
Addy was also checked for different braces today. She's kind of in a tough spot right now with pros and cons to switching. It has been decided that we will wait about 6 weeks, see how much strength she can build in that time and they think again about putting her in a higher brace. We also will be seeing the orthopedic doctor again about this time and will be able to get his opinion as well.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Addy
Addy has been making great progress in physical therapy. She has gone from being introduced to the walker to walking at a very nice pace. She has a difficult time turning the walker, because it takes upper and lower body strength, which she doesn't have in combination yet. We finally have her's ordered. She will be getting a walker called a "Nimbo" and the tot size comes in yellow. I was very particular about what kind of walker we ordered. I wanted it to be just the right one and to say the least I nit picked many of them. I'm glad it's on order, but I don't expect to get it until at least late January. For now we still have one on loan from MISD.
Now that Addy is up and walking, the therapists are noticing that she hyperextends her knees quite a bit. The reason she hyperextends is due to weakness in her legs. We are now questioning if Addy needs a higher orthotic for her ankle to limit some of the hyperextension. There are pros and cons to going to a higher orthotic. She would lose some of the mobility in her ankle that she currently has, as her foot would then be kept at a 90 degree angle. We would also lose her ability to continue to gain strength in her calf muscle. Staying with a shorter orthotic could mean that we would do damage on her knees for the future. If she continues to gain strength at a rapid pace, then hopefully the hyperextension would go away, but there's no saying how long that will be. She will be evaluated by the orthotist next week and then we will follow up with an orthopedic doctor.
Tomorrow we go back to the geneticist. We were there a year ago this month and she wanted to see Addy back in a year. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. Not sure if we will really gain any new information at this appointment, but sometimes we are surprised.
Now that Addy is up and walking, the therapists are noticing that she hyperextends her knees quite a bit. The reason she hyperextends is due to weakness in her legs. We are now questioning if Addy needs a higher orthotic for her ankle to limit some of the hyperextension. There are pros and cons to going to a higher orthotic. She would lose some of the mobility in her ankle that she currently has, as her foot would then be kept at a 90 degree angle. We would also lose her ability to continue to gain strength in her calf muscle. Staying with a shorter orthotic could mean that we would do damage on her knees for the future. If she continues to gain strength at a rapid pace, then hopefully the hyperextension would go away, but there's no saying how long that will be. She will be evaluated by the orthotist next week and then we will follow up with an orthopedic doctor.
Tomorrow we go back to the geneticist. We were there a year ago this month and she wanted to see Addy back in a year. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. Not sure if we will really gain any new information at this appointment, but sometimes we are surprised.
Don't mind me mom, I'm just paying some bills for you.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Cutting down the Christmas Tree
Well we went to cut down a Christmas Tree yesterday. It was very cold and it felt weird with no snow on the ground. We got back in the very large lot of trees and we cut down what we thought was a Douglas Fir. Once the tractor arrived to pick us up, the guy told us we had cut down a Spruce and there was no way it would last us until Christmas, so we had to start all over. Addy had a great time getting pulled on the sled, despite having no snow.
Waiting for the tractor with Daddy
Taking a ride on the tractor
Sled ride with no snow:(
Staying warm with mom
What we thought was going to be our Christmas Tree
Our final tree
Addy enjoying the tree at home
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Look at Me!
Well, I haven't told you about Addy's continuing progress in a while so here goes:
Addy has been making major gains in all areas. First off, her speech has been incredible (for someone that we thought was going to be very delayed). She has so many words now that we can't even count them all. She will try and imitate anything you say. I left for a 3 day conference and just in that short time, I returned to find that she had more speech than when I left.
Now that her speech is coming along, we are really starting to notice a lot of cognitive things with her. The therapists are always asking me how old she is because to them she appears older than her age in some areas. She's really into colors, letters and numbers right now. It's amazing to hear her spontaneously tell me the color of something (I didn't have any clue that she knew colors, oops!). She loves counting books and likes to find and count the numbers. We are having a hard time keeping her occupied with toys because she has really outgrown most of hers. She really seems to be into things much older than her age. She likes "I Spy" books, coloring, playdough, imaginative play with real doll houses, talking books that read to her, play kitchens, puzzles, sticker books and memory games. It's very exciting to see her making so much progress in this area.
About a month ago, Addy got her first set of ankle braces (SMO's). They are short braces that she wears on her feet. Since this time, we have noticed big differences in her ability to stand at objects, cruise furniture, get herself up and down and take steps with support. She just began to pull herself from the floor to a standing position against furniture. It's a very slow and labored process, but she can do it! She doesn't mind wearing her braces at all and now know that they are a part of her dressing routine.
Since she has been getting stronger with the braces, the therapists began to entertain the idea of using a walker with her. We knew this was coming, but were just waiting for her to get strong enough to be able to use it. Well, we tried it for the first time at therapy today and she quickly understood the concept of it. We now have it on loan and Addy will be getting her own. Her walk even with the walker is extremely slow and it takes a lot of work for her to use it, but its a start. The therapists and myself are envisioning her to have the walker for quite some time. It will probably be a long while before she gets anywhere near independent walking. I am just excited to get her up with her peers.
Of course, being a teacher, I have already been pursuing the issue with the therapists about where Addy may attend school (when she turns 3). Sure enough, more than likely, it will be our local POHI (Physically and Otherwise Health Impaired) program here within the Utica school district (same type of program that I teach in). I am fortunate for this as I know that they have a great program and she will be well supported.
That's all for now. Keep up the good work Addy!
Addy has been making major gains in all areas. First off, her speech has been incredible (for someone that we thought was going to be very delayed). She has so many words now that we can't even count them all. She will try and imitate anything you say. I left for a 3 day conference and just in that short time, I returned to find that she had more speech than when I left.
Now that her speech is coming along, we are really starting to notice a lot of cognitive things with her. The therapists are always asking me how old she is because to them she appears older than her age in some areas. She's really into colors, letters and numbers right now. It's amazing to hear her spontaneously tell me the color of something (I didn't have any clue that she knew colors, oops!). She loves counting books and likes to find and count the numbers. We are having a hard time keeping her occupied with toys because she has really outgrown most of hers. She really seems to be into things much older than her age. She likes "I Spy" books, coloring, playdough, imaginative play with real doll houses, talking books that read to her, play kitchens, puzzles, sticker books and memory games. It's very exciting to see her making so much progress in this area.
About a month ago, Addy got her first set of ankle braces (SMO's). They are short braces that she wears on her feet. Since this time, we have noticed big differences in her ability to stand at objects, cruise furniture, get herself up and down and take steps with support. She just began to pull herself from the floor to a standing position against furniture. It's a very slow and labored process, but she can do it! She doesn't mind wearing her braces at all and now know that they are a part of her dressing routine.
Since she has been getting stronger with the braces, the therapists began to entertain the idea of using a walker with her. We knew this was coming, but were just waiting for her to get strong enough to be able to use it. Well, we tried it for the first time at therapy today and she quickly understood the concept of it. We now have it on loan and Addy will be getting her own. Her walk even with the walker is extremely slow and it takes a lot of work for her to use it, but its a start. The therapists and myself are envisioning her to have the walker for quite some time. It will probably be a long while before she gets anywhere near independent walking. I am just excited to get her up with her peers.
Of course, being a teacher, I have already been pursuing the issue with the therapists about where Addy may attend school (when she turns 3). Sure enough, more than likely, it will be our local POHI (Physically and Otherwise Health Impaired) program here within the Utica school district (same type of program that I teach in). I am fortunate for this as I know that they have a great program and she will be well supported.That's all for now. Keep up the good work Addy!
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