Getting it All Done

Today was Kaitlyn's first Speech Therapy session and it went so well! Lori came over to the house and Kaitlyn was instantly interested in her and what toys she brought. They talked and played and Kaitlyn showed off her "Ut, oh" and by the end of the session she managed to get out "All done." I was so shocked and smiled so hard my cheeks were hurting!! It was amazing... she also tried very hard at one point to say "more" but her lips just didnt make the right shape. Lori really wants to work on Kaitlyn's lower jaw and tongue since they are both hanging and she says that Kaitlyn is not using the muscles which in turn is causing the little bit of a delay in speech.

Anyway, overall it was a great session and we look forward to more and hearing more words come out of her!!

Playing in the Snow

Well Kaitlyn finally got to play in the snow this year. Last year she was too small so she really couldnt play in the snow unless she just laid in it! We went upstate to Warrensburg, NY to stay at the Cornerstone Victorian B&B (where we go every year for our anniversary) and there was actually snow up there so we got to go out and run around and play in the snow! It was fun so see the delight on her face and the aww when she actually touched the snow.

The wonder and amazement on a childs face when they experience something new gives you such a great feeling inside.

While we were upstate we had to get Kaitlyn some new sneakers and snow boots... she wears a size 6 now!!! She's getting so big! It's amazing to think she was so tiny 19 months ago!!

Jon and I are deciding if we will be ready in June to try for another, I really think it would be great for Kaitlyn to have a brother or sister so we'll see how that goes. It all depends on how I feel about it all and being pregnant again when the time comes I guess!

So speech therapy starts on Monday and I truly believe K is going to do amazing at it! She already is starting to make more sounds and tries so hard to say things. I know this is going to be a huge help for her! I cant wait to hear her say something for real!!

Lately, Kaitlyns favorite thing is to totally destroy the house... she can not decide what one thing to play with and the house just gets trashed over and over even if I clean it! The tantrums have not stopped either, they are sometimes very bad and last for a long time. When she has a breakdown, she really has one and there is no comforting her until she is ready - which can take an hour sometimes!!!

I just hope that once we get her talking it will help with the tantrums. They really are draining and I would like to get one on video so that when Kaitlyn is older she can watch it to see what exactly I mean by her having tantrums.

Well I'm going to clean up the living room yet again and see if I cant get her to help me this time! When are kids old enough to do dishes?? hehehehe

100 Years of Magic

Wow!! We went to see the Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic show tonight at the Nassau Coliseum and it was wonderful!! We all had such a good time! Kaitlyn was dancing on daddy's lap and she was dancing and singing with me and it was so beautiful and just amazing. She really enjoyed it so much and so did we!!

Kaitlyn ended up falling asleep soon after the second act started but I know she really liked the show because she was smiling and singing and dancing and talking to the characters out on the ice. It was so great to see the wonder on her face and the excitement when Mickey came out to say Hi. She just really enjoyed the entire thing.

I was very happy with the way the show was put on, there was not loud obnoxious music or anything like that. The show was done very well and I was so happy to have gone.

Our next little adventure will be the Circus in March! I cant wait for that either!!

"Chsheh Chsheh"

What is that title about, right? Well that, right there, is my 19 month old daughter's 2nd word!!! She says CHICKEN!!! or well "csheh chseh", her version of it. She isnt totally consistant but now we at least get unprompted "ut, oh"ish things and prompted "chicken" ones! FINALLY!!! She still wont tell me what a piece of chicken is but she repeats it when we say it some of the time! I was so excited tonight when I was eating my chicken salad and out of no where she repeated me when I gave her a bite and said "yummy, chicken?"

The day this kid says anything remotely close to "I love you, Mama" I'll cry, I swear!!! I'd even settle for her saying "Mama" TO ME and have it MEAN mama!!! hahahahaha She still says "Da da" when I ask her to repeat "ma ma" lol Ah well, it's a work in progress and she says CHICKEN!!! lol :)

So anyway, Kaitlyn qualified for Speech Therapy through EIP and we had our meeting with the Nassau County Coordinator and the Speech Therapist. We officially set up the schedule with her and she will now be coming twice a week (Mon & Thurs mornings) to help move K along in talking. She is going to be getting a lot of oral motor skill work through the PROMPT technique as the therapist is leaning towards K having a bit of Apraxia which is when a child has difficulty with volitional movement for the production of speech. This can be at the level of sounds, syllables, words, or even phrases (connected speech). The motor struggle is most typically seen with sounds sequencing.

I know that the speech therapy is really going to push K into talking up a storm. She really wants to and tries soooo hard to form words and make sounds so I know the PROMPT is going to be a huge success! I hope this also helps to cut down the tantrums because today made me want to tear my hair out, run away and hide. I was a mess today because she was having horrible "throw herself on the floor screaming" fits because I was trying to cook dinner and wasnt picking her up. Its getting really ridiculous as she screams harder during those times if Jon even attempts to pick her up or talk to her or console her. I'm not sure what to do as we have tried ignoring her (literally for almost an hour sometimes) and she screams and screams and screams and gets herself so worked up and even cries so hard she does her passing out thing or will cry so hard she starts doing this almost seizure type shaking thing... it's weird. At that point, I can not leave her like that... so there has to be something we can do... but I guess we'll mention it to the Dr and I also hope the speech thing helps to alleviate some of that too!!! UGH!!

Another thing I want to work on is getting her to fall asleep on her own but I dunno if we should do that before or AFTER we work on getting her to self soothe at night. I just can't do this crap anymore... and people talk about having another kid??? HA are you kidding me??? It's times like these where I lay in bed crying and saying no way in hell am I having another... ya know??? I love my daughter with all of my heart and soul but being a parent is by no means and easy job and sometimes it is so stressful and unrewarding!

Then there are times when you hear "chsheh chsheh" and you just get so excited! :) It just seems the tantrums are outweighing the "chicken's" right now, if you know what I mean!

Such a Lazy Mom

Yes I know, I rarely get here to update about Kaitlyn anymore. It's just so hard to sit and think and type with a toddler running around! I can barely get my dishes done because she stands at my legs screaming because she just wants mommy's attention!!

So here is a quick update and I will throw a newer pic in too!

Kaitlyn had her evaluations and Family Aides, Inc is sending in all the info to the county and we have our group meeting on Jan 12, 2007. We will know for sure then if she qualifies for Speech Therapy and we will set up a schedule of once a week or twice a week or whatever they think she needs.

I did have to go to Family Aides today to sign a paper and I asked if she qualified and, of course they cant tell me FOR SURE if she did but, she did! So hopefully soon K will be talking up a storm! I cant wait to hear her say something... other than "dah" and now the "ut oh" type thing she says! It will be so neat to hear her voice, I just know it is going to be adorable and it's going to make me melt just like I do when she looks into my eyes!!

The only other thing to update on is that she is yet again sick. This is about the 6th week we have been dealing with her having a cold. I'm actually getting very sick of her being sick and I cant wait til she is feeling better. I decided we are not going to be visiting any of the play places with the Mom's group where there are toys to chew on. Since we started going to them, she has been sick! So I think thats why... there are plenty of climbing gym type ones to take her to and I think they will be better for now until the weather turns into actual winter. Speaking of that it was 60 here today and it's JAN 4TH!!! Oy!! Something wrong with this planet!! We didnt even get a white Christmas and that was very disappointing for me. I know K doesnt know the difference but I have always had a white Christmas... with the exception of the year I spent living in Southern California!

Ok so here is a pic of Kaitlyn and Daddy just before Christmas. Daddy likes to play the Elf after Santa comes and he sorts the presents for everyone on Christmas morning and Kaitlyn and I got some Reindeer antlers to wear (though mommy forgot this year!) and I just had to get a picture of how cute these two are!

I really would like to get here to update a lot more often so I'm going to do my best to try. It's important for Kaitlyn to have this to read later on in life!

Lately, K has been going through some Mommy seperation anxiety and she will scream and scream even if I'm not in the room so we are working on that. She is still very motor and she climbs and crawls under things and over things and in things. She loves playing in and on boxes and wearing bags on her head while she walks around bumping into things. She has the BEST little sense of humor and knows it!! She will do things she finds funny and cracks up so hard at herself! She's really becoming such a great little person. She is still very polite and says (signs) please, thank you and you're welcome. I dont even think I could sit here and list all the things she "says" (signs) because she has SOOOO many. She's just a smart little cookie!

Since I had my surgery (and am unable to get pregnant until K is about two), Jon and I decided not to make any decisions about having another child until after Kaitlyn's second birthday. I'm still unsure if I want to be pregnant again... as much as I look at K playing by herself and wish she had a brother or sister, I just dont know if I can handle it again. Plus with Aunt Donna and Uncle Charlie expecting her little cousin coming next month that might be good for her and she will be content. I dont know... it's a lot to think about and I guess we will decide soon enough!

Well, I'll do my best to update again soon but definitely after the meeting on Jan 12th with the EIP people!