Walking makes her giggle

Just before nap today Megan was in our room with Will (that is where she went after climbing the stairs).  After I put Sam down I went to see what they were up to and Megan walked from Will to me.  We try to take advantage of any opportunity when she initiates walking so we stood there and she walked back and forth between us several times.  

She was so excited and happy that each time she would leave one of us and start walking she would start giggling and laugh so hard that she would throw her head back with glee.  She had all of us laughing to the point she had to stop walking because she just couldn't make it more than a couple of steps without knocking herself over.  

Growth spurt and hugs for Silas

A little over a week ago Megan started a growth spurt.  We knew it was happening because she started eating every single bite of breakfast, regardless of what it was, and even asking for more some days.  Over the span of a week she probably grew 1/2 an inch.  Pants that were so long she was walking on them now don't even touch the floor.  We marked her height on the pantry door and she is now at 33 3/4 inches (32 1/2 in late August) and is 1/2 an inch taller than Sam who was the same exact height.

I will be getting her 3T clothes out to see how they fit her.  It may be time to go up a size.

Yesterday when we were at our friend's house Megan was loving their 6 year old son.  He was sitting beside her watching her play on the iPad and she leaned in for a hug.  He didn't know what she was doing so he didn't respond; so she reached up and grabbed his shoulder to pull him in.  She hugged him at least 20 times and anytime he didn't immediately hug her back she would grab one shoulder and sometimes both of his shoulders and pull him into a hug.

Back to work

Megan worked really hard today.  She walked (holding Will's hands) from the car to the library, to/from the snack location and all over the house.  She stood and played at various surfaces for a total of 60-75 minutes.  She walked back and forth between us and from me to the couch multiple times.  We have been giving her a break the past several days because she wasn't sleeping much and was just too tired.

At lunch I walked her to her chair and on the way there Sam went over and pulled it out for her.  Anytime I walk her to her chair I let go of her hands a few steps away so that she walks the rest by herself.  Today when I was ready to do this Sam was right there and they stood there hugging and then he started walking backwards as she was walking forward.  I don't know if he was helping her or if she was using him but it was amazing and adorable at the same time.

Christmas recap

Christmas Eve we went out for our traditional special dinner.  This year we chose a Chinese Buffet to be different and a little funny like in all of the Christmas movies.  The kids loved the food, once Megan got to start eating off of daddy's plate.  When we got home it was time to open their Christmas jammies.  Neither kid is into wrapping paper so we had to work with them but once Sam got the paper free he stood up and took off with it.  He didn't care about the gift, he just wanted the paper.

Christmas day was wonderful.  Will made our cinnamon rolls and then we got the kids up.  We had their gifts separated by the tree and when I put Sam down he made a beeline for his tool bench.  He grabbed his circular saw with one hand and his drill with the other.  He didn't know what to do with them but he was so happy to carry them around.  Megan went right for her blocks wagon and figured out immediately how to make it talk and sing.  As soon as she had the wagon going Sam put his toys down and went and sat down with her.  The two of them played with that wagon for several minutes, just as happy as could be and probably would have stayed there for a lot longer if we hadn't moved them to show them more of their stuff.

Sam loved his train depot and his tractor.  He got on exactly as Will thought he would, which was backwards.  Megan showed his the buttons and he was loving it.  Once we went through making sure they knew about everything we just let them play - Megan was happy with her wagon and Sam with his tools.  I called for breakfast and Sam cleaned up his tools and ran to the table.

After breakfast it was time for them to give us our gifts and then to give their gifts to each other.  We were letting them play again until Megan saw me with her stocking and then they both wanted to check out what was inside.  After seeing everything and eating an animal cracker they were off again.

After nap we facetimed with Granny so she could watch them open her gifts to them.  Sam loved the slinkies and Megan went right after the books.  They played for a couple of hours and then we had Christmas dinner and I gave them their dessert.  Lemon creme pie with cool whip - no crust.  Man they both loved it.

Megan and Sam both had such a fun and wonderful day.

Big socks, tooth, giggles and "B"

Megan needed bigger socks this week, just all of a sudden.  Four days ago when I put her socks on they were fine, the very next day they were too small and her big toe was trying to break free.  We bought her new "big girl" socks - size 18-36 months.  :-)

The top left molar has finally pushed through about 80%ish of the surface area and she is already working on her last 2-year molar on her top right.  I hope this one is super fast and doesn't continue to keep her up nights.

In the mornings when Will gets Megan up while he is changing her he usually gets her giggling.  It is really the best sound to hear first thing in the morning.

Yesterday Megan was doing amazing with using her sounds and I got her to say "B" for books more than once.  It was very exciting.

What's for Christmas

Megan's Christmas Goodies:

Baby doll/stroller/car seat combo
Dressy outfit for baby
3 puzzles
4 race cars
Singing Pooh wagon with alphabet blocks
Purse with keys, compact, phone, coins/coin purse
Personalized horse chalkboard and write/erase board
Minnie Mouse book

Stocking Goodies:
Light-up bouncing balls
Crayon cup
Bubbles
Stamp
Light-up pinwheel
Giant glow stick
Christmas animal crackers
Flower notepad

Great day for babbling

Megan has been babbling so much more lately.  Today she was just chatting away off/on all day long.  I worked with her with the iPad and she mimicked the sounds I asked for to get me to turn it back on.  She did amazing with it - making the sound all but 2 or 3 times and those times she made the sign for it.  It was really cute, one time I asked her to make the 'p' sound and she did it very softly and shrugged her shoulders at me while doing it.

We made our rice krispie treat train today.  She had fun painting the butter into the mold, smashing the cereal into the mold and of course eating the finished product.

Waving to mommy and loving the library

Megan waved bye to me tonight.  It was super cute.  It has been a long time since she waved and I am happy to see her do it again.  

After spending some time at the park this afternoon we went to the library. Megan really enjoyed sitting in Will's lap reading lots of new books.  I gave them an "older kid" book about horses and she loved it.  Will said it had information in it about the evolution of horses so I said don't read it to her.  She LOVES it when the horse is on the iPad during Old MacDonald so I figured she would enjoy the book.  

Best days out of school ever!

Megan is now a full stair climber.  She has climbed the first few stairs several times but had never made it all the way to the top.  The past 2-3 weeks every time Sam was climbing the stairs she would go to the bottom and watch him all the way up.

Monday, a day she would normally be in school, she was ready to go.  She climbed the stairs, completely by herself 5 times before lunch.  She has done it several times since then.  When she wants to do it she goes to the first steps and beats on it until you go get behind her; and then she is off.

While running an errand one day her and Sam had so much fun in the car.  He would lean forward as far as he could in his car seat and look at her and she would do the same and then they would giggle.  This went on for several minutes and just made me smile.

Keeping her out of school

Megan usually attends school Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  She gets all of her therapies on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Last week, on Wednesday I received an email from her teacher stating that there was a confirmed case of the flu in her classroom.  I joking replied that Megan would see them in January (missing Thursday of last week and then Mon, Tues, Thurs of this week).  

I then asked her if she knew when the child started showing symptoms so that I could figure out if/when Megan had been exposed.  Her teacher wasn't sure but when I talked to my friend she confirmed for me which child it was and we figured it out.  Holly had started feeling poorly the previous Friday (Megan wasn't there) and then had been kept out of school on Monday and Tuesday and went to the doctor on Wednesday.  So Megan hadn't been directly exposed and she had already passed the 4 day window for symptom onset.  I was still on the fence about sending her to school the next day, just in case someone else started to come down with it; but then my decision was made for me.  

I received a response to my joke email reply that they now had a little one puking in the classroom.  Decision made.....no school on Thursday for Megan.   I found out that the flu and the Rota virus were making the rounds at the school.  

This weekend we are trying to figure out whether or not to send her to school on Monday and then I found out that one of her teachers is throwing up, one of the teachers kid's and husband are throwing up and the other one's husband is sick.  Wow - thinking Megan will be staying home tomorrow until we are sure the coast is clear.  I know she will miss it, but I would rather she miss the sickness too.  

Her "boyfriend"

On Monday while I was walking/jogging with Megan's teacher I asked her about the 3 or 4 different teachers who have said hello/goodbye to Megan in the hallway, but who I have never seen before.  She said it is from the playground and that everyone knows who Megan is.  Then she said, in fact, she has a boyfriend in Kindergarten.

His name is Javier and anytime he sees Megan on the playground he runs up to her.  If she is in her car he tries to get in with her.  If she is in the sandbox he gets in and plays with her.  How adorable is that - she has admirers.

When I got home will was watching TV and I sat down on the couch.  I always fill him in on anything I learn during my jog.  I would tell him bits and pieces while he continued to watch TV.  It took me a while to remember Javier so eventually I said "remind me to tell you about Megan's boyfriend" and he immediately paused the TV and said WHAT!?  Too funny.

New sound and iPad

Megan is now making the "p" sound and will mimic it on request.  This is her first new sound in a while and it is awesome that she is mimicing it right away.

We got Megan an iPad during Black Friday.  We talked about it for a long time before deciding to do it.  It is an awesome therapy tool but it is also expensive.  I am so happy that we went for it because she is loving it and she is doing really well.  She is very motivated by it because she wants to play with it so she is doing what I ask of her to get it.  She has done the sign for music, as well as other gross motor commands.

I found an app that when you touch the screen a letter or number or shape appears and then you can move them around, bounce them off of the walls, etc.  She is doing all of this with her index finger and even "catching" them once they are moving.

Daddy's Christmas gift

Today it was Megan's turn to shop for daddy. I took her to Lowe's and we headed to the gift section.  I picked up an item and she pulled it toward her.  So it was time to figure out what she wanted.  I would grab another item and she would pick between the two and this is how it went:

Item A and Item B and she would pick Item A.  Item A and Item C and she would pick Item C.  Item C and Item D and she would pick C.  She would generally stick with an item two times and then go with the new one.  Eventually she picked an item as soon as it was introduced and then kept it over 5 other items so I knew we were set.  She even picked it from the shelf instead of me just offering it to her, so I should have known she really wanted it.

Therapy, puzzles and dancing snowman

Megan had another good speech session today.  She was mimicking "m" sound with 3 different vowel sounds.  

Megan is doing better with puzzles.  Today she got a couple of pieces in that were on the floor.  Usually the piece needs to either be in the puzzle so that she takes it out and then puts it right back; or it needs to be sitting right beside the place it belongs.  

I have a noise activated snowman that dances and sings Jingle Bells.  Megan loved it last year and boy does she love it this year now that she can turn it on herself.  

Excelling at school and various other things

I have been walking/running multiple times a week with one of Megan's preschool teachers.  All of her teachers and therapists have been telling me how well she is doing at school the past 3-4 weeks and then I get more details on our walk/run.

Megan has been progressing in leaps and bounds the past few weeks.  She loves circle time and is always sad when it is over.  She has been choosing the song she wants and then doing the motions with it.  She loves playing with her classmates, especially two of the girls.  She is having a blast with craft and art time.  She has started doing most of the work instead of it mainly being the teacher.  Today she made a Christmas ornament which I can't wait to see.

She is happy at school.  She no longer gets sad when I leave and she is happy even when they make her switch from something she is happy doing to a non-preferred activity.  I knew this day would come.  Megan is an observer.  She studies her environment and once she is comfortable she takes off.  This is what has happened with school.  She feels safe and at home there so she is learning things and progressing now at such a good rate that her teacher is in the process of redoing her evaluations so we have a more accurate picture of what areas she needs to work on to catch up.

A couple of months ago Will started doing devotions with Megan before bed each night.  He reads her bible with her and at the end of each lesson there is a prayer.  When he tells her it is time to pray she put her hands together to pray.  What is so sweet about this is that we pray before every meal and Sam always puts his hands together but Megan never does.

The past couple of days I have been playing with Megan with her Magna-doodle and she has figured out how to erase the screen and will do it anytime you tell her to erase it, so she understands the word/command.  Yesterday I drew an M and told her it was an M and she said mmmmm.  It was very exciting.

Didn't want to leave the party

This afternoon was my annual Christmas cookie party.  Will got Megan up from nap (though she never slept), got her dressed and brought her downstairs and then went up to get Sam.  Guests started to arrive during this time and I was helping with drinks, etc.  Megan left my arms to go to one of our neighbors that she has only seen a couple of times; but she was so loving on her - Megan was snuggling up to her and continually giving her hugs and rubbing her face.  It was so sweet.

Eventually she went to Piper and they ended up playing in the floor for a while until Will came downstairs.  When it was time to leave (Will took her out while the party was going on) Megan didn't want to go.  She wanted to stay and play with all of the ladies.

Will said that they had a great time together and she was great, that you would never know that she didn't take her nap.

Much better.....great speech session

Megan had her first speech session in 3 weeks.  The therapist was ill two weeks ago and last week they were closed for the holiday.  Her therapist is new to the business and her mom runs it.  She had her mom sit it on the session today to give her some tips for working with Megan.

Jean's mom was much more animated with Megan and it went over really well.  By the last 15 minutes of the session Megan was imitating the "M" sound for her on command.  Megan hasn't made any sound for Jean so this was HUGE progress.

Jean will be taking a different approach to Megan's sessions and I plan on letting her know, that in addition to the change in direction she needs to be more animated with Megan.

Megan was still so excited that after the session she was chatting like crazy while I was checking out.

Friendly girl

Megan had her best day yet at school today.  They said she did awesome with her therapies and she was super friendly.  She played with Hallie at the table and then played with Holly on the tumble mat.

When we got home I told her how proud I was of her for being a good friend and she smiled and started clapping her hands.  She loves it when mommy is proud of her and she was super proud of herself.

Session with Star today

Megan had an awesome session on Star today.  Every time it was time to tell Star to GO Megan did the sign by herself, without prompting - meaning Margie would say "tell Star to go" and Megan would do it.  Previously Margie would have to put Megan's hands together at least half of the time.

Megan had such a great time during her session too.  She was smiling and clapping and dancing.

Christmas Ornaments

One of our family traditions (carried over from when I grew up) is to get our kids a new ornament each year.    For Megan's first Christmas we decided to get her 2 ornaments; one for us to keep and one to go with the rest of hers when she moves out.  The one for us to keep is a baby sleeping in a pea pod because Will's nickname for Megan is sweet pea.  The one for her to keep is a snowman that says baby's first Christmas.

For her second Christmas we got Megan a pink purse that says "let's go shopping" because every time we asked Megan if she wanted to go shopping she would get all excited and clap her hands; and then when I would put my purse beside her in the cart she would always put her arm through the strap of my purse.

For her third Christmas we got her the "I love you" book because Megan had started LOVING books.

This year, for her fourth Christmas we got her a picture frame with each side made of a pencil.  Each pencil has writing on it.  It says: Megan Goodwin, 2012, Preschool, Pathways Elem.  I put a picture from her first day of school in it.

Trigger finger follow-up

Megan saw the doctor this morning to check on her finger.  He said if the trigger finger was simply a result of an injury that it would be fine by now, but since it is still getting stuck that her low muscle tone is causing a delay.  He told us to leave the brace off of her finger unless she is sleeping to give her an opportunity to strengthen the finger.  So she is at school now and happy to be without her brace.

Her spunkiness is back

Megan is feeling a lot better today.  She went out Christmas shopping with daddy this morning and had a great time.

Contrary to the way it normally goes, she finished her lunch before Sam.  Will got her down and we were having her walk back and forth between us.  On one of her trips from me to Will she turned and went to Sam's booster seat tray and grabbed his sandwich.  She took a bite and then held it up for him to get a bite and then she ate the rest.  I was sitting behind her on the floor covering my mouth so she couldn't hear me laughing.

Thankfully it was the last 3 bites of his lunch so he was full and it didn't upset Sam for her to do that.  It was so cute and funny.

Not feeling well

Megan started getting sick a few days ago and the last two nights have been rough.  She has woken up every 45 minutes or so; either because she sneezed, or coughed or just because she doesn't feel well.  She has taken a morning nap the past two days because she is just so tired.  She seemed to be doing a little better today and so far tonight she hasn't woken up and since she was asleep by 7 this is the longest stretch of uninterrupted sleep she has gotten in days.

It is never a good time to be sick but at least she had the time off, meaning no school or appointments, since she has been sick; and daddy has been here which has helped with all of the needed snuggling.

Preschool Thanksgiving lunch

Megan's class had a Thanksgiving lunch this morning at 11.  I made broccoli corn casserole and a pumpkin layer cake.  Unfortunately due to illness there was only one other family there, and one other classmate.  But we all had a good time.

Sam loved getting to check out all of the new toys and having the freedom to go all over the classroom.  Megan hard a difficult time initially because she just wanted to get in the stroller and leave; and because daddy was there.  She didn't eat too much because it was so early but Sam definitely didn't mind getting to eat.  In fact, when Will finished feeding him Sam started walking up to everyone who still had food trying to get  a bite.

It was a lot of fun getting to be at a school function with her and of course having daddy and Sam there was great.

Walking status

Megan continues to do great with walking.  She wants to walk most of the time.  If I am carrying her she will try to get down so she can walk.  She has started leaning back a lot when we are trying to get her to walk between us and that is causing her issues because he ends up doing a nestea plunge.  Once we get her balanced she is off.  She is doing great with balance checks along the way when she needs them.

This morning I was speaking over her again on the way to school that she is compelled to walk and that her desire is so strong she can't fight it.  When we got to school they were doing art and she didn't want to sit in the chair, but rather she wanted to stand at the table to do her artwork.  

She did great during her PT session this afternoon too.  She stood at the exercise ball and played with me, hitting it as hard as she could.  She stood for more than half of her session while the therapist moved her hips around to get her to counteract it to help with balance.  Several times she stood without touching anything for 5-10 seconds at a time.

"Sent" home from school early

I got a call from Megan's teacher this morning around 9:45 saying that Megan had been happily playing all morning and then just fell over and started crying.  She said she was difficult to calm down and that Megan just wanted to be held.  Megan was grabbing at her left ear.

Megan's top molar has still not come through more than in just 2 little areas and it has been waking her up at night.  The past couple of days have been hard on her.  :-(  I was out when I got the call so I swung by home, grabbed some advil and went to get my little miss.

By the time time I got there she was happily doing art at the table.  They said she was better within a couple of minutes of them hanging up the phone with me.  They felt bad about calling me since she seemed fine - I told them I would rather she be better until I got there than be crying the whole time.

I gave her some meds and we came home to snuggle until lunch.

Seriously need that tooth to come in and then one more.

Standing up by herself in the middle of the room

Tonight before dinner I was playing in the living room with the kids.  Megan had been a little warm so she was barefoot.  She was sitting in the floor with her back to me and out of the blue she got on her hands and knees and stood up and took 1 step before falling.  SHE STOOD UP!  I was so proud of her.  She fell because she took her 1 step before she got completely upright.

For the rest of the night, off and on, I had her stand up.  She did it by herself again one more time but did it with minimal assistance repeatedly.  She would stand up and then take 2-3 steps to get to the chair in front of her.  She was so proud of herself, she was just beaming.  I would cheer for her and Sam would clap and she would just smile and dance.

She was getting so excited that she would either launch herself forward when she brought her second foot up or she would try to take steps before she was completely upright -but she was so close, a lot.

The school princess

One of Megan's preschool teachers lives down the street from us.  When she comes home she drives by our house and stops and talks if we are playing in the driveway.   A few weeks ago she saw Megan in her cozy coupe and thought it was great so she got one for school.  

Yesterday Megan got to ride in the car at school.  Megan loves to rest her arm on the car window which is adorable; and she loves it when we or Sam push her.  So, at school, one of the other kids pushed the car a little while she was in it and she did what she does at home, which is pick up her feet and enjoy the ride.  

Her teachers said that as soon as that happened all of the kids wanted to push her so they actually had to wait in line to take turns pushing Megan in the car.  

Orthopaedist visit results

Megan's visit with the orthopaedist this morning was rough.  He did say that her trigger finger wasn't very bad and that it will be fine in a couple of weeks.  Evidently some people don't notice that their kid has an issue until their finger is so bad it can't be straightened out again.

Anyway, I talked to him about the fact that Megan won't leave the tape on her fingers and he said to really get this better her finger needs to be immobilized as much as possible.  So, he went in search of something that would work and there wasn't anything.  They just don't have splints or braces in her size.  Here is where it got a little rough for us.  They casted her arm and then removed it and cut out part of it and then created their own brace.  She didn't like the cast and really really didn't like its removal.  They pinched her wrist in the process so not good.

The brace they made is like an open face cast that has a metal bar under it and it goes up past her wrist so that she isn't able to just pull it off.  It is ridiculously huge and cumbersome and she can barely use her thumb and index finger.

Another amazing school & PT session

Megan had a great day at school today.  They said she did well and took several steps for them too.

I am cleaning out the kids toys and asked if they were in need of anything and her teacher said "Cause & Effect" toys which is exactly what I am getting rid of.  So this morning after I dropped Megan off I took a container of toys in for them to look through.

When I picked Megan up some of the toys were around and being played with by a couple of kids.  They told me that when someone played with one of them that Megan flipped out so badly they had to take her for a walk in the hall to calm her down and that after she was fine another kid touched it and she started crying again.  She hasn't played with that toy in more than 4 months.  I thought she might have "mine" issues with a couple of the toys but would never have imagined a reaction to that one.

Megan's at home PT sessions have been moved to Mondays now so she had a session this afternoon.  She started out a little rough - she didn't want to be away from me.  I think having this on a day when she is away from me in the morning might make it a little rough on her.  Once I started helping with the therapy she did great and was doing all kinds of difficult things.

Eventually I had to get Sam up from nap and while I was upstairs Megan left the therapist and walked 9 steps across the floor and then put her hands down in front of her to catch herself.  Evidently she blamed the therapist for letting her fall because she was ticked off.  She was yelling at her.  It took her a few minutes to get over being upset at her.

She was struggling again toward the end of the session so I got out the new Thanksgiving window clings I found this weekend.  I thought that they would encourage Megan to stand up and they absolutely did their job.  Not only did she stand up at the back door for almost 15 minutes she did amazing things.  She stood there with her hands flat against the door and would take off a sticker and hand it to herself.  Every so often she would grab onto the door handle to stabilize herself but for the most part she was balancing perfectly.

Move over Sam...I'm walking here

Megan did great again tonight walking back and forth between me and Will.  Sam was playing in the living room with us while she was doing this and I was constantly sending him on "errands" to keep him clear of the walk way.

He came back from an errand a little early and Megan was walking to Will.  She was about 1 1/2 feet from me and still had 2- 2 1/2 feet until she reached Will when Sam started to step in front of her.  Megan put her arm out in front of her, which put her hand slightly in front of Sam, and she put her hand on Sam's shoulder and swept him out of her way.  She didn't even knock herself off balance doing that - just pushed him aside so she could get to Will.

Trigger finger

Yesterday after nap I noticed that the ring finger on Megan's left hand was stuck in a bent position.  I touched it and she didn't flinch so I straightened it and when I did it popped.  I felt the pop but didn't hear anything.  It didn't hurt her, but it also didn't stay straight either.  As soon as she bent her finger again it got stuck.

I was very freaked out by this and called her doctor.  They said since it wasn't swollen, crooked, bruised or painful that it could wait until tomorrow (today) since by the time I got them on the phone it was 8:00 pm.

This morning we went to the hospital urgent care and they x-rayed it and confirmed that it is trigger finger.  The doctor was stumped because this is not something they see in little kids.  He taped her finger to her middle finger and told us to make an appointment with her orthopedist in the next two weeks.

Of course she had the tape off before we were out of the parking lot, but once we got home and could distract her with play/toys she left it alone.  With the tape she can bend and straighten the finger correctly because of the other finger.  The hope is that this will correct the situation.

Walking despite exhaustion

Megan is still working on that top left molar and she has been up multiple times at night for several nights in a row.  Needless to say she was very tired today.  She took about a 2 hour nap and it still wasn't enough.  But despite that she had an incredible afternoon and evening.

Before Will got home from work I was working with her and she would stand up with minimal assistance and then take off walking.  I was following her by sliding across the floor.  She was taking 5+ steps every time, up to 9-10 steps.  Before dinner Will and I worked with her together, getting her to walk back and forth between us and she was consistently taking 5+ steps.  After dinner she went right back to work and was just walking everywhere.  During a break she was sitting in Will's lap in the living room and I had Sam in mine across the room.  She got down from Will's lap and walked across the room to get to me.  

Better speech session and PT progress

Megan had a much better speech session today.  She still wasn't quite back to where she was week 1 with me in the room but she was much better than last week.  This week she was actually looking at the therapist and using her eyes, and sometimes her motions, to communicate what she wanted.  She kept her glasses on much better this week too.

This morning Megan had a PT session.  Betsy worked her so hard her little legs were shaky.  She was bending down and picking up toys over and over again working out her little thighs.

I am happy that she has two different PTs right now as they are each working on something different.  Beth, her at school PT, is working on Megan standing up in the middle of the room by herself and walking; Betsy, her at home PT, is working on her balance, picking things up while standing and keeping her weight forward.

5 Steps and Standing up

Megan took 5 solid steps today at school.  Beth started working with her on standing up in the middle of the floor.  She said that she barely had to give Megan any support that she was basically doing it by herself.  She showed me how to do it and Megan got up and then walked to me taking 3-4 steps to get to me and when everyone cheered for her she got so excited.

When we got home I practiced with Megan to get her to stand up and when she was up I praised her and she just beamed with pride.  I love that she is so proud of herself when she accomplishes something.

On the way to school this morning I was talking to her about how proud I am of her and how hard she has worked to learn how to walk and she smiled at me.

Four Steps, Not enticed

Tonight we dressed the kids in their costumes (they were each indians) and sat them on Megan's therapy bench for pictures.   I was kneeling in the floor with the camera and Megan decided she wanted me, or the camera, not sure which.  She stood up and took 4 steps across the floor and then she kind of sat down/fell down.  She didn't really fall, it was more like a controlled fall.  She was so balanced - she walked perfectly.

We cheered and she was so proud of herself.  She did it again but was more into diving onto her hands and knees.  

It was very exciting that she did it on her own, without us trying to get her to do it.  

Bite your own finger

Sam bit Megan's finger last week, really, really hard.  Yesterday they were playing together and giggling and giggling and giggling.  I was walking in and out of the room so I stuck my head around the corner to see what was so funny.  

Sam was trying to bite Megan's hand.  He would pull it toward his mouth and Megan would yank it away from him which would make them both laugh.  I watched for a couple of minutes and after repeating this a few times Megan finally started grabbing Sam's hand and pushing it into his mouth anytime he tried to bite her.

I told Sam that we don't bite.  I thought it was pretty smart of Megan to know what he was up to and to put his own hand in his mouth.

8/29 3 Year checkup

I failed to blog about Megan's 3 year checkup.  She weighed 23 pounds and was 32.5 inches tall.   At 3 years old they switch height/weight charts, and they no longer measure the head circumference.  On the new chart Megan is even further below the 0% line.  I don't think she is ever going to make the chart.  :-)

She is growing along her own path and doing great.  Dr Fennell was thrilled to see the difference in her from a year ago - she walked to him and climbed into his lap.

Upper left molar troubles

Megan has been working on cutting her left upper molar for a few days now.  She is really struggling with this one, even more than when she cut her bottom ones.  She has been up at night a lot which is making it hard on her during the day.   It feels like it is ready to come through at any moment.

She hasn't been wanting to walk as much the last couple of days and I am trying to figure out if it is because of her new orthotics and shoes or because of her tooth or because she is tired.

New orthotics

Yesterday afternoon at 4p we finally got Megan's new orthotics.  They were delayed by a week due to an error made by the ordering company.  So, the new ones are flexible and much smaller.  Megan is so much more stable with these on because she can use her toes.

When we got home from the appointment one of Megan's preschool teachers was standing on our porch.  She lives down the street and was returning a container that I had given her some pumpkin dip in.  I told her we finally had the new ones and when I got Megan out of the car she went to Debi.  Debi put her down and held her hands and had Megan walk and she was in awe at how much better and easier it was for Megan.

After Debi left we came inside and I worked with Megan for a few minutes using her bench and the couch.  Megan stood right up and took 2-3 steps to get to the couch like she had been walking forever.  It was so easy for her.

Will and I have a date this morning, we are going to try to make it through a giant 12-acre corn maze, but I am so looking forward to this afternoon and the next couple of days as Megan gets used to these.

What a difference mommy's presence makes

Megan had her second speech therapy appointment today.  Since I had Sam with me today I stayed outside of the room and observed through the window.  There were headphones available for me to listen, but for the most part I could tell what was going on by watching.

Megan behaved so different without me in the room.  First, she was constantly taking off her glasses.  Last week she pulled them down 2, maybe 3 times.  Today she flung them across the room at least 15 times and probably more than that.  She wouldn't do what the therapist directed 90% of the time.  She wouldn't even look at her to get instructions or to see what she was doing.

After the session we talked about how different it was and that Megan was just testing her; but oh man.  I am  so happy that I was in the room last week so that I could see what she is capable of doing.  Megan has been doing really well for me with the gross motor direction.

Pretend Play

One of the things that Megan hasn't done much of is pretend play.  Pretend play is a big milestone for kids - it shows all kinds of things.  It is an early indicator of Autism, as well as other things, which is what all of the people who see and/or evaluate her are checking on.  She does not have Autism, she doesn't fit any of the symptoms.  Pretend play was the last item on the list of things that couldn't be checked off.

Megan started hugging and kissing on stuffed animals and her baby doll a few weeks ago.  This counts as pretend play.  Her baby doll laughs when you push its tummy so she mostly just pushed its tummy but if we hugged the baby she would copy us.  She would only pretend to feed the animals or baby if we did it first.  I let a friend of mine know that I was in the market for a baby doll and accessories and she mailed me a doll and items to go with it.

The package arrived yesterday and Megan helped me open it.  As soon as she saw the baby she hugged it and kissed it and cradled it.  I pulled out the bottle and she fed the baby the bottle for several seconds before throwing it, of course.  I was so happy to see her do this on her own.  This was a big step for her - she is progressing with her imagination.

Today she used the baby monitor as a phone and drank from the bowls and cups in her kitchen.

Speech therapy - first session with new therapist

Wow!  I took Megan to her first session with her new speech therapist this morning.  Will took off work to keep Sam so that I could give my full attention, which was absolutely necessary since I was in the room with them.

Megan's therapist, Jean, is great.  After Megan realized I wasn't leaving her (thinking preschool has its downside) she warmed right up to her and had a great time.  The initial session(s) are used to determine what  toys/tools/activities are the most motivating to Megan so they know what to use to get her to respond the way they want.  Megan loved this music thing that had pictures and lit up and she also LOVED the iPad.

The first step in the process is to get Megan to understand that she has some power/control over things.  That if she does something she will get something.  For example, today when she wanted Jean to turn on the iPad Megan would have to clap her hands, or raise her hand, etc (just an action, no meaning to the action) whatever Jean directed her to do.  There is a process that is used to get her to do it if she doesn't do it spontaneously so that she is always successful.  Anyway once the action is performed Megan gets what she wants - the iPad to be turned on.  Once Megan fully grasps this concept with motions/actions that are easy for her to perform they will switch to sounds; and because she knows that if she does what she is being told to do she will get what she wants she is more likely to make the sound.

By the end of the session Megan was spontaneously clapping for things because that was what she was directed to do most often, and probably because it is something that she is told to do, and does, all the time. When we got home I went to demonstrate the process to Will and she did it spontaneously anytime I used "clap hands" as the directive, so I switched to "raise arm" and after a few times she was doing great with it.

I am so excited about this.  It makes perfect sense and it is doable and Megan is figuring it out quickly.  Jean even said in her session that Megan was going to progress rapidly through this part based on what she observed.  I am hoping that by her next session, in a week, that Megan will be ready to move to the next phase.

Moving right along

Megan is flying through the phases of getting from where she was to walking on her own.  She can now, as of yesterday, walk just holding onto one of our hands.  She does great at it and is almost perfectly stable - she is still a tiny bit wobbly after the 10th+ step but she can keep going.

Yesterday at school she took independent steps for them several times.  They hadn't seen it previously because she was out sick so they were all very, very excited.

Her at home PT gave me some tips for working with her by myself and they work great.  I raised her therapy bench to a level where when she sits on it she is about at a 110 degree angle.  I face her toward the couch and put something on the couch that she wants.  She will stand up by herself and take a couple of steps to get to the couch.  She is always so very proud of herself when she does this.  Yesterday the school PT gave me some tips for getting her to walk toward me as well by having Megan go to the side a little bit instead of straight on which she said should avoid the diving - we will try this later today.

When I picked her up from preschool yesterday I asked whether or not she is playing with the other kids.  The immediate response was "she goes up to the other kids more than anyone else".  I love to hear that.  I love that she is playing with them.  I told them that she loves to play with Sam but that she can get aggressive with him so I was worried about that.  They said when she plays with a particular little boy in class who is almost her size (he is slightly bigger, but  not much) that they can really get into; but that when she plays with the other kids who are her age but "average" size (so huge compared to her) she does great.  I couldn't help but think "smart girl, knows not to take on the big kids".

Big love for daddy's friend Alex

Megan loves Alex.  Will works with him and she has been around him a few times.  She has seen him for a few minutes when she visits daddy at work; she saw him when he ate lunch here once and when he came to help Will with a project; and then spent some time with him when we went to his beach house for the weekend.  She has always loved him.

This afternoon I took the kids to see Will at work.  They didn't get to see him at lunchtime today so I expected them to be very clingy with Will; Sam was, Megan....left his arms to go to Alex.  She immediately gave him snuggles and smiled at him.  It is so cute.

After she was back with me she wanted to go see him again so I stood her up and had her walk to Alex and I let go of her.  She took 2 steps to get to him before she could hold onto him.

Repeating sounds

I have been working with Megan for 2-3 weeks to get her to mimic sounds as this seems to be the biggest obstacle to her talking (in my unprofessional opinion).  Historically we have been introducing new sounds and  trying to get her to make them but I switched to making sounds I know she can do hoping to get her to copy me.

Two days ago she started copying me - she has done it several times throughout the last 2 days.  Each time she does it we go bonkers with excitement, since she loves to be praised, hoping this will encourage her to continue the behavior.

Getting ready for new therapist

Since Megan started taking steps she has been babbling more and more.  She has also started making more sounds than she ever has before.  She is making b, r, v, l and more sounds; and using tons of inflection and range.  It is like she knows she will be working with someone new and she wants to impress them.  :-)

Speech Therapy

I just received the call from the Speech Therapy place that we will be sending Megan to.  She starts next Friday, assuming she is well by then.  It is unfortunate that she has to have another therapy session during the week, especially since Friday was her only day off (except for the numerous appointments she has had to have lately); but as I said before we don't have any confidence in the school therapist.

When I spoke to the therapist and explained the situation she said that they have a lot of clients in our situation.  Clients who are currently receiving the free therapy provided by the school (paid for with our taxes) but who are paying out of pocket for their services.  At this point we are not going to tell the school what we are up to but I am sure it will come out eventually.  We don't see a need to remove Megan from their speech sessions as I don't think they can do any harm.

Rough night, runny nose and babbling on Star

Megan had a really rough night last night.  She woke up every hour to hour and a half.  She would cry for 1-2  minutes and then eventually go back to sleep.  When she got up this morning I checked her tooth and it was definitely the cause of her struggles.  When she went to bed her bottom left molar was only broken through on the outside edge of her gum, the rest of her gum was just very swollen (it has been that way for about 2 weeks).  This morning her entire tooth was through her gum.

The other thing that was going on when she got up this morning was a runny nose.  :-(  Throughout the day her nose just got worse and worse and by this evening she had a little cough off and on.  She spent most of the afternoon in my lap.  She would get down but it would last about 1-2 minutes and then she would just start crying and lay her head down on the floor so I would pick her up again.

She had her session on Star this morning before she started feeling really poorly.  She had a great time on Star and babbled the entire time.  Margie was excited to hear all of her noises and even some new sounds.

Megan will not be going to school tomorrow and depending on how she is feeling she may also miss her PT session on Friday.

Diving, hugs and using her "words"

Megan took some steps again today but she did move diving instead of stepping which is the same progression that Sam had when he started.  She also stood up off of my leg without holding onto anything without having to be tricked into it.  She is progressing rapidly and is loving every minute of it.

Last night I told Megan to go give daddy a hug and she did.  She crawled over to him, stood up, climbed into his lap and hugged him.

Earlier today Megan was sitting in the floor pointing up at the kitchen table and grunting for something.  What she wanted was her leappad, she could see the case for it.  I said "use your words" trying to get her to make a word sound and instead when I said that she immediately said please in sign language.  That was a first and I think attributable to school.

Steps, Steps, Steps and Please let me walk

After nap today Will and I were both sitting in the living room floor with the kids.  Megan wanted to stand up leaning against me.  All of a sudden she decided she wanted Will and she took 3 steps from me to get to him.          
She wasn't holding onto anything - she took her first 3 real steps.  We were both in shock and she was so happy with herself.  She then proceeded to walk to me taking 2-3 steps to get to me - we did this back and forth 3 or 4 times and then Will said we should be recording this.

I setup the video camera and she went back to work.  She took 2-3 steps between us multiple times and she was beaming.

We decided to go out for dinner and we went to the Mexican place in downtown.  I was carrying Megan down the sidewalk and then we had to wait for the walk sign at the corner.  When the sign changed I said "we can walk now" and Megan started saying "please, please, please" all the way across the street.  I told her I would let her walk once we got across the street.  Her asking to walk just made my heart beam.

When we got home Megan played in her cozy coupe while Sam ran around the yard.  I came inside with Sam, gave him a bath and put him to bed and then Will came in with Megan. We decided to see if she would take more steps and turned on the camera.  Megan was taking up to 5 steps at a time between us and she was so very proud of herself.

What an exciting afternoon for her.  She has been sad when Sam walks past her and she wants to do it so badly so I am thrilled that she is getting there.

Hardest easy appointment ever and PT session

This morning after breakfast Megan had her appointment to get fitted for her new orthotics.  Megan has always been great at appointments, even when we had to sit around for a while or when she had casts put on her legs for her current orthotic fitting.  Well, today she didn't do so great.  She was fine until the guy needed to start measuring her feet.  She even walked to him and climbed into his lap while we were talking.

I didn't realize she wouldn't have to be casted today so I was happy when I found out they were just gong to take measurements.  Megan, on the other hand, acted like she was having her ears cleaned again.  She freaked out and kept yanking her feet away from him, she was trying to turnaround and crawl up me to get away from him.  No amount of comforting her was working so we just had to go with it.  He wasn't hurting her.  At one point she went from trying to get away to trying to kick him in the head.  On the outside I said "Megan don't kick him" on the inside I was thinking "good job little miss, if you think you are in danger use what resources you have".

Her new orthotics are a step back in support level.  These have more flexibility to them and allow her to use her toes to help with stability because they stop before her toes.  I am happy that we are moving in this direction, closer to nothing at all.  Also, since they are made from measurements they are computerized and therefore ready in 2 weeks instead of 6.  Yay!

This afternoon Megan had her in home PT session and she worked so hard again today.  She works so hard that her little legs start shaking by the end of the session.  She recovers quickly and wants to walk/cruise everywhere within minutes of her PT leaving.  When I told Betsy which inserts Megan was getting this time she was excited because they will help Megan get ready to start walking.

My version of doing good and theirs don't match

Megan's teachers have been telling me that she had a good day or a great day at school.  I found out this week that their version of what a good day is doesn't equal my version.  On Monday when I picked Megan up I was informed by one of the co-teachers that Megan had a great day, that she was absolutely delightful and that she didn't cry at all, except for when she got hurt (she pinched her cheek in a block).  At the time I said to Megan "are you not delightful all the time" and the lady then said, she was more delightful today. 

On the way home I kept thinking about the "didn't cry at all" comment and it really bothered me.  So on Tuesday when I dropped her off I asked about the comment and was informed that yes Megan does fuss/cry  pretty much every day but that they consider that normal for a first time childcare child.  She fusses/cries when it is not her turn, or when they want her to do something she doesn't want to do, etc.  When I left the room that morning I cried, I cried off/on all day and night. It is still difficult for me to leave Megan at school.  I don't want her there, I want her home with me; but I was dealing with it because I thought she was having a good time and doing so well and then I found out that she has been unhappy every day.  Megan fussing because she doesn't like what is happening (i.e. taking turns), etc doesn't bother me because it shows that she is becoming more independent and wanting things her way which is a typical toddler attitude.  Megan crying, actually crying tears over something is another story.  Megan is and has always been a very easy-going, happy and content child.  It is not unusual for her to go a month without crying tears and they are telling me she is now doing it every day.  She is clearly unhappy.  

This morning when I dropped her off I asked Leah if she thought Megan was progressing.  She doesn't get an official progress report until the end of October but I explained that I was still having a hard time leaving her but that I was okay with dealing with it until I learned that she was having a hard time too and that the only thing that would make me leave her in school at this point was if she was making progress.  Leah mentioned a couple of things that Megan is now doing but that she wasn't before and the PT, who happened to be standing there, mentioned a few things as well.  Unfortunately, which was a concern I mentioned to Will last night, the "progress" she has made is that they are now seeing everything she is capable of.  She is not doing new things, with the exception of playing while leaning back.  

Needless to say I was unhappy when I left.  It doesn't help that we have zero confidence in the speech therapist who cannot even give us any specific tips for working with Megan.  I was struggling with how to make the right decision for Megan.  I really want to take her out of school because I miss her and I don't want her to be unhappy either.  I decided to take the kids for a little drive through the country while I thought and prayed about what to do.  

So, here is the plan.  The decision has been made to leave Megan in school until the end of 2012.  We will evaluate the situation at that time and decide what to do.  Obviously if something drastic or serious happens between now and then we will pull her out if needed.  Just making the decision brought me peace and I feel much better about things.  Knowing that she will be going for the next 3 months has given me freedom.  I am sure that there will still be rough days but they shouldn't be anything like what I have been going through.  

Kicking balls

Today after finishing her ride on Star, Margie had Megan walk around in the arena.  During her session Megan put balls through a basketball hoop so they were on the ground.  Margie walked Megan up to a ball and told her to kick it and she pulled her little leg back and really kicked the ball.  She proceeded to go all around kicking various balls.  Sometimes she would put her foot on top of the ball instead of kicking it but would then kick it.

When it was time to go Margie walked her over to me and said "she must do this at home", she was quite surprised when I told her Megan had never done it before.  We have never even tried to get her to do it; actually while she was doing it I was thinking that this would be a good thing to do at home.

Sneaky bottom molars

Last Friday when Megan was having her ears cleaned and was screaming I could see that one side of her bottom molars was working on coming in again.  

This week when I dropped her off at school each day she didn't want me to leave.  On Monday she went to a teacher and then immediately came back to me, hugged me and laid her head on my shoulder.  On Tuesday when we walked into the classroom she grabbed hold of me and put her forehead to mine and stayed that way for a few minutes.  Today she went to a teacher and was okay with it but she had a rough day.  Each day when I pick her up she just wants to get in the stroller and then she touches Sam, holds his hand and pats his leg.  

So this week I thought that she was realizing that this preschool thing was a regular thing and that she was unhappy about it because she misses me.  She does miss me and Sam.  On Tuesday she was leaning up against the kitchen working with the PT and when she saw me she leaned forward to stand up straight and then tried to walk to me and today she was standing up using a container and she cruised around it toward me and tried to walk to get to the stroller.  

This afternoon I got Megan up from her nap and gave her a bath.  Will & I had a date tonight and I didn't want the sitter having to deal with bath too.  After her bath she was sitting in my lap and I decided to check on her teeth just to see if anything was happening.  I checked her left side first and was excited to feel that her bottom molar had partially broken through.  And then I checked her right side and her bottom molar is in!  It has come in completely - not quite all the way in height wise, but all areas have broken through and it is at least halfway in.  Oh my goodness.  No wonder she hasn't wanted to leave me - she has been hurting.  Every other time she has been working on her molars she has been up at night, every night, for 3+ weeks so we had no idea.  

I was so very excited for her.  Tonight before bed she got some tylenol to help her through the night.  Maybe by morning her other bottom molar will be completely through.  

Passed with flying colors!

Megan passed her behavioral hearing test this morning without any issues.  She also passed the repeat OAE now that her ears are clean.  Woo-Hoo!  I am so thrilled to finally have this off the table.  I even waited for a copy of the report before I would leave the office so that I don't have to deal with requesting it in the future.

A new phase to her PT

Megan had her at home PT session today and since she is no longer needing so much work to get her on her feet the PT changed what she worked on today.  Instead of working with her to get her on her feet she worked with her to get her to stand without putting her weight on the tables or toys - so her weight was all on her feet and she played with her hands or just used them for a little bit of balance.

She also worked on transitioning between surfaces at right angles and even moving somewhere that was out of her reach.

Ears clean but no hearing test yet

The ENT cleaned Megan's ears this morning and boy was it traumatic.  Megan screamed and kicked and was flipping out and I had to help hold her down for them to get it done.  The doctor kept saying "I promise this is not hurting her" but I am sure everyone in the lobby thought someone was hurting her.  She was too traumatized to let the audiologist do the OAE test and the doctor wanted her to get a full hearing test anyway so she is scheduled for next Tuesday at their other office for the test.

Keeping up the good work

Megan is continuing to do a great job.  She had a wonderful day at preschool yesterday and did great with her PT.  They said she pulled up and cruised at multiple surfaces in the room.  When I got there to pick her up she was standing and playing at the water table.

She has been pulling up at various places at home on her own, including pulling up and cruising in her bed.

She has been throwing toys less and less lately.  She actually went 2-3 days without throwing anything which is a first in more than a year.  Historically she has thrown anything that is stored in a container like her farm animals, food for her kitchen, etc; but she has been playing with those items the past couple of days instead of throwing them.

Ready to come home

This morning when Sam and I picked Megan up from preschool she didn't want me, she wanted to get into the stroller.  As soon as I buckled her in she reached over and grabbed Sam's hand and just held it.  They ended up holding hands for 2-3 minutes while I talked to her teachers and then walked back to the car.  She misses her little brother when she is at school.

Jesus and book

I sing to Megan about Jesus all the time - we make up songs about how much Jesus loves her, etc.  This weekend Will was reading a book to Megan called God Made Me Special.  As he was reading it he was pointing at the pictures and telling her what they were and when he got to the picture of Jesus and told her this is a picture of Jesus Megan did the sign for love.  Talk about melting your heart - Megan KNOWS that Jesus loves her.

Yesterday afternoon we were playing and Megan picked up a book to say "read this to me mommy" and I said "bring it to me and I will read it to you" and she did!  Megan scooted, pushed, carried and got it to me.  This is her first time for that, so proud of her.

Hearing test....again

Megan had another hearing test on Friday.  I took her to a nearby middle school to meet with the audiologist.  The tests she did were so much faster and simpler than what she has been through previously.  The school program that she is in requires another hearing test since the behavioral test is the only one she has passed so far.

The audiologist did two tests with Megan.  The first test was an otoacoustic emission test which tests the little hairs inside your ears.  There are five different tones that it tests for and Megan only passed one in each ear.  Since she didn't pass this one the lady did another test which tests Megan's eardrums and middle ear.  She passed that one just fine in both ears.  The lady then looked in Megan's ears and said that there was quite a bit of wax and that made her feel better about the results because wax can throw the test off.  I was instructed to get Megan's ears cleaned and then they would repeat the test; or I could just take her to an ENT to clean them and get the test redone there.  I went with option B and scheduled an appointment with a local ENT for next Friday.  They will clean her ears and then repeat the otoacoustic emission test and based on the outcome we will go from there.

We still have zero concerns about Megan's hearing, because she responds to us just fine, loves music and different sounds, etc; but if there is something going on we definitely want to take care of it for her.  It will be nice to finally get this behind us and move forward.

Changes

My little girl is changing so much and so fast lately.  She is so excited to be up on her feet, it is thrilling to watch.  She will quickly and happily stand up to get to what she wants.  She is playing with more intent - she is concentrating on tasks and figuring out how to make them happen instead of just having me do them for her.  She is back to saying please to get what she wants if we hold out and wait for it.  She is vocalizing about everything too.  Today, during her PT session, she played for 20+ minutes with a puzzle and by the end of that time she was able to put some of the pieces in by herself (it is an animal shape puzzle so not easy to do for her).

Speaking of her PT session, today was her first day with her new therapist.  Mandy moved and is now 1 1/2 hours away from us so she understandably dropped all of her clients in our area.  Her boss has taken her case load and she came today to see Megan (only because I said I would find someone else if I didn't hear from her).

Betsy is a nice lady and Megan had a great time with her but oh man she is loopy.  I am glad this is a short term situation.  We will be keeping Megan's at home sessions until she starts walking, which let me tell you is not that far off.  Today during the session Megan was a rock star - she pulled up EVERYWHERE, stood and played for over 30 minutes, cruised back and forth at the table to get puzzle pieces and take them back to the puzzle and stood up 3/4 of the way without holding on a couple of times.

So it seems that preschool is already helping Megan.  I do not attribute the "on her feet" to them because it was her deciding she was ready and it started before school; but I do think her being more thoughtful about play and her communicating more has to do with school.

Even better than before

Sam slept most of the afternoon because he was up a lot last night so that meant that it was just me and Little Miss for quite a while after nap.  She woke up super sweet and ready to go.

Megan quit fighting me on pretty much everything and just played.  She pulled up and cruised at every surface she could reach; she played so nicely with her farm animals and even gave them to me when I asked to see them.  We had so much fun.  She walked to the end of the driveway and back twice and played with the shrubs along the way.  She got very excited when the school bus arrived while we were at the end of the driveway (our house is the stop).  

She walked holding just one of my hands for a few feet a couple of times, but this is really not her favorite thing to do yet.  

Benefits? or Downside?

I realize that Megan has only been in preschool 4 times but for the record we haven't seen any benefits yet.  I know that it will take some time for her to adjust, etc.  However, we are definitely experiencing the downside  of her being there.

The teachers are correcting Megan's behavior at school, but they can't do things exactly the way we do them.  Well our super smart little one has figured this out and she is pushing her limits at home.  From the time I picked her up yesterday Megan has been aggressively disobeying; doing things that she rarely fights us on.  I can only imagine what they are experiencing with her at school.  

Preschool and catching up a little bit

So much to catch up since I have been sick.  Megan has been loving preschool.  She went two days last week and I picked her up early both days.  The first day she was tired, I mean super tired and the second day they said she would tired again.

We have been having to get her up an hour early to get to school on time but we are keeping the routine all week and she has gotten used to it.  She didn't seem tired at all this weekend like they were talking about so it occurred to me that they might be mistaking frustration/boredom with tiredness/fussiness since her noises are all the same.  This morning when I dropped her off I explained that to them and they said they would watch out for it.  Last week I picked her up at 10 and today 10:30 and she was fine when I got there.

This morning I had Megan walk to her classroom.  When we got to the door she walked to the sink and climbed up and washed her hands.  I talked to the teachers about how important it was to keep her on her feet, if only during transition time (they did tell me before she started they would keep her on her feet but every time I am there someone is holding her).  Well, my little chat worked because they had her walk to the cafeteria which is a really long way and she did it.  After I got her to the car (used the stroller because Sam was with us) that was the last time I carried her so far today.

When I got her out of the car I stood her up and she walked into the house from the garage and then into the kitchen.  She walked using her wagon back and forth and everywhere.  She pulled up at the table and couch and cruised around everywhere.  We went for a walk and she walked outside, down the front stairs to the stroller and then I had her walk back in.   When daddy got home I had her walk outside to his truck.  Will did carry her around a little bit but she walked up the stairs and to her room for nap.

She is also getting more and more vocal about everything.  When she wants something she lets you know it.  This is a good step in the direction of communicating.

Preschool

Megan officially starts preschool on Tuesday.  The school recommended 5 half days a week, but due to other therapies (i.e. hippo) and my need to have her around more than that, I agreed to three days a week.  She will go Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  I am excited for her but I am also nervous.  I am worried that 3 1/2 hours a day is too long for her to be away from me; I am worried about the teachers not understanding what she wants and her getting frustrated or missing out on something.  I know this is the right thing for her and I am sure after the first couple of weeks it will be easier on me.  

I think she will like all of the attention and getting to socialize with the other kids.  Her teacher and assistants are all very nice and they seem excited to work with her.  Her name is already on the bulletin board, and she has a cubby.  

Doing it the hard way...again

When Megan learns how to do something she typically does it in the most difficult way possible.  She learned to sit up by doing a sit-up, she learned to pull up by doing both feet at the same time, etc.

Tonight she climbed the stairs...all of them.  She has only ever climbed the first 3-4 stairs a few times in a row.  She wanted to climb the stairs so I went behind her to help and she did it the hard way.  She would stand up on a stair, put her hands 2 stairs up and then step up on the stair in between and bring the other foot up - she was "walking" up instead of using her knees.  Three times on the way she would stop and put her head down on the step, I am sure she was so tired doing it this way.

We cheered and cheered for her when she got to the top and she did her little happy dance for us.  She wasn't too worn out to stand in Sam's bed a few minutes later.

Wow, what a day!

This morning after breakfast we played outside and Megan rode in her cozy coupe car.  She enjoyed herself and didn't really want to get out but was okay with it because we were going to the park.

After we got back from the park I started working with Megan in the living room.  We have a large balance ball in between the coffee table and our love seat and the kids have a desk just beside the love seat.  After getting Megan to round the corner of the table I got her to cruise over to the ball and then to transition across the ball and turn 90 degrees to get to the desk.  Then she climbed onto the seat and put her legs under (I helped her stabilize while she did this part).  I let her sit and read the book I was using to entice her and then I put it back up on the ball.  Completely by herself she got her legs out from under the desk, swung her feet around and stood up using the side of the ball; and eventually made her way back to the table.  I was so impressed and proud of her.

This afternoon I was working with her again to get her to stand up from the bench without using her hands.  This is the step before she will start walking and feel safe/stable to just stand by herself in the middle of the room.  I have been working with her for a few days on this and even though I know she is strong enough to do it so doesn't know that so she won't try if she can't grab something.  Well, she stood up 4 or 5 times before she touched me - she was leaning forward to grab me but I was too far away and she got all the way up before she reached me; and then 1 time she stood straight up without touching.  This was so very exciting to watch.

A few minutes later Will came in the room and we tried to get her to take some steps between us without holding on.  She moved toward him one time and took half a step before she grabbed his hand.

Tonight before dinner we took Megan outside to play in the front yard.  I put the blanket down and Will laid on it beside her and they played for a few minutes.  She kept pointing toward the garage and asking for something, I knew she wanted her little coupe so I said "show mommy what you want".  I took her stands, she stood up and she walked me across the lawn, the driveway and into the garage.  She was walking in front of me and directing me where to go - I didn't lead her at all.  And then she stood up several times inside the car which was great.

Tonight after bath we put both kids in Megan's bed.  Sam crawled and stood up at her bed and tried to get in and so I put him in.  Megan was in Will's arms and tried to dive out of them to get into her bed with Sam.  The two of them played in her bed until time for bed, in fact Megan never got out of bed again.  They had a blast and Megan stood up multiple times because Sam was and also so that she could get to one of us to play.

Continuing to do everything

Megan has been pulling up and cruising at all surfaces - the coffee table, couch, chair, fridge and her kitchen. She will walk, holding my hands, as far across the house as I take her; as often as I will ask her to do it.

Yesterday I started working with Megan to "round the corner" of the coffee table and she did great.  She did it today as well and was pretty secure in her movements.

Her switch is "on"

Megan had a session with Mandy today and she did great.  She pushed her wagon, stood at her kitchen, pulled up several times in multiple locations and cruised a little bit.

After dinner tonight Megan pulled up countless times and not only cruised for me, she flew from one end of the table to the other again and again.  She pushed the wagon a couple of times and she walked, holding Will's hands, all the way across the house.  This was huge -she doesn't usually walk for Will.

Megan has been walking all over the place while holding onto my hands - she is walking freely, not being pulled along.  She is happy to walk and is enjoying it.

Spicy food makes her chatty

Due to our schedule we have eaten out a lot more in the past week and a half than we have in the past 2 months, and we kept selecting Mexican food.  We started noticing how talkative Megan was on the way home after dinner - seriously vocal and happy.

On Saturday we had to pick up something on the other side of town and were planning on stopping at the bbq place that was our favorite when we lived there.  Sadly, the bbq place was gone so we had to do something else nearby and fast (it was already a late dinner for the kids).  The only thing available that wasn't crazy busy was a burger place.  There were no complaints about having to eat burgers, fries and onion rings for dinner but we definitely noticed a difference on the ride home afterward.  Megan wasn't abnormally chatty, she was just her usual "small talk" self.

So we confirmed that it wasn't just the eating out that made the difference it was the spicy food.  Megan loves spicy food - she will eat things that I think are too hot for her and do it with a smile.

Surprise...Star

When we arrived at the farm today it was Star that was being warmed up instead of Daisy.  Margie decided to see how Megan would do for an entire session on Star to determine if they will schedule her for Star during the Fall session.

Megan did great, though she wasn't happy about walking up to the horse because Star is huge compared to Daisy.

Margie said that for the first couple of minutes Megan's "seat" was off and she wasn't sure they would be able to use Star but then she got used to the wider horse and got into the correct position for the rest of the ride.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

This morning before bringing Megan downstairs we got her dressed including her shoes.  We setup her new kitchen in the living room last night and wanted to give it to her first thing and make it comfortable for her to stand and play at it.  

When we got downstairs we let Sam give her his gift first.  He gave her a pizza with a cutter to go with her kitchen.  They both wanted to eat the pizza - so very cute. 

Next we gave Megan her cleaning set.  She wants to help when I sweep and vacuum, etc so I got her a little helpers set.  It came with a broom/dustpan, swiffer, mop and bucket and several boxes of supplies.  When Will gave it to her she didn't seem impressed but later this morning she was sweeping toys into her dustpan.

Finally it was time to show her the new kitchen so Will took the camera (Megan does better standing and cruising with me).  Megan was so excited about everything that opens/closes (fridge, microwave, stove, cabinets, drawers) and the shelf that she could put stuff on.  The stove has 2 pans that created different sounds.  The frying pan makes a sizzling sound and the pot making a boiling water sound.  She really likes the boiling water sound and made lots of pots of potatoes for me after Will went to work.  

We played with her kitchen most of the morning and she stood at it for a total of at least an hour.  As expected she is a lot shorter than the kitchen and can barely reach several items but that just means she can use it for years to come instead of towering over it.  

This afternoon is her last ride on Daisy for this session and daddy is going with us.  He hasn't seen her other than in photos and videos so he is excited.  I think it is perfect that he is going on her birthday.  

Thankful heart and "talking" to daddy

Megan has such a thankful heart.  Anytime you give her something she wants you get big hugs and snuggles and kisses.  Yesterday we decided to go to On the Border for dinner and when Will told her we were going for a drive he got multiple hugs on the way to the truck.  When he carried her to the restaurant and opened the door he got big hugs again.

We were talking on the way home after dinner about how sweet it is that she is so appreciative of everything.

Megan has been more and more vocal lately, especially if Will is holding her and they are "off by themselves".  Before nap today she was "talking" like crazy to him.  She points at things around the room and    just goes on and on about them.  I recorded the audio of about a minute of this today.  I am not sure what is so motivating about hanging with daddy but I love it.

Speech Evaluation

Megan had her speech evaluation on Friday morning.  The lady who came was a little strange and she definitely did not inspire confidence.  She couldn't get her box open to get to her toys, she referred back to her exam several times a minute and had no clue how to work with a 2 year old.

She would show Megan a toy or book and ask her a question and then 2-3 seconds later go to write down her observation and while doing that she would take away what she had just shown her so the session pretty much went like this....

Therapist: Here is a book Megan

Therapist: Open the book Megan

The therapist would then take the book from Megan and put it on the floor behind her or in her box and then proceed to write down her observation; while this was going on Megan would go get the book wherever it was and try to read it.   When the lady was finished recording the information she would pay attention to what Megan was doing again and take the book away from her and try to get her to move on to another task.  

The evaluation took 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Megan was frustrated with the lady for most of that time because she never let her do anything.

I have no idea what the results of the evaluation will be, but I am sure it will not be an accurate picture of Megan's abilities; however, what matters is that she will qualify for therapy and that is what is important.

What's mine is yours

Megan loves to share food with her daddy.  Anytime she bites into something she finds delicious she will immediately offer Will a bite.  A couple of days ago she was eating blueberries and sharing with daddy.  At one point she put one in her mouth and held her hand up to Will's mouth to give him one and then realized that her hand was empty.  So...she took the blueberry out of her mouth to give to him.  How incredibly sweet and adorable is that?

Picking blueberries

Tonight before dinner and we went to a local blueberry farm.  We put the kids in the wagon and wound our way through the rows until we found a good spot.  Will held Megan up to the bush and showed her that he was picking one and he dropped it in the bucket.  Megan looked in the bucket and then watched Will do it again and then she reached in and took them out and ate them.  Smart girl.

After Will helped Sam pick some berries I took a turn with Megan.  I squatted down and she stood up in front of me.  She wouldn't pick them, she just wanted to hit the bush and make them fall off.  She would take them from my hand and eat them and give them to me to eat.  She stood and ate blueberries with me for several minutes.  I was so proud of her.

Warming up works best

Megan hasn't been wanting to do much work the last couple of days.  I remembered today that warming her up before Mandy's session made a big difference so I decided to give it a try this morning.  Will took Sam to Home Depot and I started working with Megan.

It only took 2-3 minutes of warm up and she was ready to go.  She walked all around the living room with the wagon, pulled up at the wagon and at the table and then she did amazing with the car.  She walked the length of our entry, I turned the car around and she adjusted and ended up going back and forth 4 times before stopping; and even then it was a short break.  When Will opened the front door she was headed in that direction and she took off really fast to get to the door so she could shut it, then she let go of the car, grabbed my hand and took a couple of steps to get to Will.

She even danced with me and walked across the room a couple of times.  She did great this afternoon/evening as well.  I need to remember to warm her up each morning so things get going every day.

Wednesday's session with Daisy

Margie changed things up a little bit during Megan's riding session on Wednesday.  She worked with Megan standing up for a few minutes before the ride because she wanted to compare to how she did after.  Also, a little more than halfway through the ride they put these special stirrups on Daisy.  Margie wasn't sure they would be short enough but on the highest setting Megan's feet reached.  The stirrups had little cup things where your feet go.

They worked with Megan to stand up and tried to get her to do it without holding on to their hands but she wasn't quite ready for that.  She did so great.  After the ride instead of Margie working with her to stand up (since she did it just fine before) she had her walk across the dirt to get to where Sam was sitting twice.  Megan did great - she was a little unsteady because of the surface but she did it.

Why was I concerned? and dancing

This morning while Sam was napping I tried to work with Megan to get her pulling up but she was so tired (she whimpered all night) that she would just lay down and cry.  Instead we snuggled and sang songs and she played in the jump-jump.

This afternoon was Megan's PT session with Mandy.  I decided to get Megan warmed up before Mandy arrived since it made such a difference yesterday.  Mandy was a few minutes late so I ended up working with her for about 12 or 13 minutes.  I just worked with her standing, I didn't bother with trying to get her to pull up.  

For the first several minutes that Mandy worked with her she wouldn't pull up.  We talked about the fact that she hasn't been doing it with her shoes on so Mandy took them off of her.  Immediately Megan pulled right up and continued to do so multiple times.  She had her walk behind the wagon a couple of times and then put her shoes back on her.  And then the moment happened......Megan pulled up like it was no big deal wearing her shoes.  By the time we took them off of her to put her pjs on her Megan had pulled up so many times I lost count.  She even stood and played with Will for several minutes.  

And now for the dancing....I was singing "shimmy-shimmy, shake-shake" while holding Megan's hands and twisting her torso back and forth with mine.  I let go of her hands and she started doing it on her own.  She even did it for Will a few minutes later when he was singing it.  So cute to see her twisting and dancing.  Can hardly wait to see her up on her feet.  

Back on track

I have been sad the past few days that Megan wasn't pulling up anywhere; and then I was really concerned when I watched her try to pull up in bed and not be able to.  So bummed that my relaxed attitude during vacation caused her to regress to much.

This afternoon she took her nap late - she just wouldn't go to sleep and it was 3:00 when she finally fell asleep.  Will took Sam with him on an errand right about the time that Megan woke up so I ended up with about 45 minutes of time where it was just the two of us.

The first thing I did was get her to walk behind the wagon - she tried to fight me a little bit but she did it.  At that point I decided to try something new, I figured that maybe her legs were a little weak from the break.  I sat her on the bench and had her grab my hands and stand up.  When she was standing up I would make her dance and clap and we would sing songs.  This worked great - she sat down 5 or 6 times but we did this for 10 minutes and each time she sat down she stood right back up.

She walked with the wagon again and then held my hands and walked back to the bench and we sang/danced and played while she was standing.   I put Sam's basketball goal on a container that is in the living room collecting all of the toys they have outgrown.  This made it the right height for her to stand at the container and play with the basketball goal.  She had so much fun - she stood there for 7 or 8 minutes before she even tried to sit down.  She was still standing there playing when Will got home and he took over while I worked on dinner.

While I was in the kitchen Sam stood up next to Megan at the container.  They played together for quite a while.  Megan would throw a ball and Sam would retrieve it and give it back to her.  She has him trained already.

After dinner and bath we were back in the living room and Megan crawled over to the coffee table and pulled right up like she had never stopped.  She did it numerous times, even when she had the toy she wanted she would do it again to get something else.  She even stood for several minutes and played at the table.  Yay!  She is back on track.

Overcoming her fear and learning her colors

Last night we opened up our new tunnel in the living room floor.  After letting Sam play with it for several minutes we kicked him out so Megan could have a turn.  I sat her on the floor in front of me with her halfway in the tunnel and she burst into tears.  It took awhile and both of us working with her but we did get her to play in the tunnel and crawl out of it.  I am so proud of her for sticking with us and getting over her fear.

I have been working with Megan on her colors off/on when we have down time and I did some more time again tonight.  I put three shapes (red, yellow, orange) in my hand.  I held up the yellow one and told her it was yellow and did the same for the red; and then I put them in my other hand in a different order and asked her to show me the yellow one and then the red one.  She did it perfectly.  We put all of the shapes into the container and played with them for a couple of minutes and then I put the same three back in my hand and asked her to show me the yellow one and then the red one again and she did it.  I waited about ten minutes and tried again and she didn't get it right that time, but I still think she is making progress.  

Various

Megan can now get out of an onesie, meaning she understands how to work the snaps.  It was really warm here a few days ago and I didn't want to put her down in her nap pjs because though they don't have feet they are still long sleeve pants; so I put her in a onesie.  I didn't bother putting shorts on her because I knew she could get those off, but up until that day she had never taken off a onesie.  I am not going to teach her how to work a zipper until she is over this phase or potty trained.

Yesterday while she was reading a book to herself she started "talking".  She would say a few noises, stop, turn the page and then do it again.  She was reading outloud.  It was so cute.

I have mentioned that Megan often fails tests she is given during evaluations because she has never been exposed to it.   One of the things they asked about and then tested her on during her last evaluation was pointing to objects in books when asked; we haven't done this with her.  So a couple of nights ago Will was reading an ABC picture book with lots of pictures for each letter.   I asked her to point to the drum and she did, then the pig (on a different page) and she did, then a couple of other items.  I was so proud of her - she is doing so much better with doing things when asked.

Rock Star

Megan was a rock star today.  She did so amazing riding Daisy and standing afterward.  She participated in everything they asked her to do while riding; she clapped, patted Daisy, turned around, blew kisses, reached for objects, etc.  Megan has always done things with me that she doesn't repeat for others and it was so nice to see her doing them today.

After the ride she was standing with Margie reaching for toys - she was doing okay standing for 10-15 seconds at a time and then she would try to sit down.  Margie doesn't let her sit - she holds her up or lets her lean, etc; but Megan tries.  After 4 or 5 minutes of this they switched toys and grabbed a long princess wand that was filled with bright pink liquid and glitter.  Megan took two steps forward and grabbed onto that thing and stood there for 3 or 4 minutes just playing with it.  Margie was extremely impressed.

Due to our vacation I haven't been able to work with Megan much since her last session and due to her molars she slept through her Monday session with Mandy.  I was really looking forward to getting her going again this evening.  She walked behind her wagon a few times, twice completely by herself (meaning I didn't have to push it).  She stood up and played at the table for several minutes and had a great time.

After her bath we went to our bed for the last few minutes of Sam being up.  After we put Sam down Megan stood up at our headboard and played with our blinds and then the window.  She stood for about 6-7 minutes the first time and then another 3-4 the second time and third times.  We have a sleep number bed so it was unstable for her and she would make adjustments and did great with it.

I am so proud of her for participating, working hard and enjoying herself today.

Using her feet

Megan has been using her feet to do everything the past few days, and I do mean everything.  She turns on toys, picks stuff up, moves stuff, tries to use them to take toys out of containers, brushes her hair, etc.  If she can't control her foot enough to get it to do what she wants she will hold it with her hand and make it do it.

I am not really sure where this is coming from but it is comical to watch.

Ocean, Pool and happy at home

Megan had a great time sitting in the ocean with me.  She needed a couple of minutes to warm up to the environment but as soon as I showed her she could splash she was a happy camper.  Will had a very difficult time getting a picture of her face because she wouldn't look up from the water.  She loved playing in the sand too.  Will built a little pool with a mud wall and she loved helping him.

When we were finished we put the kids in the wagon and headed up to the showers to clean up.  I used the buckets to dump clean water on them, trying to get all of the sand off.  When I had done what I could I went across the deck to use another shower on myself and Will had the brilliant idea of filling the buckets with water and putting them in the floor of the wagon between the kids.  They had so much fun splashing in the water and it helped to clean them off more and keep them busy and cool at the same time.  The buckets came in handy when we got back to the truck and I was changing them - I needed the water for my wash cloths to keep more sand off of them.

The next day we took the kids to the pool.  Again Megan needed a couple of minutes to warm up to the idea but then she had so much fun riding around in her float.  We were the only ones in the pool for quite a while and eventually a lady showed up.  She ended up being from Texas so we talked while she swam.  She said hi to the kids but they weren't interacting much.  When we were finished swimming I took the kids into the showers one at a time to give them a shower.  I took Sam first and while I was gone Will said that Megan had a blast playing with the Texas lady.  The lady was splashing toward Megan and she would laugh and when the lady turned away Megan tried to splash her back.

We got home around 7ish and needed to unload several items from the truck and trailer so we put Megan in the jump-jump.  Oh my goodness I don't think there was ever a happier little girl.  She was jumping like a maniac - seriously flying high and spinning and just smiling and laughing the whole time.  She was happy to be home and so happy to see her jump-jump.

A couple of days ago Will was talking to Megan and rubbed his hands together and she has been doing it ever since.  She will clap and then rub her hands together.

Vacation happenings - day 3

We brought the trike and wagon with us so that Megan and Sam could have something to play with outside (not that it has been an issue for Sam the explorer).  Megan has had so much fun riding the trike all over the patio.  I put the blanket down today and put some toys on it that I hadn't gotten out yet and she sat there and played with them for such a long time until she decided it was time to go for another ride.

Our sleeping arrangements in the trailer involve the kids in pack-n-plays that are back to back in front of the couch.  This is the first time, other than our long road trip to Texas when it was mid-night before they went down, that they have experienced this.  I wasn't sure how it would work out but I knew that it would be an adventure and eventually they would get some sleep.  Well, it has been wonderful.  The first night they got to bed late because we arrived late and had to setup, etc and they went down without an issue and were both asleep pretty quick.  Will and I take the monitor and sit outside while they go to sleep so as not to add to the situation and they didn't even have an issue with us stepping outside.

Yesterday we skipped Sam's morning nap because we were out and about so the afternoon nap was the first one of the day.  Instead of staggering their nap and bedtimes like we do at home we are just putting them down at the same time.  So we put them down yesterday for nap and left again without any issues and then we got to watch them play together.  Oh my goodness...Sam immediately stood up at the end of his bed and looked into Megan's bed, which made her laugh.  She went over and got into high knees and touch his hands and then stood up and pushed him down; which made him laugh.  Then she sat down and waited for him to come back.  She was watching and as soon as he stood up she did it again.  The next time she waited and he didn't stand up she stood up and then he did and they clapped together.  This went on for about 20 minutes off and on and then when they got tired they both laid down and went to sleep.  Bedtime last night was a repeat performance, as was nap today. What a delight that our kids can play together and then get sleep when they are ready.

At dinner tonight Megan was adorable.  A waitress was walking by with drinks for another table and she stepped closer to Megan to get out of someone's way and Megan reached out and grabbed her hand.  The lady thought it was cute and then Megan pulled her hand to her face and kissed it which delighted the lady.  She did it a couple of times.  The manager saw this and came over to see if Megan would kiss her hand too and like the sweet little miss that she is, she did it.