Today was Claire's first haircut.
And there are NO pictures of this not-so-fabulous occasion.
Claire is usually pretty easy going, but I think I had a few too many things going for her this week. With the shots and the blood draw recently, she was completely opposed to someone she didn't know in her space.
I got her settled in the chair and she cried, no howled, through the whole two minute ordeal. We got her bangs trimmed, and some of her long top hair evened out with her shorter underneath hair. It's not quite as short as I'd like it, but it was as good as it was going to get.
And that reminds me....she has an eye doctor appointment tomorrow. I wonder how that is going to go??
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
New Signs
I'm typing one handed this morning because there is an exhausted little girl sleeping in my lap. This morning was her annual-ish blood draw. It went ok, but not quite as good as last time.
This time Claire started crying the moment we got near the table. I'm sure it didn't help that she had to get some immunizations last week. It took three of us to keep her still enough, but we got the blood we needed.
*****
Claire continues to learn new signs, with two more picked up over the last few days. Instead of just asking for crackers hundreds of times a day, she now asks for 'book' (combined with a very good approximation of the word!) and her signing time videos. She will get settled into her watching spot and sign 'signing' along with a few yells and some pointing at the TV if don't get the video started soon enough for her.
I never figured I'd be one of those parents to let their kids watch TV at such an early age....but it's educational, right?
*****
Claire got another slide for the back yard this weekend. While I like the other one, it wasn't something that she would be able to do on her own for quite some time. This past weekend I found exactly what I was looking for. The steps are more like steps, instead of a ladder, and there is a platform that she can position herself on to go down the slide. Once she gets to the platform Claire is on her own. She scoots herself forward until the slides down. The only thing she really needs help with is getting to the steps (only because she keeps trying to climb UP the slide....) and just a bit of spotting as she gets on the platform. She can do it just fine on her own, but she seems to feel a little more comfortable with a hand on her behind as she climbs up.
*****
And 10 hours after I started this post, I'm finally ready to hit publish....sometimes I wonder where my days go!
This time Claire started crying the moment we got near the table. I'm sure it didn't help that she had to get some immunizations last week. It took three of us to keep her still enough, but we got the blood we needed.
*****
Claire continues to learn new signs, with two more picked up over the last few days. Instead of just asking for crackers hundreds of times a day, she now asks for 'book' (combined with a very good approximation of the word!) and her signing time videos. She will get settled into her watching spot and sign 'signing' along with a few yells and some pointing at the TV if don't get the video started soon enough for her.
I never figured I'd be one of those parents to let their kids watch TV at such an early age....but it's educational, right?
*****
Claire got another slide for the back yard this weekend. While I like the other one, it wasn't something that she would be able to do on her own for quite some time. This past weekend I found exactly what I was looking for. The steps are more like steps, instead of a ladder, and there is a platform that she can position herself on to go down the slide. Once she gets to the platform Claire is on her own. She scoots herself forward until the slides down. The only thing she really needs help with is getting to the steps (only because she keeps trying to climb UP the slide....) and just a bit of spotting as she gets on the platform. She can do it just fine on her own, but she seems to feel a little more comfortable with a hand on her behind as she climbs up.
And 10 hours after I started this post, I'm finally ready to hit publish....sometimes I wonder where my days go!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Signing Time, Wheat Harvest and Lots of Appts
First of all, fellow bloggy peeps...I miss you! I've gotten behind on both reading and commenting and I feel so out of touch.
*****
This past weekend we got to meet Rachel Coleman of Signing Time fame. We are all huge fans and when we found out she was going to be in Denver, we knew we wanted to be there. The show was held in a beautiful park. The park had tons of water for the kids to play in, and if we'd known, we would have come better prepared. There were both fountains and a lazy river type water feature.
It was HOT. We covered Claire in sunscreen and fed her (and let her spill all over herself) tons of water. I felt so bad for Rachel in her sweater though. The poor girl had to be just miserable.
After the show we got to meet Rachel and Hopkins. Claire was not a fan of Hopkins and kept glaring at him over my shoulder. My camera was on some strange setting and this was the best of the pictures. Some of the ones with Rachel, Claire and I would have been cute, but they ended up totally blurry.
*****
After the Signing Time show we headed to the farm to "help" with wheat harvest. This year harvest was very late due to all the rain we've had this spring. Claire got to climb into the combine with her uncle, but was pretty unimpressed with the whole process.
Claire preferred the mower to the combine. Daddy let her drive, and she was happy to practice her car noises.
*****
This past weekend we got to meet Rachel Coleman of Signing Time fame. We are all huge fans and when we found out she was going to be in Denver, we knew we wanted to be there. The show was held in a beautiful park. The park had tons of water for the kids to play in, and if we'd known, we would have come better prepared. There were both fountains and a lazy river type water feature.
It was HOT. We covered Claire in sunscreen and fed her (and let her spill all over herself) tons of water. I felt so bad for Rachel in her sweater though. The poor girl had to be just miserable.
During Turtle Rock Rachel accidentally invited everyone up on stage. She went with it and everybody had a great time dancing around.
After the show we got to meet Rachel and Hopkins. Claire was not a fan of Hopkins and kept glaring at him over my shoulder. My camera was on some strange setting and this was the best of the pictures. Some of the ones with Rachel, Claire and I would have been cute, but they ended up totally blurry.
*****
After the Signing Time show we headed to the farm to "help" with wheat harvest. This year harvest was very late due to all the rain we've had this spring. Claire got to climb into the combine with her uncle, but was pretty unimpressed with the whole process.
Claire preferred the mower to the combine. Daddy let her drive, and she was happy to practice her car noises.
*****
Claire turned 18 months last week, and our calendar is full of all of her appointments. Today was her well baby and she weighed at a whopping 21 lbs 5 oz. Next week is her blood work and eye appointment. We were supposed to go back to her ENT too and have her tube checked, but her dr was able to see that it is clear and open, so we're going to skip that one. After we get all those appointments completed we'll head back to the Sie Center to make sure everything checks out.
Even though Claire isn't toddling, she feels like a kid, not a baby anymore. She is such a little sponge. And she is constantly on the move. The only time she will settle down and snuggle is when she is very tired. These quiet times are the best. She tucks her arms in and just melts into your side.
This handful of grass didn't end up in Claire's mouth. Which may sound silly, but I keep hoping we are reaching the end of that stage. And then she finds paper, or cardboard, or anything resembling paper, and she can't get it into her mouth fast enough. Maybe I need to feed her more fiber...
Claire's new favorite sign is cracker. She signs cracker from the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep. While I know she loves her goldfish crackers, I think part of the appeal is that the signing actually does something. She was like that when she learned to sign milk too. She didn't really want a drink, but loved that she got something from us. So, I keep telling her she's doing a great job signing cracker, but unfortunately, that's not what we're having for breakfast.
Other than that, things are good. Just busy and good.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Save the Date!
It's time for the annual Step Up for Down Syndrome walk. This year it is Sunday Sept 25, and it will once again be held in City Park. If you check out the slide show from last years walk you will see some familiar faces there!
We'd love for you to walk with us this year. Our team name is Bear's Buddies again, and I will be sending out an email with registration info soon! If you get tired of waiting for my email, you can find our team and register through the link above.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Projects
Claire and Darren left bright and early for the farm today. Which means I'm on my own...all weekend!
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And today I've learned that my attention span is now as brief as my daughters.
This morning I had big plans. I was going to clean out the kitchen drawers. They are dirty from the new cabinets going in. I was going to clean out the hutch in the dining room. I was going to have all the laundry folded and put away, and have the grocery shopping done. And once all of the projects were done, I was going to have a little ME time. Catch up on blog posts, check in on facebook, maybe watch some TV and of course, read.
So far, I've done one load of laundry and one load of dishes. I have one kitchen cabinet, no drawers, cleaned out. I did manage to clean out the spice cabinet. Some of those bottles haven't been used since we moved in to this house and it was time for a purge. I ran a few errands. And in between all those small projects I went to some garage sales, watched the House season finale, finished a book and started another one, and worked on getting some Uppercase Living projects put up in the house.
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All in all, a fairly unproductive day. If I'd been able to stay focused on one thing for more than thirty minutes I think I would have gotten a lot more done....
Oh well, there's always tomorrow for all my big plans!
And today I've learned that my attention span is now as brief as my daughters.
This morning I had big plans. I was going to clean out the kitchen drawers. They are dirty from the new cabinets going in. I was going to clean out the hutch in the dining room. I was going to have all the laundry folded and put away, and have the grocery shopping done. And once all of the projects were done, I was going to have a little ME time. Catch up on blog posts, check in on facebook, maybe watch some TV and of course, read.
So far, I've done one load of laundry and one load of dishes. I have one kitchen cabinet, no drawers, cleaned out. I did manage to clean out the spice cabinet. Some of those bottles haven't been used since we moved in to this house and it was time for a purge. I ran a few errands. And in between all those small projects I went to some garage sales, watched the House season finale, finished a book and started another one, and worked on getting some Uppercase Living projects put up in the house.
All in all, a fairly unproductive day. If I'd been able to stay focused on one thing for more than thirty minutes I think I would have gotten a lot more done....
Oh well, there's always tomorrow for all my big plans!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Odds and Ends
This post is going to be a bit of a mishmash...sorry, that's what happens when I don't get around to posting like I want to.
*****
Last week I took Claire to her 1 month ENT follow up on her tubes. We met with Audiology first. The audiologist said she didn't do well with her booth test. When we had the booth test done at Children's they had 2 people. One to do this noises, and one to redirect her attention in between. This time there was just the noises person. I tried to focus Claire forward in between, but don't think I was very successful.
After the booth test the audiologist asked how severe Claire's trisomy was. I know most of you understand how frustrating this question is. I gave my usual blurb, but the audiologist just wanted to know how delayed she was, so that she could see if her responses were what they should be. I know what she was getting at, but still...
If you watched Claire during the test, you could tell she was distracted. The noises weren't catching her attention. She was MUCH more interested by the dog. She was saying and signing 'dog' even when the dog wasn't barking. I know this had an effect on the test.
The audiologist finally decided to do a different test. The right ear passed easily, but the left didn't. She finally came to the conclusion that the left tube must be blocked. The ENT confirmed this, and we are back to using drops (when I remember...). The left ear was the one with all the gunk in it, so I'm hoping the drops clear up the blockage soon.
The frustrating thing with the blockage, on top of Claire still not hearing clearly, is that this means another 4 hour round trip drive to the ENT for a 10 minute appointment...
*****
I don't use the word 'hate' lightly, but I have hated our kitchen counters since we moved in, over 5 years ago.
The orange and green tiles are not pretty. They are rounded, rustic tiles and because of this the counter tops aren't flat. The people who put them in decided they didn't want to mess with cutting tiles, so the grout lines are THICK and are constantly stained.
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Right now, my kitchen is torn apart (it's really inconvenient not to have a kitchen sink!). The counter tops went in yesterday, and the back splash went in today.
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By tomorrow, my kitchen will be done! (except I think I might want to sand and re-stain the cabinet doors)
*****
Claire seems to have hit a bit of a wall with walking progress. I think I've been a bit spoiled with her and gross motor stuff in the past, and now I'm feeling frustrated. Sitting, crawling, pulling to stand and walking with support all came pretty easily. Yes, we practiced, but those were things she wanted to do, and she worked hard to make them happen.
I don't mean to say she isn't working hard now, but I don't think she sees the point in walking. She likes it when it's on her terms. She'll grab her walker and take off, but if I ask her to walk with me, it's about a 50/50 chance that she'll cooperate or melt down. Crawling is easy and fast, so why bother walking? Our PT is pleased with her progress, but I feel like we've been stuck at the same place for months. I really thought once she got her legs under her and started cruising and walking with support that independent steps would easily follow, and they just haven't. I know she'll get there, but I'm ready to feel like she is doing things with me, instead of me always doing things for her, and I think walking would help with that.
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*****
Last week I took Claire to her 1 month ENT follow up on her tubes. We met with Audiology first. The audiologist said she didn't do well with her booth test. When we had the booth test done at Children's they had 2 people. One to do this noises, and one to redirect her attention in between. This time there was just the noises person. I tried to focus Claire forward in between, but don't think I was very successful.
After the booth test the audiologist asked how severe Claire's trisomy was. I know most of you understand how frustrating this question is. I gave my usual blurb, but the audiologist just wanted to know how delayed she was, so that she could see if her responses were what they should be. I know what she was getting at, but still...
If you watched Claire during the test, you could tell she was distracted. The noises weren't catching her attention. She was MUCH more interested by the dog. She was saying and signing 'dog' even when the dog wasn't barking. I know this had an effect on the test.
The audiologist finally decided to do a different test. The right ear passed easily, but the left didn't. She finally came to the conclusion that the left tube must be blocked. The ENT confirmed this, and we are back to using drops (when I remember...). The left ear was the one with all the gunk in it, so I'm hoping the drops clear up the blockage soon.
The frustrating thing with the blockage, on top of Claire still not hearing clearly, is that this means another 4 hour round trip drive to the ENT for a 10 minute appointment...
*****
I don't use the word 'hate' lightly, but I have hated our kitchen counters since we moved in, over 5 years ago.
The orange and green tiles are not pretty. They are rounded, rustic tiles and because of this the counter tops aren't flat. The people who put them in decided they didn't want to mess with cutting tiles, so the grout lines are THICK and are constantly stained.
Day 0
Right now, my kitchen is torn apart (it's really inconvenient not to have a kitchen sink!). The counter tops went in yesterday, and the back splash went in today.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
By tomorrow, my kitchen will be done! (except I think I might want to sand and re-stain the cabinet doors)
*****
Claire seems to have hit a bit of a wall with walking progress. I think I've been a bit spoiled with her and gross motor stuff in the past, and now I'm feeling frustrated. Sitting, crawling, pulling to stand and walking with support all came pretty easily. Yes, we practiced, but those were things she wanted to do, and she worked hard to make them happen.
I don't mean to say she isn't working hard now, but I don't think she sees the point in walking. She likes it when it's on her terms. She'll grab her walker and take off, but if I ask her to walk with me, it's about a 50/50 chance that she'll cooperate or melt down. Crawling is easy and fast, so why bother walking? Our PT is pleased with her progress, but I feel like we've been stuck at the same place for months. I really thought once she got her legs under her and started cruising and walking with support that independent steps would easily follow, and they just haven't. I know she'll get there, but I'm ready to feel like she is doing things with me, instead of me always doing things for her, and I think walking would help with that.
*****
Claire discovered her tip toes (even though she's not using them here) and things that used to be out of reach are now in range....it also allows her to get a little closer to Rachel while she watches Signing Time. :)
*****
Claire is in love with the girl in the dish washer. I've given up trying to keep the finger prints washed off.
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