You can find more information on his website http://www.georgeestreich.com/Home.html
I have sent him an email in hopes of interviewing him for the Confessions… blog.
Miss Carly enjoying her new gait trainer.
Yippee! Yippee! Carly’s gait trainer arrives this Friday! It is a lovely raspberry/pink color, perfect for a princess!
Therapists say that once walking kicks in all developmental milestones kick in as well.
So far Miss Carly can say “juice”, “that”, and “no”.
She is shy and does not say it around me but loves to say it around everyone else.
We knew this day was coming.
It’s not like we hadn’t been warned.
We had been warned and had experienced it a couple times before, thanks to Emma and Brady.
Though sometimes I did wonder if this day would ever come.
That day is here…..
The day that nothing on the couch or other areas within standing/reaching distance is safe from the grabbing hands of a little Miss Carly!
She pulls herself up on the couch and reaches, grabs, and tugs at anything her hands make contact with. Most of the time it’s some type of magazine or perhaps a page or two of Brady’s school work.
Though one time it was MJ’s breakfast bowl and a spoon as well, apparently Miss Carly did not want to wait for her own breakfast, which was warming up in the kitchen.
The poor TV remote has been victimized multiple times as Miss Carly loves to grab it and then toss it behind her back.
Not only can she pull herself to grab items, she now has the ability to “walk” down the length of the couch and hunt down any and all other items she can find.
As Depeche Mode once sang “The grabbing hands grab all they can”
So while the couch is no longer a Carly free zone, you will not find a single member of the family who is disappointed by it.
I am so glad it is time for therapy!
I have to walk how much further?
Ahhhhh….relaxation after a great therapy session.
Brace yourself!
Miss Carly has braces, for her shoes, which will help learn how to walk. She has been walking, with assistance, around the house and at school. She is slowly getting the hang of it but still has problems staying upright as she wants to fall right down on her tushy.
Everything looks good as she takes each step. Her left leg initially turned in a lot, however; she is making progress and the turn is not as noticeable.
She is also using her braces to pull herself upright on the edge of the couch and she is able to move side to side down the length of the couch.
Before you know it, she will be walking around and chasing the cat around the house!
Looking forward to having her walk the Buddy Walk, next year, rather than cruise the course in her stroller.
“Can you hear me?”
“Can you hear me?” I whisper behind Carly’s left shoulder.
No response.
“Can you hear me?” This time I say it a little louder and a bit further away.
She swivels her head and gives me a big smile.
Not bad hearing for a little girl who is supposedly has no hearing in her left ear, at least that’s what the doctor says.
It is hard, as a parent, to not get caught up in what the medical world says about what your child can or cannot do.
I know that Carly has major hearing loss in her left ear and it may or may not be corrected by placing a tube into her left ear canal. She had them in both ears but somehow the left one decided to come out without us knowing.
I also believe that she will hear every word I say.
I wonder if this is me and my positive view on life or I am being naïve about the fact that my daughter may not hear me at all.
Do I start to learn more and more sign language so that I can communicate with her if she does have hearing loss?
Or do I continue to be positive and use my voice and words to communicate with her?
The more I think about it, the more I realize that the best way is both ways. I need to learn more sign so that I am not limiting the ability for Carly and I to talk. And I most continue to use my words and voice so that she can understand how much her Daddy loves her.
The five senses: “Taste”
Do you know that there are all kinds of foods that mix with different flavors of applesauce?
We had no idea until Miss Carly decided to get on an applesauce kick.
We have mixed applesauce with cottage cheese, which is normal.
And we have mixed it with Macaroni and Cheese, not so normal; along with a wide variety of foods including different types of pasta, oatmeal, and beef and veggies (that combo looks very unappealing when mixed together).
Mind you, this is not just plain applesauce; the above culinary delights have been created with cherry applesauce, mixed berry applesauce, cinnamon applesauce, and a combination of all kinds of applesauce.
Though the combination of applesauce and any type of food may not be visually appealing and smells a little bad too, it has not stopped Carly from eating all of her food and working on her chewing skills as well.
Do you know of any other types of weird combinations that you kids might currently love or have loved in the past?
And does anybody know of anything else that mixes well with applesauce?
Her hand reaches out slowly to touch the tree leaf.
She gets close and then pulls her hand back as she giggles.
She reaches out again and gets closer this time; she starts to pull back, and then decides to go for it and reaches out and touches the leaf.
Her giggles fill the air and she touches another leaf.
Now that the leaf has been conquered it is on to the tree bark and the bumps, dips, and the rough surface it brings along with more giggles.
As Miss Carly goes out and about exploring her world one of the things we have been working on is developing her five senses. I have found that tree’s, leaves, and flower petals are some of her favorite things to touch. Each has their own texture, feel, and way they dance in the breeze.
I know that someday, Miss Carly will climb trees, pick flowers, and conquer more than just tree leaves. I look forward to hearing her giggles each and every time.
Miss Carly has not been herself as of late. Sometimes she is happy and goofy while others times she just gets down right cranky for awhile. She has also been going back in forth between eating food that she has to chew and then wanting only moved that require little or no chewing.
I wonder if she is going through a growth spurt, as her legs look longer and she has finally crossed the 25lb mark. Perhaps she is going through a development spurt as she seems to be concentrating on getting up on her hands and knees.
So what do you think?
Growing pains?
Development Pains?
Or just being a normal kid?