Kylie and her grandma

Last Sunday, Matt's mom came over to watch Kylie while we went out to eat. It was nice for us to get away, and some good time for Kylie to spend with her grandma...everybody wins :)


Kylie was pretty clingy with Matt when Grandma Bunn first arrived, so we brought out a puzzle for her to play with. Yes, distracting your child with a new toy so you can run out the door does work :)


Anyway, we came home to find that Kylie never got upset that we left, and she didn't run to us when we got home. She was totally content with grandma and us not being there....she is making such great progress!


Here is a pic I snapped of grandma picking up Kylie. Kylie gave grandma lots of hugs, and kept saying up, so that grandma would pick her up. So precious, and a moment that grandma will treasure :)

Meow

We know Kylie loves animals, so it was easy for us to tell our new neighbors that we would be glad to feed their cat while they went on vacation. Kylie definitely knows the sign for cat, and she always does the sign when she sees our neighbors out. They are so sweet, that when they see Kylie signing cat, they always go get the cat so Kylie can say hi and pet it.



Anyhow, Kylie was just beside herself the first time we stopped by to feed the cat. She loved feeding the cat its treats...she would giggle when the cat would take them, because she knew she helped feed the cat. She was very proud of herself for helping.



Our neighbors have been home almost a week, and Kylie is finally realizing that since are back, we can't just go over there whenever she wants so she can play with the cat. At first, she started wandering over to their house and just stood in their driveway signing cat. Too cute :)




Here are some pics we took on one of trips to feed the cat. Just looking at her smile will light up your face :)

Petting the cat

So happy to see the cat

She thinks the kitty is pretty silly, so she is laughing.

Trying to play with the cat

This is Kylie saying dada..I know I need to get it on video, but I love how cute her mouth is when she says dada.






My absolute favorite pic of Kylie! Well, my current favorite pic. That smile is beautiful and I just love her eyes!

Exploring Kylie's Sensory Profile

Last week we had a meeting with our coordinator from our Early Intervention program, along with both of Kylie's therapists.


A couple weeks earlier, we did a sensory profile so we (Matt and I) can best learn what Kylie's sensory issues may be and how to best manage them. We had been told by Kylie's coordinator that she really felt Kylie had sensory issues, but a profile had not yet been done.


We had a bit of a delay in getting the results, because someone in the house was always sick with the dreaded stomach bug, and we can not have therapy if anyone in the household is sick. The suspense of not knowing was bugging me.


Onto the meeting. Like I mentioned above, 3 people over to meet with Kylie and I to reveal the results of the sensory profile and decide our new game plan. Kylie did fairly well with all the ladies over, but had moments where it was just a bit much for her, so she would check out and go upstairs to run around, and then she came back down when she was ready.



Okay, so here is what the profile revealed:


Sensory sensitivity,& sensation avoiding (these two areas pretty much go hand in hand). These two areas mean she is resisting or cannot tolerate certain sensory activities i.e. loud places such as the bowling alley, Chuck E Cheese, etc. These environments may cause her to want to escape or hide.


Auditory processing This area was kind of a surprise to both the therapists and me, because we have never had concerns about her hearing. Then we all realized that Kylie can be sensitive to sounds at times, so that is more than likely why she scored low in this area...apparently she was fairly low in this category.


Tactile processing is the last area of concern, and this is where she avoids touching certain textures. i.e. cold, hot, slimy or wet items she may avoid.


What I started working on to help Kylie:


Last week I decided it was time for me to let go a bit and allow Kylie to get messy and make messes while playing and helping her with some of the sensory things at the same time.


The first thing we tried was using our fingers to eat and write with pudding. She looked at me like I was nuts when I started to scoop out some pudding with my fingers. I got a big glob on my finger for her to try, and she just bent over and ate it off my finger. I then wrote on some large paper that I laid out in the garage...once again, I got the look of "mama, what are you doing?"


She soooo badly wanted more pudding, but didn't know how she was going to get it in her mouth without having to actually touch it with her fingers. Our smart little cookie decided she would bend over and stick her face in the pudding cup. I just started laughing...it was pretty smart, and super cute! I pushed for her to do a bit more, and I stuck her hand in the pudding...that was apparently too much for her. She instantly got upset and was frantically waving her hand in attempt to get it off. We quickly ran in the house and cleaned off her hands, and I grabbed a spoon for her to practice scooping up the pudding herself. She was much happier this way.


Here are a couple pics I got of her little face before we ended our pudding play. We think she looks like a bit of a pirate or something with her chocolate goatee.

Our next activity was just a couple days ago. I put a plastic tablecloth on the kitchen floor and dumped some rice in a bowl. I also gave Kylie a smaller bowl, measuring cup, and measuring spoon to help her transfer rice from one container to the next. Once again, I got the look of "mama, are you sure you're okay with this?" We have done this a couple times before when I have taken her to play things in our area. She had a great time, and I was constantly picking up the rice that escaped from the tablecloth....I really tried to let it go for a few minutes, so I could enjoy watching her...then I returned to hunt for the grains that got away. Kylie didn't do so well at scooping the rice, so she just threw the spoons aside and used her fingers...whatever works for her right now is good for me :) Sorry, no pics of this...I thought I took some, but apparently not.

Lastly, I've reserved a couple of sensory related books at the library to help us learn how to approach the areas of concern and what sort of things we can do to help Kylie. Only one book was available right now, so Kylie and I went to the library today to pick it up and get some new signing dvds.


I thought I would see if there were any other books I could pick up, but Kylie thought it would be way more fun to run up and down the aisles for me to chase her. Ha ha, not so funny little lady. Looking back, I guess it was kinda cute in a mommy is getting her work out and Kylie is giggling kind of way.


I will be sure to let you all know what I find in these books, and how Kylie does with everything. I will say that our speech therapist brought me a sensory book that she is currently reading, so I could see if it was of any interest. It has great ideas on what activities to do with kids for each different sensory issue, and they emphasize the activities as being safe for the kids to do. Here is a link to more info about the book.

As far as the game plan with her therapies, we will just have one therapist and she will work on both speech and the sensory issues. If we feel the need to pull in another therapist, like an OT, we will do so. I'm thinking we may, because I'm not sure how well she will handle so many new things. Who knows, she amazes us all the time, so we may not need another therapist. I can say she surely loves the one she has :)

Strikes & Spares

Guest post by Dada Stump...

So, I bowled for Applebee's in Corporate Challenge a couple of weeks ago and had a pretty good time. I used to bowl quite a bit, but it's just not really a priority anymore. Regardless, Jody and Kylie came up to see me and Kylie had a ball running around watching all the people and playing in one of the racing arcade games. So, we thought we'd take Kylie bowling this past Sunday after church and her nap.

We got there and they weren't terribly busy, but there were folks bowling on both sides of us...so Kylie got to enjoy a little more people watching. We also got one of the ramps so that Kylie could just give the ball a little nudge and it would have plenty of speed to do some damage! We didn't always use it, sometime we kicked it old school and just helped Kylie by giving the ball a good shove at the foul line.

The entire trip wasn't really a success as Kylie got pretty fussy after a few frames. However, she did enjoy the first few minutes of the visit! It wasn't until this past week when we found out some of her sensory issues were more than likely exacerbated by all the noise of the balls and pins in the bowling alley.

Here's a little montage of Kylie's first bowling trip...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

...now we go into overtime

Okay, so the title of the post is just a play on the last one. Well, that and I wanted to share some more info that I forgot to mention about the appointment with the developmental pediatrician.

We did mention that Kylie still does the odd head movements, and we have been able to associated them with times when Kylie is uncomfortable or when we tell her no.

Seeing her do them is definitely discomforting for us to witness, and then even more so when we feel responsible for it...like when we have to tell her no. We often try to redirect Kylie and only use the "no" for instances when it comes to safety and such.

After telling this to the developmental doc, she said since the head movements are not causing her any direct harm that we need to continue to parent and just ignore or get used to seeing the movements.

Umm...that is so much easier said than done. It breaks our heart to see her do them, and then we feel terrible. Not to mention the fact that sometimes they can be intense enough that she can lose her balance.

Ugghhh...there is so much more to this parenting stuff than anyone ever tells you, and then double it when you have a little one with more specific needs. We will gladly do anything for Kylie, just wish we understood more about everything and knew exactly how to handle things (that will all soon come with the latest plan we are working on with her therapies..coming soon).

Now for a cute pic! Here is a pic I got of Kylie riding in her little car this morning. Oh, and she is donning her newest hairdo...pigtails!!

...and she scores!

I am totally getting behind on all the different posts that I have been meaning to do. Not sure all the things I was planning to blog about, but I'm sure they will come to me.

Anyhow, we have the official report from Kylie's visit with the developmental pediatrician. Before I get too far into things, I wanted to mention that when Kylie was tested by the speech pathologist and our early intervention program (both were done about 2 1/2 months ago) they tested her at about 6 months with her expressive language skills.

Okay, so onto the report.

Developmental: The Cognitive Adaptive Test (CAT) is a test of visual-motor/problem-solving performed through direct observation. The evaluation resulted an age equivalent of 16.2 months. The actual score she received was a 90 with the normal ranges being 85-115.

Language: Clinical Linguistic and Auditory Milestones Scales (CLAM) is a test of language skills determined by parent/caregiver report and direct evaluation. The evaluation resulted an age equivalent of 15.5 months. The actual score she received was an 86, which falls within the normal-borderline range, with the normal ranges being 85-115.


So back to my comment in the beginning about how just 2 1/2 months ago Kylie's expressive language was tested to be at 6 months. So I'm wondering how different all of the tests are and how they score things. Kylie had 8 words when she was tested just a couple weeks ago, and wow...I just don't know how that gets her from 6 months to 15.5 months.


That prompts some questions: Was she really only 6 months expressive at the end of February or Is she really 15.5 months now? Just wish I knew if having 8 words made her leap so far, or if the different tests used can make her results vary so much.


This is a pic I took last week. Kylie decided to shove some food in her mouth and then was on a mission to get the camera away from me. It is kinda silly, and definitely up close and personal.

Stand by for more upcoming posts. I will give some updates on her therapy...we just met with everyone yesterday, and then some fun posts too :)

The big squeeze

Tonight Matt and I went out to something at our church, and Grandma Bunn came over to watch Kylie. Kylie and Grandma had a good time watching her Signing Time movies and playing with Elmo. The highlight of the evening came just as Grandma was saying her goodbyes.

We were telling Kylie to give Grandma a hug goodbye and she did! She has never done that before...not even when we have asked her to give either one of us a hug. It was so precious, and Grandma Bunn was the lucky winner of the first hug that Kylie has given!

Kylie included us in it too and gave us both hugs, so we felt the love as well. We are so proud of her and how she continues to grow and amaze us every step of the way.

Sorry no pics of the cuddles...we were too busy enjoying them :)

Hooty Hoo

Okay, so it was a couple weeks ago when Kylie first said owl and then started making the sound for an owl. We did our best to get it on video...it is amazing how much she does not like to perform once the video camera is out. Anyhow, I just mushed all the little clips into one.

You will see her holding a card of an owl...the birthday card she got me a few weeks ago. She loves to give it kisses...as you will soon see in the video.

Enjoy our little hoot owl :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A day to celebrate

I'm going to do my best to not draw too much attention to this post, but I felt it very necessary to make a note about something....something that we didn't think would happen.

One year ago today, May 13th 2009, at 8:18am was the last recorded time that I saw Kylie doing those unwelcome movements. I won't call them what they are by name....I know it bothers Matt when I reference them, and even remind him of how long it has been. I promise I won't jinx anything hun.

It is really something to celebrate! We have been very blessed, because we know how things could have turned out for Kylie. We still have a ways to go before we know how well Kylie will fare, but right now she is the light of our lives and astounding us every step of the way. We love you baby girl!

May 17, 2009

May 12, 2010

Word of the day

Kylie said a new word today...baby. I like how she says it be-be.

That made me think that I need to count up all the words that she has. I love that I had to go back through some of my blog posts to make sure I wasn't missing any. She is just expanding her vocabulary so much recently that I'm sure it won't be before long where I won't be able to keep track of all of her words. Of course that makes me smile and so proud of her :)

Let's see, right now her words are: up, hi, owl, mama, dada, ball, bubba, bye, eye, bowl, Elmo, baby

She still has the baby cheeks a bit, but not so much a baby anymore. No matter how old she is, she will always been our baby.

The Joy of Being Kylie's Mommy

I'm about certain that this Mother's Day was one of the best days of my life :) All thanks to a sweet, beautiful, silly, and amazing little girl that I get to call my daughter!




Kylie has just grown so much in the last couple of weeks that we are simply in awe as we watch her really climb to the tops of mountains that once seemed so far out of reach. The best part is that she tops each peak with a smile and this silly giggle...makes me smile just thinking of the sound of that goofy little laugh and the look on her face.




So what made my day of celebrating that I am Kylie's mom so grand?




It started off with me in the nursery with Kylie at church. She was amazing when it came to being on her own, while I helped out with the other little ones in the room. I even left the room, and it took her a little while longer to notice that I was not there. She went into the other room (there are two rooms for infants and toddlers that are connected) to see if I was there, but I had already gone into the service. Anyhow, she was upset when I got back, but the big part of it all was that Kylie let one of the ladies hold her to calm her down, and she let another let fix her dress when she got it flipped up on the bottom.

My flower from Kylie

These things may seem like nothing to most moms, but they are so HUGE to me because Kylie does not like anyone else holding her or approaching her. This is a giant step for her. Oh, and another thing is that Kylie had a flower for me that one of the nursery workers helped make for kids to give to their moms. I was in tears, because it is the first little craft that I have received from Kylie. I know she didn't make it, but it was something that she had for me...yep, I'm in tears already just thinking about it.

Funny thing is, I told Matt that the box I have with all of the little keepsake things I have kept for Kylie thus far will soon have to be replaced with a big trunk or something larger. I just want to keep every little thing that is associated with the big-little moments we have with her.

Let's see the next thing was when she got up from her nap on Sunday, we headed over to Matt's mom's for a Mother's Day dinner. Kylie was definitely the little star that lit up everyones faces...she was a ham too and loved every minute of it. This was the first time she really met Matt's Aunt Barbara and Uncle Chuck and you would have thought she had seen them many times. She warmed up instantly. Once again...another big step for her. Yay for Kylie!



It didn't stop there. She started giving away kiss after kiss. It was so precious and sweet! We were in the kitchen with Grandma Bunn and I was holding her and she leaned over and gave her grandma a kiss...then she did it again! Grandma Bunn was so tickled that she got some sugar from Kylie.



Soon after that I was calling her the little kissing bandit, because as we went back into the living room Kylie gave her Great Grandma Felder a kiss, and her Great Aunt Barbara a kiss. She also gave them kisses when they left too.



Kylie was just a doll and everyone loved interacting with her...yes, actually interacting with her. She was great with responding to others and she was so comfortable being around everyone too...just astounding! She even began exploring..opening up cabinets in the kitchen and just going all around without having Matt or I right by her. There were a few times we were like where is Kylie? Yep, she ventured off into the kitchen or dining room to see what everyone was up to. So cute and so unlike her.

It was definitely a joy filled day for me, as I watched my little girl delight everyone she was around. She is definitely growing up before my eyes and I love every moment of it. She has come so far and been through things that no child should ever have to endure. I feel like I always say she is AMAZING, but you know what...she really and truly is and there is no other word that best fits her. I am so blessed to have her as my daughter and that I get to be her mommy!

For some reason we didn't get any pics of me with Kylie on Mother's Day, but here is a pic from one of the first times I held Kylie in my arms. Little did I know how much I would love her and how my life would forever be changed by this precious little girl.

Busy little bee

I am starting to get behind on the many things I need to post, but here is something that has us buzzing lately.


A couple weeks ago (4-26-10) we met Judy from the Juniper Gardens Children's Project, which is a research and intervention program that is part of the University of Kansas. They are currently working on a project which involves examining evidence-based strategies that promote communication and literacy development in young children. Click here for more info.



We decided to enroll Kylie in the project, as it will help them with their research and give more opportunity in helping Kylie to further develop her language skills.



Anyhow, once we finished meeting with Judy, she told Kylie she was leaving. We told Kylie to tell her bye bye, and this is typically when Kylie will just wave goodbye. Not so much of that this time...she said bah-bah....her version of bye-bye. Yay for Kylie!

This is a pic of Kylie at an open gym that was held for kids that receive services through the early intervention program we have out here. She had a blast!

Just last Monday (5-3-10) we were on our way home from CM after meeting with the developmental pediatrician (look for a future post for that info...I'm waiting for the official report before I post anything.)



Anyhow, on the drive home we hear Kylie saying what we thought was hi....something she tends to do as she waves to people and just about anything she sees while we are in the car. She just kept saying it over and over, so I looked back and she had her doll and she was pointing to the doll's eye...she was saying eye. Then she immediately pointed to her own eye and said eye again. Be on the lookout for Kylie, she likes to poke you in the eye when she shows you that she knows where your eyes are. One thing that makes it even more cute is she knows to close her eye when we ask her where her eyes are...safety first :)



So just when we were still sharing in the excitement about her most recent new word eye, she blew us away with something else. We made a trip to the store to pick up a few things and she was running up and downs the aisles with Matt, and she suddenly stopped in the kitchen section and pointed to a bowl and said bo-wuh.



But wait...it just keeps getting better! So yesterday I was working on some crafty things and I was cutting out letters to decorate some gift bags. I messed up on the letter "b" so I gave it to Kylie and told her it was the letter "b." She instantly said b!



Nope, I'm not quite done yet :)



Tonight as we were getting Kylie ready for bed, she was practicing all of her words in front of the mirror, as I was helping her brush her teeth. This is something she has done the past week or two...she will make faces at herself and then start saying all of the words she knows and just watch herself in the mirror. She has also started signing in the mirror too...it is so precious to watch her do this! Anyhow, I decided to test her and I said Elmo....she then said Eh-mo!



Seeing so many new things close together is just awesome, and exciting! We are so very proud of our little girl! I love these moments more than anything :)

This last pic is of Kylie eating her first popsicle. She didn't really know what to make of it...it was cold and just very different to her. It was one of the slow-melt popsicles, but don't let that fool you. They don't melt any slower than the regular ones, but they do have mini-sized ones and they are so cute!

Splish Splash

Okay, so I have meant to take the camera upstairs during bath time and I always forget. I didn't remember this time either, but such a cute moment had me run downstairs to get it (no worries, Matt was up there with her, so she was safe).

Anyhow, here are the two super cute pics I got.

I know they are both pretty similar, but I just couldn't get enough of that cute little face, and I'm sure you are thinking the same :)

Recently Kylie likes to stomp in the tub and this means lots of splashing water all around. Funny part of it is that Matt usually sits on the side of the tub and holds onto her to make sure she doesn't fall and I do the washing. So all the stomping leads to Matt getting kinda wet. It's cute though, cuz she sure loves it!