Ring Around the Rosy

We've been playing a lot this past week, and even went swimming three times.  One new thing is the spinning part of ring around the rosy.  And it's hysterical.  If you sing the song, Emily will just start spinning, by herself, around and around.  The only "fall down" part happens when she gets to dizzy to stand, but usually she'll lean up against the couch.

ring around the rosy

a pocketful of posies

ashes, ashes, we all...keep spinning

These play silks are fabulous.  We throw them.  We play peek-a-boo with them.  We tie them up and drag them around.  We stash them in wipe containers and pull them out.  And they're quiet and required no assembly!

Some toys, like this rocking zebra, weren't instant favorites.  This was a birthday present, and it went pretty much untouched until recently.  Now that she can climb on and off independently, and rock so hard she can make the whole thing scoot across the hardwood, it is getting a lot more attention.

Lazy Days of Vacation

The last couple days the Hughston family has been hanging out around the house - Emily playing with her new toys and loving the fact that Mom and Dad are home this week.  I got a new camera, so Emily is getting her picture taken more than usual (seriously, this kid has her photo taken practically everyday anyway) as I play around with the different settings... So, today's post is all about some of my favorite expressions -

Merry Christmas

first Christmas

second Christmas

Therapy Update

Yesterday Emily went to her monthly therapy appointment.  I confess, I really haven't been doing our homework assignments lately... maybe that's a sign that I'm just not that stressed about her development as of lately.  She worked on the shape sorter and stacking blocks, and although it wasn't done perfectly, she was doing it.  Then there's the stair thing.  She loves going up, has no clue how to come down.  We're still working on that, and kicking a ball.  She's not steady on one foot yet, so the kicking thing is still elusive to us at this point.

Following PT, we had a speech eval done since we had some concerns that she isn't using a lot of words yet.  Get this, she actually "passed" the evaluation (scoring at 1 year, seven months) and the speech therapist doesn't think we need to see her.  She wanted to reevaluate at Emily's 2 year mark.  I don't think I have ever heard from anyone on our initial meeting that she's doing fine and their services aren't necessary. And communication is one thing I've been worrying about.

Certain parts of the test were pointing to pictures that you name or picking the said item out of 4 manipulatives in front of Emily.  She could do the second part (eg where's the cup) but had no clue as to the pictures.  (Hmmm, point to the toy car?  We don't have any cars in this house!)  So, we're going to work on that, and shapes, and other surprises using this Peek-a-boo house I created this morning during nap.

The "door" and "windows" are travel wipes containers,  The rest is just felt and glue on cardboard.  So, we can work on naming the pieces on the outside and Emily can open the wipe containers to find pictures of things, right now there is a picture of Aaron and me, Gerda the dog, and one of Emily.

I borrowed the idea from a blog I've found called I Can Teach My Child.  It has great ideas and lots more that I plan to copy.  It's a vacation thing.  Not going to happen when I go back to work.

It was a long day yesterday - Target, Walmart, Michaels, Old Navy, all busy with Christmas madness... and I wasn't shopping for anything Christmasy at all.  Emily was such a trooper - amused with the excitement or so worn out from two hours of therapy that she fell asleep in the cart.  Perfect.

Today, Emily received one of those Hallmark recordable books from her uncle, aunt and cousins.  She thought it was pretty cool that the pages make sound.  Too bad she hasn't met them face to face yet.

Yes, she is taste testing the corners.

Happy Holidays everyone.  California family and friends, stay dry and away from the mudslides.  Midwest family and friends, hopefully you don't have to shovel too much snow or brave too much ice this Christmas.

18 months

playing with a sensory tub... the tub which used to be her bathtub in the NICU

I know, I'm a day late on this post.  And for those keeping track with me, it also means that Emily is almost 15 months adjusted.  I get to keep track of both dates until she turns two, and I do use both ages.  Doctors know the 18 months, since her vaccines have always been on her actual age.  Her therapists use the adjusted age, striving toward her real age.  When people in public ask me how old she is, my answer depends on the vibe I'm getting from them.  Aaron's answer is always her chronological age.  It's just like when people ask me if she's my only... really, how much time do you have for my answer, and how long are you going to be around for the emotional roller coaster that has become our life?

So at "18 months" Emily's vocabulary consists of Mama, Dada, "uhbah" (ball) and uh oh.  She's making all the right sounds, talks a lot, and gets frustrated when we just don't understand what she's trying to express.

She's wearing 12-18 month sized clothing, working on using a spoon to eat, and, I believe, has mastered the sippy cup (although we're still guilty of handing her a bottle when it comes to drinking her toddler formula).

The only holes she has in her mouth are left to the wisdom teeth.  All the other spaces at least have a corner poking through.  Teething, compared to most kids, was a breeze with Emily.  She's becoming a picky eater when it comes to the basic food groups, but has a terrible sweet tooth.

Her favorite activity is putting objects into containers, baskets or bags.  That means she also likes to pull things out so that she can put them somewhere else.  She pushes around her plastic shopping cart,  rides her Radioflyer scootabout, and still plays daily with her Leap Frog music table and Fisher Price learning home (a must have toy, this has captivated her since she was six months old and could sit on her own)

She still naps twice a day, but has forgotten how to sleep all night and has been starting our days around 4 in the morning.  Maybe it's time to lose the afternoon nap?  She's still almost always happy, and has that positive reputation at the grocery store, the vet, and other places we journey to during our days.

18 months, unbelievable.

Playdough and a Pool

This morning I made playdough.  I have some to stuff her stocking with this year, but I figured that this first attempt we would use the homemade stuff, just in case she wanted to eat a sample.  She didn't, although she wasn't exactly sure what to do with it yet.  She squished it around some, and liked it when I made balls out of it.  

Then this afternoon we went to the YMCA and went swimming, sorry the pictures aren't clear (used my phone), but the pool there is great for toddlers!  There's a large area that is less than two feet deep, so Emily was able to walk and crawl around, tried blowing bubbles and played in the fountains.  She LOVED it and was exhausted afterward!

Snowshoeing

Early this afternoon, we drove north to go snowshoeing.  Emily was bundled up in her sled and loved the ride.  She smiled the entire time!

Christmas vacation is here!

Yipee!

Maybe we should have asked Santa for a pony?

Brrrr

Ooooh.

So, THAT'S what presents are all about...

She finally figured it out.  The good news is that I can still rewrap it and have it as a total surprise again.  

The pink eye seems to be under control, no goop this morning when she woke up (at 4 AM).  We're just hanging out today at the house.  Tomorrow, too, since our provider wanted Emily to be on the medication for 48 hours before coming back.  Hopefully that's enough time for it to clear out of the daycare, too.  The first baby who had it came back and got it a second time, so no rush!

Pink Eye

Grumble.  Grumble.

Total bummer.  It's going through at least two daycares that I know of, and with three kids having had it at ours, we could see it coming (but was really hoping it wouldn't).  Tomorrow we were supposed to do a NICU follow up appointment in Boise, but that will have to be postponed.  Don't think they'd be thrilled if Emily showed up with goopy eyes.  So, she'll be home at least two more days from daycare.

On a different topic, I'm pretty happy with this purchase.

It's our new angel tree topper.  I wanted just the right one, a topper that represents Nadia.  This one is from the Sundance catalog, and I think it's perfect.  It reads "love beyond the moon and stars forever &ever" The heart that hangs around the angel's neck has a guardian angel.  So, there it is, on top of our tree looking over us this holiday season.

Sledding

It was a beautiful, sunny winter day.  So we spent some time outdoors pulling Emily around in a sled.