Post a Comment On: Micro Preemie Twins: The Story of H & E

John and I had a FABULOUS time in Toronto. We've decided that if a Republican wins the next presidential election, we may just move there;) The concert was amazing. Tom Petty is my hero. What a coincidence that it was his 30th anniversary tour, and my 30th birthday. That dude has been rocking out since I was BORN!

You know what's funny? I didn't take a single picture in Toronto. Another example of how much my life has changed. If my kids aren't there, what's the point of taking pictures? What would we take pictures of? Scenery? Buildings? Us? Boring.

[Image]In baby news (or should I say toddler news?)... Both girls are relatively healthy!!!!! Eden was evaluated by the PT from the school district again today. No surprises there. She is pretty much on track with her adjusted age in the cognitive and social/emotional areas. She is delayed in the motor and language areas. Obviously. Her IEP is next week. Some of the things we will be working on are stacking blocks, and imitating crayon strokes. She definitely understands these concepts, but physically has difficulty doing them.

[Image]Eden is an AWESOME scribbler. She has a really advanced crayon grasp, and will readjust the crayon several times to get it just right in her hand. She is really into scribbling right now, especially in the tub. She has some soap crayons that she just loves, and she rolls to each side in the bath drawing very deliberately all over the sides of the tub. She gets upset when it is time to get out. She is also totally into the Little People house. She will spend hours shoving people out the door, and arranging them in their chairs at the table. She also pretends to take food out of the fridge to feed them, and us, and herself. It is very cute. She gets mad when Holland comes near her or touches anything that she is playing with. We are working on transitioning better from one activity to another, and sharing. Sharing is tough for a 2-year-old.

[Image]Holland is being evaluated again through the school district next week. She was evaluated twice before and has not qualified. With the new diagnosis, and the fact that she is 25-months-old and not walking, she should qualify this time. I suppose it doesn't really matter in the whole scheme of things, because she is getting adequate services through our private physical therapist. I would just like an IEP in place so that next year, when the time comes, she might be able to go to preschool with Eden. I just cannot imagine sending Eden to school ON A BUS without her sis...or me. She's just a BABY. In fact, I don't know that I will EVER be able to do it! I am one of THOSE parents! Who woulda thought...

[Image]Holland is getting SOOOO close to walking. She is getting more and more stable with her brace on. She is always standing up now and taking a couple of steps at a time. She doesn't hurtle forward with momentum and fall like she used to. Now she is taking very deliberate steps and balancing herself after each one. She is also getting good at stopping and turning. It's funny because you'd think she wouldn't start turning until she got a little better at walking. She does a lot of things out of order. She has been climbing on the furniture and climbing the stairs for months now. These are supposed to come AFTER walking.

My plan right now it to have home-based early intervention for both girls this year. Next year I will consider placement in the ECDD class (special ed preschool). At age four they will go to the "at-risk" preschool in our school district, and at 5 regular kindergarten. I may hold off on kindergarten until age 6 depending on how things go. Starting next year Eden will get PT, OT and Speech at school. I will check into having a one-on-one aide depending on her needs. Of course, this is all tentative. All of my plans are flexible. In fact, I am not sure why I continue to plan so far ahead. We all know that things don't always go according to plan.

Isn't that the understatement of the century?

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