Speech... We are finally on the right track!

When we went to the doctor for Mollie's 18 month checkup the doctor and I discussed Mollie's language. Mollie had lots of words, but no one was able to understand what she said except me. She would say something and everyone around me would look at me to translate. Most of her words started with d's and b's (even when they weren't supposed to) and she just started saying Momma 2 months before (which is very late for the average child). She was also not repeating words like she should at this age or saying words that I believed she should at least be attempting. When she would say a word it would have the right amount of syllables, it just wouldn't have any of the right letters in it. However, she understood EVERYTHING we said to her. She understood almost too much.

I know every child is different, but I was kind of freaking out. I think a lot of it boils down to being a special education teacher and not wanting to teach my own child. I also think that I know what to look for, and I am oversensitive when something takes more time than it should. So, as I was talking to the doctor, she seemed a little concerned as well. Since we were getting tubes the week after our appointment, she said she wanted us to come back in 3 months if we had a lot of the same concerns.

After her tubes I waited and waited for something to happen. Nothing was changing... She had more words, but they were just more words for me to translate or try to figure out. We did a lot of show me (where she would take us to the object) or just agree with what she was saying. Mollie was starting to get frustrated and I was just getting more and more sensitive to her language and people understanding her. We went to the ENT for her post op appointment and she had an ear infection and her tube wasn't even working in one of her ears because it was clogged. I was completely overwhelmed and frustrated. We are paying all of this money, and things aren't even getting better. They fixed the tube through an office procedure and asked to see us back in 3 weeks.

Well the in past 2 weeks EVERYTHING has changed! Mollie has gained a ton of words, and slowly they are becoming so much more understandable! She repeats everything we say and wants to have a conversation with us. She is able to tell us what she wants, will ask for help, and say please. (These are all things she wasn't doing 2 weeks ago.) She is speaking in some 2 word sentences.  She says "Thank you, Daddy" and "No, Mommy". We love the Thank you daddy much more than the no, mommy, but we will take it all!

I truly believe that since her ear infections started in September she has heard everything underwater. Everything was muffled and that is why she would speak with the right amount of syllables, but couldn't find the right letters. Every time she says a new word, I praise and I praise and I praise. A little too much I think... but I am so proud that we can all understand and I have to translate a lot less. I am so excited that my little girl is finally being understood and getting what she wants because she knows the right words and sounds.

I was so worried that we would be in speech before the age of 2. It looks like we are progressing perfectly now and she is very close to her developmental age with her speech. This makes me one proud momma!

St. Patrick's Day Celebrations!

Since St. Patrick's Day is on Sunday, Mollie's school decided to they would celebrate today. I was so excited to get Mollie dressed in her outfit. (You already know this is something I enjoy.)

A few weeks ago, I found an outfit that was very similar to the outfit she wore last year. I LOVED that outfit, especially the bloomers that came with it. They were green with a huge shamrock on them. Well, this outfit had the same bloomers and I just couldn't resist.

On Wednesday, when I was at my mom's, we were going through old pictures of Mollie. We saw the picture from last year and it just showed me how fast my baby girl has grown!

It is unbelievable at how quickly it has all gone! There are days that I miss my baby, but I wouldn't change the age she is now for anything! She is so fun. We have some very brief conversations, sing songs together, and have our own little moments together. I wouldn't change it for the world!

Valentine's Day with Mollie

One of my favorite things about having a girl is getting to dress her up for the holidays. I am a little overboard when it comes down to it, but it is my absolute favorite part about holidays!

This morning I got Mollie dressed in her Valentine's day attire. This whole week she has worn Valentine's day colors and outfits, but today was THE day! When I put her skirt on she walked around the house saying "pretty, pretty". I (of course) validated that and told her she did look pretty as she turned around and around to see her skirt flow out. Then, she had to get her daddy's approval. She walked into the living room and said, "Daddy, pretty?" He too agreed and she kept her turns going until it was time to walk out of the house.

It is amazing to me how much she understands and knows how to make us laugh. She is getting so big!

I know I am biased, but she is perfect!

February Family Day

 
 

As you might have noticed, January's Family day is missing.... that needed to be rescheduled due to weather and sickness around the Evanina's. We hope to make that up one weekend in March.

Ready to head on our way!

So we start with February! Back around Christmas, we ordered tickets the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain. This was always somewhere that I wanted to go, but I didn't know much about it. We ordered the tickets through Half Off Depot so I decided this was the perfect time!

We started our trek toward Calloway Gardens area on Saturday morning. We stopped by Subway to pick up breakfast and lunch and headed on our way. Mollie napped all the way there! It was great! She was in the best mood throughout our entire day because of that sleep.


When we got there, we walked into the shop, bought our animal food and a slober towel, got the keys to our car, and headed on our way through the drive through portion of the safari.

Our sweeeeeet ride!

There were all kinds of animals: Zeedonks (zebra and donkey mixes), camels, giraffes, deer, ducks, pigs, and so many more. Mollie had a BLAST the whole time! She isn't scared of animals one bit. It did make me a little nervous, just because the animals would come straight to the car and ask for food. Mollie wasn't shy to put the food in their mouths. Sometimes it was a little too close for comfort for this Momma....



Here are some of our pictures for the drive thru section:

This is what they call a zeedonk (zebra-donkey)

He wanted in!

`

Look at that tongue!

Food please!

Then we went to the walk through zoo part. There was lions, tigers, monkeys, and a reptile house. It was fun, but it was a little boring compared to our fun adventures in the car.

Here are more pictures:

 

Yellow River Game Ranch

On MLK day, we found out that the Yellow River Game Ranch was having dollar day. I sent out emails and invited people to come with us. My mom, Harriet, my friend Jennifer, her husband Paul, and their son joined Mollie and me for the adventure. We decided to get there early because we knew it would be packed! We arrived at 10. There were cars everywhere, but it didn't look too crowded.
 
We bought our tickets, all kinds of food, and headed into the park for a day of fun! Mollie had an absolute blast! She loves animals. I think it's because she grew up around dogs everywhere. So, she loves to pet, feed, and talk to the animals.

 
Her favorite part by far was the barn at the end and feeding all of the animals. She would ask for more and more peanuts to feed to the goats. She was so funny!

Here are some pictures of the day. I was so glad that Harriet brought her camera for us to take some really cute ones!

                                    She wasn't scared one bit!!!

                                                                So proud of herself!

                                        Trying to figure out what is in the cage...

We had so much fun!! I heard they are doing another one President's day. We might be going back for another fun adventure if anyone is interested in going with us. It was a great way to spend a dollar!!

18 month check-in

I can't believe my little girl is already 18 months! She is becoming so independent... almost too much, but it is so fun to watch her learn new things every day.

 

Mollie's stats:
Height:32 1/4" (62 percentile)
Weight: 24.8 lbs (76 percentile)
Head: 19" (92 percentile)
Diaper: Size 4 (She is starting to show some interest in the potty, but we aren't quite there yet. She will tell me to change her diaper when it is dirty and will ask to go on the potty, but she hasn't figured out that you actually do something on there.)
Clothes: Mollie is currently wearing anything from 18months -2T clothes. She wears smaller shirts and bigger pants.
She is developing well and the doctor is proud of her progress. She was concerned when we talked about speech, but said that we can revisit that in 3 months after the tubes. She said she thinks that will really help with Mollie's pronunciation of words. I feel like it is a little bit better, but I don't know if that is just because I am understanding what she is saying more or if her words are sounding more like real words.

What she is doing:
Mollie is very vocal these days! She loves to talk, whether to herself or to anyone around. She loves to pick up a phone and act like she is talking on it. She also enjoys taking things out of baskets and putting them in other baskets, playing outside, and watching Sprout. Chica is her favorite! She has become very independent. She walks everywhere we go, and she will ask to hold your hand if she is unsure.

Mollie's favorites:
Food: Yogurt (She has become quite a picky eater in the past month. She used to eat everything, now she is very selective about what she wants and when she wants it.)
Drink: Milk (We are only offering her milk and water at this time. We will start to add some juice in very soon.)
Toys: Her kitchen from Christmas from her Gram! She will pretend on that thing all day long. She also loves cars. (She calls them Car -- Wee Wee)
Cuddle: She loves her blanket (Nigh Nee).

Tubes Conclusion

As my alarm when off at 4:30, I realized I got very little sleep that night. I was up praying and getting ready for my little girl to have surgery. Once David and I got ready, we woke Mollie up and put her in the car. I was really worried about her being hungry, so I we dressed her in pajamas she could wear to the hospital. When we got there, David let Mollie play with all the toys in the waiting room while I checked us in. It was all very painless. That put me at a little ease.

Then we were called back to get Mollie's vitals. As we were back there, Mollie did very well with all of it. The worst part was the oxygen machine. Mollie HATES that thing being wrapped around her finger. Finally, we got past that. We were put into a room with a small hospital bed and some toys. We had about an hour before the actual surgery, so we played and walked around the halls of the rooms. Mollie was starting to get very hungry, so we had to do everything to keep her busy.

After about an hour, they came to get Mollie for surgery. David took her back.  (I knew I wouldn't be able to handle seeing her laying there like that.) They put me in a recovery room where we would wait for Mollie to get out of surgery. About 25 minutes later, they brought her in. I was very emotional. It was so sad for me to see my baby on a big hospital bed. She looked so tiny on that big bed. They said she would wake up soon and we would be able to take her home once she was fully awake. It took her about 20 minutes to wake up. We had to wake her up because she had gone into her nap.

After she woke up, she cried until we took the oxygen monitor off her finger (about 1 minute). Then she was completely fine once that thing came off her finger. We gave her a cracker and her water. She was so good! We were able to leave. She slept on the way home, and she was back to herself right when we got home.

We haven't had to have any problems with her ears since. We will go back at the beginning of March for a recheck.