Progress in Fast Forward

Well, we have had an exciting and amazing week. First, I'm sure all of you are amazed that this is my 3rd post this week. See... I told you it was an amazing week. But, my actions are the least of the amazement as you all would guess. Allie is the amazing girl. So, what happened this week?

BYE.... BYE.... BYE BYE.... Allie said Bye to her classmates when her Daddy picked her up (he was the only one that heard it, but he knew exactly what she said and that she meant to say it), then, the next day she said BYE again and this time not only Daddy heard it, but her teacher, too. The day after that... she said BYE BYE to her friends' Dad! Clear as day! (Don't feel too left out for those of you that didn't hear it... Mom didn't either).

Then, she was reported to know how to deliberately take off her shoe with her other foot. Now, we all know that I didn't teach her that. All Mom's teach their children to take off their shoes properly and my Mom taught me properly and you KNOW I don't do it this way. ;-). So, Allie either learned this from her Dad or more likely - those rowdy classmates. And, while she used to do this as a baby.. the specific word is "deliberately". That touches on several of Allie's goals.

Let's see... what else... oh yes, she is getting stronger and working on strengthening her tummy muscles so she can soon stand up. The teachers report she is constantly working on standing and today with the use of a bean bag chair, she was able to stand up several times. Nope... we weren't there, but we are thrilled to hear it. At home she is trying to stand as well and crouching a bit more to build up strength. She also loves to try to stand - even if it means falling back down. Her therapist, Melissa, told us that Allie was able to use her walker to walk down the long hallway to the activity center and halfway back. She is going longer distances without having to stop to rest or regain her balance. We are also practicing with Allie standing up against the wall and practicing to take a step. At home, I caught a picture of this, but I'm not sure if she was leaning a bit on the wall or about to use Minnie as a cushion. I caught her right after I took the picture - in fact, I didn't even notice she might have been standing until I saw the picture. Melissa also reported that Allie "does great and loves walking". I love a good report card!!

We were also told that Allie is becoming a bit of a "teachers helper". Allie has seen (via ASL) and heard the teacher tell the other children to "sit down" when it is time to be in their chairs. Allie is helping the teachers out by noticing if someone gets out of their chair when they aren't supposed to and she will point to them and sign "sit down". She is also playing near the other kids more these days and has her own made up sign to remind them when they are playing too closely and she is nervous. Ms. LaKeitha said it basically says, "you go over there, don't hurt me". (Don't worry.. the kids don't mean to hurt her, they are just walking and running and she is little and seems smart enough to know she could get trambled on. What happens alot is that as the kids are playing if they run past Allie and she doesn't have a toy, they will stop and pick one up, give it to her and continue their 2 year old run around the room game.

And... this week, she was pulling at her ear a bit. After asking her several times if her ear hurt... she eventually told me that yes, her ear hurt by signing it . yippee! (No, I'm not glad she is hurt, but very happy she can tell us she is hurt.) We still have a long way to go as communication is a challenge for us. She knows a lot of signs (150-200), and sometimes uses them as you'd expect - like "more cracker", "I'm thirsty", "movie time/ can I watch Signing Time", "play", "outside", etc. for things she wants or needs. But, there are a lot of times when she seems to be recalling the sign or song in her head and then does the signs almost as if she is rambling or talking to herself. I can also ask her things, like... do you see a tree (or car, cat, dog, Daddy, etc) and she will answer with the sign. She is also increasing her Yes and No responses (to our many questions - Are you hungry? Are you sleepy? Did you potty?) We do plan to work on this more so that we are all communicating a little more accurately. We also have to get her signs a little more specific or accurate. While we understand what she is saying, others need to understand and as we learn more words, we have found out there are so many similar signs, so being specific and accurate will be helpful.

And other exciting thing you can see in this video... watch closely and tell me if you can see what is such a big deal....

Thanks for stopping in. Sorry for the long delays. I will really try to update more often, although probably the updates may not have as much "story" (a/k/a "rambling") to it. (Did I just hear a big cheer or was that silence because all anyone looks at is the pictures anyway?) Hey... it all works for me. I actually find I'm more of a blog picture looker, too.

Have a wonderful day!