AWW - by the numbers

What do you get when you take this?

Add (approximately) 7 pounds & 4 inches? 

You get this:

 

 

 

This week I took the "little girls" to get their scheduled check ups with the pediatrician. Kassie got her 3 year check up. Maddie got her 15 month check up. In short they are meeting all the milestones they should, growing & following the growth curve as expected. There was only really 1 concern (see previous post), but hopefully with a little effort on our part it will be a non event (fingers are crossed!). For the record, comparing all my children - Kassie is my smallest and Maddie my biggest. Here are their stats "by the numbers":

Kassie

Height 34 1/2 inches, 5th percentile

Weight 28 lbs, 25th percentile

Maddie

Height 30 3/4 inches, 50/75th percentile*

Weight 21 lbs 10 oz, 25/50th percentile

Head circumference 45 (cm/mm? I'm not sure), 25th percentile

The girls are only 21 months apart but with Kassie being so small & Maddie growing like gang busters I'm tempted to start a friendly wager to see how old they will be when Maddie overtakes Kassie. I have a feeling it will be sooner than later.

Simply put - I am grateful for happy & healthy! What a true blessing that is!

*Not exactly what the split means, it's how they wrote it down - guessing she's in that range somewhere.

What it is VS. What it sounds like (for now anyway)

So my sweet Kassie has something called "speech dysfluency" also called pseudostuttering. It is the occasional repeating of sounds or syllables that children make when they are learning to speak. It occurs in many children showing up between 18 months & 5 years. It happens because the mind is able to think of words faster than the tongue can make them. It increases when the child is tired or overexcited. Normal dysfluency only lasts for 2 or 3 months if handled correctly.*

What it sounds like is stuttering, and it has this mamma STRESSED OUT. I started to notice it about a month ago (guessing) and it seems to be getting worse - or maybe because I noticed it I see it more. Dan doesn't see it as much as I do, but today a babysitter & her mom picked up on it. Yesterday she had her annual doctor's visit/check-up (more on this later) & the doctor - who I trust implicitly - diagnosed it as speech dysfluency and gave me some literature on it & what we should be doing to help her. For now we are on a be patient & let her grow out of it path (with the following suggestions) - but it breaks my heart when she is trying so hard to speak to me & can't get the words out - I want to help her NOW!!! She struggles to say things that just a month or so ago flew out of her mouth, which is why I think this is so hard for me. I've been researching online (in addition to what the doctor gave us) and it all seems to say the same thing & offer the same suggestions. We were going to keep this close to home (read - not tell anyone), but my research says to tell anyone who she may be around - teachers, family, friends, etc. so they will be aware of what to do & what not to do as to best enable her growth & not cause stress/trauma which could turn this into a full blown stuttering problem. So here goes....

If you are around Kassie (you know the cute little girl who looks like this):

 And you have the opportunity to talk to/with her - there are somethings we hope you will keep in mind:

• Keep the conversation pleasant, low-key & fun. Don't ask her to mimic you ("verbal performance")
• Ignore any stuttering.
• Be reassuring such as "Don't worry, I can understand you."
• Don't correct! Things like "think before you speak", "take your time it's ok" are NO NOs - they call attention to the problem & can make things worse (think self-confidence issues - we want to encourage talk/speech - if she's self conscious she may regress & stop speaking all together or the stuttering may worsen) - remember it's not something she can control & is considered normal for her age.
• Also avoid praise for good speech (this one is hard for me) it implies that the previous speech wasn't up to standard
• Don't interrupt - give her time to work through it & finish her own thoughts, don't complete her sentences for her.
• Don't ask her to repeat what she said. Listen closely - only if you don't understand what she says (and we aren't nearby  to help) and it seems important should you ask her to repeat
• If you are reading to her - take your time - don't rush
• Don't ask her to slow down, instead model it for her - speak slowly, clearly and look at her when you talk to her. Relaxed speech is our goal for now.
• We will be trying to slow down our pace of life - especially for her - backing off anything that might cause her anxiety or pressure her to perform (such as potty training) until she has the chance to catch up.

They say this only lasts a few months, fingers crossed this will soon be a distant memory - if not I've already discussed a referral for a speech pathologist with the pediatrician.

It's days like this I lean on the promise that the Lord won't give me more than I can handle. It's very hard for me to wait for Kassie to express to me what she is trying to say, it breaks my heart to watch her struggle so much, so for now it is on my faith I will rely. My faith that our pediatrician is a good one, my faith that I can handle whatever challenges are given me, my faith that with Him all things are possible.

*This & the suggestions (recommendations to prevent her dysfluency from developing into stuttering) above are from the information the doctor gave me at her appointment.

AWW

I HATE ALLERGIES!!!

Just when I think I can take a deep breath.....

Kassie wakes up with this (sorry the pictures aren't the best I was trying to document the rash for the doctor & getting the light right so you can see it & getting her to "hold still" were quite the challenge):

After getting over the shock of it all - we actually thought she was the 1 kiddo without allergies - I called the doctor's office to see how much Benadryl to give her for her size. She took it like a champ - WHEW. I have to check back in with them this afternoon. That said I'm pretty sure I'll be walking away from her "well child check" next week with a referral to the allergist. Something that I'm not looking forward to at all, but with the history with the other 2 I can't afford to mess around, but allergy testing is a horrible thing & I hate having to go through it with my kids. This will be the 5 round of testing (Nate & Abbie have each gone through it twice) for us & I wouldn't be surprised if Maddie gets sent too. Thank goodness for modern medicine & that we have insurance.

Honestly it's kinda hard to be grateful in the light of this - I've got more of the "on no, not again" mindset right now, but if it is an allergy we know what to do for her, we already have an allergist we like, and I'm holding on to the promise that we won't be given more than we can handle (even if it is on our knees), and having faith that this promise is real is something I can be grateful for.

AWW

FRONT PAGE NEWS!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to see the last Harry Potter movie a day early. The premier was put on by Nate's orthodontist as a "patient appreciation" event. We invited a guest to join us. His picture made it into the paper as well. However his picture doesn't do his costume justice - check out better pictures here. (Click here to see the picture of Nate they used in the paper, as seen below.)

How cool is this?! What a fun treat! As if going to the movie a day before everyone else wasn't treat enough - Nate made the front page of the paper! We had a GREAT time!

The Hawaiian Day that was & wasn't

The last week of school they had a spirit week, or was it the week before the last week - doesn't really matter I suppose. Anyway on Friday of spirit week they were scheduled to have Hawaiian Day. Dan had taken Abbie to Wal-Mart to pick out a couple of new outfits (one for her one for Nate) & I had picked up some cheap flip flops at Target. The night before I got this great (at least in my head) idea to bling out the flip flops for Abbie.

I thought they turned out super cute & was so excited to show them to Abbie in the morning (we had even painted her nails a matching shade of pink earlier in the day), I was just sure she would love them. The next morning came and everything changed...

Nate got up, ready for school & off he went - he was so excited about the day ahead.

Abbie however woke up with a sore throat and a raging fever, so she didn't go to school. She was heartbroken about it. She LOVED the flip flops! We made a compromise, she got to wear her outfit to the doctor's office & I would get it all clean & she could wear it all again the last day of school. It made things a little better for her. (She ended up having Strep.) She looked so cute - both times!

See? SO CUTE!

 

Even a pretty hair do.

Really not feeling that great.

I eventually got a smile out of her.

I am grateful for warm days and cool nights, mostly that summer has finally decided to show up! Not that I love being hot - but the sunshine lifts everyone's spirits, and besides it really doesn't get that hot here - another thing to be grateful for!

Oh in the Indecision

Yesterday I couldn't decide what I wanted to post there were 2 that I wanted to do - then the day got away from me and I ended up getting nothing posted so today I'm shooting for a 2 for 1, and then I can post both the things I wanted to from yesterday - so without further delay:

The Krabby Patty

First let me start by saying I really don't like - maybe even hate - Sponge Bob. Long long painful story - However my kids don't share my disdain for him, and frankly Dan doesn't either. I try to filter (read - banish) Sponge Bob as much as I possibly can, that said the other day I was making chicken burgers for lunch for the little girls (this was before school got out) and Kassie informed me she wanted a Krabby Patty. For your reference, this is what a Krabby Patty looks like

Sponge Bob is a fry cook by profession & makes these all day. That's the show in a nutshell - plus a lot of crass junk, but I digress. So Kassie wants one for lunch, So being the creative mom I am (cough,cough, sputter, sputter) - ANYWAY I put her chicken patty on her plate and gave her a bun and asked what else she needed to make a Krabby Patty - she said pickles, so I got her pickles. She didn't ask for anything else (I asked again).

She went right to work.

 

Oops - sidetracked - time to taste test the pickles.

Almost there.

The final touch - smashing down the top of the bun.

Her final creation.

She eventually ate it all - although not full assembled. She tried, she couldn't get it in her mouth- gee imagine that! Funny funny girl. Now every time we have chicken burgers she says she's eating a Krabby Patty, so if she asks you for a Krabby Patty - give her a chicken burger, with pickles please!

So much to be grateful for. Today it's the creative imagination of an almost 3 year old, I simply can't wait to see what the future holds for her on this grand adventure of life. Love our funny little duck!