O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Before I dive into Christmas, I have a wee confession to make.  I let myself get waaaaaaaaaay behind in my blogging (like  I do) and so to catch up, I got a little tricksy.  Rather than cram a bunch of posts in back-toback-to-back (which makes my OCD twitch, for some reason) I slipped a few back-logged entries in between the others, around the times that they would have been posted had I been more on my game.  So, in case you missed them, the Halloween post is here, and the visit-to-the-dentist post is here.  Now, on to Christmas!

Brandon's command Christmas party was a two-for-one this year: they had a party for the adults in one of the smaller hotel ballrooms, and at the same time, had childcare a party for the kids in one of the nearby hotel conference rooms.  And, before they officially kicked things off, the kids got a surprise visit from Santa.  He spoke to each of the children, and "brought" a special toy for each one (supplied by the parents earlier in the week).  Elora had no problem saying hi to Santa, but miss Kaylie wanted nothing whatsoever to do with him.  When it was her turn, she wouldn't even look at him--until we told her that he had a present for her.  Even then, she held on to me even as she reached with the other hand to take the gift from Santa.

Once Santa was gone, the DJ played about 20 minutes' worth of kid-friendly music and let the kids dance on the dance floor before sending them all back to their room for their own banquet: fruit punch, chicken nuggets and french fries.  :)  I'd been a bit worried that they wouldn't handle it well when Brandon and I left, because it was a strange place and strange people, but they were fine.  In fact, Elora burst into tears when we came to pick them up at the end of the night.  

The adult party was pretty standard: catered dinner, raffle prizes (Brandon won a fancy-schmancy knife), and loud fun music.  I enjoyed myself, but spent most of the evening sitting still, chatting just with the people who happened to be near me.  Brandon was much more social, and had a great time.  We stayed until about 11, when I'd had as much as I could handle.  I hated to drag him away, but well, I wilt pretty early these days.

We went one afternoon the following week to pick out our Christmas tree.  They had candy canes for the kids, which the girls loved.  Both girls wandered around, though Elora was the only one really looking at the trees.  She kept going from one tree to another, saying things like "Ooh, what about this one?!"  I ended up choosing a small, but well-shaped tree, and Elora gave her full approval.  :)

We got it set up that evening, but waited until the next day to decorate it.  Brandon helped me get the lights on the tree, then set about capturing the evening's events on camera.  The girls, for their part, were excited to help decorate and anxious for their turn to participate.  And the poor things had to wait for me to do the lights twice, because I wasn't happy with the placement the first time around.

Elora did help me with the garland, and she "helped" me with keeping Kaylie out of trouble.  Any cautionary comment that I made to either of them, Elora repeated.  It was adorable, and a little exasperating.  The imp.

When we finally got the the ornaments, the girls were almost rabid to get started.  We did some of the generic glass ornaments first, and then moved on to their ornaments.  (You'd be surprised how many they've managed to acquire in only a few years!)  They loved everything about it.  Except, perhaps, for the waiting as I unwrapped the ornaments.  Elora seemed to be taking some care with where she put hers, but Kaylie had just 2 branches that she'd deemed acceptable and all of her ornaments went on one of those 2 branches.  And though they could reach higher up the tree, neither one put any higher than about the second row of branches.

We got about a third of the way through when I called it a night--for them.  I went back to it after they'd been tucked in for the night, and not only finished the tree, but put out the rest of our Christmas decorations as well.

Ta-da!  Perfect.  :)

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

(The video has nothing to do with the post, it's just cute.)

Kaylie has been attending speech therapy for about 6 months now, so I thought it was about time for an update.  We had her hearing tested back in August (about 3 months after starting the therapy) in an effort to determine whether a hearing deficiency, however mild, might be contributing to her slow speech development.  Not only did she pass the hearing test, but she cooperated so well that the lady doing the test commented that she is rarely able to administer the whole test to children so young, and that Kaylie responded normally to all of it.  So, that pretty well ruled out a hearing deficiency as a cause for Kaylie's speech delay.  With that possibility eliminated, Jennifer became fairly sure that it is probably childhood apraxia of speech, a cognitive disorder in which there is a disconnect in the planning process of speaking.  According to the site I linked above, "children with apraxia of speech have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech."   In other words, her brain has a hard time telling her mouth how to form the necessary sounds for speech.  It sounds really scary, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit freaked out when Jennifer first shared her suspicions with me.   Kaylie is really too young for an official diagnosis, but from what I've read about apraxia and what I've observed about my child, it fits.  Even if we later find that we're wrong about the core problem, then this at least gives us a plan for how to move forward with her therapy now.

In the three months since then, Elora and I have stopped going into therapy with Kaylie.  In the beginning, I think it was good for all of us to participate, because it helped Kaylie to become comfortable with Jennifer, but it had become obvious that Elora and I were just distractions.  We've also added a third therapy session each week, and the additional day seems to have flipped a switch somewhere.  She has improved so much just in the last month or two!  She's gaining consistency where she was once erratic, and is adding completely new sounds to her repertoire.  She is not only talking more and more, but she has become so much more willing to try new words!  This may seem like a small thing, but for me, this is the biggest indicator of just how far she's come.  

For my part, I cannot even begin to say how proud I am of her.  It is a little heart breaking to watch her struggle to wrap her mouth around some new sound, or combination of sounds, and sometimes I catch myself wondering why my beautiful, intelligent child must work so hard to do what comes so naturally to most other children.  But there is no "why", it just is.  So we're working with her, and encouraging her, and celebrating every victory with her.  To see her sweet little face just light up with joy and pride when she's able to say something new is just...well, there are no words.  :)

Back to the Dentist!

The girls had their second check up with the dentist a few weeks ago, and this visit went just as well as the first!  Well, mostly.  They sat together in the seat again, and they were just as well behaved, and just as cooperative as they were before.  (In Kaylie's case, she was even more cooperative!)  The only shadow over the visit is that Elora has developed a few teensy, tiny cavities.  The dentist and hygienist both assured me that cavities are very common in young children, because the enamel on the baby teeth is much thinner than that on adult teeth, and especially when the teeth are touching, as they do in Elora's mouth.  And I know that I have terrible teeth ( a mouth full of fillings, ew!) and I don't think that Brandon's are much better than mine.  But, I still feel like I've failed my daughter.  We could have been a lot more diligent about tooth-brushing than we were, and what if that had been enough to prevent those cavities?  Am I doing enough to help her develop the necessary habits to keep her mouth healthy in the long-term?  I'm doing my best to squash the doubts and self-recrimination, and channel that energy into stepping up our game at home.  Kicking myself won't help Elora; being diligent about her oral care will.

The dentist advised us to have the cavities filled, and I went ahead and made the appointments to do so.  She said that if left unfilled, those cavities can spread quickly and lead to more serious issues.  Between what she told me, and what I later read online, I feel that our safest bet is to have the teeth filled, even if there is some debate about whether it's really necessary.  And even if I do hate that I'll have to make her go through that awful process.  But, better a few fillings now, than extractions a year or two down the road, right?

Summer Visit with Oma, Part 2

We went to the Virginia Aquarium on Monday, the day before Momma had to go back.

Their changing exhibit is a butterfly garden, showing all the various stages of a butterfly's life cycle.  They had caterpillars crawling around in little terrariums, and a case full of cocoons in addition to all the butterflies fluttering around the garden.  The case is checked twice daily, and any butterflies that have emerged from their cocoons are released.  (I'm not sure when the exhibit ends, it just says "through August" on the website.  It's worth checking out, for the locals!)

We saw only 3 different kinds, though I'm sure there were more. I almost stepped on this little brown one as I was taking pictures of the others, he was so well camouflaged with the leaves.  Momma warned me that it was there, but I still didn't see it until she physically pointed it out to me.

We didn't spend any time looking at the informational exhibits,  focusing instead on all of the animals.  The girls enjoyed watching the harbor seals making laps around their pool right outside the entrance to the aquarium itself.

Personally, I had more fun watching my mom and the girls than I did the animals.

So many of the areas are so dark that it's really hard to get good pictures...

The turtle tank.  This one in particular was very friendly.  He (she?) swam right by us several times in a row, as if to say 'hi'.

The sting ray tank.  Both girls had their hands in all the way up past their elbows, and Kaylie's hair was falling in the water.  I'm sure she would have been happy to just get in there and play with the rays!!

When we left the aquarium, we detoured by the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Virginia Beach for some cheesecake.  I left mom in the car with the girls and ran in for a few slices to take home and share.  Man oh, man.  So good.

Of course, we did more than the zoo and the aquarium.  Mom and I went out for lunch, pedicures and shopping on Saturday.  Saturday night, Mom stayed with the girls so that Brandon and I could have a date night for our anniversary.  Sunday, we took the girls to see Monsters University.  Not to mention the down time, just hanging out at home.  It was all so much fun!  I'm so glad that Momma got to come up and hang out with us for a week!  One day, we'll live closer and get to see each other more often, but in the mean time, these visits are a treasure.  :)

Summer Visit with Oma, Part 1

My mom came up for a week in the middle of July.  I didn't take as many pictures as I should have--Of the 7 days that she was here, I have pictures from only three--but I do have some to share.  She flew up on the 9th, and we were very, very glad to see her.  Elora barely left her side.

Momma's been doing the superman thing with the little ones since I was a little one.  She also puts them up on her feet, and flips them from her knees over her head.  She said that Elora is the first one to ever try flipping backwards.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get the whole week off from work.  The annual inventory was scheduled for the morning of the 12th, and since mom was there to stay with the girls, I went in both that morning and the one before it, to help.  So, knowing that those 2 days would be out for going and doing, we took advantage of the days we did have free.  We went to the zoo:

The kids got to play in the water again, which was great.  It was really hot that day!  I should have worn a swim suit as well, so I could cool off too.

Our friends met us there:  Rebekah and "Big" James, and Lydia and "Little" James.

The girls were in rare form that day, especially Kaylie.  I could get Elora to stay put by one of the fountains, but Kaylie was all over the place.  I was going a little crazy trying to keep an eye on them both.  At least until Kaylie threw a tantrum over returning a toy to another family, and I put her in time out, over by Momma and Aunt Bekah, who had given up on the fountains in favor of the shade.

She ended up being distracted first by the birds fluttering around in the areas behind them, and then by all the fun games on her Oma's phone.  We went to get lunch not long after that, and then walked around to visit the animals.

Oma's phone was in high demand.  It got put away during lunch, and then it was Elora's turn.  Why the phone was more exciting than the zoo, I have no idea.  Miss Kaylie continued to be in her funk for the rest of the day.  Maybe she was working on molars?  Maybe it was the heat?  Or maybe it was just that she's two.

The baby giraffe was out and about with its parents.  It's so stinking cute!  Just like a tiny version of the adults, but brighter and fuzzier.

The last thing we did was to visit the tigers.  Momma absolutely adores tigers!  We only got to see one of them, being lazy in the shade, and I didn't get any pictures.  She had to settle for pictures of the statue.  :)

We went to the aquarium, too, but I'm thinking that maybe I ought to make that another post.  Stay tuned.  :)

Reenlistment, the Fourth of July, and a Time-Warp

Back at the beginning of July, Brandon signed on for another 6 years with the US Navy, which is a pretty big deal.  Since they're drawing down the military, they're being really choosy about the people that they allow to reenlist.  The fact that they not only re-upped his contract, but that they signed him for another 6 years (the maximum, by the way), really speaks to how awesome he is.  I, for one, really just could not be any more proud of him for doing what he does, and for doing it so incredibly well.

The girls and I drove out to the command for the little reenlistment ceremony.  It was very quick--the drive down there took longer than the ceremony did.  But not only was it a major thing for his career, but it's a big deal for our family.  On the one hand, the Navy kind of owns us for another 6 years.  We'll be moving soon, because he's up for new orders, and he'll be going back to a boat for the first time in 6 years, for the first time since we had children.  It's inevitable that he's going to have to go out to sea, and I'd be lying if I tried to tell you that I'm not terrified of being left alone.  But, to balance that, the Navy has been very, very good to us and it's reassuring to know that we are going to have a steady income and health care for the next 6 years.  So yes, it was good to be there, to witness this commitment being made, and to show our support.

They also gave me an award, which I was definitely not expecting.  It 's an achievement award,  recognizing and thanking me for my support as the one standing behind Brandon and his work in the Navy.  I was pleasantly surprised, though I also felt a little put on the spot...there were actually a lot of people there, and I'd met only a handful of them a handful of times.  Still, I thought it was pretty cool.  :)

So, that was July third.  I thought it was an appropriate way to celebrate the Fourth, especially since we didn't actually do any celebrating on the Fourth.  Saturday we went out to Virginia Beach for some Fourth of July family fun.  We tried out one of the local seafood places for dinner, then headed on over to the strip to have some old time photos done.  This was not done on a whim.  I've actually been planning that very photo session, at that very location, for a year or two.  You see, Brandon was stationed here back in 2003 for his C-school training, and he flew me up to see him a couple of times.  One of those times was over the July 4th holiday weekend, and while wandering around in Virginia Beach, we had some old time photos done then.  So how could we not go back and do it again, exactly 10 years later?  I couldn't resist, and even Brandon said that it pretty much had to be done.
 I didn't want to take the original photos with us, since we have only the one copy, so we snapped a picture of it with Brandon's phone, to show it to the people at the studio.  Of course they were all over it, and perfectly happy to help us try to recreate the original:

How awesome is that?  10 years, 3 duty stations, and 2 kids later, and neither of has changed much at all.  How's that for a time warp?  Here's the rest of the shoot (because of course I had to have the CD with all the digital images on it...) :

The girls LOVED getting all dressed up, and playing with the props.  Heck, so did I, for that matter.

Elora looks unhappy in the first one, because the photographer had handed her a gun, and told her to hold it up for the picture.  "But, guns are dangerous!"  And she continued to look worried until he took away the gun, and handed her the fan.  She was much more comfortable with the fan.  Kaylie, on the other hand, was in 100% dress-up-loving-toddler heaven.

We got done with the photos just before 10, when the fireworks were supposed to start, so we just headed across the street to the beach walk. We waited patiently there by the beach, but I couldn't help noticing that there wasn't anyone else standing around, looking expectantly at the sky out over the water.  Sure enough, there were no fireworks that night.  As it turns out, I'd misread the schedule.  They weren't Saturday night at 10, but Sunday night at 10.  Oops.  Thank goodness for smartphones!  Since Brandon was able to double check the schedule, we didn't wait around too long, but got the girls loaded up and headed home.  Poor Elora was heartbroken.  She'd been so excited to see the fire works!  We kept telling her that we'd go back the next night, that she would still get to see them, but she was so tired and so disappointed that she whimpered the whole way home.

We did go back, and she did get to see them.  Elora loved them.  This is the only picture I was able to get of her once they started, because she was so excited that she kept jumping up and down.  Apparently, holding still also meant that she had to stop grinning, but at least I got a picture!

Kaylie was not so impressed.  She didn't like the noise, but kept peeking through her fingers to watch them anyway.  She spent part of the show in the stroller, and part of it with Brandon.

I hope everyone had a happy Fourth of July!

June.

A photographic sampler of the month of June.

June 1: Water Play

June 2: Chuck'E'Cheese

or, More On Potty Training  Reinforcement

Elora, while fully capable of using the potty, has consistently shown a lack of enthusiasm for doing so.  Why gt up and go to the bathroom, when it doesn't seem to bother her in the least to have wet pants?  So, we've been trying to inspire the proper enthusiasm in her, both punishing her bad choices and rewarding her good ones.  This reward chart is actually something that I made for her back in January, but that I never blogged.

Note:  I made this exclusively for our own personal use.   I do not own the rights to any of these images.

These are the counters.  

I made 3 for Chuck E Cheese, 5 for the ice cream, and 7 for the movie.  I printed it all out at home, then took them to Office Depot to have them laminated.  I cut out all of the counters, and used Velcro in the squares on the chart and on the backs of the counters so that they could easily (and repeatedly) be moved around.  Then I hung it all on the wall right next to the potty, right at her eye level, with the card board sleeve from the movie hanging over it all so that she would be able to see that, too.

Based on advice I'd received and articles I'd read, I thought it might help to give her something to work toward, and for her to be able to see it and be reminded of it every time she went to the potty.  Initially, she was really, really excited about it, but she would never go more than a day or two without an accident.  Fast forward to June, and she FINALLY got her 3 days in a row!

June 6: At the Zoo (with Aunt Bekah)

We've been zoo-ing about once a month or so, since it got warm.  By this point, it had gotten hot, and knowing that they have these awesome water fountains just inside the zoo, we dressed the kids in their bathing suits.  We ended up getting there shortly before story time, though, so we did that first.

The kids could not wait to go play in the water, but when they got there, they were super shy about getting in it.  Elora, in particular, does not like to get water in her face, so she just kept backing into the fountains.  And of course, whatever Elora does, Kaylie must also do.

And then we learned that a baby giraffe had just been born that morning.  Have I ever mentioned that giraffes are Elora's favorite animals? These pictures aren't great, because they were taken through the glass and my camera kept wanting to focus on the fence rather than the giraffes (I forgot about manual focus), but isn't he sweet? Only about 7 hours old here, and already standing and walking around.  So, so cool.

June 14: Hopscotch

It was late in the day, either just before dinner or just after.  The girls and I had been inside all day--we hadn't even changed out of our PJ's.  It was a beautiful afternoon. not too hot, and Brandon decided it would be criminal if we didn't get at least a little fresh air.   We opened the garage door, set out the blue lawn chairs, and watched the girls play.

I didn't really take any pictures of their faces.  I was fascinated by the light, the nightgowns & boots, and the chalk lines.  Is it weird that I'm kind of in love with this picture?

June 28: Farmer's Market & A Speech Therapy Update

There's a farmer's market at the local park every Wednesday and Saturday during the summer, and Rebekah and I finally got around to taking the kids to check it out.  

We ended up eating half of our strawberries right there, they were so good!  We haven't made it back yet, but I'm thinking we really ought to.  

That afternoon, Kaylie had therapy.  We're still going twice a week, and Kaylie is making great progress!  She's added lots of new words to her vocabulary, and is signing for a lot of things as well.  Jennifer has moved from just trying to get Kaylie to repeat simple words to focusing on specific letter sounds and final consonants.  For example, Kaylie says "eee" for "eat", dropping the T and speaking only the beginning of the word.  We're trying to teach her to say the whole word.  At the end of each session, Jennifer always makes suggestions for what we can do with Kaylie at home, so that she continues to learn in between visits.

Elora always goes with us, and is always very good while we're there.  Jennifer either brings something special for Elora to play with, incorporates her into the lesson, or allows her to play one of the kid's games on her tablet.  Frankly, I think that might be Elora's favorite.

And that brings us to the end of June.  Next time, I'll try to bring us up to date in July.  :)