Day #244

 Photograph 1: Josie having herself a bit of coffee this morning before school. Hoping the caffeine calmed her down a bit!

Photograph 2: Maeve working on shape cards during session. She does such a good job on them, I am so proud at how hard she was working during session today.

Day #243

No casualties, cats and kids are all fine even though there was a terrible toy avalanche in the girls room today! Sheesh! Think they have enough toys?!

Photo Lab for me today, school for Josie, session for Maeve with a team-tea-chat-meeting afterward. A busy but very productive day!

Day #242

I found this when I got back inside from taking Josie out to her bus this morning. I thought Maeve was content and occupied but I guess I was wrong. She got into the kitchen, into the fridge and was having quite a lot of fun with the cheese.

I started thinking this morning about Maeve's IEP yesterday and really processing everything that was said. It dawned on me that she was given another label yesterday: global developmental delays. Now, according to the experts, she is severely autistic with 17p13.3 duplication syndrome, sensory processing disorder, and global developmental delays. All of that aside, she is my little girl, my world and I love her to no end!

Reading Josie's progress sheet, sent home each day from her preschool, I saw something that didn't go over well with me. It seems the speech therapist is making Josie use PECS! WHY?! Why would you make a child that can and does speak regress to non verbalization by using PECS!?!? Josie had no interest in PECS before and went right into manding, it makes no sense to take that step backward with her. Make her speak, insist she use her words, I just don't get it!

Day #241

I am really slipping on this daily picture thing, seeing that it has been a couple days since I posted last. Not sure whether it is life getting in the way, my procrastination gene taking over or just plain laziness. I would guess a combination of all three, but that is just me!

Don't you just LOVE these pictures?! I am a bit biased but I think they are great! Josie with her pumpkin and Maeve, the blur that she is, not staying still long enough to have her picture taken; but I think it came out well, blurred action.

I had photography class this morning where we went over everything we have covered this semester in preparation for the midterm exam next Tuesday. Josie had school as well, according to her progress sheet she did well today. Following picture prompts for transitioning better and art, she loves art! Maeve had session with Shelley in-home and Ginger came to check in on how things were going. At 1:30p.m. Beth came to the house for in-home headstart and brought pumpkins and other gourds for the girls and stories to read. Next week she has a pumpkin painting project where they will paint the actual pumpkins she brought and put glitter all over them. Should be messy and fun! At 2:30pm we had Maeve's trienniel review at the Tuolumne County Office of Education. We had a FULL house, I would guess fifteen people, all there for one little girl! Lots of reports and information being exchanged. We decided on increased hours for her in-home program with a meeting in January or February to discuss progress. She will be getting a VOCA for her PECS program, an adaptive PE assessment, and speech. Coffee during the meeting didn't help a bit and I am so ready for bed! Three hours, I think I can make it...

Day #240

Maeve insisted on walking backwards most of our walk this evening. She was really enjoying the sensation of it, giggling and stumbling, waving her arms to see her shadow do the same. We went for a longer walk this evening than normal due to the fact that the girls seemed restless and were having a screaming duet, so I thought it best to get some energy out of them. Not much else to report, it has been a rather lack luster type of day.

Day #239

A wet spot like this to Josie is catastrophic and requires an immediate wardrobe change or she will scream like the world is ending! I am not over exaggerating in the least, I swear. Even smaller spillage requires as much! I wonder how she handles this at school or if she ignores it or maybe by luck it hasn't happened yet?

In the wee hours of the morning Maeve woke up three times from a sound sleep laughing uncontrollably, to the point that I was wondering what was wrong with her. When she tried to stop giggling she couldn't. Adding up the time elapsed in these on and off laughing spells was a whopping seven hours before she got considerable control of herself. I did not look to see if her eyes were dilated, I will next time though. She was not in any distress, and there were no convulsions so it makes me wonder if it was gelastic seizures or not. What else would cause a child to laugh like this? Ever since she was tiny she would either laugh or cry for 30-45 minutes at a time, we could set our watches and she would come out of it like a switch being turned off at about the same amount of time each occurrence. That hasn't happened for quite a while, until this morning that is. She has had an EEG and an MRI, both of which came back normal. She is a puzzle, my dear Maeve, one that confounds me on a regular basis.

Day #238

Josie was being a very attentive pupil as Evan tried to teach her how to kill goblins in a game on Kena's iPad, isn't this such a cute picture?!

Busy day today from sun up to sun down but all very enjoyable. First thing was getting Josie up and out the door to school. After which I got Maeve ready for session but took a walk with her before Shelley arrived. Then I was out the door with Guy for a photo shoot, can't wait to develop the negatives tomorrow. When I got back home Maeve was just finishing session and Josie was home from school. I made a batch of pumpkin bread and got finished just before Mackena and Evan arrived for another FUN visit. Now I am so ready for bed...one more hour to go, I think I can do it; but first I need to make a clean sweep of this place, it's a mess!