Ari's "Talker"

About a month ago, Ariana got her Springboard Lite augmentative communcation device. This computer is extremely sophisticated and has the potential to take Ariana's communication to a much higher level. It is also designed to grow with her as her vocabulary expands, and it is completely customizeable to her needs. The state of Arizona provides us with this piece of equipment until Ari outgrows it or no longer needs it at all (fingers crossed!), at which point, we'll give it back so they can tune it up and pass it along to another child. Ariana LOVES her "talker", and she insists on having it by her side whenever she spots it. She will whine, reach her hand out, and say "uh uh!" until we realize what she's after and hand it over. I can get Ariana to eat complete meals just by insisting that she take bites in order to keep her talker turned on and beside her. After several hours of programming by Ari's speech therapist and training for me, we have finally gotten the talker to a point where we feel comfortable using it everyday. Do we use it all the time? No, not yet... baby steps. We use it mostly at meals (particularly breakfast, lunch, and snack), at the beginning of playtime activities, and during therapy. Right now, she's in what I call the "exploratory stage", meaning that she is still pressing buttons just to see the cause and effect reaction, and not specifically to communicate her needs. However, she is learning certain sequences for communication, and I am really impressed at just how fast she is catching on the the concept of it. Her favorite sequence right now that she has just about mastered is "Want eat cereal (yogurt, fruit, cracker)" (2-3 buttons), "Want drink milk please" (4 buttons!), and "My birthday is February 19" (1 button) -- don't ask me why she likes that one so much, I think it's the picture of the cake). Ariana's favorite thing to do with the talker is to play songs. She LOVES when it sings "I'm a little teapot", for which she does a modified version of the hand motions, "Happy Birthday", "It's a small world", and the Disney "Welcome" song. We listen to the Disney Welcome song probably...fifty times a day. And it's just the first verse over and over. And I love it. But I digress... Anyway, I'm slowly learning more programming, and Ari is learning to navigate her talker at about the same pace. But we are getting there, and it's a good thing. Gabe still loves the talker, but he is getting used to the idea that it is Ari's talker and not his. I try not to let him play with it hardly at all, which may seem mean, but it's really not. Gabe needs clear, defined boundaries, especially when it comes to ownership, so he respects 'all or nothing' much more than he appreciates 'here and there'. I keep reminding myself and others that this talker is not going to take the place of verbal communication for Ariana. When I ask her to say something on the talker, I also ask her to say it using her words. I will not be satisfied with Ari using the talker alone, no matter how proficient she gets at it. This is, above all, a means of expanding Ari's expressive verbal communication and vocabulary. It is a way for her to learn sequencing of words like other children, without having the early experience of speaking them. And, of course, it will her communicate her needs directly through it.

October Milestones

In the month of October, Gabriel & Ariana turned 32 months, and Isabella turned 13 months. October has been good to me. A couple weeks ago, we got a new respite provider (nanny, mother's helper, babysitter, whatever you want to call it), and we're keepin' it all in the family... no not our family, haha. That's a good one. Brooke's family! Brooke was our previous nanny, and we grew to love her so much. Since pregnancy has not been easy on the poor girl (morning sickness, back pain, & everything else), her sister, Devyn has come to fill in for her. And let me tell you, it has been quite a relief. For the first time in months, I'm acutally getting to run errands, go to the gym (I've gone 3 times so far!), and cook dinner in relative peace! I'm one happy Mama! My kids love her too. The other day, as she was leaving, Gabe just ran up to her, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and exclaimed "I love you so much!" It was really cute. :)

Yeah, I'm not much for crafts, myself.

As for milestones, Isabella has been cruising right along. Since last month, Isabella has started standing unsupported, then walking while having her hand held, then finally taking her first steps on October 26th, just a day before she turned 13 months. It also happened to be her my mom's birthday, so that was a extra special for Nana. Isabella has also started dancing while standing upright; complete with head bopping, booty shaking, arm flailing, and foot stepping. She's been walking just about everywhere around the house, sometimes even toting several items along with her (in her right hand, under her left arm, and in her mouth at the same time). When she's in a huge hurry, she'll still tummy crawl, but those times are getting fewer and farther between. Which means that her clothes are staying cleaner for longer periods of time between changing! Yay, no more swiffer mop designer duds! I can start to put her in light colors again! It's a good thing.
Isabella's gross motor acheivements has been getting her into some trouble, as should be expected. She traverses the stairs as she pleases, since I no longer need to shut the gate because she's such a pro and going up and down safely. And just like that, she's out of my sight and... flushing, yes FLUSHING all of her bath toys down the potty. Jake had to take the toilet off just to clear the pipe. A grand total of seven tub toys lodged in there.

IsabeIla has, for some time now, loved bestowing kisses upon request. But lately, she has been showing affection to inanimate objects that she personifies, such as her multitudes of stuffed animals. She hasn't committed exclusivity to one or two lovies yet, but I think she's getting pretty serious about a little white bear with wings and her hot pink doggie, who we call "Candy". She totes them around with her as she's toddling around, occasionally bringing them up to her lips for a kiss. It's very sweet.

Bella has also cut another bottom tooth this month, making a total of seven teeth so far. She has also gone down to one nap, most days, which is so nice for our famiy schedule. Bear in mind that Bella would take two naps a day if I gave her the opportunity, but she has been a really, really good sport about waiting until 1 or 1:30 PM for her first (and only) nap of the day. If I think it's going to be a long day or a day when we'll be out and about, I'll either put her down for a short nap early (then wake her after about 45 minutes) or I'll let her doze in the car (which amounts to a cat nap too).
This month, Ariana has been using her aug. com. device ("talker") a lot more. I got a couple hours of training on it, so I'm able to finally do some *basic* programming to customize it to her. She LOVES it, and is constantly begging to use it. We use it mostly at mealtimes and right before we begin any activity. She is getting good at it, and I have to say that I'm surprised at how fast she's picking it up. Although she is still in the exploring stages, so she plays around with it a lot more than she uses it for formal communication. More on this in a later post.

Ariana's verbal communication, on the other hand, has been ebbing and flowing this month. Rollercoaster. Big tease. I'm frustrated, can you tell? For instance, one night I was having Ari point to and identify the members of our family. This is par for the course for her, so I decided to step it up a notch. When she pointed to Gabe, I asked her to say "Gabe". After a couple tries, she did it. She said "Gabe" over and over that night, probably twenty times altogether. We were so happy for her. The next morning, it was gone, almost as if she had never said it at all. While that only lasted one night (not really long enough for us to get attached to the notion), words have disappeared after longer periods of use. For the first half of last month, Ari had been saying "pees" for please spontaneously, whenever she wanted anything. She would also say it upon our request. We were all overjoyed! It was so consistent, and so intentional! Two weeks later, it was gone. Now, when we ask her to say please, she gives us her default reply, which is "aba". I asked Ari's therapists about this, and they all told me that this was pretty common for a child who has motor planning difficulties as Ari does. Ari has the word in her brain, and her mouth is physically capable of making the appropriate movements and sounds, but when she tries to make a bridge between her brain and her mouth, the communication shuts down. No bridge. The therapists told me that we'll likely hear her say words when she's excited or not trying to say the word; not thinking about it. Just the other day, Ari was playing with a cat puzzle piece with her OT. Her OT said, "it's a kitty, Ari!" to which Ari echoed, "KITTY!", just like that, clear as a bell. I have never heard her make those sounds before, but the word has been there all along (which I knew), and it just slipped past her brain controls that time and right off her tongue. The only new word that has (so far) stuck with us is the best word in the English dictionary: "Mama". Of course, when I ask her to say it, she just babbles something that doesn't sound like Mama, but when she wants my attention, she remembers my name (and very loudly too).

Ari has started crying at bedtime and naptime more this month. I would see this as a regression if it weren't for the fact that Gabe is doing it too, so I'm thinking it's just a phase. I really hope that this isn't a sign that Ari isn't wanting to outgrow her nap, because I'm not!

This month, Gabe has made some gains in his fine motor area, which is where he's been having the most trouble since he was a baby. Gabe has never been much of a drawer (or a scribbler even), but he started drawing lines, circles, and ovals this month, which is a big improvement. Also, Gabe has started pulling down his own pants (and sometimes even pulling them back up). On several instances, he's even taken himself potty without telling us, which is a little nerve-wracking, because I'll walk into my bathroom later to see pee on the wall behind the toilet. Normally, I help the guy with his aim.

This month, Gabe seems to have had an awakening of sorts. He's started identifying emotions in himself and in others. One of those emotions is fear. Not terror by any means, but regular imagination-run-wild, psyched himself out, little kid fear. He is frequently telling me that different things are "scary", such as our neighbor's Halloween decorations (complete with life-sized skeletons and monstrous spiders... love it), when a car drives by him in the parking lot, the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland, the green light on his baby monitor, and a number of other things. I'm trying to teach him the difference between 'exciting', 'spooky', and 'scary', which he seems to use interchangeably.

I don't know if this is related to the fear issue or if it's just a part of the age, but Gabe has been fighting bedtime pretty hard lately. He has a number of different requests to postpone bedtime, such as needing to go pee, needing to go poo, wanting water, wanting another kiss, another hug, his bear wants a kiss, his feet need to be "down" (covered by his blankets), his "pillow" needs to be "fixed", and the list goes on. I have been excited to get him into a big bed (tentatively Christmas) for some time now, but I'm getting nervous with his protesting sleep. Will I want to put him back in the crib after a week of horrible bedtime episodes? Will I need to just lock the door? I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. His new bedding is really cute though.

I love how Gabe asks for things. He's been saying this for a while, but I'm only recently able to decode it. When he wants something, his request goes like this "Mahv some _____?" I was like, mahv? What's that Gabe? He got a little frustrated with me until I figured out that what he was trying to say was "May I have", and he just made it a contraction.

Gabe-isms this month:

• "Pacaderms, Mom! PACADERMS!" -- while pretending to fly around the kitchen a la Dumbo

• "Mommy, I'm gonna getcha... tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle!!!!" -- chasing me, hands outstretched, menacing grin on his face.
  
• "Gabe's okay... Gabe's okay" -- exasperated, after he had a coughing fit
  
• Gabe: "I'm all done" Mommy: "Please have some bread" Gabe: "Please have some ALL DONE!"
  

• "I'm sorry Dumbo!...It's okay Dumbo...Stay there Dumbo (in tears)" -- his reaction to having to wear (ahem, violate, in his opinion) his Dumbo costume for the first time. He grew to love it though :).

• "Mommy, I'm scared of the stinky one!" -- about our cleaning lady, thank goodness she couldn't hear over the vacuum... and she doesn't speak any English.

• "Mom, it's Jesus" (bearded man)..."It's a big whale mom. A baby whale and a mommy whale and a daddy whale. That's a big shark. The shark eat the baby whale. That makes me cry, Mom. The whale makes me cry." -- narrating a storybook to me (and that's not a version he's ever heard from me before)

Halloween!

Dumbo the flying pacadermHOPE butterfly (HOPE for Ari mascot)

Bellarina

A new Halloween tradition has fallen into our laps, and I'm so happy it has. This is the second year in a row that our street has thrown a Halloween block party, complete with a costume parade, kids of all ages, candy passer-outers (for those of us who want to go trick-or-treating with the kids), dinner and delicious treats for everyone! It is also the second year that the Edwards family has joined us for this event (see last year -- thankfully, this year came without any tragedy). We had such a great time this year. The kids have figured out that if that say "trick-or-treat", they get candy in their pumpkins... magic. Even Ariana got to say the magic phrase with her talker, a.k.a her augmentative communication device.

Here's how the trick-or-treating went...

*ding dong*

Kids: "Trick or treat!"

Adult: "Oh, how cute. Here you go!"

Kids: "Thank you! Happy Halloween."

Adult: "Happy Halloween."

Kids: "CLOSE THE DOOR!"

So nice :). (Chrissy, I warned you).

"Oooh scary! Scary man mom. I wanna see the scary man!"

This series of pictures is entitled 'the slowest walking, most distracted trick-or-treaters on the block':

Gabe: "C'mon Lana!"

Lana: "C'mon Gabe!""Lolipop POWER!"

Pumpkin Patch

This Saturday, we went to Mother Nature's Farm. This was our second year visiting this pumpkin patch, and I think the kids really enjoyed it. It's a small farm, not far from our house, and it is perfect for their ages because there is just enough to do in a couple hours to hold their attention without overwhelming them. We saw the animals, which Gabe loved but Ari didn't care for. They each picked out a pumpkin to decorate with stickers. They jumped in the blow-up jumper, and then we went on a hayride.

Family Time & Grandma's Visit

This month has been busy, hectic, and fun. We were really fortunate to have one of my favorite people in the world, my Grandma, come to visit us for a while. Okay, so she may not be may real grandma, but she has adopted me... she's Jake's grandma. Grandma Frances happens to be one of the women in my life that I admire most. She has a ton of common sense and while not formally educated, she is extremely articulate and well-read. She claims to be "country," but in my opinion, she's very cultured and aware. She has very humble origins, but you would never know it by looking at her, talking with her, or tasting her food! She never budges or waffles on her standards for herself or for others, she makes her opinions known, but yet manages to still do it with great manners. She stayed with us for five days in the beginning of her trip, then she traveled up to Holbrook where we later joined to be present for our neice, Kendrick's, baby blessing and Grammy Twyla's birthday. Then Grandma and Grammy came back down for one last day. We really enjoyed spending time with not only our Grandma (my children's great grandma!) but with our other relatives that we rarely get to see. My kids loved being with their cousins, who make perfect age-matched play companions.

us with grandma"flying" (windows rolled down) in the backseat on thw way to Holbrook boys and the back of a truck; what could be better?Ari by the petroglyphs behind the 'Taylor Acres''Bella & Madisonthe baby girls: Isabella, Madison, Kendrickall of the girls on Kendrick's blessing day with Uncle Darren

Jam Session at Unle Ryan & Aunt Chantelle's House

recipe: Mama Chang's Stir-Fried Shrimp and Scallions

4 servings

1 1/2 lbs. shelled and deveined large shrimp
3 garlic cloves, sliced
One 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 large egg white
2 tsp. cornstarch (divided)
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup canola oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the garlic, ginger, red pepper, egg white, and 1 tsp. of the cornstarch until well-coated.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the ketchup with the broth, sugar, pepper, salt, and the remaining 1 tsp. of the cornstarch.
3. In a very large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the shrimp and stir-fry over high heat until they begin to turn pink. Add the ketchup mixture and simmer until the shrimp are cooked, about 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cilantro and serve.

Isabella's 1st Birthday Party

We had Isabella's 1st birthday party last Saturday at Chuparosa Park. We chose that park, because the weather is still nice enough to get wet, and they have a little splash pad that is always such a hit with the kids. The playground is close enough so that children can be supervised from the pavilion. Also, they have a swing for children with special needs that Ari adores. We didn't have quite as many guests show up to this party as we have to parties in the past, but everyone who did attend had plenty of great food and got to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. We served pizza, orzo salad, pasta salad, fruit salad, chicken salad croisant sandwiches, chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, and cake! The theme of the party was ballarina pink in honor of Isabella's nickname, "Bellarina" which was given to her because of her agility, flexibility, and love of dance. Everything was light pink and dark pink, from the roses, down to the flatware and paper dishes. She even wore a pink tutu over her bathingsuit for the cake eating. All the kids had so much fun playing at the splash pad. I forgot to bring Gabe's swimsuit, but that didn't stop him (or any of the other kids) from diving right in. Ari loved crawling around in the puddles and getting sprayed by the water. Isabella had a ball too. When it came time for cake, Isabella put on a real show. She started off slow and cautious (for theatrical effect, no doubt); only poking her single index finger into the cake. After a while, she got more daring and began to put more of her hand into the frosting, eating it quicker. Gradually, she got up the courage to put the entire piece of cake into her fist and shove it into her mouth (and nose and eyes). Very dramatic -- and very Bella. Bella's Nana, Papa, Grammy, Aunt Marci, Aunt Leah, and even her great-grandmother Frances came to celebrate her special day. Among the present highlights were Nana's red Radioflyer wagon and Grammy's gigantic stuffed triceratops.