Avery Enjoying Her New Trampoline

Avery's Haircut

My littlest girlie got her hair cut tonight. A bit of a challenge but, like her brother, she is best mollified with books. Afterwards, she got to go in the ball pit. She is happy in this pic but she melted down once I took her out! Thank gawd for suckers!

Avery's Last Play Class

Avery had her last play class on Tuesday (unless I register her again in the new year)...she enjoyed it so!

Playing tic-tac-toe. She just wanted to read the letters
on the mat more than play the game itself!

She looks to dump out the whole container of
balls but this is too big a pail!

Loves the drum!

Here she is with Jing (our new nanny) on the parachute!

Avery's Brace

For those of you who haven't seen it, here's Ave's brace. She's got her squeaker shoes on after Grandma Fillo got the strap lengthened...lots of squeaks now!

Avery 's Had Her Brace for One Week!

Today we had physio and the therapist was so impressed with her gains in one week. Her stance is much closer together (no more cowboy walk...well, less of one anyway,) and she is better at running, dancing and jumping. We have to work on her posture so that she is more upright (she felt more confident stooping over before the brace). In addition, we have to work on her pivots in her hips and combining moves (e.g. crouching with her hands over her head).

Next time, we are going to check her AFO (AKA her brace) to ensure she doesn't need a lift in her other shoe and get some further exercises so that she can progress at a quicker pace. In addition, we are going to start working on loosening up Avery's right shoulder (it is quite tight when putting a jacket on) and looking into occupational therapy for help with fine motor control and aides to stop all the drooling!

Lastly, we hit the orthotist so he could check on the brace itself. That was fine (save the fact that we need to check to make sure her heel is planted firmly)...he just kept commenting on what a changed girl she was this week (since last week she absolutely lost it! Even the receptionist commented on her meltdown from the week before!).

One last note...Avery needs to her work on her focus and distractability. We need her to focus on one task for at least five minutes at a time (throwing a ball, doing a puzzle, etc.) to slow her down so her movements are more in rhythm with the rest of the body. Slowing down may also aid in her cognition and visual cues (esp. given her right wandering eye. Gotta call that opthamologist!).

Avery Sings Mdrawp!

Avery's Current Addiction

Avery loves books. This Duck and Goose one is a particular fav. Today, she brought it all the way downstairs with her and then threw it at me to read. I now have a bump on my forehead...it must be dang good reading!

Ideas for the Girl's Birthday/Christmas

Crazy chick with the Christmas birthday...tut tut. When I think back to that Christmas Eve when the contractions started...ugh! Anyway, just posting some ideas here since it's easier for me and any of the relatives to be on top of her current faves.

Handy Manny

Fisher-Price Manny's Fix - It Phone
Disney 5-Pc. Handy Manny Bath Toy Play Set

Mickey or Minnie Mouse

Fisher-Price Mickey's Surprise Clubhouse 
Fisher Price Mickey's Magic Choo Choo

Elmo or Cookie Monster

Fisher Price Elmo's Super Boom Box
Fisher-Price Sing and Giggle Microphone

Other

Vtech - Baby's Learning Laptop
Little Tikes Easy Score Bean Bag Toss
Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Piggy Bank

Finally Snapped Some Pictures...

...of Avery's play class (every Tuesday for 45 minutes). They have organized songs, free play and then reading time...she loves it! Here she is playing with the musical instruments and attempting to pop bubbles!

Timbits Soothes the Savage Beast!

Avery was such a grump yesterday. Since we had to wait outside the school to pick up C, I got her some Timbits which cheered her up some!

Mommy Tries to Get Avery...

...to clean up her mess! She dumped all of Mommy's primas on the floor and seems more than content to wear the container as a mask. What a goofball!

Tale of a Marker by Avery...

I found a marker while Mommy was on the phone with Grandma Fillo. I colored on the table a bit, pretended it was lipstick and then proceeded to chomp the end of it off. I then crawled on top of the table so I could embed the marker tip into my knee and drag some of the color around the living room. Did I mention it was fuschia?

Avery's Speech/Physio Appointment

Avery had a joint speech/physio appointment today. She did virtually no talking as she was too fixated on walking and playing with the toys.

I met with her new physiotherapist today. She showed us some new stretches and assessed Avery's gait now that she's up and about. She has given us a prescription to have a brace made for her right foot (which will reach up to her knee - it will most likely look like that in the picture). This brace will not be fixed but will instead have a joint to allow her to bend her knee. Most importantly though, it will get her body used to holding her foot flat and straight (rather than shifting inward with pronated toes). Her brace is made by a separate private clinic. Even with the province covering 75%, it will still be a minimum of $500 out of pocket (these things are crazy expensive). She will have to go for some fittings to ensure a proper fit. I was not told how long she would be in it but I assume, since we will have to start going every two weeks or so, the physiotherapist will be able to give us the okay when Ave has progressed sufficiently.

P.S. As soon as we left the hospital, Ave was a chatterbox! Figures...

Avery Walking!

Cool Girl!

Ave loves trying on the rest of the family's shoes, hair accessories, hats, etc. Today she found T's glasses...what a ham!

Avery's Words

I am gonna post Ave's speech development here and update as we go...

• Words in the last two weeks: "mdra" = raindrop, mom, dad, hi, bye-bye.

Yesterday at speech therapy:

• meow and ball

Today:

• kiss noise and the word "hug"

Big Steps and Little Steps

This afternoon I got Avery's psychological assessment from the Perinatal Clinic at the hospital. Routinely given at the 21 month mark, the test evaluates cognitive, language and motor skill development. In addition, it offers some insight as to adaptability and temperament.

• On cognitive, she scored in the 9th percentile. Essentially operating at a 15 month old level.
• On language, she scored less that the 1st percentile. Operating at a 12 month old level for expression and a nine month old for reception.
• On motor, she scored less that the 1st percentile. For fine motor skills, she is operating as a 13 month old would, for gross motor skills, she operates as an 11 month old would.
• For her social and emotional development, she is considered average with a score at the 25th percentile.
• For her adaptive score (i.e., her ability to be independent, solve problems and self-help), she scored in the 5th percentile. Sleeping, of course, proves the biggest hurdle and her stubbornness makes it challenging to teach her new concepts when she is unwilling to tackle them.

Hooray!

Avery just walked the width of the living room all by herself!

Reminder: Weight: 10.98 kg (5th percentile), Height: 81 cm (10th percentile) and Head Circumference: 46.5 cm (15th percentile).

Ave Makes Sense Outside the Family!

Avery says stuff amongst us four that we understand since we know the context of what she speaks (e.g., "mdra" is raindrop). Today, however, she clearly said buh-bye repeatedly when we were leaving G and G's house! When we came home, and before bedtime, I made her watch baby phonics videos since we have work to do!

Ave's 21 Month Perinatal Clinic Visit

We had one of those long three hour appointments at the hospital today...here's the results:

• Had a psychological test for an hour to check on Ave's language and motor delays. They are quite happy with how agile she is and kept remarking how "determined and strong-willed" she was (esp. since she did not allow them to check her ears, eyes, heart or blood pressure...yeesh!). They like how she worked with tools and by her inquisitive nature in figuring out how things work.
  
  Her language is quite delayed given that she does not articulate much of the basics at all. While she will sing along with her favorite songs, much of it is still at the "scream along in fun stage" rather that speaking the actual words. Finally, she is not cluing in to the concepts as they are being explained to her as most kids her age would (e.g., when asked to "point to your arm" or "look at the light", she does not respond).
  
  
• Her hearing test was fine (we had another session in the soundproof booth) however she did not let the pathologist look at her ear drums. Probably a good idea since I am sure they were dirty given her recent fondness for sticking her fingers in her ears (esp. at dinnertime!).
  
  
• The pediatrician did not have much luck in actually getting any of her vitals, reflexes or visual/auditory feedback (Ave was not having any of it and was esp. tired at this point). Given our discussions, she wants Ave to be checked out by an opthamologist (since when she is tired, her right eye tends to wander) and the stroke clinic.
  
  In going to the stroke clinic, much of it would largely be informational (since they don't do much more than research). However, they could recommend an MRI to get the full extant of any brain damage and offer advice to her speech, occupation and physical therapists on areas that they should pay particular attention to.

She was so tired after all of this (esp. since we had bought her walker and she ran all over that joint) that she snored like a trucker on the way home. And her thrush is clearing up which is making her much happier than she was last weekend! Now we all have to just catch up on our sleep...hmm...

Ave Enjoys the Swings

Sleepy Ave

More Practicing

Here's Avery in nothing but a diaper and pink high-tops!

Walking With Some Help...

Ave has been doing really well pushing around her "shopping cart" (that's what we call it). She can do a lap of the house and is even managing to avoid hitting the walls all the time!

Ave's Making the Big Leagues!

Got about eight calls this week from the Perinatal and Infant Services clinics up at the Children's Hospital. Each time it was a new person I was talking to (which meant giving them the whole lowdown on Ave's history and current development) but, on a good note, I did finally get Ave into speech therapy and advanced physio starting at the end of this month. It always seems whenever I am talking to them, Ave always figures out something (as if to make a liar out of me). This afternoon she stood alone for the length of the ABC song. After that, she wouldn't wait that long but instead would take a couple steps forward until she could wrestle herself into my arms. All good signs of improvement!

Ave's First Haircut

Ave's first haircut (June 21) and boy, did she need it! She looks a little boyish but super cute!

Ave's Destruction of Choice...

Ave likes to play "Baby Godzilla" all over this house. I think her fav thing to do is get in Mommy's tea/Splenda stash. I just clean it up everyday since a) I have gotten soft in my old age and b) she just seems to enjoy it so much!

A Milestone!

Ave was playing in the plastics drawer and forgot herself for a minute...she stood up without assistance for a couple seconds and beared her weight on both legs! Yay!

Avery and Her Hippos

Avery loves the hippo commercials from Telus...here's her fav:



We took some pics of the hippo at the zoo just for her (and what luck since he was out of the water that day!).

Avery's Milestones This Week

• Avery learned how to wave (and on command!).
• She enjoyed the swings at the local park. Short pushes but she giggled all the time.
• Loves bubbles blown at her in the water during swim class. Always says "Dah" in her loudest voice so you will do it again.
• Drove mama over the bend by waking up every half-hour (this ain't new...just making a re-appearance!).

Where You Going?

"Upstairs."

(Forever going up and down the stairs! And with some of the craziest hair ever!)

Ave's Cardiology Appointment

Ave's trip to the cardiologist went well (mild pulmonary stenosis and a murmur - none of which was news). She doesn't have to go back until next year.

The worst part was spending the two hours wrestling her down for the EKG and echocardiogram and making sure she didn't trash the joint since she insisted on investigating every square inch of the clinic!

She weighs 22 lbs. now and is in desperate need of a haircut!

Tomorrow she has physio so its back to the hospital we go!

Avery Blogs!

gf z5 z       zz   za   z1zecezcwwbbrsrrsqr nzzzzz                                 Z zz  z 4erf zz                                                                                             zz                z    azz       zzzx c                      

I let Avery practice typing on the laptop and here above is her first blog. I imagine she has a lot to say here. Maybe she's tired and that's why she kept heading for the "z's".

Avery's First Swimming Lessons

This girly was tired and chilly after her lessons but she is always a delight!

Avery Crawls Up the Stairs

Yesterday, T and I spent some time with Ave as she worked on going up the stairs. She got up six of them and then slowly backed down. Then T went off to play and I needed to get dinner started. Ave headed off to the front room to play with toys. About five minutes later, I hear her bellowing (but that's normal...she's excessively chatty sometimes). I went to look for her...she wasn't in the front room or the bathroom (toilet fishing typically). The only place she could be was upstairs...and yep, she did it. She climbed all the way up, unattended, and was standing up holding on to Charlotte's bed grinning away. She was so proud of herself. I said "How did you get up here?". She just laughed, hit the edge of the bed with her hand and then started to bellow again. I then took her downstairs so I could at least finish dinner without her finding any new adventures!

Avery Gets Her First Letter

Auntie Jan sent Avery her first letter. She sits at the open front door duly concentrating on opening it.

The more she concentrates, the more she drools!

She got a piece off so where does it go? Yep, right in the mouth!

Words!

We are pretty convinced that Ave now says "up" and "yes". She has been saying "mama" and "dada" but doesn't associate them all the time with Brad and I. However, now that she is crawling and can pull herself to her knees and feet, she wants "up" all the time!

We Have a Sitter!

This pic isn't great but I wanted to capture it and I only had my phone! I will tell you that for the last week, Avery has been successfully sitting most of the time (of course, she doesn't sit for long since she is always on the go!).

Me and Momma

Upper motor neuron lesion (hemiplegia)

Things to watch for with Avery:

• Problems with gait. Overactive use of hip to compensate for stiff knees.
• Difficulties with complex hand use from buttons to tying shoes to holding a pencil.
• Challenges with turns and pivots.
• Might have an issue with activities that require her arms to be over her head (such as catching a ball or putting a shirt on).
• Will likely be unstable when it comes to toilet training. Expect that she will be in diapers for some time.

Milestone today: Sat up in the tub for most of her bath. She was interested in sucking on a wash cloth or holding on to Nemo (her fish) so she seemed focused on her play rather than her balance. She surprised me when I caught her that way since I had been harping on Charlotte to get dressed so we could pick up T! (Forever naked...that's C!)

Something for further research: Constraint Induced Therapy

Cute Story...

Avery went into the classroom as Charlotte did on Friday (which she tends to do every chance she gets!). While I talk to Ms. Garneau, she throws herself to the floor and crawls over to the mat where the rest of the four year olds assemble as they wait for class to start. There are books all over the mat for the kids to read so Avery takes one, and then lays on her back to read it (which is how she lives around here most of the time...there are always books all over the floor!). Anyway, she had her hair up in a couple of ponytails right off the top of her head (think Pebbles from the Flintstones). Since it was "Crazy Hair Day" at C's preschool, all the girls thought that Ave was playing along. I had to tell them that sadly, given that her hair grows in every direction, every day is "Crazy Hair Day" for Avery.

Ray of Sunshine!

Just hanging...

Mommy has to keep me entertained anyway she can...here I play with a bucket filled with items from the plastic drawer (and C took these pics!)...

Proof that Avery Sat on Her Own!

Candice caught this pic on her phone...I have still not seen Avery sit on her own like this!

Getting Bigger All the Time!

Here is our big girl in her seat. She chatters a mile a minute in the car now since she can see so much more of her world. In some cases, she will scream to be heard over her brother and sister! Ha!

In this, her fourteenth month, she delights in playing piano, blocks and SmackTalk. She is eating well, sleeps through (most times) save the midnight milk and is cruising at a clip whenever she sees something she wants. We have physio next Thursday (to work on sitting, standing and eventually walking). Candice (the nanny) snapped a picture of her sitting on her own (watching show) so she did do it once! Now we just have to have Charlotte Diamond on continuous loop for her to do it again...hee hee! Her things to annoy Mommy include (which makes her giggle): smacking Mommy, sucking on the strings of her Mommy's shirts, pulling the plug out of the tub, purposely throwing her meal on the floor (while she looks at you as if she's testing your reaction) or dumping out the cat's food on the floor (but at least she has stopped eating it!).

This gal...

...thought it was super fun to continue pulling her big sister's hair tonight. She has been a little more lethal lately with a mix of fingernails, slapping and general screaminess. But, as you can tell, she is quite amused by it all.

My First Coloring!

Trying Out My Big Girl Car Seat!