First and foremost, Dania is completely healed. She came through that like a complete trooper. The followup with the surgeon was great and he was very happy with how the closure looked. She definitely doesn't have as much food out the nose while eating, that's the biggest change, but she also has been trying to talk a whole lot more. She isn't necessarily making the different sounds that she couldn't before but she is watching my mouth again (I hadn't really realized that had stopped) and she is repeating syllables. She really, really wants to talk. She will need to do a lot of work still. Really, with English, she is only 9 months old.
She also turned 2 last month!!! What an exciting day! I made two cakes, one for her first birthday and one for her second, and we had a little shindig. I know she was overwhelmed with the amount of people. She hung around my legs and wanted to be held a lot while people were arriving and then she stayed quiet and kind of just bounced from person to person. I had asked that if people wanted to bring gifts that they bring books because she loves them so much. I had asked people to think of their fav kids' books or ones their kids enjoyed and to pass on the fun. She has spent so many hours going through all of them over and over again ever since the party!
What I am working on with her is trying to get her to finish the sentences in the books I am reading to her. Kids' books are so repetitive and she definitely knows what is coming next but she doesn't quite grasp this concept. She will follow along with me and then if I leave a blank she stares at me and taps her collar bone because my first strategy was pointing at her hahaha! She will repeat it after me but just isn't quite there yet. The speech pathologist said to make sure we follow her lead in the books and not to force the story to progress how it always goes... which is what we've been doing with the Grover book. She knows what page she wants and what words she wants to hear!
She has developed her temper and her demands of us are growing in volume too. She is thankfully not pulling her hair out anymore when she gets angry... she just slams the floor or tries to hit us. She finally had a tantrum in front of friends so that people can believe me when I say she is feisty and can be very difficult! She is always so complacent in front of people and she did give me a black eye in one of her fits, but having eye-witnesses felt good! hahaha! We try very hard to curb her hitting and we give her options but if she is not happy with those options we do not bend over backwards to change anything.
She is also sleeping in a big bed now - I say as she is currently walking around in her room instead of sleeping - and she usually goes to bed much quicker now. She does not always have a nap, but we give her quiet time and she just plays in her room. I have also developed a theory that she goes crazy around full moon time...she must have Russian werewolf inside her.
I just checked and the full moon is tomorrow hahaha!
On the administrative side of things, I got her a SIN card so we can set up an RESP for her and so that I had another piece of government issued identification for her citizenship application. I have it filled out, just needed the extra ID and a new picture to send with it.
She continues to amaze me, make me giggle, and frustrate the hell out of me on a daily basis and it is the best.
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteeven though we have our skype lunch dates, I always check the blog when I'm at work! hahaha.
I just love that pic of her eating the brownie... Too cute!
xoxo Aunt Kitty!