This was Samantha's first week of speech therapy. I was very curious to see what the therapist would be like, the activities she would do with Samantha and if Samantha would warm up to her at all. I am happy to report that it was wonderful. Janine, the therapist, has been working with kids forever and was so gentle and warm with Samantha. Samantha was playing with her after the first ten minutes which is rare these days. We all really liked her (me, my mom and Samantha).
The first session was mainly spent getting to know each other and discussing our concerns. We talked about some of the activities we would be doing each week. The therapist just kept raving about how smart and introspective Samantha was which of course we liked. Samantha did some of the smart things she always does. For example, Janine said we would read books like "Goodnight Moon" that Samantha was familiar with. Samantha perked up, ran into her bedroom and returned with that book.
Janine told us that she wasn't convinced Samantha had a delay. Honestly, I thought she was going to end by saying she wouldn't be coming back. Fortunately, she isn't all that concerned and she's coming next week!
Life is an Orchestra
Someday you should ask me about my host family in Costa Rica. What an adventure it was to live with them. My host mom was a real character. We would sit around, drink coffee and smoke cigarettes for hours on end and she would give me her take on life along with all sorts of colorful analogies. I kept saying I would write down all of her classic advice and of course I never did but a few things have stuck with me.
She told me once to think of all the pieces of my life as an instrument. You have to work on each one, keep practicing and when you have things in a good place, your life will sound like a beautiful orchestra. One off instrument can cause huge disruptions to the overall synergy so you can't let anything slip or the music will start screeching and life won't sound the way you intended. I have always wanted to live inside of a musical and I love thinking of this.
Lately I feel like I have all the instruments in order, playing a beautiful song to the story of my life. I have been feeling an occasional guilt because life feels so good, I am really happy and I don't know that I want to have another baby. I have been working out a lot, going to yoga, going out to dinner with girlfriends, taking trips for work and fun. Samantha is so fun, I feel like she and Dave are all that I need. The more time that goes by, I am not sure I ever want to be pregnant, waking in the night, breastfeeding, or doing the whole baby thing again. Selfish yes, but honest as well.
She told me once to think of all the pieces of my life as an instrument. You have to work on each one, keep practicing and when you have things in a good place, your life will sound like a beautiful orchestra. One off instrument can cause huge disruptions to the overall synergy so you can't let anything slip or the music will start screeching and life won't sound the way you intended. I have always wanted to live inside of a musical and I love thinking of this.
Lately I feel like I have all the instruments in order, playing a beautiful song to the story of my life. I have been feeling an occasional guilt because life feels so good, I am really happy and I don't know that I want to have another baby. I have been working out a lot, going to yoga, going out to dinner with girlfriends, taking trips for work and fun. Samantha is so fun, I feel like she and Dave are all that I need. The more time that goes by, I am not sure I ever want to be pregnant, waking in the night, breastfeeding, or doing the whole baby thing again. Selfish yes, but honest as well.
Resemblances
Lately, I've been feeling like Samantha doesn't look much like me or Dave. Or rather, she looks like a combination of people, mainly Dave's sister Molly and Dave's Dad.
Earlier this week I found an email my Grandma sent to me when I was about oh 12 weeks pregnant. The email said: This is what baby Sam will look like but he will have dark, curly hair.
I have to admit I do see the resemblance. And, although Sam is a girl, she does look a bit like this with dark, curly hair.
I finally got my camera working again so you can see the latest photos of our ridiculously cute daughter here.
Earlier this week I found an email my Grandma sent to me when I was about oh 12 weeks pregnant. The email said: This is what baby Sam will look like but he will have dark, curly hair.
I have to admit I do see the resemblance. And, although Sam is a girl, she does look a bit like this with dark, curly hair.
I finally got my camera working again so you can see the latest photos of our ridiculously cute daughter here.
Finding the Lessons
Thanks to all of you who have written, called, texted, etc. We have such a wonderful support system in our lives. We are doing well, looking forward to getting Samantha started with her speech therapy. Yes, I had mixed emotions in the beginning. You know I am a sucker to feeling guilty as it is, it is hard not to blame myself for any delay she is having.But, it is a good lesson for me in many ways. First, as a parent, you can't control every milestone or situation that your child goes through. You do your best and support your children. Next, no child can be perfect at everything. There is a fine line between encouraging your child and being a control freak. She needs some extra help on something, not a big deal. The last thing I have learned is to keep it all in perspective. This is a minor hiccup, nothing serious. Samantha is a happy, healthy, intelligent and beautiful child. She lights up every day for us. And, as my Grandma says, every girl in our family has gotten into trouble at school for talking too much, eventually I'm sure I'll be wondering why I was in such a rush to get Samantha talking more!
We went to a very fun birthday party yesterday for Samantha's friend Audrey who turned two. Samantha ate pizza, played in the sandbox, ran around and even made some new friends. You can see her here playing with a new friend and eating pizza with her boyfriend Norm.
Samantha's Evaluation
Today I took Samantha in for her speech evaluation. Boulder County has an incredible program, Child Find, that is set up to identify children who are having difficulty in their development in certain areas and provide services to them when it is appropriate. It is all free of cost.
We had an at home visit yesterday where we talked about some of our concerns. Then, today Samantha and I went to their facilities that had an open room with lots of different toys to play with. Then the evaluators/speech and child development experts sat behind a mirrored wall. This way, Samantha could play at ease with me and they could observe unbeknown to her.
Later, they came out to discuss their findings with me. They explained that Samantha was very advanced in her social, emotional and cognitive play. She fed and rocked the baby doll, she put together puzzles, she followed two step directions and shook her head yes and no in response to requests I made. She was also exceptional with her fine and gross motor skills, stacking blocks, manipulating toys, throwing the ball, etc.
However, they had concerns (like I have had) about her expressive language. While she does well with receptive language like pointing to pictures on request, following directions and pointing to body parts, she
had difficulty making the sounds for the words she tried to use. Most of the words she attempted to say were more like word approximations. They do believe she has a significant delay in expressive speech and language and have recommended that we do speech therapy for her once a week.
I will write another post sometime soon about the range of emotions I am feeling with this. The one very reassuring thing they covered with me is what a positive tool sign language is for her. A LOT of people have blamed her speech delay on the signing she has learned and I have been feeling very guilty about it. They explained that her speech delay has nothing to do with her use of signs. Actually, all three of them said that was ridiculous. She has difficulty making the noises she wants to make and being understood, the sign language has given her the only means she has to to communicate her needs. They told me to continue to encourage the sign language. Once she learns to say and be understood with words she will drop the signs. They said again and again what a blessing it is that she knows so many signs.
We had an at home visit yesterday where we talked about some of our concerns. Then, today Samantha and I went to their facilities that had an open room with lots of different toys to play with. Then the evaluators/speech and child development experts sat behind a mirrored wall. This way, Samantha could play at ease with me and they could observe unbeknown to her.
Later, they came out to discuss their findings with me. They explained that Samantha was very advanced in her social, emotional and cognitive play. She fed and rocked the baby doll, she put together puzzles, she followed two step directions and shook her head yes and no in response to requests I made. She was also exceptional with her fine and gross motor skills, stacking blocks, manipulating toys, throwing the ball, etc.
However, they had concerns (like I have had) about her expressive language. While she does well with receptive language like pointing to pictures on request, following directions and pointing to body parts, she
had difficulty making the sounds for the words she tried to use. Most of the words she attempted to say were more like word approximations. They do believe she has a significant delay in expressive speech and language and have recommended that we do speech therapy for her once a week.
I will write another post sometime soon about the range of emotions I am feeling with this. The one very reassuring thing they covered with me is what a positive tool sign language is for her. A LOT of people have blamed her speech delay on the signing she has learned and I have been feeling very guilty about it. They explained that her speech delay has nothing to do with her use of signs. Actually, all three of them said that was ridiculous. She has difficulty making the noises she wants to make and being understood, the sign language has given her the only means she has to to communicate her needs. They told me to continue to encourage the sign language. Once she learns to say and be understood with words she will drop the signs. They said again and again what a blessing it is that she knows so many signs.
Flower Girl
The wedding was tons of fun and Samantha even walked down the aisle at the wedding and threw a few petals at the end. She had a brief meltdown leading up to her flower girl duties and I was very worried she wouldn't do anything but be carried down the aisle but she pulled through just in time! Of course I am biased but I believe she was the cutest flower girl ever.
Molly looked absolutely beautiful and it is always special when two people you love get married and you know it is a great match...not all weddings are like that! They are a great couple and I'm proud to have them in my family. You can see all the photos from the wedding weekend that everyone is compiling here.
Oh, and I fit into my bridesmaid dress just fine - phew!
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