Happy New Year!!

I can't believe today is the last day of the year! This year has definitely had its ups and downs, but I am so thankful for every moment I have had with my family. I look forward to seeing what 2009 will bring!

Kelsie accomplished so much this year especially in regards to her speech. She turned 2 in January and right after that started really talking, before that she mainly relied on sign language which she became very proficient at with 40+ signs. She only had about 10 words before we moved to our new home in February. By the end of February she had over 70 words and was already combining them into sentences!! Now of course we can't get her to stop talking LOL! It is not uncommon for her to combine 10-14 words into complex thoughts these days which is considered advanced. We worked so hard getting her there. She started speech therapy when she was 14 months old in March of 2007. At that time she was not speaking, babbling, or making any attempts to speak. With the hard work of our speech therapist (Ms Janet) we were able to get her to start trying and eventually get her where she is today.

She has transformed from my little baby into my beautiful and smart little girl right in front of my eyes. I just can't get over everything she is capable of these days. She can count to at least 10 sometimes she even counts to 15, she can sing most of her ABC's, she makes up songs, she is able to keep herself entertained with her own elaborate imaginative play for short periods of time, she has excellent manners, and is the most loving little girl! I am so proud of her.

Mike has been doing great at work. He became a MER (Mission Evaluation Room) Manager at the end of 2006 and has excelled there. He was recently selected to receive an individual service award for his superior leadership during the last mission. I am so proud of him too! In addition to his work he is as always a supportive and helpful husband and a terrific hands on dad. I am so lucky to have him as a support system as we go through the journey of raising Kelsie together.

Life certainly hasn't been perfect this year though. We have had many ups and downs when it comes to Kelsie's behavior which goes beyond just the typical terrible twos. We have had periods where we couldn't leave the house without major meltdowns and tears. Thank God we finally have some answers as to why. She has Aperger's Syndrome, Sensory Processing Disorder, and on top of that has been dealing with sleep apnea. Those things combined definitely can explain it all. We are working toward finding her the appropriate therapies for the new year, because our time with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) is coming to a close.

We have already seen some great improvements thanks to the suggestions of our Occupational and Speech Therapists. They have been a huge help in navigating the waters of these issues. I am really going to miss them not only for their services, but as the wonderful people they are. They have really helped me to accept that Kelsie may be different, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Going into 2009 I am a little apprehensive, but I am also so excited to see what it will bring. Each year Kelsie changes more than I would have thought possible and it is hard to imagine what she will be like at this time next year! I am looking forward to this next step in our journey together!

Christmas is over :(

We officially took down the last of the Christmas decorations. Although I am glad it is done, it also makes me a little sad. I really enjoy Christmas time once all the gifts are bought and the decorations are up, and it is hard realizing another year is coming to an end. Kelsie hated seeing Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore being put up and I am sure she will continue to ask about them for a while since that was one of the highlights of her day to see them blow up each night.

Her friend Sophia who lives next door probably feels the same way. She would always run to her window to look out and see them too. Here are some pictures of the decorations one of the last days they were up. I caught a few good ones of the girls checking them out together. Sophia is another of Kelsie's really good friends that she loves to actually play with. We are so fortunate that Kelsie has one of her best friends living right next door.

A Fun-Filled Day

Today was supposed to be a day of errands and getting things done around the house. Well it didn't quite work out that way. This morning our friends Denise and Abbie called to see if we wanted to play. Since we hadn't played with them for a while we decided to head over and have lunch then let the girls play for a while. It was great! We went to lunch at Mamacita's and the girls both did wonderfully. It was the first time we have all gone out that neither of them tried to get up during the meal. We then went to the park near Denise and Abbie's house and the girls made a castle together (which basically was just a mound of dirt, but if they call it a castle then it is a castle). Then they both had a blast seeing who could get the highest on the swings! Kelsie has so few friends that she really interacts with, so it is always a joy to watch her play with the ones that she does really play with instead of just playing beside!

We did come home and get a few things done. We took down all of our outside Christmas decorations and put them away. However the errands did not get done. Instead we decided to head to Moody Gardens for the festival of lights since it's last day is tomorrow. Oh well there is always tomorrow to get errands done!

For the first time ever we went to see the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens. We had heard that it was scaled down this year, but we couldn't tell. Kelsie really loved looking at all of the lights and I was so relieved that the music wasn't up loud enough to bother her. Lately loud noises seem to be even more of an issue than they used to be, so it is not uncommon for us to have to leave places with loud music. Kelsie and Mike even rode the little train they had that took you through the festival. She apparently waved at all the animals and couldn't quit talking about how quiet the train was! The last time we took her on a train it was "too noise" for her (she hasn't quite figured out that the proper term is too noisy yet).






After we went through it all she wanted to go inside, so we took her through the aquarium in record time. There are certain things she has to see ie penguins, "Nemo and Dori", and the sea stars. Of course I can never remember which tank has each, so we have to search until we find them. She also really loves the new Shark stamping sheets they give you now and enjoys looking for those too.

It was a great night! Although we didn't make it home until after bedtime it was well worth the trip.

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's House!

Every year we go to my parents house for Christmas Eve and spend the night so Santa can come in the morning. This year Kelsie really started to understand what Santa was all about, so it was a lot of fun! My mom and Kelsie prepared the traditional milk and cookies for Santa and then Kelsie decided that was not enough so she made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich too. She was very excited in the morning to see that he had eaten his snack, but for some reason she was really concerned that he did not finish his milk! We had to reassure her that it was ok and that he had enough to drink. Santa even left her a note thanking her for the snack which she thought was great!



In the morning we waited for everyone to get up, so we could all watch Kelsie discover what Santa brought. I think this will be the last year we can get away with that though, because it was not easy distracting her for that long! We let her watch one of her favorite videos. After that she did a little dance while jumping on the mini trampoline upstairs. The song goes "Up like a dragon, down like a dragon, flap like a dragon, wiggle like a dragon" and she was loving dancing and singing! It was very cute and I wish I could have been fast enough to get a better picture.



Right after that we all did the traditional walking down the stairs. My parents always have us descend the stairs while taking pictures after Santa has come. This was the first year Kelsie was able to walk down with us. She was so excited to see what Santa brought! She got a train table and train set this year, but only the train set was delivered to grandma and grandpa's. She played with it for a couple of minutes, but then dove into her stocking. I think she was more excited about the candy in her stocking than anything else. That is one of the things she asked Santa specifically for when we took her to see him. She asked for "Cookies, ice cream, candy, and books". It was so much fun watching her really enjoy Christmas this year! She liked it last year, but she didn't get into it nearly as much as this year. Everyday she asks where Santa is now. We keep telling her that he went back to the North Pole to prepare for Christmas next year!






Mike and I really enjoyed our Christmas presents from Santa too! He got a laptop case and I got an Ipod. My brother and sister-in-law were there to celebrate with us too! Kelsie loves her Aunt Kait and Uncle Grant. Uncle Grant is the only one that can get away with flipping her around and turning her upside down. They have so much fun together! She always acts like she wants him to stop, but when he does she immediately goes back for more! :)








We hardly ever get family pictures, because one of us is usually the photographer so we were excited that we got a few this year. One is from that morning and the others are from later in the day.

Santa Pictures 2008

We never thought Kelsie would sit on Santa's lap this year or at least not alone. Last year Mike had to sit with her and when we saw Santa at the ECI Christmas Party the same thing happened. She refused to go near Santa without one of us. However we lucked out the day we took her! We had been going to the mall for a couple of days prior and she would wave at Santa and had even asked to talk to him, but the line was always way too long, because it was in the evening. I think making him familiar to her combined with the advice of our Speech and Occupaitonal Therapists to tell her "social stories" about sitting on Santa's lap and the fact that she was in a good mood and really wanted to talk to Santa made us want to try so we waited in line keeping our fingers crossed that everything would go well. The people right in front of us contributed even further, because despite her excitement when we got to Santa she buried her head into my shoulder and refused to even look at him until they took a long time picking the picture they wanted. During that time we talked to Santa and Santa tickled Kelsie and finally she started playing peek-a-boo with him. To our surprise she then sat on his lap and smiled and even cuddled with him a little. I love the resulting picture! I have never been so thankful for someone being slow in front of us! Above are the pictures we have with Santa this year the first at the ECI Christmas party the second her with Santa at the mall.

Kelsie School (MDO) Picture 2008

Here is my big girl posing like a pro for her school picture this year! :)

Christmas has begun!

Tonight we had Christmas with our nephews and Mike's mom (Grammy). Kelsie had so much fun! It always takes her a while to warm up to our nephews because she doesn't get to see them very often, but once she does she won't let them stop paying attention to her. They are several years older (middle schoolers), so she loves trying to keep up with them. They seem to have as much fun as she does. I think they have a little competition going to see who can get her attention the most. Tonight Christian, the oldest, read a book to her which Kelsie loved. She is all about books! William always fascinates her with his pure energy. He moves from one thing to another and she is always right on his heels.


She got to open her present from Grammy which consisted of Thomas the Train stuff. She got a video with a Percy Train, an aquadoodle train themed set, a Rosie that goes on her own, and a Thomas the train book. Yes we all realize that she is a girl, but right now she loves boy toys much more than girlie toys. She is all about trains, planes, and automobiles! She chased Rosie all over the house on her hands and knees yelling "Get back here Rosie!" it was very cute. Grammy got us all a clock that chimes and I know Kelsie will love it once she realizes what it does. Mike's Aunt and Uncle have one in San Antonio and every 15 min when it chimes we have to run and count the times it chimes! She just thinks that is the greatest thing.






After dinner we went around the neighborhood with Kelsie in her wagon the boys each taking turns pulling it to look at lights. There were some really neat displays that we saw, but I can't wait to take her around in the car to see more! She loved pointing out all the different reindeer which seem to be very popular in this neighborhood and all the other animals and snowmen. She was particularly fond of the house that had a band of animals, snowmen, and a Santa Clause that really played music. She and the boys danced along. I wish I had more light I would have taken some video, because they were all really getting down! :)





Tomorrow Christmas continues at my parents house. We always go there for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I can't wait to see how much Kelsie enjoys it all this year!

Funny Toddler Moment -- The Jellybean Incident

Today Kelsie was at my parents house about ready to come home. Well my grandma specifically told grandpa not to give Kelsie any jellybeans, because she had already eaten a couple earlier in the day. Well Kelsie lured grandpa into his study away from grandma where the jellybeans are kept and convinced him to give her a jellybean. He agreed, but specifically asked her not to tell grandma and Kelsie said OK. As soon as she got the jellybean in her mouth and started chewing it she starts hurrying into the living room yelling grandma the whole way. She was determined to make sure grandma knew grandpa gave her a jellybean!!

Diagnosis

For those of you that don't know Kelsie has been going through the evaluation process through the public school system to determine whether she qualifies for services and to find a cause for her lack of social skills and behavioral quirks. Today we had our results conference (above are some pics we captured while waiting for everyone to arrive). They diagnosed her with Asperger's Syndrome which is a "Non-autistic Autism Spectrum disorder" that mainly inhibits social skills. They also reconfirmed her prior diagnosis of having Sensory Processing Disorder which mainly makes her sensitive to certain stimuli (ie loud noises, certain clothing, and actually makes her seek out other stimuli such as rocking, deep pressure, and spicy, sour, or cold foods). However they have determined that at this point in time she does not have an educational need for services, so they basically aren't offering any services to her right now. They did say they are going to reevaluate their decision in October of 2009, because they want to make sure that her lack of social skills doesn't start to cause her more difficulties in preschool in the future.

While this diagnosis does not come as a shock, because the Early Childhood Intervention Psychologist came to basically the same conclusion it is disappointing to hear it officially from 2 different sources. I am also somewhat torn as to what to do next. We are no longer eligible for Early Childhood Intervention services as of Kelsie's 3rd birthday in January, so we have to either opt to go it alone for now or find private therapy. The private therapy center the ECI OT recommended is 1. full and we would be put on a waiting list and 2. doesn't accept our insurance and is pretty expensive. While I feel she needs some intervention I am just not sure which route to take. Our insurance has an occupational therapist, but I am not sure if he deals with Sensory Issues or not. Apparently not all OT's are trained in that area.

The good news is that the long term prognosis for kids with Asperger's is very good particularly when diagnosed this early. With proper social skills training and behavioral modification it is very possible that people will hardly notice that she is lacking social skills in the future. I am just hopeful that we are able to find the best ways to assist her until she has the skills to handle it on her own.

Another Good Day!

Today for the first time all year Kelsie walked into her school (Mother's Day Out) all the way to her classroom! Usually I have to carry her and all of her stuff all the way from the car into the school. Up until today if I tried to make her walk she would literally sit down where ever she was at the moment and refuse to move while having a major tantrum. I took a big chance today, because the parking lot was wet and last time she purposely sat down right into a puddle! Yesterday gave me hope that it would work, because she 1. did so well at the children's museum and 2. did well when we went shopping last night.

I have her ENT to thank for all of this. The allergy medicine he prescribed has made a huge difference. She is now only waking once a night instead of several times and she typically goes right back to sleep instead of staying up for hours at a time. We are just thrilled, because she is able to cope with day-to-day challenges so much better now that she is actually getting some sleep. I am praying this trend continues. My biggest fear of course is that after a little while the medicine won't help anymore, but for now it is working like a charm.

Our Visit to The Children's Museum of Houston

Today I took Kelsie to the Children's Museum and she had a blast! She has been there several times before, but she has never had as much fun as she did today. We had one of the best days we have had in a very long time! Kelsie walked in holding my hand, which is a huge step in and of itself and she continued to walk on her own the entire time we were there and even back out to the car despite the fact that she didn't want to leave!

We explored every inch of the museum during the 3 hours and 15 mins that we were there! There were several areas I didn't even know existed, because we never made it that far. Typically we have played in the "Tot Spot" (an area designed for kids 2 and under) the entire visit. Mainly because it is less crowded in there and there is no chance of being run over by the school kids. Kelsie was in rare form ignoring the bigger kids and making sure she got to play with whatever her heart desired. There were several times when she walked right up to a table full of school kids, found an opening and started playing right along with them. I was so shocked and proud all at the same time! She loved shopping in the little market they had set up so much that we went there at least 3 times and each time she shopped for a good 10 min or more. That is huge considering the psychologist we met with suspects she may have ADHD!



We came home and we both took a 2hr nap! We were tired, but very happy! I just couldn't be more excited about how today went! My little girl was the most like herself than I have seen her in months! I am hopeful that she will continue to have days like today!!

The ENT

Well we visited the ENT today and I have to say I am disappointed. First of all we waited for almost 2 hours before he actually came in the room, which is not a good thing with an almost 3 year old! I was not happy about that at all, but I got past that because the Dr was really nice and Kelsie responded well to him. He asked some general history questions then did the exam. Kelsie did perfectly she was even gagging a little when he checked her throat, but did not complain once. That is such a HUGE change from what our Dr's visits were like not even a few months ago!

It turns out that although her tonsils are somewhat swollen they are not big enough at least right now to cause her obstructive sleep apnea. Where does that leave us then? We are not sure really. The Dr believes that her allergies are causing her soft palate and throat to collapse some at night and that is what could be causing the apnea, so for now he has perscribed an allergy medicine and wants to see us again in January. He is still concerned about her tonsils despite his checkup today, because the Dr from the sleep study said that her tonsils were so large that they almost touched when she examined her. While I am happy that surgery does not seem to be on the horizon (at least for now) I am extremely disappointed that we don't have a more definitive cause and solution. We are all sleep deprived and honestly somewhat desperate for a solution. To top it all off the ENT Dr suggested that some of Kelsie's other issues could be a direct result of her lack of sleep! Her anxiety, behavioral issues, and even some of her sensory issues could be greatly improved if we could get her sleep under control. I am just praying that maybe the allergy medicine will help for now and that we find a better solution in the future.

Hopeful for Answers about Sleep!!

Tomorrow we visit the ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) Specialist at long last! We found out a 2 weeks ago that Kelsie has sleep apnea. This of course is after 1 month of Kelsie not sleeping through the night even once, a sleep study, and another 3 weeks waiting to get some answers. The sleep study was not something I recommend to anyone with a 2 year old unless you truly suspect something is wrong. They hook the poor dears up to more equipment than you would think would fit on a 2 year old then expect them to sleep. My strong-willed daughter fought way past exhaustion and finally did sleep around 11 or so, but it was not a fun night. I never realized how often she actually wakes or flails during sleep poor thing and of course each time she would wake up she would try to pull the equipment off of her. We are so anxious to hear what the ENT will say and what he recommends. We are now on month 3 without any of us getting a full night's sleep, so we are praying that he will provide some solutions!

It's Beginning To Look a lot like Christmas!!

Here is Kelsie in front of our Christmas tree this year. She loved decorating the tree although at 2 it is more difficult than you would think to get those tiny little hooks over each branch of the tree! She would get so frustrated that she wanted to give up, but with some encouragement at times we were able to get her to try, try again.

She is very excited about our outdoor decorations too! My mother and sister-in-law made some lollipops to line our walkway and we have a blow up Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore. Every night we have to go see if "Tigger and Pooh blowed up yet". If not she wants to know exactly when they will. She gets so excited when they do running to come get me or Mike as soon as she has confirmed that they have indeed "blowed up"! :) Here are Tigger and Pooh after the snowfall!

It Snowed in Friendswood!!

I can't believe it snowed in Friendswood Wednesday! We haven't seen snow around here since the year I was pregnant with Kelsie on Christmas Eve 2005. Silly me I decided to schedule a massage despite the fact that is was literally freezing outside, but it worked out well. By the time I got home we had about an inch of snow around that we could play with. Kelsie had no interest in going out in it at all until I went out and started making some snow balls. That finally got her to the porch, but it took a little longer to get her out in the snow. We let her throw some snowballs at us and that really got her into the idea of playing with the snow. We attempted a small snowman on top of her sand and water table, but it was a pretty sad attempt considering how little snow we had to work with. So Kelsie just threw the pieces either at us or at the ground. She laughed and played until bedtime!

When she got up the next morning it was like Christmas morning for her!! She ran to the window to look for the snow. Luckily it hadn't all melted and we let her play with what was left. She had MDO that day and was crushed when she came home to no snow! :( She got over it, but she still asks sometimes if it is going to snow again. I hope it does! I think it would be wonderful to have a White Christmas this year. I know that is probably a dream, but you never know!