Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Excited! And a little overwhelmed...

We recently found out that FirstSteps cleared Sophie to attend school at Moog in the fall and I couldn't be more excited! She will be attending the toddler class for three mornings a week (M,W,F 8:30-12). The school year starts after Labor Day, so her first day will be 9/7. Just a little over a month away! Holy cow, time flies. I remember touring the school just days after we discovered Sophie's hearing loss. I stood frozen, watching the babies in the toddler room in utter amazement. That day gave me so much hope for Sophie and it is hard to fathom that we are already at this step.

Sophie starting school means a couple of things. For one (and I hate to admit it), I feel a little relief on the horizon. Right now, Sophie gets speech therapy about four times a month (three home visits and once at school when we go for audiology). The rest is up to us. I LIVE it everyday and it can be exhausting. It has become second nature, but I always feel like I should be doing more. Just this past weekend, we were driving home from grocery shopping and all of a sudden my husband blurts out,  "Babe, pay attention to the road. You DO NOT need to do therapy while you are driving!"  Hmm... Okay, point taken - although he always jumps at any opportunity to critique my driving skills. ;) Anyway, once she starts school, Sophie will be getting therapy three times a week, plus we will also still have two home visits a month. I'm hoping I will be able to relax a little. :)

Additionally (and this is where the overwhelming part comes in), Sophie starting school is going to be HARD to juggle. Jared and I both work full-time and have tough schedules. So how are we going to pull off having her in a half-day program?? It will require a lot of planning, flexibility, and help from others, but it is possible. My mom has offered to take care of Wednesdays and we have had several other family members and friends volunteer as well. I will say that Sophie is quite the lucky girl to have so many people in her life that love and support her. It may be tough, but we will make it work.  Anything for this sweet face:

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

My chatterbox

The days and weeks seem to have been getting the best of me lately! I try to update weekly, but there are just not enough hours in the day. Summertime for us means go, go, go! And heat! The temp has been reaching three digits in STL lately. Not cool. ;)

Anyway, I wanted to post a quick update while I have a few spare minutes. Sophie is ever-changing and is saying several new words including:

duck
Ollie (our dog)
apple
cow
alligator (sounds like "ah-gaa")
outside
ice
diaper
Dora (the Explorer)
hot
out
doggy
purple
no
star

Sophie is constantly babbling and talking in her own language, throwing in real words here and there. She is becoming very expressive of her wants and needs and is not afraid to tell us. When I put her down for bed or a nap, she stands in the corner of her crib yelling, "Up! Up!", even though she can't hear herself. As I type this, she is actually doing just that. I'm hearing, "Up! Aye-yayayayayaya! Up!"  Silly girl. When we pull into the driveway, she starts saying "Out!" because she hates the car and can't wait to get unstrapped. She is slowly evolving into such a little person and I cannot comprehend where the time has gone.

I also think she is turning into a Dora lover and I'm not sure how I feel about that. :) Our babysitter has a little girl who will be three in the fall and is obsessed with Dora. The other day when I picked Sophie up, she had a Dora doll in her hand and would not part with it. I recorded an episode when we got home today and this was her reaction:


I'm not a big fan of letting her watch TV, but this was pretty cute. I guess I'll keep an episode on the DVR, at least. ;) I also tried to get her on tape saying, "It's hot." and this is what I got:


Such a funny little girl! For every doubt and worry in my mind, there is always a cute moment or a heartwarming thought to counteract it. These times are just so FUN!

I hope everyone out there is having a great summer so far! Enjoy it, because it will be over before we know it. I will leave you with a video of what Sophie likes to do in her free time now. Hopefully it will bring a smile to your face as it does mine.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

It's the little things

No matter how hard of a day I'm having or how tough this journey gets, there are always little things throughout the day that make me smile and remember how lucky we are. Today it was this:


Tears filled my eyes as I watched Sophie twirl and bounce and I realized that I will never take these sweet moments for granted.  

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."
-- Mother Teresa