Tuesday, July 27, 2010

It's That Time Again!!!

Sweet Corn Time!!

Even Jada is getting on board - and that is hard when 1) You don't want to touch the corn cob when you eat it and 2) You have to pick out the kernels from your teeth after each bite! But it must be good if you refuse to eat the BLT but will eat 3 ears of corn instead!!

Sweet Corn Kid!


Corn Girl!

Crunch!!
Crunch!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Sensory House

One of the MANY things we are learning on this long road with Jada is that what at first may have looked like Autism, may not necessarily be that - now it still could be, we haven't ruled anything out - but she seems to have many symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder. If you are anything like Joe and I, you hear that and go WHAT!?!? Yep, didn't take me long to find books, websites, and more. We are learning TONS and totally revamping how we work with Jada. If our findings are correct - we need to "talk" to her brain differently. We need to speak to her senses the way they need to be spoken to. When she says "Ow" even when brushing her hair - I am learning that it does really hurt her - that is how her brain processes it - as pain. She says "Ow" when you clip her fingernails. And even winces when you rip paper out of a notebook - her brain says all of those normal, everyday things cause her pain. So we try to work through this - with therapies of all sorts. We have started Auditory Therapy through our Physical Therapist. She listens to carefully-orchestrated music twice a day- there is a set time limit and set CD's - even special headphones - all to hope that her auditory sense can be re-trained or conditioned to different sounds. Along with all of that, we do brushing - yep, all new to us too - but we take plastic soft brushes and literally "scrub" her arms and legs 3-4 times daily. What is amazing is that she LOVES it - when she is most upset, she even brings us the brushes. She knows they help her calm and they are what her sensory system needs.

We have invested in many things that touch her "vestibular" sense - balance - this one is HUGE for her - she is not good with balance - even walking was hard for her when we first got her. So we got a sit n spin; round-bottomed chairs that she sits in and plays, rolls around, etc.(called Bilibo); our friends gave us a slide AND a merry go round - which she LOVES; another friend gave us an exercise trampoline; we found those big bouncy balls with handles that she jumps around on for HOURS; and just recently we purchased a hammock swing.
Swinging Buddies
What I love is that all of things could sure add up dollar-wise, but I just love to grab bargains wherever I can! This Swing is providing HOURS of fun and it was such a deal!! We were going to hang it outside, but I loved Joe's idea of hanging it in the basement so she can use it all year long. (And no, she isn't the only one using it - the boys think they need vestibular therapy as well!!) Even the swing, I was thinking a hammock swing would be so expensive, but at a class I was taking, the instructor mentioned it to me as an aside (she has a nephew who is autistic and she bought one for him). She told me where to find it cheap - I just love that - all the cool ways we hear about things or hear of yet another idea that may help Jada right now. We don't live in a big home - but we are finding creative ways to store them and watch her use them daily. I put this out there hoping these things we are using/finding for Jada may help someone else OR that someone may feel like sharing more ideas. I am getting more and more nervous as we approach preschool - we work on things like colors and numbers daily, but still no retention. We aren't giving up, but we can see that it may be a very long road. I am grateful for the immense support out there - God just keeps providing - sometimes we feel like we are floundering in the dark to do what is best for Jada, but He is good to keep the night light on - He gives us just the light we need to take the next step!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Future Architect

Chloe is building away and stops to put on these lovely glasses. Then she turns to me and says, "In case you are wondering Mom, these help my creative side." I DID NOT MAKE THAT UP!! She just cracks me up!

Future Architect

In case you are wondering what she is building with - we LOVE these!! Honestly, almost every birthday we get another set - we build for hours with these!!


Sunday, July 04, 2010

Happy 4th!

Since we got pictures of Chloe's first 4th of July - we thought Jada needed a turn too.
So here she is - Proud to be an American!!
First 4th!!

Big Sister got in on the action too!!
Smiley

Sisters on the 4th...
Happy 4th!
When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don't go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.
~Deuteronomy 24:19

Search This Blog

Buy from our site - a portion comes back to us...

Tidbits