Letters!!! - Jan 22nd, 2016

Saturday

Jeremy took Ashley to special needs hour at Mt. Playmore this morning and she got some great exercise! She even played with her best friend D for about 20 minutes!!! They made eye contact and followed each other around! :)

Ashley had a fun session with daddy in Playroom! She was not really vocal today but was in a great mood with lots of eye contact! I took her to swim lessons and she seems to be getting use to new instructor and indoor pool! She even said "yes" to one of the questions Amy asked. Toward the end of the lesson, Ashley was listening much better to instruction! Her instructor had princess toys as motivators and even a bucket with holes in the bottom! Ashley still was not ready to go into the deep part of the pool but Amy didn't force or push it since they are still getting to know each other!

Sunday

She had a good morning at church today! Her buddy Haley reported that Ashley said "duh-duh (for dum-dum), I want, chip, bo (for book)" and she was also engaged during circle time! Her buddy Alissa said that during 2nd hour Worship she sat down during story and seemed to really be listening also! Normally she will sit but look all over the room. Today she was focused on speaker and hopefully soaking it in!

We bought her a used swing that can hold her weight so we will see how she likes it inside and we are hoping it can help with her sensory needs.

After church, she requested on her Ipad - lake, river and bathing suit! :) She loved the swimming lessons and pool yesterday. Jeremy took her to a park and enjoyed the great weather! She said "shoes" and "water" before leaving!

At bath time, she said "water" to request faucet on and then after was super affectionate. She wanted me to keep giving her bear hugs while wrapped in her towel and she gave me 3 kisses! I would have kept holding her and enjoying that sweet moment but Noah wanted out of tub too. She also said "I want" and "nana" for banana.

Monday

We went to Catch Air this morning with special needs group and both kids had a great time! Ashley was in her own world this morning but she had a great time! She even transitioned to leave very easily!

She said "watching, I want, no" and sang "boppy" a lot today!
After lunch we went to a park and enjoyed the great weather! She found a ball left there and said "ball". Noah wanted to follow Ashley around so I tried to get a picture of both kids together but Ashley was not in mood for smiling.

In session with me, she let me read her Umizoomi book and we counted the numbers each page. She picked out 2 princess crowns and watched me put it on my head. She let me put the other one on her head and then walked over the mirror. She smiled and made some sounds! We admired our crowns in the mirror for about 1 minute and then she was done! She doesn't like things on her head so that a was fun! She said "I want, water, straw (for strawberry shortcake), and chee-chess (2x for cracker)".


Tuesday

Today at school she had a great day and was very vocal with lots of happy sounds! She said "watching" and "yes" when asked if wanted to go next door to sensory room! She also said "tee-tee" on the way to the potty again! She did really great at sorting different objects of same color and also is now independently pointing when they work on counting! They also loved hearing her sing a lot today! When I picked her up, her teacher was trying to describe the singing so I just sang "boppy" like Ashley always does. Ashley looked up fast, smiled at me and then sang "boppy"!

In the afternoon we had another follow up doctor appointment and Ashley did great! We have finally broken the bad habit of having dum-dums at doctor offices. She does enjoy this counting App on my old iphone and then doctor had some toys she played with. When the doctor asked if she wanted help opening a toy, Ashley said "yes". She even wrote her name independently for the doctor and is getting really good at letter A and e. When we got home she said "bath" 2 times and "water". She was very excited to play with daddy too and great eye contact during their tickle/run time!

Wednesday

Before school, Ashley wanted ice chips so I asked her if she wanted purple or pink bowl. She said "burple"! Then she was very interested in letter toy that sings a song about the letter and said "D" after Leap Frog toy did. I asked her if she could give me the letter A and she gave it to me quickly. I then asked her for D, C and B separately and she did it correctly!!! She is learning her letters now!!!

At school, they said she was very vocal with lots of sounds and only said "lunch box" today! At recess she wanted to go play with her peers playing basketball. One of the boys gave her the ball and then she rolled it away! :) She was making great eye contact with the kids and laughing when they were dribbling the ball!

In session with Tracy, she seemed very tired and did lots of stemming. She did say "straw (for strawberry shortcake), bubbles, this, want, eat, nack (for snack) and I want." She enjoyed playing with new rocks we got so she could pour them between buckets, count, make patterns, etc.

I read this poem again in Bible Study this morning and thought it was so fitting. Book is "Surrender Your Junior God Badge: Every Woman's Battle With Control" by Jackie Kendall. This poem can apply to so many areas in everyone's life but it definitely applies to having a child with special needs.

Thursday

She had a great day at school and was super vocal! She said "I want, water, watching, A, B, D & tee-tee" on the way to the bathroom! They enjoyed hearing her sing "boppy" a lot today too! They confirmed at school that she is identifying letters A, B, C, & D! They are also using manipulatives to make other letters like H, L, M, N using sticks, rulers, pipe cleaners, etc.

In session with Tracy, she said "eat, nack, crit (for cracker), what, more, tree, want, mommy and bobby" and sang bobby a lot!  She enjoyed rocks, drawing with crayons, lining up crayons, bracelets, counting and dancing! She did really well counting today and did that for almost 40 minutes! Great eye contact today and lots of sounds!

Friday

We had to get her blood drawn again this morning with fasting and Ashley handled it so well! It was a big change in her morning routine and she handled the blood draw like a champ! At school, some of her peers had a really rough day so Ashley was not very vocal. Thankfully she is starting to handle it better when others around her are upset and does not hit herself or cry as much! She said "water & lunch box" at school today!

In speech with Brooke, she was very vocal and loved the tire swing at the end. She was making great eye contact on the swing and did not want to leave. When I came in, this is what I saw so couldn't help but capture picture of Ashley loving speech therapy! She said "swing (2 times), I want swing, more swing, more push, bupples, boppy, oh no!, wait,  no match, push, quack-quack, help, yeah, yes, no, water, I want, watch, veggie, I want watch Tink (said after she made sentence on her Ipad)!

She picked out the Brown Bear book tonight so I started reading it to her while she was on the potty. She then made eye contact with me, watched my mouth, and would point to the next animal. She loves the last page of the book where it lists all the animals on one page. After we read, I asked if she could point to the purple cat and she did! I asked her about a few other animals and she pointed them out correctly too! She also said "e-u-duck" after I said yellow duck! I just love how she is listening and comprehending better than she ever has! God is so good!