Gone For Too Long

Oh my goodness, over a month since my last post?!? Where has the time gone? Definitely need to get you updated before the holidays arrive! What an exciting month it has been for the trio!











November 5 Annabel had her 6 month neuro follow-up and her doctor was very happy with her development and the plan is for her to be seen again in a year, with only a CT no required so she won’t have to take anesthesia for an MRI anymore!
November 19 she saw our audiologist and everything checked out normal as well, with a follow-up scheduled in a year. Last Thursday (December 3) Annabel was casted for constraint therapy, she will get the cast this week and will wear it almost 24/7 to help her learn to use her left hand. The therapists say they have seen a lot of success with this approach so we are excited!
She has been pulling to a tall kneel to play recently and has even started pulling higher, almost to stand. She is not the least bit nervous to be up on her feet playing along the couch but does tire/becomes unsure of her stability after some time. She has been so much more aware of her surroundings lately, playing with and exploring many more toys, much more interactive with her siblings, and using her sounds to communicate her needs to us.
We are so proud of her developments! This Thursday I take her to the orthoptist, I’m not expecting any change in plans given that her strabismus is still intermittent. Friday I will be taking her in to Pathway to see how she does on the walking track – I am so excited because her Early On PT thinks that she will be very successful with it!


November 12 Johnathan saw his previous speech therapist at UofM who plans to evaluate Johnathan every 6 months. So this was his first 6 month eval and she couldn’t believe how awesome he is doing, night and day difference from the last time she saw him. She scored him in the 24-36 month range, completely average, woo-hoo!!
He is now saying please and thank you occasionally and he’s recently learned to use a fork for eating! Johnathan loves to play rough and tough but can also be so loving and caring towards his sisters.
He loves giving them big bear hugs and kisses. His favorite thing right now is Elmo.


For awhile now Mady has been telling us when she goes poo-poo but it’s always too late, we’ll get her to the potty and she’ll have just gone. On November 15 she told us poo-poo and she actually went on the potty!! She also went pee-pee while we were in NY for Thanksgiving. It would be fabulous if we could get this mastered soon, I’m sure Johnathan will follow close behind as he loves to copy her, imagine two out of diapers!?! Mady’s speech is soaring, she is now saying many two-three word sentences and is repeating most things we say.
She is now signing parts of quite a few songs! She is working on counting and A,B, C's and doing quite well with them. She got her Sure Step orthotics on November 19 and they have provided her with so much extra stability, she is now off and running, climbing stairs by holding on to rail and walking down holding rail and our hand, jumping, and just so much more confident in her movements! Mady also recently learned to use a fork for eating and is working on a spoon. Her favorite things are Elmo, babies, and ducks. Mady has also officially learned her first color and it is surprise, surprise – pink!! She knows that her p.j.’s are pink, too cute!

All three have been gaining some nice weight lately, with Annabel and Johnathan hovering around 23lbs and Mady at 22lbs. We take them this Friday for their official weigh-in at the pediatricians. Praying they all look good on their growth charts.
We had some beautiful weather in early November and were able to get the kids outside to play and on some walks. Annabel loves having so much space on the deck to cruise around in her walker!

November 19 was my b-day and B.J. threw a surprise party for me, inviting some of our close friends and my family. I was completely surprised and a good time was had by all. We left that Friday for NY for Thanksgiving to spend time with B.J.’s family. Although no one was successful at hunting, the guys enjoyed their time in the woods. The kids had a good time spending time with their cousins Austin and Paige and all of our relatives. My mother-in-law and I even ventured out with the kids twice to do some Christmas shopping! We knew from previous years that early the week of Thanksgiving is the best time to go, most of the sales are the same as Black Friday (except for the extra % off) and there’s not a crowd. Everyone was very respectful of the trio, no one even got close enough for me to have to tell them to please not touch! The kids got to experience their first Build A Bear trip but it was a on whim so I didn’t have my camera, next time!