Summer Time

We are officially starting  our summer break today.  The boys will still have to read and do a page of math every day which they remind me about a million times that it's summer and they shouldn't have to do math or read.  They have worked so hard in school this year that a couple months off of doing nothing will not benefit, but hurt their studies. ( I am not popular around here right now).

Maggie is starting to really babble and "talk".  She works so hard to get sound out of her mouth and it just is the cutest thing ! Sometimes she "talks" for a long time, just babbling away about something.  I started asking her questions and she replys with a  little ughhs and ghaas.  Nothing recognizable, but she is breaking her silence and we are so amazed at her.  She really likes to "talk" to Charlie the dog - so funny !!

Saturday Princess.

Eating.

Maggie's new favorite food is Breakfast Casserole ( eggs, cheese, sausage and bread all baked together).  She loves it !!! It is amazing to think that just about a month ago, Maggie was still eating stage two baby food and taking four bottles day with formula and rice cereal just like she did in the Orphanage.  It has been a slow process to get her on solid food.  But, she is making up for lost time and loving it !

 She still won't eat cheerios , but loves to bite on chips.  Doesn't make sense ?  I think she is a little picky, and just has her mind made up on what she likes.  OK, maybe a little strong willed too !

I finally switched out her bottle nipple to a regular sized hole. If you will remember, she has been using a nipple with a huge opening. It would take her about two minutes to guzzle her bottle down.  This is how they did it in her Orphanage and we continued it for a while while she got used to us and solid food. Today, she got her first bottle of JUST formula ( no rice cereal).   It was so sweet to watch her drink her bottle.  I was able to hold her much closer and it took her about 15 minutes to finish her bottle.  Much better !  She was able to make great eye contact as she drank and I smiled ( and cried) and told her how much she is loved.  All the while I rocked her in the same rocker/glider that I nursed the boys in. It was such a sweet, bonding time.  And, I know that she missed so much holding, rocking and touch as a baby.  It made me so sad for her, but so happy that we have Maggie now and can try to make up for all that was lost. We are praising God for all the miracles we are seeing in Maggie's life - many, many more miracles than just her eating breakfast casserole !  I will share more later...

Our Diva !

No Cherrios today !

I spoke too soon.  Maggie will have NOTHING to do with Cheerios today.  She can not even stand to look at them.  Maggie cries right when I get them out and pitched a really big fit when I tried to feed her some. Oh well.  I will keep trying and maybe tomorrow she will love her Cheerios again.  

Cherrios and other updates

Maggie is eating Cheerios !!  I thought the day would never come.  But, tonight I was feeding her spaghetti, peaches, and eggs ( I know very random) and I thought I would try giving her some Cheerios.  I was amazed that she just let me put them in her mouth, one after another - no crying fit or anything.  This is the first crunchy food Maggie has eaten.  She is doing so good and will usually eat whatever we are eating.  She can pick up a cheerio with her fingers pretty good now, but has not ventured into self-feeding yet.  Also, I have not been very consistent with putting food on her tray to let her try and that is something we are working on now.

Other updates

1. Maggie is walking a lot steadier and loves her new skill.  She also loves to hold our hand when she walks and we sing a little song about walking and stopping - she thinks it is funny!

2. Maggie is using her hands so much better ! She has much more control over her fingers and hands and can push a tiny button with her index finger or thumb. She can turn the page in a book or open a closed book with her thumbs ( hard to explain, but it is a higher skill)

3.  Maggie is hearing everything ! She recognizes her name and will come to me if I call her.  She turns to sound very quickly now.

4. Maggie is vocalizing sound a little more every day.  She still has not said "hello" again, but she is playing with voice and tried to mimic the Meow sound today when we were reading her cat book that she LOVES.

5. Maggie loves water now ! She enjoyed swimming with her daddy and the boys in the lake and still loves her bath time.

6. Maggie will not be getting a cochlear Implant any time soon for reasons that are complicated, but make sense.

7. Maggie was evaluated by a physical therapist for Early Intervention and sailed through.  The PT will just continue to monitor her, but she does not need physical therapy. Yahoo ! We needed some good news!  

8.  Maggie is not looking at her hands hardly anymore. She has found much more interesting things to look at now.  She loves to play with her toys and her magnet board is on of her favorites.

9. Maggie knows the meaning of these words
 ( meaning she can point to or look at when I say them) - Tree, rock, light, book,bath,dog, bite, eat,milk,all done, more, daddy, mommy, car (beep,beep), purse, swing and rocker.
10.  Maggie is still the sweetest baby ever and we are so blessed !

The Magic of Camping

We're one of those families that loves to go camping.  And for us, camping is Magical.  Kinda' like Disney Magical.  We have done our fair share of tent camping with and with out babies and loved it !  We recently bought a Pop- Up camper and took it out to Cheaha State Park in Alabama.  We had a great time and I thought I would share some of our pictures and a little why camping is so magical.

Eating pancakes and sausage cooked outside by Chuck.

Homeschooling outside on a huge rock.

Gorgeous views !  This is Bald Rock.  The elevation is 2400 feet and it was a long way down.

Camping is a great multi-sensory place with lots of rocks,dirt,sticks and flowers and Maggie loved every bit of it.

Lots of family time to read in Genesis about how God created everything,

Maggie learned how to pick wild flowers and she would walk around with it in her hands.  So cute !

Lots of smiles !

Hammocks !

Visiting the highest point in Alabama.

Seeing a green friendly snake.

Remembering that your brother is your best buddy !

Jumping off a high platform into Lake Cheaha again and again.

Getting dirty and playing with sticks.

Refreshed and energized.

Go Camping !!

Sunday