Maggie Flips.

A couple of weeks ago, Maggie started standing on her head like this.  It looked like she was about to do a front flip, so we showed her how.

Now, she is doing front flips all by herself ! Maggie is 21 months old and can do a flip !

Then , she gets up and is very proud with herself ( and we are impressed too).

The Loaner Hearing Aid.

Maggie is wearing her loaner hearing aid and although it is a little big, IT WORKS !  And what it lacks in style and cuteness it makes up for it in function.

 Maggie has started back to babbling and making sounds.  Finally !  It has been a while since we heard her babble and I was missing her sweet, little baby girl voice.  In fact, it sounded like she said "elbow" tonight.  She has a little quirky thing about "talking" to my elbow.  We showed her that she also has elbows and now she keeps pointing to her it.  Very cute !

Broken.

We finally got Maggie's hearing aid back last Wednesday, only to quickly find out it is still broken.  She has not been able to "hear" for over three weeks ( maybe longer) and her language has gone way,way,way down.  I am struggling with feeling very frustrated !  And, the engineers in Switzerland don't know how to fix it.  They know there is a problem with their bone conduction hearing aids, but can't seem to figure out the solution.  The company is making new hearing aids that hopefully will work, but they won't be available until September.

So, we are heading to Birmingham on Tuesday to try a loaner hearing aid on a metal headband.  Please pray that it will fit her head ( they only have one and it is not a small) and that it will stay on.  We desperately desire Maggie to hear and talk.  It has been like a hard jab in the stomach knowing her hearing aid is not fixable right now.  It also made me so much more thankful for her hearing aid and the ability to hear.  Never take for granted your children's hearing and talking.  It is a precious thing that you don't realize until it is not there.

Mile High Camping.

We just got back from another great camping trip with friends.  Mile High campground is located on The Cherokee Indian Reservation, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  The Elevation is 5,280 feet and the high temps were in the 70's !

Maggie and Chuck waking up.

Walker cooked our breakfast on Thursday morning.

Our awesome camp site view - The Smokey Mountains.

Hiking with Maggie.

Maggie walking with her lantern ( Thanks Johnny !!) to our nightly activity.  Every night we had Camp Fire Theater where we watched a movie under the stars .  We all shared yummy desserts around the camp fire and was by far the best part of our trip.

Will and Maggie found a grassy hill to run up and slide down.

The boys learned how to play Rummy.

Great memories !

The End !

Somethings Missing.

Maggie is missing something very important.  Something that is a nuisance, but very helpful.

Oh, yeah.  Her hearing aid has been gone for over two weeks now.  Some how it broke.  hmmm... a very fragile, tiny hearing aid headband on a very active, likes to be upside down a lot twenty month old.  It was inevitable.  We hope to get it back tomorrow.

Maggie has not missed it one bit.  In fact, her language improved a little for the first two days without her hearing aid.  But, then she got very quite again and I am afraid we have had a little set back in her speech.  The good news is that she has continued to move ahead developmentally and started doing peak-a-boo this week ( along with a long list of other amazing things that might bore everyone else but me).  We have had to speak loudly in her right ear and she seems to understand us just fine.  We also found out she can hear the phone ring and can read my lips when I ask her where the ball is.    And how cute is her hair with just a simple bow ?  I am loving it ! ( her hair without a headband, not her missing hearing aid)

Jealous.

Maggie is this sweet pretty much all the time.  She's also the most compliant child I have ever known.  If you tell her "no" she stops what she is doing immediately.  Often, she gets her feelings hurt when she is told no and will start crying and want to be held.  (Which we do, happily)

She's also very jealous of the boys.  When Walker and Will sit in my lap, she starts crying, pitifully throws herself down on the floor and looks to see if my lap still holds another child in it besides her.  Maggie thinks I am her mother and no one else's !  Well, I know that being jealous is not the best thing to be, but I have to say I love that she sees me as her mom and doesn't want to share me.  And, I love to scoop her up and place her in my lap, telling her I love her.  The boys don't mind either.  How could they ? They love her so much and understand her need for attention right now.  She is definitely treasured and loved over and abundantly ! 

Favorite Developmental Toys.

Maggie was so far behind developmentally when she came home.  I remember sitting in the hotel in China and wanting to help her so bad.  When we started speech therapy and occupational therapy I was introduced to some great toys to help Maggie developmentally. She has been home six months now and has just about caught up with her peers except for language which is to be expected.  Here are some of my favorite toys that have helped Maggie grow and develop.

I call this the "Piggy Bank".  I used an empty large yogurt container and cut a slit in the top.  We use checker pieces, quarters or bingo chips to put in the slot.  This is great for hand eye coordination and fine motor skills and Maggie loves to "play" with her  bank.

Crayons are so classic !  Maggie has really improved her fine motor skills by coloring and scribbling.

Another home made toy that helps with fine motor and hand eye coordination is the Bucket and Bean Bags Toy.  I sewed the bean bags with some scrap fabric and filled them with dry pinto beans.  Maggie loves to throw them into the bucket and take them out over and over again.

A Magnet/Marker Board has really helped Maggie's grasping, fine motor and hand eye coordination too.  When she first got the  magnets, Maggie couldn't  even pick them up.  Now, it is her favorite thing to do and she has gotten very good at picking them up and putting them on the board.  

The Car has helped Maggie's gross motor skills.  She loves to push and pull it around the house or sit and scoot around her room.  We are working on making the brrr car noise too.

Blocks are her new favorite toy.  At first she would have nothing to do with them and now they really hold her attention.  She has learned to bang two blocks together,  build a tower and then crash it down !

And then there are her Books.  We sit in the rocker and read books together all day.  It is her favorite thing to do and she really pays attention and loves her books.

She Was Very Quiet.

Maggie drew her first wall "masterpiece" today when I wasn't looking.  She really loves to color with a crayon and doodle on paper.  Now, I think her medium of choice is a nice, painted dry wall.  The good thing is that her fine motor skills are much better and she can hold a pencil and draw. I think she did pretty good with drawing a straight line too.  The bad thing is that now I have to be more diligent about pencils, pens, markers and a little girl who can climb and draw !

4th of July.

Maggie saw her first fire works show last night and she loved it. Chuck and I just watched her face the whole time.  She was memorized by the fire works.  She was jumping up and down on my lap the whole time during the show.  I am sure she heard the loud booms ( She did not have her hearing aid on) but they were probably at a lower decibel so she was not scared at all.  It has been a very special 4th of July this year as we celebrate Maggie's American citizenship.  It's a big deal and we know how blessed it is to be an American !