So not a lot to report of any real significance. The China blog was so full of these huge firsts and monumental events that I tend not to blog when we have just a normal day...but a normal day is something monumental in itself, isnt it? Just being able to say that a day was just an average day with a little girl who has known three mothers in just 2.5 years is something..so in honor of Jerry Seinfeld...lets hear it for days about NOTHING!
We got up today after a great scrimmage on the ice last night....it is always interesting when Rob and I are on different sides of the ice and makes for some interesting stories when we end up fighting over a puck in the corner. Dont all married couples chase after each other on the ice and hit each other with sticks?
Both boys are off to school and we went to Molly's speech therapy session. She did a great job and is reacting to more and more sound..sounds I didnt think she could hear, well, she can and we have seen just over the past three weeks that she is figuring out "how" to listen. I dont know where her hearing level is unaided...but aided she is doing great and her speech therapist thinks the best thing for her is to get her in a mainstream preschool. Of course, we still need to hear from an audiologist and ENT...but I am continually amazed at what Molly can hear sometimes. I sure wish I knew what her hearing level was! Maybe one day!
We did find the perfect preschool for her at a local church...and will go by and see about securing her a spot for a few days a week in the fall.
Well, thats about it. Molly is wrapping up her nap and the boys have escaped to go play at the neighbors. I am going to wrap up cleaning the house and perhaps sneak out tonight for some pick up hockey!
Here's to a day about NOTHING! Didnt think we would have reached "normal" as fast as we seem to have!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Not a lot to report...
So we have settled on using Children's Rehabilitation Services here in Huntsville and are now engaged in the arduous process of enrolling in the system. Dont know how long that will take...but we do know the audiologist we will be working with comes highly recommended so I feel good about following whatever road she wants us to take. We will also have access to a highly sought after ENT and so maybe once we get in the system, we will have a crack at an ABR. Every speech therapist and audiologist I have spoken too besides the first one we saw in Birmingham has recommended that we push for the ABR based on Molly's age and background. Once we figure out where her hearing is we will be able to make a decision on whether or not we want to pursue the Cochlear Implant or just get her the best hearing aids we can get our hands on!
Other than that, we are just settling into our new life. We had a disappointment with the Chargers loss this past weekend. Of course, I have been a Steelers fan ( albeit not a very vocal one for the past 10 years or so) since I was a kid so I wasn't too upset.
We spent this past Saturday at the aquarium in Chattanooga and then Sunday Rob and I had a hockey game. It was nice getting on the ice before 9pm. I am always so "amped" up after a game that it takes me hours to relax enough to go to sleep. With a late game, that can sometimes put me in bed way after 1am. The boys are full swing back in school and Molly has become obsessed with Jacks big music show. It is the only show she likes. I don't know why? There are plenty of kids shows that have as much music...but she likes that one. So be it.
Other than that, we are patiently waiting for the end of winter..not that we have a real winter compared to most but it will be nice once we can play outside without Molly getting too cold. She has put on about 5 pounds since we got her home just under 2 months ago and so we are pleased. Yesterday would have been her birthday if we hadn't changed her birthday to a more suitable date. So we have a few more months to figure out how Molly should celebrate her first birthday.
She has been to two speech sessions and they have gone well. I dont know how long her patients will last with the games that the speech therapist wants to play. She is already starting to show signs of being annoyed with them..and frankly, I dont blame her. She is saying a few words now. Mom, Dad ( which sounds more like agh -agh instead of da-da), more, and baby. It truly is like having a 5 month old in a 2.5 year old body.
We hope to get into the see the next audiologist in February. So we wait...and we wait.
Other than that, we are just settling into our new life. We had a disappointment with the Chargers loss this past weekend. Of course, I have been a Steelers fan ( albeit not a very vocal one for the past 10 years or so) since I was a kid so I wasn't too upset.
We spent this past Saturday at the aquarium in Chattanooga and then Sunday Rob and I had a hockey game. It was nice getting on the ice before 9pm. I am always so "amped" up after a game that it takes me hours to relax enough to go to sleep. With a late game, that can sometimes put me in bed way after 1am. The boys are full swing back in school and Molly has become obsessed with Jacks big music show. It is the only show she likes. I don't know why? There are plenty of kids shows that have as much music...but she likes that one. So be it.
Other than that, we are patiently waiting for the end of winter..not that we have a real winter compared to most but it will be nice once we can play outside without Molly getting too cold. She has put on about 5 pounds since we got her home just under 2 months ago and so we are pleased. Yesterday would have been her birthday if we hadn't changed her birthday to a more suitable date. So we have a few more months to figure out how Molly should celebrate her first birthday.
She has been to two speech sessions and they have gone well. I dont know how long her patients will last with the games that the speech therapist wants to play. She is already starting to show signs of being annoyed with them..and frankly, I dont blame her. She is saying a few words now. Mom, Dad ( which sounds more like agh -agh instead of da-da), more, and baby. It truly is like having a 5 month old in a 2.5 year old body.
We hope to get into the see the next audiologist in February. So we wait...and we wait.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Second part of the Check up
Okay, so back to the Children's International Adoption Clinic today where we did a preliminary speech eval. ( didn't really find out anything that we didnt know) Molly is indeed deaf and does not speak English. Alrighty then..nothing new there. All her lab work came back completely normal and within limits and the vaccines that she had received in China were all good. She didn't have that many of them so we will be catching up on vaccines starting in the next week or so.
What we did determine is that Molly is closer to 2 and a half years of age and so we are going to give her a birth date that reflects that but also has some meaning. You see, the original birth date that was given to her was just a random date picked by the doctor on duty when they found her. The day was just plucked from the air. We decided that we would choose a day that had meaning to us and hopefully one day to her...the day we found out about her. This is the day that I called the agency and wound up getting Molly's pictures sent to me and Rob and I decided that she was the one. August 20. It also gives us options as far as starting school and that is a key benefit as well.
We did not really address the hearing issue but I have been making some phone calls and did get hooked up with a local agency that will give me access to a phenomenal audiologist as well as a really fantastic ENT. This is probably where we should have started but I took the advice of a very well meaning doctor and went straight to Birmingham...oh well, live and learn. It will probably be February before we can get in to see the audiologist...so until then we will continue to go to Audio/ Verbal therapy and continue to exercise Molly's brain, ears, and speech.
Thats really all the updates we have for now. Molly is doing better every day and yesterday was actually the first day that she didnt wake up and immediately ask for food. She still eats an incredible amount of food and actually put on almost an entire pound since her last trip to Birmingham just about a month ago...about 4 or 5 pounds total since we got her on November 9. The weight looks good on her! When we first brought her home she would eat and then within minutes go stand by the pantry and just beg for food. She doesn't do that anymore! She is actually trying to talk to us and repeat words...but they sound nothing like what she is trying to say...but we give her an A for effort!
What we did determine is that Molly is closer to 2 and a half years of age and so we are going to give her a birth date that reflects that but also has some meaning. You see, the original birth date that was given to her was just a random date picked by the doctor on duty when they found her. The day was just plucked from the air. We decided that we would choose a day that had meaning to us and hopefully one day to her...the day we found out about her. This is the day that I called the agency and wound up getting Molly's pictures sent to me and Rob and I decided that she was the one. August 20. It also gives us options as far as starting school and that is a key benefit as well.
We did not really address the hearing issue but I have been making some phone calls and did get hooked up with a local agency that will give me access to a phenomenal audiologist as well as a really fantastic ENT. This is probably where we should have started but I took the advice of a very well meaning doctor and went straight to Birmingham...oh well, live and learn. It will probably be February before we can get in to see the audiologist...so until then we will continue to go to Audio/ Verbal therapy and continue to exercise Molly's brain, ears, and speech.
Thats really all the updates we have for now. Molly is doing better every day and yesterday was actually the first day that she didnt wake up and immediately ask for food. She still eats an incredible amount of food and actually put on almost an entire pound since her last trip to Birmingham just about a month ago...about 4 or 5 pounds total since we got her on November 9. The weight looks good on her! When we first brought her home she would eat and then within minutes go stand by the pantry and just beg for food. She doesn't do that anymore! She is actually trying to talk to us and repeat words...but they sound nothing like what she is trying to say...but we give her an A for effort!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Back to the grind...
Well today was kind of a sad day for at least part of the Barrie family. The two boys headed back to school...reluctantly. It was quite nice getting back to one on one time with Molly though and we had a great day. We made a few contacts with Children's Rehab and have figured out that is probably where we should have started. Now it is just a matter of getting scheduled in a timely manner. It is so nice living in a community where everyone seems to know each other. Makes getting information a lot easier. We head down to Birmingham for the second appointment with the International Adoption Clinic where we will discuss what we kind of already know....all of Molly's lab work came back clean and so we are thrilled with that news. We will also finalize her age and get the paperwork started for that.
We continue to make progress with her every day. She is a happy kid and her tantrums when she doesn't get her way are short and quite manageable. She is sleeping great and is doing really well with Rob. Im still not quite sure she "gets" who we are...I mean, she says Mom and Dad ( da da comes out like ah ah) but I don't think she gets what that really means.
We head in for our second speech session on Thursday morning. I'm beat and heading to sleep! Thanks for all your kind notes and comments. They really are appreciated! I promise to post more pictures and video soon!
oh...and today is the very first day that Molly didnt wake up and instantly ask for food. In fact I had to kind of convince her to eat! Either my cooking is that bad ( and if you know me that is a definite possibility) or our girl has figured out that their is always going to be another meal!
We continue to make progress with her every day. She is a happy kid and her tantrums when she doesn't get her way are short and quite manageable. She is sleeping great and is doing really well with Rob. Im still not quite sure she "gets" who we are...I mean, she says Mom and Dad ( da da comes out like ah ah) but I don't think she gets what that really means.
We head in for our second speech session on Thursday morning. I'm beat and heading to sleep! Thanks for all your kind notes and comments. They really are appreciated! I promise to post more pictures and video soon!
oh...and today is the very first day that Molly didnt wake up and instantly ask for food. In fact I had to kind of convince her to eat! Either my cooking is that bad ( and if you know me that is a definite possibility) or our girl has figured out that their is always going to be another meal!
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