This month has sped by. I didn't even realize that it was the 23rd until I was looking up a date while doing my lesson plans today. The start of the school year and a 2 year old are keeping me busy!
Sophie has been taking this 'terrible twos' thing very seriously. She has learned how to roll her eyes
(it is like a teenager!), 'no' is her new favorite word, she has been saying "damn it"
(and in the right context, like when she drops things), she refuses to wear one piece sleepers at night
(she takes them right off, if we can actually get them on), she throws fits when you tell her no
(sobbing on the ground as if the world is ending) and she has started waking up in the middle of the night
(something she never used to do unless she was sick). Geez...what is going on with my sweet little girl?
(I know, I know. She is just testing us and going through a phase.) =
Even with these not so great new behaviors, Sophie has been improving on old skills and learning some new ones. When she jumps on her own now, she actually gets some height. She used to just bend her legs and think that she jumped. She gets a few inches off the ground now. She loves though when you hold her hands and help her jump, like when she is on a bed, the couch or her changing table. She has also started doing forward rolls. Not sure where she picked this up, but she is doing them. Sometimes they veer off to the side, but a lot of them are perfect. Impressive. I will have to start her in gymnastics sometimes soon. My little monkey would love that. Sophie has also been peeing on the potty more and more. Pretty much each day she will pee once or twice on the potty. There are some days where she will tell us that she needs to go. That really excites me. I'm still not pushing anything though. She is still young and there is that whole finding small enough underwear issue. At least she is getting used to going to the potty.
Sophie is still so much fun to be around. She has such a great personality. She will do anything for a laugh; funny faces, dancing, playing games, etc. Her smile gets so big when she makes us laugh. Future class clown right there.
Since school has started back again, Sophie has been going back to her babysitter's house. I hate leaving her behind, but I love that she gets to spend her day with other kids. I love watching her interact with the kids
(all boys, minus a baby girl). They all get so excited to see Sophie in the mornings and vice versa. If they are playing with toys when she gets there, she jumps right on in and plays along. It makes leaving her behind so much easier when I see what a good time she is having. I also love that there is a baby there. Hopefully she will get used to having a baby around so it isn't a complete shock to her system when Josie gets here.
Speaking of babies, Sophie never really cared about dolls before. She had some but didn't play with them. This month though she has become obsessed with her baby dolls. It is sweet to watch her rock her babies, pat their backs, kiss them, hug them, and then throw them to the ground! For her birthday, she received a baby set that included a stroller, high chair, bed, etc. She is constantly putting her dolls in these things and acting like they are her babies. She especially loves taking her dolls for walks in the stroller. She will do laps around the downstairs, often making Joe or me walk with them. It is really cute. I love it when she hugs her dolls. It really is so sweet to watch because she has such love in her eyes.
Sophie doesn't realize it, but she 'graduated' this month. Now that she is doing well, she no longer has a case open with Humana's nurse case management program. Last week I said farewell to Tonya, Sophie's nurse case manager with Humana. Over the phone, I've worked with Tonya for over a year now
(and another woman before that) in regards to Sophie and her health. Whenever there was an issue with something medically, I could call them and they would assist me. That is how I was able to get a month's worth of her expensive farrell bags covered when she was on the feeding tube
(we originally were sent 7 a month-they aren't reuseable!). Whenever I had coverage or billing issues, I could talk to them to get things straightened out. Tonya also helped me get approval for Sophie's genetic tests. She gave tips and suggestions about how to help Sophie with eating even things to ask her doctors about. The best thing was that Tonya was also there to support me. She had to call each month for check-ups, but always made sure to ask how I was doing with everything. That was really nice. We have both known for a few months that Sophie didn't need their assistance anymore, but we neither of us wanted to end things 'just in case.' Finally this month, after hearing all is well with Sophie
(and with Josie - Tonya wanted to make sure that she didn't have any issues that Sophie had), we knew it was finally time to close her case. I almost cried when saying good-bye to her. Not because I thought that I would still need her help, but because she seemed to genuinely care about Sophie. I am going to miss our monthly talks and all the help that she gave me.
(Tonya did tell me before we got off the phone that Humana is getting rid of their nurse case manager program in November, so we were ending at the perfect time. It is sad that others won't be getting this wonderful assistance though.)
My favorite thing from this month is our new morning routine. There is nothing extraordinary about our routine, but it is still really nice. She has been waking up each morning when she hears Joe getting ready. I like sleeping in, so Joe brings her in bed with me before he leaves. Some days I ask her to cuddle with me, and she will curl up next to me for a little while. Other days she will lie down on Joe's pillow, drink some Pediasure and rest with me. There are times that she asks for cereal, so I'll go and get a box and bring it back upstairs so we can share breakfast in bed. When I am finally ready to get out of bed, she follows me around and 'helps' me get ready. She reminds me of things to get before we head out to the car (her bag, my shoes, her shoes, etc). She gives me hugs and kisses before getting into her car seat. On the drive to the babysitter's house, she usually tells me who all she is going to see (naming all of the kids from the babysitter's). When we get to the babysitter's, she is happy and ready to start her day. I couldn't ask for better mornings.
Even though Sophie has been testing us a lot this month, she is still an amazing kid. I can't wait to see what the rest of this year brings.
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| Wearing green to support CP |
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| I caught Sophie on the floor like this, staring up at when I used to keep her birthday presents. She was fondly repeating, "Elmo-Abby", because a few of the gifts had wrapping paper with Elmo and Abby on them. |
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| This is how we announced that Sophie is getting a baby sister, Josie. |
