I want a....
Zoë's been improving her speech in huge leaps. She came up to me and said, "I want cheese on toast," (okay, not that clearly, but that's what she said), she's been asking for certain DVDs by name, she's saying "Okay," when you ask her if she wants something (assuming she wants it; she also says, "No," if she doesn't). I'm pretty impressed, actually.
The other night I asked her what she wanted for dinner. She said, "Ice cream." I said, "Ice cream after. Would you like cheese on toast?" She replied, "I want ice cream." ("I wan ice kweem"). I said, "Maybe Zoë would eat chicken," to Andrew, and Zoë piped up, "Zoë want ice cream." (She did not, for the record, get ice cream for dinner.)
Yesterday she was Little Miss Awfulchild all day long (probably because she was sick over the weekend and she was still recovering). She just got into stuff she should have left alone all day long. I was pretty furstrated with her, and her ability to communicate didn't help (better ability to listen might have, though).
The funniest incident (among many not-so-funny incidents *sigh*) was when she went into the bathroom late in the afternoon. I don't normally worry too much, because she goes in there to brush her teeth ("kween teef") or wash her hands, and while she can make a bit of a mess or use too much toothpaste, it's normally okay.
Anyway, I called out to her, "Zoë, what are you doing?" and got no response. I called again in a minute or two. No response. I was getting concerned and was about to go retrieve her when she came strutting out with her hair full of shaving cream, and shaving cream all over her shirt and pants....
You see, one day I put some styling mousse in her hair when we were going somewhere special and now she thinks it's cool to put any foaming thing she finds in the bathroom into her hair (and on her clothes, apparently).
The damage done was minor (I had to wash the sink, the child, and her clothes), and at the time I wasn't amused, but now that she's having a good day and I'm not fed up with her antics, it's pretty funny. She just thought she looked so cool with that stuff in her hair...
Sheep say Baaaahhhh
Today was the "Family Fun Day" at Zoë's preschool. One of the attractions was a small petting zoo, and that was the primary reason we went. I wanted Zoë and Miranda to get to see and touch the animals.
They had a couple of dogs, one a very large sheepdog, the other a small terrier pup, some ducks, chickens, baby chicks, a calf, some sheep and a few goats, several rabbits of various sizes, and a number of guinea pigs.
Zoë was most taken with the sheep. She loved the feel of their wool, and she kept saying, "Baaah, bahhhh," (because that's what sheep say). She even gave one of them a hug. She petted pretty much all of the animals, including the baby chicks, although she seemed most interested in catching and picking up a rabbit. I tried to show her how to support them with one hand and hold them steady with the other, but she didn't quite get it. I had to just keep an eye on her to keep her from picking up a bunny improperly.
She seemed to quite enjoy herself and the animals, and hours later when she saw her great-grandfather she told him that she had seen "wawwits" (rabbits) and she told him that, "Sheep say baaaah." And so they do.
Big strides in speech/communication
Zoë's doing extremely well with the communication skills, and also with her social skills. It's subtle, but the signs are all there that she's actually starting to finally understand about communicating.
For example, she's been saying, "Hi," and "Hello," spontaneously and consistantly and correctly. She's also saying, "Bye," "Good night," and other common interpersonal type communications.
Her vocabulary isn't really increasing, but she's using the words she does know much more effectively and creatively. She's even sometimes speaking in complete sentences! For example, she said, "I want ice cream."
She's also been noticing other children, paying attention to what they do, and playing alongside them. She actually plays with her little sister, as in, direct interaction, and she plays with me and with her Dad more interactively than she has in the past.
I had a talk with the directing therapist at her playgroup about Zoë's progress, and she's very pleased with how things are going.
I can't tell you what a relief it is to see Zoë making such good, steady progress. I think our goal of getting her into prep (kindergarten, the grade immediately before first grade) in 2006 will be something that can be met.
Hewwo! I got shoes!
Zoë communication is improving greatly. Her vocabulary isn't really increasing hugely, but she's using words and phrases she does know in more meaningful and creative ways.
She's also starting to understand social relationships better, and to take an interest in other children and people around her.
Yesterday, Zoë saw a little boy and his mother at the speech therapist. She didn't know who they were, but when she saw them she said, "Hewwo!" as she went past. This is pretty new for her, spontaneously greeting people! She also said, "Bye!" to people at playgroup today, and she made eye contact as she did it, so it was a meaningful statement, and not just repeating.
The day before, she came up to me and announced, "I got shoes." I said, "You have shoes?" and she said, "I got shoes," and went and got her shoes and socks and brought them over to me. I said, "We're not going anywhere," but she insisted on putting on her socks (she did one quite well, actually) and shoes (got them on the wrong feet and was very frustrated that she couldn't put them on properly). I eventually helped her put them on correctly, but I told her several times that we weren't going anywhere.
She then said, "What do you want?" (which actually means, "I want something") and got me to follow her. She led me to the door and started to open it. She was quite put out when I told her we were not going out. She kept her shoes on, though, and when her Dad came in, she once again tried to get him to take her out somewhere.
Zoë is also showing quite an interest in reading. Nanna sent some puzzles for the two little girls, each with their name made out of puzzle pieces (one piece per letter). Zoë loves puzzles, and wanted to do both of them. I showed her the letters in Miranda's name and showed her that it said, "Miranda". Zoë's little face lit up and she said, "Aweeta!" (it used to be "Aida", like the opera, then it was "Adida", and now, apparently, it's "Aweeta" for some reason). She was quite happy by the fact that it was her sister's name, the same way she gets very excited by her own name written on things.
And I should have noted this earlier this week, but I was rather distracted. We went to a wedding on Saturday, an outdoor one with an outdoor reception following. Fairly casual as weddings go. Zoë explored everything she could find, the grounds, the house that is the community centre, the gift table (she wanted to open them, but of course we didn't let her). She managed to disrupt the service in a rather funny way (she bolted through the wedding party right next to the bride just as the celebrant said, "Accepting whatever life throws at you," heh), and later she danced with the bride (photo of that in the gallery). Several people commented that her antics were a good omen, and the bride laughed and said it was surely a fertility blessing.
So, generally speaking, our little fairychild is doing well in all respects. She's even got the toilet training almost entirely mastered, finally (once it "clicked" as to what was expected of her, she got it all very, very quickly).
Bright eyed (finally)
Well, Zoë ended up not going to pre-school or early intervention this week. Wednesday (early intervention day) she was still coughing quite a lot and she had a very visible cold sore on her lip, and she was quite irritable all day. She even wet her pants twice, a sure sign that she wasn't well.
Since she had a cold sore (which are quite contagious from what I hear) and she was so cranky, I thought it was best to just keep her home today, and that was probably a good thing.
Today, she's in much better form. Bright eyed and cheerful and quite pleasant (that's a relief; a sick Zoë is not a pretty picture). The cold sore is nearly gone (we did put some medicine on it), and her appetite has improved, although it's still not back entirely. She's also talking quite a bit, and that's always a good sign. When she was sick, she was almost completely non-verbal.
Tomorrow, perhaps, I'll take them out to the shops or something, just so Zoë can get out of the house.
Not well
Zoë had a fever and a cough yesterday. It was a holiday, so Andrew was home. Poor little kid slept until almost noon! When she got up, she didn't have much appetite. We needed to go out shopping for some things, so we gave her some medicine (Dimetap for the cough/cold and children's Panadol for the fever) and brought her along, since all she really had to do was ride in the pram.
I hate to say it, but when she's sick, she's actually much easier to manage than when she's well. She doesn't fight us every step of the way and take a contrary position to our every request or command...
Today she stayed home from pre-school, but she woke up around ten and knocked on her door to be let out of her room, and still had the fever. I gave her some more medicine and offered here a variety of foods, but she would only accept a liquid breakfast drink (and she didn't have much of that).
Now, in the late morning, it seems that the fever has broken (she's quite sweaty!) and she's unbelievably cranky. She's just Little Miss Opposition. No matter what I try to do for her, she wants none of it. I took her to the potty and tried to put a clean pair of panties on her and she even balked at that, she didn't want to dry her hands after she washed them, I had to carry her back into the family room because she suddenly flopped down on the floor and wouldn't walk...
At the moment, she's perched in one of the recliners with her favorite blanket (a feather quilt we picked up second-hand) and she's watching Toy Story, so for now at least, she's settled.
General catchup...
Well, the toilet water problem has been solved. On Saturday, she went in there and played in the water and I caught her at it and marched her out to tell her daddy what she'd done. Apparently, the humiliation of having to face Daddy with her misdeeds was enough to make her stop doing it. An angry Mama, well, who cares about that, but Daddy with a disappointed look on his face is to be avoided at all costs (I do find this ironic, but it worked so I'm not complaining).
Zoë's doing fairly well at her early intervention playgroup. Wednesday she worked pretty intensely on some turn-taking games and communication exercises.
At snack time, she asked for and actually ate some apple (the only fresh fruit we can get her to try). At once point, she wanted a drink and held out her cup to the therapist who had the jug of water. The therapist was trying to get Zoë to say "drink" but Zoë was having none of it. She pulled her cup away several times and deliberately looked the other way. The message was loud and clear, "You know exactly what I'm asking for, and you can't make me talk if I don't want to." They did, of course, give Zoë the drink, and noted for future reference that witholding things to make her talk doesn't work (I already knew that).
She also absolutely loved the trampoline, and jumped and jumped and jumped. This just confirms my belief that we should get her one of her own. She's got a lot of excess energy, and a trampoline might be just the ticket to help her get rid of that (it was also recommended by a cousin of Andrew's, who has two sons with ADHD and speech delay).
Thursday, she was quite irritable. She ended up not going to preschool because she was just very cranky and uncooperative, and I won't take her when she's like that. It's unfair to the teachers and the other kids.
I think she's having a hard time adjusting to the new schedule of two days of preschool plus the playgroup, which is quite intense for her. From now on, we're going to put her to bed early on Wednesday, to help the adjustment. I believe that she will adjust, but it's taking some time.
Today, she was looking at herself in the mirror and naming parts of her face. This is a new thing for her, and a very good sign! The "labeling" behavior is a big step in language development, and she's been taking a high interest in naming objects she recognizes.
So, all in all, it's been a frustrating but productive time lately. A cranky, uncooperative Zoë is a horrible thing to behold (and experience), but I believe a lot of it is the intense growth and learning she's doing. I expect to see the fruit of this in the not too distant future.
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