Great talking
Lately, Zoë has been speaking more and more clearly and creatively. She's even using certain vocal nuances such as using a tone of voice to convey meaning.
Just a couple of examples...
She said to her dad, "You want a drink?" (she still says "you" when she means "I", but we'll get that sorted out).
Dad: "Okay. How about some milk?"
Zoë: "Okay. Milk."
Dad gets a blue cup out of the cupboard.
Zoë: "No, is not a blue cup. Is a pink cup." (meaning: I don't want a blue cup, I want a pink one)
Dad: "Oh, okay. A pink cup." He goes to the cupboard and gets a pink cup, but it's not the one she had in mind.
Zoë: "No, is not a pink cup. Is a pink cup!"
Dad laughs. Zoë goes to the table and gets the pink cup she wanted to use, which she had previously used for some juice, and takes it to Dad, who gives it a quick wash and gives it to her with the milk. Zoë is happy.
Another example is that we parked in a multi-level parking garage at a shopping center we frequent. This level had lots of parking spots open because it's the level for which you have to go up or down the spiral ramps (okay, they're not really spiral, but a big square, but it "spirals" down and up) to get to an entrance. Zoë got out of the car and said, "Want to go on a ladder!" referring to the ramps (hey, it was a pretty good guess that it was a ladder).
Today she went to check the mail and there was nothing in the box. I asked her, "Is it empty?" and she said, "Nothing there!" as clearly as you please.
These are only a few examples of things she's been saying lately. We're seeing a lot of languge use that is spontaneous and creative, and clearly communicative. Presumably, this is just another step of her development and maturation, because we're not really doing anything different (other than the speech therapy, early intervention groups, pre-school, and other aids we customarily use such as flash cards and the like). I suspect that the better quality sleep she's been getting for some time (since we started giving her melatonin regularly) is also helping in this area; a better rested person is likely to have better brain activity, certainly.
Whatever it is, I'm happy to see it. Right now she's singing the "Going on a Bear Hunt" song while reading the book she has about it...
Holiday
We went on a couple of days' holiday earlier this week. Zoë did all right, considering. She slept in a strange bed in a strange room without too much complaint, and other than flushing three small soaps down the toilet the first night, she didn't trash the rooms or anything.
On the day we were driving back, she was pretty irritable. Partly, I'd forgotten to pack her iron supplements, which she absolutely needs or she gets very difficult and irritable. Partly, it was just too much weirdness for her, I think, and she was having trouble coping. Partly, she was getting bored with being in the car, and I can't really say I blame her much there.
At lunch time, we stopped in a very nice visitor area in a small country town and we got lunch from a local bakery (fresh, hot meat pies, yum!). Then we had a potty break and the kids had a play in the very nice playground available near the picnic area. When it was time to go, Zoë was happy to get back in the car, and we thought all was well.
An hour and a half or so later, we stopped at a small park in a very small town because there were public toilets there and Miranda needed to go potty. Zoë, by that time, was being difficult, and at first refused to go to the toilet, and then decided that she'd go, after all, and she made a beeline for the men's room (it wasn't a problem; there weren't any men there to be worried about it).
Upon finishing, she kicked up a big fuss about getting back into the car, and when I let go of her hand she shot out over to a small playground that was there, one which neither Andrew nor I had noticed at all (but she did, which is probably why she decided she'd get out and go potty). She made a HUGE fuss about leaving the playground, it was quite a scene, a big meltdown with howling that lasted for some time once we got her back in the car.
Eventually, she finally found the pleasure of zoning out while looking out the window at the passing scenery, and she managed to calm herself down.
Fast forward a bit and we were starting to get hungry in an afternoon tea sort of way, and we started looking for a milk bar or grocery store where we could get some sort of light snack. To do this we had to get off the freeway and drive through some towns, and in the process, we passed a park with public toilets and a playground and such.
A little voice from the back seat called out, "Go potty?"
I answered, "No, we're not going to stop for the potty now. You just went."
Again, "Go potty?"
I turned to Andrew and said, "She saw the playground. She wants to get out and have a play."
A pause, and then the little voice announces, "Not want to play. Just go potty... ?"
Andrew and I both burst out laughing, because it was very clear that she was, more or less, lying in order to get us to stop (we didn't, but we did tell her it was excellent talking).
So, not only is she talking, she's understanding what we're saying (a lot more than we might give her credit for!) and she's learning to say things that may or may not be strictly speaking true, but which, if we believe them, will get her the chance to do what she wants.
I can't help but see that as a positive thing, and for the record, it's well established that lying is a sign of high intelligence.
Feeling better
Zoë is finally feeling better, I'm happy to report. She went to pre-school on Wednesday morning and did pretty well, and today she went to pre-school in the afternoon. She's still looking somewhat pale and skinny, but her appetite is coming back and she's got the little spark of mischief in her eyes again.
I was really getting worried for a while there, but it was just as the doctor said. It took a little more than a week to get over it is all.
New school
We went for a meeting with the vice principal and the educational psychologist at Zoë's new school (i.e., the special school she'll be attending next year). It was pretty painless, really, just a formality. We had to sign a few papers and we discussed Zoë a little bit. But we had all our supporting documentation in order (letters and official assessments from all kinds of specialists, including psychologists, her pediatrician, audiologist, the teachers from her early intervention group, and some more that escapes me just at the moment). Everything was in order and there should be no problem at all with it. They're super well-funded there, and so have a very high level of scrutiny as to the children that get accepted, but they told us they've never had a child be turned down (because they do require all that supporting paperwork and do multiple interviews, etc.).
Later on, we'll take Zoë to the school and show her around and let her get a feel for the environment, and also we'll take some photographs to remind her of her "new school". Then, when school starts and she goes there, she'll be comfortable there.
And while I'm sure that she'll adjust to riding the bus (which is supervised by a teacher), I'm not sure how she'll take it at first. She may be totally fine with it and just take it in her stride, or she may get really worried an upset when she leaves me, I really don't know. I haven't yet devised a plan as far as Zoë-on-the-Bus goes. Guess I'll figure out something closer to when it happens.
I'm looking forward to her going to this school. Five days a week, half days for the first week and then full days for the rest of the school year will be a break for me (not that I don't like being with her, but she is pretty "full on" and she can be a real handful) and I'm absolutely sure that she'll benefit hugely from the specialized environment and programs there.
Looking better
Zoë is looking better today. She didn't get up to go to early intervention because she was up very late, having had a nap in the middle of the day (the kid will NOT go to bed if she's not tired, and I can understand it, even if I wish she would).
I woke her up around ten and persuaded her to come have some breakfast (feckfest, she says), and she happily ate a bowl of cereal and then went to get dressed, suddenly asking, "Hey! Whews Awanda?" (Hey, where's Miranda). She came with me when I went to get Miranda from pre-school and then we went to the shopping center and she got some new sandals, as did her sister and I. She was pretty well behaved through all of that, despite it being very boring when I was trying on shoes (I'm a fussy shoe person, what can I say?).
She didn't have a lot of lunch, but she had a bit, and she drank some strawberry milk, which is at least something.
Currently, she's eating a bit of buttered bread for afternoon tea and she was previously lying quietly with her sister, watching television.
I'm hoping she'll be up for school tomorrow, but it's an early session, so it will partially depend on what time she gets to bed. She hasn't had a nap, though, so with any luck at all, she'll get to bed at a reasonable hour and be able to go. She misses it, poor kid.
Skinny and pale
Zoë is still unwell. She's looking very skinny and very pale. Last night, she got done with her bath around 8pm and went and put a towel over the pillow and went to bed, and was asleep by 8:30, and then she slept for about twelve hours. She looked perky this morning, but around 10:30 she went into her room to play and when I checked on her, she had crawled into Miranda's bed (presumably, it was too much effort to get into her own bed in the top bunk), pulled the quilt up, and was resting quietly. She came out about three hours later, but refused lunch.
When I went to pick up Miranda from her weekly playgroup, I took Zoë with me and she did all right. We got milkshakes on the way home, and she drank all of hers, so at least that's some degree of nutrition in her tummy now (no, I don't consider McDonald's milkshakes to be an appropriate meal substitute, but it's better than nothing).
I think what's happening is that Zoë is wearing herself out during the periods when she feels okay, running around, playing, etc. (there's NO way to keep her still if she doesn't want to be, short of sedating her or, I suppose, physically restraining her).
The doctor said it would probably take about a week to recover from this virus, but it's been a week and a day now. If it keeps up, she's going right back to the doctor...
Still sick
I took Zoë to the doctor yesterday. She's basically just got an upper respiratory virus that's been going around. Her lungs are congested, but the doctor said they sound all right, and she's getting better. He said it'll probably take about a week to kick it.
She didn't have much of a fever yesterday, but today she's warm, and very, very, VERY cranky, so no school (no point sending a cranky, coughing child to school, IMHO). She's almost entirely uncooperative, and is being a major pain in the neck.
She insisted that she wear blue jeans. I told her all her blue jeans are in the wash, and offered her several other pants (including blue ones). She kicked up a huge commotion and then quietly went to the laundry room and got her jeans out of the "waiting to be washed" basket and put them on. I decided to just let her wear them (they need washing, but they're not filthy or anything) rather than fight about it. *sigh*
Ugh. I'm pretty tired of this. Kids fighting over stupid things all the time, Zoë a combination of irritating, pathetic, and worrisome.... Just a few more days... I hope...
Fever
Zoë's had a fever all day, and she hasn't eaten very much at all (just a couple of apple slices). She's been very, very subdued, which is very un-Zoë-like.
We didn't give her any fever-reducing medicine because I know from experience that if the fever goes down, she gets up and runs around, and if she's sick, she probably needs the rest. So, as long as the fever isn't dangerously high (and this one wasn't), we leave her alone to "sweat it out".
She seemed to feel better after a nice warm bath with epsom salts, and she lay down in the family room and went to sleep after the bath. I checked on her a few hours later and the fever seemed to have gone down, but fevers do that of their own accord at certain times of the day, and then go back up again later according to natural body cycles (I learned that when I was very, very sick and had to have my temperature taken every few hours; blood pressure and other cycles also go up and down.)
Whether she goes to school tomorrow or not remains to be seen. She doesn't have to go until after lunch, so by that time it'll be easy to see if she's feeling better or not.
Progress
Zoë has been communicating much, much more effectively lately. She's actually answering questions, she's making the effort to verbally ask for things she wants. It's very encouraging.
She has also, however, been a real pain in the neck off and on for the past couple of weeks. Partly, it was school holidays and she was bored, but also, she tends to get rather difficult when she's about to have a developmental leap of some sort. This time, it seems it was the speech.
She's actually having real conversations! They tend to be short, and sometimes you have to guess at what she means by the words she chooses, but real, two-way conversations!
I guess if the price for a growth is a couple of weeks of pain in the neck, we'll take it!
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